Happy Holidays!
He was a bit concerned when he could not find any of his brothers. Vali, Thor, Balder none were there to be seen and it frightened him. He was only five. He had recently just become a god and now he was a bit confused and lost. The voices in his head were getting louder and louder everyday and it was difficult to fully understand what it was they were asking of him. Some seemed to beg him, some cursed him, others said not a word. What were these voices and who were there? Why did they only come to him now, after he became a god? Why were they so strong? He had too many questions and just not enough answers. Things were upside down at the moment and he was not sure how to handle it.
Besides the freaking out whenever he heard them, walking seemed to help clear his thoughts so that he may focus more on what they were trying to say, but they never became fully clear. He often walked alone, but sometimes his brothers would accompany him. Not today, but the strange thing was the voices were silent and he had not seen his brothers all day. It was already noon and he was beginning to fear that they had possibly gone somewhere without his knowledge. Despite that, however, he was a bit thrilled because little, gentle snowflakes fluttered down from the skies above and created a glistening white ground from him to walk upon. He always enjoyed the snow, he had no idea why, but he did. He figured it must be because of where it was he came from. Jotunheim. A realm that is buried in snow.
Whatever the reason, his simplicity while enjoying it, his nature and his blood, Loki always found comfort in this soft, white blanket that provided true joy for himself and other children alike. And so he ventured out into the palace garden, believing it possible his brothers could be there and they were. He found them, but not in the way he had hoped.
His brothers, save for Vali who wasn't present, were scattered about the garden with several other palace children whose parents tended to the royals, surrounded a poor little boy in the middle of it all. This small child with light brown hair and fair skin sat in the middle of the garden, obviously attempting to make something out of the packing worthy snow, but failing at it miserably due to Thor and Balder and several others who used the snow to their advantage. They formed small spheres in their warm palms, had circled this boy and began pelting him in all different directions, laughing and jeering as they went, hitting him blow for blow. The abdomen, the back, the face. Any place that was open for the snowball to meet its target is what they settled for, and Loki had seen enough of it after mere seconds of standing there.
"Stop it!" the little red head shouted as he ran out into the garden, his black cloak blowing behind him and his hood protecting the redness on top of his head from mixing with white. "Leave him alone!" he called as he raced towards the small boy in green and brown, huddling under his cloak, trying to turn against the fire that came from the sting of the ice, but it was impossible. There was no way to tell where it was coming from. He never could tell. Loki knelt in the snow beside him, trying to block the flying globes of snow, but the children just laughed and went to hit Loki as well. No frost giant would tolerate such a thing.
So Loki's black eyes turned silver and his hand became frosted. Out from his palms shot great waves of ice, knocking over every child that had been harming this one, making them slip from the unbalanced ground that appeared beneath them, ceasing their torture even if it was for just a moment. Loki's eyes turned back to black as he looked down to the boy he was suppose to be protecting. "Are you alright?" Loki asked the obviously frightened young one. His face was clouded by his hood, but the boy nodded, teeth chattering and body shaking. "I am fine," he whispered, but Loki could hear the shivers in his voice and helped him stand. "Come on," he said as he began to lead this child inside. "My chambers are warm and you appear to be freezing."
The two walked back to Loki's grand chambers and the hearth erupted into a great burst of flames. "Come warm yourself," the young prince insisted as he removed his cloak from around his shoulders and draped it over those of this young boy. "Thank you so much," he replied as he sat before the hearth. "Something warm to drink?" Loki questioned as in his hands a mug appeared and he offered it to his newly founded friend. The boy, hood still up, and now seated before the hearth took the mug in his hands and examined its contents. "What is it?" he questioned and Loki chuckled as he, too sat cross legged before the fire. "We usually drink it cold and unsweetened, but I decided to make it hot and sweet. I personally think it tastes better, but you can be honest and say you do not like it if you truly do not." The boy brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, finding the taste as amazing and wonderful as any sense of magic there ever was. "It is delicious," he said after swallowing the very little he took. "What is it?" Loki smirked as he began to explain. "You know the mortals hold those beans close to them? Well, whenever my brother goes down to Midgard, he brings a few back. Its them mashed into little specks mixed with hot water and a little dash of sugar. Do you like it?" The boy nodded. "Yes, very much." Loki knew his words were true. "Wonderful. I am glad you do. Now, what was that all about? In the garden?"
