Author's Note: This chapter is pretty long, so I probably won't be updating for about a week just so I can get a little further ahead than I already am. MegsyO, thank you so much for coming out of your corner to let me know you are enjoying the story! I am honored that you would venture out of your comfortable spot in the corner to comment! Snow White Queen I loved your review (and of course you are excused for using 'damn' so much. Every once in a while you just need to say it to get it off your chest!) I love reading your reviews regardless of their length so never fear if you think they are too short! Hopefully you will be able to survive your finals and I hope that your computer will start cooperating again! JaviMason19691 first off, I love that you posted a review as a guest on accident. That was very amusing. Hmmm you would like to see Sigyn with Thor or Fandral even… interesting… Never fear, you will discover Loki's fate in this chapter! Yes, Sigyn is having trouble with men isn't she. Maybe a near death experience will change Loki for the better…or maybe it will destroy him. Who knows? Caitreylove safe traveling! Anonymous1662 Yes, Theoric did seem like the one didn't he. Yes, this is probably the first time we have been able to actually feel a little bit sorry for Loki in a long while isn't it?
The Queen didn't seem much more at ease when Sigyn arrived the next morning, but Sigyn wasn't sure if it was because of her comment about Loki not truly being Frigga and Odin's son, or because something had happened to Loki after all. Normally Sigyn didn't find silence to be awkward, but she certainly did find it to be so now as she sat quietly with Frigga.
"Has Loki not returned?" She finally worked up the courage to ask.
Frigga shook her head 'no.'
"He has not."
"Well who is out looking for him?" Sigyn asked.
"No one."
"No one!?" Sigyn practically shouted. "What do you mean no one is out looking for him? He has been gone for what, almost a day now!?"
Frigga sighed.
"It does seem ridiculous doesn't it…"
"It is more than ridiculous, it is wrong. If Thor had been missing this long do you really think no one would have been out searching for him!?"
"Their situations are different Sigyn…"
"Why? Because Thor is the Crown Prince and Loki is not?"
"You know that is not why Sigyn." Frigga commented. "Odin and the War Council, including your father, had already decided that Loki would be given a twenty-four hour grace period should he not return from a mission when he was supposed to."
"Grace period? It sounds more akin to a condemnation period to me. Please tell me that you are not at ease with this decision." Sigyn pleaded.
"Not in the least." Frigga admitted.
"I am stunned Thor hasn't protested this!"
"Thor doesn't know."
"Doesn't know what? That Loki is missing, or why Loki is missing."
"Either." Frigga explained. "Thor has no idea what work Loki has been doing for his father, no one outside of the council does…"
"Except for the Crimson Hawks, Markus, Frida, and myself." Sigyn pointed out.
"Well yes…"
"And how could Thor not know Loki is missing? He was the one who told us remember."
"True, but his father excused Loki's absence by saying that he had gone into the town."
"A lie that should have only held up till last evening." Sigyn noted.
"Thor won't suspect anything till Loki fails to show up to training today." Frigga remarked.
Sigyn wanted to cry out in frustration. This was insane Loki wasn't a spy, he was a Prince! What had he been thinking? Sigyn looked towards the Queen to vent once more, but stopped when she saw Frigga's face. Sitting across from her was no longer the Queen of Asgard, but a frightened mother. Sigyn's anger melted away, and she realized how callous she had been in her accusations. She had yelled and raged on like a fire while Frigga sat there needing comfort and support. Sigyn went to her knees by the Queen's chair and took the older woman's hands.
"I am so sorry, My Queen… I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to accuse you in any way."
Frigga looked down at Sigyn with teary eyes and a sad smile.
"No, you are correct, this isn't fair. I just have to believe that Loki will be all right."
Sigyn squeezed Frigga's hands in reassurance.
"He will be. If anyone can get themselves out of a tricky situation, it is Loki.
Frigga didn't seem convinced so Sigyn tried another tactic.
"What can I do for you? How can I help?"
"I think there is little you can do, my child. I need my son back." Frigga answered.
