Categories > Movies > Marvel Cinematic Universe > Trickery always comes back to its master - Chapter one: Forbidden
After a night that seemed to last forever, Sif woke up in the morning at the feeling of Loki taking off her cuffs.
“There, I will watch you for the rest of the day, making sure you will behave. Now go and freshen up before we join the house-hold for breakfast.” He told her with a snide smirk on his face. Sif sends him a vile look and goes to the bathing chambers, quickly putting on a silk black and green robe.
The bathing chambers were one of the few that Loki left alone in terms of redecoration. The walls were a warm shade of beige, decorated with light blue stripes and figures. Sif knew that for Midgardian standards, it would resemble a Greek bath-house. Except for the statuettes of Asgardian monsters, that is. Sif never understood why they were put in here, but they seem the reason why Loki did not alter these chambers yet. The monsters probably made it horrid enough already.
With a sigh, she slid out of her silk robe and draped it over a chair. Slowly, she walked into the heated bath and let the warmth of the water engulf her. Maids worked around the clock to keep the water in the bathing chambers as warm as possible, but Sif was glad she was alone at the moment. There was a matter to be solved. Loki’s treatment made her long for a release and now was the perfect timing.
She found the jar with scented oil which was used as soap and let some oil flow in her hands. It smelled of flowers, pinewood and something that Sif could not put her finger on. I reminded her of…summer, that’s it. It smelled like summer. As she let out tiny moans, Sif started to rub the oil over her sensitive skin. First her arms, then her shoulders..and by the time she reached her breasts, Sif was panting heavily. With one hand, she rubbed in the oil as the other one slid underwater, touching her womanhood.
Little did she know that Loki send a guard after her to see what she would do when she was on her own. The man arrived in the bathing chambers shortly after Sif and was hidden behind a statue. Sif moaned a little louder now and he felt that he should make his presence known, despite of his fear for the strong woman. With a soft clearing of his throat he stepped from behind the statue and Sif snapped her eyes in his direction.
“What are you doing here? Spying on the queen, are we?” She bellowed, trying to cover herself. The guard shook his head with red cheeks.
“Lady Sif, forgive me, I was given orders by the king to follow you. I have to..” His cheeks get even a darker shade of red. “See to it that you do not find release.”
The woman smirks at him and removes her hands from her naked body.
“You seem too shy for such a task, guard.” Sif arches her back and stretches out, giving him a good look and the guard averts his eyes immediately.
“Please, my dear lady, I have a wife and a daughter.” A frown comes over her face and she quickly rinses off the oil and hides her female parts again.
“Forgive me, kind sir, tis not my intent to put shame on you or yours.” The guard looks back with a thankful look on his face. “You are far kinder than he is, my lady. I eh..can step out if you need to..unburden yourself.” Sif chuckled at his choice of words and winked at him.
“It would be highly appreciated. Whenever I will be able to, I shall reward you for your silence. After giving the queen a small nod, the guard stepped out of the bathing chambers, to give the queen her privacy. It only took her mere minutes to find her release and she suppressed the loud moan that came bubbling to the surface when it washed over her. Knowing Loki was probably waiting for her by now, impatient as he was, she quickly sought a cloth to dry herself and made her way back to their chambers. After picking a dress and curling her hair, Sif hurries to the breakfast table in the grand hall.
Doing her best not to look too pleased, she sat down besides the king and tried to keep her gaze averted. It was as if Loki could smell there was something not right, because he jerked his head in her direction and glared at her.
“What took you so long? What were you doing?” Sif did her best to look innocent and confused.
“I bathed, my lord, that was all.” Loki narrowed his eyes at her as if he was thinking of a reason to punish her but did not know what to say. With a growl, he shifted his focus back to his breakfast.
The guard that was in the bathing chambers earlier, comes to their table and whispers something in Loki’s ear. Sif bites her lip in worry and does her best to catch what he is saying. Would he betray her? If he would…he would regret it!
