Lokasenna

Sigyn hardly knew how much time had passed since she had seen Loki leave the dungeons with Thor. It could have been a day, maybe two. It was hard to keep a sense of time in the dungeons, where there were no windows and mealtime, if there was any, was always infrequent. She was lying on her back, watching the torch-light dance over the ceiling, as it was reflected through the windows of her cell. She had spent hours wondering what Loki and his brother could be up to but, since these musings brought her nowhere, her mind now wandered over to more remote thoughts. It was strange how so much, her own experience of the palace and those living there with her, had changed in what seemed such a short time. She remembered the day she first entered the palace, how immensely vast the building had seemed and how intimidated she was by its stateliness.

It had been the morning of a reasonably warm day, when Beyla, a kitchenmaid from the palace, had seen Sig at the market. Sig had been eyeing the peaches and strawberries Beyla was buying with such ravenous intent, that Beyla offered her one and asked her where her mother was.
'She is gone, ma'am.' Sig had answered. When Beyla asked her where she had gone to, Sigyn answered that both her mother and father had gone to the holy mountain, Helgafjell. Beyla, now realising that the child was an orphan, asked her whether she liked the strawberry she was eating.
'Yes ma'am, very much.'
'And would you like to eat them again?'
'That would be wonderful, ma'am.'
'Then how would you like to come and work in the palace, with me? You will have a warm bed, and clean clothes, and as many strawberries as you can eat.'
This excited Sigyn enormously, and not just because of the promise of more sweets. She had been wandering the streets for two years, without anyone to care for her and without having a safe place to go to at night. She was often shooed by the traders at the marketplace, saying they could not give her food if she had nothing to give them. She supposed that, if they were willing to give her food at the palace, she could do something to earn it. And so Beyla took her to the palace, secured a bed for her in the servant's quarters and taught her the runnings of the kitchen.
Sig was eager to work and proved to be a fast learner. When she was first brought into the kitchen, the other cooks and kitchenmaids decided, with her being so young, to give her easy tasks, such as fetching bowls and cleaning dishes. But Sig wanted to help, to really help, and told them she wanted to do more. She was not being payed at that time, but provided with a place to sleep, enough food to keep her happy and warm-hearted women who looked after her. In the evenings, Beyla taught Sig how to read and write, and how to sew clothes and braid hair. Sig often wondered why Beyla was only a kitchenmaid, seeing as she had so many other talents and seemed -of all the women who worked with them- by far the brightest.
When Sig turned fourteen, Beyla was promoted to cook, and Sig took her place as kitchenmaid, now with proper wages and a uniform of her own. She was soon making herself indispensable in the kitchen, taking on as much work as she could do.
One night, she was woken suddenly by Beyla, who seemed flustered and was pulling on her uniform while she spoke. Apparently, Frigga had been away, off to retrieve one of her sons who had landed himself in some remote realm by accident. She had not eaten all day, and had sent one of her ladies in waiting to fetch some food. Sigyn hastily dressed herself too and followed Beyla to the kitchen. They prepared a simple dish that would still be fit for the queen, but when they looked for Frigga's lady's maid to give her the meal she was nowhere to be found. Eventually, Beyla urged Sig to bring the meal up to Frigga's quarters herself. After much protesting, thinking it wouldn't be proper for her to enter Frigga's quarters, Beyla convinced Sig to go.
When she arrived at the door, she rapped it softly with her knuckles. 'Come in,' a voice said from the other side. Upon entering, Sig couldn't help to look around in awe at the splendid room she found herself in. Next to one of the high windows, that reached from the floor to the richly ornamented ceiling, stood a beautiful mahogany writing desk, with a candle on it. The light from the flame cascaded over the velvet, midnight-blue curtains behind it. Seated at the desk, was Frigga, in a pale blue dressing gown.
'Pardon me, my lady,' Sig said, approaching with the tray, 'I have brought you your meal.'
'Oh yes, thank you. I was wondering where Olrin had gone.' Frigga took the tray and placed it before her on the desk. Sigyn, unsure of what to do next, attempted a curtsey. She expected Frigga to start eating, but instead she looked at Sig inquiringly.
'I have not seen you before, I think.' Frigga said calmly. 'What is your name?'
'Sigyn, my lady.'
'And you work in the kitchens?'
'Yes, my lady.'
'You look very young…' Frigga continued, turning her chair a little to get a better look at Sig, 'How old are you, child?'
'I have seen fourteen winters, my lady.'
'And how long have you worked in the kitchens?'
'Four years, my lady.' Frigga examined Sig for another moment. 'Do you have any family?' she finally asked.
'None, my lady.'
Frigga folded her hands in her lap, 'Do you like working here, Sigyn?'
'Yes, very much so, my lady.'
'Is the work you do satisfying?'
Sig had to think about that question for a moment. 'I enjoy being useful, my lady.' Frigga smiled. 'Thank you, for bringing me a meal at this hour. I wouldn't normally ask such a frivolity, but my son has kept me busy all day. Loki likes to explore, you see. He has made it his ambition to know all of the nine realms by heart. But he wandered a little too far this time. Luckily, everything ended well. However, as you see; it has worn me out and I could not wait to eat until morning."
Sigyn nodded. 'You must be tired too,' Frigga said, 'Return to bed, and have a good night's sleep. Please thank the cook for me and tell her I apologise for waking you both.'

