Author's Note: Sorry I have been taking so long to update! Writing has been tough because this chapter and the next one are going to set us off on our last story arc that needs to take place. Transition chapters are always the toughest to write for me because while there are things I need to get across, there isn't enough to create long chapters on (especially since I try to keep Sigyn and Loki's POV's separate when I can.) This chapter is really short, but the next one will be longer, I promise! Also I am not really sure if I should reply to reviewers that have just started the story here or not… I am not sure if you guys have made it this far yet… If so, thanks for the reviews! If not, I am just rambling to myself… Caitreylove, there most certainly is a plot point amongst these two chapters. What that plot point is exactly… I guess you will see soon enough.


Sigyn's head was pounding. How many times had Loki managed to knock her out? Seriously, lesson one was not fun. Even when she began catching him trying to lower her guard he still managed to knock her out. She couldn't defend herself. The more they practiced the longer she could forestall the inevitable, but it was still just that, the inevitable. It didn't matter how good she got at predicting his next move to try and trip her up, she still ended up unconscious on the ground or in Loki's arms.

"Loki if we don't stop this I am fairly certain I am going to have permanent brain damage from the lack of oxygen." She finally protested.

Loki held up his hands in resignation.

"Very well, My Lady, we are done for the day."

He came to place his hand around Sigyn's waist, but she stopped him.

"Do not even think about it, Loki." She warned.

Loki smiled his sickeningly charming smile.

"No need to be defensive. I said we were done for the day."

"You also said that my enemies would never play fair." She reminded him.

Loki's smile morphed into a genuine one and he folded his hands behind his back.

"That I did. I think you have a firm grasp on lesson one now." He remarked while holding out his arm for Sigyn to take.

Sigyn refrained from taking his arm, and instead gave him a highly skeptical stare. Loki let out a chuckle.

"I promise we are done for the day."

"Yes, because I should trust the promises of the 'god of lies' who has spent the past several hours knocking me unconscious."

"You make it sound like you didn't enjoy it." He teased.

Sigyn gave him the crossest look that she could and Loki held up his hands for her to see. He conjured a pair of handcuffs for himself and gave Sigyn them an appraising look.

"That is better." She conceded.

Loki offered her his arm again, but she still wasn't completely satisfied. She gave his arm a little poke. He didn't disappear, so Sigyn was certain that it was not one of Loki's illusions. Content to accept that this was not yet another trap, Sigyn placed her hand through his arm. Loki led her back to their chambers, but he trapped her in his arms before she could make her way to the washroom.

"You are not mad at me are you?" He inquired in a completely serious and concerned tone. "I promise that I am teaching you the exact same way I was taught."

"You were knocked out of your senses repeatedly?" She asked skeptically.

"Yes, I was, till I learned the lesson."

Sigyn relaxed in her husband's arms.

"No, I am not mad." She conceded.

"So you forgive me for having to be so hard on you?"

"I hardly think you need to ask forgiveness since I was the one who asked you to train me." Sigyn reminded him.

Loki pressed his still cuffed hands firmly against her back.

"I want it anyways."

Sigyn smiled and went on her tiptoes to kiss Loki.

"Say that again," he requested when she drew back, "I'm not sure I understood your answer the first time."

Sigyn brought her lips up to his once again, and Loki leaned down to make the task easier for her. Loki took a few steps backwards, so his back was against the wall, pulling Sigyn along with him. Their tongues took a few minutes to do some exercising, but finally the burning in their lungs forced them to part.

"May I ask you something?" Sigyn inquired during their interlude.

Loki gave out a low 'hmmm,' which set Sigyn's heart a-flutter.

"Your husband in shackles and completely at your mercy, and you want to talk? Most women would have thoughts other than talking on their mind if they found their husband to be in such a vulnerable state."

"First off, you are never completely at my mercy, Loki. It would be all too easy for you to regain control again should you wish to." Sigyn noted. "Secondly, those things are certainly on my mind as well, but I would rather not have this question hanging in the air while I am enjoying your current state of vulnerability."

"Go on then." He permitted.

"Are you going to spend all of our lessons simply knocking me out?"

"No, I needed to do that to you today so that you might learn a lesson that could keep you from being put in a situation where a fight might be necessary."

"You want me to… never let my guard down?"

"Close. I want you to distrust everyone… to an extent. If you subconsciously distrust people, then you are less likely to leave yourself vulnerable."

"So do you distrust everyone?"

"To an extent, yes…"

"Even me?" She queried.

"Even you. You could do me more harm than anyone else in these Nine Realms, and you have broken my trust before if you recall."

"Only because you broke mine!"

"Yes, I did break your trust, which is why you should never fully trust me either."

Sigyn shook her head in disbelief.

"That is not a good sign for our marriage. How can any marriage be successful if its partners can't trust each other!?"

"I didn't say we couldn't trust one another, I said we couldn't fully trust one another. What you can trust are my feelings. I love you, and I would sacrifice anything for you. Those are things you can trust fully."

Sigyn sighed.

"That doesn't make any sense, Loki."

"No, right now it probably doesn't. Perhaps you will see what I mean someday."

"Or perhaps you are taking the idea of protecting yourself from all harm a bit too far." Sigyn retorted."