“Your grace, lady Sif merely bathed, she did not eh..” It was hard for the poor man to even say it and Sif had to do her best not to look endeared. Loki, however, was less pleased.
“Speak up, man!” He growls and the man stutters a bit. .
“She did not unburden herself, your grace.” The man stated quietly and Loki shot Sif a smug look. With a scoff, she looked back at her plate. Good, she made a friend. Now to keep it.
All of a sudden, there was a racket in the hallway and a couple of guards stormed in, carrying a little crying boy by his arms. The boy was obviously in a lot of pain and clenches his tiny fist around a plump apple. Loki stands up and walks around the large table, making Gungir and his full armor appear on him.
“What is this? Who dares to interrupt the king when he is eating?” The liesmith bellows across the room and the guards throw the boy onto the floor with force. Sif gasps and stands up, intending to walk over but Loki points the spear at her without even glancing her way.
“Stay there, wench! If I need a harlot standing up for the weak, I shall call upon you at once! “ A couple of guards snickered at his remark and Sif narrowed her eyes to each of them, sending them fiery warning with her eyes.
“Your grace, this boy was found stealing at the market today, we thought we would bring him to you for his punishment!” A malevolent look came over the kings face as he eyes the little boy. The boy looked up and pouted at Loki.
“I was so hungry, sir. My mommy went to sleep and didn’t wake up anymore! We were hungry for a long time already!” Sif had to keep herself from crying at hearing his tale of woe, but Loki seemed unaffected.
“You dare speak this way when you have committed treason against Asgard?” He bellows, making his voice boom off the walls.
The queen had enough, it was one thing to torture her or Thor, but punishing a hungry child that just lost his mother, was too cruel. She stepped out from behind the table and stepped in front of the boy, facing Loki.
“How dare you!” Sif hissed at him, fists clenched and a glare in her eyes. “How dare you say such things to a child!” Loki eyed her in disgust and grabbed her locks.
“How dare YOU speak to me in such a manner! I am king and you will respect me! This boy is a danger for Asgard and must be punished! However, I shall be merciful! He shall spend time in the dungeons to feel what real hunger is like for five sunsets! If he survives that..he is free to go!” With a loud cackle, he throws his head back and the boy whimpers at hearing his dreary fate. Sif growls and pushes Loki away from her.
“You are the one who should be punished! If you ruled half as well as Odin did, the kingdom would not suffer such poverty!” A gasp resonated through the hall and the kings look grew dark.
“Guards?” He asked in a hushed tone and some of the men stepped closer, in order to hear his command. “The queen has decided that she will serve the time in the dungeons that this thief was supposed to spend. Take her away and chain her to her cell wall!” He snarls.
“The boy shall be flogged! I think fifty strikes will suffice! Martopher, take this thief away!” Sif saw the guard she befriended earlier step forward and she struggled as the other guards tried to take her away.
“NO! I will take that punishment as well! Let him go!”
Martopher hesitated, unsure who to take orders from and Loki gestured the guards to let her go.
“Will you now…this proves to be interesting. Get over here and bend over the table!” With as much dignity as Sif can muster, she walks up to the table, back to the crowd and puts her hands on it, leaning over and arching her back.
“Oh yes, this is much more entertaining.” He said under his breath and flipped her dress up. Sif held on to the sides of the table as she tried to prepare herself for what was coming. This turned out to be useless, as she groaned in pain when Loki let his hand come down on her backside.
“That was one.” The sly one said in a taunting manner.
“Only ninety-four more to go, my dear!” After ten hits, her backside started to burn and sting, after twenty, she was crying audibly. Out of pain and out of shame. It took him excruciatingly long to get to fifty and by the time he got there, Sif was a squirming mess.
“Take her to the dungeons! This punishment is not over yet! Martopher, see to it that this boy gets a flogging as well, the queen’s tears did not cause me enough enjoyment!” Sif was angered but did not dare object anymore, as she was in too much pain. The crowd murmured as Sif was taken away and Loki glares around the room as he sits in his seat with his legs spread wide, holding Gungir in one hand, the other under his chin and rubbing his lip.
