Legacy

Cross Deception

The greater the distance put between Lady Sif and The Collector's museum, the more she questioned Odin's reasoning for trusting that time-old eccentric with a power so great and valuable. Were the walls of Asgard and its formidable warriors not protection enough for the Aether? Her surroundings were a contrary answer to her question as she navigated around endless debris and ducked under half-toppled columns that littered the corridor to Odin's Hall. She also recalled the condition the Kursed had left the prison cells in. Perhaps Asgard wasn't best suited at the moment to harbor a second cataclysmic power source, but it wouldn't be long before the shining city was restored to its impeccable glory. The ravages of war never hindered it before and she would be damned if she allowed some unsightly rubble to tarnish that reputation on her watch.

Upon returning to Asgard via the Bifrost, Sif had asked Heimdall to send a raven ahead of her informing Odin that she was on her way to see him. She never sought the All-Father's company without a direct summons from him, but too many questions and suspicions were burdening her thoughts. With Thor back on Midgard with his...beloved mortal, Sif felt there was none other fit for this duty than her.

Her footsteps echoed as she entered the royal hall and she felt the twist in her gut tighten. The massive room was so much more daunting when not filled with her brethren warriors and with Thor's booming voice.

"All-Father?" She took a deep breath as she beheld the illustrious throne, but immediately noticed something wasn't right with Odin's posture. He slouched to the side, his face half hidden behind the fist he leaned into. Sif hesitated briefly before she knelt on one knee and placed her arm across her heart. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

The king smiled then shifted to lean in the other direction. "I assure you, the pleasure is all mine." When he spoke, it was in a familiar tone that was not Odin's. It dripped of insincerity, even mocking. "What matter might stir thee to come without the company of your warrior kinsmen?"

"A couple of matters, my Lord. The first being the task which Volstagg and I have just completed."

"How did that go?" Odin asked. "Was The Collector cooperative?"

"Yes," said Sif. "Very cooperative. And suspiciously eager."

"What is suspicious? I would be eager too if presented with a relic of that caliber." Sif made to speak but was cut off as Odin continued. "What other matters vex your thoughts, my dear?"

Sif was still brimming with questions regarding The Collector and found Odin's dismissal of the topic very, un-kingly of him. By right he shouldn't have to explain himself but he rarely had in the past dismissed the concerns of his highest ranking warriors. He usually let Sif or the other warriors speak freely on issues that bothered them. This behavior further convinced her that something wasn't right.

The first sign had been a couple days ago, when Sif had encountered Odin in the stables. She was tending to her Pegasus when he came to retrieve Sleipnir, and she couldn't help notice a difference in how the eight-legged steed responded to its master. Where the beast was normally very rigid in its subordination, this time he was relaxed, almost affectionate.

The second sign had been during the last few feasts when Sif saw Odin eating Idunn's apples. She could have sworn he had vowed to abstain from them during his time of mourning. Not only that, but Odin looked just the same here and now as he did before eating the youth-granting fruit, bearing all the weathered creases in his face that he did at Frigga's funeral. None of it made any sense, and Sif was going to unveil whatever evils may be lurking beneath Asgard's royal surface.