There was a knock on Loki's door, and Loki looked up from his book. It wasn't his mother or brother since he knew their knocks well enough, which meant it must be a servant.
"You are free to enter." He beckoned.
The door was opened to reveal a male servant that was not dressed in the attire of the palace servants. He swiftly bowed before stating his purpose.
"I bring a message from Lady Sigyn Halldordóttir, My Prince."
Loki rose and took the letter from the servant's extended hand.
"For your services." Loki stated while placing a coin in the letter's place.
The Servant bowed and left the room as swiftly as he had come. Loki closed the door to his chambers and sat back down at his desk. He broke the seal on the letter and smiled at Sigyn's scrawled handwriting. She had apparently been in a rush when she had written it.
"Loki,
I have news that I desire to share with someone, but I have no one that I can tell save you. Could you meet me an hour before nightfall in the spice market? I know that you are probably not allowed to wander outside the palace unescorted, but I also know that you have a fondness for not following the rules. I will wait for you in the alley on the East side of the main market square till ten, if you have not arrived by that time I will assume you are not coming. I hope to see you then.
Your comrade in arms,
Sigyn."
Loki folded the letter and placed it in the drawer where he kept the others. He was very interested in what Sigyn wished to share, and began making plans for his little trip to the market. Sigyn was correct in her assumption that he was not encouraged to venture outside the palace entirely alone, but she had also been correct in her assessment of his regard, or lack thereof, for the rules. Besides, it wasn't really a rule. He was plenty old enough to go about on his own, it was merely Frigga's motherly worry that caused her to beg Thor and him not to wander about the town by themselves. In reality, it was far more dangerous for Sigyn to wait in an alleyway by herself then it would be for him to go around announcing who he was to every cutthroat in the city. If his absence were noticed, he would merely excuse himself by saying that he could not allow a Lady of Sigyn's standing to risk being harmed while lingering in an alleyway after nightfall. In the back of his mind Loki wondered if that was the purpose behind her choice for the meeting time. Was she counting on his honor as a Prince to force him to meet her for her own safety, or was she just providing him with an excuse should he get caught? Either way, it seemed like something Sigyn would think of. He had an early dinner brought to his room and then passed the rest of the time by reading. A little over an hour before nightfall, Loki grabbed a heavy cloak out of his wardrobe and slipped over the side of his balcony. He navigated the palace grounds without being spotted though it took him longer than he had expected since he almost ran into a group of gossiping maids. Not surprisingly, he was the center of their gossip. News of Lady Sif's hair was still circulating through all the social circles. These particular maids thought that he must also have the power to change people's hair into snakes or something ridiculous like that. He was half-tempted to reveal himself and see if they would scurry away in fear for their hair. He contented himself with merely listening to their conversation however, till an older maid came and scolded them for their laziness. Once the coast was clear, Loki made the rest of the way to the city. He reached the spice market about forty minutes after nightfall and headed straight to the East alleyway. His hood was pulled up so his features were hidden to the last of the merchants that were packing up their carts to head home. Loki detected a small, cloaked figure lingering in the East alley, and though their back was to him he was certain that it was Sigyn. He accidentally kicked a small pebble as he entered the alleyway and the figure gave a small gasp and turned quickly to face him. Loki's eye barely caught the flash of a metallic object so he was just able to block the inexperienced strike from the girl. It was Sigyn all right, and her eyes were wide with horror at the realization of who she had just tried to knife.
"I am so sorry Loki! You are late… and you startled me, and… and I thought you were the person who was staring at me earlier!" Sigyn explained.
Loki looked at her with a serious gaze.
"There was someone staring at you earlier? Who?" He demanded.
Sigyn leaned so she could look around his larger form, and Loki turned so she could point them out.
"They're… they're gone…" she stated, obviously stunned. "They had been over there outside that shop since I arrived, and they were there not even ten minutes ago."
"What did they look like?" He inquired.
"I am not sure; they were heavily cloaked with their hood pulled low so I could not make out any of their features. The more I think on it though, the more I think that they must have been a woman. They were taller than me, but their cloak seemed like one a woman would wear…"
Sigyn's eyes were pleading with him to believe her, and he genuinely did. She seemed shaken by the ordeal, and it was no easy task to make Sigyn visibly quake. Still, she was hiding something from him. Loki could sense it.
"This is not the first time you've seen them, is it?" He asked.
Sigyn reluctantly shook her head 'no.'
She didn't seem ready to talk about it, so Loki made a mental note to ask her about it when she wasn't so jittery.
"So you are the one who purloined one of my throwing daggers." He scolded in an effort to redirect the conversation.
Sigyn tucked the dagger away while still trying to hide her nerves.
"I am shocked you are just now figuring this out." Sigyn replied.
"Stealing from a Prince is never a wise idea, My Lady. A thief would face the dungeons for stealing from a merchant or civilian, but the punishment for stealing from a member of the royal family is much more severe." He informed in mock seriousness.
"How so?" Sigyn inquired in what Loki hoped was mock fear.
"Because they face no court of law, but are subject to the punishment determined by the royal they stole from." He explained.
