The One They'll Say That Shook The World
Oh what good is it to live
With nothing left to give
Forget but not forgive
Not loving all you see
Oh the streets you're walking on
A thousand houses long
Well that's where I belong
And you belong with me
Not swallowed in the sea
-Swallowed In The Sea- Coldplay
Odin sent her to Midgard shortly after Loki was imprisoned. She objected, as did Thor, and Loki of course; once he got word, he was inconsolable.
“She’s everything I live for,” he implored, but Odin was adamant.
“Father, Loki doesn’t deserve this, and frankly, neither does Senna,” Thor reasoned and she was tempted just for a moment to rush to her brother in law’s side in thanks.
“It will not last, I assure you. Just for the first year or so. This has to be a punishment for Loki somehow, and I cannot banish his mother for appearing, albeit in magical form, to her son. You however, have physically broken through the magic in the cell,” Odin explained, a twinkle of half-hearted resentment in his eye when he mentioned her little security breach. And it was true- she had found the loophole in the cell’s enchantments and could quite easily visit her husband. “While I assure you that I mean neither you nor Loki any harm, being able to have you anytime, literally I am afraid, is not any real form of punishment that I have ever heard of,” The All-Father continued and Senna fought back a giggle. “Thor?” Odin called to his oldest son.
“Yes, father?” Thor stepped out of the shadows, ready to defend Senna’s honor again if necessary.
“There is no reason the darling girl should be uncomfortable on Midgard. Could she stay with your friends for awhile?” Odin asked, and Thor brightened.
“I’m sure Jane and Darcy would love Senna, although I recommend for Eric’s sake that she go by the name most Midgardians know her as. He will recognize her as Sigyn,” he said gleefully. “I will take her myself,” he added and Odin shook his head.
“I see you motives, My Son. You are needed here. Heimdall will show her the way,” Odin said, and that was that.
“They are sending me away from you,” Senna whined in Loki’s arms that night, determined to break the rules one last time.
“It isn’t forever darling. I shall ensure that I am as worthy as ever of you when you return,” he promised woefully, and she could have sworn she saw him tearing up. They had barely been apart their whole lives, certainly not a day since their marriage.
“I know. And Thor has promised us both that the very day he is on the throne, you are released, provided that you be good,” she reassured him, with a teasing smirk.
“Would you consider this being good?” he hissed in her ear whilst plunging three fingers into her without warning.
“Good to me, yes. I’m sure others would say we are horribly naughty. Bad, even. But I know what you really are,” she gasped, arching into him, struggling to keep a clear head.
“Oh? And what, pray tell, is that?” he urged her to continue.
“Incredibly good. Too smart, perhaps, but good all the same. And you do try so very hard,” she whispered sweetly and he forgot about torturing her. He lifted her to move her from the floor to the small but comfortable bed they provided him with and laid her down gently.
“You always saw the most beautiful things in me,” he sighed, and she smiled.
“What else could I ever possibly see in you?” she moaned, and pulled him down and aligned herself with him and pulled him into her, knowing full well that this would be the last time in far too long. And he knew it too- he was not rough, not harsh, not biting or bringing her firey stabs of pain and want as he usually did. This was tender, like the days before they were married and all they had was hands and mouths and words to work with to bring each other pleasure. He was gentle with her, soft and sweet and she found she wanted to cry.
“My beautiful darling girl,” he purred and she preened under his praise, and then they spoke no more until she was shouting his name and he moaned hers into her neck which he kissed and nipped at, and then he bit down, hard, breaking the skin and drawing blood.
“You will never forget that you are mine now,” he said, licking and kissing the tender flesh around the mark he had just left upon her.
“I would not ever have forgotten you anyway,” she promised and he dressed her, running his hands gently over every part of her he could touch.
“I’m trying to memorize you,” he said sadly and she leaned into his touch.
“You are burned into me for the rest of my life. All I have known is you,” she confesses and he kisses her fiercely.
“Nothing can stop me loving you,” he sighed into her, kissing her again, but she pulled away to look at him.