The boy's smirk faded and turn to a face of lament. "They often tease me. Often torture me. It is nothing I am not used to." Loki grew uneasy at that. "No one should get used to torture. Why do they do it?" His shrugged. "I guess because they know of who I am and what is wrong with me."
"There does not seem to be anything wrong with you."
"Well, there is. Even my own father is not so proud of me."
"Well, that is unsettling. Who is your father?"
"You would not believe me if I told you, Loki."
That was also unsettling. He never recalled telling this boy his name. "How do you know that?" The small smile appeared on the boy's face again after he took in another sip of the mug. "I was at your naming. When they made you a god. You are the baby they found in Jotunheim. The son of the Aesir and Jotun. Yes, I know you. We are, I guess, related."
"How?"
"Odin is your father. He is my father as well."
Now Loki was just confused. "I am afraid I do not understand. Odin has three sons not including me. Thor, Balder and the Bastard Son Vali. Then he took me in after my mother...my mother left me to die." The boy's smile fell again and his face sank more to the floor as he remembered why it was no one, not even his own brother, knew who he was. "You do not know all of it, then, Loki. I am Odin's forth son by birth. My mother is Frigga, my father is Odin. He keeps me hidden in the palace. More ashamed of me than even his bastard son. My mother denies my birth." And Loki thought his back story was bad, this kid had it worse...as of the moment. In the future, things were going to go in a downward spiral.
"Why would they lock you away?" Loki asked and the boy was lost for a moment in the sound of the crackling fire in the hearth. "Because I was born imperfect, Loki. No god has ever been born imperfect before. Bastards are born everyday, but imperfection? It has never been heard of and to the All-Father and Mother of Asgard? Could you imagine the outcries? The disgust that comes from Asgard and her people should they find out that their king and queen gave birth to some creature? Rebellion. Questions. Hate for the royal family. Asgard would declare war upon herself and that is what ruling and being seen as a protector is all about. Protecting your people from war against others and themselves." A different view on ruling a realm, but Loki very much enjoyed the sound of it. What a lovely philosophy.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you considered imperfect?" The boy lifted up his head and Loki could see why. His eyes. They held no color. No sign of sight. He was imperfect. He was impacted by an illness known only amongst the mortals. "You are blind," Loki stated once he saw those eyes. "Indeed I am, Loki. I cannot see. That is why Thor and Balder and the others torture me so. I went out into the garden to play with the snow and felt one block of it hit me in the back. Another in my side. Another...my face. They knew I would not be able to see where it was they were coming from. It is not the first time it happened." Loki grew saddened by this news and could see the un fallen tears behind the blind eyes. "I can assure you, brother, that it will be the last. You have my word," Loki vowed, bringing about a slight grin from his brother. "Thank you, Loki." This was quite interesting for a young one and being the God of Mischief, Loki could simply not deny the temptation to ask. "If you are blind, how do you know I am Loki?"
"Your voice," the blind god replied. "I would know that voice anywhere. I told you, I attended your naming. God of Mischief, Magic, Fire and Lies. Great titles, I must say. I knew you were going to be something special." Loki smiled and even blushed a bit. "Aw, thank you so much," Loki jested and even gained a chuckle from the blind boy. "Of course," replied the boy who took another sip of the liquid in his cup before turning back to the fire. "Hod," the blind one said boldly. "I am sorry," Loki said. "Hod. My name is Hod." Loki smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you, brother Hod." The two brothers than began to gaze into the fire, immensely and blindly.
"What does it look like?" he asked Loki, and the fire god grew confused for just a moment. "I am sorry, what?" he asked and so the blind one asked again. "What does it look like? Fire?" Loki had never been asked to explain something such as that before. How to explain it so it sounds somewhat imaginable and for someone to picture it in their brain accurately?
