Whoa, two chapters in less than 24 hours?! Nope, this is not a drill, this is the real deal! I am finally getting back into writing for fun! I hope you all enjoy these latest chapters in the Loki/Sigyn saga. I will continue, as always, to update the story as frequently as possible. Life of a sophomore film student is no walk in the park. ;) Please let me know if you have any ideas/suggestions/comments about the story or the newest chapters! Enjoy! Cheers, MK
Muffled voices, arguing loudly, boomed in echoes over her head. Cold, hard metal rings gripped her wrists. Trying to come to, Sigyn lolled her head back and forth. She was on her knees, someone, or someones, were holding her up in a rough grip. Blobs of colors swirled before her. Her head felt like it was in a jar. The blobs started to form bodies, which gestured wildly. She let out an audible wince in pain.
"Get her up," said a crisp, but not cold, voice.
"What?" Sigyn whispered in confusion as the rough hands pulled her to her feet. They were gentle but did not relinquish their hard grip now supporting her on her arms.
"Father," said a voice to her right. "Please don't do this."
A silence fell over the hall. Sigyn took her time trying to make sense of everything, she didn't know if she wanted to figure out what was going on. Afraid she already knew. More silence came, and then-
"Bring in the prisoner."
A pair of heavy doors boomed open. Sigyn turned her head in the direction of the noise. When she saw a figure enter with blazing black hair, her eyes flew completely open. Loki, dressed in a black robe that encased his body, was accompanied by two bulky guards. Out of the cave and into the lavishly warm light of the palace, Sigyn could see the affect his punishment was having on him. His hair was tangled and greasy, his skin a sickly pale, and deep purple circle under his bloodshot eyes.
"Loki…"
Loki turned to Sigyn, his eyes piercing hers with disapproval. Her eyes stung and watered in response. The guards led him to the center of the hall and forced him to his knees in front of Odin. Sigyn looked up at him. He stared angrily at his son from his throne.
"Loki Odinson…"
"You know, I seem to be getting that odd sensation that Midgardians always referred to as déjà vu," Loki sneered.
"Silence!" Odin boomed.
Loki bowed his head in mock acceptance.
"Loki Odinson," Odin continued, "is it true that you have been offered and accepted assistance with your punishment while in The Place of Judgment by the beings presented here beside you today."
"Father!" Thor shouted.
"Silence, Thor! Or I'll have you restrained."
Guards came and put a hand on Thor's shoulder. He clenched his jaw in subdued rage. Odin turned back to Loki.
"Is it true?"
Loki refused to look anywhere but the ground. His eyes were narrowed and his jawline was tense. Sigyn could almost hear him grinding his teeth. Slowly, he looked up to face his father.
"No," he said tersely. Odin smiled maliciously at this.
"I see." He turned to Sigyn. "I know what you did."
Sigyn's heartbeat started to pick up.
"You defied my ruling, your ruler, your king."
"No," Sigyn uttered through her dry throat.
"You committed treason in doing so."
"I didn't mean-"
"But since you have no witnesses willing to testify against you, you leave me no choice…"
"Father, please, I beg of you. Stop this madness," Thor pleaded.
Ignoring Thor, Odin turned back to Loki. "Loki Odinson, you are sentenced to a lifetime chained to The Place of Judgment."
"NO!" Sigyn cried out.
"Father, you can't do this!"
"Unless!" Odin bellowed, holding up a hand to silence them all. "Someone comes forth now to take your place." Odin looked to Sigyn who was staring at him wild eyed. A moment that seemed to last for minutes was over in a flash. Sigyn couldn't bring herself to say anything. Suddenly Odin was waving his hand and Loki was being ripped from the ground and pulled out of the hall. Sigyn pulled from her shackles. She kicked her guards, pushed and pulled, until they finally loosened their grip, letting her escape briefly until she fell to the floor in front of Odin. She rested there. Staring at her hands, breathing heavily. She knew what she had to do. For Loki.
"Take me."
Odin looked at her coolly, "What did you say?"
"Sigyn don't…" Thor rasped.
She ignored his pleas, "You were right. I did help him. It is I who deserves the punishment, not him."
Odin smiled. "I will not give you the punishment I gave him."
Sigyn looked up in shock.
"But," Odin continued. "You will have to be punished for defying my authority, Sigyn. I cannot let you go free, even though our circumstances are… Difficult."
Sigyn nodded. "I understand."
Odin's expression softened. "Sigyn, I sentence you to 7 days to The Place of Judgement."
"What? No! Sigyn you can't," Thor protested.
Sigyn continued to sit there, helpless on the ground as the weight of what was about to happened to her pounded deeper and deeper into her consciousness. Guards came and whisked her up and out of the hall. Tears stung her eyes as she left Thor's protesting screams behind her. The hall's doors banged definitively shut behind her and she was left alone with her guards in the silence, headed to her fate.
