Hellooooooooooo! How are you delightful lovelies doing? Soooooo here is the new chapter. My brilliant beta has just got a fanfic account: Prettyyoungthingy. Yeeeaaaahhhh bit of an angsty chapter here, hope you can take it :) Just a note, I've gotten rid of the links for the dress, hair and necklace in the last chapter and have given directions to find pictures instead. Thank you all so much for all your reviews/follows/favourites. I really do appreciate it. Anyway... enjoy!

Chapter 8

Loki sat at his desk in the main room to his and Sigyn's apartments. He had his head in a large brown leather bound book about some sort of magic.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate on his reading. Sigyn lounged on one of the plush velvet sofas, throwing small flurries of snow for Fenrir to try and catch. Whenever the wolf bit at the snow it melted as soon as it touched his tongue. He didn't quite understand where the snow was going and was becoming more determined each time Sigyn tossed more at him.

Loki sounded exasperated when he spoke. "Could you please stop that? I am trying to read."

Sigyn ignored him, and threw another flurry for Fenrir.

"Sigyn," Loki said in a warning tone.

She sighed loudly and rolled over onto her stomach. "There is nothing to do," she moaned.

"There are plenty of books in here. Pick one and read it. Quietly."

"I did nothing but read when I lived with my father, I am sick of it. I want to do something. Something interesting or exciting."

Loki looked at her for another moment before returning his attention to his book.

With a loud sigh Sigyn laid her head on her arms and closed her eyes. Maybe sleeping would pass the time. She jumped when something nudged her ribs. Her eyes snapped open to see Fenrir's large muzzle nuzzling at her, wanting to continue with the game.

She stood up, moved away from the wolf's pestering and started to walk around the room. When she neared Loki, she came up behind him and leant over his shoulder. "What are you reading?"

"I thought you said you were sick of reading," he grumbled.

"That doesn't mean that I am sick of conversation."

"For goodness sake, Sigyn," he turned to face her, "There must be something you can do. I don't remember mother ever getting bored."

"Well she is the queen, there are plenty of duties that require her attention."

"In that case, I hope you are queen one day."

Sigyn raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Loki demanded in a booming voice.

The door opened slightly and Amma slid inside and gave them both a curtsey. "Pardon me, My Prince, may I speak to the princess?"

He gave a curt nod.

"Princess, I just noticed what a lovely day it is and I wondered if you would like to go for a walk?"

"That sounds like a good idea. You should get some fresh air, Sigyn." Loki's voice hinted that his words were more of a command than a suggestion.

Sigyn looked him in the eyes for a few seconds, challenging him before turning to face the maid. "Thank you, Amma, I will."

She smiled. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No thank you, I'll let you carry on with your work."

The maid gave another curtsey before exiting the room.

Sigyn slipped into the sleeping chamber to put on a more substantial pair of boots for her walk. When she came out Loki spoke once more, not taking his eyes off his book. "Take Fenrir with you, he keeps whining for you to carry on playing that game with him."

About an hour into her walk, Sigyn was still throwing snow for Fenrir to catch. "I wish I could be as easily amused as you," she spoke gently as his jaws snapped shut once more.

The day truly was a lovely one. The sun was shining but there was a nice breeze that made the temperature just right. Sigyn had ventured beyond the palace, liking the new experience of being free. She had avoided the market, unsure of who knew about her powers now and whether they would be scared of her. Instead she found herself in a forest on the outskirts of the city, fascinated by the tall trees with their different shaped leaves.

Suddenly Fenrir crouched low and a feral growl ripped through his throat. Sigyn jumped at the abrupt noise and her eyes widened as she looked in the direction the wolf was facing. She couldn't see anything through the dense trees.

"Fenrir," she let out a panicked whisper. The wolf started to back towards her into a protective stance.

Sigyn's heart skipped a beat and the air rushed out of her lungs at what she saw emerge from the trees.

The creature that came forth was disgusting. Its grey skin was wrinkled and its face was twisted up in a vile snarl, showing crooked yellow teeth. Though it was only about five feet tall it had stocky arms and legs that showed its strength. Sigyn recognised it from a book she had once read; it was a rock troll.

Fenrir barked viciously as the troll took a heavy step towards them. Sigyn could not stop her hands from trembling as she spoke. "What do you want?" Her voice was surprisingly strong.

A gravelly laugh came from it before it spoke in a rough voice. "You, Ice Witch."

