Sif and Fandral both shared worried glances that Sigyn didn't see. She was too focused on herself to notice them. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused everything she had on becoming one with her surroundings. The familiar spark of magic pulsated through her body until she felt as if she was floating.
"Sif, Fandral, am I visible?" she asked timidly.
"You are crystal clear, Princess." Fandral said, he tried to keep his tone light-hearted but it didn't work, instead he sounded like a worried parent. Sigyn sucked in a deep breath as the two pulled the door open quietly so as no one would hear, and Sigyn took a deep breath and began her walk down the hundreds of stone steps.
Her boots were flat so that no one would hear her footsteps, and she needn't worry about people seeing her. Her spell seemed to be working well. She lifted an arm in front of her face and she couldn't see herself, which had to be a good sign.
She crept down the stairs one step at a time, careful not to move to quickly in case she caused a ripple in the air. And also because she knew, if she moved too fast then she would fall and probably break her neck. Then not only would she be on deaths door, so would many of the Aesir who would have to take part in the war she would have started, solely by being clumsy and easily distracted.
Fire torches lit the walls, and the air was hot. Sigyn realized why they called it the fire realm now. Next to the palace was supposedly a lake of fire, but Sigyn had not seen that. But then again, she had not exactly focused on her surroundings of the outside. Her mind was filled with her task; retrieve the Casket.
The Casket would be inside a large box, so that it would be able to be handled by anyone, instead of just a Jotunn. So she would have no worries about picking it up, there would be no chance for her to freeze to death.
Finally the steps came to an end and Sigyn skipped off the last stone before she fell from the uneasy stone footings, quietly landing onto a dingy looking floor made of solid black rocks, ahead of her was the longest hallway she had ever seen, and four guards stood at the end. She took a deep breath and held her sword at her side, she would have to slay people, that much was obvious.
Sigyn closed her eyes and prepared herself. She had never killed before, and she hoped that she would never have to again. The idea of it all was making her feel ill and dizzy, but she knew she couldn't fall over or show any sign of emotions. That would break her spell and cause all kinds of trouble.
She slowly put one foot in front of the other, taking a deep breath each time. She felt as if the air was going to slip from her lungs and she would fall prone across the stones. And the knot in her stomach only seemed to grow tighter and tighter as she moved closer and closer.
But with each step she took, she saw the Casket slowly grow and come into view. The shining blue light could not be mistaken anywhere, especially in the fiery halls of Surtr's dungeons. The coolness she could feel even from where she was standing, and as she got closer and closer, the light seemed to grow. Until the blue light blinded her eyes and it was all she could see.
The green pendant around her neck began to glow as soon as her mind wandered. The spell was working, to keep up her defences. Her eyes shifted from the necklace to the Casket once more and a smile grew on her face.
She was only a few steps away now, just a couple of more seconds and she would be holding it in her hands-
And then;
A strike to the back of her head, and then a blow to the side of her face; Sigyn lurched forward and felt a coppery taste drip from her mouth, and then her nose. All over her chin and lips was red, and it dripped down onto the floor as she let out a cry.
Something then hit her head, she was thrown completely onto the floor, but not unconscious, Instead it felt as the whole room was vibrating and swirling around her.
Then she felt a blade dig into the skin on the front side of her torso, she managed to pull out her sword and dig it into the figure that had just crouched down in front of her, and he fell back against the stones with a thud. Blood dripped from the sword now, and she swung it around as she best she could, lying prone on the floor, without hurting herself even more.
Then she felt a body on top of her, pressing her down into the ground as she let out a scream of pain as her face was pressed into the rocks that were used as floor, her eyes burned as chippings and gravel dug into them, causing her to cry out once more in utter pain.
Her hands flew to her middle, where she felt the red liquid drip onto her hands. In front of her face, she ran her fingers along the stones to see long red lines smeared across the grey stones.
Another of the guards stepped in front of her, and she desperately swung out her sword, hitting him in the leg. As if by magic he began to sizzle, a gold light erupted from his skin and then he fell back against the stones. Sigyn winced, and then cried out as she heard a crackwhen his skull hit the jagged rocks on the floor.
Where was Sif? Where was Fandral? Had someone got them too?
"Sif!" She called out as loud as she could, her cry sounded pained as blood began to gargle in her mouth. She felt her head being pulled back by her hair, and then forced back into the ground with a quick push. The blood cascaded from her nose lie some kind of thick and red waterfall, and the taste of blood was overwhelming. The harsh stinging in her eyes become unbearable as she squeezed them shut. Desperately she tried to hold herself in a defensive position, but the jabs of a knife and the pain of being beaten was too much.
"Fandral!" She cried again, blood pooling around her torso. She could feelher own blood outside her body.
Sigyn couldn't even think, the pain was too much as more nicks and slices were made upon her torso. Until she felt she could not even move anymore, her face was pushed into the ground once more before she was pulled up to her knees by her hair.
She decided to let out one last scream, one last beg for mercy, or a call for help.
She panted, trying to regain her strength as her eyes burned, her face bled and her torso stung like thousands of tiny shards of glass had been plunged into her one by one.
"Loki!" She screamed as loud as she could, she shouted for longer than her breath could have lasted her, and then she was cut off.
At first she didn't notice the pain, it seemed foreign to her.
And then, the stinging sensation that burned across her neck from a sharp blade, stopping any sound from escaping her mouth made her contract and seize up, before falling into a red pool made by her own bloodied body.
Aaaaaaaand there you go. I've been building up to this for a while and I hope I got it down okay, I don't now if it's not graphic enough or if it doesn't have enough ~*feeling*~ in it, but that was all I could manage to get down without getting horrible mental images. I know this chapter is really short again, but the next few get longer and longer. And I'm sorry that there's no Loki!
Cherrytree327: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like the story, so thank you a lot!
SailorVeegan: I totally understand what you mean! That's what I was trying to get across actually, the whole idea of Loki's doubt in his feelings for her etc and that he's become undefined - but I promise it all makes sense in the next few chapters. (I say that a lot hahah) - The characters are all the same, I just want to show his slow descent into madness. Like he isn't that far gone yet, but I wanted to show how easily he slips from one mindset to the other. I don't know if that's what you meant in your review but thank you! I've been wanting constructive criticism for a while now and I'm really pleased that I have some now!
The Yoshinator: I'm in the middle of writing his next POV right now! It should be a good few chapters from now, but it's in the works! I want to get a couple in to show how his mind is changing along the way. Aaaand, I'm sorry for this cliffhanger! Heheh.
esykan: Well thank you very very much! I'm really so glad you feel like that about my story, haha. I can understand why you'd start to hate him - I am too a bit ;) But I promise in the next few chapters he suffers! And nooo, you didn't upset me. If anything you made me incredibly happy!