There never seemed to be enough to do to fill the days on Asgard. Sigyn couldn't believe that she actually found herself longing for Midgardian distractions, like television, music and the internet. Especially the music from the last century; she had enjoyed the music from the 1980s the most because she felt it was more fun to dance to. There were only so much reading of books or taking walks to pass the time, so Sigyn figured she would take up sewing in her downtime until her wound healed.

She had gone and met with the royal seamstress who showed her the basics and then let Sigyn raid her supply of fabrics and buttons; pretty much any material the seamstress could spare. Content with her selection, Sigyn retreated to her chambers and spent the next few days working on her first hand sewn done with her own two hands.

An electric sewing machine probably would've been easier for this task. She had always meant to buy one when she was living in Pasadena in the '50s and '60s. There were plenty of instances when her adoptive daughter Mary had needed a specific costume for some such school play, but Sigyn had just gone out and bought one.

Once a week had passed since her shoulder injury, Sigyn had returned to Eir to have her stitches removed, and once they were gone, she was able to see the wound was virtually gone as well, though the scar was still prominent and slightly pinkish in color. At least it wasn't open and infected from the eguam oil anymore. That salve Eir had given her had worked wonders and, as an added benefit, it smelled amazing; like vanilla and honeysuckle.

On her way back to her chambers, she was stopped by Tyr, who informed her that the All-father required her presence in the Throne Room, so she obediently followed behind.

Seated as authoritatively and regally as ever, Odin held Gungnir in his right hand and watched with his lone eye as Sigyn approached. Both bowed toward the king, but Tyr then left, leaving uncle and niece alone.

"You wanted to see me, All-father?" she questioned, clasping her hands together in front of her lower abdomen.

"How has your injury healed?"

"Very well."

"I am glad." He twisted Gungnir in his grip slightly while he paused in thought. "You have waited patiently to see Loki and I have not spoken of visitations with you, although I am aware Frigga has shared my decision to reconsider with you."

Sigyn nodded, her heartbeat picking up pace. "She has. I will admit I have been curious, mostly, to the extent of what this visitation would entail."

"It will be just one visit for now," Odin informed. "Depending on how well the two of you behave and there are no escape attempts on either of your parts, I may choose to allow further visits in the future." He smirked faintly. "Consider this a trial run."

Sigyn nodded again. It was better than no visit at all, she supposed. "When will I be able to see him, and in what, uh…manner?" she wondered, modestly.

Odin's smirk was more noticeable now. "When is up to you. You can see him today, if you'd like, or in a month or two from now. As for the manner of how you will be able to visit, it will be in person, and I will allow a certain amount of privacy for matrimonial obligations," he artfully answered.

Despite her wish not to, Sigyn felt her face blush somewhat, so she cast her eyes down, nodding understandingly to him. "How long will I have to see him?"

"Three hours."

Sigyn's chest tightened. In her mind, she was somehow hoping she would have the day or most of it with Loki. Though, she supposed the worst case scenario would be only one hour.

"Do you agree to these terms?"

"I do," Sigyn replied, looking up at Odin.

"Then when would you like to see the war criminal, Loki Laufeyson?"

Narrowing her eyes, Sigyn wondered if the words he chose to speak just then were a test to see how she would react; referring to Loki as a war criminal and bestowing him the surname which acknowledged his true parentage. Holding her head high and smiling politely, Sigyn shrugged aloofly.

"I think tomorrow would be nice."

"Very well," Odin spoke. "Tomorrow it is. Be prepared to leave to go down to the dungeon to see him at any moment. I will make the arrangements to assure your visit with him will not involve an audience."

At this point, Sigyn was just so excited to finally be seeing Loki that she didn't care if all of Asgard watched.

"I dare say I won't sleep one minute tonight out of anticipation." Sigyn took knee, then; bowing her head and crossing her fist over her heart. "I cannot thank you enough, All-father, for this opportunity."

When she brought her gaze back up, she saw Odin waving his hand for her to stand.

"Just do not make me regret this decision," he warned. "If you or he takes advantage of this in any way, there will never be another visit, ever again, and punishment befitting the offence will be handed out."

