Consequences

16

On Sunny's birthday, Loki woke, did his best to make himself presentable, and limped to the desk; Sigyn appeared behind him, "And what are you doing?"

"Writing to my son. One of my letters. You agreed not to read it."

"Fine."

Loki wrote and sent the letter quickly, watching it vanish before his eyes and hoping it got where it needed to go.

Sigyn smiled cruelly, "Today is going to be a big day, Loki. You're going to be regal when you step out to join the masses in front of the palace, ready to give Sunny her birthday greeting...and to kill Thor. You will even have a sword with you so you can make the cut clean and quick. This time, I will be watching. I need to see what it does to you to draw his blood, to see him spill it on the ground. You will not speak to anyone until you greet Sunny. Then you will strike."

Loki dropped his head into his hands, "Sigyn, enough. You wanted me, you have me. You have humiliated me, you have stolen my body, you have broken my heart. Can't this be over?"

"No, it will hurt more this way. Now shut up and follow orders. You have a lot of preparation to do."

Sunny, meanwhile, was dressing in the gown that looked like flames in her mother's room when a letter appeared on the bed next to Amundr, "Mum? A note came for Amundr."

Brynja was sitting sipping tea at the little breakfast table, her back to her daughter, "Go ahead and read it- who brought it?"

"No one. It just appeared."

Brynja slowly set her tea down, "Read it. Out loud."

"Amundr,

"My dear son. I am so sorry for the reputation I am leaving behind. I know it will come back to hurt you. I am grateful, however, that I was able to make sure that you were not harmed in all this. That you and your mother were left alone. I only hope that it stays this way.

"I do not know what is being planned for me. I only know that it will prevent me from celebrating Sunny's birthday with you. Please, my darling son, remember only the love I gave you, not the things that I am being forced to do now. Hold that in your heart. Ask your sisters to tell you stories. Have your mother tell you about the hours after your birth when I first saw you and could not stop staring at you, my entire heart in awe of your existence.

"Forgive me, my son. I hope I can come back to you, but if not, know that I love you dearly and remind your sisters and your mother of that often.

"Father."

Brynja came to the bed, picked up Amundr, and hugged him very tightly, "Your father will come home. I don't know how, but it will happen."

Sunny folded the letter and placed it on Brynja's desk, "We know she's not telling him things that far in advance if he doesn't know what is being planned for today. This could work in our favour. If Sigyn does what we think she will, he'll be acting without preparation and any hesitation could be a benefit to us."

Not long after, Amundr was safe with Freyja, Frigga, and Angrboda in the Witching Rooms while Sunny's plan was put into action. The illusion of her on the steps was well crafted, but not too well crafted. Her second illusion sat in a balcony not far away, watching, smiling, a book on the balcony railing. She was not far from her well-crafted false self, her bow and arrow at her side. She hid herself well, a clear view and a clear shot in front of her. She surveyed the scene before her. Thor and Brynja were to one side of her while Katja, ever the bodyguard, was on her other side. Sunny-the-illusion greeted well-wishers kindly while her mother accepted their gifts and placed them in baskets so they could be more easily brought to the palace later. Sif and the Warriors Three patrolled the courtyard.

Sunny saw Loki approaching on Sigyn's arm long before Katja did and she thought down to her sister, "They've entered the square and are walking your way. They are not in the line. Sigyn looks smug. Loki does not smile. Neither are an illusion."

Katja thought back to her, "Roger that. I'll let you know when I see them."

"Just look for the horns, he's wearing that ridiculous helmet."

Sunny saw Katja smirk and she heard in her head, "Yep, found them. Tell me what she's up to."

The sisters rarely spoke telepathically. Katja hated it, she thought it was an invasion of her mind and had been very upset the first time Sunny had tried it without telling her. The second success, even with a warning, was met with just about as much resistance. Sunny had since taught Katja some basic magic to block telepathy, but she knew that the spells had been very difficult for her sister to learn. Katja had appreciated them none the less.

Sunny watched Loki and Sigyn make their way to the front of the line. Sunny's illusion was working perfectly- it was clear that Sigyn saw through it. She whispered something to Loki.

Katja, standing nearby, heard the whispered words, "It's not her. The little witch is hiding. Try to kill her."

Loki closed his eyes and jabbed a dagger into the illusion. The crowd screamed and people began to run, shoving others out of their way in the effort to flee. The Sunny-illusion slumped and fell to the ground. She flickered and vanished.

The second illusion rose and spoke,"Fear not, good people- I am unharmed. I believed the worst could happen and was prepared for it. Your birthday wishes were heard and are appreciated greatly."

Katja stood still, watching every move Sigyn made, thinking to Sunny, "She's real, isn't she? I could engage here right now and end this."

"No," Sunny thought back, "She'd only kill you. Wait. We need to see how she acts. Remember, this is a test- observation of an unknown enemy. We have to buy them time while she's away."

Loki stood in front of his wife and his king and drew out a long sword. Sigyn stepped back, giving him one more command.

Katja reported to Sunny, "She just told him to kill his wife."

Loki was struggling against the command as he lifted the sword; he looked Brynja in the eyes and fought the silencing spell, managing to say, "I'm so sorry, Bryn," before swinging the blade at her. Thor shoved her out of the way and took the blade in his shoulder instead. Loki pulled it back and readied to swing again, this time to kill Thor.

Sunny gave the order to Katja, "Distract her."

Katja quickly drew the hatchet from her belt and threw it. It landed with a satisfying thunk in Sigyn's leg. She cursed, she howled, and she lost her concentration long enough that Loki could stay his blade and drop it at Thor's feet, himself falling to his knees, the illusion of his armour gone. Sigyn's rage fuelled her and she grabbed Loki's hair, the both of them vanishing. Katja's hatchet clattered on the steps.

Sunny-the-illusion raced into the palace. Sunny-the-real followed suit, dropping her invisibility as she did. She thought to Freyja, "Any success?"

Freyja's message came back clear, "We've got her secret. We're safe. Get them inside. She is very very angry."

Sunny ran through the halls and down the steps to her mother and uncle. Katja, Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun were helping those injured in the rush to escape to get to their feet. Brynja was working on Thor's arm.

Sunny sat down by her mother, "Other than the injuries, the mission was a success. They did it."

Thor gritted his teeth as Brynja worked to knit his muscles back together, "Then I will bear this pain proudly."

Brynja was silent as she worked, only looking up for a moment, "He spoke to me."

Sunny realised how significant this was- for a brief moment, Loki had overcome the silencing spell. She also knew that he would dearly pay for it.