Author's Note: This chapter is admittedly short, sorry! You know what I don't own by now, right? Caitreylove Loki, Loki, Loki… finally putting that shape shifting ability to good use are you? Well Ally, I hope this a quick enough update :)


Loki sat reading quietly on his couch. For once there was no work to be done, and he could enjoy his evening in peace. He had just lit the lamps and candles in his room so he could have enough light to read by, when his door unexpectedly flung open. He expected to see Thor stride into his room, but stood in surprise when he saw Sigyn standing in the doorway instead. She stayed there as if she was unsure about whether to enter the threshold or not. Loki could see a clear battle raging in her eyes, and he knew he had been found out…

Loki strolled to his mother's chambers without any sense of urgency. This wasn't the first time she had summoned him there these past two months. After his little brush with death, Frigga had been more insistent upon Loki spending time with her. Loki made no objection since it spared him from having to be in the company of Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three who, ever since the battle that followed Loki's capture and rescue, had given him an exceedingly hard time about…

"Skipping out on all the fun so he could go play politician in the outskirt villages."

That had been the alibi that Odin and the Council had given for Loki's absence from the battle, and his continued absence for the week following it. Loki stomached the taunts and teasing with a cool façade as always, but deep down it hurt. After everything he had done for Asgard in secret he was met with contempt, and Theoric was regarded as the hero. Only his parent's and the War Council knew the full truth of the situation, and they were the only ones who would ever know.

Loki knocked on his mother's door, and Frigga opened it quickly. Loki stepped into the room, but a female sitting in a chair caught his attention before Loki could greet his mother.

"Good afternoon Prince Loki." Frida greeted.

Loki threw an inquiring look at his mother, and the Queen looked between the two of them for a moment.

"I will leave you two alone for a bit." She stated before leaving the room gracefully.

Frida spoke the moment the door shut behind Frigga.

"Sigyn is dying. I don't think she realizes it, but she is. She can't sleep, she can hardly eat, and she is slowly wasting away."

Straight to the point then...

"So you have just decided to visit the palace so you can give me a report of this?" Loki asked a tad harshly.

"No, I have come to the palace to ask for your help." Frida replied in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

"And why should I help you? Last time we met you made your feelings towards me quite clear. If I recall correctly, you even went so far as to threaten me." He pointed out.

"You know full well that my scorn for you was justified." Frida retorted. "I am coming to you for help now because you once cared for Sigyn, and I think that you might be the only one left who can help her."

"The only one left who can help her? Please, do explain."

"When I first tried to get Sigyn back into society I chose men that were as different from you as possible. I had hoped that their dissimilarity would attract Sigyn, but it didn't work. When Markus tried convincing me of inviting Theoric to dinner I was concerned that it might be a bad idea since I thought him to be too similar to you in many ways, but I was at my wit's end so I finally agreed. I hardly knew the man myself, so I was pleasantly surprised when I met him, and Sigyn took to him almost immediately. It was then that I saw the error of my previous judgment. Sigyn needed a man like Theoric, a man like you."

"I still don't see why you have come to me now." Loki remarked.

"Sigyn is a shell of herself, you would hardly recognize her if you saw her…"

Of course Frida wasn't aware that he had seen her, but he did agree with her. The marked difference in Sigyn was frightening.

"Yet there is little I can do about that Frida. Sigyn hasn't trusted me in years, why should I be the one to help her?"

"When Sigyn lost you it took someone similar to you to pull her to her senses, that someone being Theoric. She has lost Theoric for good Loki, and it is going to take someone like him to bring her back to us once more."

"That someone being me?" Loki queried a bit disbelievingly.

"Yes, that someone being you. You know I love Sigyn dearly, and would never go to the one man who shattered her heart for help if I didn't think that it was the best thing for her."

The words were bitter, but Loki allowed that Frida had the right to be bitter.

"And what would you have me do if I were to go to her?" He asked.

"Talk to her. I am begging you to do this, for the affection you once held for my sister."

Frida had no idea how badly Loki wanted to do just that, to be with Sigyn once more. After Theoric's death Loki had thought it would be a simple matter for him to slip back into her life, but he had been wrong. He waited for a few days after her seven days of mourning were over, and then went to check on her. He had been disguised so she wouldn't recognize him, but he needed to see how she was faring before he went to her in his own form. The sight had been a sad one. Sigyn still wore her grief on her sleeve, but Loki determined that her sorrow would fade soon enough. He continued to check in on her from time to time fully expecting to see improvement in her behavior, but each time he found her worse off than the time before. That is when the error in his judgement made itself plain. Sigyn wasn't going to just shrug off her loss of Theoric, and Loki's hopes of reinserting himself into her life again began to fade. Now Frida stood here asking him to do just that, though he had lost all confidence in his ability to do so.

"Frida, I am not sure that what you are asking of me is possible. It is not that I don't want to help you, but my presence is more likely to do Sigyn harm than it is to do her any good."

"I don't doubt that you will find a solution to that." Frida stated before standing and heading to the door. "I also don't doubt that you will at least attempt to do what I have asked, so I thank you in advance."

With that, Frida was gone.