"I understand, my king."

After a few moments of silence between them, Odin gestured at her with a flick of his hand. "You may take your leave of me now."

Sigyn took a step to the left to move, but then hesitating, turning back to look at the All-father. "Will I see you for dinner, uncle?" She asked demurely.

Odin seemed a bit caught off-guard by how she referred to him. It took him a second to register what she'd said while looking upon her, trying to see if there was anything in between the lines to read. "Yes," he nodded. "You will."

"Very good." She smiled a small smile and finally exited the Throne Room.

Sigyn made a beeline for her chambers once more with the solitary goal of finishing the dress she had been working on. It wouldn't be much, but the simplicity of it would still do just fine as a dress to see Loki in for she knew, it wasn't what she was wearing that he would be interested in. And, since she was going to be seeing him at any point the following day, depending on when Odin felt like deciding, she had to do what she could to complete any last details she wanted before the night was out.

Loki was trying meditation again.

Sitting crossed-legged on the floor of his cell, he kept his eyelids closed gently. Forcing them closed tightly felt as if it was defeating the purpose of meditation. He had not had a good week following Thor's visit and revelation into Sigyn's quandaries. It had made him angry and worried; all-around not calm. He had trashed his cell for the umpteenth time since his imprisonment. Most of the time, the broken pieces lay in disarray all over the place with no replacements brought in to him. Not that he every really cared. He had destroyed the things on purpose and knew what he was doing and half expected to be forced to live with everything the way it was. However, on those brief occasions following a tantrum, guards arrived with new pieces of furniture, gifted from his mother; not wanting him to live any worse off than he already was in the cell.

At the sound of footsteps, he casually lifted his eyelids, figuring whoever it was to be a guard delivering his food. By the faint growl in his stomach, it felt close to that time.

He wasn't completely incorrect; it was a guard. However, there was no tray of food in his hands.

Loki rested his hands on his upper thighs and peered at the guard and inclined his head, "Yes?"

Before he could receive a response, three other guards came forward up the corridor. The first one approached, cuffs in hand, as a second guard deactivated Loki's cell's energy barrier.

"Am I being released on good behavior?"

The guard eyed him with a stern gaze. "You're being moved temporarily."

"Where to?"

Loki remained seated as the guard stepped up into the cell and clamped the cuffs around Loki's wrists. The second and a third guard came upon behind the first and moved around to pull Loki up to his feet while the fourth guard remained down below in the corridor.

The guard wouldn't respond any further to Loki; probably on orders of Odin, not to converse with the prisoner.

Loki was roughly pulled forward, out of his cell and down into the corridor, while looking around curiously. He had to admit, despite his recent findings and his mood, it was nice to move around and be anywhere that wasn't his cell, even if he had no idea where it was he was headed.

Slowly, he was led down the corridor, looking from side to side at the other cells occupied by multiple prisoners, while two guards stood on either side of him and one guard each walked in front and in back of him. The large doors at the end of the corridor were opened up and he was led through and then up the steep stairs to the main corridor of the dungeon.

"Seriously, no one is going to tell me where I am headed? Anger management? Arts and crafts, maybe?" he jested.

Once they all reached the main corridor, they turned down the second corridor on the right and doors were opened up to them. Beyond the large, iron doors was yet another corridor, however this one reminded him of the detention center where Loki and Sigyn had been kept in separate cells while awaiting return to Asgard. Within the corridor, there was what looked to be a small handful of privately enclosed cells only on one side of the corridor. The other side was just a blank, stone wall.

"Is this to be my new lodgings; solitary confinement?" Loki inquired. "No, wait, you did say temporary. Perhaps then my current cell is being given a makeover. I would not be adverse to something other than blinding white walls and flooring."

At the second enclosed cell, the guards stopped and Loki with them. The guard in front of him unlocked the door and stepped inside. From Loki's point of view, he could tell that the guard was looking at something, especially when he gave a nod of respect with his head before turning to look back at Loki. With a beckon of his finger he had the others bring Loki forward.

Loki's curiosity was at an all-time high as he was brought into the cell and, once inside, that curiosity was sated.