“I have to go,” she said softly, and he nodded, pressing his forehead to hers.
“You are the only proof this world has that I can love as deeply as I do,” he whispered, and she pressed lips to his.
“Of course I am,” she replied and when he looked at her again, she was on the other side of the wall, her clothes a black short dress with a long green under layer that created a train of black and green, and a gold sash at her waist, tying the outfit to her. She had once more abandoned her colors and was wearing his. He reached out for her, but she blew him a kiss and was gone, and he was left alone.
"I'm going alone then?" She asked when Thor approached while she was packing her things.
"Not as it turns out, I convinced All-Father to let me take you to my friends. Are you ready to travel?"
"I am now," she said, clutching her small bag to her, and followed Thor to the bridge to make her journey to the mortal realm.
“I thought you were reassigned,” she said smugly, and he grinned at her.
“I was.”
“Quit making me like you right before I have to leave,” she complained, but gave him a smileas they met up with Heimdall.
“Darcy, Erik, I’d like you to meet someone,” Thor said, beaming, stepping aside to coax her out of hiding. He had decided to wait until he knew Jane would not be home so he would not be tempted to stay, but felt obligated to be Sigyn’s guardian. And he had done well with her. She was in a black cotton dress with a green belt and black boots- still afraid, even in mortal clothing, to take off his colors. She could not yet let him go, and it pained Thor to see this. She shyly peered out from behind his arm, but he held her tightly, and she felt safe. Thor knew these people, and trusted them so she supposed she would be okay. Thor, for his part, was shocked to see how timid and wary this exile had made her. She still had limited powers, and could call Thor whenever she needed, and yet was still cautious and gun shy.
“Who is she? She looks like one of us,” Erik asked, puzzled.
“She has blended well. See, I told you you would be perfect,” Thor said with pride and nudged Sigyn forward. She smiled shyly and relaxed. “This is Sigyn, Loki’s wife. He has been placed in prison, but with their combined magic, it was not much of a punishment. We awoke each morning to find her in his bed, in the cell with him. All-Father was not best pleased,” Thor grinned and Darcy snorted with laughter. Erik paled at the mention of Loki’s name and Darcy was eyeing Sigyn carefully, narrowing her eyes at the hand Thor had placed on Sigyn’s hip.
“Loki’s wife?” Erik demanded, looking fearful.
“She may be his wife, but she helped us in the war against him in New York. All she and I ask is that you not judge her by the actions of her husband and she will explain everything in time,” he said and looked around the room once Sigyn detached herself. “Darcy, where is-” he asked and she shook her head.
“Not here,” she whispered, and Thor nodded and looked at the ground.
“Tell her All-Father brought Sigyn,” he requested quietly. “It is best she not think I was here before I was ready to stay,” he explained and Darcy nodded.
“That’s very true,” she agreed and Thor looked at Sigyn.
“Okay, Sen. Remember what I said. You go by Sigyn here, and you don’t cause trouble. Try to enjoy it, you will like it I promise. They will take care of you,” he said tenderly and she nodded slowly, and pressed herself into his embrace. “Its okay dear heart. I will fix this, as soon as I can,” he promised and she thanked him quietly, and then he was gone. The moment he left, she turned to Erik.
“You know of me,” she said, stating it instead of asking, but waited for an answer all the same.
“Yes, a bit,” he admitted. “What did he mean when he said to go by Sigyn on this realm?”
“Loki and Thor know me by my informal name, being as Loki is my husband and Thor is one of my dearest friends,” she explained. “To them, I am Senna,” she finished quietly. “You are Erik Selvig aren’t you?” she asked and he nodded.
“Heard of me?” he asked, and she threw caution to the wind- she had to make them like her quickly. She hugged him. He froze, then returned the embrace cautiously.
“I did what I could, but he would not release you. I am deeply sorry for all that my love put you through,” she said solemnly and he laughed in disbelief.
“You do realize how that sounds right?” he asked and she laughed too, but their conversation was cut off by a young woman that Sigyn knew must be Jane Foster walked through the door.