"And what punishment will you enact for my trespass?" She queried.
Loki gently pushed her back up against the wall and let one of his hands trail up and over her throat. He brushed his thumb over her neck, which caused Sigyn to shudder.
"I have several thoughts in mind, and you know how creative I can be…"
Sigyn didn't seem as intimidated as she should be with his tall frame looming over her, so he tried his luck with something he had never done before. He took both of Sigyn's wrists and pulled her hands away from their usual protective position on his chest. She had always kept them there when they kissed to keep a small amount of space between their bodies, but Loki felt that it was time to close the gap. That obstacle removed, Loki pressed his body flush against Sigyn, and she took in a shuddering breath. Loki was well aware that this was a new sensation to her since the only times their bodies had been this close had been when it happened on accident. Each time they had kissed since the day of Sigyn's mishap in the stables, Loki had pushed her boundaries a little further. He had started with small gestures, like lowering his hand to her waist. His most recent success was finally coaxing her to explore his mouth with her tongue. One thing stayed the same though, each time he pressed her a little farther, he gave her a moment to adjust to the new level of intimacy. This time was no different. Loki slowly led Sigyn's gloved hands to rest over his shoulders before carefully leaning his weight into her.
"This is not so terrible." Sigyn breathed in an effort to keep up the appearance of normalcy.
"I'm not through with you yet." Loki murmured into her ear.
Despite Sigyn's attempts to feign confidence, Loki could feel her heart pounding against his chest. He was tempted to place one of his hands over it, but he knew Sigyn wasn't ready for him to bring his hands anywhere near her bosom just yet. Instead, he leaned his head in for a kiss. Sigyn pulled Loki's hood off and moved her hands up to the back of his head as if to ensure that he wouldn't stop kissing her.
"You aren't supposed to be enjoying this." He teased once they finally pulled back for air.
"I do not enjoy the fact that you stopped." Sigyn reasoned.
"So why did you take my dagger may I ask?" Loki asked while catching his breath.
"I wanted to practice my throwing, and Hallsteinn merely laughed when I asked if I could borrow one of his."
"Ah, shame on him…" Loki replied before kissing her lips once more.
Sigyn placed a finger on his lips before he could seriously attack hers again
"I have news to share with you, and I cannot do so if you have my mouth otherwise preoccupied!" she reminded him.
"But I am not satisfied in your punishment." He whined.
"Then you shall be satisfied later." Sigyn assured.
"But how can I be certain you will keep to that promise. You have already proven a thief, what if you prove to be a liar as well?"
"I am your prisoner, My Prince, I will have no choice but to satisfy you. Besides, do you really believe that I could ever tell a lie that you would believe?"
"No, I can detect a lie as easily as I can spin one, but if you are my prisoner why am I allowing you to negotiate with me at all?" Loki pressed.
"Because you are a gracious and lenient jailer." Sigyn murmured while bringing his forehead to rest on hers.
Loki's resolve to try and talk her into a little more intimacy melted away as the look in her eyes spoke of the news she wished to tell. He sighed and moved away from her. He pulled his hood over his head once more and offered Sigyn his arm. The two walked down the fairly deserted streets to a nearby reflection pool and sat at its edge.
"So tell me, what news was so pressing that you summoned me to meet you at such an hour?"
"My sister, Frida, is betrothed. She is to be married in a fortnight."
Blunt as usual. Loki couldn't decide from Sigyn's tone of voice if this news was a good thing or a bad thing to her though.
"That is good news is it not?" He asked.
Sigyn quickly gave him a slightly embarrassed look.
"Oh yes, of course it is! Markus is a good man from a good family. I have no doubt that he will treat Frida very well."
"Yet you are still saddened by it." Loki noted.
"A little. Once Frida marries she will hardly have time to entertain me, and I will be the last of my siblings to be living at home…or simply living."
"Well that is not odd since you are the youngest. It should be expected that you would be the last one to leave your father's house." He pointed out.
"I know, but that knowledge doesn't make it any less lonely. Maybe one day when Thor marries you will understand."
"That is unlikely since neither of us will leave the palace permanently once we marry."
"You won't? Will it not be crowded to have your parents, Thor and his own family, and you and yours all in the same building?"
"You forget the palace is a large place. Once Thor and I get married we will be assigned a wing of the palace for our family's living quarters. When Odin passes away Thor and his family will take up the living quarters of the king, and I will be given the option to choose an estate away from the palace."
"Why should Thor take up the quarters of the king? Are you too not eligible to be your father's heir?"
"I am eligible, but I don't think it is any great secret that all of Asgard wishes to see Thor on the throne, including my father."
"I highly doubt you can speak on behalf of all of Asgard. I am sure there are those who would prefer to see you on the throne." Sigyn assured.
"and are you one of those few?" Loki inquired.
"No, but I confess it is for rather selfish reasons that I wish to see Thor on the throne." Sigyn admitted.
"Pray, do tell." Loki pressed slightly offended.
Sigyn stood and balanced on the lip of the reflection pool.
"Think about it. If you were king you would have no time to spend with me." She pointed out.