Frida had been right. Loki did attempt to help Sigyn. He had watched her behavior as closely as possible, and determined the root of her depression. It was guilt. He only knew it because he too had suffered the ill effects of a guilty conscience, though he had dealt with it in a different manner. Sigyn blamed herself for something, and he assumed that something must be related to Theoric's death, but what? What did she have to do with her fiancé's death? Loki needed to get to the source of that problem if he was to help her, which meant he needed to speak to her. At that point the only question was how. How could he get close enough to Sigyn to speak with her? Her family hadn't been able to get it out of her so how could he? He couldn't go as himself that was certain, and he couldn't pose as one of her family members either. It wasn't till that afternoon Sigyn spent exploring the town that an idea came to Loki. She stepped foot into the flower market, and Loki took a chance. The yellow flowers had been enough to catch her eye, and the disguise of an old woman had been innocent enough not to scare her off. Chosing to act as a widow had been his best decision. He had found something that Sigyn could relate to, and used it to his advantage. She had been willing to open up to him in that form because she held something in common with 'Urd' that she didn't hold in common with anyone else she knew. It had taken all of his self-control not to break character when she spoke of Theoric's death. He was first stunned by the realization that she had not only known about his disappearance, but had also been the one to urge Theoric to come after him. It was a humbling revelation really. After everything he had done to her, she was still willing to look out for him. Granted she had actually sent his would be assassin to his aid, but Loki couldn't fault her for that. There was no way she could have known that Theoric was out to have him killed. Hearing her side of the story dissolved any doubts as to why she felt guilt over Theoric's death. She was under the impression that she had sent him to his grave. Loki couldn't help but pity her, but now that he knew what her problem was he could help her through it. He devised a plan to continue meeting with her in an effort to remind her that there were people who still loved her, and who would see her happy again if they could. Loki had looked forward to their monthly meetings earnestly. Just being near Sigyn had been a joy to him, and hearing her recount their adventures together, both the good and the bad, had been a much-needed lift to his spirits as well. It wasn't till their final meeting that Loki had worked up the courage to inquire after why she now feared him. Her story of their encounter in the library had been enough to cause him to feel sick. He truly had seemed a heartless monster to her. Hearing her describe the fears and emotions that had coursed through her as he slammed her into the desk and began to humiliate her in both language and action made Loki feel even more despicable. She truly had believed him capable of not only raping her, but killing her as well. Her retelling had affected Loki so deeply, that he had recently been having nightmares of doing just that. She had every right to fear and loathe him, and yet…

"I do not fear him now… I fear what he did, what he is capable of. In reality though, who is not capable of such an act?"

Had she forgiven him even without his asking for it?

She stood in his doorway now, out of breath as if she had run here. She didn't speak, but Loki wished she would. If she was to rant and rave at him for his trick, than better she do it now then wait till the anticipation killed him.

Silence.

This had been the place where things had begun to fall apart between them. Was that why she was so leery of entering?

Loki took a couple of careful steps towards Sigyn so as not to scare her off, and then waited. The next move was hers to make. The room was so silent that their breathing seemed deafeningly loud. There was a sudden flutter of Sigyn's gown, and Loki found himself caught in her embrace. He was too stunned to react for a moment. Instead, he just looked down at the top of her head in awe. Surely this was a dream, or Amora trying to trick him once again. Deep down however, he knew this was real. The way Sigyn's body fit with his was too perfect to be Amora, and her feel and smell were too real to be a dream. He carefully allowed his arms to encircle Sigyn's small frame. It was awkward at first, as if he had not done this exact same thing hundreds of times in the past. He soon began to relax enough to enjoy the moment however. Time stood still as she squeezed her arms around him, and Loki allowed his chin to rest gently on the top of her head. He closed his eyes and wished silently that this moment would never end. Should the Norns strike him down now he would die a happy man.

Sigyn eventually began to pull back, and she opened her mouth to say something. Loki silenced her words however, by floating a finger in front of her lips.

"If you are about to thank me, don't. If you must say something let it be a condemnation of my character. Let your words drip with disdain for what I once did to you. I have no right to receive anything remotely akin to kindness from your mouth."

Sigyn seemed unable to respond and Loki took his arms from around her waist.

"I don't even have the right to touch you." He remarked in disgust with himself.

Sigyn looked up to him, her eyes wide. As he looked down upon her Loki realized that it was wrong of him to force her to look up to him like this. Sigyn should look down upon him like the wretched creature he was. Without any warning to Sigyn, Loki went down on his knees in front of her.

"I have no right to ask you for anything, but I would ask you for one thing all the same." He stated.

"And what would you ask from me?" She asked quietly.

"Your pardon for my stupidity, your forgiveness for my many mistakes, and your clemency for my cruel treatment of you."

It must have seemed a strange scene to Sigyn. Here knelt a Prince of Asgard at her feet imploring her for pardon. Loki had cast off what little pride he had left in him in hopes of gaining Sigyn's forgiveness. Sigyn bent over so that her eyes were level with his.

"Then it is yours, though I am fairly certain you asked for more than one thing." She stated with a small smile.

Loki felt a weight lift from his heart and mind with that simple response. Sigyn placed a soft kiss on his forehead and swiftly left his chambers. Loki wasn't sure how long he knelt there after she had departed, but he didn't care. Sigyn had forgiven him and now he could forgive himself.