But Mother, I'm in Love With a Criminal

Chapter Two: Tainted Heart

Shortly after Loki's imprisonment

In the hopes it would distract her, she threw herself into her work, but it failed to alleviate the heartache. For someone who lived most of her life courting someone, the sudden change left her feeling incredibly lonely. Her small group of friends could not fill the void in her heart because no matter what they did, they could not replicate the love only Loki could give.

At home, her parents gave her extra tasks around the family farm. Even being outside and tending to the animals only worsened her melancholy mood. The sunshine, which often lifted her spirits, only reminded her that the man she once loved might never see the sun again because the All-Father had locked the former prince away from the rest of the realm.

Very few ever left the dungeons, and those were on the rare occasions someone had their sentence overturned or were used as a bargaining chip for diplomacy. Once someone received word of their verdict sending them to the dungeons, they rarely ever got out. The dungeons were a last resort reserved for prisoners of war, truly despicable criminals, or enemies of Asgard.

Technically, Loki fulfilled all three: he lost a war, committed war crimes, and in turn, became an adversary against Asgard. The realm no longer did executions—those were removed before Sigyn's parents fell in love—but if Asgard still did, Loki probably qualified for a public execution.

The thought rattled her even though she knew it would never happen unless the All-Father had a drastic change of heart for the worse.

The All-Father also strictly forbade anyone from visiting Loki. Nobody ever visited the dungeons anyway, but with the addition of the former prince, security tightened. It didn't stop Sigyn from sending Loki a few letters and one of the books he had left at her house before the whole fiasco with Thor's ruined coronation went down. She had no idea if the gifts went through, and if they did, if Loki would write back.

The one time she ventured down near the dungeons on a break from her work as a healer in the palace, the guards turned her away several floors above and one even escorted her back to the healing wing.

The queen of Asgard found Sigyn one day and confirmed the gifts had gone through and Loki, who could not have any outside contact for concern of him reaching potential allies, did appreciate the gifts and wished to see her. The queen, who gave Sigyn a wink when asked if she saw Loki in person, told Sigyn not to worry so much because Loki had a private cell and, while not the happiest, would not face any danger from other prisoners.

The little relief the knowledge provided still did not, in the grand scheme of things, amount to much. As angry and betrayed as she felt, Sigyn knew, deep down, she still loved him. And even further down, some inkling of worry nagged her—something must have gone drastically wrong to cause Loki's sudden shift from harmless mischief to an outright warlord.

She had no proof other than a gut feeling she tried to ignore, but nothing could also undo the fact he had attacked and heavily damaged a city and killed dozens of innocent people on the weakest realm in all of Yggdrasil.

Those lives had consumed her, fueling her rage and resentment, and leading her to stand on the shores of a lake. From her, she could barely see the Bifrost at the edge of the realm, overlooking the numerous stars and planets dotting the Void beyond Asgard's atmosphere. She and Loki had discovered this spot centuries before and it had become a favorite location of theirs.

They used to sit along the shore, their toes in the water, as they counted the stars and created stories for the constellations. During the day, they would wander around the neighboring trees, pluck the fruit from the branches, and sit on the rocks while watching people roam around in the city. This spot, more secluded than the rest of the shoreline because of the thick foliage surrounding it, allowed them to spend hours together without anyone bothering them.

There were many fond memories made here: dancing under the moon, feasting on homemade picnics, sharing stories under the shade of the trees, swimming in the lake and trying to catch the silvery fish with their bare hands...

Now, this spot only brought the pain of times long gone and a future spent entirely alone.

Absentmindedly, her hand wrapped around the silver locket dangling from her neck. Centuries ago, on one of her birthdays, Loki had bought it for her and she had not removed it since.

The necklace—a beautiful silver heart with flowers encircling the Nordic rune of love engraved on it—shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the tree branches. Years ago, Loki had enchanted it with a protection spell, and the faint smell of his wintery-mint sedir still wafted from it in the breeze. The spell had not faded even after all these years, and she did not know if Loki had control over it or, once cast, nothing could remove it.

Sigyn found herself wandering down to the shoreline, keeping a safe distance away to avoid wetting her shoes. Her thumb brushed over the raised metal flowers, an old habit of hers. Usually, it brought her comfort. Now, the locket felt heavy around her neck—more like a collar anchoring her in place instead of a gesture of love and promises of fidelity spoken long ago.

In one swift motion, Sigyn yanked the locket off her neck and threw it as hard as she could into the lake. She watched it land in the water with a plop so small she could barely see it.

Tears streaming down her face, she scrambled back up the shore, sprinted through the trees, and collapsed on her bed in a fit of sobs.