Loki and Sigyn, His Glorious Purpose

Chapter One

"Wake up," I yelled out to my room full of sleeping sisters.
I was met with a multitude of groans and whines as I hastily opened the curtains to our room. Sunshine splashed onto their faces as sleep was torn away from them.

"Lots to do and you have all slept through the first hour of sunlight," I said as they began to stir out of their blankets, "Papa comes home today, I wouldn't want you all to sleep through his arrival."

Slowly but surely, all seven of my sisters got up and out of bed. Like ducks in a row, they shuffled to the hearth where a fresh pot of porridge lay in wait for them to break their fast.

Out of all eight of us, I was the only "morning person." Aside from myself, my sisters were notorious for their late nights. Even the young ones seemed to be out in the village square till the wee hours of the night.

My Father always attributed this to my mother. He always explained to us that whilst they were courting, he always had trouble catching her. She slept till noon and was up till the sunrise. Though most of my sisters didn't know her for long, he always believed their sleeping habits were reflections of our mother. On the other hand, I was much like my Father. Up at the rooster's first crow.

My sisters sat around the hearth with glazed eyes, slowly eating their porridge with the least amount of haste possible. The youngest three were all slumped upon each other, struggling to keep their eyes open. Gently, I sat them upright and wiped the spilled porridge from their faces.

"Sigyn," Alfhild, one of the triplets groaned, "Why must we always get up so early?"

"Papa won't even be home until late, he wouldn't mind if we slept just a little more," Alva added, the second born of the triplets.

Aldun, the youngest and third of the triplets, still too tired to formulate a plea simply nodded in agreement.

"You're up early because I'm up early, and if I weren't here to wake you none of you would ever get out of bed," I explained as I took away finished bowls of porridge, "Besides, I need extra help with chores before I go to the infirmary today."

The idea of helping me caused a loud grumble to roar out from my hoard of sisters. Truly, I felt bad. I knew that chores didn't sound at all appealing, it's not like I wanted to do them either. However, we all had duties to uphold around the home and in serving the village.

Since Father had left for Midgard, I had assumed the role of head of the house. This made me wildly unpopular amongst my sisters. The chore chart I had made in the beginning of his departure was vandalized by them less than three days in. Looking back, I'm not sure what I had expected.

Soon enough, all seven of my sisters were out the door to assume their chores. The triplets went to the market to gather new cloth. The twins, Fallon and Fawn, followed them, gathering supplies such as honey and mead from the village merchants. This left the oldest of us, including myself, to tend to the chores at home.

Whilst my sister Eerika stripped beds and cleaned dishes, Hertha(my sister closest in age) and I ventured to the stream in the front of our property to wash rags, sheets, and clothes alike. We carried giant baskets of laundry to the water as the crisp morning air stung our cheeks.

Hertha was as talkative as always on our walk to the stream, she informed me of all the escapades she had the night prior. She told me of the men she danced with, the ones she outdrank, and the countless others that she had entranced. Like always, I just laughed and listened.

"You must come out with me one night, Sigyn," she pleaded, "You never come dance anymore!"

She smirked and knocked me with her hip, "In fact, dear sister, many of the village boys have been wondering when they'll finally have a chance to take you out for a twirl or two," she added.

I laughed and shook my head, "I'm too busy to be caught up in the whirlwind of dancing and festivals and men. Between working at the infirmary and dealing with you lot, when could I ever have the time to dance."

"Well perhaps if you didn't fall asleep the second you came home, you would have time," she countered.

I just rolled my eyes as we sat to begin our wash. I had to admit to myself that it all sounded fun. At times, I was even jealous of my sister's freedom to go and enjoy herself. Hertha was truly a woman, she had known men, she had known drink, she was popular, and well set to be married and move on from our family. Though I was her elder, I felt behind in so many ways. I was caught up in responsibilities and had never experienced most of what she did nightly. I consoled this jealousy by telling myself that I had a duty to uphold. I was the eldest sister, daughter of Iwald the Great, and had to assume the position of the mother in our home. With all this in mind, how could I possibly be on the same trajectory as Hertha?

My mind buzzed as I rhythmically plunged my hands into the freezing water, steadily washing laundry. I. thought to myself as my sister went on and on, perhaps I can make an exception for myself. For just one night, I might allow myself to join my sister in the village square. Just for one night.

For the rest of my morning, I worked to do my chores. I did laundry, got eggs from our coop, straightened up, and so on. Before long, it was time for me to go to the infirmary. Before I left, I told my sisters goodbye and made sure they were set to eat for lunch. My Father was set to return at nightfall so I had plenty of time to work and return home before he arrived.

My Father had been off in Midgard for an emergency of sorts. He was employed by Odin himself to act as a sort of police force in rounding up Asgardian criminals throughout the realms. He was called at short notice to retrieve Odin's younger son, Loki, from Midgard and was to accompany Thor back home safely. That was all I had known of his mission, the rest of it seemed somewhat classified as my Father barely knew for what purpose he was to retrieve the princes of Asgard. It certainly seemed important though as it seemed like a hushed matter. My sisters had attempted to pry all the information they could from our Papa, dying to know as much as they could about the two dashing Asgardian princes. They were quite disappointed when he informed them he didn't know the matter of the mission.

My day in the infirmary went slowly by. By midday, I had healed just a few children of their cuts using what little healing magic I knew to suture their thin skin. In the heat of the afternoon, I delivered a child. And from that point, things were very quiet. I spent my time idly tearing bandages and organizing infirmary essentials.
My overseers brewed potions and prepared their supplies as well, tending to some of our admitted patients as well. The day seemed destined to continue in this slow pace until a ruckus broke out in the yard of our infirmary.

Quickly, I alongside a few other healers, came outside to inspect the situation. To our surprise, there stood my Father accompanied by no other than the two princes of asgard.