Author's Note: Hello everyone! Just a little heads up that this chapter does lean towards an 'M' rating at the end. Mild sexual content, nothing extreme I promise. Caitreylove well of course I am building you up, but to what? Hahaha well I will be updating again on Thursday so you won't have to check your inbox for an update till then :) Reteka Hyuuga Welcome back! I am so glad that you will be able to comment again! I have certainly missed your reviews. No George R. R. Martin this time. I figure I have already ruined Sigyn's first wedding no need to ruin her second as well :) BeckithaAiken No, I agree. We writers are sadistic towards our characters XD I am not sure why it gives us so much joy. Perhaps we should get help?…Nah. Glad you are enjoying the story so far, and while there is no trouble in the next few chapters I can promise you that it is on the horizon.
Wedding planning… not the most thrilling pastime in Loki's opinion. He wasn't even really paying any attention to what the three women were discussing.
Gowns.
Jewelry.
Flowers.
Swords.
He knew it would be much simpler if he allowed his mother, Lady Signy, and Sigyn make all the arrangements. If they really found themselves in need of his opinion he would supply it, but it was highly probable that he wouldn't have much insight to offer them anyways.
The wedding was two weeks away, and Loki had so far kept his promise to Sigyn. No reckless behavior. No dangerous secret missions. No needless fights. The war council, aside from Lord Halldor, had been rather disappointed by his refusal to take on several rather intriguing missions, but none of them could argue with the reasons for his refusal. No one, not even Lady Sif, had teased him for his promise to Sigyn. Sigyn's fear of losing her fiancé to a dangerous mission before the wedding was far from an irrational one, and they all knew it.
Loki intertwined his fingers with Sigyn's, out of view from their mothers. Sigyn shot him a sidelong glance and a smile, but continued to stay active in the discussion. Loki watched her speak, not really hearing a word that came out of her mouth. He was too entranced by the movement of her dainty lips and his desire to put them to a more pleasurable diversion to focus on her words.
"Loki, pay attention darling." His mother scolded.
"I was paying attention." He fibbed.
"No, you weren't. You were staring at Sigyn as you usually do. There will be plenty of time to admire your betrothed later; right now we have a wedding to plan. Do I need to make you sit over here by me so that you will pay attention?" Frigga inquired.
"No, that won't be necessary." Loki assured. "What plans do you need my opinion on this time?"
"Several things. You have yet to acquire the sword you are going to use in the ceremony." His mother pointed out.
Loki pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. He hadn't even thought about that. He just figured he would choose a random one from the Royal Armory. It just had to be old and belong to one of his ancestors. How hard could that be?
"I am working on that."
"Of course you are." Frigga replied knowing full well that Loki was indeed not working on it. "You better work on it faster though since your father will need to give you the appropriate speech."
Loki mentally rolled his eyes. Was all of this really necessary? Couldn't he and Sigyn just exchange rings, drink the mead, consummate the marriage, and be done with all of this?
"It will get done, I promise. What else is there?"
"We will have to decide who your attendants will be. Sigyn has her mother, her sister, and myself to act as hers, but you are a problem."
"How am I a problem? Thor and the Warriors Three can do the job." Loki stated.
"No, they cannot. Your attendants must be married, and Thor and the others are not. Your father will be there of course, but he has to preside over the ceremony so you need someone else to act as your attendants during the ceremony itself."
"Do we really need attendants?" Loki asked.
He knew that his mother's answer would be yes, but he figured it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Of course you do, it is tradition." Frigga stated.
"What about Halldor, Hallsteinn, and Markus?" Signy offered.
"That would keep the numbers even for both Loki and I during the ceremony." Sigyn pointed out.
Frigga contemplated the idea for a moment and then smiled.
"Yes, that sounds like a good plan…"
"Wait," Loki interjected, "these are to be my attendants so shouldn't I get a say?"
"Considering all the opinions you haven't been sharing I merely assumed you didn't want a say." Frigga remarked.
Loki ignored her verbal jab, and voiced his concern.
"Do you think it is wise having Lord Hallsteinn as one of my attendants? He is not overly fond of me."
"It will be fine." Sigyn assured with a squeeze of Loki's hand.
"It will be a wonderful opportunity for you to bond a little with your in-laws." Signy pointed out.
"Now we really do need to talk about your house colors." Frigga interjected before Loki could protest any further.
"What about them?" He inquired.
"You have yet to decide them." Signy noted.
Loki looked to Sigyn.
"You may choose them if you like." He offered.
Sigyn gave him a half-smile and Loki knew she wasn't going to let him off that easy.
"I cannot. If I chose both of them they would be my house colors, and they are supposed to be our house colors."
"So I will choose one and you will choose one?
"Yes. You will choose our primary color, and I will choose the secondary one." She explained.
Loki began to think over his color options, but was distracted by Sigyn's giggling.
"And what, may I ask, is so amusing?"
"Must you really pretend like this is a difficult decision for you?" Sigyn queried.
