Revamped!


Chapter 120: What Happened in Asgard Part Eight

Asgard - Two Years Ago

For the past year and what will continue to go on until the present day, Thor has been going back and forth between Asgard and certain realms. He has been partaking in meetings whose topics varied between alliances in Ragnarök, military approaches, possible clues towards its start, and its aftermath in both cases whether Apollo sacrifices himself or not. Apollo has been requested to join in the discussions but he refused before the offer was given. He didn't use his cowardice as an excuse for his absence, he said that he was helping his mother with royal affairs around Asgard during his father's absence as a part of his royal duties and training for Ragnarök.

When in reality, he just wanted to be with his mother.

Nobody asked about why Sigyn couldn't help. Her reputation as the most powerful sorceress in all the Realms was overshadowed by her parentage and killing her mother and taking her power as her own. Many of the other Realms believed that her death at Ragnarök was necessary for those reasons, especially since Thor acquitted her, which is possibly why it was written.

Anyone outside of Asgard, even after Thor told them differently, still believed that she had to die at Ragnarök mostly because of her unreached potential.

-o-

Sigyn has spent most of the day so far lying on a couch in one of the palace wings. She's bored as she stares up at the ceiling. She's lost track of time because what was the point of keeping tabs on that if she was doing nothing? She knows that years have passed although it just felt like the longest week of her life.

She raises her hands in the air and allows her hands to light up, letting spirals of her magic appear right before her eyes. Sometimes, she would use her powers to distract herself from her impending death and her cousin losing his mind, making playful puppets out of her power to create scenarios she wishes could happen. Sometimes, she would be back on Midgard as if none of this happened and in others, she would be making Ragnarök happen. It's beautiful to watch. Mesmerizing, even, as the glowing swirls emerge from nothing and create something better.

Sigyn sits up and waves her magic all over her body. Her Asgardian clothes morph into an outfit she would wear back on Midgard: an oversized football jersey with her high school sweetheart's name and number on the back, frayed jean shorts, and high-top sneakers. Chills run where her magic touched her skin. This was so familiar but so foreign and, yet, it feels right. She's comfortable. She could finally breathe.

Sigyn turns over her shoulder to try and get a look at how she looks from behind. She spins around and once she completed a full loop, her head perks and she sees Freya walk in, checking out what she's wearing.

"I was looking for you," Freya says with a smile. "I like your outfit."

Sigyn grins, appreciating the compliment. "So do I."

This was the closest to a normal conversation Sigyn's had in such a long time. Despite it being only twelve words long, it gave her feelings of joy she hasn't felt like a teenager. It struck her that she and Apollo, even Freya, are no longer teenagers. They're adults. Adults whose deaths were right in front of them the moment they showed up. That thought makes Sigyn shake and she shoves it to the back of her mind, wanting to forget about it for the moment and go back to the teenage-like conversation she was having.

"Are you and Apollo dating?" Sigyn asks with a little flutter in her voice.

"No," Freya responds too quickly for it to be a denial.

"But you're sleeping together - like actually sleeping."

"So?"

"Have you at least kissed him?"

Freya's eyes nearly bulge out of her head. " … no. We just talk."

"Kissing is talking but without the words." Sigyn sees Freya's eyes look down towards her boots. "Just go for it. Just because you can't experience everything doesn't mean you shouldn't experience anything. Besides, maybe it will take Apollo's mind off of certain events."

"Mind you, I have never been romantically involved with anyone before."

"Take this to heart: when he tells you that you're beautiful, say that you know. Confidence isn't egotism."

Freya doesn't laugh. "Sigyn, I'm serious." But she changes her mind. "Tell me what it's like to be in love."

Sigyn takes a breath since she didn't expect the conversation to take this turn. She glances down at her favourite charm bracelet. "The world goes on even when lovers go their separate ways. I didn't have a romance because it was too perfect for that stupid word. He wasn't my first kiss or my only kiss, but he was the one that mattered. He was the kiss that made me realize that I don't want to kiss anyone else. So now, my lips belong to him. If he kissed me one more time the way he did back in high school, I'll explode…"

Sigyn exhales, feeling a sob coming on. She holds it back and looks at Freya who has tears forming. Sigyn straightens her posture in shock since she doesn't remember ever seeing Freya tear up let alone cry. Sigyn stands up in front of her and doesn't hesitate to hug her. Freya accepts the gesture for a while before parting.

"I should be the one hugging you," Freya says.

"Why?" Sigyn questions. "Because I'm silently suffering from a broken heart and a crazy cousin?"

"Those are two reasons but because that was the first genuine truth I've heard you say in such a long time."

Sigyn pauses. If Freya found her spiel on her past relationship as a genuine truth, did that mean that Freya had a hunch or a confirmed belief that Sigyn's brave and sacrificial front was false? That she was lying for years? Sigyn knows that giving up for Ragnarök is the right choice because she cares about saving the lives of everyone on Midgard over her own. Maybe there was some truth there. It's scary that her lies are so good that even she could believe them. She needs more answers.

"Come with me," Sigyn says.

Sigyn runs out of the room and Freya follows. She leads her down an immense flight of stairs, through a maze of hallways. They stop right in front of Odin's Treasury. Sigyn uses her magic to hypnotize the guard and send him away. They walk inside, closing the door behind them. Sigyn lights up her hand to help with the light since the flames aren't enough. They walk through the rows of artifacts, not knowing the story behind most of them.

Sigyn's eyes turn towards a blue light that contrasts her magic and she's instantly in awe of the object emitting that light. It's a small blue cube that she's heard stories of. The Tesseract: the start of New York and The Avengers. Sigyn can see why her father was so drawn to its beauty and power.

