FicWad

After seeing Thor in the arms of another woman, something changed in our heroine’s attitude. No longer was there the need to be defiant, to act out. After all, if not for love, what was she fighting for? She meekly followed Loki back to the castle and half expected him to throw her in the dungeons. But he didn’t. When they arrived back to the castle, Loki pointed at the hallway.

“Find yourself a room and make it your own. I will not tolerate your presence in my chambers for now. I have to get over the fact that my wife runs off to fornicate with those lower in station than her own husband.” Sif rolled her eyes. Yes, as if he really cared.

“Do not roll your eyes at me, you strumpet!” Loki hissed at her, before tangling a hand through her locks.

“Stop it..” She retorted in a weak tone, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at him. “You do not wish me in your bed? But…” Loki just glared at her.

“Yes, that means you will have to sleep alone, do you think you can manage or do I have to send some guards?” Again, his insults felt like a dagger through her heart.

“Those feeble men, better send me five!” This made Loki snarl at her in anger and he pushed her away from him, sending her to the ground. Her eyes grew wide as her back suddenly hit the stone cold floor and tears poured out of her eyes as the pain shot through her body.

“Do not look at me like that, you had it coming! And I thought you were so strong, huh?” Loki said in a taunting manner as he started to circle her. Without giving her so much as a warning, he spins and kicks her hard in her stomach, making her cry out in agony.

The sound of her pain tugged on his heartstrings, only now realizing what he had caused her. The woman laid curled up in a little ball, whimpering and sobbing of pain. A frustrated sigh escaped him as he tried to help her up.

“Well, alright, I am feeling generous. You will be allowed in the kings chambers for this night, but I am not sure about tomorrow. You will have to be on your best behaviour and not act out like you usually do.” Only adding to his pain, Sif pushed his hand away when he tried to help her and got up at her own strength, clearly struggling.

“Let me help you..” He tried but she shot him a glare.

“I can do it myself, Loki. I can do everything by myself! Dare not take me as a feeble woman.” With those words, she turned around and went into the hallway he pointed at earlier.

“Wait, I told you that you could stay in my chambers tonight.” Without looking back, Sif kept walking.

“No, thank you! I think being alone in bed will be less cold than with you!” Loki sighed deeply. This was his chance to get closer to her, to get her to love him, and he blew it. All because of his own stupid anger, directed at nothing. He knew very well that this was caused by parents that did not love him and a brother that overlooked him, and yet he took it out on a woman who had no blame in it. Yes, of course she had her flaws and made her share of mistakes in the past, but the amount of pain he put her through was unfair. Loki did not like feeling bad about himself, so he started to think of ways to put the blame on Sif’s side anyway. As he was thinking of a way, the demon version of Odin appeared.

“Tell me that woman is not making you soft!” He softly growled at Loki, who was now pacing towards his chambers.

“Do not be a fool, of course she did not, who can turn me soft?” The king answered in a low tone, making guards through the hallway stare at him and shake their heads. There was a rumour going around that the king was losing it, but now they witnessed it for themselves.

“You need to make this right, Loki! Sif needs to fear and love you!” Odin went on with an agitated voice and Loki quickly downed some wine.

“I know, I know. I just…did not mean to kick her..that hard..” He mumbled and thought of a way to fix this.

“Go over there and tell her that she deserved it! That she will get more with any bad word she utters! You have to break her spirit, Loki! By any means necessary.” The king sighed and downed another goblet of wine before walking over to the hallway briskly. One of the doors was opened slightly, so he stepped in without knocking.

“Sif? I expect you at breakfast tomorrow without the attitude, it was your own fault that…” But he stopped speaking as he saw what was going on in the room. The servant girl, that had acted as Sif during the ball was standing there without her garments, obviously getting ready for a bath.

“My lord…forgive me…” She tried to sound coy, but the lust was clearly audible in her voice.

“Not at all, forgive me for barging in, I was looking for my wife.” The king said as he averted his eyes.

