Although Sigyn hadn't held a sword since Haldor's death, it wasn't unusual for her to be summoned to Odin's war council on occasion, both as Loki's wife and Frigga's apprentice. Not that Odin needed her counsel while he had his queen, his sons, and his generals. Perhaps he had given Sigyn a seat because he pitied her. And who didn't pity the daughters of Tyr, after what had happened in Nornheim five centuries ago? Still, Sigyn remembered to pretend like she was honored to be here.
"Heimdall has brought disturbing tidings from Midgard," Odin started.
Sigyn frowned. Midgard… The Aesir mostly ignored Midgard, like it wasn't even one of the Nine Realms, but not Sigyn. It was her mother's realm, after all.
"Five hundred years ago, I decided to hide the Tesseract in Midgard, hoping it would be safer there. I was wrong."
Yes, she remembered… Shortly before Lorelei had tried to conquer the Nine Realms, Odin and his sons had taken the Tesseract to a village called Tonsberg. It was where Asgard had battled the Frost Giants, but more importantly, it was where her parents had met. Tonsberg was her mother's village.
But what the Allfather said didn't make any sense. According to Loki, a mortal had sworn an oath to keep the Tessearct hidden in a temple. That mortal must have been dead by now, but his descendants were bound by the same oath. Had they betrayed Odin?
"In Midgard, there is a dangerous cult named HYDRA. Their leader, a mortal named Johann Schmidt, also known as the Red Skull, stole it and used it to wreak havoc across the realm. He knew the stories about us were more than mere myths. He believed the Tesseract could give him the power of the gods."
Thor slammed his fist on the table. "What are we waiting for? If he wants to see the power of the gods, let's give him a taste!"
Odin raised a hand to silence him. "There is no need for that. The Red Skull is gone. Midgard is safe, for now. Besides, we do not meddle with mortal affairs. They must advance through adversary. It is the only way. But apparently, I was wrong to underestimate their greed."
"Are you going to bring the Tesseract back to Asgard, Father?" Loki asked.
"No. As I said, it is safer in Midgard. But I will send one of our own to protect it."
"Who would volunteer for such a duty?" Thor scoffed.
"It will be a great honor to be the guardian of the Tesseract. I am sure we can find a volunteer. Spread the word."
"No, wait," Sigyn blurted out. She didn't know what had come over her, but suddenly, she felt like this was the right thing to do. "Allfather, I volunteer to be the guardian of the Tesseract!"
Everyone in the room stared at her in disbelief.
Loki chuckled nervously. "Sigyn, my dear, you're not serious, are you?"
But Sif must have realized she was serious. "Why?" she asked.
Because this is my only chance to be a warrior. Because even after all this time, I still cannot look you in the eye without thinking of my greatest shame. She was almost a thousand years old now, and she still looked… young. She felt young. None of the healers expected her to die of old age in the foreseeable future. Sigyn had inherited her mother's weaknesses, but she had also inherited some of her father's strength. In Asgard, she was a weakling, but in Midgard, she could be a true warrior. A goddess among mortals…
"Sigyn," Odin said softly. "If you become the guardian of the Tesseract, you are going to spend the rest of your days in Midgard."
"I'm well aware of that, Allfather. But as the only half-mortal, half-Asgardian in the universe, I think I have always been meant for such duty."
He thought for a moment. "Perhaps you are right. After all, you understand mortals better than any of us here do."
"Father," Loki started, but Odin silenced him, too.
"This is not a decision to be taken lightly," Queen Frigga broke in. "Odin, I say we give her at least a fortnight to consider. In the meantime, Heimdall can teach her what this duty entails."
Odin nodded in agreement.
"As you wish, my queen," Sigyn said, but she knew her decision would remain the same by the end of this fortnight.
…
The following days felt like an eternity to Sigyn. Her family and friends never stopped trying to talk her out of this decision. Even Hogun had become uncharacteristically talkative. Their intentions were good, she knew. But none of them understood her struggles. All her life, she had tried so hard to be a good daughter, good sister, good sorceress, and a good wife. But for her, the only way to be good was to be nothing. No one. Serving Asgard among mortals was the only way her life could have a meaning. It wasn't something the others could understand. So, she often sought sanctuary in Heimdall's Observatory, listening to his lessons on Midgard.
Heimdall had never said if he approved her decision of becoming the guardian of the Tesseract or not. To be truthful, Sigyn often felt guilty in his presence. After Loki and Sigyn's wedding, Odin had asked Heimdall why he hadn't been able to see what had happened to Theoric. Heimdall had said he didn't know. That like everyone else, he had thought Sigyn was marrying Theoric until Loki had revealed himself. Loki had simply said Heimdall should have paid more attention to what was happening in Asgard, but Sigyn knew the truth. Loki had discovered an ancient tome in the libraries, a tome that showed how to conceal things from the Gatekeeper. It also showed the locations of secret pathways between the realms. Loki had shared this knowledge with her, saying that they were one soul now and there should be no secrets between them. Sigyn wished he hadn't. Keeping a secret like this from Heimdall felt like treason. But it was also her duty to keep her husband's secrets. At least she was confident Loki wouldn't use this knowledge to betray Asgard. Sometimes he was envious of Thor, yes, but he still loved his brother more dearly than anybody else.
"The cube has been found once again," Heimdall said. "This time, by a young mortal named Howard Stark. As noble as his intentions may be, his arrogance reminds me of the other one. My lady, as the guardian of the Tesseract, it is your duty to ensure that he will not abuse this power."
"What can you tell me about this mortal, Howard Stark?"
"Howard Stark was born to a fruitmonger, Walter Stark. But he was much cleverer than his father. His genius earned him a fortune, made him a respectable and influential man."
"You said he reminded you of the Red Skull. Why?"