A sudden idea hit Sigyn and she smiled. Perhaps there wasn't anything she could do to help, but she knew someone that could. She rose from Frigga's side and made her way quickly to the door.
"I will be right back, My Queen. There is someone I must speak with."
She exited the room before Frigga could respond and began to make her way down the corridor. She knew Markus and her brother would be training at the moment, and once she was certain that there was no one in sight, she lifted up the hem of her dress and began to run. She reached the training grounds in no time at all and ducked in and out of the warriors training in search for either Markus or her brother. She ignored the curious stares of the warriors around her, and though it took much longer than she would have liked, Sigyn finally located Markus.
"Markus!"
"Sigyn? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for Theoric. Do you happen to know where he is?"
Markus glanced around at the warriors that were now staring at them.
"He is in a meeting with the Hawks. Why?" He asked with a tone that said 'this is really not a good time.'
"I need to speak with him."
"Can it not wait till this evening?"
"No, it is urgent."
"What is so urgent?" Markus pressed.
"…wedding plans. Something came up with the wedding plans…" she lied.
The warriors that heard her began to smirk at the silly reason. She looked like a complete idiot, but at the moment she hardly cared.
"Wedding plans?" Markus asked disbelievingly.
"Just trust me, it cannot wait." Sigyn begged.
"Very well…" he relented, "but I expect you to give me the real reason later." He added on quietly.
Markus gave Sigyn directions to where Theoric was having his meeting, and Sigyn headed that way immediately. She knocked quickly when she reached the door to the chamber where Theoric was currently in his meeting, and tapped her toe impatiently as she waited from someone to answer her knock. The door was pulled open by a man Sigyn didn't recognize, and she looked around him in search of Theoric.
"Can I help you?" The man asked while eyeing Sigyn curiously.
"I need to speak with my fiancé…"
The warrior gave her a blank stare.
"Lord Theoric…" Sigyn supplied in an annoyed tone.
"Sigyn?" Theoric's voice asked uncertainly as he came into view of the door. "Sigyn, what are you doing here?"
"Visiting the Queen." She replied.
"I know that, but what are you doing here?"
"Speaking with you… well at least I would if this man would step out of the way."
The man blocking the door looked down on Sigyn as if her bluntness surprised him. He then looked to Theoric with a raised eyebrow.
Theoric gave a sigh and nodded for the man to move. Theoric stepped into his place, blocking Sigyn from the room.
"Sigyn this is a really bad time to be having a conversation." He noted.
"I know it is, but this is important. You have to go after Prince Loki."
Theoric looked a bit taken back by her unexpected request.
"What do you mean I have to go after Prince Loki, and how in the Nine Realms did you know he was missing?" He asked in a whispered voice.
"It doesn't matter how I know, what is important is that I do know."
"Actually Sigyn it matters quite a bit how you know." Theoric replied.
"I was here yesterday when Thor mentioned to the Queen that he was gone. Does that satisfy you?" Sigyn asked in a frustrated tone. They really didn't have time for this conversation.
"Sigyn we can't just go in and pull Prince Loki out, the AllFather and the War Council were very clear on that. They said we must wait twenty-four hours before going in after him." Theoric pointed out in exasperation.
"No, they said that they must wait twenty-four hours to send all of you after him. No one ever said that one of you couldn't go. Wouldn't that be the more logical plan of action anyways? Why send everyone if one person can pull him out?" Sigyn retorted loudly enough for those in the room to hear.
"I can't just go in without orders and do that."
"Why not, if this had been Thor you all would have had orders to do just that within ten minutes."
"That wouldn't be the same…"
"Why does everyone seem to think that it shouldn't be the same!? They are both people are they not?"
"When did you start caring for him again?" Theoric asked in a skeptical voice.
Sigyn paused for a moment. Theoric's question was highly unexpected, and had thrown Sigyn slightly off kilter. When had she started caring about Loki again? She pondered it silently for a few minutes before the truth hit her.
"I never stopped." She replied quietly.
Theoric thought about her response and request for a moment, and then nodded.
"Very well. If my leader will allow me, I will go ahead of the others and see what I can do."
