After a few days, everything that was not pertaining to Vara or Loki's decisions was arranged. So Frigga came to the palace with a team of her seamstresses. The guard let them in and announced them to Vara and Loki, who were sitting out by the fountains, their feet in the cool water and their faces in the sun, talking.
"Queen Frigga is here to see you." The guard announced loudly and stepped back to his post.
Loki and Vara looked at each other and took their feet out of the fountain, getting up and pulling their clothes right as Frigga rounded the corner.
"Mother." Loki said, walking up to her, his arms held out for a hug.
"Loki my love." She said, hugging him tightly, looking happily at Vara over his shoulder.
"Vara my dear, it's so lovely to see you." She said, gesturing to Vara to come forward for a hug as well.
She smiled and walked up to the queen. They hugged and Loki smiled. At least his mother liked Vara.
"Did we miss your raven, my queen, we were not expecting you?" Vara said, looking to Loki asking if he had got the message.
He shook his head.
Frigga nodded, understanding that this was an unannounced visit.
Vara looked back to Frigga.
"No my dear, I didn't have time to send one. I've been so busy arranging your wedding." She said happily smiling from ear to ear at Loki and Vara.
"Did Thor not tell you we wanted a small wedding?" Loki asked, reaching out and wrapping his arm around Vara's waist, resting his hand gently on her hip.
"He did, but since when do I listen to him?" she smiled widely.
Loki sighed and tilted his head.
"Mother…" Loki sighed at her.
"Oh stop it, I've been planning this wedding for ages. Seeing you gate crashed Sigyn's and ran off with Angrboða." Frigga said to him.
"Gate crashed…" Vara asked, looking at Loki.
"Oh I'll tell you when we're fitting your dress." Frigga said, taking Vara's hand.
"You come too Loki, you're having a new suit made for the big day." Frigga said, locking arms with Vara and walking off, her seamstresses following her shortly after with all the material rolls they needed.
Loki sighed and rubbed his temple. He knew his mother would go over board with the wedding. But he thought it sweet that she would do this for him and Vara. They would never have another wedding. He followed the others, following them into the large seating room on the ground floor, where the team had began to set up tables to cut the dress and the suit. Loki walked over to one of the large round puffy chairs and sat down. He watched as the team set up a round pedestal and Frigga helped Vara onto it with an outstretched hand. Vara stepped up and looked down at everyone and looked back to Loki, who smiled in support.
"Now, we have a few designs that you can look at. Tell me which one you like." Frigga said, holding out a folder to Vara.
Vara reached out, took the folder and began flipping through the designs. She stopped at one and at her eyes lit up.
"This one, I really like this one. But not the flowers, maybe, pearls?" Vara said, smiling to Frigga.
Frigga smiled, and showed the picture around to the others. Loki tried to get a look but decided he would leave it for a surprise. Then as soon as they knew which design she liked, they began taking Vara's measurements. Vara was overwhelmed with all the people around her, with their tapes. She looked at them all, being uncomfortable with touch.
"What… what are they doing?" Vara asked, as they began to measure her height.
"They will begin making your dress right away, but we need your measurements." Frigga explained.
Vara nodded.
Once they were done taking her measurements, Frigga turned to Loki.
"Your turn." She said to her son.
He sighed and got up. He knew the drill. He took off his jacket and his undercoat as well as his shirt, dropping them on the seat next to him. He stepped up to the pedestal and held out his hand to help Vara off. She placed her hand in his and stepped off the pedestal. She turned and watched him step up onto it. He stood there quietly as the seamstresses took his measurements. Frigga showing him a folder of suits and he chose one as well.
"You were going to explain to me what he did when he gate crashed Sigyn's wedding." Vara reminded Frigga.
"You don't need to know." Loki said, looking to Vara and his mother.
Frigga smiled at him.
"Sigyn was about to marry someone else. But a few days before the wedding, he disappeared, and then just before the wedding, he reappeared." Frigga said, starting the story.
"Mother, no please, stop." Loki begged her.
"No carry on. I want to know all his tricks." Vara smiled at up Loki, who looked very uncomfortable, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was the only man in a room full of women and shirtless too.
"Anyway, we all went to the wedding, it was a big affair, but Loki wasn't there. At first, that's what we thought." Frigga carried on.
"But you said he gate crashed it." Vara frowned and looked up at Loki.
