Author's Note: Hello everyone! I am so sorry it took me so long to update, FanFiction decided it wanted to be stubborn the past several days! It will probably be a week before I am able to update again since I have family coming into town. I own nothing save my interpretation of Sigyn, her family, and my interpretation of the much anticipated T-man :) Caitreylove Yea, Loki is finally starting to really regret his past choices… took him long enough. I think knowing the beginnings of his and Amora's relationship helps clear a few things up. His downfall was gradual, but in the end it was his choice to continue things with Amora so it hardly matters that she began it. Hopefully you will enjoy this update just as much as the others! Little Bird well you won't have to wonder much longer how Loki will take the news of Sigyn being with another man :) Loki is going to have to face that very problem sooner than he would like, and there is no doubt that it is going to hurt. I would feel sorry for him, but as my father always says "You snooze you lose." Loki had his chance and he blew it big time.


Frida's plan to get Sigyn back into society had turned into a little game; well at least in Sigyn's mind. Once a month Frida would invite a young man over to have dinner in hopes of finding someone who Sigyn would approve of as a possible husband, but so far she had been fairly unsuccessful in her quest. Only two or three of them had merited a second invite, and none of them had been worthy of a third. After each meal Sigyn would sit with Markus and Frida in the sitting room to discuss, or in more likeliness laugh at, the results of the evening. Sigyn couldn't help but notice that Frida seemed to find it all a little less amusing than she and Markus did, but Sigyn could hardly help herself. The entire notion was silly. Did Frida actually intended to invite every eligible bachelor in Asgard to dinner till Sigyn said "I do…"? Sigyn still agreed to the dinners despite the ridiculousness of it, since they offered her so much amusement. While Frida didn't appreciate her and Markus's non-seriousness about the whole thing, Sigyn was able to appease her by attending small dinner parties every so often. In a way, Frida's plan was working; it just wasn't in the way she had intended.

Attending the dinner parties hadn't been as unbearable as Sigyn had originally thought they would be. No one bothered her about what had happened between Loki and her, and she was beginning to feel more and more accepted by her peers once more. The talk of court life at these small gatherings kept Sigyn at least up to date on her former friends and lover. Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three had not changed much from what Sigyn could gather, but Loki was a different story. First off, it appeared that he and Amora were going through a bit of a rough patch. One of the girls sitting next to Sigyn had spotted them arguing at the last banquet rather loudly, and had sworn she overheard Amora say that she was pregnant. As for the arguing, Sigyn was not surprised one bit. She was honestly astonished the pair had lasted this long. As for Amora being pregnant, Sigyn highly doubted it. She and Loki had slept together for years without even a pregnancy scare. Magic was good for more than just creating illusions after all. That little detail had more than likely just been added by her companion to make the story more interesting to those around her. The second thing that seemed to be different was that Loki seemed to be spending less and less time with his brother. Sigyn found this new bit of information to be a little unexpected. As different as the brothers were, they were still very fond of one another. Even when she and Loki had been seeing each other, they spent most of their time with Thor and his friends. Loki held a genuine admiration for Thor, despite the fact that he did get on his nerves at times. She silently wondered if she held any of the blame for the brothers growing detachment, but she let the thought flit out of her mind. It had been over a year since she had slept with Thor in retaliation to Loki's cheating, if they hadn't been able to reconcile over that after all this time then it was hardly her fault.

After dinner finished, small groups of people began to cluster together to gossip a bit more. Sigyn felt someone touch her elbow, and she turned to see Markus standing beside her.

"Good evening Markus." She greeted. "Are you surviving the idle chat?"

"As well as can be expected… do you mind if we had a word in private?" He inquired.

"Not at all." Sigyn replied with a smile before following him to a small balcony. "So what is it that my wonderful brother-in-law needs to discuss in private?"

"It is about the man that I invited to our next little dinner date." Markus explained.

"That you invited? Frida actually let you choose this time?" Sigyn asked in surprise.

