A/N: Hey everyone! So only one chapter this week and not much of an author's note. It's kind of a filler chapter, though it does have important things, it's one of calmer chapters. Probably because from now to the end is a marathon of feels. Excited right?? Just to let you know I'm full of SPN feels as I edit these final chapters so... I'm sorry??!? The song on the side... just a haunting memory of what's to come. Anyways, thank you all (SERIOUSLY) for your support!! Enjoy! :)
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Sigyn slipped out into the hallway far away from the prison, but her thoughts still lingered in those damp walls she once called home. Home. Such an odd term to call those walls but she supposed that's what they meant to her during that time. Thoughts of the prison led her to Theoric but more specifically how he had allowed her to return to Loki's cell to heal him. She wasn’t sure if he had truly wanted her to attend to him; she was inclined to think he had not. But, he had trusted her judgement; that meant more to her than he could ever imagine.
But the picture of the God lying on the white cell motionless twice in one day was too much for her mind to handle. She had to see something else and dwell on those images. It was then Sif that found her in the garden, pulling leaves apart and tossing them into the pond that resided in the middle, trying to escape the image of a damaged man lying in his own blood in her mind.
“Greetings Lady Sif.” Sigyn was quick to her feet, bowing before the female warrior.
“There is no need for that Sigyn as I have told you before. You are one of the council members.” Sif smiled, motioning in a request that she may sit also.
“Yes of course, please sit.” Sigyn sat down once again, returning to the task of pulling part of the plant in her fingers. “Sorry, I am not used to being trusted with such responsibility. I never imagined myself as one with the likeness of nobility.”
Sif nodded, stretching out on lawn a little, letting her head fall back against the grass. Her long hair flowed out from around her; it wasn’t in its usual ponytail which probably meant she wasn't on duty. She could only guess it was because Theoric was either busy or had decided to allow them to have some space after what had happened.
“I would not worry about such things Sigyn. Be yourself and I am sure it will come in time. Even Thor was not suited at first to carry the weight of the throne on him, which is why Odin banished him to Earth for some time.” Sif's lips pursed into a line; the subject was obviously bitter in her mouth.
“And what of Loki? Was he prepared?”
Sif, who had shut her eyes at this point, slowly sat up as if to ponder this but her face told the blonde maiden otherwise. Her lips twitched up in a sneer at the mention of the former prince. Sigyn could tell that whatever the warrior was about to say were not going to be pleasant.
“Loki… I suppose you could say he was. But I do believe that was his downfall. He wanted it so much when he saw Thor was no longer fit for the crown. I believe he still does not think of Thor being fit for the crown, even if he is in chains. Loki was born to be a King, but Odin knew he would never become one. It seems as if the trickster was cheated and tricked his entire life...." Her voice trailed off before a question came across her lips. "Why such a sudden interest in the subject?”
Sif was now facing Sigyn, watching her face for any emotion to cross her face and give her a clue as to why the maiden would want to have anything to do with the monster that Asgard feared.
“It is nothing. I just... I have seen him change over the past few weeks after the death of the Queen.”
The Lady of Asgard pulled her sword from her sheath, touching the pond and causing the ripples to spiral out where the blade had touched the water. The warrior seemed to be fixated on the movement before she finally nodded to the water lightly lapping against the shore.
“You see how the water ripples and effects even the outermost edges of the pond. Loki is like the blade Sigyn. He disturbs the calm and stillness of everything around him. It’s only until you feel the effects do you see that he is the cause of it all.”
Standing up and putting her sword away, she smoothed out the leather on her outfit. “The water appears to be coming fast to your shoreline Sigyn; be careful. I must attend to a few matters within the palace. Fandral will be along shortly to keep you company until Theoric’s return.”
“Where has he gone?” Sigyn hadn’t been aware that he had left Asgard; he had said he had some matters with Volstagg and Hogun to attend to. Perhaps it was his way of trying to clear his mind.
“He, Volstagg and Hogun traveled to your home world. Several rebellions have been wrecking havoc at some of the refugee camps. Do not worry, they shall return by the end of the day. I came to let you know that Eir and Véar will not be back in time for lessons today. Fandral said he would meet you near the stables in about an hour. “ Sif turned, striding back the way she had come. She was almost out of earshot when she looked back towards Sigyn.