Sigyn gasped as it unsheathed a rusty sword and stomped towards her. Before Fenrir could lunge at it, Sigyn held up her hands, palms facing the troll, and shot a blast of freezing energy at it. She only stopped when the troll was completely covered in a thick layer of ice, rendering it immobile.

She only had a second to feel relief before Fenrir spun and lunged at something behind her. Sigyn turned in time to see the wolf claw at a second troll. The creature cried out in pain at the large gash Fenrir left on its arm. This one held a large axe and was currently swinging it towards Fenrir. Quick as a flash, Sigyn threw another blast at the troll, giving it the same fate as the first.

Fenrir didn't rest for a second before growling at presumably another troll behind her. She spun before Fenrir could reach her. She saw a twisted grey face grinning viciously and a large fist swinging towards her. Then a large pain erupted in her right temple and everything went black.

The darkness was bewildering. At first there was a strange series of thumping noises, as if someone was drumming their fingers on a table. Suddenly the drumming stopped, and distant echo-like voices could be heard. The voices were followed by a weightless feeling and a gliding, floating-like motion. Familiar voices could be heard, different from the first. They sounded panicked, worried. There was a sudden sea of comfort that felt as if one was lying on a soft fluffy cloud.

Sigyn's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a gasp. She looked around rapidly and was dazed to find that she was in the bed she shared with Loki in their chambers, wearing nothing but her night-dress.

"Princess."

Sigyn's head snapped to the far right side of the room to see the physician Eir standing over an array of herbs.

The physician, who looked around the same age as the queen, started to walk towards Sigyn with a mug of something. When she arrived at her side she held it out. "Drink this, Princess, it will help with the pain."

Sigyn took the cup. "I don't feel any -," she was cut off as a vicious stabbing sensation shot through her right temple.

Eir raised her eyebrows at Sigyn who responded by taking a large mouthful of the mixture. She choked and nearly spat it out; it tasted vile.

"You must drink it," Eir commanded.

Sigyn took a deep breath in through her nose before swallowing. A shudder rattled through her.

She held the cup out to Eir who responded with, "All of it."

Sigyn sighed and as she gulped gown another mouthful the door burst open. She used this distraction to lean over and put the disgusting medicine on the bed-side table.

"Sigyn." It was the queen's relief filled voice that she heard first. Frigga rushed over to the left side of the bed, followed by Fandral, and Loki went to the right where Eir had been before she stepped back.

"How are you feeling?" her brother asked.

"Just a bit..." she shook her head. "I'm sorry. How... how did I get back here?"

"Fenrir carried you back." Loki spoke for the first time and Sigyn looked to him, silently holding his gaze for a few seconds.

"You gave us quite a fright." The queen interrupted them. "There was blood covering half of your face and neck."

Sigyn looked to her with wide eyes and brought her hand up to her head. She could feel a cotton bandage against the right side of her forehead.

"I could heal it for you now, Princess," Eir said as she stepped closer to the bed.

"Why did you not do it earlier?" Sigyn asked, nervous of what was to happen.

"I dislike to treat patients in this way when they are unconscious, it can be quite... traumatic."

"What?" Sigyn flinched away from Eir's approaching hand.

"It's fine, Sister," Sigyn looked to Fandral when he spoke, "I have been treated by Eir thousands of times, she's quite brilliant."

Sigyn looked back at the physician and reluctantly nodded.

Eir gently removed the bandage on Sigyn's wound. "Do you mind holding the princess' head steady, My Prince?"

Loki curled his fingers to cup the back of Sigyn's head, his palm resting against her neck.

The moment his hand stilled, Sigyn felt a rush of heat from Eir's fingers. The sensation was dizzying and caused her eyelids to droop. In the distant recesses of her mind Sigyn understood why the physician wanted Loki to hold her head still. It surely would have flopped to the side if not for his firm grip.

Suddenly the warm feeling of faintness snapped away. Sigyn gasped as Eir removed her hand and her vision focused once more.

Loki brought his hand around to the small pink patch of skin that had once been an injury and inspected it. Tentatively stroking it, he said, "Does that hurt?"

"No." She tried to dampen the shiver that his delicate touch was causing.

"It should fade completely within a few days," Eir said as she reached for the cup of medicine that Sigyn had discarded. When Eir tried to hand it to her she leant away slightly. "You have healed me. Surely I don't have to drink it now."

Eir just nodded and pushed the cup into Sigyn's hands. "You will have a ferocious pain in your head otherwise."