"It took some convincing, but yes, she let me choose."

"Hmmm that is interesting, so what is it about him that you need to inform me about?"

"I thought that you should know that he is a good friend of mine, and your brother's."

"I take it he is a soldier then, since those are the only friends that Hallsteinn and you share."

"He is, and I just wanted you to know that I wouldn't put a personal friend up to this if I didn't think that he would be extremely favorable to a woman like you. You are like the little sister I never had Sigyn, so I want to see you happy."

"Thank you Markus, I will behave myself for your sake." Sigyn promised.

Markus gave her a nod before returning to Frida's side. Sigyn stayed on the balcony a while longer contemplating what Markus had told her. He must truly believe that his friend and she would get on well if he was willing to damage his friendship by introducing them in such a way.

Sigyn took special care getting ready the evening she was to have dinner with Frida, Markus, and Markus's friend. She might not court the man, but she didn't want to embarrass Markus by looking as if she wasn't trying to make a good impression. She arrived ten minutes early, like she always did, and Frida opened the door with a smile.

"Finally, you are here." Frida stated.

"What do you mean 'finally'? I am ten minutes early."

"Yes, and Theoric was twenty."

"Theoric?" Sigyn asked a bit stunned that she was the last to arrive.

"Yes, your dinner date. Now come in, you've already kept him waiting long enough."

"He's not my dinner date." Sigyn protested as she entered into the house.

"Well he certainly isn't mine." Frida remarked.

Frida led the way to the dining room, but stopped Sigyn before she could enter.

"I really think you are going to like him, Sigyn." Frida stated happily.

"More than Njord?" Sigyn teased.

"Must you really bring that up every time?" Frida lamented.

Sigyn pretended to think for a split second before replying, "Yes."

Frida smacked Sigyn playfully on the arm, and then entered the room. Sigyn stepped in right behind her. Markus and the other man, who Sigyn knew must be Theoric, rose from their seats.

"Theoric, this is my younger sister, Sigyn." Frida introduced.

"Pleased to finally make your acquaintance." Theoric stated before grabbing Sigyn's hand and placing a light kiss on it.

"And I, yours." She returned with a nod of her head.

Theoric gave her a small smile as she went to take a seat.

"I have heard quite a bit about you." Theoric noted, causing Sigyn to sigh inwardly. Conversations with men that began this way tended to end poorly…

"Then it is a wonder you accepted Markus's offer to dinner." She stated honestly.

"On the contrary, most of what I have heard comes from him. I hardly hold stock in what the court gossips say, though I must know…"

"Here we go again…" Sigyn thought woefully to herself.

"is it true you once slapped Prince Thor?" Theoric asked with a smirk.

Sigyn was a bit stunned by the question, but managed to pull herself together quickly enough.

"Yes, My Lord, I am afraid tis too true." Sigyn replied in mock shame.

"Scandal! I am sorry I missed it. What a sight it must have been."

"Indeed, it certainly had our parents in a frenzy." Frida chimed in.

"Yes, it seems I have a penchant for slapping Princes." Sigyn added.

Markus almost choked on his mouthful of food.

"Princes? You've slapped Loki as well?" He managed to ask after he swallowed.

"The first evening I met him." Sigyn replied.

Theoric quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well now you must tell us all about it." He prodded.

Sigyn shook her head 'no.'

"It would hardly be right to tell you all my secrets after just meeting, especially when you have disclosed nothing about yourself." She pointed out.

Theoric raised his glass ever so slightly to Sigyn before taking a drink.

"Fair enough, My Lady, I have asked you a question, so it is your turn to ask one of me."