Sigyn pulled Theoric in and kissed him hard.
"So you still care for me too?" He asked softly so that his teammates couldn't hear.
"Of course you fool, I'm marrying you." She replied with a smile and a final kiss goodbye.
Sigyn left the chamber, and began to head towards Frigga's sitting room when the AllFather's voice stopped her.
"So was your discussion about your wedding plans, or my son?" He inquired.
Sigyn turned and curtsied to Odin before replying.
"You are wise, My King, so I believe you already know the answer to that."
"Loki's well being is hardly your concern, Lady Sigyn." Odin noted.
"Well someone has to save your son if you won't." Sigyn remarked before sprinting off in the direction of the Queen's chambers once more.
Frigga was still in her sitting room when Sigyn returned, and she gave her an inquiring look.
"Everything is going to be fine." Sigyn assured. "If anyone can find Loki, it will be Theoric."
Frigga gave Sigyn a grateful, yet unconvinced smile. The Queen's lack of faith was a little disheartening to Sigyn, and she bit her lip nervously.
"If you would like to be alone I can go." She offered.
Frigga shook her head 'no' and rose from her seat.
"Stay with me. I appreciate the company." She assured. "I could use some fresh air though. Would you be willing to take a turn with me about the gardens?"
Sigyn nodded in approval and walked by the Queen silently to the gardens. They strolled about for over an hour or so spending most of that time in silence. They eventually reached a familiar lookout. Sigyn smiled as she leaned against the railing.
"This was the first place Loki showed me his magic." She informed the Queen.
Frigga placed her hands on the railing and smiled down to Sigyn.
"And what did he show you?" She inquired.
"That he could create a look-alike."
Frigga laughed.
"Yes, that one has been in the works for quite some time. He is quite good at it now, but I can always tell which one is the real him."
"As could I. How did you know?"
"A mother's instinct I suppose… and you?"
"You could only slap the real one." Sigyn teased.
Frigga didn't try to fight back a chuckle, and Sigyn was glad that she could at least distract the Queen from her worries though she could not completely alleviate them. They stood in silence for a few moments more before Frigga looked out over the city wistfully.
"Forgive me for asking Sigyn, but would you have married Loki if he had asked?"
Sigyn looked down at her hands and sighed.
"If he had ever asked? Yes."
Silence.
"Loki is my son, but not by blood." The Queen revealed serenely.
Sigyn fixed her gaze on Frigga, waiting for her to explain.
"Odin took him in after the war with the Frost Giants."
Sigyn believed that Frigga wished her to suppose that Loki was an Asgardian orphan of war, but Frigga wasn't aware of what Sigyn had seen in the library.
"Loki is a Frost Giant." Sigyn responded.
It was a statement, not a question. The Queen did not miss that fact, and determined not to deny the truth.
"He is."
"I don't mean to be rude, but I sort of expected a Frost Giant to be…I don't know… giant." Sigyn pointed out.
"They normally are. Loki is a strange exception, which is likely the reason he had been abandoned."
"Abandoned? You mean he was just left to die?"
"He was. Odin found him in the aftermath of the battle amongst the ruins, and took pity on him."
"So his Asgardian looks, they are an enchantment?"
"Just his skin."
"…and his eyes." Sigyn added.
"Yes, and his eyes."
"So how did you explain the fact that Odin had been off to war, and suddenly you had a newborn baby?"
"We weren't sure what to do about it at first so we hid him. Thor was still a small child himself so we didn't have to worry about him finding out, and only a few of our most trusted servants knew of him. We thought that perhaps we could use adopting Loki into our house as an example of how the two societies could live in peace, but we ultimately decided that the fear of the Frost Giants was too strong to risk it. There were those in Asgard at the time that would have called for Loki's death should they have known his true heritage."
"But he was only a child." Sigyn protested.
"That wouldn't have mattered to them." Frigga explained. "You weren't even born yet, so you can't understand the extreme fear and anger that Asgard had for Jotunheim. It was so strong, that it has lingered even till this day."
"Which is why people can't know his true birth."