“Silence! This shall not be discussed any longer! I, your king, made sure the causers of trouble were dealt with accordingly and you should all be honouring me for it!” Nobody objected. How could they? The slightest word could cause their deaths. Martopher took the little boy away and tried to comfort him without the king seeing it. After befriending lady Sif, a rebel was awakened in him. Instead of bringing the boy to the gardens to flog, he brought him home to his wife. His daughter always begged them for a brother, but because of his wife’s infertility after the girls birth, it was impossible to grant her this wish. As expected, both were overthrown with joy and the boy was so happy that he cried and hugged the man.
“What is your name, boy?” He kindly asked the child.
“Fern, sir. After my father!” The little one answered proudly and Martopher nodded. “So be it, Fern. Welcome to my family.”
Sif was less lucky and was chained to a cell wall, like Loki ordered. She snarled and cursed the guards to Niflheim but it had no effect. They merely scoffed at her. One even planted a kiss on her lips, knowing that she was not able to move her hands. At first she was too disgusted to do anything but as he brought his hand up to touch her, Sif let her leg come up with brutal force, landing her knee between the man’s legs. The cries of pain were music to her ears and the guard limped away.
“The king will hear of this!” The man wailed and suddenly, Loki appeared behind him.
“Of what?” Afraid to get in trouble for laying his hand on the queen, the man started to murmur.
“Nothing, your grace, I hit my leg on the bar of the cell and..” Loki dismissed him with a gesture of his hand and the guards hurried out of the dungeons.
The king laced his fingers together as he placed his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in front of Sif with a smug look on his face.
“Well, my dear, I hope that was worth it.” The defiant fire that houses within the goddess, was immediately awakened.
“Yes, it was! No matter how you torture me, how much you torture this realm, I shall always stand up for what I believe in, I shall always protect the weak and small and shall never be broken!” Sif bellows, her voice echoing throughout the eerie dungeons and Loki grabs her shoulders with a grunt of frustration.
“Why?! Why must you be this defiant? I ordered you to be my wife so you could be a silent ruler of this realm! I offer you everything on a silver platter and still you deny me!” This confused Sif greatly. He did all this for her sake? Did he…was he truly under the impression that this sham of a marriage resembled love?
“You will NOT silence me!” She hissed with a clenched jaw and got backhanded by the king. Sif looked back at him and scoffed. “Coward. Only you have to tie a woman up before having the courage to hurt her.” There was no anger in her voice, she spoke as if she stated a fact.
“You shall spend the next three days here! See if you will be silent then!” He growls at her and turns to leave.
“Wait.” Sif said in despair, already afraid to be here for mere minutes. Loki turned around and raised his brow with a smirk.
“Yes? Does my queen have something to say?” The woman cursed herself mentally for this, but her arms were hurting already and her backside desperately needed a soothing bath.
“I do not wish to stay here. Please let me out?” Sif quietly asked as she kept her gaze to the ground. Loki walks up to her and roughly grabs a hold of her face. He brings his own close and glares at her.
“Beg me properly! Beg your king for your freedom and show how contrite you really are!” As he told her to beg, the anger was stirred inside of her again.
“No!” She whispered and Loki stormed out of the dungeon with a sigh of aggravation.
“You are impossible!”
Good, Sif thought. At least she kept some dignity. Even though she was proud of this, the goddess regretted her decision soon. Having her arms chained to the wall in such an awkward manner, made them sting and hurt. The burning pain on her backside did not shrink either, almost seeming like it got worse. Hours past and Sif could not help but sob at her fate. What had become of them? Thor..how she missed her darling, her world. They were each-others light in the darkness and now, not even a speck of sunlight broke through her window. What a fitting metaphor, she thought as the last tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her already wet cheeks.
The door of the dungeon opened and Martopher walked in with a warm smile. He brought a wet cloth to wipe Sif’s heated face and she thankfully sighed as he used it.
“My friend, I owe you so much.” The queen murmured, but the guard shook his head.
