Loki and Sigyn, His Glorious Purpose

Chapter Eighty-Five

"I'll help you get to her," Sylvie said, leaning forward on the table and extending her pinky, "I promise it."

I eyed her, unsure as to whether she was tricking me. Truly, I wanted to believe her but I was still unsure as to whether I should trust her. I desperately wanted to get to Sigyn and unfortunately, this wayward variant seemed to be my only hope.

"Listen," she sighed, "I didn't get to be with my Sigyn. But, I know if I had the ability to go and even see him one more time, I'd take that chance. The least I can do to honor him is to help you return to your Sigyn. I will do everything I can to get you to her, I promise."

I leaned forward, interlocking my pinky with hers.

"I appreciate the gesture," I whispered, "I really do, but please know if it comes to choosing between you and her-"

Sylvie nodded, "You'll choose her. As you should."

"Thank you," I said softly, offering her a small smile as a waiter came up to our table.

"Champagne?" he offered.

I shook my head, "Ah, no. Thank you very much, though."

Sylvie raised a brow as the man placed two glasses of water on our table.

"No drinking?" Sylvie asked.

"No," I affirmed, taking a sip of water, "I think I've learned that alcohol and I usually make for very poor decisions."

"And how did you discover that?" she asked.

"The tapes," I explained, "And Sigyn, I suppose. You see, on my timeline, I apparently end up on some foreign planet and get just completely hammered leaving Sigyn to end up in some real trouble. And...it ends up being all my fault. I figure it's just best that alcohol and I don't mix."

"What happened to her?" Sylvie asked, a look of concern flashing over her face.

"I'm not entirely sure," I admitted, "I only know what the TVA agent told me which is...not good. Out of respect for her, I'm not sure I should share. It seems like information I shouldn't spread without the okay."

Sylvie nodded, "Yeah, of course."

I smiled softly and raised my glass of water, "Cheers, to the end of the world."

Sylvie returned a grin, "And to getting you home," she added, taking a sip from her glass.

"A pity the old woman chose to die, don't you think?" I asked, thinking back to the woman we had met earlier that day.

"She was in love," she said with a shrug.

"She hated him," I argued.

"Maybe love is hate," she countered.

I rolled my eyes. Ever the dramatist, I pulled a quill and journal out from thin air. "Should probably remember that," I mocked, "What was that? Love is...love is hate."

"Oh, piss off!" she groaned.

"So, on the subject of love," I said leaning forward, "is there a lucky beau waiting for you at the end of this crusade?"

"Yeah, there is, actually," she mocked, "Plan to ya know to go back in time and hook up with my ten-year-old crush. No! I don't have a beau! I've been running from apocalypse to apocalypse. I can't foster a relationship."

"With charm like that, who could resist you?" I scoffed.

"Well, people are quite willing in the face of certain doom," Sylvie explained, "Jumping from apocalypse to apocalypse, I manage to get around."

"I'm sure you do," I said with a shrug.

She blushed and hastily explained, "It was only ever just to keep me going. How about you, have any...fun before Sigyn? You're a prince. Must've been would-be princesses or perhaps, another prince."

"A bit of both," I replied with a sigh, "A bit too much. of both honestly. I could see it evolving into...a problem but, obviosuly I'm working through that because-"

"Because of Sigyn," she finished, "Right."

"But, nothing ever...real," I explained, "Not yet."

"Mmm," she said nodding, "Love is mischief, then?"

I shook my head, almost disgusted by how awfully cheesy that was. "No. Love is... uh, something I need to get back to."

"Precisely," she agreed, "You really are itching to get back to your time, aren't you? It can't be that Sigyn is the only reason."

I nodded, "You're right. I have a daughter too apparently, and currently, wherever she is in time and space, she's fatherless."

Sylvie hummed as the pieces all came together in her mind.

"I see," she said, "You're a family man now. You want to just go home with your girls and live the simple life."

I laughed lightly. Simplicity seemed completely out of the question, especially with me wrapped up in the equation. But, I suppose she was right. Wherever my girls were, and whatever they were doing, I wanted to be there. For both of them. In my timeline, I was destined to fail them. I wasn't going to let that happen again.

"What's the squirt's name?" Sylvie asked.

"Hela."

Sylvie stopped, putting her glass down. She looked at me under a furrowed brow.

"Hela?" she echoed, "That's a god-awful name."

I sighed, "I know."

"Why would you name a little girl that?" she questioned, "That's downright cruel."

I shrugged and put my hands up in defense. "Trust me, if I knew the reasoning behind it, I would tell you," I explained, "But that wasn't necessarily gone over in the nifty slideshow the TVA displayed for me."

"You know I had a brother named Hel," Sylvie said, "Did you name her after one of your siblings?"

"What? No," I stammered, "Maybe I did? I have no clue. But her name is Hela, end of the story."

"What's she like?" Sylvie asked. Her curiosity was clearly overtaking her, she looked soft as she yearned to learn more. 

"She's..." I began before I snapped, "Why do you want to know?"

Sylvie blinked in shock, "Gosh, so much for trust. Asshole."

"No," I continued, "Why do you care so much to know about my family?"

"Jesus Christ, Loki," she said, "I'm not interested in hurting them. I just.. I will never be able to live that kind of life. I suppose I was just living vicariously through you."

I narrowed my eyes, "Sure."

She groaned, "Whatever, you won't believe me no matter what I say."

I shrugged. Sylvie's eyebrows furrowed as she looked over me.

"Shh," she whispered, "People are eying you...weirdly."

"Since when did you get so paranoid?" I teased.

"It must have started when I spent my entire life running from the omniscient fascists you made friends with," she spat.

I looked behind me, and of course, two officers stood alongside one of the train's passengers. I took a deep breath before turning back to Sylvie.

"Stay cool," she warned.

I scoffed. Stay cool. Cool was in my very nature. As my variant, I thought she would have been smart enough to know that.