“Oh, that pissy little wife of yours..she has not been kind to you at all, has she?” The woman retorts as she lets her hands roam her own body with a loud moan.

“Why don’t you come here and have a taste of a real woman?” This made Loki stare right into her eyes and step forward. The girl stepped forward as well, convinced she would be taken by the king.

“You vile, wretched wench!” Loki whispers as a glare appears in his eyes.

“She may not do as she is told but she is still my wife! How dare you try to seduce the king! And with such a meagre offer!” He eyes the woman up and down in disgust and she tries to cover herself with her hands.

“She is ten times the woman you are! Throwing yourself at a man like this, it disgusts me! Now get out of here and go sleep in the servant quarters where you belong!”

The girl whimpered but hurried her way back into her clothes as she rushed out of the room. Sif just happened to walk by and overheard what had transpired. She could not help but to smile a bit. Loki could have taken advantage of this girl and she probably would have never found out. Instead he stayed loyal to her, even complimented her. In his own way that is. Knowing that he would soon come out himself, she made her way into the adjacent room, laying down on the bed so it would seem she had been here all this time. A sting in her heart was taunting her. She had run off and made love to Thor on several occasions, when he stayed loyal to her.

A knock was heard on the door.

“Sif? May I enter?” Sif mumbled some approval and Loki entered the room. He saw her laying on the bed, still holding her stomach and he looked away with a guilty look on his face.

“Look..I eh…did not mean..like I said, you had it coming!” He huffed and crossed his arms.

“Are you here to convince yourself of that?” The goddess responded with annoyance, hoping he would have just apologized.

“I am trying, alright?” Sif jumped from the bed with a glare, groaning in pain.

“No, you are not trying! You kicked me while I was already down and there is nothing you can come and tell me now that will make that alright again!” Again Loki averted his eyes, the guilt on his face increasing. The fact that he said nothing, only fed Sif’s anger.

“Was that all? I would like to be alone.” The king sighed and held open his arms. He did not know what else he could do. Love had always been strange to him, whenever he had felt an itch he couldn’t scratch, he would find himself a willing servant girl. These feelings hadn’t started until he married Sif. An overwhelming need for warmth overcame the woman and she rushed into his arms. He wrapped them tight around her.

“I will never lay a hand on you again, Sif. I promise.” Loki whispered as he blinks the upcoming tears away. Suddenly, Odin appeared again and glared at Loki.

“Fool! You are weak! I should have know you were too weak! You should have been killed at birth!” Loki stepped away from Sif and shook his head, grabbing his temples, as if he was in pain.

“No, don’t say that!” He cries out and Sif gasps.

“Loki, I did not say anything..what..are you alright?”

But Loki did not listen to her.

“Leave me be, you are nothing but trouble!” He yells as he rushes out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Sif sighs and sits back down on the bed. His behaviour was getting more and more strange with each passing day. Would this be her life from now on? An eternity of an unloving marriage? Did they not both deserve better? She curled up and tried to sleep, but the thoughts kept rushing through her head. Amora…why had she appeared so suddenly? Sif knew that the Enchantress always had feelings for Thor, they had even been an item in the past but those around Thor had always wondered if she had not cast a mind control spell over him..of course! Thor was under her control, that is why he was acting like this! As soon as the thought came into her mind and she stepped out of bed, Amora appeared.

“You are not as dim-witted as Loki likes to let me believe, maiden…” She said with an eerie tone in her voice and Sif froze in place. The Enchantress uttered some strange words and the thought of Thor being mind controlled was pulled from her memory.

“There. He is mine now and there is nothing you can do about it. He wants a real woman, one that is not a little slave girl for the trickster. Is that understood?” Sif was too dazed from the spell and just nodded sadly. Yes, she belonged to Loki now and Thor was no longer interested. Just when Amora turned around to leave, Sif spoke up. “Wait! Promise me one thing?” The request she made cracked the ice around this cold woman’s heart ever so slightly. “Make him happy?”