Loki was going to argue that it was when he looked down at his clothing. They would be wearing their house colors frequently so he should pick something he liked to wear. What did he always wear? Black and Green, but he only got one color choice, so which would it be?
Black or green?
He glanced back at Sigyn and smiled. She was right this was an obvious decision.
"Very well, I'll take green as my color. And you, Lady Sigyn? Will you be choosing aureolin as yours?" He teased.
"While aureolin is a lovely color, it would hardly make a good companion for your green. No, we need something a bit more sophisticated…"
Sigyn trailed off in thought for a moment. Loki knew she had made her decision when a smile lit up her features.
"Gold. A deep gold, that's my choice." She stated.
"A lovely choice." Frigga commented. "It will make the choosing of Loki's helm an easy one."
Sigyn shot Loki a questioning look, and he had to resist the urge to lay his head down on the table in embarrassment. Yet another thing that had slipped his mind: the Royal helms. There were several of them in the Royal Armory, and each of them looked extremely ridiculous in Loki's opinion. Of course he only knew that since he and Thor used to sneak down there as children to try them all on. If memory served him correctly, there was only one helm that was gold. He looked over to his mother, and her all-knowing smile confirmed his suspicion.
"How wonderful." Loki sighed.
"Yes, those colors will be quite lovely. I am sure we can create a beautiful wedding gown for Sigyn with them." Signy determined.
"And I am sure Loki will be able to design a stunning crown for you as well." Frigga added.
"A crown?" Sigyn queried.
"Of course, my dear. You are going to be a princess so you must have a crown, and it will be Loki's job to provide it." The Queen pointed out.
Sigyn let out a little laugh.
"Is it strange that I didn't even think about the fact that I am going to be a princess?"
"Not at all. It didn't cross my mind either till Odin crowned me."
Sigyn rested her head on Loki's shoulder and clasped her free hand over their entwined fingers. Signy smiled at the two and placed her quill down on the table.
"I think we have had enough wedding planning for one day, don't you Frigga?"
"Yes, I think we have bored Loki enough this afternoon. Shall we withdraw to my sitting room and allow these two some time alone?"
"Yes, I believe that is a very good idea." Signy agreed.
The two mothers left the table, and made their way to Frigga's sitting room. Sigyn lifted her head from Loki's shoulder.
"Someone still has a lot to do before the wedding arrives." She noted.
"It will all get done." Loki promised.
"If you keep putting it off it won't. Your mother mentioned something about choosing which wing of the palace we wanted to live in tomorrow."
"I don't recall her saying that."
"That's because you weren't listening." Sigyn scolded.
"True. Does she plan on taking us through all of them?"
"I presume so, which means I better come prepared for a walking tour."
"Yes, we will be in for a bit of exercise if she intends to walk us through every available option…" Loki trailed off for a moment before approaching a topic that really did concern him. "Sigyn, do you really think it is wise to have your brother act as one of my attendants?"
"I don't see why it would be a problem."
"The fact that he despises me might be one."
"He doesn't despise you, he just doesn't trust you."
"Was that supposed to support your case or mine?"
"It will be fine Loki. Hallsteinn will behave himself if only for my sake."
Loki sighed inwardly. It looked like Hallsteinn would be acting as one of his attendants regardless of his concerns. Sigyn filled Loki in on the rest of the wedding details that he had missed while not paying attention, and then they went to take a walk in the gardens. They didn't converse, just the random remark here or there, but it hardly mattered. Spending time in the other's company was enough for them.
The next day had them walking through every wing of the palace that Frigga thought would make a suitable living space for them. After walking through three wings Loki already knew which one he wanted, but he didn't want to rush Sigyn into making up her mind. After touring half a dozen different areas of the palace Frigga finally sat them down to discuss which one they wished to live in. Sigyn began prattling off a list of pros and cons about every wing they had visited, and Loki managed not to interrupt her till he could literally take no more.
"Would you like to know my first choice?"
"Of course! Please, do tell." Sigyn invited.
"The second wing we saw. The one that looks into the gardens."
"I liked that one too." Sigyn remarked. "It is a bit isolated from the main corridors, but that wouldn't bother me."
"It is also the smallest of the wings." Frigga pointed out.
"That is hardly a problem." Loki answered. "It has by far the best view, it is the closest to the library, and Thor could care less that I have chosen that one since there is nothing in it that would attract him to choose it as his own."
Why he was taking his brother's wants into his decision-making was beyond Loki, but he couldn't help but do so.
"Then the garden wing it is." Sigyn concurred.
"A lovely choice, I think it will suit you both well." Frigga determined. "Perhaps you should go spend some time exploring your soon to be home."
Sigyn bit her lip happily and tugged on Loki's arm in a "Let's go!" fashion. Unable to resist his fiancé's childish charm, Loki took her back to the wing of the palace that was to be their's. They explored each chamber taking in the views, and fantasizing what their future life would be like in them.
