Fidelity

Young and Naive

A few days after meeting Sigyn, I found myself chasing her around the palace yet again. Thor was now aware of my new friend, yet he did not play with us that day. He instead went off to play with Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral. I didn’t mind. After chasing Sigyn around the palace for about an hour or so, we tired and retreated to the garden outside, where we laid beside each other in the grass. We stared absently at the sky above us, until I slowly turned my head to study the girl beside me. Today she wore a blue dress, very similar to the purple one she had worn when we’d met. This time, however, her long blonde hair was pulled into pigtails on either side of her head.

Despite the fact that I had allowed her to befriend me, I still couldn’t quite figure her out. She was a strange girl, yet she intrigued me. She didn’t seem to have any regard for the fact that I might one day be her King, yet at the same time, she seemed to be very careful around me, as if she were intimidated by my presence. After a few moments, I sat up and looked down and cocked an eyebrow at her. She did the same back to me, then grinned. “What are you looking at, Loki?”

“Nothing,” I replied, turning away.

Sigyn sat up beside me and grinned. “You were staring at me weird,” she told me.

I glared at her and scowled. “I was not.”

“You were too. You think I’m pretty, don’t you?”

I gasped and looked at her in alarm. “Why would I think you pretty? You’re a girl. Girls are sickening.” With that, I stood up and started to walk away. How could she think I was looking at her that way? As soon as I started to walk away, I heard Sigyn scramble to her feet behind me.

“You think I am sickening?”

I turned around to scowl at her again. “Yes,” I replied, but as soon as I had said it, I knew I would regret it. Sigyn’s shoulders dropped and her eyes glazed over with tears. Had I upset her? I was only telling her the truth! Suddenly, Sigyn stomped past me, toward the palace. She seemed quite angry with me. “Sigyn!” I called, “Wait a moment, I didn’t mean that!”

She whirled around to glare at me and shouted, “You didn’t have to say it if you didn’t mean it!” And with that, she was off again, this time running away from me. I stood there silently, confused as to how I should console a girl. Maybe she was right…brutal honesty wasn’t always the best way to handle a situation.

I decided to go back into the palace after a few minutes, and wait awhile before attempting to find Sigyn. I went back to my chambers, where one of my servants was making my bed. I ignored the woman and stalked to the balcony, where I leaned on the railing and looked out over Asgard. I stood there by myself for about five minutes before I could feel someone standing behind me. I glanced over my shoulder with the hope that it was Sigyn, but it was only my brother.

Thor smiled sympathetically, then leaned on the railing beside me. “I spoke to Sigyn,” he muttered, looking out over towards the Bifrost, “She doesn’t seem too happy.” When I didn’t respond to him, he looked over at me. “What did you do this time, Loki?”

I looked up at him quickly, sneering, “I haven’t done anything!” But, Thor knew me better than that.

“Right. You never do. Well, whatever you said to upset her so, I am certain it was not appropriate for a prince to say to a young lady.”

“She’s not a lady,” I growled, “She’s just a girl.”

“She is a lady, Loki. You must treat her with respect.”

“She certainly doesn’t act like a lady! Did you know she has the audacity to call me by my name? She does not call me ‘prince,’ or ‘your majesty’ like everyone else. I don’t like it.”

Thor chuckled at this, and shook his head. “You’ll learn, brother. She likes you, I believe.”

“Of course she likes me,” I said, “She’s my friend.”

“No, no, not like that. I mean to say that she likes you likes you.”

I glared at him for a moment, slightly confused, until it dawned on me that he was imply that she had feelings for me. “Ew!” I gasped, “That is revolting! I couldn’t imagine myself liking her that way!”

Thor laughed and playfully nudged my shoulder. “It is the way women work, Loki. She wouldn’t put up with you if she didn’t have some sort of feelings for you, trust me.”

“Oh, like you know everything, big brother?” I sneered, trying my best to put aside the thought that Sigyn might like me.

“I know a good deal more than you. At least, in this department.”

“Like what? How many women have to been with that you know so much more than me?”

“That is for me to know and for you to never find out, Loki. You’re too young for this conversation.” Thor chuckled to himself, then began to walk back inside, shaking his head.

“I am not!” I shouted after him, “I’m only two years younger than you! There can’t be that much of a difference!”

“Yes there can, brother. I’ll tell you when you’re older. Right now, you need to go speak with Sigyn. I believe I found her in the stables. She is probably still there.” And with that, Thor was gone, leaving me to ponder my own feelings toward Sigyn on my own. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I really didn’t like her. Not at all. She was a peasant girl, and nothing more. Simply a playmate. Someone to entertain the prince of Asgard.

Two hours later, I found myself in the stables. Despite the coldness with which I referred to the girl, she had somehow managed to obtain a soft spot in my heart. Whether I was willing to admit it or not, she was my friend, and I had hurt her. I wandered slowly amongst the horses’ pens, finally hesitating when I heard a soft sob coming from behind one of the doors. I stopped and glanced at the horse, who was mindlessly gnawing at its hay, then gently pushed the door open. I looked around and saw Sigyn sitting in the far corner of the stable, her back turned to me. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, and her head was bowed low. Another shudder ran through her body as she sobbed again, and I began to walk closer. When I was beside her, I crouched down and mimicked her posture, silently.

When she finally looked up at me, she was suddenly too proud to show her tears. She wiped them from her eyes with the back of her sleeve, then looked away from me. She didn’t cry anymore, but she didn’t say anything either. I lifted my head and looked at her after a moment, now feeling the slightest pang of guilt for what I had said to her. Finally, she turned her head and glared at me, obviously annoyed by my presence. “What do you want, prince?” She sneered, just as quickly turning back towards the wall. I was quiet, unsure of how to respond. Now that she had referred to me as something other than “Loki,” I realized that I didn’t like it. Eventually, she looked at me again. “I know you don’t want to be here, Loki. Just go, or you may have to risk getting sick from the sight of me.”

“I don’t want to leave,” I finally whispered, staring at the floor. “Sigyn…I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

Sigyn turned to me again, seeming a little less angry now. “You are?” She asked, staring at me as if she could tell whether or not I was lying.

“Yes,” I whispered, “And I was wondering…are we still friends?”

Sigyn’s eyes widened when I asked her that question, and she sat up a little straighter. “Friends?” She mumbled. I nodded. “Well…yes, I-I guess so.”

My eyes lit up at that and I smiled widely. “Great!” I gasped, very suddenly hitting her shoulder. “You’re it!” Before she could even comprehend what was going on, I was up and scrambling out of the stable like a rabbit.

“Loki!!” Sigyn yelled, quickly chasing after me. We laughed and played like this for the rest of the day, and even the rest of our childhood. We had our differences. We fought quite often. Yet still, something about this girl interested me. something about her kept me by her side.