The trickster woke up in the morning to the smell of food. Food? In his room? How dared those filthy servants bring food in here? Loki hated to eat in his room. It reminded him of all those days he was sent to his room by Odin to eat there. When he became adolescent, he swore to never have food in his room again. Stubborn as he was, he never told anyone of this decision.

“By the gods, what is this?” He groans as he sits up. The king stares into the face of a surprised Sif.

“I brought you breakfa..” The woman did not get a chance to finish the rest of her sentence as Loki slapped the tray she held away with a growl, sending all its content to the floor and on the sheets of the bed. Sif started to rub her own arms as tears poured over her face.

“You stupid wench! What is the meaning of this?! Explain yourself at once!” It took her awhile before her ability to speak came back.

“I..wanted to surprise you..I..” She whispered softly as she kept crying.

“Surprise me?! What for?!” Loki growled at her and she looked up.

“To celebrate your day of birth. I thought that the rest of the house might not think about it..and..” Again the tears made her sound incoherent and Loki felt himself get crushed with guilt.

He almost saw the already broken woman in front of him break down completely. She starts muttering apologies as she tries to save what is left of the food, but it is of no use. The little teapot broke in three pieces as it hit the side of the bed and she cuts her hands open as she starts to put the pieces back together. With her hands covered in blood, she wipes the hair out of her face, leaving a red streak of blood there.

“My day of birth…you wanted to bring me breakfast in bed for…” Loki shakes his head in disbelief and frowns as he sees Sif covered in her own blood. Something catches his attention that makes him feel even worse. A little wooden figurine. It is a citizen of Asgard and he has been receiving one every year since he was little. It just never occurred to him that Sif was the one giving them to him.

“It was you..all those years…” Loki whispered as he looked the figurine over. “I..Sif..” The woman was just staring at him in disbelief, afraid of what he might do to hurt her next. When she finally spoke, her voice was thickened with grief and the sound tore Loki apart.

“Not many know it, but I took a liking to woodcarving since I was little. I saw how happy you were with the first one I gave you..so..I..” The rest was lost in sobs as Loki’s mind goes back to that very moment. Yes, he had liked the first figurine very much, for it was a portrayal of Frigga, his mother. Her passing was harder on this day and as he picked up the figurine she made this year, tears came to his eyes. She had made him. Sif made Loki a figurine of himself, as king. It was the last citizen he needed to complete household of the palace. When he places a hand on her shoulder, Sif dropped the tray in shock as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Loki pulled his hand back with a sigh and the woman ran out of the room, still sobbing heavily. A servant girl came to clean the mess that was left behind as the king paced back and forth through his chambers.

“My day of birth..she thought of it each year…I do not even know…” The girl looked up.

“What was that, sire?” But the king did not even hear her.

“I must do something for her..I must..make her happy somehow..” This made the servant girl raise a brow. Since when did the king care if lady Sif was happy or not? Only now did Loki notice the girl.

“You. There. I want to please the queen. Tell me what women like. What will make her happy? Speak up, girl, your king asks you a question.” But the girl was lost for words. Did he think it was this easy? That there was some magical formula that made all women happy as it was used?

“Well, sire, there are always flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep..” She said in a sarcastic tone as she curtsied in a mocking manner before walking off.

“Such insolence!” Loki growled at the slamming door, but it did not seem to leave any impression.

“See? WEAK!” A voice bellowed and it made the trickster cringe. The demon version of Odin appeared once again and his red eyes were gleaming with discontent.

“You should have smacked that tray out of her hands twice! You pathetic fool! Getting all weepy-eyed over a wooden figurine!” In one fluid movement, Loki grabbed the goblet next to his carafe of wine and threw it at the apparition.

“Quiet!” He yells in a shrill voice. “I am sick of you telling me I am not good enough!” But Odin just glared as the goblet went right through him, shattering onto the wall behind him. As the guard came in to see what all the fuss was about, he evaporated into nothing.

“Sire! Forgive me..I do not wish to disturb you but..” The guard said in a trembling voice but Loki became agitated and had little patience left.

“What is it?! What horrid thing have I done now?” The man stood fumbling with his hands for a couple of moments.

