Chapter 1

Sigyn opened her eyes as her feet touched solid ground. The whirring, bright light of the bifrost dimmed, allowing her eyes to focus. She tried to form her face into something that resembled a smile as she saw the tall man, dressed all in gold, stand up from behind Hofud, his sword.

"Greetings Lady Sigyn. Welcome home, it has been a long time," The man smiled at her softly.

"Indeed Heimdall it has. It is always a pleasure to see you, though I wish I had come under better circumstances".

Heimdall just nodded once. "You will find them in the throne room".

Sigyn nodded as a thank you as she stepped out onto the bridge that led to the city. Despite having grown up here Asgard still stole her breath as she looked towards the skyline. It was all glittery and gold, surrounded by water and mountains. The bridge she walked along shimmered between colours resembling a form of rainbow. One of her favourite things had always been the sky. At all hours you could visibly see different planets, suns, moons, and stars. She had been on Midgard for four years and had grown bored with their one sun and one moon that took turns in the sky.

As she approached the castle she quickly cast a bit of magic to change out of her Midgardian clothes. That look would not fly if she was about to seek council with the King and Queen of Asgard. It was amazing how quickly the feeling of wearing her silvery uniform brought her back. It was so familiar.

The guards at the front of the steps nodded to her as she passed. She smiled and gave them a head nod as she began to ascend. It was nice that she was still remembered.

Just like muscle memory, her legs led her straight to the throne room. One of the guards raised an eyebrow as she approached. "I seek council with Odin, King of Asgard".

The guard looked reluctant, but allowed her to pass. They opened the wide golden doors and she stepped inside. The room looked exactly the same. Large columns supported the high ceilings, painted with depictions of the royal family and their history. A long carpet led down the hallway, to the steps that reached the throne.

On the throne sat Odin. He looked as severe as ever, if a little older. He leaned back in the golden chair, leaning on his staff, with his one good eye closed. He seemed tired.

Next to him was Frigga, his beautiful wife. Her golden hair was braided on the sides to hold it away from her face and she was dressed in a gorgeous gown of blue and gold. In all her years of knowing her Frigga always looked so put together, but today the sorrow was apparent on her face.

Frigga stood quickly as she saw the younger girl approach. "Lady Sigyn," she breathed, a small smile appearing for a moment.

Sigyn had reached the bottom of the steps and bent a knee to bow to them. "Welcome home my dear," Odin was regarding her carefully as she hung her head in honour. His words were kind, but his gaze was wary.

She stood up straight. Despite the fact she had rehearsed what she planned on saying, seeing them now erased all thoughts of how to word it.

"I came as soon as I heard…"

Odin sniffed angrily. "As soon as you heard our son is a murderous criminal?"

Sigyn flinched a little, noting the way he had said 'son'. As she suspected, Odin had already cast him out in his mind. The softness of Frigga's expression let her know that she clearly had not. Sigyn was not surprised to find tears in the other woman's eyes.

"Has he told you why?" she asked, hoping her voice sounded stronger than she felt. Even after all this time Odin still intimidated her.

"There is no reason why," Odin's hissed. "He is a criminal and will spend his days in a cell for the rest of his life".

Sigyn was unsurprised to find out that was their solution. If she was being honest with herself, she thought it would be worse. She half expected Odin to tell her he was going to be sentenced to death. He probably could thank his mother for that, she always held a soft spot for him, adopted or not.

Knowing she didn't have much else to say, Sigyn bowed again. "Thank you for seeing me. It feels good to be home". She said simply. Odin's nod dismissed her as she turned and headed back the way she came.

Sigyn had only taken a dozen steps from the throne room door, when hurried footsteps sounded behind her. "Sigyn my dear," Frigga had followed her.

Sigyn smiled softly, "My Queen".

"Now there is no need for the formalities dear," Frigga looped her arm around the younger girls. "How have you been keeping?"

Frigga had always felt like a second mother to Sigyn. She had spent most of her childhood chasing her sons, training with them, and studying with them. "I have been well, thank you," Sigyn smiled. "Midgard has kept me very busy".

"Ah yes, we always look forward to your reports from Midgard," Frigga was smiling softly, but unable to hide the pain in her eyes. Sigyn knew she was mourning for her son. "I will get your chambers set up for you, if you do not mind residing there once more while you are here".

Sigyn shook her head. "That is okay Frigga, I am happy to return to how I left it."

Frigga nodded. "How long do you intend to remain on Asgard?"

"I am unsure for now," Sigyn answered. "I just had to see him".