“Don’t trust him Lady Sigyn. You may think that you yet can save him. He is too far gone, do not waste your time trying to save an already damned soul.” And with that, the warrior left.
Sitting in an odd cross-legged fashion, she pulled apart some of the grass, but her mind was far from the greenery as Sif made her way completely out of sight. He was tricking her, wasn’t he? Everything that he was doing was only tricking her, the King, his brother and everyone around him that could be of use to get what he wanted… But still, he had stepped in to ‘save’ her when Theoric had struck her out of frustration.
Remembering what Sif had said about Fandral waiting for her at the stables, she decided to head over early and look around before Fandral got there. Smoothing out her yellow dress, she started in the direction of the royal stables.
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The walk was pleasant enough; it was a beautiful day in Asgard. The people of the palace bustled to and fro with their various jobs. The stables weren’t far but you did have to cross the central courtyard to get there, which coincidentally was also the part of the palace that had the most traffic. She smiled to the servants that scurried back and forth across the grounds, urgently returning to their masters for their next assignment. When she had been younger, she had boasted to her parents how she would one day work for the palace as many of the women in her village had gone out in search of what they believed to be a better life. How much she wished she could give up this dream and have her old life back.
The smell of horses stirred her form her inner most thoughts. Walking past a few stalls, the magnificent creatures stuck their head out of their stalls one by one, nickering softly as she walked by. A dark grey almost black colt with the most entrancing and familiar eyes stuck his head out and stared at her. The eyes blinked, like he was batting his eyelashes over those lucid green optics that pulled her closer to his stall. He snorted, bobbing his head as her hands finally slid over his muzzle and hands untangling the forelock that had had fallen down the bridge of his nose. The low whicker came from the stallion while she continued to marvel at the creature, so much so she didn't hear that her company had arrived.
“That’s Sleipnir.” Fandral’s voice said behind her. “Greetings my Lady.” He bowed slightly when Sigyn had turned to face him.
“Greetings Fandral.” She gave a small curtsey, her blue eyes meeting his equally blue ones. They had spent some time together before, though it was only for short periods of time and usually when she was waiting for Sif, lessons with Eir or sometimes Theoric. But as far as going outside the walls of the palace and actually doing something around Asgard, this would be a first.
“Sleipnir is a beautiful creature, though I’ve never seen one with 8 legs before.” Nodding to the extra pairs of legs that the horse had. She had seen strange things in her life, but never that strange before. Fandral chuckled, reaching for the stallion that pinned his ears a little towards the warrior.
“Well, he is what we might say, not a normal horse… It does not matter as he is Odin’s mount. We will be taking Bara and Vona. You will be riding Vona.”
He pointed to a mare a few stalls away, she was a beautiful light sorrel color, her violet eyes only making it more clear that she was no simple horse. Bara was a darker bay stallion; she had seen him on the stallion a few times before riding out to meet Heimdall with the other warriors. But as for Vona, she had never seen the beauty before. She seemed to be studying Sigyn like she were a book, but that couldn't be; she was only a horse.
“She is quiet lovely.” Sigyn said, watching as Fandral saddled the mare.
“Yes, she is. She hasn’t had a chance to run lately so she may be a bit antsy. I do apologize for that as Odin is not eager to let Frigga’s horse be ridden by anyone just yet.” His hand gestured to a white horse on the other side of Sleipnir's stall that stared in their direction.
“Oh? Then to whom does she belong to?” She ran her hand along the nape of the mare, seeing as Fandral was done with her saddle and leading her out of the stall so he could saddle Bara.
“She once belonged to your cell mate of sorts, Loki.”
Her hands froze on the horse’s shoulders at the mention of his name. Did everything she use have to belong to him? Running her hand along her braid, she saw Fandral finish saddling Bara from the corner of her eye.
“Is something the matter Lady Sigyn? If it is Vona belonging to Loki, I can allow you to ride another’s, perhaps Theoric’s?”
The mare looked towards Sigyn, her eyes seemed to be pleading for the girl to allow her to run today. It hadn’t occurred to her that the mare had probably been cooped up since Loki’s ‘death’, which had happened taken place almost 2 years ago. Sure, she probably had been exercised but not truly ridden. She was just as much of a prisoner as Loki was.
