Author's Note: The note is actually going to be at the end of the chapter. JaVi there are a lot of interesting moments that Sigyn is going to get to read, but yes, that particular moment is going to come as quite a shock to the poor girl XD Caitreylove as always, thank you for your kind words. I'm interested to see your take on this upcoming chapter (well two chapters really).


"You are sleeping with Loki again!?" Frida practically shouted when she walked into the sitting room.

"No, who told you I was sleeping with Loki?" Sigyn queried calmly.

"Mother said that you didn't return home from the palace the other evening, so, unless you were sleeping with Thor, you were sleeping with Loki!"

"I was not sleeping with Loki… well I was sleeping with Loki, or rather I fell asleep with Loki, but I did not sleep with Loki." Sigyn assured her elder sister.

"Sigyn that makes absoloutly no sense."

"Yes, it does Frida. I went to the palace to do some research in the library with Loki. We took our conversation to his chambers and accidentally fell asleep on the couch together. We did not participate in any sexual activity." Sigyn explained.

"Do you actually expect me to believe that?" Frida inquired.

"Since it is the truth, yes."

Frida took a seat next to Sigyn.

"I don't want to meddle in something that is not my business…"

Sigyn gave Frida a challenging look, but Frida continued on all the same.

"but don't you think allowing yourself to get this close to Prince Loki again is playing with fire? Being friendly is one thing, but spending nights in his chambers regardless of whether or not you are actually having physical intercourse is a completely different matter."

"Yes, you are right. Allowing Loki back into my life is a risk, but it is my risk to take. I know the dangers that could arise, but I can't let those dangers frighten me away from a relationship that I wish to pursue."

Frida sighed.

"So it is a relationship that you wish to pursue?"

Sigyn nodded her head.

"I know it must make no sense after everything he did to me, but he has changed. Its like he has finally started to grow up and think like a man instead of a teenage boy. In all fairness, he was a teenage boy when this all began. We were too young, Frida, too young for all of it, but now we can start over…we can try again…"

"Does he wish to try again?"

"Believe it or not, I think he came to the conclusion that he did long before I ever did."

Frida gave Sigyn a wary smile.

"You know Hallsteinn isn't going to approve of this rekindled romance. You remember how he reacted when he saw what Loki did to you. Markus and Father practically had to tie him down to keep him from heading straight to the palace and strangling the Prince himself after you finished explaining what happened."

"I know he will dislike it, and he has every right to dislike it, but he must trust my judgement on this."

"Have you informed Father and Mother of the possibility of you beginning to see Loki again?"

"No, but I don't think they need me to. They know that I have been spending time with him and the others at the palace more frequently as of late."

"Well maybe it would be a good idea to warn Hallsteinn about these new developments. He still won't like it, but he will handle the news coming from you better than if he were to find out from the palace guards. If you are honest and open with Hallsteinn about it he might be more willing to give Loki a chance to prove himself."

Sigyn contemplated Frida's suggestion, and she had to agree. Hallsteinn deserved to hear the truth from her, not that there was that much truth to be told yet. She and Loki still hadn't officially decided to court once again.

"You're right. I will tell him."

"Perfect. Now that that is settled let's go down for lunch, Mother will scold us if we keep them waiting."

Sigyn smiled, and she and Frida went down to join their parents, Markus, and Siggy. The meal was pleasant and Siggy managed to get through it without throwing her food everywhere, which was quite the accomplishment for her. The group spent a bit of time after the meal sitting and talking pleasantly about the upcoming feasts and festivals before Frida declared it was time to get Siggy back home for her afternoon nap. On their way to walk Frida, Markus, and Siggy to the courtyard however, they ran into a servant who looked rather bewildered.

"My Lord. My Lady. Prince Loki has just arrived."

"Prince Loki?" Halldor asked.

"Yes, My Lord." The servant confirmed.

"Did he say why he has come?" Signy queried.

"He says he needed to retrieve something from Lady Sigyn."

All eyes landed on Sigyn, and she smiled.

