The Burden Of Her Arms (Loki/Sigyn)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sigyn set her baskets down in front of the merchant's stall. He looked up from his books and smiled brightly. She managed a small, shaky smile.

"I um..." She pulled out the necklace and ring and set them on the table. "I'd like to sell these."

Happy to oblige, the merchant lifted them. Sigyn expected a quick, meager price as they were fake materials. So she checked her baskets, making sure she had everything she needed. She listened halfheartedly to two gossiping old women at the next stall. She perked up, surprised to hear Loki's name.

"You've been deceived!" One cried.

"No! I've heard it many times! Loki has a son! A monster, they say. A wolf that won't stop growing."

"Nonsense! It's not possible!"

"They are both magic practitioners. I would not put it past them. You can't trust people like that."

"And how do they explain themselves?"

"He says he found it." One old woman sneered.

Sigyn looked away. The merchant cleared his throat and looked at her over his glasses.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "These are Nidavellan silver."

She frowned, shaking her head slowly. "No, they're fake. I was told so."

He shrugged. "Then whoever sold them lost quite a profit. This is Nidavellan silver with Alfheimr master craftsmanship. You can't get better jewelry than this." He whistled and reached down to bring up his money box.

Sigyn reached forward and took the necklace. "O-On second thought..."

He smiled at her. "Don't want to part with them?"

She shook her head, blushing. "I-It was a gift from a... An old friend. He told me they were worthless."

The merchant shrugged. "Weird friend. Those are worth a pretty coin. I can offer you quite a bit for them." He held up a handful of gold coins.

She shook her head and hid the jewels away. "No, thank you." Taking her baskets, she hurried away. She couldn't think properly. Loki had said they were worthless; he'd said so twice. But to find that they were worth so much, enough to buy herself a small cottage maybe... And now to hear that he had a son! She didn't want to dwell on the way that tied her stomach in knots. It had been too long to still be pining over the man.

She threw the necklace and ring into a box in her room and tried to put them from her mind. But they weighed on her all through the day. When Reifr returned home, she smiled hello but it was shaky and didn't reach her eyes. He frowned but didn't ask. They had reached a silent agreement that he would not ask her of her troubles as she did not like to bother him with them. She would wait until the end of the week, when she would be allowed to visit her mother outside the palace gates.

Thinking of this, her shock boiled into anger. As if selling her were not enough, Loki had prohibited her from entering the palace unless called for by a member of the royal family. She clenched her hands into fists at the thought. Shaking her head, she endeavored to focus on her work. She could speak to her mother about it all later.

**

Angrboða returned to the palace after Fenrir's first birthday. He was already well over the size of a full grown wolf and continued to grow. Loki had kept him a secret for as long as he could. When Fenrir's rambunctious attitude and size became too much, Loki went on a hunting trip and returned with the story that he had saved the wolf pup and it had latched onto him.