“No, it’s fine. I was just deep in thought.” Mounting the mare with ease, she was glad that her yellow dress was long enough to cover her leg draping on the other side. She knew it was not customary for a woman to ride with dress other than riding side saddle, but she figured Fandral would not mind if she did not appears lady like.
“Very well then. I’ll lead the way.” Fandral set Bara into a steady trot out of the stables, Vona picking up her hooves immediately to chase. Sleipnir followed them till they were out of sight, his eyes steadily watching Sigyn as she rode by.
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The countryside of Asgard was far outside the city, but peaceful. There wasn’t much of a countryside, but it was enough tot truly let the horses run. She and Fandral raced up and down the hills without a word. It wasn’t until the horses labored breathing and began to pull their heads towards the stream that the two dismounted and sat by the stream while the horses drank.
“Thank you.” Sigyn said after several minutes of sitting in silence.
“It is of no burden my Lady. I knew you would like to escape the walls of the palace. I like to come out her from time to time and think.”
“Yes. It is much better than the time before when you fetched me to escape four walls.”
Fandral’s jaw suddenly became hard, like he was attempting to grind his teeth down to the bone. He hadn’t wanted to do it; she had seen it in his eyes that night. But still he had, even when he knew her to be innocent. She was also sure he had been the one to fight with Theoric for her release.
“I should have never taken you. I should have fetched Loki and let the All-father deal with him accordingly. He should not be alive when he allowed a woman to take his place and endure such pain when he is the one who caused the riot.” Fandral’s voice had risen and his tone had grown harsher with every word. But after a few minutes of silence, he calmed down.
“Sorry, I did not wish to bring up unpleasant memories.”
“It is okay Fandral its just… do you really believe that Loki was the one to cause the riot? I do not believe him to be a man that has no intentions behind his actions. I believe people are letting his past actions cloud their thoughts about him now.”
The look across the warriors face was one of confusion and surprise. Sigyn was about to ask him what he was thinking when he voiced them instead, a playful tone carrying his words.
“You believe that Loki has changed? That he is not the vile monster that you have no doubt heard from your home world? He is a monster Sigyn. He does not love or care for anyone’s safety. I know you have been seeing to him in the prison, do not let him deceive you.But come, let us not dwell on that man a moment longer . We must be returning as it is almost time for supper.”
Fandral stood up, dusting himself off and offereing his hand to Sigyn. He clicked his tongue to fetch Bara, who was grazing with Vona not far off. The mare saw her companion trotting to his rider so she did the same, allowing Sigyn to mount her with just as much ease as before.
The return trip was quiet. She knew not why Fandral was keeping silent but for her, she was going over and over what everyone had told her about the former prince. She had almost seen him die today and yet here were people that were wishing for that to happen. Thor had threatened his brother, but she had seen that it had been out of love, that he would never truly have the means or strength to strike his brother down. It appeared that Thor, Sif and even Fandral seemed to care, in some aspect, for Loki.
But it was not the Loki that sat in the white-lit cell that they cared for. No, they missed their brother and friend that they had known for years. They felt betrayed and who wouldn’t be? Odin seemed to have no sentiment towards his son, but perhaps he never had. Perhaps that was why it was so easy for the King to hurt and mutilate his adopted son because he had never truly seen him as anything else than a stolen relic.
A frown formed on her face the closer the got to the stables, and Vona seemed to react to her mood by shaking her head and her ears drooping ever so slightly. But it was not just Sigyn’s emotions, no; the haunting idea of being locked away in the stalls once more was what stirred the filly’s thoughts and she couldn't blame her. The mare was a prisoner just as her master, something Sigyn intended on fixing.
Dismounting and allowing Fandral to remove the saddle, she kissed the beautiful mare’s nose, whispering as she rubbed the equine’s cheek. “I promise to return when I can. They need not to lock up such a beautiful creature.”
The mare bobbed her head as if she were saying thank you and turned to her oats for the evening.
Fandral leaned against the wall to the entrance of the stables, waiting for Sigyn to finish.
“Shall we?” He said, offering his arm.
“Yes.” She said as he escorted her towards the dining hall.
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A/N: To anyone wondering, Bara means 'just' while Vona means 'hope' in Icelandic, which is the primary language I'm using for most of the names that are not of Norse Mythology or Marvel