"Indeed, he does. He allowed me the use of his cloak one particulary cold evening, and has been procrastinating on coming to fetch it." Sigyn explained.

"What shall I tell him?" The servant asked.

"Is he in the courtyard?" Halldor queried.

"Yes, he declined waiting in the sitting room since he merely needed to pick something up."

"Then there is no need to tell him anything, we are already heading in that direction." Halldor determined.

The servant gave a little bow and went off in a different direction. Sigyn contemplated fetching the cloak and tunic while letting the rest of her family meet Loki in the courtyard, but decided against it. That might be a bit overwhelming for him. Loki had dismounted and was petting his horse when Sigyn and the others arrived in the courtyard. He turned his head to look at them, and Sigyn noticed that his eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of practically her entire family.

"I hope I haven't interrupted something important." He commented.

"Not at all." Halldor assured. "We were just showing Frida and Markus out when we were informed that you had arrived. I hope we didn't keep you waiting."

"No, I only just arrived and I have nowhere of importance to be this evening, except for here of course."

There was a sort of awkward formality to the proceedings, and it made Sigyn almost want to laugh. Neither Loki nor her parents seemed to know how to act. He was a Prince so they had to show him respect, but he was also the man who hurt their daughter so they had every reason to dislike him. Loki was very conscious of both of these things, and Sigyn could tell that he was treading very cautiously.

"Erlingr said that you have come to retrieve your posessions." Sigyn offered in an attempt to make things a bit more conversational.

"I have." Loki answered, giving Sigyn a grateful smile.

"I'll run upstairs and fetch them then." She stated.

Sigrún began to fidget in Frida's arms, and Sigyn bopped her niece on the nose playfully before running up to her chambers. The cloak and tunic were sitting on her chest and therefore, easily accesable. She threw the two items of clothing over her arm and made her way back to the courtyard. Upon her return Sigyn opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as she gawked at the scene before her. Sigrún was no longer in Frida's arms, but clambering all over Loki. She was twisting around in his arms as she tugged on different parts of his clothing with one hand, and had a firm grasp on one of Loki's fingers with the other. Loki looked surprisingly calm, in Sigyn's opinion, for being prodded and pulled by a toddler. She swiftly made her way over to him to free him from the burden of her niece.

"I'll trade you." She offered while holding out his clothing to him.

Loki nodded and passed Sigrún over to Sigyn and relieved her of his cloak and tunic. He folded the two items up rather slowly and placed them in his saddlebag. Sigrún fussed for a moment, wanting to go back to the Prince, but Sigyn was firm in her grasp. Her feisty niece finally gave up and settled for tugging on Sigyn's hair. Loki glanced fleetingly towards the entryway of the courtyard before turning back to look at Sigyn.

"Is there anything else you nee-ow! Siggy!" Sigyn exclaimed as Sigrún yanked on her hair and began to babble.

A chuckle reached Sigyn's ears and she shot Loki a disapproving look, but her scolding stare faded when her eyes met his surprisingly intense gaze.

"There are few things I need in general, but I most certainly needed to see that." He remarked teasingly. "May I?" He asked nodding towards Sigrún.

"I suppose…" Sigyn replied a little surprised.

"Come here Siggy… Norns, that is awful Sigyn. Was that really the best sobriquet you could come up with?" He asked while taking Sigrún into his arms.

"She likes it." Sigyn protested lamely.

She was too surprised to be defensive. Loki had asked to hold a child? It seemed out of character, but as Loki nestled Sigrún against him it ceased to seem so out of place. Loki, despite his first timidity around children, was surprisingly good with them. Sigyn watched in amusement as Siggy admiringly look up into Loki's green eyes. She was obviously thrilled that her green-eyed boy had returned.

"I told you that she liked you." Sigyn stated after a minute or two had passed.

"It would appear that you were correct." Loki answered. "Time for her to go back to her mother however."

He strode over to Frida and offered Sigrún to her. Frida took her daughter from Loki's arms, and he came back to stand by Sigyn and his horse once more. He looked as though he wanted to say something and he kept looking between her and her family.