“Not at all, my lady. Thanks to you, my family gained a son today. You have made us very happy.” Hearing that the little boy was safe made Sifs eyes tear up again, this time out of happiness and relief.
“Is it true? You did not punish him?” Martopher shook his head and flashed another smile as he started to undo her chains.
“I did not, my lady. And I arranged for your freedom as well.”
Sif rubbed her painful wrists and arms as she was free to move her arms again. A thankful but confused look replaced her happy one.
“How ever did you manage that, kind sir?” This made Martopher chuckle.
“Well, my lady, I reminded his grace of the royal ball that will occur tomorrow. I told him that you needed to look well-rested and fresh, in order to make a good impression on our guests. He growled at me but mumbled something about me retrieving you after that.” Sif fell into his arms and hugged the man for dear life.
“My dear, dear friend, I thank the gods that it was you that walked in on me today!” The remark made him blush heavily and he cleared his throat.
“Forgive my foul tongue, Martopher.” Sif stated with less enthusiasm. “What I mean is that I am thankful to have found a friend in you. Thankful that you are courageous enough to take risks for others.” The man smiled endeared at her.
“My lady, I hate seeing you in pain, I shall do my best to help you.”
The woman narrowed her eyes for a second as she stepped back.
“You will? Good. I have another request for you. I understand if this will be too dangerous, feel free to decline, but tomorrow at the royal ball, I need you to distract the king as long as you can. It is important that I am not seen, do you understand?” The seriousness that overtook her voice made the guard frown and nod.
“Of course, my lady. I shall start to think of a plan right away! May I ask what the reason behind this diversion is? I feel the right to know if I will be risking my life for this.”
At first Sif did not want to share her plans, afraid Loki would be listening in, in some way. But the words the man uttered made her agree, it was only fair he knew what he was doing this for. Sif hushed her tone, just to be sure and leaned in as she got a cheeky grin on her face.
“Tomorrow, when the king is busy flaunting his riches to his guests…I am going to see my darling Thor! I miss him and I need to be with him, only for a little while!” This made Martopher smile wide.
“Ah young love…who am I to stand in your way? I shall do my best, my lady. I promise!”
“There, I will watch you for the rest of the day, making sure you will behave. Now go and freshen up before we join the house-hold for breakfast.” He told her with a snide smirk on his face. Sif sends him a vile look and goes to the bathing chambers, quickly putting on a silk black and green robe.
The bathing chambers were one of the few that Loki left alone in terms of redecoration. The walls were a warm shade of beige, decorated with light blue stripes and figures. Sif knew that for Midgardian standards, it would resemble a Greek bath-house. Except for the statuettes of Asgardian monsters, that is. Sif never understood why they were put in here, but they seem the reason why Loki did not alter these chambers yet. The monsters probably made it horrid enough already.
With a sigh, she slid out of her silk robe and draped it over a chair. Slowly, she walked into the heated bath and let the warmth of the water engulf her. Maids worked around the clock to keep the water in the bathing chambers as warm as possible, but Sif was glad she was alone at the moment. There was a matter to be solved. Loki’s treatment made her long for a release and now was the perfect timing.
She found the jar with scented oil which was used as soap and let some oil flow in her hands. It smelled of flowers, pinewood and something that Sif could not put her finger on. I reminded her of…summer, that’s it. It smelled like summer. As she let out tiny moans, Sif started to rub the oil over her sensitive skin. First her arms, then her shoulders..and by the time she reached her breasts, Sif was panting heavily. With one hand, she rubbed in the oil as the other one slid underwater, touching her womanhood.
Little did she know that Loki send a guard after her to see what she would do when she was on her own. The man arrived in the bathing chambers shortly after Sif and was hidden behind a statue. Sif moaned a little louder now and he felt that he should make his presence known, despite of his fear for the strong woman. With a soft clearing of his throat he stepped from behind the statue and Sif snapped her eyes in his direction.
“What are you doing here? Spying on the queen, are we?” She bellowed, trying to cover herself. The guard shook his head with red cheeks.
