A/N: Sorry, this chapter seems so short to me, but it is happy, so everything is fine, yes? Anyway, we meet Loki's future wife, Sigyn, Goddess of Faithfulness and all that stuff. She is personally one of my favourite Norse mythology characters, she's so sweet. Anyway, enjoy and please review!
The green leaves above me rustled gently in the morning breeze, casting shadows onto the soft grass where previously had been golden patches of sunlight. The air was warm and gentle, silent, as I crept up to a shady apple tree, laden with the bright red fruit ready to fall in the impending Autumn, not too far away. Carefully stepping over a small patch of little, white flowers, I fell back against the trunk of the tree and nestled down between two thick roots, picking up my leather bound book and propping it up against my knees. Peace at last, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.
"Loki! What are you doing here alone, brother?" Thor suddenly interrupted, his blonde head peering around the thick trunk of a tree in front of me.
No! I picked this spot quite a ways into the orchards of our palace gardens and he still finds me, just to ask of my social life! Why? Why must I be interrupted when everything has been planned so perfectly, so discreetly? Are Sif and his warrior friends not enough?
"Brother, I wanted to be alone. Why do you pester me?" I whined, eyebrows creased in obvious disappointment.
"I'm sorry, Loki. I just wanted to know why you never seem to have any friends. I shall leave now," Thor apologized, looking so guilty.
"It's all right, Thor!" I called after him, feeling awful myself for snapping. I cannot help but believe that he does care. But by the time the sound had carried out from between my lips, he had already taken off.
Sighing, because even though I told him I wished to be alone, I know he will be back, I picked up my book and take off, away from the palace gardens where I could still hear Thor and his friends laughing. My mood had been broken and I did not wish to read so much anymore, but I did still want to be alone, so I shifted through my mind the locations in Asgard where it is the most peaceful. The palace gardens were now out of the question, I did not wish to be kept inside that day, and I did not wish to be somewhere so dark as in the forest surrounding our home realm, but there had always been one place, almost out of my reach, that was favourable.
I rarely go to the beach surrounding Asgard because the ocean always distracts me from whatever book I was currently infatuated with, but that is just the thing that I needed - something to take my mind off normal life. I had been there before and know that Njord's palace, Noatun, rests on the rocks at the top of the slope rushing down to meet the waves, but the foreign Vanir king is nice, I have met him before, and he surely would not deny my admiring the ocean upon his property.
Wounding my way down Asgard's paved roads, I thought over what little I truly did know of Njord, for to me, he had always seemed so distant from us Aesir. He was a part of a deal to ensure peace between Vanaheim and Asgard, so he cannot harm me, and he brought his twin children, Freyr and, unfortunately, Freyja. He's a sea deity, so you have to respect him, and he's well learned in the lore of magic, but besides from him fathering Freyja, there is nothing I have against the old king.
My realization of this ebbing away any prior doubts I had of Njord, I stepped up onto a dark grey rock at the crest of the hill lithely. A thin path runs down the rocky slope and at the bottom there is a thin strip of sand, still dry for the tide is still not too inland. In the distant I could see the rainbow bride where Heimdall stands, following it to the horizon where the clear, smooth sea meets the horizon. Startled by the sudden grey of sky, I looked up and noticed that it has now become overcast, as it tends to do when one is close to the water. The air was so golden before back in Asgard, as though it were a thin layer scraped from the sun, but here the air around me shined with a silver mist, so much like the moon. Sitting down on one of the flat rocks at the base of the slope, near the water's edge, I looked on in amazement at the drastic change of scenery. It was breathtaking.
Sighing in relief to just have this gentle quiet and a place to rest my weary mind, I lowered myself down onto the sandy ground and leaned up against the rock, my eyes closed. A cool breeze rustled my hair gingerly, feeling so much like when Mother smooths down my mane when it becomes unruly. And, oh, how brilliant it felt to let time stop around me! Smiling to myself when I realized how still it seemed around there, I drifted off to a light sleep, the sound of the waves lapping up against the rising sand making a beautiful background noise to my dreams of sweet nothing, warm oblivion.
"Sir, are you well?" a concerned voice suddenly said. I jumped, opening my eyes.
Sitting up and looking around, still shocked, I slowly remembered where I was. The light was only slightly darker, so I must have been asleep for about an hour, but the scene of gentle water and grey sky was still the same. I rubbed my eyes and looked around to see where the abrupt, feminine-sounding voice came from, finding the mark off my right almost immediately.
