"You're quiet this morning," Dagný observed the next day as she did Sigyn's hair.

Sigyn shook herself of her thoughtfulness and managed to a smile. "Forgive me, I am simply tired. I did not sleep well last night."

"Was it too warm?" Dagný asked. "I can start leaving a window open, if you like. The weather is much cooler at night than it is during the day."

"I-yes," Sigyn said, surprised by the offer. "That would be lovely. Thank you."

Of course, it wasn't the heat that had kept her up this time. She had spent the night tossing and turning about what Freyja had told her. About the fact that she was going to be married to Loki sometime in the near future. Even though she had decided she was going to go through with it, that didn't stop her worries.

It had only been later on after she had gotten over her initial shock that she realized what marrying Loki would make her: A princess of Asgard. The idea settled strangely on her. She had no use for power, having had little of it in her life, so she could not imagine what being a Princess might be like. Worse, now that he was the Crown Prince, one day she might be Queen. Any children they had would be the heirs to the throne.

Sigyn wondered if Odin knew what he was doing. He had to know that the Aesir would not take kindly to a Jotun Queen, or half-blooded children. Would they be able to accept his decisions? Would they be able to see that her marriage to Loki would be for their own greater good, and the good of Jotunheim as well? Somehow she did not think so. The thought made her highly uneasy.

The news was still dizzying to her. Every time she thought about being married to Loki, she felt overwhelmed. She could not have seen this happening when she had stepped forward to offer herself. Honestly, Sigyn knew she should have; why else would Odin have agreed to take her? She was worthless in Laufey's court, nothing but a runt healer who chose gentleness over the Jotun's typical ferocity.

I saw the best in Odin, even when I should not have, Sigyn thought. I never thought he would be capable of this, taking a woman from her home to marry her off to a stranger from an enemy land and not even tell her about it.

Well, even if she could not learn to love Loki or even like him, she knew she would love whatever children came about from their marriage. It would be her one consolation. She would have the children she'd wanted for some decades now. It brightened her mood somewhat, though she still felt sick to her stomach from everything that had happened.

When Dagný finished with her hair and began leading her to Frigga's chambers, the nausea was joined by anxiety. How could she face the Queen now? Would she be able to keep the knowledge from her expression so the Queen wouldn't know she'd found out? There was only one way to know, she supposed.

The Queen seemed nervous when Sigyn greeted her, which immediately told Sigyn that she suspected Freyja had done something. When they sat down to their breakfast, Frigga wasted no time in beginning her questions.

"How was your midday with Lady Freyja?"

"Fine," Sigyn said, smiling. "She was very kind."

Frigga studied Sigyn as she ate. "I'm glad you had a good time. What did you speak of?"

"There was not much conversation," Sigyn said, the lie coming easily to her. "In order to have a conversation, there needs to be at least two people speaking to each other, yes? Lady Freyja is kind, but she does enjoy talking. I mostly listened."

Frigga managed the barest of smiles, but did not seem to be eased by this information. "I see."

"She spoke of dresses," Sigyn said. "And the festivals, and feasts. And the men who had pleasing forms. She is very much eager to see me in my festival gown, she said."

"You'll look beautiful," Frigga said quietly, her smile growing a tad. Then she returned to her meal and silence fell between the two of them.

Sigyn was grateful for that. The Queen seemed to believe her, though her distrust and suspicion of Freyja worried Sigyn a little. She hoped that Frigga wouldn't do anything to Freyja. If her husband was so brutal, maybe the Queen was as well?

No, Sigyn thought. The Queen had been nothing but kind to her. Oblivious to some things, yes, but kind. She wouldn't do anything to Freyja, just be disappointed that she had told Sigyn what was happening. Though now that Sigyn considered it, she wondered why Frigga had not told her herself, and sooner. Did she think Sigyn wasn't ready to hear it? There was never going to be a good time to tell her, so that couldn't have been it.

Maybe the Queen was fighting against it. Maybe she was trying to convince Odin to give Sigyn a choice in the matter.

But most likely not. They could have kept up the illusion of giving her an option, but truthfully, Sigyn would have had no choice. It was either marry Loki and bring permanent peace, or not marry him and hope being a hostage was enough to keep Laufey at bay. It was obvious what the best choice would have been.