"Because he is no man of honor. He does not hesitate to lie or cheat when he deems necessary. His arrogance and carnality know no bounds."
Sigyn's face wrinkled in disgust. "Such a man doesn't deserve to have the Tesseract."
"That will be for you to decide, as its guardian. You may test the Walterson as you see fit. But I advise you not to be hasty. He might yet surprise you."
"I doubt that."
For some reason, he smiled. "Do you remember what I taught you about the SSR?"
"The Strategic Scientific Reserve? The organization that fought against HYDRA?"
"Howard Stark worked for them for a time, even helped them create their greatest warrior against the Red Skull."
"Captain Steve Rogers," she said, recalling their former lessons.
"Yes. Now, Howard Stark founded another organization. They call it SHIELD."
"Why? Was SSR not good enough?"
"Not for Howard Stark. SSR played a crucial role in their war, but now, that war is over. The Walterson wishes to build something more… permanent, to protect the realm from unforeseeable threats."
"So, he does care about his people," she said, confused.
"As I said, he might yet surprise you. The Allfather thinks SHIELD is ready to know of our existence, unlike the rest of Midgard. But be careful, my lady. These mortals are different. Once you tell them who you are, they will not worship you as a goddess."
"But I'm still much stronger than mortals, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I have nothing to fear."
"If you say so…"
Sigyn felt like there were things Heimdall wasn't telling her about Midgard. It didn't make any sense. She was going there to guard the Tesseract; wasn't she supposed to be prepared for anything? Still, she decided not to ask. Perhaps he was just obeying Odin's orders.
…
No matter how bothersome they were, Sigyn spent her last day in Asgard with her family and friends. And her last night with Loki. Though after he fell asleep, she snuck out of their bedchambers and set off to the dungeons. She didn't know why, but she wanted to see Lorelei.
Unlike most dungeons, the dungeons of Asgard were quite civilized. The cells were clean and well-lit. The prisoners were fed twice a day. Most prisoners shared their cells with others, but an exception had been made for Lorelei, in case she found a way to break free from her collar. Or, so had Sigyn been told. She had never visited her in the past five hundred years.
The guards gave Sigyn a curious look, but didn't ask any questions. She didn't tell them anything either. She went to see Lorelei in her cold, dark cell. Her arms had been shackled to a wall. The collar hid the lower half her face, but Sigyn could see that she was wearing a curious expression. Curious, and angry.
"You know, Loki thinks death is too good for you. Too quick. And he is probably right. Still, I want to kill you. In fact, you might be the only thing I actually want to kill in the whole universe. That's quite ironic, when I think about it. I wanted to be a warrior so badly, yet I never wanted to kill anyone, not really, not until that fateful day in Nornheim... You probably wonder why I came here after all this time. Do you even know how much time has passed? It's been five hundred and thirty-seven years, Lorelei. You've been here for five hundred and thirty-seven years. And as you can see, I haven't even aged a day. You were hoping I'd be dead by now, weren't you?"
Sigyn looked at her with a triumphant smile. Now she knew what had brought her here: The desire to destroy every bit of thought that might still help Lorelei find some satisfaction in this horrible place. She decided to become even crueler. After all, she would never get another chance to do this.
"Sif would never forgive me if I told her this, but I think by killing Haldor, you set her free. She never loved Haldor. Not the way she loves Thor, at least. Now she can be the Queen of Asgard one day. And I've finally found a way to become a great warrior. You never thought I could do that, did you? Well, I just have. I'll be living as an honorable Asgardian while you rot here. I wanted you to know that. Now you do."
She decided that Lorelei didn't have to know the details. If she found out Sigyn had to leave Asgard in order to become a great warrior, she would be delighted. Sigyn wasn't going to give her the pleasure. As for the part about Sif, that wasn't entirely true either. Sif had almost sworn herself off after Haldor's death. And eventually, Thor had stopped making advances to her. He no longer seemed to be interested in Sif.
Sigyn looked at the seductress one last time, and left the dungeons.
The bed was empty by the time she returned to the bedchambers. Suddenly, she heard someone clapping hands, and when she turned around, she found Loki, leaning against a wall and applauding.
"Loki? When did you wake up?"
"I never fell asleep."
Right. She should have known.
"You went to see Lorelei, didn't you?"
"What makes you think so?"
"Come on, Sigyn. You're my wife. I know you better than anyone else."
"Yes. I did."
"By choosing this self-imposed exile, you actually let her win. You know that, right?"
"This is not an exile, Loki! And it has nothing to do with Lorelei! This is my only chance to go to Valhalla!"
He nodded angrily. "Yes, Valhalla…"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, of course not. It's just, my wife chooses some glorified afterlife over me. That's not hurtful at all."
"Loki, I'm not choosing anything over you. I'm still your wife."
"Why are you so obsessed with Valhalla, anyway? We still have thousands of years to live."
"No, you still have thousands of years to live. Nothing is certain when it comes to me. For all I know, I might wake up one morning and find myself gray and wrinkled. I'm doing this for us, don't you see it? I'm trying to be a great warrior so that we can have an eternity together!"
"And what makes you think a trickster like me will be allowed into Valhalla?"
"What? Loki, don't be ridiculous. Your mother said magic is not a dishonorable weapon, remember?"
"I'm not talking about magic."
"What, then?"
"What if I do something truly dishonorable one day?"
"Like what?"
"Like not letting Thor become the King of Asgard."
Sigyn laughed. "You'd never hurt Thor. You love him."
"But what if—"
"Stop it, Loki. You're just trying to manipulate me. Please. You disrespected my choice once, and I forgave you. But I will not do that again. This time, you shall show me respect."
"Of course. I'll respect your choice to ruin your life. And our marriage." He stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.