"I know it was Thor that caught him. I know he brought Loki before the others, so he was there. Beyond that..." Sif shrugged to show her lack of knowledge. All this was bad enough. If she found out the man she'd married, had let raise her son and father more, had a hand in what followed... she couldn't even finish the thought.
"Know what's really funny? I still don't know if Thor is upset because he loved me, or because his pride was hurt." It was true. Sif never knew for sure if asking for her hand was out of affection or out of wanting a pretty wife. He seemed to dote on her, as Iris mentioned, but he also seemed to like to flaunt her whenever they went about Asgard. 'Look at me, I'm the mighty Thor, and don't I have the prettiest ornament on my arm?' Sometimes that was exactly how it felt to Sif. Men could say things to their women without meaning them. They could appear loving and it all turned out to be false. So could women, for that matter. She was proof enough.
Not to mention that temper. Fights behind closed doors. Life inside Bilskirnir was not always as it appeared from the outside.
"Now you see why I had to leave. I can't be with those people any more." All of Asgard should be ashamed. In her opinion, they had earned the title Iris mentioned, for they seemed little more than barbarians to Sif either. And as far as she could see, Frigg and Odin let it happen. If not, they would have done something to reverse it by now. Not the boys, no one could reverse that, but Loki should have been freed if the rulers didn't approve.
When Iris offered to take her to Olympus, she immediately shook her head. What would people think of her? This backward Northwoman must look like a complete bumpkin in comparison to all the elegant goddesses that dwelled there. But to Iris, she gave a different excuse.
"Thank you. Maybe someday. Right now, I feel like I really need to learn to stand on my own. I've a new life to start, and there is no use putting it off. It will only make it that much harder."