"Well, it is beautiful. I mean, you need to think of your favorite poem or your favorite song...listen to it careful and extract the words into letters. Think of your favorite feeling. How you enjoy it and why. Why it is you crave it and adore feeling it. Think of your favorite texture. Soft or hard. Furry or leather. Warm or cool. What that sensation makes you feel. Then you need to think of your favorite smell. Food, drink, flowers, whatever it may be. Imagine smelling it in your nose, making your nostrils sizzle. Combined all of those things, bring them together, have it burst together all at once. That is how beautiful fire is," Loki explained, and the blind brother pictured an image of fire in his mind and it was the most accurate depiction there ever was.
"I am sorry," she sobbed once the prison guard left and the two were locked in the dungeons. Loki looked to Sigyn once she said those words and shook his head. "You must stop apologizing, my beloved. There is nothing wrong with anything you did," he replied. But the tears began to stream down Sigyn's face all the same as she thought about the damage she had just created. "No, Loki, this is all my fault. I thought I had it. The key. The way out when I held that scroll, but I failed to understand that I was only half way there. I was so sure that we could be together and I just ruined any chance we had at it." She buried her face in her hands, shameful and distraught. She had caused this. She gave Heimdall a way to destroy their happiness and just pluck away at it like feathers on a bird or petals on a flower. Letting it fall softly and calmly through the air, leaving the object bare.
Loki found it unsettling to just sit back and let his darling cry, so he braced her at the shoulders, pushing her back up straight and attempting to ease the tension. "Beloved, stop crying. There is nothing to be upset about it. We are but halfway there. If this trial goes well, if we can have the court understand just how in love we are with each they may dismiss all of the charges against us," he tried to reassure, but Sigyn would not fall into his game.
"No, Loki. They won't," she spoke as she looked up into his eyes. "They will not do such a thing because you are you and Heimdall is Heimdall. That is one thing no amount of love and passion is ever going to change. They are not attending a case. They already know who they shall side with." That much was true and he could not deny it was so. He sighed, looking to his feet, daring not to gaze into her eyes as he thought about every possible option they had in getting out of this. In getting out of all of this. It seemed impossible, that this barrier was forever going to be standing in their way. But why was it so to begin with? Why did so many care if they were together? Why did it mind? Just because he was a norge? Just because he was who he was? What was wrong with who he was? There were too many questions, no where near enough answers.
He sighed as he lost his strength, realizing now that this could just as well be it for them. For their chance at being together. So he slid down to his knees, sinking into the scattered hey covered cobble stone, burying his face into her skirts as he began to fully process everything in his mind. Maybe they won't be condemned to death, but possibly a fate much worse than that. To spend an eternity, no longer with each other. No longer beside each other. Forever forced to look and glance at others, never the one that they loved.
"Fate needs to die," he muttered as Sigyn began to run a gentle hand through his fire colored hair, bitting her bottom lip, only wanting to treasure the last few moments she had with him. "I know," she muttered. "I know." And when it seemed that the silence had engulfed them for a numerous amount of hours, it was disturbed by the sound of a swinging door, dangling keys, and a large voice that came from the prison guard. "My Lord and Lady, you have a visitor," he spoke as the dungeon door swung up, Loki's face shifting to the door and Sigyn looking to the visitor in surprise.
He shuffled his way inside, his servant boy no longer at his aid as he stood on his own and nodded to the guard who shut the door and let the three converse in peace. "Hello brother. Never saw yourself getting into this predicament, now did you?" the visitor asked blindly and Loki scrambled to his feet, his spirits lifting just slightly as he wandered over to the one unable to see his joy. "Hod," he smiled as he embraced his brother and Hod returned the gesture. "It is so good to see you," Loki spoke true and Hod chuckled. "I wish I could say the same," Hod replied, causing even Loki to snicker. He pulled away and examined his older brother by just a few months, even looking into the hazel eyes as he knew very well that Hod could not see anything. Oh well.