No, the Queen was simply reluctant because she knew how much it would hurt Sigyn. She supposed she could appreciate the kindness Frigga meant in holding off on it, but really, Sigyn wished she had been told from the first day she was in Asgard. She never would have kept anything like that from a hostage of her own.

The meade tasted sour on her tongue at that thought. Sigyn desperately hoped she'd never be in a position where she'd have hostages under her care.

Freyja seemed not at all concerned that she may be found out when she swept through the doors to Frigga's chambers with flourish, as usual. Nothing in her demeanor could have given it away that she had disobeyed the Queen's decision. Sigyn could only hope she was coming across as naturally as Freyja was.

The morning with the other ladies passed peacefully. Nanna taught her how to embroider a small, simple flower, and Sigyn succeeded in pricking herself only twice. At the end of it, her stitches were wildly different lengths and she had to pick them apart. Mercifully the morning soon ended and she gratefully left the embroidering for the next day.

"You'll learn," Nanna reassured her as they were gathering their things. "No one is a master at it right when they begin. You should see some of Lofn's earlier works, they were hideous."

"No one will ever find them," Lofn said with a sniff, "for I've burned all of it."

"As you say," Nanna replied with a grin, clearly disbelieving her entirely.

Sigyn wished she could join in their happiness, but she felt herself drawing back somehow. Now that she knew that Frigga had intended for them to one day be her ladies in attendance, like the other women were to her, it somewhat soured Sigyn's feelings of friendship towards them. Lofn and Nanna didn't know, or so she hoped. If they had been talked into being her friend, Sigyn wasn't certain how she could ever bear to be around them again.

She would have to get over it. It wasn't their fault she had been lied to; they deserved better than her aloof nature.

"Sigyn," Frigga called out as she was beginning to make her way out, "would you stay for a moment, please?"

Hiding her unease, Sigyn nodded and bid goodbye to Lofn and Nanna. Frigga waited until her chamber was empty before turning to her. "I was wondering if you would take the midday meal with me?"

"Of course," Sigyn said. "I would love to."

"And Loki," Frigga added, watching her carefully. "I would like for him to join us as well."

"Oh," Sigyn said, blinking. "Of course."

"Would you mind going and getting him for me?" Frigga asked. "Dagný will help you find the way."

"I-yes, my Queen," Sigyn said, furrowing her brow in confusion. She knew Frigga's reasoning behind it. She wanted Sigyn to have some time with Loki by herself. She wondered then if her absence during the last midday meal she'd shared with Loki had been planned on her part. To her dismay, Sigyn realized she would not have put it past Frigga at this point.

She is kind, Sigyn thought, but that does not mean she does not know how to manipulate a situation.

Dagný arrived a few minutes later and then led her down a path Sigyn had not yet traveled. They came to a floor that was as high as the throne room of Asgard, with the city laid out, sprawling beneath them. Dagný stopped at a pair of large golden doors where two guards stood, spears in their hands.

"Queen Frigga sent us," Dagný said. "The Lady Sigyn is to escort Prince Loki to the Queen's chambers for the midday."

"The Allfather and Crown Prince are busy, and asked not to be disturbed," the guard said.

Dagný faltered, uncertain where to go from that, and Sigyn stepped forward. "I have a message to give them both from the Queen herself. It must be delivered by me personally. May I be let in to do so, please?"

The guards exchanged a glance and Sigyn continued sincerely, "Or should I go back to the Queen and get written permission? I will, if that is what I must do." She hoped that had been the right way to handle this, so that they didn't hate her for it. It felt unnatural, wielding what little power she had in this way.

Finally one guard moved from his post to open the doors. "The Lady Sigyn for the Allfather and Crown Prince," he announced, and she nodded at him gratefully when she passed him into the room. He paused at that and considered her, but whatever he did next Sigyn did not see, as her attention was taken up by Odin and Loki.

They both sat together at a table piled high with papers. The first thing she noticed was that Loki was tense; he sat stiffly in his chair, looking highly uncomfortable. Odin, in contrast, was relaxed save for the expression on his face, which was grim.

Whatever they'd been talking about must not have been pleasant. Sigyn lowered into a curtsey and held herself there until Odin told her to rise.

"Good day, my King, my Prince."

"Sigyn," Odin said. She was half surprised he remembered her name. "Leave us," he told the guard, and when the doors closed again, she was left with only the two of them.