The next day, Beyla had received a note from Frigga that had attracted the attention of the entire kitchen staff. Sigyn, who had overslept a little due to the events of the night before, came into the kitchen to find all the cooks and kitchenmaids all aflutter over the news that Sigyn, their little Sig, had been promoted to one of Frigga's ladies in waiting. When all the excitement had to make way for the proceedings of the day, Beyla took Sig aside to recount the note to her. 'She said that she was very taken with you, and that she'd like to offer you a position as one of her own staff. But she added that she wanted my permission first, as you are my charge.' Beyla examined Sig's face while she told her, but Sig did not show any trace of emotion at her words. 'Well,' Beyla urged, as Sig did not seem to want to make a response, 'What are you thinking, child? Such an honour, to work for the queen herself!' Sig frowned at her, 'Do you think I should do it?'
'Of course I do!' Beyla exclaimed in exasperation, 'What a thing to ask! You will be a lady's maid, you will see the palace in all its splendour and all the grande people from upstairs.'
'But what about my place here, what will happen if I leave?'
'Oh, we will have to make do with someone else. You will be missed, though, I do not think we have ever had such an eager kitchenmaid as you.'
'So, you wouldn't mind if I take the position?'
'Mind? Of course I don't mind! What is the matter with you, child, why are you not pleased?'
Sig nervously tugged at her apron, 'Well, it's just that… I will not know anyone up there. And… I am afraid that I will miss everyone too much.' Beyla smiled, a tear forming in her eye as she pulled Sig into a tight embrace. 'We will miss you too, but we're not going anywhere. You can always come and visit us, whenever you like.'

The day after Frigga's note had turned the whole kitchen upside down, Sigyn moved her small collection of personal items to her new sleeping quarter, with the other ladies in waiting. She was given a new uniform, a sand coloured dress with an ankle hemline, and a pleated skirt with many layers. Unaccustomed to such splendid garments, Sig felt very uncomfortable when she first put it on. It was heavier than her previous uniform, which had consisted of a simple, tunic-like dress and an apron, and she had difficulty moving around in it without looking silly. She wondered, when she took her place among the other girls, how they were all able to move with such poise and gracefulness. She could feel, too, that the other girls noticed her struggling to stay on her feet with all the added fabric around her. But not one of them seemed to think it necessary to help her. The atmosphere upstairs, Sig soon found out, was very different from the kitchens. The atmosphere was suddenly competitive, as all the maids wanted to distinguish themselves, and serve Frigga to their very best abilities. Sig was subjected to extensive training by an older lady named Irpa, who taught her all the particulars of a lady's maids duties, from dressing, braiding hair, cleaning jewellery, to making beds and making one's presence as unnoticeable as possible. She was also required to attend medical training with all the other maids, as Frigga's maids were often needed in times of war and their skills were unmatched through the entire realm.
As most of the girls were older than Sig, she frequently had difficulty joining in on their conversations. Most of the time she would simply listen, but the subjects discussed were usually not that interesting to her. The other maids seemed very fond of gossip, not one move went unseen, not by one of their own or any of the courtiers, or even those outside the palace. The two princes were among a few of their favourite topics, and Sig had listened, not very attentively, to countless stories of the brothers' adventures. Occasionally, one of the girls was found to have a secret romance of some sort, which served as fuel for many hours of excited exchanges.
Although she had never felt entirely at home between the other ladies in waiting, Sig loved being around Frigga. As far as Sig was concerned, Frigga was the wisest, gentlest, most charismatic woman she had ever set eyes upon. Frigga seemed very interested in keeping Sigyn close. After she finished her training, Sig was constantly in Frigga's presence. Apart from serving her, Sig learned a lot from Frigga too. Sometimes, Frigga gave her books that she thought would interest her, and they discussed them as soon as Sig was finished with them.
Sig visited the kitchens as often as she could, and though she still felt that she might have been happier living among the warm hearted women in the kitchens, as opposed to the cold ladies in waiting upstairs, she had no inclination of ever leaving Frigga's side. The nine years that proceeded the day of Loki's trial, the day that everything changed for good, were not always easy. But Sig considered herself very privileged for the opportunity of spending them in such excellent company as Frigga's.

Sigyn turned a little on the cold floor, trying to make herself a little more comfortable, then suddenly noticed another tray of bread had appeared beside her. She sat up and started eating. She thought about Loki, wondering where he was, what he was doing. It felt strange to be separated from him after spending so much time together. She thought about the day when they first met, how anxious and frightened she had been. It seemed almost as if she had been a different person then. Of all the people she ever met that had influenced her, taught her, or were in some way responsible for a change in her perception of life and of herself, Loki seemed to have had the biggest impact on her. In the time she had spent with him, she felt like she had truly come to know herself. Suddenly she remembered something Frigga had said to her: "I had you looking after him, because I knew you would care for him and that you would give him the company he needed. I suppose he has taught you some of our tricks by now…" Sigyn realised that Frigga must have known, maybe even planned, that they would help each other, that they would get so close and learn so much more about themselves. Frigga had told Sig that it was not supposed to end like this. She wondered what she had meant by it, and how it should have ended according to Frigga. Surely even Frigga could not have foreseen this: Sigyn replacing Loki as a prisoner.
Sig suddenly snorted with laughter, she could not help herself. It was almost comical, that she was now a prisoner and Loki was free.

When Sig woke again the next day, she saw something shimmering from the corner of her eye. Groggily, she sat up and turned around. A guard in shining armour stood in front of her window. She could hear his voice through the glass: 'Get up.'