Tell me again what I am supposed to be?" Sif asked the rustling leaves just above her.

"You're a stag going to the river for a drink," whispered Ollerus. Sif nodded, a little uncertain.

A hunting game had led mother and son deep into Glasir Forest. Ollerus had spent all morning showing off how stealthily he could travel by tree, leaping from branch to branch, and now he was desperate to demonstrate his skill with the bow and arrow.

"You're not going to shoot me are you?" Sif reached for her shield.

"Don't worry, Mother. These aren't actual hunting arrows. They only hurt a little."

That wasn't very reassuring but Sif could weather a little sting on her son's behalf. He was always worth it.

She made antlers with her hands and ambled down to the river, even grunted a couple of times to really feel the role. Thor and the warriors would piss themselves laughing if they saw her.

Sif's thoughts barely began to picture how she could beat those grins from her battle mates' faces before a sharp pain erupted on her backside. She yelped and cursed. She then twisted around to see an arrow stuck with sap to her left cheek.

"Got you!" Ollerus dropped from the branch and proudly slung his handcrafted yew bow over his shoulder. "Tonight I will feast like a king."

"A king?" Sif plucked the arrow from her rear. "Surely you will feast only as a noble. My rump is not that meaty!" She twisted more to inspect her body, nose crinkling at the sap still clinging to her pants.

"Whatever." Ollerus shook his head as he took his arrow back. "So, what do you think? I got good aim right?"

"I think," Sif fussed over her stained clothing a little more but still flashed her boy an impressed smile, "the Valkyrie's had better keep a close watch on Glasir's stag population." Ollerus smiled, satisfied with the praise. "Now," Sif clapped him on the shoulder, "how about we break for some lunch. Eir's students are learning how to cook with magic today, so the food should be interesting at least."

The boy's eyes lit up. "That's right I forgot!" He sprang back into the tree. "Race me back. I'll bet I—" Ollerus whipped his head in the direction of the river, distracted by something. Sif followed his gaze but neither saw or heard anything. Ollerus then shrugged and leapt into a neighboring tree. "Bet I can beat you without even touching the ground."

"I sincerely doubt that," Sif challenged. "But how about next time? I need to wash this sap off then I'll be right behind you." The boy was already gone, leaves falling in his wake. Sif smiled proudly as she knelt at the river to scrub her clothes clean, a task that was quickly proving to be a futile with water alone.

"You'll never get it off that way," came a familiar silken voice, accompanied by a swirl of green magic that lifted the sap from her pants. Sif gasped. A long figure then materialized in the river's reflection and Sif sprung to her feet, instinctively reaching for her sword. However, she did not draw it upon closer inspection of the figure's appearance.

Loki stood before her at the river's edge, cloaking spell dissipating from his body which was absent of his protective leathers. His thin tunic draped freely from his thin shoulders, collarbone peeking out at the loose neckline. To the untrained eye, he appeared harmless but Sif knew exactly how many blades could be hidden in his clothing. Plus, he was always armed with magic. She kept her hand hovering over the hilt of her sword.

"You should not be here," Sif warned, her heart racing. She wasn't sure what to expect but she also wasn't too surprised to see him.

Loki snorted dismissively. He cast a glance in the direction Ollerus had gone and forced a smile. "What an impressive youth..." He turned to look at Sif again. "And how lucky he was to inherit your golden locks."

His words were meant to hurt, to remind her of their past. Sif didn't need reminding. The raven strands at the edges of her peripheral were enough.

Loki continued, almost sincerely. "They look stunning against his complexion. I'll admit I am surprised you didn't have Eir mask his blue skin under a spell."

"There was no need." Sif kept an edge to her voice."The Valkyries do not discriminate in the case of an innocent child."

Loki cocked his head. "Well now, that is refreshing. A shame I wasn't adopted by the Valkyries."

Sif was not in the mood for his pity games. "What do you want, Loki? You know the Valkyries are liable to kill you on sight." Which Sif assumed was the reason for Loki's casual appearance. The Valkyries were less likely to attack an unarmed man.

"What do I want?" Loki threw his arms up then flopped them down noisily at his sides, his face twisted in disbelief.

Sif might have felt bad about asking such a thoughtless question if she wasn't so tense. She cast her glance around the forest and kept her senses sharp, the fear was ever present that Ollerus would pop out of a tree any moment now. "You need to go."

