Notes: This is set ten years after the events of Checks and Balances and three years before the events of Thor. Alfrún is one of Sigyn's sisters. Loki and Sigyn are still keeping their marriage a secret. I know I got the names of the boys wrong but it's too late to fix that.

The summer was far too warm for Nori and Varli, and by the height of the season they were so miserable in the valley that Sigyn would take them to the mountains to visit Alfrún until the worst of the heat had passed. Alfrún wasted no time in putting the boys to work, and so Sigyn saw little of them from sunrise to sunset, and in the evening they were too exhausted to do much but eat their supper and go to sleep. In the soft summer dusk she lingered by their bedsides, speaking to them in hushed tones until their weariness overwhelmed them. And then she remained, watching them sleep. They were but ten years old, but already she could see their faces losing their softness, becoming angular. They were tall for their age, and leaner than the other boys. She smoothed their dark hair and kissed their foreheads before wrapping her filmy summer dressing gown around her and wandering out to the porch to sit a while with Alfrún.

Alfrún rocked gently in her chair as she shelled beans for the morning's breakfast. "They have much of their father in them," she said as a matter-of-fact.

Sigyn gathered a bowlful of unshelled beans and got to work assisting her. There was something soothing in the unending work of the farm. There was always something to do, something that needed attention. "You think so? Most believe they favor me."

"You are round of face and small boned. The boys take after their father."

"Perhaps, but in their coloring—"

"Their father has dark hair, Sigga."

She fumbled her bean pod and stared up at her sister, feeling sick with fear. "How did you know?"

Alfrún laughed, not unkindly. "How like a rabbit you are! I am no hawk, Sigga. I know because I pay attention to you." She paused a moment in her labor to tuck a lock of hair behind Sigyn's ear. "As far as I am concerned, it is a good thing."

Sigyn swallowed, her heart calming as she returned to shelling beans. "It is a thing that not many know. Especially," she chewed her lip, "when his father was even more opposed to the match than ours."

Alfrún snorted in derision. "Well. The next time the Allfather ventures this far into the countryside I will remember not to greet him as family. Particularly if he has so low opinion of me and mine."

Sigyn sighed. "You will be happier for it. I do not want my children anywhere near his poison." She frowned as she worked, her heart twisting as she thought of the anguish Odin had caused her husband.

"Your family is your business," Alfrún said firmly. "Your secret is safe, should anybody think to ask me anything."

"Thank you." Sigyn smiled and leaned her head against Alfrún's knee. "We married. Before the boys were conceived. And we still are married. I am not his mistress."

Alfrún barked a laugh and pat her head. "How long will it take you to explain that, Sigga?"

"Your suspicions are well-founded." Sigyn laughed, too, though with a twinge of self-consciousness. "It is quite the tale."

"And I am fond of your tales. They make the work go faster," Alfrún said, her voice warm with affection.

Sigyn took a breath and tried to decide where to begin. "You know that the prince long fancied me."

"I do. Which surprised me. I had taken him for a fool, clearly I was mistaken." She tweaked Sigyn's nose.

Sigyn wrinkled her nose. "Do not interrupt, I will never finish. Anyway, it was the night before the wedding—" She stopped suddenly and sat up straight as a tingly feeling stole down her spine. "Did you feel that?"

"No," Alfrún frowned. "I will get my sword."

"No!" Sigyn raised her hand to halt her sister. "I just felt as if… When Loki uses a portal, I can feel it."

Alfrún's eyebrows raised. "I would hope so. I would question how you managed to bear his sons if you could not feel it when he used portals."

"Ancestors, Alfrún!" Sigyn gasped and blushed, giggling. "I meant magic. And travel."

"Ah, magic." Alfrún sighed. "I will take your word for it."

Sigyn looked around, her eyes straining against the gathering gloom of the early nightfall, trying to see if he really was there. "Perhaps I was mistaken."

Alfrún was quiet a moment. "I will take these to the kitchen. You can wait here." She gathered up the beans and left the porch.

Sigyn drew her knees to her chest, listening intently. But all she could hear were the chirping crickets.

Cold fingers brushed the back of her neck and she jumped. "Do not be alarmed, my love," Loki said, his voice soft.

Sigyn looked up at him, her stomach seizing with fear when she saw the troubled look on his face. She got to her feet."What is wrong? What happened? Are you in danger?"

He took her hand and lead her away from the house. "There is an emergency at the palace. I need you. There is no time to delay."

"I am not even dressed, husband, and what of the boys?" She held her dressing gown closed, resisting his leading her.

"The boys will be safe here with your sister. You do not have time to dress." Loki's jaw was firm, there would be no discussion.

She resisted anyway. "Let me tell Alfrún at least. She will worry." Before he had a chance to object, she slipped her hand from his and ran back to the house to inform her sister. She also took the time to change back into her roughspun dress that she wore at the farm. Which was wholly unsuitable for the palace, but better than her night shift.

Alfrún was skeptical at Sigyn's sudden departure, but assured her she would look after the boys in her absence. That worry taken care of. Sigyn ran back out of the house to where Loki was pacing, waiting for her. "You changed your clothing," he frowned.

She brushed the dirt from her skirts. "I was not going to travel to the palace in my night shift, Loki." She frowned back.

"Pity," he said as he opened the portal, his hand slipping around her waist. "The way it clung to you pleased me."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What kind of emergency is this?"

"A dire one." He pushed her through the portal ahead of him, and then they were at the palace.