"Is Sigyn in here?" he asked and the golden goddess nodded with glee at the very mention of her name. "Aye, Lord Hod, I am here." He smiled and walked towards her voice not needing any guidance when doing so, and he found his way straight to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, not missing it by the slightest. She quivered at his touch, for just a moment she felt that blind god has regained the sense of sight. "My, my, you are as stunning as they say," he commented and she grew just a bit confused. "I apologize, my Lord, but how could you be so sure?" She did not wish to sound vague or cruel, taunting him about his lost vision, but Hod did no feel discouraged at all. He rather smiled wider and began to stroke Sigyn's luxurious brown locks with an elegant hand. "No need to call me 'Lord' Sigyn for we are equals. Loki has a very fine way of describing things to me, more particularly people. I can get the clearest depiction in my mind and be spot on. Your beauty has been told to me through Loki's lips and I shall never forget the image I conjured up in my mind because of it." She blushed at the explanation, and looked to her beloved to only confirm it was true. It was, and he made sure she knew that by dipping his head and appearing to be embarrassed.
Hod removed his hand from Sigyn's hair, and she only gripped his in her own. She felt every fragment of skin that covered the flesh and blood underneath, felt the delicate texture that was his fingers and traced over every obstruction, every ring that he balanced on each one. "You speak so kindly about me, dear Hod. You must have heard of the charges that they hold against me. Why is it you do not side with everyone else?" she questioned and he grinned once more. "I can recall several moments when Loki showed more affection to me than any person in Asgard ever has. I cannot, however, remember at any point, anyone besides Loki helping me in my time of need. I shall help you for I owe my little brother that much." He faced his younger brother, but still locked hands with the beautiful Sigyn, the same woman he had hoped to make his sister in a near future. Fourteen, now she was. Just a few more months and she would be ready to marry, however, Odin seems to enjoy ignoring that law on several occasions.
"How can you help, Hod?" Loki asked. "I do not want you releasing us if that is what you were plotting. You will only get caught. Only you will face punishment. It is far too dangerous. Sigyn and I dug our own grave. We should be the ones to fill it." Sigyn did not speak up against those words, for deep in heart she felt the same way. They deserved what was coming to them, maybe not completely, but no one was going to take the fall for it. No one at all. "No, no," Hod brushed the idea off. "I had a far more silent plan in mind. A sneak attack, if you will. First things first, I can tell you who the jury is made up of."
He sat quietly in his room, working on a new spell his brother had taught him. Making things from liquids to solids. A basin of water rested before him on his bed, he sitting cross legged and wondering if it were at all possible to even make such a thing happen. He tried to remember what Loki said. Something about feeling the power in your fingertips and then letting it enchant the very object before you. Magic was never about thinking, it was all about feeling. Having the different emotions within you for just a single shinning moment, having all the Nine worlds believe in anything and everything you could possibly tell them. Even making them believe that a man can fly.
Flying people? Hod chuckled at the idea, but Loki's words used such conviction and such enthusiasm that Hod couldn't help, but to not ignore them. So he imagined a mortal man, flying about the endless skies that he had been told were blue, whatever that color look liked, and filled with great, white, puffy objects they called clouds, and at night little specks of light they referred to as stars. He wished he could see such things. He had no idea if it would be surprisingly beautiful or somewhat disturbing to see. All in all, he focused hard on his task at hand and twiddled his fingers over the basin, imagining this flying man and feeling the great intensity that would and could come from such a high voltage act. That is what sight would be for him, like flying for a man who was wingless. To see everything as everyone sees it. To be able to have his own vision and his natural right restored. So many wished to fly, he only wished to see.
And he placed his fingers into the basin and found no substance lingering on within it. No sense of liquid, only a solid foundation that he discovered was not part of the basin at all, but rather a small rock he had created. Not only did he make a liquid as simple as water into an element so complex as a rock, but he bypassed the transformation of water to ice. He was overly proud of himself, but dared not show it. Not even in his own chambers, in his own private domain. He was proud, but there was so much to be disappointed about. He managed to do such a spell due to his plea in wanting to have the magic of sight. Was the magic of everything else worth being blind? He sighed as that idea came to mind, placing the rock back in the basin and lying in the pillows and sheets that were his bed. Being imperfect sucked.
