EPILOGUE

"So... About that shower?"

In a humble home, on a humble throne, the weary father sits beside the crackling fire as he finishes his tale. A tale of frightful beasts and cunning witches. Gods and monsters. Valkyrie and Disir. Heroes and villains. And how, sometimes, the line between the two may blur. Twas a tale about family. About loyalty and lies. But most importantly, twas a tale about love. A love that rewrote fate and helped an old sod like Loki find redemption. To find a life actually worth living.

Displayed proudly above the mantel rests a pair of silver daggers. A memento from a previous era. A former life gone by. The once Liar had hung up his horns for a much simpler life. One in which he wouldn't trade for all the glistening stars in all the sky. Or all the Infinity Stones in the multiverse.

Loki doesn't need a crown of gold, or even some gaudy old hammer, because he has something better. Something far more worthy. And all he needs to do to see his worth is to look into the sweet faces of his children to see it there reflected in their eyes.

"Ahem?"

Standing in the open doorway, a much older and wiser (but just as lovely as the day they'd met) Sigyn clears her throat, bringing an end to her husband's all but endless tale.

"I think that's enough for one night." She insists, much to her sons trying protests. "Tis WAY past their bedtime." And with a yawn adds, "Mine too."

The young Godlings groan a sound reminiscent of their father when he was their age. That same annoyed little whine that Loki would make whenever Thor had presented him with some stupid new quest to take part in. And against his will, no less. As if Loki ever had a choice. And neither do these two.

"Listen to your mother." The weary father pushes his chair back and stands, straightening out his back after being seated for such a very long time. "Vali. Narvi. The both of you. Go wash and ready for bed."

Vali for her father Ivaldi and Narvi from her favorite story. Just as Loki had sworn to her back as she lay dying in the catacombs of Alfheim, now so very long ago.

"But daddy? " Little Narvi asks with wonder.

With warm hair and kind eyes much like his mother, Loki has always had a soft spot for the littlest of his twin boys. Youngest by three whole minutes and a whole head shorter than Vali, Narvi is oft the more timid and soft-spoken of the two. Whereas Vali... well... that boy's a whole other breed of mischief, that's for damned sure.

"What is it, Bright Eyes?" Loki affectionately addresses his son.

"But... But did they live happily ever after?"

"Don't be silly, Narvi." His elder brother is quick to chime in before Loki has a chance to answer. "Tis not real. Tis make believe. There's no such thing as happy endings. Right, father?"

The old man laughs and reaches forward, running his fingers through both of his son's messy mops, mussing up their hair.

"Now... Who said there's no such thing as happy endings? Hmm?" He then turns to Narvi and adds, "I swear to you that every word I said was true."

Hands on his knees, Loki bends low to his sons' level.

"Don't believe me?" The old Liesmith asks with a glimmer of mischief in his emerald eyes.

Giggling with excitement, the boys shake their heads 'nay'. And with that, Loki pounces, snatching up his sons and tumbling to the floor atop a soft, cozy sheepskin of extraordinary size.

"Ha ha! Stop it! Stop!" Narvi giggles as his father tickles at his side.

"More! More!" His opposite laughs.

Upon hearing the raucous, an ancient beast awakens from its slumber. Bounding out of the bedroom, the bloodthirsty pup is more than eager to join in on the fun.

"Murder?" Thori barks excitedly. "Someone say murder?"

Half Hel-Hound, half Hel-Wolf, and all teddy bear inside, the Devil Dog known as Thori was a birthday present from Sigyn's mother, now the new Queen of Hel. (Although her first choice was a giant Hel Spider. Let's just say that idea didn't go over very well...) And while he may not be the most likely (or fluffy or obedient or house trained...) of pets, he's damned sure as Hel the most protective of Loki's twin boys. Some would even say the Atrocity on Four legs might even love the two little monsters.

"Thori like murder! Thori murder now?"

"Nay, Thori. No murder!" Vali laughs as the pup snuffles a wet nose in his ear. "No murder!"

Chaos erupts in the Laufeyson homestead. A fit of laughter and shrieks, tangled limbs and belly rubs. As well as two small young boys defiant to their mother's wishes for bed. Although a certain mischievous father may be partly to blame.

