For Pity

Only time can tell

After leaving the presence of her new company her healer, flanked by Amora, Sigyn strode back to the throne room, and just before entering she took a sharp turn to the left and flung open the doors to the conference hall, where her many advisors were bickering over the polished wood table. To be perfectly honest, that table had prevented more violence than the soothsayers of the royals.

As the doors slammed open, singling her entrance in what would be called a dramatic manner, and drawing her lords and ladies away from their many arguments. Amora peeked over Sigyns shoulder to see men with faces redder than the cherries which came in the summer months and the ladies with lips thinner than cheese strings.

They all stood and bowed deeply, before returning to their seats and waiting for what their queen was about to say.

"Continue." She said, waving her hand at her council.

And yet, contradicting her simple command, complete silence followed. All in the hall looked apprehensive to recommence the previous conversation, either in hope not to anger the queen, or in self preservation tactic.

Sigyn lowered herself into the seat at the head of the conference table and surveyed the people before her, all fidgeting in their seats and biting their tongues.

"My Lady, it seems your council has been made dumb by your words," Amora jested, before taking her seat next to Sigyn and folding her hands on her lap.

Many of the people in the room elected to respond in silence, as they had before done to her previous comment, some with carefully hidden glares to Amora who was smirking next to the queen, and some by looking down at their laps as school children would do if they were afraid of being picked on.

Sigyn turned her attention to an elderly lord whom had always enjoyed quarrelling her decisions.

"Lord Balimire, your opinion?" The lord stiffened in his seat and apprehensively turned to the queen, trying to create a half baked excuse in his mind in the time it took him to rotate his head.

"Well, my lady, you see, perhaps..." he trailed off pathetically, not having been given enough time to create a convincing lie.

"Perhaps?" Sigyn said, waiting for him to answer the question.

"Perhaps it isn't wise to accept some street rat from a king known to be hostile." Lady Laurelie piped up from the end of the table, drawing all eyes to her.

"My queen, with all respect, you have granted a complete stranger unlimited access to the biggest stronghold in Vanaheim, a stranger given to you by an opposing realm. The lords and ladies were worried of what that might entail and wondering how you would prevent an attack from said Individual." Lady Laurelie stopped, looking round at the others at the table expectedly.

Everyone had suddenly bowed their heads in shame, trying to ignore the queens intense gaze burning holes in their heads. Of course, she could burn holes in their heads if she wanted to, however she seemed satisfied with simply making them extremely uncomfortable.

"And if I were to not accept his offering, what would you suggest I do with said offering?"

Her court straightened and looked at each other frantically, trying to come up with some ulterior to keeping what they considered to be a stray Asguardian in the royal palace. overall, the royal council looked more like a school of fish pulled from water rather than some of the most powerful people in the realm.

Sigyn allowed herself a small smile, barely lifting the corners of her mouth, before standing abruptly and clapping her hands together merrily.

"It's settled then, he'll stay." A series of protests arose from the table as many of the lords and ladies stood in frustration however they were instantly silenced by the raising of a hand from Sigyn.

"He is staying, that is final." She turned on her heel, her silken robes fluttering behind her, before striding through the door in the same fashion she entered, leaving her entire if a stunned silence at the abrupt and sudden manner of the meeting.

Amora rose slowly, dusted off her robes, gave a quick smile to the council and followed her queen at a leisurely pace, before finally realising how far away Sigyn truly was, at which she burst into a short sprint to catch up with her.

Panting, she leant carefully on one of the walls as Sigyn stopped to look at her handmaiden with an expression somewhere between sheer amusement and curiosity.

"My Lady, with all due respect, your dramatic entrances and exits are far harder to keep up with that you would think." Sigyn snorted before quickly trying to regain her composure.

"I'm not worried about you keeping up, more that they aren't making enough of a statement." She quipped back, a smirk gracing her features.

"Oh they do make a bold statement," Amora said, resuming the walk at a leisurely pace, "Don't mess with me or you'll get a cape to the face."

"Or a fireball."

"Yes that too."

They fell into a comfortable silence, their footsteps echoing off the halls of the palace as they made their way to the healer, and thereafter to Sigyn's personal chambers. They passed many doors, each identical to the unobserving eye, and Sigyn counted them as they passed by, naming them all with their purpose in mind. Just as she had done when she was a child, being pulled along by a nursemaid or her own mother.

Amora was watching Sigyn, noticing the crinkle of her brow as she muttered under her breath, either revising some sort of speech she had to make at this event or that event, or possibly an argument between herself and some lord with a pole lodged up his rectal cavity. Amora quite enjoyed watching those arguments, as she got a kick from watching some ratty old man having his place made explicitly clear to him.

"What do you make of him?" Sigyn interrupted the silence, voicing said thoughts which she had previously kept to herself.

"Of whom?"

"The man at the healers, Odin's 'gift' of sorts." She seemed to hate the words she was using to describe her guest, and yet no better ones appeared to her.

"He's handsome, seems to hate Odin quite thoroughly so you'll both get on splendidly," Amora paused, taking a brief moment to compose her words, "He's... hurt. I doubt he'll be able to sleep properly at first, and I'm sure trust won't come easily-"

"Well yes his own king beat him within an inch of his life."

"Precisely." Amora said.

They had arrived outside of the healers, both of them turning to face each other and waiting for one to say something. Sigyn was fidgeting with the sleeve of her robes and trying to think of something to strike more conversation. Either to avoid going in, or to prompt her to open the wooden doors leading to her guest.

"Odin said, 'consort'..."

"Yes, My Lady?"

Sigyn looked back at Amora who was stood patiently, waiting for her to continue. Sigyn went to open her mouth, then promptly shut it.

"My Lady, would he be a consort?"

Sigyn sighed and gazed at the doors.

"Perhaps, only time should tell us such things."

At that, she turned to face the room, shielded still by the strong oak wood, straightened her robes, placed two hands on the left door and pushed it open.