"Tell me his name," Loki ordered.

"Please. Go." Sif's voice grew uneven.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me his name." Loki didn't budge. "Do not make me seek him out and ask him myself."

Sif made a noise at the impossible threat, opening her mouth to argue but robbed of any words as Loki took a step toward her.

"Tell. Me. His name." Loki's hard, glistening gaze was penetrating, desperate, something Sif hadn't seen in a long time.

A pang of guilt pulled her hand away from her sword. "His name is Ollerus."

Slowly, a corner of Loki's mouth curled up. "...Glory," he spoke the meaning aloud.

"Will you go now?" Sif pleaded.

Loki's smile vanished, his eyes going cold again. "Why did you hide him from me?"

Sif's heart leapt up and choked her. That was the dreaded question, and Loki was asking it, right here right now in Glasir forest. It wasn't a nightmare, wasn't her mind's rehearsal of this encounter. It was real and it gouged like spear.

"I could not risk his fate being decided by anyone but me." When words finally left Sif's lips, they were meek and pathetic.

Loki's mouth formed into the shape of a question but he didn't speak.

Sif continued. "I had finally learned the truth about your...offspring with that troll witch. And what Odin had done to them."

Loki winced as the memories stung him. His face then shifted to what should have been regret if it was on anyone else's face, but on Loki it was indecipherable. Sif always hated that she could only half read him.

"That troll witch, as so many refer to her," Loki finally spoke "was Angrboda, the frost giantess."

Sif didn't know what she was supposed to do with that information. Part of her didn't even want it.

Loki continued. "Why would you assume our child would be a monster? We didn't know of my lineage then."

"I was scared," Sif began, her voice finding strength in the relief that this secret could finally come out. "I wasn't ready to be a mother. When I discovered my pregnancy, I sought the wisdom of Eir. She told me of your history with the witch, how she bore you three monsters, each of which Odin cast into a dark fate. I could not risk that for my child, no matter what kind of beast I bore. I would not subject him to the judgements of the Aesir.

"You didn't answer my question." Loki's anger was cracking his voice.

"I was cold, Loki." Sif placed her hand over her womb. "Unnaturally so. Had I known at the time you were of Jotun blood it would have made sense, but to a frightened maiden it felt like a curse. A dark spell by a jealous witch."

Loki shook his head very slightly, pleading. "I still wish you would have come to me."

Now Sif was the one being stung by their past. "I almost did, but you weren't there. When I returned to Asgard soon after Ollie's birth, I asked of your whereabouts and they told me about Idunn's disappearance. How you were the cause of it."

"That is your reason for lying?" Loki was incredulous. "Because I played a trick?"

"You had crossed a line. That was a cruel thing to do."

"But did I not return with Idunn? Were my wrongs not righted?"

"You were different." Sif's voice betrayed the sinking in her chest. "No longer the—

"No longer your preferred Prince," Loki interrupted, raising his voice. "If I recall correctly, that was about the time you took a fancy to Thor. He was the obvious choice now, the son all of Asgard favored. The one who would guarantee you the title of Queen."

"What?" Sif was blindsided. "I do not lust for the throne as you do."

"A convenient delusion." His voice darkened. "It's sad isn't it. You lost the chance to join the bloodline of Asgardian royalty because Thor would not lie with my leftovers."

"How dare—"

"So you strove to become the great warrior you are now because sharing the front line with Asgardian princes will eternally be the next best thrill to sharing a bed with them."

Sif struck him across the cheek. "Your words are cruel!"

Loki struck her back. "You denied me a son!" The words hurt more than Loki's hand. "A child free from tainted, bestial blood. An heir worthy of the the throne, something even Thor does not possess!"

Sif held her throbbing cheek, shaking her head, wanting to shield her ears and block her thoughts from diverting down a hopeless path. "Asgard would never put Jotun blood on the throne."

Loki beheld her with a tortured look that stabbed deeper than she expected it to. She then realized what it was she had said and how it didn't only apply to their son.

She pulled her hand from her cheek and timidly reached it out to him. "I didn't mean—"

Loki took a step back, a single tear streaking his cheek, his teeth bared. "You're just like him."

He then vanished and all Sif could do was stand, stricken. She then fell to her knees and wept, convulsively, her stomach emptying itself, her tears subjecting her to thirteen years worth of denied regret.