Seated anxiously on a bed along the left wall, was Sigyn.

His first thought was of relief and happiness which washed over him like a warm bath. She looked so beautiful and was definitely a sight for sore eyes as she was sat there in a simple blood orange dress that was definitely not of the grandeur she was worthy of and he hair pinned back somewhat to the side and combed straight instead of her usual waviness.

That initial awe and wonderment and overall sensation of love for her faded considerably when he remembered Thor's visit and what the burly blonde had told him. His face became as stern and stoic as the guards who surrounded him, and even a bit resentful as he stared at her with a tightened jaw and pursed lips. He stood still in the center of the cell as one of said guards removed the shackles from his wrists while Sigyn looked hopefully up at him.

"You have three hours," the first guard informed. "Make them count."

Loki turned, watching the guards exit the cell and lock him in with Sigyn. He could see her smiling somewhat out the corner of his eye as he took in the rest of the cell interior. Aside from the bed, which was not made for two people to comfortably share, there was a chair with a lid that was clearly a very cleverly concealed toilet and a wash basin beside it. It was even more minimal than his own cell and much smaller. A claustrophobe would have a terrible time here.

"I am so happy to see you," Sigyn spoke, standing up and approaching him. "I am beyond words."

Her desire to hide her well-being from him was still not lost on him, and it showed in how he responded to her. "Clearly," he answered, deadpan.

Sigyn withdrew somewhat to take in his expression and posture, and read through the lines of his coldness toward her. "Why do you speak to me in such a way? Are you not as glad to see me as I am you?" she questioned with a hopeful smile that was littered with concern. "Do you not love me as I do you?"

Loki blinked slowly and sighed heavily. "Of course I do."

"Then what is the issue? Have you been ill-treated?"

"I suppose, in a way, you might say that."

She narrowed her gaze and moved to stand before him. "How have you been ill-treated?"

"I would be lied to by the one person I love most. The one person I love most would deny me honest insight into her life, health and safety to protect my delicate sensibilities because I, apparently, am some sort of fragile piece of glass," he bit out, eyeing her at the end of his comment and holding her gaze.

She seemed to know, at once, he meant her, and that he knew about what had happened in her life since they last saw each other. She scanned the room, temporarily avoiding eye contact with him, as if she would find the explanation as to why he knew. "You know?" was all she inquired.

"I know it all."

"H-how do you know?" Sigyn looked back up at him, almost looking hurt by his knowledge.

"So you admit it?" He leaned in toward her, sneering with a sense of betrayal. "You would deny me the right to know you had been pregnant and lost the child, and that you have been seriously injured? Do you not think I had a right to know or that I am incapable of handling such knowledge?"

"I—"

"I am your husband, Sigyn Vesdóttir! I have every right to know!" Loki shouted, cutting her off. He clenched his right fist and iron stand on which the water basin sat wrenched and twisted, although the basin, itself, somehow remained upright. "Do you forget our vows so easily?"

"Of course not!" she insisted, nearly shouting as well.

"Really? Because I seem to remember the ceremony going something like: my blood is your blood, your blood is my blood. It is our blood now," he recalled. "We drank that wine and it was supposed to symbolize our life and strength, the sharing of our lives until the end of time. Basically, what happens to you happens to me and vice versa." He grabbed her shoulder. "If something happens to you, Sigyn, it happens to me. But, I can see clearly now. You are free from this dungeon and you are free to roam the nine realms with the Almighty Thor at your side and play the warrior with him and those lap dogs he calls friends. You are free of me, living the good life in Asgard. I bet you've even set your eyes on your next husband. Like mother, like daughter…"

Without verbal response, but not keen to take the insult so lightly, Sigyn grabbed Loki's hand of her shoulder and knocked him back into the wall with an energy blast from her hands.

"How dare you make such claims against me," she growled. "And how dare you insult me so." Sigyn stepped back, watching as he pulled himself back up to his feet. "After everything I have endured, after everything I have done because of you, for you, in your name, all because of my love for you, and this is how you condescend to me? You liken me to my mother!"

