Chapter 10

"there you are!" íona shined up as she saw Embla on the swing. Embla smiled as íona reached her and sat down beside her. "it's so good to see you, it's been awhile since we last met" Embla spoke. "It truly has, but now i'm here." íona said. Embla smiled sadly. "You are my closest friend íona and i am glad you decided to come." Embla sighed softly. íona reached for Embla's hand and squeezed it gently. Embla looked away. "I know it must be hard for you, to lose a friend can tear you apart, but you have always been so strong, you will survive this i know that. And you know i am always here for you." íona said softly as she caressed Emblas hand, she saw the tears in her eyes.

"Sigyn was such a lovely woman, i miss her with whole my heart. it's so pity she had to die in that house fire, such a waste of talent and fairness. i can not believe she is gone." Embla sobbed. íona embraced her. The hours passed on as they sat there and talked about old memories.

"Do you remember when you first showed us this place?" íona said. Embla nodded slowly, yes she did.

It was a sunny afternoon. Égil had some duties to do, so Embla was all alone. But then the girl next door had knocked on their door. When Embla opened the door the girl asked if they could go outside and play. "..we could climb trees!" The girl suggested. Then suddenly Embla got an idea. "I have to show you something, follow me!" Embla grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her with her.

Another girl saw them as they walked away. "Hello! wait! Where are you going?!" She shouted after them. Embla turned around. "Oh, hello íona! Follow me and you will see!" Embla shouted back.

íona caught up with the girls. "Who is she? i have never seen her before" íona said breathless after running so fast, she pointed at the girl Embla dragged with her. "Oh, may i introduce myself, i am Sigyn Hjálmarrsdottir, and you are?" Sigyn said. "I am íona Ásgeirsdottir, pleasure to meet you Sigyn." íona smiled. Sigyn smiled back.

"enough talking, come with me now!" Embla cut them off. The girls began to walk.

They reached the tree after five minutes of walking. Both íona and Sigyn shined up as they saw the tree.

"A swing!" íona exclaimed. "A big tree!" Sigyn exclaimed. Embla smiled as íona tried the swing and Sigyn began to climb.

"Why don't play something." Embla suggested. "Yes! Let's pretend we are royal family!" íona said. "Good idea! I am Thor and you can be Frigga!" Sigyn said and pointed at íona. "...and you can be Odin!" She continued and pointed at Embla.

Embla frowned.

"No! I want to be Frigga!" She protested. Sigyn eye rolled.

"But it is just a game, come on please!" Sigyn sighed. Embla disliked the idea but then she nodded. "Very well, i am Odin. But then i am in charge, i tell you what to do and then you do as i say!" Embla smirked. "No, we are not servants. but ok, you are in charge then, but we do not serve you and do as you please all the time." íona murmured.

"ok let's start then!" Sigyn exclaimed. The game was on.

They played for hours, they laughed and yelled and argued.

But after a while, a boy reached the tree and sat down against it and started to read a book. Embla recognized the boy, it was the same boy as she and Égil met here three years ago.

Sigyn walked towards the boy. "Who are you?" She asked with curiosity. The boy raised his gaze from the book. "me?" he asked surprised.

"yes, you!" Sigyn sighed. The boy He started to fiddle with his fingers, he seemed nervous. "uh, i am Loki.." He began. "Oh! Perfect! we need someone to play a servant!" Sigyn said as she dragged him up. "W-What..?" Loki stammered.

"Good idea! Loki, you can be our servant. You see, we are playing that we are the royal family. I am Odin, íona is Frigga and Sigyn is Thor! you got it?" Embla declared. Loki only laughed. "Sounds lovely, but if you excuse me, i have to continue reading my book." He said shortly. "No! books are boring! come and play with us instead! Oh pleeaasee!?" The girls begged. Loki finally gave up and sighed. "fine, i'll do it."

The girls cheered and then they continued to play.

"Servant! I'm hungry! Cook us some food!" Embla demanded. "Yes your majesty, but what do you want to eat?" Loki asked. "I want turkey! Sigyn boomed. Loki giggled as Sigyn tried to imitate Thor. "Of course, my prince. A turkey is on its way!" Loki exclaimed.