"Hod!" Loki exclaimed as he bursted through his brother's doors, unannounced and over the top excited about the news he had to share. Hod jumped in his bed, sitting up straight and trying to find Loki, but unable to with only the blackness he found in his line of vision. "You are never going to believe this! Never will you believe this!" Loki cried, and Hod could sense his brother was pacing. "I might be able to if you just tell me," he insisted, so Loki attempted at calming himself down as he inched towards the bed, gripping the frame and using it as support. "Father let me venture out today. He sent me off to deal with trade documents and things such as that," Loki began and his brother was less than interested, but Loki had been tolerant of his sobs whenever he grew depressed from the fact he was imperfect, and thus kept a secret from his own kingdom. Nevertheless, he truly listened to his brother's words, hoping the story would soon grow entertaining. Loki's stories often do.
"Oh, really, brother? Where to?" he questioned and he could sense Loki was barely able to hold in his excitement. "The Vanir village by Asgard's edge!" he cried and Hod's idea of how distasteful Loki's tale would be shifted as it always does. Now he was entrapped in his brother's words. "Really?" Loki nodded wildly, but remembered that would not give his brother the answer he desired. "Yes," he said to fill the emptiness. "He did! And I met with the Vanir Sea King, Njord, but not only that. I met with someone else as well." Hod sat up taller and Loki hoped over the frame of the bed, landing on the mattress, causing the basin to jump and the rock to smack it. Loki looked to it briefly, but before he could question the peculiar sight, Hod spoke up first. "Who did you meet?" he wondered, and spoke lower knowing very well that Loki was just mere inches away from him. "I met the princess, Hod. I met the most beautiful creature in all the realms. You should have seen her, should have..." he caught himself before he could go on to say anymore. He bit his tongue and swallowed his own stupidity. "She has the most soothing voice," he went on to say, and Hod chucked slightly at his brother's twisted words and false sense of the appropriate things to say.
"Loki, it is alright. I understand what you are trying to say. She is beautiful and the fairest sight you have ever seen, but there is more to her than that. Being blind, you get to notice these kinds of things," Hod explained and Loki took in those words. "I just do not know how to describe her," Loki muttered. "She is simply...indescribable." Never has Hod heard his brother speak in such a manner that one could say had magic filling his throat and thoughts, making his tongue dance to a different tune to cause such odd things to flow out from his lips. The moment was silent as both brothers held the same thought. This girl has vexed him so greatly that he was going insane.
The silence was soon interrupted by Loki picking up the small rock he saw in the basin and passing it in between his palms, studying it closely as he did so. "Um, Hod," he finally acknowledged. "You know you have a rock in your basin, right?" The blind one chuckled at that, even leaning back a bit and using the grip he had on his calfs to not fall into his pillows. "You go from a fair maiden to a rock in a matter of seconds, Loki?" Hod questioned and the God of Mischief shrugged. "There seemed nothing else to talk about and I am not a person of silence," he confessed. "Indeed not," Hod finished his laughter. "Yes, Loki. I know there is a rock in my basin. I put it there using magic. It was filled with water, but I managed to perform that spell you taught me. You know, making liquid objects solid?" Loki looked to him with shock and surprise. That quickly? He had only taught it to him yesterday. Hod was more powerful than he initially realized. Loki bowed his head in approval to a magician who may just be just as powerful as he.
"Congratulations, Hod. How would you like to learn another?" Loki tempted.
The golden room was filled to the absolute capacity and not a single pew was left open. Only more space for people to fill, lining the walls in the back as they stood, awaiting for the trial to begin. The line of jurors entered, taking their seats in the box, complete with the following Lords and Princes and more; Vor, the Goddess of Wisdom reclaimed her seat as did Kvasir, Gray, Grip, Grim, Balder, Thor, Tyr, and now Frigga with Hod following close behind, his servant at his side.
The courtroom had erupted into chatter as they awaited for the trial, awaiting to see what would become of the prince and princess. Njord remained in silence, holding his hands tightly in his lap, fighting back the tears that pricked in his eyes. He could not help, but to blame himself for this horrid turn of events. He had caused this, he believed. He could not save his daughter from her horrible arrangement to marry a man she held no compassion for, no love or tenderness. He was shameful of himself and felt that if anyone deserved to be found guilty of anything, it should be him for it was he who was unable to protect his dear granddaughter. Unable to help her through this tornado of destruction and chaos. He basically threw her to the wolves in his opinion, and he has silently wept over the very thought of it every night. How obscene for him not to do more, but his power was limited under that of the All-Father's, but that was no reason for him to have not succeeded in making sure his youngest granddaughter's happiness was secure. He had failed. He knew he did. It seemed he would always fail.