Hands on her hips, Sigyn clears her throat once more. A reminder to Loki that fun time is over.

"Alright, now to bed with you." Loki gathers up his boys, one under each arm, and lifts them into the air. "Before your mother gets mad. And trust me. You do not want to upset a Valkyrie! Ruffled feathers everywhere..."

Jumping to his feet, Vali takes his littler brother by the hand and the two go racing off to bed. Together.

"Goodnight, mum." They both say in unison, giving their mother a quick kiss as they dart past.

Their lovable murderous guard pup trots along closely behind. Off to dream dreams of helfire and brimstone... and catching that damned orange tabby once and for all.

The bedroom door slams shut with a bang, a light switch clicks off in the background, and Sigyn turns to Loki with a smile.

"Vali was right, you know." She folds her arms and smirks up at him playfully. "You made that story up. That's not how it happened. Not at all."

"And who's to say?" He shrugs and smiles back.

"Well, ME, for starters!" Sigyn laughs at her husband. "I'm pretty sure I was there! For most of it, anyway."

Caught in a lie, Loki laughs and admits his defeat.

"Fine. So I may have taken certain... artistic liberties... That doesn't make the whole thing any less true." The Liar smooths over. "And besides, I thought you like the way I tell the story!"

A kiss to the lips and Loki makes his wife swoon. With the children to bed and the house finally settled, the Mother of All can once again find peace and relax. Leaning back, Sigyn melts into her husband's arms and buries her lips in the crook of his neck.

"True... But did you really have to add in all those naughty bits?" She asks, her sweet lips brushing softly against his cool skin.

"Well... At least the boys know where they come from." Loki grins, his heavy eyelids fluttering shut as Sigyn lays a warm kiss to his pulse. "And that their parents love each other very much."

There's a part of him that's always wondered. A part of him that will never know. Did his father, his real father, ever love his mother? Did he ever love anything? Or anyone? More so than the love he held for the cold and bitter taste of war?

There was a time when Loki thought he was doomed to share in the same fate as his father. To die cold and alone. Unloved. With a heavy heart filled only with ice and hatred. But he is not his father. Not Laufey. Not Odin. Nor do the laws of Fate apply to Loki. Not anymore. The once glorious Trickster now plays by his own set of rules. He writes his own story. And not only did he find love, but he has finally found the light. The warm summer Sunshine in his endless skies of gray.

"You always have just the right words to say. Don't you?" Sigyn speaks and the room seems to brighten with her smile. "My God of Stories."

Forget worthy, my child, find love instead. Tis something Frigga had once told him. A bit of motherly advice he wished he'd heeded sooner. But as with all things involving Loki, he had to learn it the hard way, and in his own time.

But then again, some children never listen.

Out of the corner of his eye, Loki spots movement in the hallway. Shifting shadows dancing in the amber glow of the fire's dying light. Concealed inside the darkness, two pairs of eyes peer back at him, twinkling like a band of stars in the pale glow of the moon.

Sensing the disturbance, Sigyn turns her head, following Loki's gaze. Her Valkyrie vision cuts right through the darkness with a golden glimmer of light, illuminating the pair of mischievous little monsters that have snuck out of their beds to spy upon their unsuspecting parents.

Realizing they've been caught, both Vali and Narvi erupt in a shrill trail of giggles as they race back to their room. And with a quiet chuckle of her own, Sigyn looks up at her husband and smiles.

Mayhap there is another Loki out there somewhere in the multiverse. Cold-hearted and alone. Without a home or family or love. Or worse yet, he could verily be dead. And for that sad sack of sorcery, this Loki feels sorry. Because this God of Stories couldn't be any happier.

There'll be no songs sung in the halls of Asgard of his triumphs. No more statues or monuments built in his likeness or honor. Not even the eternal reward of Valhalla upon his ultimate death (again). And that's fine. This Dark Prince has all the reward he'll ever need. At long last, Loki has his Sigyn. His everything. And that's more than enough for this weaver of tales.

"Aye." Loki smiles as he holds his true love tight. And with a kiss to the top of Sigyn's head, the Storyteller adds, "And they lived happily ever after..."

THE END