"Is something wrong?" Sigyn queried.

"No, nothing is wrong it's just…"

The rest of his sentence faded out as the sound of approaching riders grew louder.

"Finally." Loki stated with a sigh as he looked back at the entrance of the courtyard.

Odin was the first to ride in, and Thor and the Warriors Three followed him. The sound of the hoofbeats brought several servants running, and they quickly took charge of the men's horses once they dismounted. Sigyn didn't pay attention to them however, since her eyes were fixed on Loki's. She began to feel weak in the knees and her head began to spin as the realization of what Loki was truly here to do dawned on her.

"Lord Halldor," Loki began, "I have come to seek Sigyn's hand in marriage."

Sigyn looked towards her father, silently pleading with him to accept the suit happily. It wasn't like he actually had the option of refusing the suit, but she didn't want him to accept it grudgingly.

"It would appear you have your witnesses, but I have none… unless Markus will consent to act as mine." Halldor noted.

"I will." Markus answered without hesitation, and a little smile towards Sigyn.

"What about Hallsteinn?" Sigyn inquired.

"He is not here to act as a witness." Her father pointed out.

"But he should be." Sigyn stated, while throwing a meaningful look towards Frida.

Frida nodded her approval.

"Sigyn is right." Signy agreed. "Hallsteinn should be here."

"We cannot keep the Royal Family waiting here while we send for him." Halldor noted.

Sigyn looked up at Loki for his support, and he didn't disappoint her.

"Yes, you can. I wish for Lord Hallsteinn's presence so I may know that I carry approval from the entirety of Lady Sigyn's family." Loki stated. "It will hardly hurt to postpone the proceedings long enough for Lady Sigyn to go fetch him."

Sigyn gave Loki's hand a grateful squeeze before giving a curtsy to the AllFather, Thor, and the Warriors Three to dismiss herself. Loki was smart enough to know that she would be the only one able to convince her brother of signing off on this marriage arrangement, and Sigyn truly believe that Loki wanted Hallsteinn's approval just as much as she did. She speedily made her way to the stables and saddled Roan with her sidesaddle. It didn't take her long to reach Hallsteinn's, and she was welcomed by one of his servants. She was relieved to find that he was at home, and was led to his study. She took a moment to steady her nerves before knocking on the door.

"You may enter." He beckoned, and he looked up towards Sigyn as she entered. "Good afternoon Sigyn. What brings you here?"

"A marriage proposal." She stated with a smile.

Hallsteinn smiled back and sat down the scroll he had been studying.

"I'm afraid I will have to decline, seeing as I am already married and you are my sister." He jested.

Sigyn smiled at his teasing despite the nerves that were manifesting themselves in the pit of her stomach.

"Well seeing as you have destroyed my first proposal, perhaps you would like to hear my second."

"I'm listening." Hallsteinn assured.

"Loki has come to father to gain my hand in marriage."

"He has what!?" Hallsteinn cried as he rose from his seat.

Ok, maybe she should have worked into that with a bit more tact…

"He has come to ask for my hand in marriage." Sigyn restated.

Hallsteinn sat back down and folded his hands in front of him.

"And has Father accepted the Prince's suit?"

"He can hardly decline it."

"Of course he can."

"On what grounds? How do you expect Father to decline Loki's suit in front of the AllFather himself?"

"On the grounds that Loki abused and almost raped you! Even the AllFather would hardly be able to argue with that."

"That may be true, but since I desire the match Father will have no cause to bring that up."

"You desire the match? Sigyn have you lost your mind!?"

"No, Hallsteinn, I am quite sane."

"Apparently you are not. Sigyn, Loki attacked you! Have you just conveniently forgotten about that?"

"No, I have not 'conveniently forgotten about that.' People make mistakes Hallsteinn, sometimes really terrible ones, but everyone else in the family seems to be willing to give him a second chance except for you! Markus didn't even hesitate to act as a witness…"

"So you told your sadistic lover to come for you when I would not be present to oppose the wedding contract and Markus would be there to endorse it?" Hallsteinn fumed.