It was getting late and the sky darkened. They were all tired, they had stopped the game and now they were sitting against the tree, talking about life and other stuff.

"Loki, why did you come here?" Sigyn asked, she was sitting next to him and had many times tried to reached for his hand, but Loki didn't seem to get it. Or maybe he didn't just want to. "Why i came here? Well.. you see, where i come from, you are not allowed to do what you want. There are always people who already have plans for you. So i escaped. I just wanted to read my book, to be alone for a while. Obviously that didn't work here either" Loki glared at them.

"sorryyy" The girls said quietly. They sat there tensed for a minute, then they all burst out laughing.

"But Loki, you seems to live in a horrible place. Where do you come from?" Sigyn asked him. Loki sighed. "That doesn't matter" He said. "i wish i lived it the palace. Imagine what a wonderful life I would have if I only was a member in the royal family. Then i could do whatever I want whenever i want!" íona said. Loki laughed. "How can you be so sure of that?" He said. íonas eyes widened. "how can you not?!" She responded.

When it was time to go home. Sigyn wanted to take Loki home. "Come on Loki! It will be fun!" She begged. Loki shrugged. "Ha, why not?" he said. Both íona and Embla noticed that Loki was really trying hard not to show how happy and surprised he was that someone actually was asking him to come over.

"I bet he doesn't have any friends" Embla whispered to íona. "yeah, he tries to act like he's used to it, but it's really obvious that he is not." íona whispered back. As they all went home to their homes, Sigyn took Loki with her.

Since that day, Loki and Sigyn became friends, best friends. Sometimes, Embla suspected they were even more than just friends.

íona and Embla laughed at the memory, but then Embla frowned.

"What happened to him?" She murmured. "Who?" íona asked. Embla sighed. "Loki, what happened to him? suddenly he just disappeared. i have not seen him for years." Embla said concerned. íona's smile faded.

"oh, Loki, he.. he is in prison." íona said shortly and looked away. "What!? He? In prison?" Embla gasped. íona nodded. "Yes, i'm afraid so, and that's not the only bad news…" íona sighed sadly. Embla's eyes widened. "What is it? tell me!" Embla begged.

"Loki is dying." íona whispered.

Embla couldn't believe what she heard. They sat there, dumbfounded. "W-Why? And can you be so sure of that?" Embla said after a while. "i'm a healer, you know that. They sent me to investigate him" íona answered. Embla swallowed heavily. How could Loki possibly be in prison?

Loki who was so kind and shy, who always treated everyone with respect, even if they didn't deserve it. How? How was this even possible?!

"I know you are confused, it's a long story, i'm surprised that you didn't knew-" íona began. "Why is he in prison?!" Embla cut her off. "Loki has committed some serious crimes, i don't know him so well as you and Sigyn do, especially not as Sigyn did, I only met him twice, when we were young, and now when i investigated his body. But i do know this, Loki was sentenced to life time prison, then he started to hallucinate. Loki suffers from some sort of delirium. His life's in danger, but do not worry, Eir got this. She will heal him." íona calmed her.

"i hope so, but why would he committed a crime? It doesn't sounds like him, the Loki i once knew wouldn't do that! And why did Sigyn never told us about that? if someone knew something about Loki, it would be her." Embla said.

She gasped as she realized she spoke of Sigyn as if she still was here with them.

"I do not have the answers you are looking for, but i have an idea. Why don't you just go visit him yourself? I think he is the only one who have the right answers." íona suggested. Embla shrugged. "yeah, maybe…" She murmured. Suddenly íona frowned. Embla noticed her darkened eyes. "What bothers you my dear?" she asked. íona looked up on Embla. "Loki didn't recognized me…" íona whispered. "What...? What do you mean?" Embla asked confused. "When i visited Loki in his cell, he looked upon me as if i was just a stranger." íona explained concerned. Embla laughed softly. "i do not think you need to be worried. After all, he only met you once, and that was many many years ago now." Embla said. But Emblas words didn't seem to calm her.

"but he have such a brilliant mind, he should remember me, even you has told me Loki's memory was unnatural good. " íona said.

Embla frowned, íona was right, Loki would have remembered her...