“Who’s this?” she asked, slightly out of breath.
“Loki’s wife. All-Father brought her here. We are supposed to watch her, but don’t worry she was on our side in the Loki vs. New York incident,” Darcy explained and Jane raised an eyebrow.
“Before I agree to this, explain that. Because from where I stand, you are either a threat to us or a disloyal wife, and either way that’s not a great reason to trust you,” Jane demanded and Sigyn smiled.
“You are just as he described. Thor hasn’t given up, he wants you to know that. And of course, I will tell you everything,” Sigyn conceded and told her story- how she initially wanted to aid her husband but turned to the side of the mortals when she saw that earth was not meant to be ruled and that Loki would be killed.
“We can live for so long- I would rather be the reason for him going to prison and not seeing him for a few years than allowing him to die and not seeing him for a few thousand, or perhaps ever again. I love him enough for that,” she finished her story and Jane sighed heavily, fighting tears in sympathy for the girl.
“You are much smarter than your husband,” Darcy said and Sigyn smirked.
“Not the first time I have heard that. Don’t tell him that, yeah?” she laughed and Erik seemed to be deep in thought.
“Welcome to Midgard, Sigyn,” Jane said. “Do you have any Earth clothes, or is that it?” she asked, and Sigyn transformed back into the outfit she had been wearing at the prison, which she had chosen to disguise with Midguardian wear.
“What I do have is an illusion,” she admitted and Darcy shook her head.
“We will do something about that,” she said and grabbed Sigyn’s arm and the car keys. And with that small gesture, Sigyn felt somewhat accepted among these people, and thought for the first time since hearing that she would be sent here that things were going to be alright.
“Did you fix her up?” Jane asked when Darcy and Sigyn walked through the door.
“Yep! Got some new blankets and stuff for her room too. She can have that spare, right?” Darcy asked and Jane smiled.
“Sure. Maybe go get settled before we eat?” she suggested to Sigyn who nodded shyly.
“I wanted to thank you. All of you. I know what you must think of me and my husband, but trust me, he was not always what he was, and I can love him and know what he did was wrong. Just being here for one afternoon, I can see- he was wrong to try to make this planet anything less than what it is. And all I have seen is the mall,” she said and Darcy looked pointedly at Jane.
“We love having you here, Sigyn, really,” Jane said warmly, catching Darcy’s expression. Sigyn grinned at both of them and went to her new room and closed the door. With a wave of her hand, the room looked like the prison cell she had just left her love in. She was not used to feeling this way- to feeling as though she wanted to slap him and also to embrace him and never let go. She changed into the more comfortable leggings and a sweater; a green one, to no one’s surprise when she joined them at the table. She didn’t talk much, just listen to Erik prattle on about Stonehenge, Jane telling Darcy about someone named Richard who she was seeing for lunch later that week, and Darcy talking about her new minion- intern, she called him. Sigyn sat back and took it all in, and waited, in wonder for the time when she could crawl into bed, though when she did, she slept poorly without the presence of her Loki.
“Kiss me hard before you go...” Sigyn sang to herself while she made lunch. She had been on Midgard about a week, and Jane had already disappeared, with Thor, according to Darcy, although she had heard no word from anyone on Asgard about any news.
“Who told her about Lana Del Rey?” Darcy asked Ian, eyebrows raised.
“She was looking for good music to get her mind off Loki,” he said, cowering under her pointed stare.
“Well, that was a shit idea. Her songs are basically like their entire relationship. And in addition to Erik being totally insane and Jane being gone off to who the hell knows where, now we have a depressed goddess in our kitchen,” She groaned into her hands, and Ian did his best to console her as Sigyn walked past, into her bedroom. She put in her headphones and picked up the book she had been reading- something about a code and some painter Midgardians seemed admire greatly. It was mildly interesting, and kept her from killing something out of boredom. She stayed in her room until she heard Darcy say something about going to a prison.
“Loki’s prison?” she asked, suddenly right behind where they sat on the couch. Darcy yelped and turned around.