Sigyn tried to interject her own defense, but Hallsteinn continued to rant.

"Haven't you already embarrassed the family enough by playing concubine to Loki for all of those years only just to have him what? Toss you aside for a whore? Must you really bind yourself permentently to that bastard!?"

"Enough!" Sigyn shouted at her brother. "How dare you speak of the Prince that way, not to mention the slight you do his parent's in the insult!"

"What of my assesment of you? Do you not protest that?"

"No, I will accept it to be your opinon of me, though it is false. I will let the memory of that affront and my sad acceptance of your misguided chastisement fester in your mind as punishment for your offense. It was said to provoke my rage, so instead I will give you the opposite reaction of the one you sought." Sigyn answered bitterly before turning on her heel and heading to the door of the study.

When she went to turn the doorknob however, Hallsteinn's hand landed softly on top of hers and he prevented her from turning the handle.

"What is Father to give with you to dowry?" He asked calmly.

Sigyn turned her head to look at her elder brother.

"I do not know, nor does he. If you had let me defend myself earlier I would have told you that the negotiation has not started yet. Father wished to proceed upon the arrival of Loki's witnesses, using Markus as his own, but both Loki and I insisted that we wait until I could come and fetch you."

Hallsteinn's shoulders sagged, and he let out a defeated breath.

"I was planning on telling you of the possibility of Loki and I's renewed courtship, you can ask Frida if you do not believe me. Loki's sudden arrival surprised me just as greatly as the news surprised you. Hallsteinn, I want your approval, and so does Loki. I know you are still upset with him, and for that I am actually honored. Not many girls can say they have a brother as fiercely protective and caring as you."

Hallsteinn's eyes softened a little, so Sigyn pressed her case.

"I am not saying that you have to forgive Loki right now, but give him a chance to earn your forgiveness. I know you don't trust him, so trust me. I believe in him, can't that be enough for now?"

"You realize that if you enter into a marriage contract with him and he attacks you again there will be nothing I can do to protect you. I am willing to go against a Royal, but I can't go against a Royal that you have vowed yourself to." Hallsteinn warned.

"I know." Sigyn assured.

Hallsteinn took in another deep breath.

"Alright Siggy, let's not keep everyone waiting."

Sigyn smiled brightly and threw her arms around her big brother's waist. Hallsteinn grudgingly wrapped his arms around her.

"By the Norns, I am growing soft." He lamented.

"Aldís must have taken up baking." Sigyn teased.

She received a bop on the head for her jest, and then she and Hallsteinn headed for the stables. The trip back home was quick, and they let the servants take care of the horses before heading to the courtyard. Frida and Signy were waiting for them.

"Your Father and the others have already retired to his study, but they promised not to start the talks till Hallsteinn arrived." Signy informed them.

Sigyn went with Hallsteinn to the study doors and then paused.

"I suppose I can't go in." She commented.

"No, I suppose not." Hallsteinn answered.

"Be my voice in there?" She asked.

"Of course."

Hallsteinn entered the room, and Sigyn was left standing there by herself. The amount of power possessed behind those doors was rather staggering when she thought about it. Had any wedding contract in the Nine Realms involved so many powerful people? It was a stupid thought, of course there had been. After a few minutes Frida came with Signy and Sigrún in tow.

"There you are Sigyn! We thought you were going to come back and wait with us in the garden. So have they started discussing the contract?"

"I would presume so." Sigyn answered her sister.

"How did Hallsteinn take the news?" Frida pressed.

"About as well as you might expect." Sigyn admitted.

"Soooo not well."

Sigyn nodded.

"But he still came." Her mother pointed out.

"He did. He is still not thrilled with the idea of me wedding Loki, but at least he is willing to give Loki a chance to redeem himself."

"Loki will have quite a bit of redeeming to do in all of our eyes." Signy pointed out.

"Not mine." Frida stated.

Sigyn and Signy both looked at Frida a tad stunned.