Loki reluctantly grinned. The reasoning made logical sense to her, though Loki doubted becoming king would mean he would have to abandon his friendship with Sigyn. He watched silently as she made her way around the lip of the pool. She would giggle every time she almost lost her balance, which brought a smile to Loki's features. Every so often she would glance back at him and smile, causing the moonlight to reflect off the pale skin of her face. When she finally made it all the way around the pool to Loki's opposite side she jumped down. Loki stood up next to her.
"So was the happy news of your sister's engagement the only thing you wished to discuss with me?"
"Yes."
Loki smirked.
"Very good, now we can get back to the discussion of your punishment."
He could sense that Sigyn was about to give him a little playful shove with her arm so he quickly switched places with a clone of himself. The push came as he expected, but Sigyn had a bit more momentum behind it then he had thought she would have. With a squeal she went tumbling through his double and into the reflection pool. Loki held in a laugh and swiftly rushed to help pull her out. It took a minute to get her out of the freezing water since her heavy cloak, dress, and layered petticoat had soaked in quite a bit of it. The cold night air mixed with the freezing water was causing Sigyn to shiver uncontrollably, so Loki pulled her to his chest and wrapped her in his cloak. He used both his body heat and magic to warm and dry the poor girl.
"I should have seen that coming…" she managed to say between little fits of shaking laughter.
"Probably." Loki agreed. "Perhaps that is enough punishment for your thievery."
Sigyn nodded and Loki chuckled. She was practically dry by this point, but he liked the feeling of having her pressed against him so he didn't release her from his arms. Sigyn didn't protest the embrace so Loki stood quietly, watching his breath take form in the crisp evening air. With the speed that the temperature was dropping it looked like Asgard would be in for an early snow this year. Sigyn eventually looked up at him and smiled blushingly.
"It is probably time for me to return home Loki, and I would hate for your absence from the palace to be noticed."
Loki reluctantly agreed and, despite Sigyn's protests, walked her to her home.
"With the preparations for your sister's wedding under way I assume that I will not be able to see you the next two weeks." Loki remarked.
"That will likely be the case." Sigyn replied.
"Then there is something I would ask you now. Will you do me the honor of allowing me to be your escort to the Winter Solstice Celebrations?"
Sigyn placed a kiss on his cheek.
"I assure you, the honor would be all mine." She answered before giving him a smile and turning to go into the house.
Loki stood in the courtyard for a few moments more before heading back to the palace. There were few people on the road so he made quick time back. He snuck through the palace gardens, and clambered up onto his balcony to get into his chambers. Once inside he took off his heavy cloak and went to go hang it up in his wardrobe.
"How is Sigyn?" His mother's voice asked.
Loki jumped in surprise and looked about the room to see where his mother was. He spotted her sitting in a chair by his fireplace, and relaxed.
"Her sister is engaged." He replied before hanging his cloak back in his wardrobe.
"You might have at least mentioned to me that you would be sneaking off this evening." Frigga scolded.
"Then it wouldn't really have counted as sneaking off, would it?" He returned.
"Your mischievous ways are going to be the death of me." She replied with a smile.
"Then at least you will die amused." He responded with a gleam in his eye.
Frigga shook her head in defeat and rose from the chair.
"I merely came to tell you that your father wishes to speak with you and your brother tomorrow morning."
"So he has finally decided to announce his heir?" Loki asked uncaringly.
"I believe so, yes."
Loki let out a huff. "Is their really any need to have a meeting with us? It is not as if we don't already know which one of us it will be."
"I am afraid that by law he must." Frigga explained.
"Very well, of course I will be there." Loki promised.
Frigga came and wrapped her arms around him.
"Remember that whatever decision your father has made, he loves you and Thor equally. If he could have it his way he would crown you both." She encouraged.
Loki smiled feebly and wrapped his arms around his mother.
"I know mother."
Frigga pulled back and brushed a loose strand of hair back from Loki's forehead before quietly leaving the room. Loki sunk down on the edge of his bed and sat with his shoulders slouched. Part of him was relieved that Odin was finally going to announce Thor as his heir since it meant that people would stop feeling the need to try to reassure him that he had just as much chance to sit upon the throne as his brother. He could never figure out why they bothered with such flattery since he could see straight through their lies. At least Odin had never really pretended that he was a true contender for the throne. It was always going to be Thor, as well it should be. Thor was the elder of them, and the people loved him. The citizens of Asgard would follow Thor as their king without question, and Loki knew it. The only thing he truly dreaded about the whole situation was the pitying looks and remarks that would be directed towards him. The whispers of "Poor Loki…" and "How terrible it must be to try and live up to the reputation of such a brother!" haunted his nightmares already, and the announcement had not even been made yet. Loki was about to sink into another round of depressing thoughts when a pair of shining blue-green eyes fixed his mind's attention. They were Sigyn's eyes, and they held a look of sheer admiration that Loki had begun to cling to desperately when he felt discouraged. He fell back on his bed and closed his eyes to better focus on Sigyn's. The rest of the realm could despise him, but it would hardly matter because there was one woman who stood above them all in intelligence and kindness, and she was his.