Sigyn sighed and reluctantly gulped down the rest of the vile concoction as quickly as she could. She glared at her brother when she heard him chuckling at her.

Frigga leant over and squeezed Sigyn's hand. "Thank you for everything, Eir. You may return to your other duties now."

Eir bowed her head before gathering up her things and leaving the room.

As soon as the door closed Fandral spoke. "What happened, Sister?"

Sigyn looked to her brother and her eyes widened. She had managed to forget what had happened for the few moments since she had woken, but now it all came rushing back to her. "Rock trolls."

"What?" It was Loki who spoke.

She turned to him. "There were three of them. They attacked Fenrir and I."

There was a pause before her brother spoke again. "In the forest on the edge of the city?"

"Yes." Sigyn frowned. "How did you -."

"The wolf led a group of us there."

Sigyn spoke before Fandral could say any more. "So you must have seen them. I froze two of them. Fenrir must have got to the other one, the one who hit me."

There was a long awkward silence in which her brother refused to meet her eyes. The queen looked slightly sympathetic and Loki just narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What?" she asked, confused. They clearly all knew something that she did not.

Fandral eventually looked up at her. "There was nothing there, Sigyn. Only a bit of blood. Yours, from your head."

She frowned. "No, there must have been. You must have been at the wrong place. Or maybe they were moved."

Sigyn was slightly surprised when Frigga suddenly grabbed her hand comfortingly.

"What could have happened to them?" she asked.

"Sister," Fandral spoke again after taking a deep breath, "you hit your head very hard. It's understandable for you to be… confused."

"No," Sigyn snapped. She knew exactly what her brother was trying to say. "I didn't hit my head, it was hit by a rock troll."

"It isn't like them to be above ground during daylight hours, especially so near the city."

"Well, they were." She was getting angry now. "You think I am mad don't you?"

"No, of course not," Frigga spoke gently whilst rubbing the back of her hand.

Tears started to prick at the corner of Sigyn's eyes. "They were there. They knew about me. They called me Ice Witch." She furiously wiped at the single tear that had escaped. "They said they wanted me for something."

"What would they want you for, Sister?"

It was more the way Fandral spoke than his actual words that made Sigyn's anger intensify. The slightly condescending tone made her snap. "Do not speak to me like that. I am not a little girl any more. I do not make up stories. There were trolls there today, and one of them did hit me."

"Fandral," Loki interjected, "Fenrir did seem particularly aggressive when he brought her back. It does suggest some sort of threat."

"He's an aggressive animal. We all know he's protective over Sigyn. He could have just been trying to keep her safe after she tripped and knocked her head on a rock."

Loki had to quickly grasp his wife's shoulders as she lunged forward towards her brother, shouting. "Stop treating me like a child! I am a woman now!" She clenched her hands tightly, but it didn't stop the ice from spreading across the bed-sheets.

Fandral stood up. "If you want to be treated like a woman then you should start acting like one!"

The queen also rose, and in true motherly fashion she said, "Stop it, both of you! Fandral, leave, now. Sigyn, calm yourself and go to sleep. Shouting will not help you recover."

The siblings did not need to be told twice. Fandral stormed out quickly, fists clenched and back ramrod straight. The Queen stayed for a few moments to make sure the ice retreated and Sigyn lay down in the bed before gliding from the room.

Though she was in the correct position to sleep, Sigyn's body was nowhere near relaxed enough. Her posture was tense and her breathing was heavy with her suppressed anger.

When Loki looked as if he were about to say something, she spoke. "Forgive me, My Prince, but if you do not mind, I think I would prefer to be alone at this moment."

Loki frowned when he heard her voice. It was thick with tears. He was shocked at the pain he felt for her. It wasn't just sympathy, it was empathy. He knew exactly what it felt like to be undermined or trodden on by an elder brother. He also knew that he too would prefer to be alone if he was in this situation.

He rose and stood by the bed for a few moments before a strange feeling of tenderness overwhelmed him. He leant down to gently caress the skin where her wound had been, and running the tips of his fingers along the top of her head, he stroked her hair lightly. Loki straightened up with a sigh before walking across the room. When he reached the door, he couldn't stop himself from looking back at his wife one last time before stepping out and closing the door behind him. The wood slammed a little louder than he had intended, as if he was unconsciously trying to shut out the unfamiliar emotions he was starting to feel for her.

A.N. I hoped you liked! Please let me know what you think. Thank you very much for reading and I hope you have a lovely easter x