“It’s the queen, sire! She…” The silver tongue’s eyes were fired up in hate and anger. He hated that Sif stirred such deep emotions inside of him. Feelings were not allowed, he had to please Odin! Or the Odin that visited him at least..

“What has the wench gotten herself into now? Is she crying in the gardens? Has she baked a cake that my oaf of a brother threw back in her face? What?!”

Kristi came to see why he was yelling, the guard uttered why he had come to the kings chambers.

“Lady Sif…she went to Helheim, sire. To the realm of the dead!”

“She WHAT?!” Loki did not hesitate for a second but made his armour appear on his body and Gungnir in his hand. His daughter Hel would keep her soul in her realm, he was sure of it. She was an evil being that loved to torture her father. Naturally, she held a grudge towards all Asgardians for being banished to such a horrid realm. The grudge was mainly directed to Odin, but she never forgave her father for leaving her there.

“What does that mean, king Loki?” Kristi asks, hoping he would not remember all too much about their last encounter. But the king was too preoccupied to worry himself with these matters.

“It means that Sif will perish if I do not go and rescue her.” The king retorted in a blank voice as he started to walk towards the Bifrost. The guard that informed him of Sif’s departure quickly followed, answering all the questions of the king.

“How did she cross the Bifrost? Heimdall only obeys me!” Nobody noticed how Kristi was following close behind, she wanted to know if Sif would be coming back.

“It appears she broke into the weapons vault, sire. She took her old blade, the one..” But the king cut him off mid-sentence. “Fool! How did she get in there? I know what she took, she took her old blade, with which she can cleave holes in time and space!” This made the guard nod and look down, as he tried to come up with an explanation.

“She eh…Martopher let her pass as he saw how saddened she was, sire. There was no reasoning with her. She threatened to throw herself off the Bifrost if we would not let her pass!” For the second time that day, Loki felt the tears coming. Had she been that desperate to escape? Helheim..the realm of the dead..was more comforting than her own husband..how this woman must suffer as his wife…but he shook off the thoughts that kept haunting him.

“You did good. At least now there is a chance she will return!” He growled and slammed the spear down, making Heimdall look up as they arrived.

“Let me pass to Helheim, gatekeeper! And no funny business. Your queen is in danger.” The gatekeeper nodded sadly. He already knew his beloved sister had travelled from Asgard. He was muzzled, but not blind, he still saw all that went on the realm.

Loki travelled through the Bifrost and gasped as he set foot in Helheim. It had been so long since he was here that he had forgotten what a drizzly place it was. The green sky was a large contrast to the black walls of the many caves that inhabited the area. From each cave came different screams as the dead were being tortured in numerous ways inside. Loki took a deep breath and stepped into the largest cave of all. He knew this was where Hel resided as all the dead came into the realm through the river that flooded through this cave.

“Daughter! I seek a word with you!” His voice boomed off the walls as he entered but his attitude changed as he saw the scene that unfolded before his very eyes.

Hel had Sif chained to a wall and held a poisoned blade. The woman cackled out loud as turned around to face her father.

“Ah, look who it is…so after all this time, you have come to find me..did you happen to lose a wife?” Loki knelt a couple of feet away from her and Sif. Sif was now barely alive, groaning softly as she tried to lift her head.

“Loki….” She let out in a raspy voice.

“Hel, let her go.” Again the eerie cackle was heard.

“I think not! She belongs to me now! All who enter the realm of the dead are doomed! You are no different, ‘father’…” He never knew his daughter resembled him so much, when he heard her utter the word ‘father’ with such disdain.

“What can I do to get her soul back?” The king asked as calmly as he could.

“Nothing! Now leave her before I keep you both in here!” She growled out and a couple of souls lunged at Loki from the river of the dead, meaning to trip him and make him fall into the water. With a glare, he travelled back to Asgard, only to be greeted by Martopher.

“Sif..she is still…” Loki panted but Martopher shook his head.

“Sire, Asgard is under attack!”