Hiding her nervousness behind a steady smile, she inclined her head. "Queen Frigga wishes Prince Loki to join her for the midday meal. She sent me to personally come and take him to her sitting chamber." She paused. "Might he be taken away from his... work, for a few short hours?"

"We're busy," Loki said, his tone deceptively, carefully blank. "Tell Mother I will see her tonight."

Sigyn hesitated and in that brief time, Odin spoke instead. "You should go," he said. "This will all still be here when you return."

"All the more reason to stay here and finish it," Loki said. "We can have the servants bring us food here."

"Loki," the Allfather said, and Sigyn stiffened at his tone. So did Loki, it seemed, for he immediately glanced down at the floor. "Go. We both need the rest."

Loki rigidly stood and bowed to the Allfather before coming to join her side. Sigyn cast a glance back at Odin as they left. He was watching them as they left, and the contemplative look on his face made her shudder. She wondered how she and Loki looked to him.

Like a well laid plan, Sigyn thought, coming together just as he thought it would.

She was never happier than when the doors closed behind them and Odin could no longer stare at them. Dagný curtseyed to Loki and then began to walk off, but he stopped her.

"You don't need to take us to my Mother's chambers, I know where they are," he said roughly. "Leave us."

Dagný paused, then carefully inclined her head and left them. Sigyn tried not to focus on her nervous flutterings.

"You seem well today, my Prince," Sigyn said.

"Save the pleasantries. I'm in no mood for them."

"No, I had noticed that," Sigyn said, deciding polite lies would get her nowhere. "You seemed tense."

Loki was walking quickly, his irritation flooding every move, and Sigyn hurried to keep up with him. "I said save the pleasantries. You don't care if I'm tense or not."

Sigyn opened her mouth to answer, then tripped over the hem of her gown. Pain shot up her knees and hands as she landed on them, and a pained oomph left her once her chest hit the floor. Trying to regain herself, she sat back, wincing at the ache in her legs.

Then a hand was in front of her and she blinked, eyes traveling up to match a hand with an arm and the arm to Loki. She stared at him for a moment, shocked, before he lowered his hand.

"Are you going to let me help you up or are you going to stand by yourself?"

Sigyn found her footing on her own and brushed off her gown, using it as an excuse not to look at him. "Forgive me, my Prince, I had not meant to fall-"

"Of course you didn't," Loki said. He let his hand fall limply to his side before turning to continue down the corridor. Sigyn took up his side and to her surprise found that he had slowed his pace considerably. That nearly made her trip all over again. Was he being kind?

After a moment, she cautiously spoke up again. "I do care," she said. "Simply because I am not trying to earn your approval anymore does not mean I do not care about you."

Loki's mouth twitched upward. "So you don't care what I think about you, but you care about me as a person?"

"Yes," Sigyn said with a shrug. "That makes sense."

"It doesn't," Loki said, and a note of something in his tone made Sigyn pause.

"Why not?"

"Because you can't care about me as a person if you don't care about what I think," Loki said. "They cannot be disconnected. I am my thoughts."

"Yes," Sigyn had to admit he was right. "But I still do not care what you think about me personally. I have spent my life ignoring what others thought of me. I had to, if I wanted to survive."

Loki cast a look at her, then focused back on their path. "And why do you care about me as a person?"

"I care about everyone," Sigyn said. "Even you, Loki. You may dislike and distrust me, but I still care about you."

Loki had no response to that, so Sigyn let the silence stretch on as they walked. "Thank you for offering to help me stand," Sigyn said at length.

"Not that you needed my help, apparently," Loki observed dryly.

"But it means something that you offered," Sigyn said quietly. They reached the door to Frigga's sitting chamber before he could respond. When they entered to find the Queen absent, Sigyn wanted to laugh. Of course.

"My Prince, my Lady," a servant began, "the Queen offers her sincerest apologies, but she was called away for important business. She will not be joining you for this meal, but hopes you enjoy yourselves thoroughly."

Sigyn saw Loki glance at her out of the corner of her eye, and she returned his brief look. Then he turned to the servant and nodded. "Thank you. You're dismissed, then."

The servant bowed and left, and Sigyn waited awkwardly for Loki to make a move. He ran a hand over his face and managed a sardonic laugh before shaking his head.

"After you, my Lady."

Sigyn went over to the table and sat down in her usual chair. Loki sat opposite her, and their meal began. Neither of them said anything at first, simply eating, before Loki spoke up.

"You know, don't you?"

