Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! I just wanted to say a quick "Thank you!" to all of you! I never thank my readers enough for favoriting (yep, I just made up a word), following, and reviewing. Seeing as you are fellow writers you know how important it is to have that kind of support! I own no one in this chapter except for my interpretation of Sigyn. Reteka Hyuuga Thank you for the Birthday Wishes, I had a marvelous day! I absolutely love Frigga not only is she kind and bold, but I think that she is secretly the sassiest of them all. Snow White Queen Thank you for the Birthday Well Wishes, I did have a wonderful birthday! I am sorry to hear you were so sick, and I hope that you are starting to feel better! I think your assessment of Fandral is spot on. Games of the heart are his specialty. Loki is not very perceptive about himself, and I think the cannon shows that nicely. Yes, Asgardian culture is quite different from the culture of today's society so Frida's advice does seem extremely backwards to us, though it isn't entirely archaic. For Sigyn and Loki there is always going to be friendly competition to see who will come out on top, but even they will face situations where someone has to make a decision and their equal levels of stubbornness will be highly problematic if they don't agree on the decision to be made. Yes, it is time for Frida to move on with her life, which means we all know who Sigyn is going to be spending more time with. Well choosing names for my non-cannon characters is not as deep as one might think. For this story I stuck to names of Nordic descent (Markus is a bit of an exception because the name it originates from, Marcus, is Roman, but I let myself use it anyway because the Romans did influence the Nordic culture.) I usually try to avoid using names that are easily confused with other characters (cannon or other non-cannon), but I did make a few exceptions for this story because of the extreme importance of family in the Norse culture, which in my imagining was influence by the Asgardian culture. Sigyn's father and brothers all have 'Hall' in their name: Halldor, Hallsteinn, and Halli (that is Sigyn's deceased brother, I have not mentioned his name in the story.) Iounn, Frida, and Arnora (Sigyn's eldest sister that is deceased) I imagine are all named after Halldor and Signy's mothers and grandmothers. The greatest exception to my non-similar rule is obviously Sigyn and Signy. I imagine that they named Sigyn for her mother. Hope that kind of answers your question :) Yes, I decided that Sigyn and Loki were being mushy enough that Sigyn didn't need to get out of control with signing her letter in some sappy way, that would just seem too out of character for her. The hooded figure is back again dun dun duuuuuun! We'll see what Loki does with this information, though not yet. I think Loki was very satisfied with his 'punishment,' and with 'punishment' like that Sigyn might be tempted to steal something else. The One and Only A Nice Person I see what you did there with your 'eheheh,' I will admit it made me giggle. Awww Thank you! Loki is a tough personality to capture so I hope I can stay consistent to him, though I know there will be times when he acts out of character. Hahaha I am glad that you enjoyed chapter 22 so much! It was one of my favorites to write, and to think I almost didn't write it!


Loki and Thor stood at attention before the AllFather in the throne room. The only other people present were the Queen and a handful of Odin's private guard. Thor oozed confidence and excitement as Odin droned on and on about the definition of a King and his responsibilities, but Loki could feel a little storm cloud hanging over his head. Why Odin couldn't skip the long drawn out vocabulary lesson and just proclaim Thor his heir was beyond the younger Prince's understanding. All Odin was doing was putting off the inevitable, and it smarted Loki's pride like salt in a fresh wound. The AllFather finally neared the ending of his speech and Loki braced himself for the wave of disappointment that Odin's next pronouncement would bring him. Even though logic dictated that Thor would be named the next king, it had not destroyed all Loki's hope that he might yet be chosen.

"… I have raised both of you, my sons, in a way befitting a king. While either of you would have made an accomplished ruler, only one of you will do so. Were it that I had two kingdoms to give! I would have placed a crown on both of your heads. Alas, this is not the case. I have only one throne to give away, and as my eldest, it is only right that it falls to Thor."

Thor's blue eyes glimmered with pride at the pronouncement, and Loki felt the sliver of hope he had held die. His brother took a step forward and bowed to Odin.

"I swear to you father that one day I will take up your place with such state and power as to make you proud." He promised.

Odin smiled at his eldest.

"I do not doubt it." He replied quietly.

Loki had assumed that with that he and Thor would be free to leave, but before they could make a motion to go Odin addressed Loki.

"Loki step forward."

Loki did as Odin bid him despite his confusion about why he had been told to do so.

"Just because you will not ascend the throne, does not mean your role will be any less important to Asgard. It will be up to you to be your brother's closest advisor and companion. You will have to be willing to speak the truth to him when others merely flatter…"

"Not a particularly fitting job for the 'god of lies and deceit'…" Loki interjected silently.

"and believe me, giving council to a king is no easy task. Thor will need your many strengths to assist him when he does take the throne." Odin finished.

Loki gave a small bow.

"In faith, I shall do my best to aid my brother." He answered truthfully.

Thor clapped a hand on Loki's shoulder and gave him a good shake.

"To rule with my brother at my side? I would have it be no other way!" He declared with a huge smile.

"I am sure you wouldn't." Loki thought a tad bitterly.

He smiled despite his bitterness though. He couldn't begrudge Thor things that were out of his control like the order of his birth or that he was the very definition of the model Asgardian. He truly loved his brother so he felt true happiness for him as well, but Thor's happiness did not lessen his own grievances.

Odin nodded his head as a sign that the two Princes were dismissed. The brothers left the throne room together, but did not speak till they were well away from its doors.

"Congratulations brother, not that I ever doubted your surety to succeed the AllFather."

"You are too hard on yourself Loki! You could have just as easily been chosen!"