“Lady Sif, forgive me, I was given orders by the king to follow you. I have to..” His cheeks get even a darker shade of red. “See to it that you do not find release.”
The woman smirks at him and removes her hands from her naked body.
“You seem too shy for such a task, guard.” Sif arches her back and stretches out, giving him a good look and the guard averts his eyes immediately.
“Please, my dear lady, I have a wife and a daughter.” A frown comes over her face and she quickly rinses off the oil and hides her female parts again.
“Forgive me, kind sir, tis not my intent to put shame on you or yours.” The guard looks back with a thankful look on his face. “You are far kinder than he is, my lady. I eh..can step out if you need to..unburden yourself.” Sif chuckled at his choice of words and winked at him.
“It would be highly appreciated. Whenever I will be able to, I shall reward you for your silence. After giving the queen a small nod, the guard stepped out of the bathing chambers, to give the queen her privacy. It only took her mere minutes to find her release and she suppressed the loud moan that came bubbling to the surface when it washed over her. Knowing Loki was probably waiting for her by now, impatient as he was, she quickly sought a cloth to dry herself and made her way back to their chambers. After picking a dress and curling her hair, Sif hurries to the breakfast table in the grand hall.
Doing her best not to look too pleased, she sat down besides the king and tried to keep her gaze averted. It was as if Loki could smell there was something not right, because he jerked his head in her direction and glared at her.
“What took you so long? What were you doing?” Sif did her best to look innocent and confused.
“I bathed, my lord, that was all.” Loki narrowed his eyes at her as if he was thinking of a reason to punish her but did not know what to say. With a growl, he shifted his focus back to his breakfast.
The guard that was in the bathing chambers earlier, comes to their table and whispers something in Loki’s ear. Sif bites her lip in worry and does her best to catch what he is saying. Would he betray her? If he would…he would regret it!
“Your grace, lady Sif merely bathed, she did not eh..” It was hard for the poor man to even say it and Sif had to do her best not to look endeared. Loki, however, was less pleased.
“Speak up, man!” He growls and the man stutters a bit. .
“She did not unburden herself, your grace.” The man stated quietly and Loki shot Sif a smug look. With a scoff, she looked back at her plate. Good, she made a friend. Now to keep it.
All of a sudden, there was a racket in the hallway and a couple of guards stormed in, carrying a little crying boy by his arms. The boy was obviously in a lot of pain and clenches his tiny fist around a plump apple. Loki stands up and walks around the large table, making Gungir and his full armor appear on him.
“What is this? Who dares to interrupt the king when he is eating?” The liesmith bellows across the room and the guards throw the boy onto the floor with force. Sif gasps and stands up, intending to walk over but Loki points the spear at her without even glancing her way.
“Stay there, wench! If I need a harlot standing up for the weak, I shall call upon you at once! “ A couple of guards snickered at his remark and Sif narrowed her eyes to each of them, sending them fiery warning with her eyes.
“Your grace, this boy was found stealing at the market today, we thought we would bring him to you for his punishment!” A malevolent look came over the kings face as he eyes the little boy. The boy looked up and pouted at Loki.
“I was so hungry, sir. My mommy went to sleep and didn’t wake up anymore! We were hungry for a long time already!” Sif had to keep herself from crying at hearing his tale of woe, but Loki seemed unaffected.
“You dare speak this way when you have committed treason against Asgard?” He bellows, making his voice boom off the walls.
The queen had enough, it was one thing to torture her or Thor, but punishing a hungry child that just lost his mother, was too cruel. She stepped out from behind the table and stepped in front of the boy, facing Loki.
“How dare you!” Sif hissed at him, fists clenched and a glare in her eyes. “How dare you say such things to a child!” Loki eyed her in disgust and grabbed her locks.
“How dare YOU speak to me in such a manner! I am king and you will respect me! This boy is a danger for Asgard and must be punished! However, I shall be merciful! He shall spend time in the dungeons to feel what real hunger is like for five sunsets! If he survives that..he is free to go!” With a loud cackle, he throws his head back and the boy whimpers at hearing his dreary fate. Sif growls and pushes Loki away from her.
