Set after the events of The Dark World. I'm going more with what I know of mythology (and taking creative liberties) and mixing it with movie-verse (and taking even more liberties). I never read the comics, but from what I hear our little heroine wasn't exactly captivating in that universe, and shall draw minimally from that canon. I have a vision. And I'm going to let you see it.
I
Privity (noun) - private or secret knowledge
A solitary figure ghosted through the halls of Odin's palace, sent on an errand of watchfulness. Odin-King's spirit had been troubled by the news of his son Loki's death when the guard had reported it. That Thor had defeated Malekith and returned to Asgard did not draw him out of the grief he bore for his late queen, nor draw him out of the healing room to go to his victorious heir, was troubling to the servant who attended the Allfather in his mourning. And so the servant had been instructed to go to the throne room in secret.
It was well the servant did as directed and moved with discretion. The scene that played out upon arrival would have confused any other. Thor spoke to his father who seemed to quietly accept his renouncement of the throne in favor of the mortal woman he left behind on Midgard. Thor also did not seem to think it out of character of his father to simply send him on his way back to the realm he had just defended. The prince of thunder departed, and there were moments of heavy silence in the throne room.
"Show yourself to me," the supposed Allfather ordered, his eyes searching the shadows for one who he knew was there. The servant obeyed immediately, dropping to the floor in obeisance at the foot of the throne.
"Sigyn," the old man spoke. "It is not in your nature to hide in darkness. Why are you here?"
"I am here at your command, Allfather," the woman responded, her eyes lowered to the floor. She knew this was not Odin-King. The essence of magic and a presence she had not been near to in quite some time permeated the throne room. It was not the essence of the old magic of Odin. "I do not presume to question your designs, my king, but I wonder why you sent me from your side in the healing rooms, and how you managed to get here before me, given your state when I left you."
Sigyn raised her eyes just enough to see a sudden twitch, a flash of panic wash over the king's face. The glamour was cracked, but its bearer would not call it away yet. Stubborn. Just like he always had been. Sigyn rose, her eyes downcast in continued reverence.
"Did you think that I would not know you for who you are?" she asked. "I can perceive you, my lord, as I always have."
The glamour dissipated and Sigyn raised her eyes to meet a hardened emerald glare. "I will kill you," he seethed, almost to himself. "You, the only one my spell cannot deceive, would ruin everything."
"You will not kill me," she replied. "The Allfather, along with the healers under Eir and the rest of Asgard would notice and search for you. You would not be able to hide very long."
Loki knew he had been caught. Sigyn had always been the servant in his mother's court who could pick him out of all his illusions, always knew it was him when he posed as someone else. It infuriated him that she could, but also that he couldn't ever figure out how so that he could adjust his method.
"You have sent away Odin's heir. How do you propose to continue sitting upon that throne when you are presumed dead and the Allfather is not so deep in his grief yet not to return to it?"
Damn. Loki hadn't calculated on that. The first chance he had upon his return, he had taken. He had thought the king's absence from the throne room meant another Odin-sleep. Blinking he looked to Sigyn. "You said he is in the healing rooms. He is well?"
"He grieves for his late queen still. The news of Prince Loki's death at the hands of the Dark Elves weighs heavily on his heart, enough that he has not yet announced it to the kingdom," she replied.
There was a bitter pause in which a sneer visibly plastered itself onto his face. "He would never mourn my passing."
"When have you ever known a lie to pass my lips?" Sigyn asked quietly. Silence. "Come with me to him. He is weary."
"I saw him when I reported my own death in the guise of that soldier," Loki snapped, his green eyes flashing at the woman before him. His ire was rising. "His face never fell, his eye never saddened!"
"You lie to yourself if you think your father does not love you. Perhaps he perceived you then, as I do-"
"That old fool knows nothing of magic."
Sigyn stopped, her lips becoming thin. She had changed since last he knew her, the girl servant to his mother. Her stature and the way she carried herself even as she stood before him was no longer that of the young immortal who knew the truth and immediately spoke it to any who would hear. No, she knew something, but had learned discernment, the art of speaking what she perceived at the most beneficial moment.
