Loki lay in his bed, staring up at the white ceiling. How dreadfully dull. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and exhaled, allowing his mind to freely wander. He thought of his mother, perhaps she'll visit again soon, cast a visage of herself in his room so it would seem like she was there with him. Thoughts of Thor arose, wondering how Odin's beloved son was gaining his father's favor now. This angered him, as he threw up his chalice in the air, catching it again in his hand. He thought of how Thor was strutting around, the witless oaf gaining the favor of the people. One day Thor will be king, as he stays in the dungeon and rots for the rest of his life.
Throwing the chalice up, so lost in his thoughts it slipped out of his hand as it came back down. He watched it roll across the room, coming to a stop beside his book, particularly the Tales of Joran. Loki's thoughts drifted back to her. He watched at first how she walked by him. How it unnerved him when she did not look to his direction. What was it about her that he found so alluring? He'd had plenty of beautiful women, he's used them, then leaves them in his chambers to clean after themselves. He could do this without blinking an eye. That is contrary to what he felt when he saw her continue on by without even a glance at his direction. How dare she ignore him? Perhaps she had come to her senses, perhaps she realized that what he is, how dangerous he was. 'But it's too late now,' he thought, 'You cannot simply engage to me, and then cast me aside the next day.'
Whatever the reason, he needed to speak to her again. He managed to convince her to continue their interaction. At first, he used it as a test to see if his silver tongue had not turned to lead. Thankfully, it had not. She stayed with him for hours, finishing the story. The thrill of the chase eventually wore off, he's convinced her to stay and to continue visiting him. But he did not grow bored of her like he usually would with challenges that have been met, he enjoyed speaking to her, the way she told the story, and their interaction. He'd make a snide remark, and she'd buffer it, sometimes even countering it with something equally sarcastic. At times, he found himself genuinely laughing, and as she left he quietly hoped she would return the next day.
Just like clockwork, she had returned, smiling with a little case tucked under her arm.
Sigyn moved her chess piece across the tiles on the board. "I brought this to play with my brother, but he was never one for games that require intelligence." She said, setting down her white bishop in place. She set the board as close to the cell barrier so he could see, as she sat leisurely on the steps that elevated his cell, resting her elbow on the steps, her hand free to move the pieces as she wills it.
Loki smiled, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, his elbows resting against his knee as he thought carefully on how he should move next. "Well, I hope I can pose a challenge for you." He said, nodding slightly, "Move my knight to F-6."
Sigyn obliged, seeing as he wouldn't be able to move the pieces himself, "I hope so as well, I've heard tales of your vast intelligence. Let's see how well you fare." She smiled at him. He scanned her delicate features, how her eyebrows knit together slightly in concentration. She finally settled to move a pawn.
Loki smirked at her, "I play very well, I have yet to meet a person that has bested me in chess." He said proudly, "Move my tower to take your bishop. "
She moved it for him, "You seem quite confident." She smiled, moving another piece. Loki instructed his next move to her, observing her delicate hand pluck the piece and move it. He watched her move her queen across the board.
"You know what I've always wondered?" He began, stroking his lips in consideration of his next move. "How does the queen have more power than the king… She is a woman after all, and the king is the one with absolute power." He said, before telling her to move his knight.
Sigyn laughed at this, "You really have no understanding of women do you?" She asked, moving a pawn, "Behind every powerful man is an even more powerful woman." She explained, looking up at him.
"That's nonsense."
"Oh?" Sigyn asked. "You needn't look further than your court. King Odin and Queen Frigga. Though the Allfather has this great power, you know first hand the influence Lady Frigga has on him." She said, gesturing to his cell, "Look around you, the queen spared your head from the axe."
Loki considered this. He knew Odin's intentions were to put him to death, but Frigga… His mother…
Sigyin continued. "Your brother, Thor, he would even forfeit his seat on the Asgardian throne to be with the mortal, Jane Foster. I'm sure if it came down to it, he would even lay down his life for her."
"I would not doubt it." Loki said, also instructing her to move one of his pieces.
"Also, the books you read. Most stories contain a strong female character, who greatly influences the protagonist's actions. Even now, more and more stories come out where there is a strong female protagonist as the main character." She said, moving her piece to counter his.
Loki looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You say that behind EVERY powerful man is an equally powerful woman? What of me? I needn't have a woman by my side to be a king." He said.
Sigyn looked up at him, and shrugged. "Perhaps that's why you failed in your attempts to rule and conquer."
Loki stared at her, dumbfounded by her words. She simply stared back, before cracking a smile. There was a second of silence before he and she burst out laughing. He had to take a moment to calm himself enough to be able to speak, "My lady, this is ground breaking. With a simple game of chest you have solved the missing piece in my quest for domination." He teased, having to holding his hand to his chest, catching his breath.
"No need for magical items that grants the user extreme power, or an army, you simply need a woman by your side." Sigyn moved her piece, still laughing occasionally.
"Oh I've had women by my side, they just don't get out of bed to follow me the rest of the day." Loki simply nodded to his bishop, and she moved it for him, knowing where he wanted to go. "And I take offense to your previous statement. I know women, I've even had multiple by my side at one time." He said in a bragging tone of voice.