Another energy blast from her hands knocked him down again before he was completely upright. He was lithe like a cat, however, and back on his feet in no time. Tears stung both of their eyes as they stared at each other from opposite sides of the small room. Both their fists were clenching and unclenching; their breaths struggled to find a steady rhythm and their nostrils flared slightly for good measure.

"I am plenty aware of what you have endured. How could I forget when it is constantly brought to my attention as if I could have prevented the past I was not a part of. I told you more than once that had I known and been able to get to you, I would have without a second thought. Do not throw that in my face." He grabbed her left wrist and held on tightly despite the energy pulsing between their respective skins. "Anything you did for me or because of me you did of your own free will. I did not twist your arm or force you into submission," he hissed.

"I did it out of love," she clarified.

"I know."

"Then why would you condescend to me?"

"Because you were not going to tell me about your miscarriage!" he shouted in her face. "You were not going to tell me about your injury. You were going to lie to me and pretend everything is fine." Loki gestured wide and big. "Does it look as if everything is fine? I am locked away in this forsaken place, away from you, for the rest of my days. All I get is the rare update from my mother, telling me you are fine but, clearly, you are not fine and either she is unaware of what has really happened with you or she has been lying to my face as well. Why? Why am I being lied to?"

"Because everything is not fine," Sigyn repeated. "I would not have you worry or upset when you are already living this way. I would rather you be blissfully unaware of my minor personal tragedies so that you may live in this forsaken place without any further bitterness."

"That was not your decision to make."

"And yet I made it, and I would make it again, because it was the one kind thing I could do for you while separated from you; for you to live without worry when there is nothing you could do to change a thing anyway."

"And, again, that was not your decision to make!" He was wide-eyed and aggravated. "Any news of you would be good news, even the bad. Do not mortal vows specifically state 'for better and for worse'. Is that not what we agreed to as well? When you became my wife, and I your husband, I am fairly certain that was implied."

The two of them moved closely toward each other, their faces inches apart. He stared down his nose at her and she stared back.

"You want to hear all about the wrenching pain and the blood loss that caused me to suffer bouts of unconsciousness; how I lost a child I had no idea I was carrying because of injuries sustained from those damned Avengers?" she questioned, disparagingly. "You want to hear about the searing pain of a poisoned arrow, set on fire, lodging itself into my shoulder and weakening me on the spot, making me feel like an idiot for pushing Hogun out of the way. I could've stayed where I was and let him die, but I didn't. Maybe if I had, I would have nothing of importance to hide from you."

"Accept the miscarriage."

Sigyn opened her mouth to retaliate with a response, but stopped in finding that this argument would just go 'round and 'round unless they just kissed and made up. Sighing, she tilted her head slightly to the side and just looked him in the eye. He was looking down his nose at her again, clenching his teeth and trying to calm his nerves as he studied the curve of her lips and the dark look to her eyes. The energy pulsing between them started to change in dynamic; from anger to desire as they both seemed to let the argument roll off their backs like water.

Without realizing it, their faces were nearing closer to one another, as were their bodies. A heat was building between them and every inch of their skin seemed to be tingling. Loki's shoulders began to sway as he moved in like a large snaking slithering around and sizing up its next meal.

"You know what?" Sigyn spoke as their noses almost brushed.

"Hmm?"

"We have slightly less than three hours to try again for another child."

A smile began to appear in Loki's eyes as his fingers danced along her hips. "I'd say that is a decent amount of time to try, try and try again."

"Better to make love and not war," Sigyn snickered.

Loki grinned mischievously in response as he abruptly swept her up in his arms and tossed her gracefully onto the bed. He climbed down onto the bed as well; one leg kneeling between hers while the other was still planted on the floor. Bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders, he watched as she snaked her hands up to his chest.

"No," she muttered.

"No?" he repeated, confused.

She pushed him off her and sat up to force him to sit back on the bed so she could climb up onto his lap. Sigyn claimed his lips with hers. Loki grinned again, liking where she was going with things. They wrapped their arms around each other, as if they couldn't get close enough to one another.

"How attached to this dress are you?" he asked in between kisses.

"Well, I made it myself just for you."

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, my love, the dress does not suit you. It is simple and poorly made. No offense," he added with a smirk.