“Nope, sorry girl. Our friend Erik, remember him? He went crazy and we gotta go get him from jail,” she explained, and Sigyn sighed.
“Alright. I shall await you return,” she said and she did, eagerly. She found (about ten minutes after they left) that she missed them. She remained in her room, only emerging long enough to give Erik a hug, and then she retreated again. She even managed to stay put, though she was itching to run to him, when she heard Thor walk in.
“Your brother’s not coming is he?” Erik asked nervously, and Thor found his heart ache, where he might have laughed or smiled otherwise. He had allowed himself to be distracted by the tasks at hand, but now the pain was real and he could barely contain his heartache.
“My brother is dead,” Thor responded, barely choking out the words. Erik said something in response, but he could not be heard.
His words were drowned out by an unearthly scream of agony, the sound of a thousand constellations being ripped from the world, and then an unsettling silence.
Not even the buzz of the fridge could be heard.
Sigyn had heard, and Sigyn was grieving.
They walked over to her room and slowly pushed open the door, to find her, laying on her bed, wearing the clothes she had worn in Asgard- a black and green dress, but her own cloak was nowhere to be seen. She had wrapped herself in his old palace robe, a long black thing made of a flowing material that had moved around him like dark water, Thor remembered purchasing the item for his brother and Loki being especially thankful for the gift. Sigyn now clung to it, pressing her tear streaked face into the fabric, and Thor imagined that this was probably what Loki wore around their bedroom and that it probably still smelled strongly of him. Thor knelt beside her and stroked her hair and her arms, attempting to warm her- she was freezing cold.
“Honey, we have to go on. There is something I have to do,” he whispered. “He wants you to know he is sorry, and he loves you. He said your name a lot, and that he loves you. When he was released to help us, he kept telling me of how much fun he and I would have when it was all over, and how he couldn’t wait to retrieve you. He was his old self again, at the end, I swear, darling. He was our old Loki, and he loved you so much he died for it,” he sighed into her ear and she cried harder, but nodded weakly to show she understood, and gripped Thor’s hand tight in her own.
“I love him, I can’t stop, I love him too much to breathe now that he’s gone, I can’t move,” she whimpered in a chant, a mantra of grieving and missing her other half.
“I’m taking you to Asgard. You will be looked after there. I have sent someone to recover the body, and there will be a funeral when I return from what I must do here,” he said softly, and she took a shaky breath.
“Okay,” she conceded, and held out her arms to him, asking for help standing, but Thor lifted her up and cradled her and called for Heimdall, and they were gone. On the bifrost, he handed her to Heimdall, who took her carefully in his arms to Odin, and Thor returned to Jane and Darcy.
“I wish to have our old chambers,” she demanded, and Odin bowed his head.
“They have not been touched. They are yours. Your place is still with us. Do what you must to be comfortable, we will mourn your husband, for we all miss him deeply,” He replied, and she could only mumble her thanks, bow and stumble off. She had no energy or mind for anything else.
Once in her old rooms, she lay in their bed, staring at the slight dip in the bed where he used to rest beside her until she fell asleep in the bright light of the Asgardian sun, too exhausted to be bothered with time or daylight. She would sleep him off, like the best part of a terrible dream. She would rest until the pain of his absence was no more, but in dreams, he was still there.
Their wedding day, smiling in the sunlight, running through the gardens and riding through the wilderness of Asgard on horseback, Sleipnir keeping her safe as they raced together. The day he asked for her hand, and then used his own hand to pleasure her when she said yes. The days they dove from the bifrost into the waves below, and he used magic to dissolve her swimming clothes, and she rose from the water, naked and fearless, and all his. The nights he returned to her and reminded her how much he was hers, and how he loved her. Their entire lives together, from the first day they met, as barely more than infants, and she looked at him and he said,
“I’m going to marry you one day,” and she did not believe him, but wanted it to be true all at once.
She dreamed it all, day one to the horrible moment that he was taken from the world, all they had done and had wanted to do existed in the hours that she slept. And so she did not wake.