"Do not flatter me Thor, not even Sigyn wished to see me on the throne." He noted with a smile.

"Did she truly say such?" Thor asked unbelievingly.

"Oh yes, she was very clear about it. She seemed to think that it would distract my attentions from her." Loki explained.

Thor laughed. "Why does something tell me it would have been the other way around?"

"You think she would have distracted my attentions from the duties of the crown?" Loki pressed playfully.

"Undoubtedly brother! A woman such as Lady Sigyn must be satisfied or else she will bring ruin on all she sees!"

"She can be a bit stubborn." Loki conceded.

"A bit stubborn? Why Loki that is an understatement if I have ever heard one. Never have I witnessed one so small whose full fury would likely cause even me to become faint of heart!"

"Then let us hope we never see her full fury then!"

The two laughed for a bit as they made their way to their normal meeting chamber.

"In truth brother, she suits you well." Thor stated in a more serious manner as he opened the doors to the room.

"Does she now?" Loki asked.

Sif and The Warriors Three were not there yet so Loki and Thor stretched out on the couches.

"Yes, you make quite a handsome couple. A dark Prince with his fair consort."

"Well should you take seriously to Lady Sif you shall be our inverse. A dark-haired warrior with her golden Prince." Loki returned.

Thor stretched his legs out with a smile.

"Have you discovered how to change Sif's hair back yet?"

"I might have an idea or two."

"And will you change it?"

"Probably not."

Thor shook his head.

"I think you have known how to reverse it all this time." He charged.

"What an accusation!" Loki replied in feigned indignation. "You were there as a witness when I tried to change it back and failed."

"Ah, but deceit is one of your greatest gifts is it not?" Thor reminded him with a smile. "Either way it hardly matters to me. Sif's new hair color suits her better now anyways. As for taking to her seriously, I doubt I shall take seriously to any woman anytime soon. Why should I tie myself to one, when I can have them all?"

"Not all." Loki pointed out

"So you don't intend to share Sigyn with me?" Thor teased.

"Decidedly not." Loki answered firmly.

"That is too bad, I am sure we three could have made a good time of it."

It took a moment for Thor's lewd jest to sink in, but when it did Loki let out a single laugh and let a pillow fly at Thor. Thor began laughing at Loki's reaction, and deflected the pillow with relative ease before sending one towards Loki. The few pillow barrages turned into an all-out war, and soon Loki and Thor found themselves wrestling about on the floor as teenage boys are want to do. Sif and The Warriors Three entered the chamber to find the royals on the floor in fits of laughter and a tangle of limbs.

"If you need a little privacy we can come back." Fandral joked.

The brothers quickly separated and tried to suppress their laughter.

"No need for that," Thor assured his friends, "Loki just found it necessary to defend Sigyn's honor."

"Looks like he was losing." Volstagg commented with a smile.

"Yes, well it is the thought that counts isn't it?" Fandral noted.

"So how did you slander Sigyn's honor in such a way that urged Loki to come to her defense?" Sif asked

"I merely suggested that Loki and she might enjoy a third member to their party every so often." Thor answered with a wink.

Sif rolled her eyes before taking a seat.

"They very well might," Fandral interjected with a grin, "but, correct me if I am wrong, didn't she slap you the last time you suggested bedding her?"

"And who would you suggest to take my place?" Thor asked curiously while plopping down on a couch.

"Someone a bit gentler perhaps? A man who is a gentleman no doubt, but skilled with his sword none the less." Fandral stated with a wink towards Loki, which earned him an eye roll from the Prince.

"Yourself? Please!" Sif lamented. "How old are you?"

"Old enough to know that a man has both needs and fantasies Lady Sif." Fandral volleyed back.

"What you are suggesting sounds more like a nightmare." Sif determined. "Sigyn would probably slap you and Thor both were she here."

"Hmm yet another fantasy." Fandral sighed.

Sif threw her hands up in the air in defeat while Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, and Thor had a good chuckle. Loki conceded a smirk to the banter, but given that he still didn't trust Fandral to leave Sigyn alone, that was all he would allow himself.

"So what was it your father wished to speak to you both about this morning?" Sif asked once she felt the men in the group were ready to talk seriously.

"He wished to announce his heir." Thor stated nonchalantly.

"And?" Fandral asked when neither Thor nor Loki spoke up.

"I will take my father's place on the throne of Asgard." Thor answered.

Sif and The Warrior's three let out exclamations of excitement and congratulations. Loki began to slowly slink back onto the balcony to remove himself from the conversation if only just slightly. What he would have given to be with Sigyn in the library at this very moment.

"Well it only makes sense to have the strongest warrior in all of Asgard on the throne." Volstagg commented. "No offense, Loki." He added hastily when he remembered that Loki was standing right there.

"None taken." Loki assured.

"He is not only the best, but the most courageous." Hogun pointed out. "No offense, Loki."

"None taken." Loki replied in a bored tone.

"Not to mention the people love him…no offense, Loki." Fandral added.

"None taken." Loki answered mechanically.

"And he is the most…" Sif trailed off.

Loki looked at her with a daring stare. He knew exactly what she had been about to say, and he willed her to say it so that he could pounce. Intelligence. She had actually been about to suggest that Thor was the more intelligent of the two of them, but even Sif in all her hatred of him couldn't say something so blatantly false.

"And he is the eldest." She finally resigned herself to saying.

With that the group let the topic of Thor's inheritance drop, much to Loki's relief. If this conversation was going to be any indicator of the conversations that Loki would have to suffer through once Thor's succession to the throne was officially announced to the kingdom, then he was in for a lot of misery.