The entire court had to stand when Odin and Frigga entered the hall. Thor had to rush to stand by his seat next to Odin's, since he wasn't in the right spot. Oaf. The king and queen made their way to the head table and Frigga kissed Loki's cheek as she moved to take her own seat next to him.

Odin remained standing for a moment and it was he who made things worse on Sig's nerves. "It is my honor to announce that Lady Sigyn Freyadotir, duchess of Asgard, Goddess of Fidelity has been found and returned to us after so many centuries. Not only that but she and my son Loki have become soulbound," he announced, sounding proud of both of these occurrences. Loki was surprised that Odin sounded proud about him, though he kept his expression carefully neutral. He didn't want the court to see that he was wary of Odin's response. He kept his expression calm, especially since Sigyn was digging her nails into Loki's hand and had been since Odin spoke her full name with her titles. Loki covered her hand with his, trying to ease her nerves and fear. He sensed her emotions and didn't like them.

Names had power. Sigyn knew that better than most. And Odin had just announced hers for the entire court. Announced who and what she was like it was nothing.

And it scared the absolute shit out of her.

Odin finally sat and dinner was served. "Sorry," Sig murmured to Loki when she saw nail marks in his hand while they were being served. She used a drop of power to heal the marks she'd left.

Loki gave her a reassuring smile, gentle and loving and not at all like the dark prince that the court thought him to be. "Don't worry about it, darling,"

"I wish he hadn't done that," she said softly, still on edge from having her name announced like that. She was in the habit of hiding her truename. "Also where in the nine realms did 'Goddess of Fidelity' come from?" she asked in shock, finally getting to that part of the problem. She'd never had that title before she was taken.

"It was what you were supposed to be the goddess of before you were taken by the fae," Loki explained.

"I don't think I ever knew that..." she replied softly. She couldn't remember knowing that before and that didn't seem like something she'd forget or make herself forget.

"I didn't officially receive my godhead until I was around 500, but mother knew what I would be since I was a child. I imagine it was the same for you." Loki told her.

Sig considered that and nodded. "But you're a prince. Of course, you'd receive a godhead at some point. I'm not royalty," she reminded him quite logically in her opinion.

He chuckled. "Darling, you are my best friend and have been since we were children. You're close to my mother and a noble of Asgard. All nobles receive a godhead," he reminded her. Clearly she'd forgotten.

Sig closed her eyes and seemed to have remembered something when she opened them again. "Mama was goddess of beauty," she said softly as she remembered that tidbit. Loki gave her a small sad smile and wrapped an arm around her reassuringly. She gave him a small smile in return. "I think the court is about to blow a gasket over the dark prince touching a lady," she teased him to lighten the mood again.

He chuckled warmly and it was nice to hear the old familiar sound of his laughter again. "Like I care. They can think of me however they wish. It doesn't faze me,"

"Sure it doesn't, peacock," she teased him warmly.

Frigga turned to her son during dinner. "Have you been enjoying showing her lady around the palace?" she asked him kindly.

"I actually haven't had a chance to yet," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "Though, on that note, there is something we wish to speak to you about after dinner. Without Father," he added quickly, too vehemently.

Too quickly.

Frigga raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem concerned about the request. "Of course, darling," she replied just as warmly and kindly as she always was. She gave him a conspiratorial smile. "After dinner or after you have a dance with your lady?"

He chuckled. "You read my mind, Mother," he said warmly

She laughed. "I know you well, my darling," she replied, then glanced at the morons' table, where the morons were looking particularly hungover and subdued. "Do you know what happened to Thor's friends? They're remarkably quiet tonight..."

Sig and Loki shared an amused look. "That is a long story, Mother," Loki replied, since he didn't really want to go into it right now. Especially if it could possibly get them in trouble. Sig looked a bit sheepish since Thor wasn't pleased with her for that trick on his friends.

Frigga gave them both a knowing smile. "And some things never change..." she said, clearly amused by their antics, especially since they hadn't really hurt anything.