"None taken," she assured. "I know I am no seamstress."

"For a first try, though, it is very lovely. But you deserve only the finest. You deserve dresses becoming of a queen, not her handmaiden. Therefore, do not hate me for doing this," he commented, only seconds before reaching around behind her and ripping the dress off her back and pulling it down her shoulders. Thread frayed at the torn seams as the dress now pooled around her waist. "Oh, that is much better," he cooed.

"You brute," she glared playfully, returning the favor by grabbing the collar of his green tunic and ripping it open down the center of his chest.

They both took a moment to taken in each other's bare chests before basically attacking each other with their hands and mouths again. They shifted around, unable to get out of the rest of their clothes fast enough and, once they were, their bodies connect as easily as putting on a well-fitted pair of gloves.

The mood from their argument wasn't completely dissipated, so they let that residual anger flow through their movements together, which were rough and quick. Hair was pulled, nails scratched backs, lips were bit and limbs were grabbed tightly. Their voices rang out in a cacophony of grunts, shouts, sighs and cries until they reached their limit and collapsed back onto the bed, which looked as if it were about to collapse as well.

Either they were that rough or beds weren't made like they used to be made.

All of that lasted no more than five minutes, as they lay there, huddled together and staring up at the stone ceiling of the cell.

"Heimdall sees all, and if he was peeking to make sure we weren't up to anything untoward, then he certainly just got an eyeful," Sigyn remarked with a smirk, running her fingers gingerly up and down Loki's abdomen.

"I am fairly certain what transpired was completely untoward," Loki jested. One of his arms he had resting under his head while the other wrapped around Sigyn to keep her close.

"And we've only just started."

Sigyn's fingers danced downward until she had his manhood in hand and gripped it tight. She watched as his eyes closed while she ran her hand up and down his stiff length, building up speed. Without breaking the pace, Sigyn was able to sit up and lean forward to take him into her mouth. She dragged her tongue around the head before proceeding to bob up and down, creating the perfect suction around him that caused him to emit a guttural moan and curl his toes. His arms lifted so he could run his fingers through her hair, hold on tight and help guide her head to take him as far as she could go.

Once he came, Sigyn sat back up, listening to his moan taper out until he finally opened his eyes back up to look at her.

"Your tongue should be illegal," he sighed.

"Just my tongue?"

Loki chuckled and sat up. He gripped Sigyn's thighs with his hands and pulled her closer to him and then pushed her back on the bed. "Maybe mine, too," he retorted, lowering his face to the apex of her legs.

With fifteen minutes left of their three hour rendezvous, Loki and Sigyn lay huddled together again with the bed's solitary blanket draped over them. They had definitely made the most of their time together and worked out whatever kinks they had in that symbolic red string of fate that bound them.

"You don't know how many times I've tried to reach your mind, to talk to you. After finally joining your side on Earth and having you there with me, then not to even hear your voice echoing in mine has been pure torture," Loki commented. He turned his head and looked at her profile. "And I worry this is the only time I'll ever have with you again, or hear your voice again. I wish it could last forever."

"So do I," Sigyn concurred, curling closer into his side and resting her head on his chest.

"I never actually thought we'd get separated like this," he continued. "I supposed I really didn't think everything through."

"I'll see if there is something I can do out there," she gestured toward the cell door, referencing the outside world, "and if I can find a way to reach you from there when I cannot actually be here. There has to be an explanation as to why we cannot communicate as we have before. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe there is some sort of magical barrier between the dungeon and the outside world," Loki offered.

Sigyn shrugged. "I don't know. It has perplexed me since we were first placed down here, separate from each other."

They fell quiet for a few moments. There was no clock or anything physical to tell them what time it was, but they could both practically hear the minutes ticking by. Anxiety over their impending separation, which neither knew how long would be, was building within them. Their muscles tensed slightly, they clung to each other a little more and they were almost holding their breaths, as if making a noise would ruin the moments they had left.

Sigyn's eyes closed. She could hear Loki's hear beating in his chest and it soothed her. It was a sound she wanted to commit to memory, the rhythm, so that she could recall it at any moment when they were parted once again.