"Yes. To answer your previous question, not long after Odin's return from the wars I faked a pregnancy with my magic. A little over nine months later we introduced Loki to Asgard as our second son."
"Does Loki know the truth?"
"No, we have never told him."
"Do you think that is wise?" Sigyn asked in a worried tone.
"Odin thinks it is the safest thing for him right now. We will tell him when the time is right."
"So the enchantment that hides his true form… how does it work?"
"It came to him naturally really. Any time Odin or I held Loki his Asgardian form would take over. I was able to make the change semi-permenant."
"So there are things that can set off his true looks?"
"Certainly, but very few."
Sigyn nodded in understanding before looking out over Asgard once more.
"I suppose you wish me not to tell him…"
"I would be grateful if you refrained." Frigga replied.
Sigyn didn't feel entirely comfortable with lying to Loki, but then again what did it matter? In approximately three weeks she would be a married woman, and wouldn't have to worry about lying to Loki since she would hardly ever see him.
"Are you hungry Sigyn? It has just dawned on me that we skipped luncheon." Frigga noted.
"I suppose I wouldn't mind having a little something to eat." Sigyn confessed.
The two women were just reaching the gardens on the back end of the palace when Sigyn looked over the rail and noticed three men on horseback headed towards the back gate.
"My Queen!" She stated excitedly while grabbing on to Frigga's arm to attract her attention.
Frigga looked over the railing and saw the riders as well.
"Follow me." The Queen quickly commanded before picking up the hem of her dress and running in a direction that Sigyn had never been before.
Sigyn imitated the Queen's actions, and ran right behind her. Never in a million years would Sigyn have ever expected to see Frigga, the Queen of Asgard, run in a dress. If the situation had allowed for it, she might have smiled. As it were, there was no time for amusement. One of the riders had been carrying Loki, and he had looked to be in rather poor condition. The Queen led the way down several corridors before descending a flight of stairs that Sigyn hadn't even known existed. The three guards, who Sigyn knew must be members of the Crimson Hawks, were just pulling into the abandoned courtyard when Frigga and she arrived. Two of them dismounted, and the one carrying Loki lowered him down to them. Frigga had clasped her hands to her mouth in shock at the sight of her bloodied and battered child, and Sigyn fought the urge to vomit at the pungent smell of blood.
"We'll take him to your chambers before we go report to the AllFather." One of the Hawks stated.
"Is the news important?" Frigga asked.
"Yes…"
"Then go straight to Odin at once. Sigyn and I will get Loki to my chambers." Frigga directed.
The Queen went to support Loki on one side, and Sigyn swiftly came to the other. The three warriors left to find Odin, and Sigyn found herself trying to carry Loki's dead weight with the assistance of Frigga to her chambers.
"Why aren't we taking him to the healing rooms?" Sigyn managed to ask in between little grunts of exertion.
"The healers can't know he is injured. They would ask what had happened, and they are not authorized to know that information."
"But you are the Queen, if you told them not to ask questions they wouldn't." Sigyn pointed out.
"It is a risk we can't take." The Queen stated.
The two women lost the ability to converse as they tried to get Loki up the final flight of stairs that would drop them off at the Queen's chambers. Once inside the Queen informed Sigyn that they would take him into the bath chambers to look over his wounds. Sigyn took a deep breath once they laid Loki out on the floor. He certainly weighed more than you would have thought just by looking at him. The Queen tore off the tattered remnants of what Sigyn assumed had been his shirt, and threw them out of the way. Now that she was standing over him, Sigyn could see the tattered mess that had once been his chest. There were scars of varying ages, newly closed up wounds, and a fresh stab wound just to the left of his heart. The warriors had taken the time to at least plug the wound with some sort of bandage to try and stop the bleeding, but as Frigga pulled the temporary fix out of the wound Sigyn was forced to wonder if their makeshift treatment had done much good. Blood began to ooze out as the bandage was removed, and Frigga studied the stab intently.
"He needs a healer." Sigyn pressed.
"And you are looking at one." Frigga replied without looking up.
