Love, Magic and Lies (COMPLETE)

Chapter Three; What if?

New images were now unfolding in Sif's dream. She saw her young self standing in the doorway of Thor's chambers, pleading with him desperately.

He was pacing back and forth, his face contorted with rage.
"I am a Prince of Asgard!"
He was bellowing,
"One day I shall be King of this realm, and you the Queen who is to share my throne. Yet you dare bring disgrace upon my family by fraternising with my own kith and kin!"

Sif shook her head frantically,
"It is no betrayal Thor, I swear to you I feel nothing for Loki, it was a simple mistake...in honesty, I do not know what possibly came over me."

Thor strode over to her at this,
"Do you suspect Loki has weaved some form of spell upon you?"

Sif screwed her eyes tightly shut, her head ached. It would have been easy to say yes. But cowardly. And she was so confused, and struggling to make any sense of these events. So how was she supposed to explain her actions to Thor?
"I do not know for certain. It is difficult to describe the madness that came over me. Thor it will not happen again....but in fairness, you yourself have.."
She paused whilst deciding how to word her next sentence,
"...you have other lovers. And whilst I do not know if you bed them, you cannot deny you court them. I have seen you. Only yesterday you went out riding with Freya again!"

She could see his anger waning slightly now, as he became defensive.

"Freya and I, well.."
He faltered slightly,
"...we....well, the fact remains Sif that although you and I are betrothed to each other, it is.."

"Nothing more than a sham?"
She offered.

Thor looked shocked, as if she had just struck him,
"No, but we are not to be wed for many years yet, and if our hearts lie elsewhere then my father cannot expect us to remain celibate until the time of our marriage."

Sif's jaw went slack with shock,
"So your heart lies with Freya at present does it? Whilst last week it lay with some other maiden, and no doubt by next week it will be lying elsewhere again!"

Thor looked seriously disgruntled by her outburst, but did not dare interrupt her as she continued her rant.

"You are mistaking lust for love Thor! But whether it is your heart or just your loins that lay elsewhere, 'tis clear that your heart does not lie with me!"

Her words hung heavily in the air between them, Sif could sense the impact they had. For a while they merely stood silently glaring at each other, until Thor finally spoke;
"You mean to say that you actually have feelings for me, Sif? Other than friendship?"

Sif's cheeks flushed and she could feel tears forming in her eyes, much to her disgust. She hated anyone seeing her vulnerable or emotional, especially Thor.
She constantly challenged him during weapons training, she strived to be taken seriously some day as a warrior in her own right. So to crumble before the mighty Odinson; one of the realm's most formidable warriors, was the height of embarrassment for her.
Yet for some reason she could not stop the words that seemed to keep spilling from her mouth,
"Yes, clearly I must.....being as I even turned to Loki in order to try and make you jealous!"

She made to leave the room but Thor reached out for her hand.
"You mean that whole scene in the gardens was merely a charade? Who put such a notion into your head, was it Loki's idea? He is a master of trickery. Did he take advantage of the situation?"

"No, it was my doing, he cannot be blamed. I was seeking reassurance and comfort. It got out of hand, I must have been flattered by his attentions. Perhaps I was hoping to gain a reaction from you. That is all it was."