"And we could place bookcases along this wall…" Sigyn remarked happily.
"I thought we were putting the bookcases in the sitting room." Loki pointed out while staring at the wall in the bedroom that Sigyn had been indicating.
"We will have some in there was well."
"And what about the study? There is an entire wall for books in there! You do realize that there are other ways to decorate walls than with bookcases don't you."
Sigyn crossed her arms and pouted her lips.
"I love books just as much as you do but bookcases in the sitting room, bookcases in the study, we are as close as possible to the library which is nothing but bookshelves… I don't think there are enough books to fill the number of shelves you are talking about."
"Fine, we won't put bookshelves in here… I'll just weave a tapestry or something to put on the wall."
"Perhaps you should ask your sister to weave it for you." Loki suggested. "I've seen your needlework before."
Sigyn let out an offended "ah" and smacked Loki on the arm. Loki laughed the pathetic attempt of a slap off and pulled Sigyn in so he could throw her over his shoulder. She kicked and squirmed in protest, but it hardly registered with Loki. He strode over to the bed and tossed Sigyn onto it. She let out a girlish scream as she flew through the air and onto the mattress. Loki was on the bed straddling her before Sigyn could sit up. Their bodies brushed, sending a shockwave through Loki. He wasn't ready to take her completely yet, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a little bit of fun.
"Loki, what do you think you are doing?" Sigyn pried.
"Testing out the bed. We probably should have done that before we chose this wing."
Sigyn tried pushing him up a little, but with no results.
"Oh yes, I am sure your mother would have appreciated seeing this."
"I'm sure it wouldn't have shocked her too badly. Besides, I am certain she and my father have done things similar before."
Sigyn blushed, which was exactly the reaction Loki had been going for.
"That is a demented thought."
"Demented? No, twisted… perharps, but not demented."
"Oh Loki, I think it is a bit more than twisted to think about well… about your parent's personal business."
"I never said I thought about it, I just said that I was certain they had done similar. What lovers haven't?"
"It still seems a rather inappropriate train of thought." Sigyn protested.
"Come now Sigyn, have you never thought about how you came into this world?"
"No! I mean of course I know how I came into this world, but I have never thought about it in that sort of detail!"
Sigyn was extremely flustered. Her cheeks shone pink, and she couldn't keep his gaze. Loki had her just where he wanted her. He brought his mouth to her ear and let his warm breath glide over her skin causing her to squirm with anticipation.
"You accuse me too harshly, My Lady. What I stated was merely conjecture."
"Conjecture or not, what you stated was still warped."
Loki tugged on her earlobe playfully with his teeth and then kissed Sigyn behind her jaw line.
"I tend to disagree with you. Maybe we should experiment with just how twisted I can be." Loki propositioned.
He wanted Sigyn to burn as badly for his touch as he burned for hers, so he rubbed his pelvis against hers tantalizingly.
"I am not sure that this is a wise idea…" Sigyn objected with ragged breath.
Loki didn't respond verbally, but physically. He reached his hand up her skirts and let it wander over her thighs while teasing her with butterfly kisses. The smooth skin underneath his fingertips began to warm up as Sigyn began to melt into him. She was coming undone much more quickly than Loki had anticipated. Perhaps she had already desired his touch the way he desired hers. He ground himself harder into her as he found her lips with his own. She was sighing lightly as his clothed body came into contact with hers again and again, and he could faintly hear himself moaning as her body stiffened and relaxed underneath him. He knew they were going to have to stop fairly soon, but he began to wonder how far he could safely push them. What would it take to bring them to the edge of oblivion without letting them slip over? His silent musings were interrupted when Sigyn pulled his head back gently by tugging at his hair. Her lips attacked his throat hungrily. His eyesight began to blur so he closed his eyes and let Sigyn grind her own body against his. A growl escaped him despite the fact that he had his jaw clinched shut, taking him by surprise. This was it; this was far as he could go without loosing it. He supposed it shouldn't surprise him that Sigyn's restraint and control over her sexual desires was stronger than his. He reluctantly pulled himself away from Sigyn and rolled over onto his back.
"I think we have found my limit." He admitted, while trying to catch his breath and steady his erratic heartbeat.
"You are quite cruel you know." Sigyn remarked between shuddered breaths.
"Believe me I know. I was enjoying it as much as you were." He agreed while nodding his head downward.
Sigyn's eyes flitted down towards his lower extremities for a split second and then looked back towards his eyes.
"Yes, I can see that." She replied. "So do you approve of the bed, or will we have to go tell your mother that we have changed our minds?"
"I think it should be quite satisfactory. You?"
"I agree." She replied, curling up on her side by Loki. "You do realize that in a few days our mothers are going to start separating us."
"Yes, I know that."
"It is going to make the wait seem that much longer." She bemoaned.
"But the release all that much more exhilarating." Loki assured.
"Is that a promise?" Sigyn inquired.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Loki replied before placing a kiss on her forehead.
