Sigyn wasn't quite sure how she'd made it home as quickly as she had. It seemed that her body was functioning without her brain while her thoughts ran in overdrive trying to figure out what had just happened with Loki. She frowned. How did he manage to convince me into that? she wondered. But, perhaps more importantly, her mind lingered over what had happened during that kiss.

Sigyn wasn't that experienced in the field of kissing; courting had never bothered her and kisses seemed to walk hand in hand with that, so the few she had shared had been fleeting. But the kiss between her and Loki... that was different to the others. She didn't know why. It just was.

It was almost as though she could still feel his fingers slipping down her cheek in that one gentle touch... Sigyn shook her head. What am I doing? she thought. It was just a kiss- a kiss in return for a book- a bargain. Nothing more. As hard as she tried to convince herself that that was the truth, she couldn't seem to form a lie convincing enough.

It just felt a little odd to her; like there was something off about the whole meeting- especially the bargain. Then again, she couldn't deny that there was something off about Loki... All these tricks must be getting to me, Sigyn presumed, trying to brush away the feeling that there was something more going on than she knew.

She pushed open the door of her home, walking in and trying to leave her thoughts of Loki and his games on the doorstep. Sigyn wasn't that successful though, and she soon found herself retreating to the reasonably-sized living area of her home. She settled herself in one of the cushioned chairs that lined the room, creating a sort of frame around the hearth fireplace on one wall. It was a simple room for a simple house, but it was comfortable enough; Sigyn thought so anyway.

She read sporadically, stopping and starting again for the next few hours. For some reason, she couldn't stop mulling over the peculiar day that she'd had in her mind. In fact, it bothered her so greatly that she ended up having to put down her book and attempt to sleep off the effects that too many tricks and scares in one day had seemed to have had on her.

Sigyn finished the book the next morning, eventually managing to focus her concentration after a good night's sleep. But as soon as she'd finished it, she felt the need to return it to the Archive Keeper. It wouldn't do to let the man panic and stress any more over a book that she had managed to reclaim for him. Besides, the sooner that she returned it, the less she'd probably get shouted at.

So Sigyn made her way back to the library that she'd been banned from, however temporarily, with her book in her hand. It was early enough in the morning for her to pass no one on her way, which she appreciated; everyone that she usually met on her travels in the morning was usually far too happy and chirpy for Sigyn's liking.

But she knew that she'd have to talk to the Archive Keeper again- and he was even less of a morning person than he was a people person. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the library. The size of the hall made it hard for her to find the Archive Keeper, but she found him eventually- after she'd been able to see who else was in the library. Thankfully, Loki was not among the people she saw though. Good, she thought, not quite sure that she could deal with any more of his tricks right now.

The Archive Keeper actually saw Sigyn before she saw him, and already moved in to angry yelling before she could say anything, "'Ay, what did I tell you about coming in here? I said, 'not without the book', I said! So what are you doing here, girl?"

But Sigyn turned around and swiftly held the book out to him.

"I got it back," she said quickly.

The man approached her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. He took the book from her and gave it a thorough examination before he would say another word to her.

And, even then, all he said was, "Fine... I'm watching you though."

Sigyn watched him walk away, clutching the book she'd given him as if it was a newborn child. It took a week and a half of near-constant bothering before she managed to convince the Archive Keeper that the stolen book was not her fault, and that she could actually be trusted to take care of his beloved books again.

Two more weeks passed in which she took books straight back to her home to read, nowhere else. She hadn't wanted to bump into Loki, but after three and a half weeks of nothing happening, she was starting to think that bumping into him wasn't going to happen. Maybe he's forgotten, Sigyn thought. But she knew he hadn't. He was the God of Mischief. He was probably just waiting for the opportune moment.

It wasn't until she was sat reading in the living area of her home, listening to her sisters, Dagný and Lifa, that anything out of the ordinary happened again. The twins were braiding each other's hair; the same long, blonde and curling hair that all three girls had inherited from the mother. Though their hair was similar, their features were more pinched than Sigyn's, and they had more of a sun-kissed, freckled look whereas Sigyn's skin was pale.

The two younger girls were going on and on about something that they were excited about whilst they braided, and Sigyn was trying to ignore them. But one of them said something that she couldn't tune out so easily, and she quickly placed her book, still open, flat in her lap.

"What did you just say?"

Her sisters looked up at her and Dagný answered, "I said, we'd better hurry up if we want to look nice at the palace."

Sigyn blinked.

"What do you mean, 'at the palace'?"

"We've been summoned, silly," Lifa replied condescendingly.

But Sigyn didn't care about the tone of her sister's voice; she was more interested in the information she had.

"We?"

"The whole family," Dagný said, just before the two younger girls burst into a fit of shrill giggles.

"Maybe Thor wants to marry one of us," Lifa suggested, virtually swooning at the thought.

Sigyn rolled her eyes as their conversation took a turn for the ridiculous and said nothing. They'd never even seen Thor before, so the notion of his wanting to marry one of them was utterly preposterous. But she didn't know why they had been called to the palace- she just knew that it couldn't have been for the reason her sisters had thought though.

Why would we be called to the palace? Her father was no lord, nor a soldier, so it made no sense for him to be called to the palace. And with the rest of the family in tow? That only boded ill in her opinion. Sigyn had an extremely bad feeling about this.

Author's Note: I've decided that the twins are the most cumulatively irritating characters that I have ever written. Just saying. And if you don't get that already- just wait. :P

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! :) Reviews are much appreciated! :)

Kit xx