I Will Follow You Into The Dark~ On Hold

Chapter 23

Loki paced the hallway of the medical wing. He had barely been able to get Sigyn back to the Palace in time. His magic hadn't worked, no matter how hard he tried, her wounds weren't healing. How she had managed to ignore the pain long enough to continue to fight and heal those who needed it bewildered him. Freyja had told him that it was the way of the Valkyries; but Sigyn wasn't one, she hadn't gone through the trials as far as he knew.

The wound was slowly killing her. By the time they had made it to the palace, his mother was already waiting for them, with Freyja, Tony, and Natasha by her side. He had immediately run off with Sigyn in his arms, leaving Thor to help his warrior friends and the villagers. It was as if his horse knew he needed the animal, by the time he had crossed the bridge; his stallion was waiting for him. Mounting proved to be difficult, but he made it work, pushing as much magic into Sigyn's body as the horse galloped as if its life depended on it.

The blade had been poisoned, that was why his magic wasn't working. It made Loki fear that his mother's magic wouldn't work either. How could he live a life without Sigyn so soon after finding her again? The answer was, he couldn't. If Sigyn died from this, Loki knew deep down he would surely follow. It had been hours since he was kicked out, and Thor and their friends had joined him. Natasha and Tony were yelling at Thor asking what in the nine realms had happened; a question that Loki was asking himself. It was supposed to be a peaceful ride, not a fight for their lives, with Sigyn's life hanging in the balance.

Loki watched with nail biting anticipation as the doors to the wing opened and Frigga walked out. Her eyes were blurry with tears and Loki felt everything break, he fell to his knees and everything else was just white noise. He stared at the now closed door, praying that Sigyn would walk out and flash that breathtaking smile of hers. He didn't notice that Thor had knelt next him until he felt the weight of his brother's heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Mother says that Sigyn is alive, but the poison isn't just a physical weakener, it will attack the mind as well." Loki only just made sense of Thor's words, his brows furrowing. "We need you to see into her mind, see what is tormenting her from beyond our reach."

Loki nodded and sprinted into the room, gasping as he saw her pale, and frail like on the bed. Her dark hair was scattered in multiple places, no longer stained with dried blood. Her riding clothes were replaced with a gown of the softest materials Asgard had to offer. Just as any of her fellow Asgardians, Sigyn was blessed with tanned skin, the bronze colours had dimmed to a ghostly pale, her lips had a blueish tinge to them. If he hadn't known better, he would have suspected she had Jötunn blood in her; but he did and that's what terrified him. Was she too far gone, could he even help her now?

He sat next to her and caressed her cheeks that were sunken as black swirls etched into her skin. As intricate as they were Loki hated them, as they were the case of her poor health, they were what could potentially take her away from him. They were a symbol of the poison that was ravishing her body, taking what didn't belong to it. He smiled weakly as Sigyn unconsciously leaned into his hand, her skin heated, relishing in the cold that was his true form. His hand not only cooled her down but made it easier for him to search through her thoughts, to find what was slowly killing her. What he saw, he did not expect, and it killed him to see it even second hand, he couldn't imagine enduring it himself.

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It had been barely half a Midgardian century since Sigyn fell to the realm. She had truly thought she would wake up in either Helheim or if she was lucky enough, Valhalla. She hadn't expected to wake up on Midgard, with a woman who thoughts called to her own. The woman, a blonde goddess, informed her of her family tree. Her mother had been the Queen of the Valkyries, Sigrún; while her father had been the twin of the woman before her, a Vanir god by the name of Freyr. That meant the woman who stood before her was the Vanir Goddess, Freyja, and apparently her aunt. Freyja taught Sigyn what it meant to be a Valkyrie, her very birthright. The training was intensive and drilling. It exhausted her to the point where she thought that death may have been a better option. But finally, after what was fifty years; she was a Valkyrie that would have made her mother proud, well that was what her aunt said, and Sigyn had learnt very quickly that the goddess was bias when it came to family.