Bloodtide

'Why won't you?'

'No!'

'You know you should.'

'Why? Why should I?'

'He's a guest.' Signy paused with a sudden thought. 'It's not some trick of Val's, is it?'

'What'swrong with you?'

'Why won't you let him have it?'

'Because it's mine, Signy. You saw! I was the one to pull it out.'

'You never believed in any of that stuff…'

'I still don't. But I pulled it out. Didn't you see? It cuts through anything. Look.'

Siggy took the knife out of his belt and stuck it in the wall next to them. There was a hard little crack as it entered the stone and stuck still.

Impossible.

In a little fit of resentment, Signy made a movement towards the knife, then stopped herself. It wasn't just that she wanted it for Conor. The fact was, she was scared she might have been able to remove it herself. Of them all, only she had not been given the chance to take the knife from the lift shaft. The boys were all put first. Maybe the knife could have been hers instead of Siggy's. Odin had touched Siggy, but he had embraced her. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that.

'Go on- try,' jeered Siggy, confident that no one but he could use it. Signy shook her head, and he took it back out of the wall. 'It's mine. It knows it's mine. What use would it be to him? He couldn't cut a lemon with it,' said Siggy. He looked curiously at her. It felt as if she was turning into another person before his eyes. 'It's tuned in to me. He'd have to call me to come and take it out of its sheath for him!'

Signy stared at the knife angrily and in some awe. It was an event, that knife.

But…

'It's humiliating for him to be the chief guest and then for you just to walk off with the big prize,' she insisted.

Siggy stamped. 'This is mad! It's no use to anyone but me!'

'Oh, but… Please, Siggy. It'd be a wedding present. Please…'

Siggy suddenly felt about a hundred miles away from this argument. He'd seen how unreasonable Signy could be once her mind was set, but she'd never turned against him like this.

'You've changed so quickly,' he said.

Signy's face became white and hard. Conor had asked her to do this for him – this one thing. She knew it was asking a lot. But she was going away! Hadn't she and Sigs always agreed in the past? Hadn't they always done anything for each other? Certainly he could do this one thing – for her, for her wedding, for her going away.

'You must hate me,' she said. The sourness was rising around them. Neither wanted it but neither could make the sacrifice to stop it. It was all so late. In a few hours she would be gone, but Siggy couldn't give up the knife and she couldn't grant him his right to it.

'He's using you,' Siggy told her. 'He's treating you like a dog to fetch and carry and steal for him, and you don't even know it.'

Signy felt a spasm of real hatred. She would have struck him or spat, if it wasn't for the past life between them.

'I'll never trust you again,' she said. Then she showed him her back and left the room. That was how the twins parted. Although each knew that the other must be wounded to the hollows of their heart, they refused to take back their bitter words.

Coming to the heart of Val's territory had been a real act of trust for Conor and his men, no doubt about it. Over the past few days there had been a thousand opportunities for treachery, and it wasn't over yet. The road back was fraught with more chances if Val cared to take them. But now it was different. Conor had Signy with him.

And something else was different. During the celebrations, something had happened. Somehow, the mood on the streets had been transformed. When Val and his sons were woken at four in the morning with news that crowds were gathering outside they had no idea whether the crowd was angry or glad. By the time Conor and his new wife woke up, the voices were a roar. Outside the Galaxy Building, a host had gathered to see the couple off.

Val's dreams! Somehow they always came about. When Conor had come, he had been hated and now he was a hero. What other leader could make a treaty work like that?

It was the wedding that did it. Here was a story everyone wanted to believe in: the golden girl who married the king and brought peace to the world. Val had told the story, Signy and Conor had acted it out, Odin had come to bless it. And now the people believed it. The crowd numbered hundreds of thousands. It was unheard of, unimaginable. An ocean of people, every one of them looking hopefully to the future, each one hoping to be seen by the princess, to be smiled at, to catch her eye. As Signy emerged from the building a great wave of cheering broke over the families and their staff. The Volsons, the Conors, the VIPs, all stood blinking uncertainly and smiling in bewilderment.

Signy was shocked. She had seen it from the window but here on the ground – such a vast crowd! So many smiles! She lifted her hand and waved. The cheering rose up. She smiled and blew a kiss. Then she and Conor ducked their heads and ran to the car.

Only one man wasn't surprised. It seemed only natural to Val that his plans had worked out. And to those around him, too, it was as if the world was only waiting for Val to tell it what to do. But by his father's side, Siggy watched with a razor pain of sorrow inside him. He and Signy had been together like two bones in the same hand. Now, she had to force a smile when she said goodbye to him. He watched the cars pull away, his hand resting on his precious knife. Was it worth so much?

Listening to the cheering, even Siggy believed. The people screamed in pleasure and flung flowers onto the cavalcade of cars and he thought, maybe, maybe after all Val is right. Maybe the treaty will work. Everything will work out for the best.

15

Signy

It was as if, because I'd fallen in love with Conor everyone else had fallen in love with me. The whole world! People leaning over to touch the car, people cheering and clapping as if I'd done something wonderful. I was something wonderful. Can you imagine that? It doesn't matter what you do. You just are.

I was terrified someone was going to get hurt. No one expected it, no one was prepared for it. I never saw so much happiness. I had to tell the driver to edge forward. They could never have got out of the way no matter how much you honked and yelled and threatened, there were just too many people. We kept having to stop while security came to clear the way. They were edgy, really edgy. I was more scared of them than the crowd. If someone opened fire it would've been slaughter and all that happiness would have turned to hatred.

Conor and his men were terrified! You can't blame them -surrounded, all our people stacked up around them. Conor's father had ruled by fear, you see. They were used to fear, they understood that. But happiness? Hope? To them it was unnatural, a ghost, a monster! I said to Conor, 'You better get used to it. This is how it's gonna be from now on.'

It was me and Conor everywhere. People were holding up banners with me and Conor painted on them. People were wearing masks of me and Conor. There was one man wearing a huge outsize knob out of his trousers. Conor was furious, but I just said,' Hmmm, quite a good likeness,' and made him laugh. There were these little stalls selling painted mugs and plates and tea towels for the poor people to buy, and little silver tea spoons with enamelled pictures of me on them, and coins printed in silver and gold for the rich. You see? Everyone felt the same, rich and poor. Whenever they saw me looking out of the window, people just screeched.

'Good luck, princess! Bring us peace! Bring us peace!'

I said to Conor, 'What did I do to deserve this?'

He said, 'You married me.'