"Come with me," she said. "I think the Allfather would see you."
It had been with great reluctance that he followed his father's servant to the healing chambers within the palace. She had taken great care to take him through hallways that were less traveled by nobles and servants. When they came to the door of his chamber, Sigyn held a finger to her lips. The king's state required quiet and Loki understood that there was something different this time. There was concern in Sigyn's eyes that a healer should not have of a healthy, if older, man.
Opening the door, Sigyn brought Loki to the inner room where Odin lay propped in a bed, his eyes closed. As soon as the younger prince of Asgard crossed the threshold of the room, Odin opened his eyes, erasing any doubt that he was in his slumber.
"Thank you, Sigyn," Odin nodded at the servant quietly. "I am glad you and I share the same premonitions."
"A premonition I learned from one you loved greatly, my lord king," Sigyn replied, still deep in her curtsey. "It was an honor to serve Queen Frigga, as it is an honor to now serve you."
Loki looked on with some sense of shock. The old man looked positively haggard. The war between the Dark Elves and Asgard, the rebellion of his sons in taking the mortal Jane from the realm, the loss of his queen and supposedly his son...it was finally catching up to Odin and the strain of rule was not kind to him. A part of Loki's mind sneered, demeaning the ill king for his old age. The other parts berated him for disrespect, and another was full of dread. It was becoming the end.
Sigyn stood near to Odin at the headboard, near a table of salves, a decanter of water and incense. She appropriately shrank near the wall, available if the king needed treatment, and yet out of the way. With but a look, Odin called his prodigal son to his side.
"You live," the king said simply.
"Disappointed?" Loki lashed out, the word barely passing his lips as he immediately regretted them. Even as bitterness ate at his heart, he knew this was not the time or place for such things.
"My disappointment in you stems from my own selfishness. You are not all at fault for your actions, though your own decisions will dictate the consequences."
Loki's lips pressed into a fine line.
"Sigyn," Odin only barely turned his head and she was on her knees nearby. "It is well I sent you to the throne room. Tell me, what did you see?"
Loki watched Odin as the tale was recounted rather faithfully. The King's expression was unreadable, even as the memory ended and his deception made known.
"So, Thor willingly renounced his birthright?" Odin asked.
"Yes, my lord. I perceive his heart unwilling to be apart from this woman, even thinking his brother lost and your line of rule broken," Sigyn replied.
"Who else knows of Loki's return to Asgard?"
"None, my lord. You commanded secrecy in going, and I upheld the order in my return."
"Well done, Sigyn," Odin softly praised, his hand atop her head in a motion for her to rise. "We have yet time to mend and prepare."
"What do you mean?" Loki frowned. Ill at ease, he did not like the thought of his brother's return, nor Thor's anger upon learning what he had done.
"Ever have you sought the throne, Loki," Odin replied. "You have maneuvered yourself into a dangerous position. Asgard does not trust you, nor do you have love of the people. And, you have given me little choice but to allow your ascension."
"A sudden change of heart?" Loki sneered. "You seem to have had no compunctions from forbidding it before."
"Thor had been bound to duty before and accepted it. That he gave it up, even as you deceived him, tells me he never truly wanted it. It falls to you now, though your manner of taking it bodes ill for your future."
"Is that a threat?"
"I have lost you twice before because I was heavy handed in my dealings with you. I would not now lose you a third time. No, Loki. The consequences of your desires will not be passed through me."
There was a heavy silence. Loki shifted his weight from one foot to the other, impatient for what he supposed would be his sentencing by the Allfather.
"You will go back to your chambers, and prepare for the courts. In the coming days, let all of Asgard know that you live, and let the truth of Thor's heart be made known." Odin breathed deep as of a man wearied by long deliberations. "For now, I will rest. A great many things must be done. I will see them through and have you established before I yet succumb to sleep."