Sigyn swirled her wine gently as she tried to come up with a suitable question. She felt as if she were at a disadvantage, seeing as Theoric already knew more about her than she did about him. She looked him over quickly to determine what she could about him from his appearance. Though it was difficult to pinpoint any Asgardian's age, Sigyn could tell Theoric was a fair bit older than she was. Probably near Markus's age, which would explain their friendship. He had sandy blonde hair and light brown eyes that shone with a fair amount of intelligence. Slightly unusual for an Asgardian, but rather normal compared to her former lover's looks. He had towered over her when he stood to greet her, but practically everyone towered over her so this was no surprise. He was solidly built, but not overly thick in appearance. There was no question that he was a very attractive man, which led Sigyn to her first question.

"Why is such a handsome man, such as yourself, not married with three or four children?" She queried.

Sigyn ignored Frida's subtle elbow jab to her ribs, and kept her eyes focused on Theoric. There had to be some appalling reason why such an attractive man his age was unmarried, and she was going to find it.

"Time, Lady Sigyn. I am a warrior, and my profession has always come first."

"That seems a weak excuse to me." Sigyn noted. "Both Markus and my brother are warriors by trade, but they have found time enough to settle down."

"No slight against Markus or your brother, Lady Sigyn, but I am something of a different class of warrior." Theoric replied.

Sigyn shot Markus a questioning look, but her brother-in-law didn't seem bothered by the statement.

"Please do explain." Sigyn requested.

This time it was Theoric's turn to shake his head 'no.'

"I believe you have already asked your question, which means it is my turn." He reminded her.

"Very well, what would you care to know?" She asked.

"What you do in your spare time." He answered.

Sigyn took a bite before replying.

"I spend most of my time riding and reading."

Theoric gave her an expectant look, and Sigyn returned it.

"What?" She enquired.

"Aren't you going to elaborate?"

"Elaborate how?"

"I don't know, be a bit more specific perhaps. What do you read?"

"I believe that would be a second question." Sigyn pointed out.

"Fine, what is your query?" He asked. "I still expect you to answer mine afterwards though." He added as an afterthought.

"I am still waiting to hear about your special warrior classification." Sigyn noted.

"I am assigned to a small group of men that handle missions that our larger divisions cannot." Theoric explained.

"That is certainly a vague explanation." Sigyn mentioned.

"Yet it is the most detailed one I can offer you. Our missions are of a delicate nature, and must be treated in a discreet manner."

"So you are a…spy?"

"No."

"An assassin!?"

"No, and I believe that counts as two questions. Now you must answer mine." He reminded her.

"I enjoy reading anything I can find. Novels, history, poetry, it doesn't really matter what it is. The written word is both powerful and lasting, and I am of the determination that all aspects of it has merit to study." Sigyn replied.

"A true scholar then, not that I expected anything less given what information I have gathered about you." Theoric remarked.

Sigyn tilted her head in interest. "More of what the gossips say, or is this information from Markus?" She inquired.

"I will take this as your question for this round of queries." Theoric noted, and Sigyn scolded herself inwardly for not thinking that through a little better. "Neither, actually. This bit I have picked up indirectly from Prince Loki."

Sigyn's mind screamed for him to explain what that even meant, but the gleam in Theoric's eyes told Sigyn that he was well aware of that fact and would not be obliging her just yet. Sigyn waited patiently for him to ask his question, but he said nothing. Instead, he simply took a couple of bites before looking up at Sigyn who was admittedly staring him down.

"Yes?" He asked while trying to conceal a small grin.

"Aren't you going to ask me something?"

He took a moment to ponder before shrugging.

"I suppose I have asked you everything that I had wanted to already." He excused. "Let me think on it a little while."

Though his face appeared serious, Sigyn could see the teasing in his eyes. Theoric was doing this to her on purpose! He knew exactly what she was going to ask next, but he was going to make her wait for it. How cruel, how cleverly cruel!

