Loyalty and Mischief (WIP)

Chapter 25 - Stealing through the night's uncertainties, love is where they are

Loki couldn't be prouder of his wife. Once again, Sigyn had proven she was capable of greatness. Had he been in her shoes, he would never have allowed Björn within the palace walls. He would have cut all ties with his family if they had dared to put him through such misery. But not Sigyn.
Loki sometimes felt guilty about robbing her of the title of Queen. She would have excelled at it. Though... Sigyn was the second Lady of Asgard. In theory, she was still next in line for Frigga's title. If Thor didn't marry and if Frigga chose to step aside or if she —

"Do it again, Baldur!"

The laughter and jeers made Loki look up. He rolled his eyes at Baldur, who stood in the middle of a crowd, making a complete spectacle of himself. His little brother swirled the snow around several courtiers before having it all come together as a snowman. Front and centre were, of course, Thor and his merry band of friends.
After leaving Sigyn in the throne room, Thor had insisted on coming to the courtyard to pass the time and take their minds off things. He had practically forced a pint in Loki's hand — who had immediately passed it on to Volstagg and secluded himself to the far side of the courtyard — and challenged all who dared to go up against him to an arm-wrestling match. And then, of course, Baldur had showed up.
Loki was beginning to think even Thor and Volstagg had more brains than that dunce. And that said something. Baldur's only saving grace was his good looks, which attracted a string of the most obnoxious girls Loki had ever come across.

I am surrounded by idiots.

He averted from the tomfoolery and focussed on Sigyn. She was still talking to her brother, who was going on and on about his daughters. Loki really hoped the topic would change soon. The matter was delicate, to say the least.
Loki raised his eyes to the sun. Not much longer. Then, hopefully, Frigga's magic would take effect, and they might welcome a daughter of their own in a few months. It had surprised Loki to find that in those rare times he'd allowed himself to think of a future where he and Sigyn had a child, he always envisioned a daughter. A beautiful little girl with her mother's eyes. Her kind spirit, but her fiery temper, too. It would be undeniable then. Something, someone born out of their love. No tricks. No illusions. But real and all theirs.

Loki was about to ask Sigyn if they could meet at the Urdarbrunn sooner, when all of a sudden, he sensed a surge of magic close by. He turned around and gasped in shock. Dark clouds formed high in the air, right overhead where the others were. But they weren't ordinary clouds. These were born out of sorcery — raw, unchecked, and brittle magical energy.
When Loki looked back down at where his brothers were, he saw Baldur was still at his frolic with his snowman, completely unaware of the danger above. It was him, Loki grasped in dismay. He was doing this. And the fool didn't even realise it! He had to stop right now. If he did one more spell, it could...

But it was already too late. The first thunderous roar made the bystanders look up to the sky. They eyed the clouds with concern but made absolutely no attempt to seek shelter. Not until the first hailstones descended on them.
The ice pallets lodged themselves into the wooden tables and chairs. Screams ensued while the sharp projectiles struck the people. They raised their arms to protect themselves, and soon enough, the snow coloured crimson red with blood. Loki moved as fast as he could. He raised both hands to summon a shield to protect the people and ran towards his brothers.

"Thor! Summon Mjölnir, now!"

Within mere seconds, the hammer was firmly in Thor's grasp. He swung it around to create enough momentum and then flew up toward the clouds. Keeping one hand stretched out to maintain the shield around the people and the other moving along with Thor to ensure his brother wouldn't get shredded to bits by the hail, Loki projected an illusion of himself as close to his mother as he could get. No doubt the Queen had already sensed something was amiss, but Loki had to warn her there were people injured. The healers had to come as soon as possible.