Legacy

A Warrior's Heart

Sif was fed up with waiting. She had not the time to make amends on Loki's schedule, not while their son resided patiently in Glasir, ascending rapidly into adulthood, ignorant of the life-altering truth awaiting him. She refused to leave for Glasir until she and Loki were on speaking terms again, and he should know this. It was foolish of him to keep avoiding her, prolonging something he had admittedly longed for, and why? Because she forced him into a premature confession?

Granted his confession shed a light on Thor that she hadn't expected, but truth was truth and no matter how ugly it could get, and it belonged in the open. How many times had she told Loki of her unwillingness to lie for him? He shouldn't have expected any less of her in regard of her duty to Thor. This silent treatment he had been giving her for the last two days was completely undeserved and she was through letting him get away with it. For all his acquired knowledge, and all his boasted experience from traveling in and out of the nine realms, Loki could be a bloody child at times.

Her boots clicked disruptively through the great halls of the public library. She knew she would find Loki here now that he was well enough to move about. He always took refuge among the towering bookshelves. She had to ask a librarian to his exact whereabouts given the enormous floor plan of a building she seldom visited, but it was no difficult task to find the brooding prince tucked away in a private corner, ignoring the nearby whispers of curious teenagers who gossiped about the awesomeness of their martyred prince. The kingdom was still in the dark to what their king had just learned.

Sif passed by Loki's fan club, halting their whispers with her sizing-up stare. She was in full armor and knew exactly how intimidating she could be. The adolescents gathered their books and fled, allowing Sif the privacy she wordlessly requested. She then cast her glance to Loki who was obviously ignoring her unmissable presence, pretending to remain engrossed in some tattered tome which lay before him on the table.

Sif veered down an aisle that hid her from Loki's view, drawing closer to him but masking her budding smirk. She could play games too. She noisily sifted through several books, sliding them on and off shelves and flipping their pages with far more force than necessary. The annoyed sigh she heard from the opposite side of the shelf only encouraged her. She began humming and making other nonsensical noises in feigned interest at whatever literature she held, even dared read a few lines aloud.

It was only a matter of time before Loki would object.

"Quite pretending to be literate."

A jab. That was a good sign. Sif took it as her invitation to reveal herself again, rounding the bookshelf and approaching him with a challenging smile. She plopped her book down on his table, its thud echoing throughout the entire philosophy section. She then kicked the chair out that his were feet propped on and planted herself directly in front on him, half seating herself on the table.

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes, refusing to acknowledge her expectant gaze, which she wouldn't let up on. Finally, after his overly dramatic show of offense, rapping his fingers on the table and looking everywhere but at her face, he met her eyes.

"Have you no concept of how to behave in a library?"

Sif crossed her arms across her breastplate. "Have you no concept of how to behave in general?"

Loki continued to strum his fingers, holding her gaze with a very unimpressed look. "You will now judge the very action you tirelessly spurned me to do?"

Sif raised her brow. "You know as well as I there were more tactful ways to break the news to your brother."

"None of which he deserved." Loki's stare became cold, unblinking.