Sigyn gave him an almost imperceptible nod of her head in acknowledgement of his small victory, and allowed Frida to begin guiding the conversation towards more normal dinner topics. On more than one occasion Sigyn tried to trip Theoric up into revealing more about how he had gotten information on her from Loki, but each time he was able to spot the trap and work around it. Sigyn had to commend Markus silently for inviting a man who posed an intellectual challenge for her, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she won this little game of theirs. All she needed to do was find Theoric's weakness. For most men it was pride. She could set them talking about their career, and they would get so swept off in their tales of glory and bravery that they would loosen their tongue and they could be led into any topic that she wished. The only problem was Theoric didn't seem to suffer from any need to assault her with tales of his great deeds. He was certainly confident in himself and his abilities, but he was rather quiet about it. Undeterred, Sigyn decided to try another tactic. She may be unable to get the information from Theoric directly, but since their question game was still on, she would try to trick him into asking her a question so he would be forced to answer one of hers in return. She once again found herself unable to bait him through words alone, but she began to develop a plan that would be sure to succeed. Theoric was a soldier and a gentleman, so she would play off the latter of the two to open up an opportunity to find out what she wanted. It would take some effort to make the ploy convincing, but she hadn't spent years courting the 'god of deceit' without a little bit of it rubbing off on her. She began with small little gestures like fanning herself discreetly every so often, or allowing her hand to shake ever so slightly when she went to take a drink. She then allowed her gaze to lose focus while listening to Markus or Frida talk, and she even went as far as 'losing track' of the conversation every once in a while. Her slightly odd behavior did not go amiss by her dinner companions, but no one mentioned it.

Frida suggested that they withdraw into the sitting room to converse more comfortably once they had finished their meal. The suggestion was quickly agreed upon, and the four of them stood from their seats. Sigyn inwardly smiled, the time had come. She stood rather slowly from her spot at the table, and held on to the top of her chair firmly for a minute. She closed her eyes as if she was trying to stop the world from spinning, which drew Frida's attention.

"Sigyn, are you ok?" She asked in concern.

Sigyn quickly opened her eyes and gave the others a weak smile.

"Yes, just a bit light-headed is all." She excused.

Frida didn't look convinced, but she didn't press Sigyn on the matter. Sigyn made a motion to follow Markus to the sitting room, but 'passed out' instead. She played her part beautifully, and Theoric was the first person to reach her side. He lifted her into a sitting position and told Frida to get a wet cloth. Sigyn stayed limp in his arms, and tried her best not to smile.

"Lady Sigyn… Lady Sigyn can you hear me?" She heard Theoric's voice ask as a cool cloth was placed against her forehead.

Sigyn moved her head slightly as if starting to rouse.

"My Lady, are you ok?" Theoric asked.

Sigyn mumbled some sort of gibberish causing Theoric to lower his head closer to hers.

"My Lady?" He asked once more.

"I think that counts as three questions." She whispered into his ear.

Theoric let out a sigh, as if he had been holding his breath, and began to laugh.

"You devious little minx." He stated good humoredly.

"I think you owe me an explanation on your association with Loki now." She stated.

"Sigyn!" Frida reprimanded as the truth of the situation hit her. "Was that really necessary!? You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Actually it was. I needed Lord Theoric to ask me a question, and this was the simplest way to get him to do so."

Frida shook her head in disapproval, but Theoric simply smiled at her.

"Very well My Lady, you win. Would you like me to answer your question here, or would you rather we discuss it in the sitting room?"

"The sitting room would probably serve our purposes better." Sigyn replied.

Theoric stood before offering Sigyn his hand. She accepted his offer of assistance, and he pulled her up as if she weighed nothing. This time the four of them actually made it to the sitting room, and spread out on the several couches and chairs located within. Once everyone was settled Theoric began his explanation.

"I have not spoken to the Prince about you, if that is what you are afraid of." He prefaced. "I of course knew about your relationship with Prince Loki, and given my recent dealings with him I assumed that you must be highly intelligent to have kept his interest for so many years. It would appear however, that you had more than intelligence going for you. You seem to be just as devious as he is."

Sigyn smiled at the teasing compliment, but she had more questions that needed answering.

