Frost & Fire

Chapter 14 (Abigail)

I rolled over as I woke up and snuggled into Loki's arms. I could feel the wonderful pain between my legs, but was more than ready for so much more. I had almost forgotten what it was like going for that long and having my limits pushed to the edge and being brought right back to a peaceful reality that I never wanted to leave again. We would have to of course, but that wasn't going to be for a good while thankfully.

"Mmm..good morning, Daddy."

"Morning, Kitten." He said sleepily as he held me even closer.

"Any ideas for breakfast?" I asked before my phone went off. "Ugh, I really should have forgotten that thing." I laughed a little as he let his arms go slack so I could answer the phone. "Hello? Seriously? Yeah, just let him know we'll be home early." I hung up and sighed.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess Hredr is at the compound and has news about Nydr. My assumption is he found them and we have to leave early."

"I'm sorry, Kitten."

"It's okay, Daddy. We can always come back." I said softly and kissed him.

We got dressed and packed our bags. We got one night away, one night of pure bliss, but as usual life had to butt its ugly head when I least wanted it to. Stepping through the portal, we were met by the avengers and Hredr. I assumed everyone was brought up to speed and now was our turn. As it turned out, Nydr was found and many of our people wanted him to be made a spectacle of and I knew exactly what they meant. They wanted him practically put up in the center of the palace and tortured.

"Will you be safe to return, my Queen?" Hredr asked.

"I just have to be checked one more time, but yes I'm sure I will be." I said as cheerfully as I could.

To many, it might seem stupid to be hating the idea of going back, but part of me was enjoying us being able to get back to us. But, until we had this chance again, I knew I had to return to the role I promised to fill.

I let Loki go into the other room with Hredr to talk and I went down to the infirmary to get another CT scan done and the usual lab workouts.Even though I couldn't get the CT done, at least my blood work seemed to be fine, but now I had some news to tell Loki. I walked up to one of the sitting rooms and sat in Loki's lap, not caring about the image we normally had to keep up in front of everyone.

"So, what do we know?"

"We know that his followers are planning an uprising to break him free so we don't have long to keep him imprisoned without you two there." He cleared his throat and looked between us. "Forgive my honesty, your highnesses, but the only way to make this go away is to be brutal in showing that being a traitor will not be tolerated."

"Trust me, he will be made a spectacle of. I will not take kidnapping my Queen lightly."

"Yes, but we need to be careful. I agree, we need to show that we won't be trifled with, but we also need to show that we're not going to rule by fear." I said softly.

"You still have much to learn, my Queen. We Jotuns do not do gentle. This is something that needs the same type of persuasion that-"

"We don't need to get into that." Loki said quickly, and it was pretty obvious why. I didn't want to know about it.

"We'll have to go back now. And while making sure he can't escape, we will figure out what is best." I looked between both men, the magic that hid Loki's blue skin was slowly disappearing and I knew that meant he was extremely pissed off at the situation. "Let me go grab the unit and get changed into some warmer clothes. You gentlemen relax." I said as I kissed Loki and headed up to our room. As I left, I could see that his color was slowly going back to normal and little to no blue was showing.

Once in our room, I closed the door and opened up my lab results. I had two travels left in me. One to face the person who kidnapped me and one to return to my home for the next few months that could handle what we would need. It was tricky, but Banner and I talked over every possible outcome and found that I was only about five weeks so it wouldn't harm what was growing inside of me and my levels were just too low the last time he ran the test. We could only guess my hypothalamus wasn't going to shit out on me, but I didn't want to tell him that just yet.

I changed quickly and before I knew it, we were back on Jotunheim heading to the palace. I could feel every stare on us with a mix of expectations. There were some that wanted to witness the old laws and punishments be carried out while others looked like they wanted a change in enforcement.

"Nydr." I said once we came face to face with the giant and Loki's arm was around my waist to protect me. "You stand here accused of treason against the crown. Is there anything you would like to say for yourself?"

"You do not deserve the crown! You are only a worthless human and only a Jotun should be sitting at the throne."

I nodded and turned to face everyone. "He's right." There was a gasp as I spoke. "He's right that the old way was that a Midguardian would never be welcomed here. Nobody as tiny as I am compared to you all. I have gone through all of the tests thrown my way to prove myself, however."

"You canno-"

"You will not speak, Nydr. You do not have that luxury." I cut him off as he did me, but refused to look at him. "We are also told that we should show no mercy in his punishment. However, we will not rule by fear alone, but we will be respected."

Loki took his stand beside me. "She's right. However, disloyalty to the crown will not be tolerated." His voice was cold as I looked up at him. "He will be frozen for all to see in his weakened state. Not a soul will forget his torture." He manifested one of my warming units and I knew what he was planning. I tried my hardest not to shrink away, but I trusted him not to go too far. "Once you have lost your mind a bit, you will be out for all to see. And anyone who dares to take up the mantle against us will only get worse."

Loki put the chains in a deep freeze so they wouldn't be broken and then put the unit behind Nydr's ear, allowing it to warm up just enough to make him feel uneasy. As my back was turned from our people, I cringed and refused to look up. I knew I should have spoken up, but if I wasn't going to be able to return for a battle that was sure going to happen, I couldn't let anyone else see him as weak.

"What about his family?" Someone called out.

"His family will have a choice. Same as any who followed him: let him be the sign you needed to not betray us and continue your lives. If you try to avenge him, know you will be given the same fate." I said to the crowd. Once Loki was content with the heat exhaustion he had given to Nydr, he froze him in the state of weakness. We excused ourselves and I made sure we went to our chambers, absolutely petrified. "Daddy, I'm sorry we couldn't have the rest and relaxation we wanted." I said once we returned. "And I'm sorry that I'm sure there'll still be a revolution but I won't be here for that."

"Kitten, was everything okay with your tests? What's wrong?" He started to ask a million questions and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I'm okay, but I will have to leave here and we will have to decide where I'll stay. You'll have to leave us frequently, but-"

"Us? Abby, what are you talking about?"

"Banner wanted to do another round of tests. We talked about the risks of this journey and agreed as long as I don't stay long it'll be okay." He still looked dumbfounded and I opened the paper I had stuck in my back pocket. "Daddy, it's early. I'm only about five weeks along, but it'll be best if I'm not relying on my unit. I want to be on earth, but I also know there's a chance Asgard could be better and there's no telling if the baby will even be able to handle it here until we unfortunately try, which won't be for a few years at the very least unless Odin can guarantee me they'll be okay."

He continued to stare at me and I wondered if he was registering anything I was saying. Shit, I still had my own doubts if it were real, but I wanted to know what we were going to do as soon as possible. I just hoped that he wasn't too upset with me and that somehow he would be happy about the news.