"He did. And he was already there, except, he was disguised as Sigyn's betrothed." Frigga said to Vara.
Vara gasped and looked up at Loki, who looked away from her, missing her gaze.
"By the time the wedding was done, it was too late and Loki revealed himself. Sigyn had married him, thinking he was her betrothed." Frigga said, looking up at Loki.
Vara looked at him.
"You tricked her." Vara said to him, shocked.
"I wanted her so bad, but she would never have me any other way." He said looking back and down at Vara.
"Even with my being a prince, she didn't want me." he added, looking back out the window.
"Anyway, things worked out well in the end. There were no ill feelings between the two." Frigga said, as the measuring stopped.
Loki strode off the pedestal and walked back to the seat and began to get dressed. Frigga looked at him and she knew he was angry at her for telling Vara about Sigyn.
"We'll let you know when the dress is done, but I should be done by tomorrow." Frigga said, looking at Vara. Vara nodded, watching Loki pull his undercoat back on.
"See you tomorrow. Loki, I need to talk to you… I'll be waiting outside." Frigga said, walking out of the room, seeing Vara and Loki wanted to talk in private.
Loki nodded side on to her and turned his attention to Vara as Frigga's team followed her out. She stopped in the doorway to look back at Vara and Loki. She sighed and walked away, laving them alone in the room.
"Why would you do that?" Vara asked him, walking up to him.
"I was young…" he said, pulling his lapel right.
"It's no excuse I know, but it is what it is. I tricked her into marrying me and she hated me for it. At first." He said, taking in a deep breathe and looking at her.
"But it's different now. I'm different now." he said to her.
She looked at him as if it was the day after he abandoned her on earth. He had hoped she had learned to forgive him for that, but obviously not.
"Was it all games and tricks with me… am I being tricked into marrying you?" she asked him, turning her body to face him side on, showing him that her faith and trust in him was slipping again.
"You know how this began Vara." He said, turning and making to walk to the door. His mother wanted to talk to him about something.
"Yes, I know the beginning, what I want to know is how this ends." She said, calling back his attention.
He stopped and looked back at her.
"It ends with a kiss." He said, looking at her silhouetted against the sunlight flooding in from the huge windows behind her.
"Everything ends with a kiss." He said, walking off.
She frowned at that statement. What did he mean by that? Was he talking in riddles again, was it something she needed to figure out? She had no idea. She walked over to the seat and sat down, looking to the door impatiently, waiting for him. This wasn't over.
Loki walked out to the outdoor courtyard in front of his palace, where his mother was waiting for him. She smiled as he walked up to her.
"Mother." He said, acknowledging her as he stopped in front of her.
"I didn't want to ruin the surprise, but what do you have in mind for the ring?" she asked him. In Asgardian tradition, the men didn't wear rings to show that they were married, but the women did. But Loki was about to change that. He was going to wear a ring, and let every other woman know he was off the market.
Loki thought for a second but then shook his head.
"I don't know, the same as Sigyn's I guess." He said, frowning at his mother.
She frowned at him and shook her head.
"No, her ring was ugly and cheap. Vara deserves something special." She said to him, reaching out and placing her hand on his shoulder. He thought for a moment and agreed.
"Anything silver, she likes silver, and dainty, and feminine. She likes whimsical things." He said, outlining the general idea of the ring he wanted for her.
"And a matching band for me. This will be my last marriage." Loki said and smiled.
He thought he would never say that, but he was right. He didn't want to marry anyone else but her, ever again. Frigga was happy and smiled at his decision to end his games.
"Full band for you, but for her, a full band or centre design?" Frigga asked him.
"Centre, with a green stone in the middle. Or wait, blue, no… green." He swung back and forth between her favourite colours.
"Green or blue?" she asked him.
He looked at her and smiled.
"You work your magic. I want to give her both." He smiled, remembering the first time she saw green.
She nodded and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.
"I'll be off. Your clothes will arrive tomorrow. Be ready, the wedding starts at sunset." She said, over her shoulder walking off.
"To… tomorrow, we're getting married tomorrow?" Loki asked, shocked by the suddenness.
"Tomorrow, Loki, she'll make an honest man of you." His mother said to him as she walked through the gates and they closed behind her.
Loki watched her make her way back to her horse and ride off. He sighed and looked at the floor. He had a feeling he and Vara had a lot to talk about before then.