Sigyn breaks out of her trance when Freya yanks her away from it. She shakes her head and starts walking deeper into the vault. They stop at the crown and Sigyn returns her hands to their normal state to pick it up. She hasn't seen it in years but it felt like she only held it for the first time yesterday.

"We need to get out of here," Freya says. For some reason, she's whispering although nobody's going to bust them for being in here.

"This crown may give me a way to stop Ragnarök," Sigyn says.

"I thought you didn't want to stop Ragnarök."

"I'm not so sure what I want anymore."

"Then let's leave and come back when you do know."

"Go outside and stand guard, especially for Apollo."

Freya rolls her eyes. "Sigyn, no."

"Freya," Sigyn pleads. "I'm trying to help Apollo and myself. Can you help us as well?"

Freya sighs as she turns on her heel and starts walking back. Sigyn watches her go and once the door is shut, she looks back at The Serpent Crown. Its metal goes cold in her hands but she tightens her grip. She wasn't sure what would happen after she lied and she was now forced to find out, even if she didn't want to. It only took one moment for her life to change forever and now, she was going back there.

Sigyn rests the crown on top of her golden hair, allowing the serpent to dig its fangs into her brain.

-o-

Freya isn't sure how long she's been standing outside Odin's Treasury but it hasn't been long enough for her legs to give out. She's been leaning against the wall this whole time, close enough to run back inside the treasury in case she heard something suspicious or strange happen, but far enough so that anyone walking past wouldn't think she had any business in there.

Then, someone walks by. Freya looks up. If it was a guard or a palace attendant, she could easily brush them off. But it's Apollo. His presence confuses Freya because she has no idea what Apollo would be doing here, especially now. Apollo's face seems to show the same expression when he sees her here.

"What are you doing here?" Freya asks.

"Sorry," Apollo says meekly. "I'm hiding from some officials who showed up to see my mother. Would you believe that when you're royalty, it's difficult to find a moment of privacy?"

Freya smirks. "I'm not royalty but I've lived here longer than you to know that."

"Wow, you went there."

"I did. That's why I'm standing here doing nothing."

"Have you seen Sigyn?" Apollo asks.

Freya shakes her head. "I haven't but last I heard, she was with Loki."

"Funny you say that because I went there to look for her and Loki laughed at me."

Freya's heart starts racing but her expression remains neutral. "Maybe because you couldn't find her."

"That's why I came here."

"Why would she be here?"

"I figured you'd know since you're here."

Freya opens her mouth and quickly shuts it. She looks right into Apollo's eyes and knows that he's on to her. Freya needs to act fast and distract him, maybe even get him out of here. She thinks about what Sigyn said and takes it to heart. Freya leans in to kiss him but stops right before she reaches his lips because Sigyn bursts out of Odin's Treasury with an overwhelmed and excited look on her face, still wearing The Serpent Crown.

"We have to go to Hel!" Sigyn exclaims, just now noticing Apollo's presence.

Apollo stares at Sigyn, unsure of how to make out this situation. She was wearing Midgard clothes, The Serpent Crown, and suggested to go to Hel.

"What are you wearing?" Apollo asks.

"Stuff I like," Sigyn replies, referring to both her Midgard clothes and to The Serpent Crown.

Apollo's face shifts as if he was offended by her statement. "I thought you loved me like a brother, no, I knew you loved me like a brother. First, you suggest going to Midgard, and now Hel?! Have you lost your mind or did you sacrifice it to get lies from that crown?!"

Sigyn holds up her hands in defence with no magic visible. "Okay, that seems true given this, but how about we negotiate our options and go to Midgard instead of Hel. You could probably stay in that outfit and Freya can come."

Apollo's eyes narrow at her. Freya tries to take his arm but he pulls back. Sigyn takes a deep breath to try and ease this situation although she knows that anything she says or does from this moment forwards will only make it worse.

"You already banned me from Midgard which I've obeyed this whole time," Sigyn says softly. "You can't take this crown away from me. Do you want to know what it said?"

Apollo doesn't hesitate. "No."

Sigyn huffs. "A part of me wishes that we never met. Ragnarök would've been a lot less complicated that way. I'm tired of clinging to the idea of not being able to have a conversation about it. We said to look out for each other because nobody else is destined to die in Ragnarök. How can we do that if we can't talk to each other?"

"We talk, Sigyn, but we can't agree. Ragnarök won't go our way. We either play by its rules and die, or we go against its rules and survive. Living for everyone is a promise to the world."

Sigyn hands light up on their own. "There won't be a world left! Why can't you put that through your brain?!"

Apollo tenses, putting himself in front of Freya. The last time he saw Sigyn lose control of her magic was when they first arrived on Asgard after graduation and she killed her mother. She couldn't stop, she had to be stopped.

Apollo runs towards her and Sigyn blasts her magic at him. He dodges and lunges towards her, sending her to the ground. Sigyn's head slams on the ground but her adrenaline cushioned the fall. She emits her forcefield to try and block Apollo from ripping the crown off her head. He punches his way through, nearly missing her face. Sigyn phases her way out and reappears a few feet away. She stares at Apollo, both of her hands making flaming fists of magic. Her breathing is steady as she makes a portal behind her. Sigyn uses her free hand to feel the top of her head and the crown is gone.

Her eyes dart to the ground where the crown fell while she was phasing. Before she could run back to get it, Freya steps between Apollo and Sigyn with the crown at her feet. Both Sigyn and Apollo calm down, keeping their eyes on Freya as she picks up the crown. She looks at the them alternatively but keeps her gaze on Apollo. A mischievous grin that he's used to seeing on someone else appears on her face and her eyes glint an eerie shade of green as she puts the crown on her head.


[Drama aside, I already know when Apollo and Freya will have their first kiss (like neither of them have kissed anyone else let alone each other)].