Consequences

5

The last month before the wedding, Loki had started to panic slightly about the very public appearance he was going to have to make for the reception. Thor's coronation had been so focussed on the outgoing king and his incoming protege that Loki had been able to fade mostly into the background. This time he would be the centre of attention from the procession after the ceremony through to the end of the celebration feast late that night. He had also seen the guest list. Of course, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun would be present, but so would a contingent from Jotunheim and Vanaheim, as well as a few members of the court who had scattered to other realms through the years, such as his previous wife, Sigyn, and the two sons she bore him, children he had never made the attempt to know. He had started asking Heimdall about her long before the guest list was final, wanting to know if she would be coming alone or with a lover, hoping she would be otherwise occupied and he might not have to feel so guilty about his previous abandonment of the woman he had never really loved, but had lusted after greatly to the point of having her beloved killed in battle so that he could take his place in the marriage bed.

A week before the wedding, Loki stood next to Heimdall once again and asked him the same question he had asked at least once a month for nearly the past year after Brynja was sleeping, "Is Sigyn well?"

Heimdall nodded, "She is. She still walks in Midgard quietly, as though she has no aim but to live alongside its people, no ambition for bigger things or greater prospects."

Loki sighed, "She has not yet sought happiness in someone's company?"

Heimdall shook his head, "No, she has not. As I tell you every month, she tells others she is a widow and asks not to be disturbed. She will seek no other."

Loki hated asking the next question, and yet he did, every time, "And the boys?"

"Vali and Nari are well. She has told them only that they are of Asgard, as always, and still promises them they will some day see this place, though there is no reason to rush, as they are long-lived," Heimdall answered.

Loki was satisfied with the update and returned to the rooms he shared with his wife and son. He did not know how Brynja would react when she found out where he went during the night. He had never thought her the jealous type, but he had also never talked to her about his previous relationships in depth. He knew the day would come when he would have to. Sigyn had been invited to their wedding, now only a week away.

He knew Brynja understood that there were other women in his past and other children, those from Sigyn and those borne to Angrboda, but there was something quite different between her knowing they existed and him actually talking to her about the relationships. He was not looking forward to the discussion but knew he should probably have it before they were wed. Having other wives, or at least other lovers, and their children, show up at the wedding would only be more difficult if he had not fully disclosed the nature of the relationships to Brynja in advance.

Of course, there was also Sleipnir. The eight-legged horse of Odin, his son, and one he could not forget. He had no idea what Brynja knew of the nature of his children, their births, or their mothers (or, in the case of Sleipnir, his father). She had been shut up in the walls so young and he never knew if word of his exploits had reached her where she was kept or not. She knew much of the history of those within the palace, but he was always surprised by the gaps in her knowledge. There were conversations she did not overhear, feasts she was not invited to, and adventures he and Thor had gone on and not discussed plainly after.

As he returned to their bedroom, he noticed the light still on and wondered just what was going on. Brynja was never up late, her days often long, planning the wedding with Frigga and keeping track of their very high-energy son. Amundr was never very calm, a bundle of energy neither of his parents could completely keep up with, likely inherited from Loki, given the stories Frigga had started telling of Loki's childhood. The boy's wilful nature was a trait he shared with both his mother and father and both of them were sure they were going to be challenged by as he grew older.