Sigyn's hand jerked in shock and her cup fell off the table, landing with a loud clang. A servant rushed forward to clean it up while Sigyn apologized. Once it was done and she had a new cup, she sat back down and stared at Loki.

"What do I know?"

"Don't play an idiot, Sigyn. It doesn't become you."

Sigyn swallowed thickly and lowered her gaze. She made sure there was no one around to hear them. The servants had gone to retrieve something, it seemed, so it was just her and him. "Yes," she said. "I know the Allfather intends to have me married."

"To?" Loki prompted, taking a sip from his cup.

"You," she finished flatly. "I am to be married to you."

Loki scrutinized her. "Freyja told you."

"No," Sigyn said with a shake of her head. "It was not hard to figure out. Even with my knowledge of Aesir customs being little, I knew the signs when I saw them. A Queen does not offer a hostage a place at her side or amongst her ladies." She met his gaze. "When did you know?"

"I suspected something from the first," Loki admitted. "You seemed an odd choice for Father to take, even if you had offered yourself. That might have appealed to his desire to mollify Laufey and keep from taking both of his sons, but it would not have been a smart move otherwise, taking you. You held no value in Laufey's court. Except," Loki continued, "for the fact that you're distantly related to him.

"I knew for certain just now, when my Mother left us alone for this meal," Loki said, leaning back in his chair. "She intends to give us space to become friends."

Sigyn nodded slowly. "And... how do you feel about this?"

Loki met her gaze and stared at her, fingers tapping against the table absently. "It's a good plan," he said at last. "With our marriage, Jotunheim and Asgard would be bound together for several centuries, at least. If we had children, it would put an end to our wars for good."

"That is true," Sigyn said. "But that is not what I asked."

Loki paused, then shifted in his seat and glanced away. "I feel as much about it as you do, I think. You don't want this."

Sigyn looked down at her plate, her food forgotten. She attempted to eat more of it, but found she'd lost the taste for it just then. "I am sorry."

"For what? This wasn't your decision."

"No," Sigyn said. "I am sorry that you must marry me, instead of someone you chose. Someone you love. You deserve that, the freedom to choose and be happy."

Loki looked taken aback, the first real emotion she'd seen on him in a while. Instead of covering it up, he merely frowned at her and then stopped meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry for you as well. For the same."

Sigyn smiled sadly. "At least in this way, I am getting the family I have wanted for a while. I will love our children. Do not doubt that. I hope you will, too."

"I will," Loki said, but the way he said it made Sigyn wonder. "So then, are we to learn how to tolerate each other?"

Sigyn nodded. "We are."

"Hmm," Loki said, rubbing his upper lip with a finger, contemplating. "It seems to be a most difficult task they're asking of us, given how often we butt heads."

"I have every confidence that you will do your best, as I will do mine," Sigyn said, her smile broadening slightly. "We will do our duty."

"So we will."

It was one of the friendlier conversations they'd had, and Sigyn found herself liking it. This is what it could be like to tolerate him, to not dread his presence. They would not be friends but allies, united against a common force. Doing what they could to stay alive and live up to the expectations others had of them. She could tolerate this Loki for peace.

"You said you had no family," Loki said after he'd attempted to return to his meal, which proved to be a futile task. He'd pushed his plate away after only a few more bites. She had done likewise. "What happened to your parents?"

"They died," Sigyn said. "A long time ago."

"How?"

She hesitated. Perhaps it was simply idly curiousity on his part; maybe it was something more. She hated that she could not guess which.

Loki smirked, catching on to her reluctance. "I ask out of curiousity. You said you want to have a family, and I recall you saying you've been on your own for a while."

"Oh," Sigyn said, still uncertain but not knowing how to refuse him. "My father, I did not know him. My mother told me that he died in the first war between Jotunheim and Asgard."

"And did he?"

"As far as I know, yes," Sigyn said. "The timing is right. I was born shortly after the war ended. My mother..." Her throat closed up on her then and she shook herself. "You must understand something before I continue. We had cities in Jotunheim once. We had buildings, and places to live with our families."

"I've seen the ruins," Loki said, looking as if he was wondering where this was going.

"Yes," Sigyn said. "The ruins of our cities. Without the Casket, we had no way to repair them, no way to build new ones. The Casket powered our home. It was not merely a weapon but a tool, a necessary one. It simply fell into the hands of a king who misused it."