She held out a towel for Sigyn to take and instructed her to apply pressure on the large wound by his heart. Sigyn did as she was bid while Frigga went to undo her son's trousers, which were in less than great shape as well. She paused for a moment and looked at Sigyn with an expression of confliction. Sigyn gave Frigga an encouraging nod.
"You need to examine him for any more wounds. Don't mind me, I've seen him naked before." She reminded the Queen.
Frigga nodded and then undressed Loki the rest of the way to search for any more serious injuries. Sigyn focused on applying pressure to Loki's stab wound and monitoring his breathing. Was he even breathing? Sigyn hovered one of her hands over his nose and mouth to determine if Loki was breathing since she couldn't see or feel his chest rising and falling.
Nothing.
Sigyn's heart stopped.
Nothing.
Was he already dead?
Nothing.
Should she tell Frigga?
She finally felt the faintest ghost of a breath hit her hand, and relaxed ever so slightly. Loki was in exceedingly poor condition, but he was alive. Frigga finished surveying the rest of Loki's body in no time at all, and instructed Sigyn to rest Loki's head and upper shoulders in her lap. Sigyn followed these newest commands and Frigga placed her hands over Loki's wound. The Queen closed her eyes and Sigyn remaind completely still so as not to disturb her. There was a faint glow coming from where Frigga was pressing over Loki's wound, and Sigyn kept her eyes transfixed on the sight. She didn't know how long she and the Queen sat there waiting to see if Loki's injury could be fixed, but Frigga finally opened her eyes and removed her hands. Now instead of a gaping hole, there was a nasty bloody scab. Loki's chest was rising and falling ever so slightly and Sigyn looked at Frigga expectantly.
"I think he will live." The Queen stated.
Not exactly the most reassuring thing Sigyn had ever heard, but it was better than saying he was doomed she supposed. Frigga tossed the ruined towel over with Loki's ruined clothes and went to retrieve two more. Sigyn, anticipating the Queen's intentions, grabbed a washbowl and filled it with water. She set the bowl next to Loki's head and took one of the cloths from Frigga. Frigga started by gently wiping the blood and grime from Loki's face, and Sigyn started very carefully doing the same to his upper torso. The more she cleaned, the more damage that had been done to his body was revealed. None of these injuries looked to be minor, and Sigyn began to wonder how many times Frigga had been forced to nurse her dying son since he started his work with the Crimson Hawks.
"Does this happen often?" She asked in a hushed tone.
"Never."
"Never? But all of these scars…"
"Are from the past twenty-four hours." Frigga interjected.
"How is that even possible? Some of these look days, weeks, even months old!"
"Loki's body has always been able to heal itself rather quickly, but as his magical abilities have grown so has his bodies healing abilities. His skills are much stronger than mine have ever been." The Queen explained.
Sigyn looked quietly at the man lying naked and helpless on the floor in front of her, and silently hoped that for Frigga's sake he would pull through. Once they had cleaned him up as best as they could, Frigga recovered a blanket from her sitting room and wrapped it around her son. The pair then managed to get him into the sitting room and onto the couch. Frigga pulled up a chair next to the couch so she could hold Loki's hand and stroke his hair. The sun would be setting in a couple of hours, and Sigyn thought it would be wise to return home and leave the Queen in peace. When she reached the door however, Frigga stopped her.
"I can understand if you do not wish to, but I would appreciate it if you would stay."
Sigyn hesitated for a moment. This seemed like such an intimate family moment and she didn't wish to intrude, but at the same time she hated leaving Frigga here by herself. What if Loki did die? He surely wasn't out of the woods yet, so it was possible. The thought of Frigga being alone if that were to happen seemed too cruel, so Sigyn pulled up a chair next to the Queen's and sat silently. Neither of them spoke seeing as there was nothing really to say. Sigyn's thoughts began to drift towards Theoric, and she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing. If there had been time, she would have asked the three warriors she had seen earlier. Alas, there had been even more important things to focus on then.
The sun was just beginning to set when Eydís quickly knocked on the door and entered.