A somber calm settled over Loki, and Sigyn began to rethink her former statement.

"I cannot take the idea of protecting myself a bit too far with what I do for the AllFather, Sigyn. The last time I made the mistake of trusting someone I ended up almost bleeding out on the floor of my parent's bath chambers."

Sigyn bit the inside of her lip at the recollection. Perhaps Loki did need to be suspicious of everyone he met, but surely she didn't need to be.

"I don't ever want to see you like that again so be guarded if you must, but surely I don't need to go to such lengths."

"I think you do. It was you after all who pointed out that you could be in danger."

"Yes, but the danger I face is much less certain than your own. I am only in danger if someone discovers who you are, you are always in danger."

"True, but how will you know if someone discovers who I am? I didn't even know that last time someone found out. There would be no warning to give you time to raise your guard, and it is likely that anyone who took you would be someone that was already close to you."

Sigyn's eyes widened.

"What do you mean already close to me!? You can't be suggesting that someone I know could be capable of turning on us like that!"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am suggesting. I will grant you that your current friends and family are not likely to be a danger to you, but anyone you meet from this point on is a very likely suspect."

Sigyn let Loki's words really sink in. Was she really supposed to live in constant fear of meeting new people or trusting the ones she already knew because of Loki's involvement with… well whatever he was involved with? Loki sighed and Sigyn knew that he was sensing her current inner struggle.

"I know this isn't fair to you, Sigyn. You deserve better, to live a life free of fear and distrust. I should have discussed this with you before we were married, and given you the option to back out should you be unwilling to live with this possible threat lurking in the shadows, but I didn't. That was a mistake. Believe me, if I could take all the danger upon myself to free you from it I would, but I can't. The most I can do is protect you and teach you how to protect yourself for when I no longer can."

It was in that moment, as Sigyn looked into Loki's aggrieved eyes, that she truly saw Loki's pain. How much had he sacrificed for Asgard? He had offered up his body, as she had seen, but what else? What darkness had he faced on the War Council's demand? What had he been forced to do in the name of the AllFather? Whatever these things were, they had never left him. He was so good at hiding his feelings that no one aside from her would ever see him this vulnerable and despondent, and no one, including her, would know what he had done. She highly doubted even Odin and the War Council knew everything regarding his missions. They would want the who, what, when, where, and why of the mission, but none of them would care to know the effects it had on Loki.

Now that was wrong.

Loki's psychological state would never be taken into account, and that could be the most dangerous thing of all. What if the stress became too great? What if Loki finally reached his breaking point? How had he not reached it already!? When, and Sigyn did believe it to be a matter of when, Loki's mind and soul were finally pushed over the edge there would be no coming back. It would likely get him killed…

"Sigyn?"

Loki's strained voice interrupted her musing, and she was left with only a solitary thought.

This was wrong.

"Loki, you act as though I am some superior being who should know no worry, but we both know that isn't true. I have done nothing to deserve anything. I am not afraid of nameless shadows; I already have one of my own. Nothing would have swayed me from becoming your wife, so don't do me the dishonor of regretting asking for my hand. If distrust is the best way to protect us, then that is what I shall do."

Loki's smile to her reply was a sad one.

"I meant no such dishonor. There will never be a day when I regret asking for your hand, I just hope there isn't a day when I regret forcing you to share my pain."

"We are husband and wife, Loki. We are one, what hurts you must also in turn hurt me, but I do not fear it."

Sigyn paused.

Hadn't she said that before, or at least something like it?

The nightmare… she had said it in the nightmare…

This time it was Loki's lips on the exposed top of her bosom that drew Sigyn's attention back to him. Sigyn cupped his face in her hands to raise his head up to look at her again.

"Now that that conversation is over, I think it is time to focus on the other thoughts my mind was having earlier, and seeing as your hands are still bound…"

Sigyn didn't finish her sentence, but instead showed Loki her meaning by kissing his throat, which was much easier for her to reach than his lips in their current position. Sigyn was pretty sure Loki was smiling now, but she wasn't looking at his face. Instead, she was busying herself with getting as much of Loki's chest exposed as possible. She then ran her hands under his tunic, over Loki's shoulders, and raked her nails across his back. Each action along with Sigyn's kissing caused Loki's muscles to relax, and once she sensed his tension melting away she braced her arms on his shoulders and hoisted herself up to wrap her legs around his waist. Loki adjusted his cuffed hands from her back to underneath her rear to help support her. The task of kissing Loki's lips was made much simpler now that she was closer to his height and the pair reveled in the moment for a short time before Loki pulled his head back.

"I think it is time we rinse off."

"Yes, I can't imagine I smell very lovely after our little training session."

"No, I am the one who probably smells foul. It doesn't take much effort to be knocked unconscious." Loki teased.

Sigyn gave him a playful little punch to his cheek and he smiled.

"We'll work on that pathetic excuse for a punch next time. I need to break you of your slapping habit anyways."

Loki strode towards the door and Sigyn held on tight.

"Don't you need to free your hands to bathe?" She inquired, remembering that he was still wearing the cuffs.

"Not if you assist me." He replied with a grin.

Sigyn gave a girlish giggle as she reached her hand down to close the bath chamber's door behind them.