"Sigyn?"

"Hmm?"

"If this is the only time we get, until the day we die, to be together, I need you to know that I love you and I am sorry for my words and actions earlier. I was just worried," Loki remarked. "You are my priority, above everything else."

Sigyn smiled. "I am sorry I kept anything from you. I thought I was doing you a kindness."

"It's alright," he assured. "I like it better when you are just doing me," he added, teasing.

With a chuckle, Sigyn lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry for tossing you into the wall. Twice."

"I deserved it." Loki sat up slightly and rolled over enough so that he could pin her back onto the bed. He positioned himself between her legs while wrapping his arms around her. "I'd say we have about ten minutes left." He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "Should we have one more go?"

"One last hurrah?"

Loki snickered.

When their time was up and they were redressed, they sat side by side on the bed; Sigyn's hand on his lap, as he held it. They remained quiet, both looking toward the iron cell door as it eventually creaked opened, revealing the same four guards from earlier, and possibly more that went unseen at the moment.

Loki looked at Sigyn as the first guard entered in, and then a second with shackles in hand.

"It's time to go, I suppose."

Sadly, Sigyn nodded, standing with Loki as he faced the guard with the shackles and held his wrists out. The guard clamped them on and Loki just watched. Sigyn was watching his profile and could tell that, despite his attempts to make jest with the guards, he was sad and unhappy. The amusement that forced a jovial smile upon his lips never reached his eyes.

"Have you said your goodbyes?" the first guard asked. He seemed to show genuine interest and maybe even care a tiny fraction.

Loki turned to Sigyn. "We've said many goodbyes," he winked at her.

Sigyn playfully pushed him and gave him a knowing look. "Be good."

"I will certainly make an effort."

The guards began to pull Loki away but before they could make a move out the cell door, Sigyn pushed them out of the way and wrapped her arms around Loki's shoulders, hugging him tight and, at the same time, forgetting that the back of her dress was ripped all the way down toward the top off her ass and was giving the guards something interesting to look at.

Loki grabbed hold of the front of her dress since that was all he could manage with the shackles on his wrists. He claimed her lips and kissed her as deep as he could manage before the guards pulled them apart.

"Goodbye," Sigyn muttered.

Loki was pulled forward but looked over his shoulder back at her. "No," he shook his head. "Till we see each other again," he corrected.

Sigyn watched as he was removed from the cell and she was left almost alone. One of the guards hung back and lifted the blanket off the bed and then held it up to her. She turned and looked at him with a curious gaze.

"What's that for?"

"The back of your dress," he commented. "It's ripped all the way…"

Sigyn reached and arm behind her and winced, remembering how disheveled she must look. She graciously took the blanket from him and he assisted in draping it over her shoulders.

"Thank you," she spoke.

"You're welcome, milady."

She gave him a nod of her head and stepped out of the cell to the guard waiting to escort her out of the dungeon and back up to the palace. She hoisted the bottom of the blanket up so it didn't drag on the floor and looked more like a commoner's shawl, but still covered her exposed back. While walking alongside the guard, she wrapped her arms around herself, picturing them as Loki's arms, holding her close. It brought a smile to her face and she consigned herself to believing it would be enough to get her through the coming days, weeks, months and however long it would be until she could manage to see him again.

Sigyn had retired to her chambers for the rest of the evening, preferring to bathe in the afterglow of her tryst with Loki all by her lonesome. Plus, she didn't feel like seeing anyone else, likening it to some sort of walk of shame. Not that she had anything to be ashamed of, having spent time with her own husband as a wife was allowed. She lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, still smiling to herself as she turned onto her side and hugged a pillow to her chest and draped the cell blanket around her. She could still smell him on the blanket and would cherish it until the scent was gone, and probably even beyond then.

She very nearly fell asleep, being perfectly sated and content; however, a knock at her door disturbed her and stirred her to complete consciousness.

"Who is it?" Sigyn called out, flopping onto her back with her arms stretched wide.

"Your mother."

Sigyn bolted upright, staring at the backside of her door as he heart leapt into her throat. A million thoughts and feelings coursed through her mind and none of them positive.

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered to herself.