“You are the one who should be punished! If you ruled half as well as Odin did, the kingdom would not suffer such poverty!” A gasp resonated through the hall and the kings look grew dark.
“Guards?” He asked in a hushed tone and some of the men stepped closer, in order to hear his command. “The queen has decided that she will serve the time in the dungeons that this thief was supposed to spend. Take her away and chain her to her cell wall!” He snarls.
“The boy shall be flogged! I think fifty strikes will suffice! Martopher, take this thief away!” Sif saw the guard she befriended earlier step forward and she struggled as the other guards tried to take her away.
“NO! I will take that punishment as well! Let him go!”
Martopher hesitated, unsure who to take orders from and Loki gestured the guards to let her go.
“Will you now…this proves to be interesting. Get over here and bend over the table!” With as much dignity as Sif can muster, she walks up to the table, back to the crowd and puts her hands on it, leaning over and arching her back.
“Oh yes, this is much more entertaining.” He said under his breath and flipped her dress up. Sif held on to the sides of the table as she tried to prepare herself for what was coming. This turned out to be useless, as she groaned in pain when Loki let his hand come down on her backside.
“That was one.” The sly one said in a taunting manner.
“Only ninety-four more to go, my dear!” After ten hits, her backside started to burn and sting, after twenty, she was crying audibly. Out of pain and out of shame. It took him excruciatingly long to get to fifty and by the time he got there, Sif was a squirming mess.
“Take her to the dungeons! This punishment is not over yet! Martopher, see to it that this boy gets a flogging as well, the queen’s tears did not cause me enough enjoyment!” Sif was angered but did not dare object anymore, as she was in too much pain. The crowd murmured as Sif was taken away and Loki glares around the room as he sits in his seat with his legs spread wide, holding Gungir in one hand, the other under his chin and rubbing his lip.
“Silence! This shall not be discussed any longer! I, your king, made sure the causers of trouble were dealt with accordingly and you should all be honouring me for it!” Nobody objected. How could they? The slightest word could cause their deaths. Martopher took the little boy away and tried to comfort him without the king seeing it. After befriending lady Sif, a rebel was awakened in him. Instead of bringing the boy to the gardens to flog, he brought him home to his wife. His daughter always begged them for a brother, but because of his wife’s infertility after the girls birth, it was impossible to grant her this wish. As expected, both were overthrown with joy and the boy was so happy that he cried and hugged the man.
“What is your name, boy?” He kindly asked the child.
“Fern, sir. After my father!” The little one answered proudly and Martopher nodded. “So be it, Fern. Welcome to my family.”
Sif was less lucky and was chained to a cell wall, like Loki ordered. She snarled and cursed the guards to Niflheim but it had no effect. They merely scoffed at her. One even planted a kiss on her lips, knowing that she was not able to move her hands. At first she was too disgusted to do anything but as he brought his hand up to touch her, Sif let her leg come up with brutal force, landing her knee between the man’s legs. The cries of pain were music to her ears and the guard limped away.
“The king will hear of this!” The man wailed and suddenly, Loki appeared behind him.
“Of what?” Afraid to get in trouble for laying his hand on the queen, the man started to murmur.
“Nothing, your grace, I hit my leg on the bar of the cell and..” Loki dismissed him with a gesture of his hand and the guards hurried out of the dungeons.
The king laced his fingers together as he placed his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in front of Sif with a smug look on his face.
“Well, my dear, I hope that was worth it.” The defiant fire that houses within the goddess, was immediately awakened.
“Yes, it was! No matter how you torture me, how much you torture this realm, I shall always stand up for what I believe in, I shall always protect the weak and small and shall never be broken!” Sif bellows, her voice echoing throughout the eerie dungeons and Loki grabs her shoulders with a grunt of frustration.
“Why?! Why must you be this defiant? I ordered you to be my wife so you could be a silent ruler of this realm! I offer you everything on a silver platter and still you deny me!” This confused Sif greatly. He did all this for her sake? Did he…was he truly under the impression that this sham of a marriage resembled love?
