Avengers: Legacies

A Foolish Thought

Tait groaned as he sat up. "Sigyn!" He pushed himself up onto his knees. "Wait." He breathed hard against the pain bruising his ribs, a sharp jab shooting through the left side of his skull. He forced himself to stand, swaying on his feet, but he still had sights on her, and he feared she'd become lost. He ran out of the broken building and left behind the others to tend to themselves.

"Sigyn!" He sprinted faster in the direction she had taken towards the outdoor training fields, still yards between them, but he was quickly gaining ground over the flat earth. Her black hair whipped out behind her, and she chanced a look over her shoulder, her eyes wide and her face pale. Her quick glance costed her steady footing, and she tripped at the edge of the field, stumbling to regain her stride, which afforded Tait the advantage.

He closed the remaining distance and managed to grab hold of her by the elbow. "Sigyn, please, there is no need to flee."

She pulled out of his grasp and turned on him, her eyes shining and her breathing ragged. They stared at each other in the silence, and the cool air of the coming evening chilled the sweat at Tait's brow. He absorbed every little detail of Sigyn's face, and the tension in his back eased at the remorse in her eyes. He risked a step forward, but she faltered back a step, holding out a warding hand.

"I hurt you. I hurt all of you," she said, strained through a sob. Tears glistened in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "I am despicable, unworthy, a monster. I must—I must . . ."

"I forbid such a thing. You were not the one who turned on us. It was Loki. I know it was because he spoke through you to get to me," he said and quickly grabbed hold of her hand.

She tugged at him, but her attempts were weak. "But I did turn on you. On you, Tait. I'm the reason you were forced out of Asgard, why the Fire Demons attacked us, why we're even in this mess in the first place."

She screamed the words at him, but he shook his head, not registering any of them. All this time, he thought the Fire Demons had attacked unprompted, no cause needed other than for the hate they had for the Aesir. But not Sigyn being the willing accomplice, no way would she want to harm her people, him.

"You're lying. You're still trying to protect him. Come now, Sigyn, there's no use for such a thing. You would never . . . you would never do that," he pleaded.

"But I did. For him, to prove to him that I could." She wiped at her tears. "He kept the details hazy, the intent and purposes unclear, but you know how he likes to twist matters around just for the sake of it. He wanted chaos, and I gave it to him." Her chin wobbled with a new wave of emotion. "At the expense of you. I-I never should have—I am sorry, Tait. I am so sorry."

She turned her head away, shaking her head at her shame and biting her lips into a bloody mess. He stared at her with his heart weighing heavy in his chest, and he hated that familiar feeling of uselessness he never could seem to displace. He failed in keeping her safe from Loki, and he recalled back to the days of their youth when they had all played together and seeing Loki's intentions even then, his eyes always on Sigyn. He had done nothing to stop it from happening, and many excuses overwhelmed his thoughts about his responsibilities as heir and always adventuring, never making more time for her.

"You were right, brother." Her hoarse voice reached his ears in a despondent tone. "I was a lovesick fool, and he used that against me. He used me. Just as he has always done. Oh, Tait, I'm such an idiot."

He hadn't delved deeper into what she had told him, her hand in his downfall. Somehow, he couldn't because she stood before him, so small and fragile, and all the anger that momentarily overtaken him had left without a trace. He still saw her as the little girl who pleaded to play with him and his friends, who often bested him at swordplay with just her daggers and wit, whose eyes shone bright and eager at his tales of his far off adventures. She revered him, desired his approval, loved him. And he loved her without question, despite everything that had just happened, despite her almost killing him.