Loki listened intently, his green eyes never leaving hers, so she continued. "I do not know what the cities looked like before the Casket was taken. I lived in isolation from the rest of the tribes. But one year, my mother decided to move us closer to a city. She wanted to try to introduce me into society, so that I may one day find a tribe of my own and have a life.

"Well," Sigyn said slowly, tears brimming at the edges of her vision. "Without the Casket, our buildings became treacherous ruins. They would fall apart. One day, my mother went into the city because a building had crumbled. She wanted to help whoever had fallen victim to it, if she could."

Loki seemed to have guessed where this was heading, given the solemn expression on his face. But Sigyn needed to say it out loud, somehow. Now that she had begun the tale, she couldn't stop.

"The building was not finished falling," she said, her voice cracking. "It crumbled again, and this time, my mother was caught in the rubble. She died quickly, from what I was told. She did not linger, which is... something good, I suppose. I was young, still a child, and I found myself without the one person who had protected and loved me my entire life."

Sigyn wiped the tears from her cheeks numbly. Strange, she thought, how she could be crying and still be relatively calm about telling him the tale. She felt detached, really, which she wasn't certain was a good thing. It'd just happened so long ago now that she had grown used to it, she supposed. That didn't stop her mother's death from hurting, but it did make it easier to accept.

"What did you do?" Loki asked, and she was somewhat surprised to hear how gentle his tone was.

"What I could," Sigyn said. "I lived as long as I could on the food we had, then I left with the rest of it in search of a tribe to belong to."

That was not the entire truth. She had left for a tribe, it was true. But she had gathered up what her Mother had taught her about healing magic and potions and spells, and used that to earn good favours and graces from the people she met. She used it to make her way in the world, and it had worked. She had never found a permanent tribe to belong to, but it had allowed her to live long enough to make the journey to Laufey's castle and beg for a home there.

Loki didn't need to know that. Loki couldn't know that. Her magic must always remain a secret in Asgard, where it was hated so violently.

"You said," Loki said after a pause, "that you lived in isolation. Why?"

Sigyn laughed weakly and shook her head. "Now, my Prince," she said, failing to sound as firm as she wanted to, "perhaps that is a tale for another time. It is a sad one as well, and I have had enough sadness for one day."

Loki inclined his head, respecting her decision. "Does that mean you're willing to seek me out later and tell me?"

"I am," Sigyn said. "If you care so much."

"I do," Loki said. "You may find me when you have need."

"Mm," Sigyn said. "Do you realize this is one of the first conversations we have had where we have not argued?"

"It seems strange, doesn't it?" Loki said mildly, and Sigyn surprised herself by laughing.

"Perhaps a little," she teased. "Should we fight now to make things right?"

"No," Loki said. "Let's see how long we can last."

"Maybe we will not fight at all after this," Sigyn said, her tone growing serious. "Maybe we will learn to get along."

Loki caught her gaze, his expression unreadable. "Would you like that, Sigyn?"

She swallowed hard, suddenly nervous, heart beating fast. "Yes," she said honestly. "I would like to at least tolerate the man I will some day call husband."

"And I would like to tolerate the woman I will call my wife," Loki agreed. "Though it seems such a low bar to set. Tolerance."

She shrugged. "It is the best we can hope for, I think."

"No," Loki said. "Not the best."

Before she could wonder at what he meant by that, he stood. He bowed to her, smiling slightly. "I should go, my lady," he said. "You saw how much work I had left to do."

"I did," Sigyn said. "I wish you the best in surviving against it."

Loki turned to leave, then stopped when he was halfway to the door. After a beat he turned and looked at her. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?" Sigyn asked, taken aback.

"Trusting me enough to tell me about your mother," Loki said. "Or at least deciding I should know about it."

That stunned her into silence, so she simply nodded. He left her alone then, to her thoughts and feelings. Damn him, she thought after a moment, why must he be capable of kindness? It would have been much easier to write him off entirely if he'd been a horrid person all around.

But... at the same time, this conversation had left a small spark of hope in her. She could like him if he acted like that all the time, and he seemed inclined to try for the best in their marriage as well. Perhaps it wouldn't be as horrible as she thought it might be. Perhaps they could learn to be a family of sorts, even if they did not love each other.

Loki Odinson, my husband, Sigyn mused. She found it did not leave so bitter a taste in her mouth as it had the day before.