"And what, may I ask, were these recent dealings?"

"Strictly professional, I assure you. Let us simply say that the younger Prince has been working rather closely with the Hawks and myself."

"The Hawks?" Sigyn asked.

"The Crimson Hawks." Markus clarified.

Sigyn's eyes widened.

"You are a member of the Crimson Hawks!?" She asked in disbelief.

"I take it you have heard of us." Theoric replied with a grin.

Now Sigyn understood what he had meant by a different class of warrior. Theoric wasn't just a warrior; he was one of the select few entrusted with the protection of the AllFather himself. Her knowledge of them came more from reading up on their history than anything else, which was not surprising considering no one really knew much about them. Aside from their task of protecting the AllFather, it was rumored that they took on missions that were highly dangerous and sometimes a bit dodgy in nature.

"I have, though I can honestly say I never expected one of the Crimson Hawks to be so…so lighthearted." She admitted once the shock wore off.

"Did you imagine us to be stiff and serious all the time?" Theoric queried.

Sigyn smiled at the now seemingly ridiculous notion.

"Yes, I fear that I rather did."

"So is being proven wrong a disappointment, or a pleasant surprise?" He inquired.

"A very pleasant surprise." Sigyn assured. "So I must ask, what does Loki have to do with the Crimson Hawks?"

Theoric leaned back in his chair and contemplated his answer for a few moments.

"It would obviously go against my orders to tell you anything specific, but I feel as though I can give you a vague idea. The Prince is, as you undoubtedly already know, highly intelligent and skilled in magic. These two traits have proven to be very useful to us in the gathering of intelligence, and in…how should I say it? ... the cleaning up a few little messes here and there. Prince Loki's skills have been quite invaluable as of late, even if his ways tend to be a little underhanded at times."

Sigyn mulled over this new information before pushing it to the back of her mind. Loki's business was no longer hers, and now that she knew Theoric's interactions with Loki were solely professional she had no need to chase that topic any further.

"I can now understand why you are not married." She remarked. "You have a dangerous job Lord Theoric, should something go horribly wrong you could put those you truly cared about in serious danger."

"Yes, the dangerous repercussions of my profession played no small part in my decision to remain unwed." Theoric agreed.

"Played no small part?" Sigyn noted. "Is that no longer an objection to you marrying?"

"No, not for much longer at least. It is my intent to resign my post in the near future. There are several missions that I cannot pull out of just yet, but once they are complete I will be free to move on to a new chapter of my life."

Which explained why he had agreed to this dinner. It would appear Markus was trying to help Theoric rejoin society just as Frida was trying to help her. The tide of the conversation turned away from Theoric's profession and connection to Loki to things that both Markus and Frida could chat about as well. It was late in the evening when Theoric excused himself, and offered to see Sigyn home. Sigyn accepted the offer, and Frida and Markus walked them as far as the front door.

"Thank you for the stimulating evening, Lady Sigyn." He thanked once they were a little distance from the house.

"No, thank you. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed such interesting conversation with a man." Sigyn admitted.

"And by a 'long time' I assume you mean since you were with Prince Loki." Theoric remarked.

Sigyn paused for a moment.

"I suppose so…"

"So is it safe for me to assume that I have merited a second invite?" Theoric teased in an attempt to lighten Sigyn's mood again.

"I dare say it is." Sigyn replied with a small smile. "Though I will have to compare notes with Frida and Markus before any official decision can be reached."

"Then I hope you shall put in a good word for me."

"Perhaps I will, but laughing at my antics probably earned you a black mark from Frida."

"If having a sense of humor is considered a fault My Lady, then it is a fault I will flaunt proudly."

"Well said My Lord, well said." Sigyn approved.

There was a moment of comfortable silence before Theoric spoke again.

"In all seriousness Lady Sigyn, I do hope that we can be friends."

"and in all seriousness Lord Theoric, I believe we shall."