Sigyn rolled her eyes, making Loki smile, "I do not speak of lust, I speak of love." She moved her queen. The word made Loki roll his eyes. She noticed this, and pouted at him, "Have you never been in love before?"
Loki reflected on this question. He's always been more reserved when it came to other people. He kept to himself, finding joy in reading or practicing his spells, playing pranks on his brother and his friends as well as others in the castle. When it came to women, he was excellent at seducing them, it became a game for him throughout his adolescence. But he quickly grew bored of it, once he knew how to play the game it was no longer a thrill to get a woman to bed. "No, I suppose I have not. Pawn to D-4."
Sigyn moved for him, "Then you don't know the power women can have over a person."
Loki sighed, running his fingers through his raven hair, "I grow tired of speaking of love and women. We can leave such musings to love sick poets and writers." He looked at her carefully, how her face looked lovely even in deep concentration. "Tell me a story…" He said simply, before instructing her to move his queen.
Sigyn smiled, "What story would you like to hear, my prince?" She asked teasingly.
Loki gave her a look of warning when she called him prince, but he couldn't help but smile a bit. He considered this, before nodding to his black king. "Tell me the story of our gam; between the armies of the dark king vs. the armies of the queen of light."
Sigyn looked up at him, smiling a bit, "You might not like the tale I spin, for it will tell the tale of the king and queen being star crossed lovers." She warned him, moving her piece.
"My favorite kind of romance." He smiled encouragingly, thinking over his next move. "As long as it distracts me."
Sigyn nodded, moving his piece as he told her. "Light and darkness are always on a constant battle with one another over control of their realm. Both were at equal odds with one another, which is why their battle has lasted for thousands and thousands of years."
Loki simply listened, only interrupting occasionally to instruct her to move his piece where he wills it.
"But the King of Darkness, after thousands of years, fell in love with the Queen of Light." She said, moving another piece. "One night, he kidnapped her and took her back to his kingdom. But when he did, he saw her light drain. Bieng around him caused her to slowly become a dark being herself. At this point, the King realized that if she stayed with him, she would not be the lady of light and life that he had fallen in love with." She picked up her piece, the white queen, and twirled her in her hand. "With a heavy heart, he brought her back to her castle. And when he did, he admitted his faults, lamented in his crimes, and professed his love to her." She took his piece, the black king, and set it down aside from the board. "He was weak in her kingdom, and the longer he stayed the smaller he became. By the end of his speech, he was no smaller than the size of a heart." She set the white queen beside his king. "She forgave him, and professed her love for him as well. She accepted him, and ever since, the queen of light's body has a little speck of darkness within."
Throughout her tale, Loki had stopped paying attention to the game and simply watched her as she spoke. He watched her soft lips forming the words, listened to her gentle voice as it rose and fell throughout the tale, and admired how her eyes seemed to sparkle as she imagined an entire story practically from nothing. Sigyn looked up to meet his eyes, and Loki found that he did not want to look away when she did. He saw the blush rise in her cheeks, warming her features delicately.
She looked away though, looking down at the board. "I, I believe I should retire for the night." She said.
"Yes, of course." He agreed, looking down at the board as she placed the king and queen back in place. His eyebrows knit together in confusion and shock as he realized that in 2 moves, she will have beaten him! Were it anyone else, he would grow a temper. He's never lost before! But he found himself smirked, chuckling softly as he simply shook his head, "Well done, Lady Sigyn… You've bested me." He looked at her again, willing her to look into his eyes. And when she did, he smiled. "I've underestimated you…" She was not only lovely, but intelligent and wise with her years despite her youthful face.
Sigyn smiled, putting the pieces back in her case carefully, "People seem to do that a lot. You're not the first and you won't be the last." She said, getting up.
He stood up as well, clasping his hands behind his back and politely bowing, "I hope to see you again tomarrow." He said simply.
Sigyn smiled and nodded, before walking away. Again, his eyes followed her until she was out of sight.
Sigyn looked back at Loki's cell, though he was out of view, she smiled. She looked to the guard that stood by the mouth of the dungeon, "Hello, can I rely on you to do me a small favor?" She asked.
That night, Loki awoke to a guard tapping on the barrier. Angrily, he shot him a look, about to give him a good verbal lashing, before his eyes followed to where the man was pointing. He had gestured to a small figure that was placed at his beside table. Picking it up, he couldn't help but smile slightly.
For the rest of the night, he held the small white queen chess piece in his hand.
~~~
AN:
Hello all! I hope you like this new chapter! This one is all Loki and Sigyn interaction!
Though I can't post links to images in my stories, I want you all to have at least a good mental image of who is my inspiration for what Sigyn looks like. Simply google image search "Princess Tamina" from the Prince of Persia movie, I think she is absolutely gorgeous, and has a mix of innocent yet intelligence in her that is perfect for Sigyn.
Also, I got a PM telling me that I should add more conflict between our two characters, and don't worry, there's a lot of that to come! Drama, intrigue, corruption of innocence, all that good stuff! Stay tuned!