Frog of Thunder
Sigyn wandered the golden halls of the palace in an attempt to escape work. 'Out of sight out of mind.' she hoped the saying was true. She barely stopped herself, in her lonely wandering, from wishing for a friend. She knew how wishes worked out.
As if to mock her, she suddenly heard the voice of the youngest prince. “Guess he’s the Frog of Thunder now!” Loki crowed triumphantly. “Don’t worry, my Lady. I can be king.”
“Turn him back!” a girl shrieked.
“Make me,” Loki dared.
Sigyn tiptoed closer to the commotion and peeked out from behind a pillar just in time to watch a pretty girl hit Loki with a wooden training sword. Sigyn plastered her hands to her mouth in a desperate attempt to hold in a laugh. Her eyes sparkled with delight.
“You can’t do that!” Loki whined, jumping out of the girl’s reach. “I’m your prince!”
She hit him again, unfazed. “I’ll stop when you turn him back!” In her other hand she brandished a glass jar. A furious frog repeatedly jumped at the glass. The frog wore a little red cape.
Sigyn choked. Was that Thor? Obviously the other girl did not find the whole ordeal quite as funny as she did because she continued to hit Loki with her sword.
“Stop it- OW!” Loki yelped, “Sif!” He turned tail and fled, attempting to escape the girl’s relentless beating.
The girl– Sif– chased him, ponytail streaming behind her. Sigyn watched her in admiration. The girl was dressed in leather as if she too was a warrior. A girl knight. Sigyn liked the idea of that. A girl knight who stood up to mischievous princes. She felt a small smile curve her mouth. She wished to stand up to Loki like that. She wished she was brave enough to speak her mind despite her mother’s rules. She wanted to hit him with a sword. Wooden or otherwise. Laughter bubbled up from her throat before she could stop it. Loki’s eyes narrowed on her the second the sound left her mouth. Sigyn squeaked and ducked back behind the column.
She heard a thud indicating Sif had landed another hit.
Loki squealed.“I can’t turn him back while he’s in the jar!”
Sigyn poked her head back around to watch. If he gave in she wanted to see. He had already seen her and what could he do as long as Sif was around?
Sif stopped short. “Then I’ll open it and you can fix him then.” Her tone allowed no room for argument. She tucked the weapons under her arm and raised the jar.
“I don’t think so.”Loki smirked as he disappeared from view in a glimmer of green light. The real Loki appeared at Sif’s back. He plucked the jar from her hands before she could react. “Sigyn, catch,” he called gleefully and threw the jar with his brother inside.
Sigyn scrambled from her hiding spot to catch it. She couldn’t imagine the beating she’d receive if she dropped the glass container holding the crown prince. She caught it solidly in both hands and breathed a sigh of relief. She peered inside to make sure Thor was alright. He jumped at the glass. Again. She had to admit her disappointment in her future king’s intelligence.
Sigyn looked up from the frog prince to find both Loki’s and Sif’s gazes locked on her. She felt her face heat from the sudden attention.
“Open it!” Sif urged. The intensity of her gaze pinned Sigyn in place.
“Don’t you dare,” Loki warned.
Sigyn met his green eyes. She held his stare as she twisted the lid off of the jar. Loki’s expression shifted just slightly. He saw her. He saw her decision to quit folding for him.
Unfortunately (or maybe very fortunately depending on who you ask), that was all he had time to see because the Frog of Thunder was on the move. The wet smack of frog body colliding with royal jaw echoed off the marble floor. Sigyn didn’t even try to hold back her giggles this time as Loki staggered backwards with a frog stuck to his face. He slapped his brother away, but Thor simply jumped and hit him again. Sif reentered the fray with a rallying cry. Loki ran from frog assaults and wooden swords until finally he submitted.
“Okay!” he yelled, “I’ll turn him back! Stop it!” Sif paused but she did not lower her sword. The frog transformed back into Thor mid leap. He bowled Loki over and the princes hit the ground in a tangle of limbs. They rolled around, throwing punches and elbows. Sif cheered them on.
Sigyn tamed her laughter and slipped quietly away. A large smile split her face, and try as she might, she could not get rid of it. She replayed the vision of Loki getting hit by a frog over and over again. Another peal of laughter escaped through her nose. She wasn’t fool enough to believe she’d get away with disobeying the prince. No, Loki would get her back. She could feel anxiety gather at the back of her mind, but she stuffed it into a book and placed it on a shelf to take down later. For now she could be happy.
Her mother would never hear a word.