"The warrior's have finally returned, My Queen."
Frigga nodded her head.
"Go to them Sigyn, and send Odin here at once."
Sigyn nodded and was out the door and down the corridors in no time. She managed to to find the courtyard from earlier and looked amongst the men, and Lady Sif, who had just returned. They looked tired and beat up, but rather cheerful considering they had just finished fighting. The AllFather was easy to spot seeing as he was standing next to Thor. Sigyn made her way over to him, and gave him a brusque curtsy.
"The Queen asked me to tell you before I left that she requests your presence in her chambers presently." Sigyn stated in a calm voice that didn't betray the heaviness of the actual situation.
"Then I shall go to her. Thank you Sigyn."
The AllFather exited swiftly, and Sigyn was left standing with Thor, The Warrior's Three, and Lady Sif.
"Are you all well?" She inquired politely.
"Yes, quite well… you?" Thor replied while studying Sigyn's gown.
Sigyn looked down to see her gown was smeared with Loki's blood.
"Oh yes, I have just seen my brother. Apparently he doesn't mind ruining dresses with bloody hugs." She lied.
"I see…" Thor replied.
Something in his tone of voice seemed a bit out of place, but Sigyn didn't think too hard on it. He had just come from battle, he was probably just tired. No one else spoke, and the small group eyed her strangely. Sigyn began to feel a bit unnerved, and decided that she should take her leave to find Theoric.
"I should probably go to Theoric. I am sure he would be hurt if I didn't bother to welcome him back." She excused before giving her friends a small nod of her head.
She couldn't see Theoric as she searched, but she did spot Hallsteinn speaking with Markus. She thanked her good luck that she wouldn't have to hunt them down separately since surely one of them knew where Theoric was.
"Hallsteinn! Markus!" She called out.
The two men looked her way, but didn't smile. It really must have been a difficult battle to have affected Hallsteinn and Markus as well as Thor. She hugged her brother first, and was a bit surprised when he didn't let her go.
"Hallsteinn… is something wrong?" She asked while looking up to him.
Hallsteinn looked down on her with pity, and Sigyn's heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong.
"Sigyn… listen to me very carefully. Theoric is dead."
Sigyn tried to pull away from her brother, but he held on to her arms so she couldn't go far.
"Theoric is dead? That can't be right… he can't be dead…"
"He is dead. He was killed uncovering the information that led us to the rock troll forces…"
No he hadn't, Loki had been the one uncovering the information.
"He died a hero. If it hadn't been for him we would never have known the attack was coming…"
Hallsteinn's words began to fade into the background of Sigyn's mind.
Theoric hadn't been the one recovering intelligence. That had been Loki. Theoric had died trying to pull Loki out…
"I want to see him." She interrupted her brother mid-sentence.
"You can't Sigyn, it is not a pleasant sight. I don't think you could handle it." Hallsteinn argued.
If only Hallsteinn knew what she could and could not handle. She had handled Loki's mutilated and bleeding body well enough.
"Then I don't believe you. Unless I see him I won't believe you."
"Sigyn please, try to understand. I am only trying to protect you. Do you really want your last memory of seeing Theoric to be his bloody corpse?" Hallsteinn pressed.
Of course she didn't, but how could she know for sure that he was dead if she didn't see him in such a state herself.
"We knew that you wouldn't be willing to believe us without proof, and we aren't asking you to." Markus interjected. "We brought this."
Markus held out a silver dagger to her. Hallsteinn released her arms so that she could take the dagger from Markus to inspect it. As she turned it in her hands she knew that this was her dagger, the one she had given to Theoric. It looked as if someone had tried to clean it up a bit, but there was still blood smeared on the blade and handle. Tears began to threaten Sigyn's eyes, and she started to feel light-headed. She gripped the dagger tighter, ignoring the pain and blood that began to trickle from her hand as a sickening realization sunk in.
She had sent Theoric to his death.
Sigyn could feel her knees give way as the world faded from a brilliant white to black. Silently she wished that no one would stop her fall so that the cold stones beneath her feet could catch her head and end her misery.