"Don't look at me like that. He doesn't. He has acted nothing but the gentleman to Sigyn since that rather disasterous day, and I have a very strong feeling it is him we owe thanks to for bringing Sigyn back to the land of the living after Theoric's death."

"What makes you say that?" Sigyn queried.

"Nothing in particular, just big sister intuition I suppose."

"Sigrún seems to like him too, and children are always surprisingly good judges of character." Signy added thoughtfully.

Sigyn smiled.

"Who would have thought that 'sister's intuition' and children's ability to judge character would carry more weight with my family than my word!"

"In our defense, you are hardly an unbiased opinion." Frida reasoned. "There is always the possibility that you would simply see the best in him because you wanted to see the best."

"And your 'big sister's intution' could only desire to see the worst." Sigyn retorted.

"But it doesn't, so shouldn't that give it all the more credibility?"

"Perhaps, but it still sounds a bit made up to me." Sigyn answered.

The three women took seats and sat quietly as the men discussed Loki's suit behind the doors of her father's study. Sigrún was fast asleep in Frida's arms, and Sigyn wished she felt as peaceful as Siggy looked. Her heart was racing, and a very small part of her feared that perhaps Hallsteinn or her father would reject Loki's suit. The minutes till the doors finally opened trickled by at an agonizingly slow pace, but when they did finally open Loki was the first one out of the room. Sigyn rose from her seat eagerly, and Loki promptly drew her into his arms. He kissed her quickly before speaking.

"Everything is arranged." He stated.

Sigyn smiled in relief and kissed her now betrothed.

"When is the wedding to take place?" She inquired.

"Three weeks." He answered.

"Three weeks? Can it not be any sooner?"

"I wish it could. Unfortunately there are a couple of things that will take some time to arrange since this is a Royal wedding." Loki explained.

Sigyn placed her hand on Loki's cheek and gazed into his green eyes.

"Then swear to me that you will not do anything rash. No unnecessary battles. No skirmishes simply for amusement. No slaying of monsters for sport... I refuse to lose you the same way I lost Theoric."

"I swear it." Loki promised, while placing his own hand on top of hers.

She rubbed her thumb along his cheekbone till Loki removed it and placed a kiss on it.

"We should leave you now so that we may return to the palace and inform Frigga of the news." Odin interjected. "My wife will be more than a little pleased to hear it."

Loki nodded in agreement, but requested for a few moments alone with Sigyn before he left, which was granted.

"It is likely you will receive a summons from my mother sometime in the next few days. I have a feeling she will want to begin discussing wedding arrangements as soon as possible." Loki stated after everyone else had walked off towards the courtyard.

"You sound thrilled." Sigyn teased.

"Absoloutly elated." Loki lied. "In all honesty I don't know why I simply can't take you home as my wife now."

"Tradition and that sort of thing." Sigyn excused.

"Then I suppose I can't protest that." Loki conceded.

"You could, but I have a feeling that your protest would be in vain."

"Futility has never stopped me from doing things in the past."

"No, I suppose it hasn't."

The pair stood there in silence for a moment just staring into each other's eyes. A small part of Sigyn still felt that this all seemed too perfect to be real. Surely she was dreaming.

"I don't want to leave you." Loki admitted in a hushed voice.

"I don't want you to go." Sigyn responded.

"Three weeks. I just have to remind myself that it is merely three weeks."

"It won't be that awful. We will be so busy planning the wedding that it will seem to go by in no time whatsoever." Sigyn assured, though she hardly believed her own words.

"I love you, Sigyn." Loki whispered affectionately.

"And I love you." She responded before kissing him goodbye.

Watching his lean frame depart down the corridor caused her heart to flutter, and something deep down told her that this time everything was going to work. This time she was going to have her happy ever after.


Author's Note: Just letting you know that I am going to treat this event much like the confrontation in the library, which is to say that there will be two chapters dedicated to it. This was Sigyn's point of view, and the next chapter will be Loki's. That is all. Bye-bye!