Sigyn's Discovery (Part 1)

The War (LOKI)

They were relentless. Only a few days would pass between the assaults, barely giving the soldiers time to recuperate from their injuries. My people were afraid to be seen in the streets. Asgard went from a city of near-constant celebration to a city of silence.

The sustained attack went on for two weeks, which became three, then four.

Over and over, commanders requested Thor's presence—I denied them every time and forbade Heimdall from speaking with him. If I had any chance to prove my worth, even to myself, it had to be without my former brother's assistance.

Still, the first month was tolerable enough. I had no new injuries and no time to let my mind wander away from anything but the enemy. Late nights were spent in war council, developing new strategies so the Chitauri couldn't predict our next move. We considered following them off-world to fight in another territory, but I knew too much about Thanos and his minions—defeating Kl'rt in his efforts to take over Asgard would be enough, and the risk of running into more of the titan's allies was too great to take the battle elsewhere.

Sleep eluded me in all that time—a blessing I couldn't appreciate until she slipped into a stolen dream.

Her warmth surrounded me, filling my lungs when I breathed her in as much as her body covered me. Quiet whispers of my name became a chorus of moans and laughter. She wasn't a conquest, nor was she simply more pleasant to think of than bloodshed. Sigyn had a contagious spirit which bolstered my confidence and strength. Without her, I would've been too impaired to lead Asgard past the second battle.

Yet that dream became a horrific nightmare when her moans transformed into blood-curdling shrieks. Kl'rt read my mind and found her.

Was such a thing possible, or merely a fear that my association would lead to Sigyn's death?

He dragged her from the palace by her beautiful hair as she kicked the ground. Despite her strength, she was no match for the green beast or the two Chitauri who followed. I reached for her with Odin's hand but was too late.

Kl'rt drove his sword deep into her side. The same way Frigga died.

I shot up in my seat, having drifted off in Odin's chamber after another exhausting day. The sun had barely set, making the already golden room more orange than it really was, even tinging the walls in a crimson like the violence in my mind.

My pulse raced like the dream had been real, making me want to see her face just to prove that it wasn't. In all the time since we woke together, I'd actively avoided her and made sure all my usual times to receive things were already occupied. If there was any consolation to keeping Sigyn distant, it was that no one could guess how fond of her I was.

Even her.

But now my soul would not rest without knowing she was faring well despite Asgard's status. Did she worry for me the way I did for her?

The entrance to Odin's first chamber creaked, and soft footsteps soon followed. Evening delivery.

I stood and lumbered toward the door at my side to catch her. "Sigyn?"

But a stranger stood in the foyer, carrying a small candle of her own from the tray she left behind. The blonde girl's muted gray robes marked her a peasant—nothing like the shiny thing Sigyn wore last I saw her. "Sire, did you need something?" she asked, nearly out of the room already.

I closed the door behind me, hoping she hadn't seen anything I didn't want her to. Assuming she was Sigyn was a risk I shouldn't have taken without confirmation. "Yes, I..."

What to say? What to ask? Where is she?

The girl turned toward me more, awaiting instructions.

I put my hands behind my back to feign composure. "Where is my usual charge? How were you able to enter without her?"

"Sigyn hasn't felt terribly well as of late. I am Thyra. She brought me with her for service before and found no risk to me entering alone...she suspected you had chosen not to arm the chamber because you knew she had not been here in some time. Please, forgive me if you feel I have trespassed. I mean no harm, and neither does she." Thyra bowed her head, refusing to look me in the eye after her report.

Some time? It would've humiliated me to ask for more information. If Sigyn had done the same thing I did and kept away on purpose, how might it look if I admitted not noticing such a thing?

I cleared my throat to get her attention anew. "I see. Thank you for your candor, Thyra. I trust Sigyn is not so unwell she cannot work at all?"

"No, Sire. She's remained in the kitchen instead. Says the stairs give grief to her knees."

A poor excuse. Not too different from my own. "You are dismissed."

Thyra did a small curtsey and went on her way, closing the door to the hall on her way out and leaving me in the dark.

Asgard was at war with the Chitauri, but Sigyn was at war with me. We couldn't dodge each other's defenses this way forever. What more could I do to bring us both relief?

Only one thing felt right, though I clenched my fists and fought against the idea for a few quiet moments in the foyer. The fight with Kl'rt should've already ended, but victory eluded me. Any day he could slip past the palace shield and crash the noble floor again as they did that first time. It wasn't worth the minute chance that she would be there, too.

My next step was an act of mercy. I only prayed she would see it that way.