And as he sat there feeling sorry for himself, for Sigyn, and even for Loki, the chatter died down into the silence as the All-Father made his presence known. All stood from their seats and Njord only followed in those actions, lifting himself off of his pew, but keeping his head bowed, not looking to the All-Father, sickened by the mere thought or mention of Odin's name. The All-Father made his way to his throne, his rusted silver spear in hand and he turned to face the crowd of people, standing up tall and admiring the power he held over the packed civilians, scrunched together in this tiny space, convicted of curiosity and disgust, but mostly labels. The Dark Prince of Asgard finally ready to be put on the sword. How sweet it would be to witness such a thing.
"I Odin, All-Father and King of the Realm Asgard," he began in a clear and firm voice, asserting his authority, "Protector of the Nine and Securer of Life do open this trial of the Lord Loki, Third Prince of the Realm Asgard and the Realm Jotunheim, God of Mischief, Magic, Fire and Lies, and the Lady Sigyn, Second Princess of the Realm Vanaheim, Goddess of Fidelity, Compassion, Bonds and Love, with the charges of adultery and associating with someone convicted of adultery. Please bring out the accused." He banged his spear on the solid foundation, making all ease down to their seats as the first prisoner was brought out in chains.
Njord grew sick at the sight. His girl, his little girl, his dear granddaughter, Sigyn was being lead down the golden path in chains, surrounded by guards. Two before her, leading her and two more followed behind her. She held her head down as she moved closer and close to the All-Father, ignoring the jeers of the people in their seats, their taunting whispers and deadly gazes. She focused on the floor and the tears that wished to cloud her vision, but she would do no such thing. She would not allow such a thing. The metal around her wrists was binding, and the shackles on her ankles made it that much more difficult to walk, but she did so without much ease, just concentrating hard on the movements she was forced to make. Left. Right. Left. Right. Don't look up. Only look down. Down was safe.
When she made it the front of the courtroom, the next prisoner was brought out, surrounded by six guards, and the crowd exploded into a sense of distaste and hatred for the walking soul. Loki was not only bound at the ankles and wrists, but his chains exceed for beyond that. They hugged his hips tightly he felt his skin would soon bleed, his neck was feeling the cool sting of shackles as they were collard tightly around it, and his mouth...forever shut by a large metal plate, not allowing him to speak so much as a single word in his defense. So this was right? So this was just?
He stood before his brother and father, looking up to him in disgust and betrayal. Never should he trust this man. Never should he have done so from the very beginning. He had only brought him pain and broken promises. Only torment and anguish. Loki was done with such things, and he vowed that he would get his revenge.
The crowd was still ragging on about how the two were already guilty, ignoring the fact that Sigyn was who she was, never harming a soul and only showing tenderness to the those that she stood before, ready to be judged. It did not matter. She knew it no longer mattered. The only person in that room that shed tears for her was her grandfather, who let them silently fall from his eyes.
"Silence. Silence!" the All-Father shouted and the courtroom grew hushed as Odin settled down into his throne and looked between the two of them in disgust. "Sigyn," he began as he looked to her, but she did not shift her gaze from where it rested on the floor. "I proclaimed you a goddess because I felt you were worthy enough for the task. I believed you to be worthy of it. To be strong enough to handle it. To hold your tittle dear and close to you and never betray yourself, and what do you do when I bestow you with such powers? You not only betray yourself, but you betray me as well. I had promised you a perfect match to the perfect man and you sneak behind his back and you choose to show your affections to the King of Lies. You are full of deception, Sigyn and I only blame myself for not seeing the venom within much sooner." She swallowed hard.
