For Pity

For the sake of others

Sigyn, queen of Vanaheim was completely unimpressed with the 'peace offering' that was currently chained up at the foot of her throne, panting and coughing on her silk robes and looking away in either frustration or humiliation. Either way, this man was clearly not as willing a peace offering as Odin had previously said. Perhaps it was the bleeding, cut eyebrow or the bruised jaw which was covered with a mouthguard that gave it away.

Odin himself was standing to the side of the throne room, looking rather impressed with himself, his eyes flitting from the chained man to the unimpressed queen of Vanaheim, waiting to gauge her reaction.

"Why have you brought me this... slave." Her cool voice rung out clearly and carried down to the end of the throne room, making all who heard her words shiver slightly. It wasn't a question, more an expression of disgust.

"My Lady, he is not a slave," Odin said, stepping forwards slightly to gesture towards the man on the floor, "he is an offer of a consort to unite our people."

At this, the man on the floor snarled and tried to lunge forwards Odin, only to be pulled back by the guards who then held his chains taunt in fear he would attack again.

Whilst Odin jumped back at this slightly, Sigyn leaned forwards to examine her 'gift,' careful to take in his features slowly. She did admit, once his cuts and wounds had healed, he would be most pleasing on the eye, with his raven hair falling gently to frame his face, sharp cheekbones to match a strong jaw and fair skin which made green eyes glow. He had an air of royalty about him yet he lay upon the floor in tattered rags which hung poorly on his starved frame, and revealed cuts and bruises going from his head to his feet, almost as a decoration. The mouthguard, or muzzle as it seemed to be, was only barely holding back whatever scalding comment he seemed to be trying to make, either way his eyes seemed to be doing the trick by burning holes in Odin's head.

If not for peace, then perhaps for pity, but Sigyn actually considered the offer.

"What are you wanting in return?" She saw Odin tense beside her as she called out his so-called 'extension of a hand of good faith,' and heard the man below shout out in his muzzle in alarm and try and struggle against his bonds in fear.

"My Lady this is simply an extension of a hand of good fai-"

"I'm sure your invented story is truly fascinating however I don't have time for lies, cut your falsity and get to the truth please."

Odin sighed, pressing his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose.

"Queen Sigyn, this is a most delicate matter," he paused before sighing deeply "and I ask, for the sake of my son, you simply accept the offer."

Sigyn simply snorted in response and shook her head, amazed at Odin's incomprehensible need to rid himself of the man at the bottom of the throne. She looked back at said man and saw him gazing at her with pleading eyes, a desperate attempt to escape whatever was being forced upon him in his own realm.

Not for Odin, not for peace, but for pity.

She nodded to both the guards and they let go of the chains, letting them rattle to the floor. The sound of the metal colliding with the cool wooden flooring ricochet of the walls of the palace before leaving an echoing silence, leaving the man collapse on the floor at the sudden slack of his bonds.

Sigyn descended the steps leading to her throne and crouched in front of the man, gently taking his face in her hands and lifting it enough for him to be able to look her in the eyes. Her hands went to the back of his neck and unclasped the muzzle mechanism and gently pulled it from around his jaw, throwing it behind her when it had finally been pulled away.

She carefully raised his head slightly more, only to notice long bruising around his neck which looked suspiciously like finger marks, wrapping around almost the entirety of his neck. All the while, her new 'friend' was quietly complying, flinching any time she made a movement too sudden.

After what seemed an age, Sigyn stood and gestured towards her handmaiden, Amora, and whispered to her to assist the man to the healers and to fix him as best they could. She then turned to Odin with pure disgust unhidden and running rampant upon her features.

"Know this, I do this not for you, but for the poor man you tormented, and for the knowledge that he should be safer here than in his own home.

Odin flinched at her remarks, but none the less remained within the same spot and withstood her scalding glare.

"And I'm sure my son would thank you for it My Lady." Sigyn snorted in response, trying to remain somewhat composed.

"Your son? How on earth could your self-entitled brute of a son be happy that I've taken what you would consider the scraps of your people?"

Odin gave a humourless laugh and began to walk down to the entrance of the room, trying his hardest to exit before any sort of fight or scene could be caused between the two royals.

"Well, why don't you ask the scrap?"

As the door closed behind him, Odin heard an angered scream, followed by something hitting and rattling the wooden doors which had just let him out, causing him to jump and set out on a faster pace of walking than what he would normally set.

Sigyn strode through the halls of the vast palace, taking well memorised twists and turns which would normally baffle anyone who didn't know the palace, before she finally ended up at the door of her best healer, pausing only for a moment before slowly opening the door to not make her new guest afraid. If she went what he had, or at least what he noticeably had, she would be fearful too.

Gently, the door gave way and let her slip through almost silently before it shut itself with only a small sigh from the ageing wood as any sort of protest. Sigyn turned to face the scene in front of her, only to see her healer bent over the new addition to the court and whispering out some sort of healing spell which Sigyn vaguely remembered her mother using once. Amora, who was stood simply beside the doors entrance grabbed one of her wrists steered her away from the bed and to a secluded corner in the room.

"My Lady, perhaps it is not the best idea to crowd our guest." Her voice was lowered and her eyes kept moving from her queen to the stranger laid down on the cot in the middle of the room.

"Why so?"

"Because he almost hit me for speaking behind him," Amora turned back to the man and sighed, "He's clearly been through a lot."

Sigyn shook her head and looked towards the man who seemed to be making a clear effort to stay completely still.

"Has he said anything?"

Amora shook her head.

"In time my lady, for now he shall rest."