“You will NOT silence me!” She hissed with a clenched jaw and got backhanded by the king. Sif looked back at him and scoffed. “Coward. Only you have to tie a woman up before having the courage to hurt her.” There was no anger in her voice, she spoke as if she stated a fact.
“You shall spend the next three days here! See if you will be silent then!” He growls at her and turns to leave.
“Wait.” Sif said in despair, already afraid to be here for mere minutes. Loki turned around and raised his brow with a smirk.
“Yes? Does my queen have something to say?” The woman cursed herself mentally for this, but her arms were hurting already and her backside desperately needed a soothing bath.
“I do not wish to stay here. Please let me out?” Sif quietly asked as she kept her gaze to the ground. Loki walks up to her and roughly grabs a hold of her face. He brings his own close and glares at her.
“Beg me properly! Beg your king for your freedom and show how contrite you really are!” As he told her to beg, the anger was stirred inside of her again.
“No!” She whispered and Loki stormed out of the dungeon with a sigh of aggravation.
“You are impossible!”
Good, Sif thought. At least she kept some dignity. Even though she was proud of this, the goddess regretted her decision soon. Having her arms chained to the wall in such an awkward manner, made them sting and hurt. The burning pain on her backside did not shrink either, almost seeming like it got worse. Hours past and Sif could not help but sob at her fate. What had become of them? Thor..how she missed her darling, her world. They were each-others light in the darkness and now, not even a speck of sunlight broke through her window. What a fitting metaphor, she thought as the last tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her already wet cheeks.
The door of the dungeon opened and Martopher walked in with a warm smile. He brought a wet cloth to wipe Sif’s heated face and she thankfully sighed as he used it.
“My friend, I owe you so much.” The queen murmured, but the guard shook his head.
“Not at all, my lady. Thanks to you, my family gained a son today. You have made us very happy.” Hearing that the little boy was safe made Sifs eyes tear up again, this time out of happiness and relief.
“Is it true? You did not punish him?” Martopher shook his head and flashed another smile as he started to undo her chains.
“I did not, my lady. And I arranged for your freedom as well.”
Sif rubbed her painful wrists and arms as she was free to move her arms again. A thankful but confused look replaced her happy one.
“How ever did you manage that, kind sir?” This made Martopher chuckle.
“Well, my lady, I reminded his grace of the royal ball that will occur tomorrow. I told him that you needed to look well-rested and fresh, in order to make a good impression on our guests. He growled at me but mumbled something about me retrieving you after that.” Sif fell into his arms and hugged the man for dear life.
“My dear, dear friend, I thank the gods that it was you that walked in on me today!” The remark made him blush heavily and he cleared his throat.
“Forgive my foul tongue, Martopher.” Sif stated with less enthusiasm. “What I mean is that I am thankful to have found a friend in you. Thankful that you are courageous enough to take risks for others.” The man smiled endeared at her.
“My lady, I hate seeing you in pain, I shall do my best to help you.”
The woman narrowed her eyes for a second as she stepped back.
“You will? Good. I have another request for you. I understand if this will be too dangerous, feel free to decline, but tomorrow at the royal ball, I need you to distract the king as long as you can. It is important that I am not seen, do you understand?” The seriousness that overtook her voice made the guard frown and nod.
“Of course, my lady. I shall start to think of a plan right away! May I ask what the reason behind this diversion is? I feel the right to know if I will be risking my life for this.”
At first Sif did not want to share her plans, afraid Loki would be listening in, in some way. But the words the man uttered made her agree, it was only fair he knew what he was doing this for. Sif hushed her tone, just to be sure and leaned in as she got a cheeky grin on her face.
“Tomorrow, when the king is busy flaunting his riches to his guests…I am going to see my darling Thor! I miss him and I need to be with him, only for a little while!” This made Martopher smile wide.
“Ah young love…who am I to stand in your way? I shall do my best, my lady. I promise!”
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