"And you, Loki. My brother and my son. The one I rescued from the frozen wastes of Jotunheim when your own mother abandoned you. I claimed you as my own and made you a prince of a realm you should be proud to call your home. A realm that is worthy of holding a name as the Realm Eternal. You were given the promise of a true family and true leadership. You were given everything one could ever possibly ask for and you were so ungrateful. You spat on everything and everyone that you came into contact with, including me. You are a vile, vengeful, cruel boy who will never be able to shake your nature as a creature who is forever bound to hate Asgard and all her glory for as long as she should stand. The very fact that we are here today with these charges is an embarrassment to me and so I wish to make this trial as short as possible. Besides myself and my golden realm that I have worked tirelessly on protecting, there is another that you both stomped into the dirt with your deception. Heimdall! Step forward!"
And the crowd turned to the Gatekeeper as he approached the All-Father, dressed in gold and armor. Noble and true, he appeared to be. That was because no one knew the truth. No one would ever know the truth so long as nothing was said. He stood before the All-Father, placing a fist on his heart and kneeling before his king. "I am here, All-Father," he spoke boldly. "What is your will?"
"Do you swear to answer any and all questions honestly, and if you should fail to do so, shall forever rot in the hell that is Niflheim?" Odin questioned and the Gatekeeper went on with his stunning performance that no one could see past. No one save for Loki. "Aye, All-Father. I swear."
"Are you in this courtroom today by your own freewill?" Odin questioned and Heimdall claimed his answer.
"Aye, All-Father. I am," he replied.
"And do you know that at any moment you deem it appropriate, you shall leave this courtroom and should not be forced to return unless tis your own trial that you are attending?"
"Aye, All-Father. I am aware."
"Fantastic, then let us begin. Do you know this woman?" Odin pointed in Sigyn's direction as Heimdall regained his tall stance and looked to Sigyn. He smiled and bobbed his head. "Aye, I do. That is Sigyn, Princess of the Vanir."
"And how do you know this woman?"
"She was my bride to be. We were engaged by your command, All-Father."
"And you claim she has committed adultery on you, is that correct?"
"Aye, tis."
"How do you know this?"
"You know of my abilities, All-Father. How I am able to see beyond what lies before me. I sensed something was wrong with my Sigyn, she experiencing things she never felt before. Sure enough, she was. When I turned my gaze to that of the Lady Sigyn's I saw her with another man." He turned to Loki and pointed in his direction. "That man, All-Father. The Lord Loki."
Hod spoke up at that. "Tis well known that the Lord Loki and Lady Sigyn have been dear friends for many years, good Heimdall."
The Gatekeeper bowed his head. "Aye, Lord Hod, tis well known, however when I shifted my gaze to Sigyn, I saw her with Loki in a different state."
"And how did you see them?" Grim questioned and Heimdall took secret pride in his response. "She was naked, laying on top of him. He was naked as well. He was...within her."
Everyone in the courtroom grew sickened by the words the Gatekeeper had to say. Bringing hands to their foreheads as if they caught a sudden fever, falling ill to the disgusting words that came pouring out from Heimdall's mouth, only imagining the pain that he could have experienced when he had witnessed that with his own eyes. Little did they know that he felt no pain at all, rather just announce and anger. Sigyn shut her eyes as she felt the same whispers being spoken about her as they were to Jocelyn. Calling her a slut, harlot, every insult imaginable was being flung her way and she could hardly stomach it.
"Lady Sigyn," Odin spoke over the roar of the crowd, but her golden eyes stayed locked on the envious floor, tears streaming from them and landing gracefully onto the foundation below. "Do you deny any of these statements made against you?" Should she lie? She couldn't. Not with all these eyes and ears. That would only do more damage. That would only do more harm. At this point, she would much rather just have the axe.
"No," she muttered and Loki fought his restrains.
"You admit that you were betrothed to Heimdall, the Gatekeeper?" Odin asked and she nodded.
"Aye, All-Father. I was. I am."
"You admit to have seen the Lord Loki romantically and have engaged in the acts of kissing and sharing sheets?"
She shook her head. "No, that is false. Yes, we saw each other romantically and yes we did kiss on many occasions. But never did myself and the Lord Loki share sheets." She peeked her sights over to Loki who looked to her intensely. She saw the fire burning behind his eyes, being held back from his lips due to that muzzle, metal plate. She despised that thing and just wished to rip it off of him, kiss him, and bring even false hope to him because it was better than none at all. She couldn't, though. She knew she couldn't. Now was not the time to hide behind passion and secrets. Now was the time to let the truth fly free.