Loki chuckled. "You know you love how mischievous I am," he told her, giving her a boyish grin. He was never so open with anyone else in the court other than his mother and Sigyn.

"It does tend to cause excitement around here. The palace is dreadfully dull without you. And mischief that leads to those three being quiet is definitely appreciated,"

Loki kissed her cheek. "It is dreadfully dull on Midgard without you as well, Mother. It is always good to come home just to spend time with you. And I'm happy to bring a little excitement back with me," he added with a mischievous smirk.

"You shall have to enlighten me on how you subdued them though. It seems like a useful skill," Frigga mused. The morons were usually quite loud and obnoxious. Their only redeeming quality was that they were skilled warriors.

"Let's just say my soulbond has many tricks up her sleeves,"

"I expect no less of one who is worthy of your affections, my darling," Frigga told him warmly before turning to Sig to try to goad she into speaking. They'd both noticed that Sigyn had gotten shy with all the attention.

/What has you so tight-lipped, darling?/ Loki asked when he noticed how shy Sigyn had gotten.

/I... I'm just not used to positive attention anymore... especially from those in power.../ she tried to explain, though she doubted her explanation would be coherent to anyone besides herself.

/I'm sorry to hear that/ Sigyn heard understanding in his tone. /But remember, you belong here. You have nothing to fear from my family. Besides the Allfather, the rest of us have nothing to hide from you/

/I know. It's just hard. And they're still expecting the little girl they knew. Also not calling her 'mama Frigga' anymore is hard~/ she whined the last, but she opened up more to Frigga when the subject changed from her past to safer subjects like general magic studies. And Loki.

/My Mother would probably love to hear you call her Mama Frigga. I know she misses being called that. And I'm sure she realizes that you are not the same girl you once were. My mother is not naive/

/Probably is not enough when propriety and the royal family are involved/ she reminded him, noting that Frigga seemed happy that she was willing to talk about something, even if it wasn't herself. And Frigga was having a touch too much fun telling stories of younger Loki and Thor to make Sig laugh.

Loki was getting more and more embarrassed by all of the stories and turning more and more purple in embarrassment. "Mother, please~" he whined at a particularly embarrassing old story. Frigga laughed and Loki's whining and switched to a story of one of his accomplishments instead.

/She refuses to answer questions about herself more than what magic she's studied. I had to get her talking about something/ Frigga explained to Loki telepathically. Her cadence in the story she was telling didn't change, so no one had any idea she and Loki were speaking. It was a skill they'd perfected years ago.

/She's still adjusting to being shown any form of affection. Life in underhill was not easy for her/

/I wish we knew what happened there. We might be able to figure out how to best help her/ Frigga replied. She then, politely, to Loki at least, changed the topic of conversation to the differences between fae and Asgardian magic which is something Sig could lecture them on at length.

/I do as well. I'm sure she will tell me eventually but I do not plan to force it out of her./

/Wise decision, darling/

Dinner finally ended after a delicious dessert and Odin left the second it was over, claiming work to do. As soon as he was gone, Loki stood and held out his hand to Sigyn. "Sigyn would you honor me with the first dance?" he asked her formally.

She looked up at him and gave him a warm, bright, smile as she placed her hand lightly in his, getting carefully to her feet. "The honor would be mine, my prince," she saw how much he lit up every time she called him that.

He smiled brightly and led her straight out to the middle of the dance floor. The pair drew the attention of the entire court because of who they were. Her exotic looks and the soulbond marks didn't help matters any, nor did Loki being one of the princes. The music started and Sig took her position automatically, clearly knowing what she was doing. She'd danced in the fae courts for centuries. Loki took his position with her and the dance began. They were both wonderfully graceful and a sight to behold, gliding effortlessly across the dance floor. They both appeared to be floating across the dance floor and their eyes were lit up in joy. Sigyn didn't notice when she started to literally shine with joy as she danced.

They danced together for a long while before the spell of the music and memories broke around them and at nearly the same time they both remembered that they had to talk with Frigga about the fae doorways.

Neither wanted the night to end, but duty called.