A/N: This is shorter than the rest of the chapters, but enjoy! Also thanks to the reviewers! Plz keep it up!

Fidelitas
A Lily By Any Other Name

Chapter Four

Flashback

"The princess of Vanaheim must either be very beautiful or very hideous if we've yet to see her."

Loki snickered lightly at his brother's speculation, but it had been the question on both their minds since their mother announced the visit of Vanaheim's nobles to Asgard. He supposed that their mother, the queen of Asgard, wanted her sons, the princes of Asgard, to secure prospective marriages with women of their castes now that they had come of age. And what better prospect than a princess from another realm? Loki, of course, knew that this visit was more for Thor's benefit rather than his own considering his brother would be the one to inherit the throne.

...Eventually.

"She is one of Freya's charges." Loki chided quietly, careful not to let his mother overhear him. "You know Freya doesn't like it when her underlings opaque her."

"So you think she will be unappealing?" Thor asked (a little too loudly for Loki's liking), but Loki gave an imperceptible shake of his head.

"No, but Freya-"

"Boys," Their mother, Frigga, hissed from her throne. She didn't turn to look at them, but her tone said enough. "Quiet."

As if on cue, the grand doors to Asgard's throne room opened, gliding across the spotless floors like eagles in the sky. A herald emerged from between. He seemed engulfed in the immensity of the hall even with the entire court surrounding him.

"Presenting!" The herald cried out, his voice bouncing off the golden walls. "Her majesty, Queen Freya of Vanaheim, and Her Highness, Princess Sigyn of Vanaheim!"

Heels clicked on the marble floors as two women walked into the throne room. Well, walked wasn't really an accurate description—the two seemed to float gracefully over the ground with their shoulders set back and their heads held high. The woman leading the duo was tall, blonde, and had achingly beautiful features. Everything about her, in fact, radiated beauty, but that was to be expected from Freya, the goddess of love. Behind Freya was another blonde, but she was shorter. Loki couldn't quite see her, but knew she was their guest of honor: Sigyn of Vanaheim.

The court curtsied as the women passed by them on their way to the throne. Once there, at the foot of the great golden seat, they knelt.

It was then that he could truly see her. Her hair fell to her back in gold waves that reminded him of the exterior of the palace. The brassy color of it contrasted against her white cloak. A thin diadem held her hair back from her slender, porcelain face. When she looked up towards the throne, he noticed her eyes were a brilliant blue that rivaled a cloudless sky.

"Welcome, daughters of Vanaheim—"Odin began, but Loki knew both he and his brother had tuned him out. Thor nudged him subtly, but had he not been expecting it, Loki would have been sent sprawling across the throne room.
That brute.

The corners of the princess' lips turned upwards ever-so-slightly as if she had noticed that exchange. They were the color of the rose buds that turned into blooms every spring. Loki felt his face burn when he noticed how amused she looked. His brother smirked slightly, and raised an eyebrow.

That brute.

It was absolutely humiliating to be escorted into captivity, but Loki somehow managed to keep his act up even as armed guards marched him to his cell. The flying contraption he'd submitted himself to board was massive; it was practically a labyrinth of steel and glass. It truly was a spectacle to behold, but even humanity's best was unrivaled to his power.

He couldn't help his wandering eyes as he was practically shoved and prodded down a hall. Windows and doors flanked each side. Some were open, but most of them were closed. He mustered his most unnerving grin as they passed by one of the laboratories; a man with salt-and-pepper hair and glasses stood at a reactor, observing the brightly glowing specimen attached to the end of it. As soon as the man saw him pass by his window, his expression fell and he reached up to take his glasses off as if to make sure his eyes weren't kidding him.

It felt strange being watched so closely by mindless mortals. He seemed to command their attention as he passed; they all quit their tidings to watch him, mouths agape, as he was marched past. It was rather gratifying, really, but their eyes meant nothing to him. The azure blaze of that mortal girl's eyes still consumed his mind like a wildfire. They were so like his Sigyn's—the same size, same shape, same shade of blue—but he knew they couldn't be. A mortal woman, a simple Midgardian wench, couldn't compare to a goddess.

She was not scared of me…

The fear that contorted the faces of the crowd at Stuttgart had not reflected on hers. She hadn't run away, or cried, or screamed, or show any implication of fear once their eyes met. She just looked… Confused.

But as she reached out to touch him, she looked so much like Sigyn—so calm, so faithful—that he could hardly bring himself to conjure the image in his mind.

A/N: Plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz review xx.