"We only made love," she finished and the crowd was in total, utter and complete silence. Odin rolled his eyes.
"Are you aware that you were still engaged to Heimdall when you were performing these acts with the Lord Loki?" Odin questioned and Sigyn went back to studying the floor.
"Aye, I was," she spoke truthfully.
"Heimdall, as the victim, do you wish to enact Loki's Mercy Law?"
"Aye, All-Father, I do," the Gatekeeper replied.
"And what punishment do you wish to bestow upon the Lady Sigyn and the Lord Loki?"
"The Lady Sigyn, I shall forgive her of her crimes, and continue or marriage as it should be. As for the Lord Loki, I believe he used his Jotun voodoo magic upon my beloved, making her believe she has feelings that she does not possess. So I wish to enact the capitol punishment for the Lord Loki. I wish for him to be executed," Heimdall explained.
Odin smirked to himself as he bowed his head in agreement. "Tis just," he stated and the crowd gasped as Njord caved, Fandrid began to fight his way past the guards, Jocelyn cried in the pews, Vali was held back from the people, and Jorge comforted his beloved.
The guards grabbed a hold of Loki's chains and his person, pulling on him, tugging him away as Sigyn called out to him, begging for his life to be spared or shared in death. "No, All-Father, please! Slay me as well. I am just as worthy of the axe as he! We committed the crime together! If he dies, I die! Kill me, too!" Guards surrounded her, holding her back and keeping her at bay as she continued to fight them.
Loki struggled still as Hod whispered words into his servant's ear and the others discussed if such a thing should be so. Loki kicked his legs as he was being pulled away, Sigyn screaming at the top of her lungs and even the others seated in the pews started rebelling against the words of Heimdall and the All-Father. "Release him!" some shouted. "Let him go!" and "Spare him!" Yet they continued to haul him away as Loki pulled at the muzzle on his mouth, fought the guards, elbowing them as he went and was being dragged out of the courtroom.
"Let him go!" the crowd agreed and Jocelyn grew louder in her pleas for him to be released. Jorge bursting out in anger and despair. Fandrid cursed the people in his way as did Vali, and the chaos only grew louder and louder as Heimdall walked up to Sigyn and went to take her away. But it soon grew silent at the sound of clatter. The sound of metal hitting gold. Thud.
The eyes shifted from whatever they were looking at to the muzzle resting on the floor and Loki's mouth free to move. "All-Father, I, Prince Loki of Asgard, do hereby arrest Heimdall, the Gatekeeper of Asgard, on the charge of abuse to a woman, sexual assault, attempted murder and murder." Another gasp came and the guards stopped dragging him, he stood up tall and broke the shackles around his wrists with just a pull on his arms.
"And by which woman do you refer to?" Odin asked. As Loki walked back towards the king, the chains around his ankles shattered and he removed the collar from around his neck and torso. He had enough with the chains and disrespect. Now he would claim power.
"The very woman you accuse of adultery and wonder why," he spoke with a sarcastic grin. "The very same woman I comforted when she needed it and saved when he attempted to kill her and had succeed. Who revived her whilst she still had a chance of being saved and has taken care of all my life." The crowd clawed the edge of their seats as they leaned forward and listened closely.
"The Lady Sigyn, of course," Loki smiled.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! For a limited time only, until 11 pm EST on New Year's Eve, I will be having a Q&A on any questions you may have for this story, Once Upon a Time in Somnium, and/or Mischief. You can ask me any question you like and does not have to be relevant to any of the stories in particular. I will also be willing to give away a few spoilers and let you in on a few secrets. Any suggestions or requests and other news of upcoming stories or chapters will also be accepted. Basically, any questions you may have I will gladly answer. I look forward to your questions and you may submit them by review or PM messages. You do not have to be a registered follower or have favorited the story for your question to be accepted. This is open to everyone. You are more than welcomed to submit more than one question together or separately. I look forward to getting your questions and I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year! Thank you for all the support and I love you all very much. Oh, and guys, only two more chapters left for part one =) Happy Anniversary Trickster! Get ready for Part 2!