A small girl, maybe a year younger than me, was peering down at me, eyes wide. She had the palest blonde hair falling down her back, pin straight and to her waist, and the widest, chocolate brown eyes I had ever seen. Her shoulders were narrow and she was so thin! Her cheekbones stood out gravely in her hollow, pale face. She blinked slowly, showing long eyelashes, and shifted her weight slightly, her pale blue dress swaying with the svelte movement. About her neck was a golden necklace, a small rose clasped on the end. The maiden certainly had a gentle beauty that I had never before seen in Asgard. So innocent and caring and right.
"I am well, fair maiden. Might I ask for your name?" I asked, as courteous as I was capable of.
"I am relieved to hear that, sir. I am Sigyn, foster-daughter of Njord. You are Prince Loki, yes?" she said. Her voice was low and sweet, so shy.
"Yes, that is right. Well, I am pleased to meet you Sigyn Njorddottir. I hope that I have not disturbed you?" I questioned, using a statement so not to sound rude. I would not let this maiden think ill of me.
"Oh, no, sir. Please excuse me," she whispered, dropping to her knees when she had my confirmation.
"Rise, Sigyn. There is no need to bow in my presence," I commanded her, shaking me head in disgust at the act of which those lower than me are taught. Especially since she was a Vanir.
"Do you wish to come in for food and refreshment, my Prince? My father would be most pleased to greet you," she invited, standing up shakily and smoothing out her blue dress.
"Nay, Sigyn, I am fine. But, do, sit. Please tremble not in my presence. We are equal, are we not?" I smiled. I never denied my pride, until that moment, when I simply wanted her to be comfortable in my presence. "So you are daughter to Njord. What's it like to live with Freyja? I mean, I can't stand her for an hour in court. Surely she cannot be as dreadful as she makes herself appeart to be, right?"
"Oh, no, she can be nice...as long as you're showering her with fine jewels and compliments of how lovely her hair is!" Sigyns laughed, her shallow voice suddenly ringing so bright with mirth and merriment. Joining her laugh, I patted the ground next to me and thoroughly rejoiced when she accepted my offer and leaned back against the rock next to me.
"I figured as much!" I cried, knowing what Freyja would do if she ever found out about my words against her. It just made it all the more enjoyable to me.
"Ah, but I am in luck, for usually she stays in her own hall. She seems to be weary of Njord, for she never comes around anymore," Sigyn sighed. I stopped laughing immediately when she said this so sadly.
"Well, there is always Freyr, and he is quite pleasant," I tried to comfort her.
"Oh, so true, Prince Loki," she nodded.
"Two special rules for you, my lady: you must not bow just for me and you will not call me 'Prince Loki'. Just 'Loki' would be fine, Sigyn," I told her.
"Right, of course. So what brings you here anyway, Loki?"
"I wanted peace and this was the first thing that came to mind that sounded pleasant. Wait, did you say that Njord is your adoptive father?" I suddenly realized.
"Yes, we do not truly know who my real parents are, I fear. You know, I never tell anyone this, I usually start to cry, but I get such a wonderful energy vibe coming from you. I do not know what the Aesir are so suspicious of, you seem so nice. I shall tell you, Loki, but you must keep this secret."
"Of course, Sigyn. I won't tell a soul," I reassured her, grimacing. "And I'm absolutely thrilled that you think me nice. Most people say that I'm just dreadful to be around. So, thank you."
"Thank me not for what is the truth. And, well, I was abandoned as a child, before memory, and Njord took me in, raised me as his own. He told me that I am probably the cross-breed of a Jotunn and Aesir, but I do not seem what's so wrong with that. The Jotunn's may be tricky, but doesn't that also mean that they are clever and wise? I do not get it, I wish not to get why the Aesir do not favour the Jotunns. But I do not mind, I suppose, though I must accept that no suitors shall accept me when I try to get a husband. No one shall want me," Sigyn said softly, a clear tear slipping from her deep, brown eyes as she said the last bit.
"That's not true!" I abruptly exclaimed, taken aback on how she could think so poorly about herself. "I would be the happiest fool in the world to take someone so sweet as you. Just wait, Sigyn, for someday you shall be accepted into the court and will be a valued member and everyone will admire your blonde hair and doe eyes and want you. Don't you worry, dear Sigyn, things shall always turn out right after some waiting and patience. Please do not weep. I've only known you five minutes and I consider you a great friend of mine already."
"Thank you, Loki," she smiled, falling silent afterwards.
I wiped away her tears, did not let her forget my words. Always stood behind her. Never left her. Forever supporting her. I will not leave.
Now, I have the most beautiful maiden in the nine realms. I waited and comforted her through all of the rejections, and now she has claimed me, turned to me and has been there ever since. Now in the time where I now I, too, am half-Jotunn, it is her that I've turned to in comfort. Not everything is a sorrow.