Loyalty and Mischief (WIP)

Chapter 29 - It's so crazy something in my life is better than a dream

A/N - the time frames mentioned are the number of weeks Sigyn is pregnant.

9 weeks

"How are you feeling, my dear? You had us quite worried the day before last."

Frigga handed her daughter the cup of mulled spice brew, which Sigyn gratefully accepted. She took a sip, humming in delight, and said, "Better, thank you. I can't believe I even suspected Loki of straying."

"Your hormones are more elevated now, so your emotions will overpower your thoughts much faster."

"Still, I feel so silly getting all worked up over nothing." Sigyn shivered and huddled further in her furs. "Frigga, how are you not freezing? Your cloak is so thin, and it snowed again last night."

"I'm afraid that's another fun thing about pregnancy," replied Frigga with a wry smile. "Soak in a warm bath every few days to regulate your body temperature."

This, of course, wouldn't actually solve anything. Sigyn would feel cold as long as she was with child. Aelsa had warned Frigga the spell would have this effect as the ice-magic took hold of her flame. But it was for the best. The alternative of leaving it up to chance was no longer an option.

"Can we not sit in the parlour instead of out on the balcony?" asked Sigyn then.

"You need the air, my dear. Loki tells me you haven't been outside in three days."

Sigyn huffed in annoyance. "Perhaps Loki should mind his own business. Oh, forgive me, I-I didn't mean —"

"It's all right." Frigga sniggered as the young woman's cheeks reddened, ashamed of her bluntness. "Reacting to tiny things the way you just did is all part of your current situation. One minute, you'll laugh at a ridiculous joke, and the next, you'll yell at your husband because he placed a book on the wrong shelf."

She suppressed a grin at the memory. Odin had barely made it out of her chamber alive that day. The Queen continued, "Men usually have a hard time dealing with women's emotions when we are in a blessed condition, so just remind Loki once in a while you do still love him. Even when you feel like ripping his head off."

"I do love him!" exclaimed Sigyn. "I think of him first and of myself last, and of how happy I want him to be. These past years, when I couldn't conceive... Loki kept a brave face for my sake, but I felt his pain. I felt him giving up hope. I never want to know that feeling again."

"You never will, my dear."

The two women smiled at each other. They sat in silence, enjoying the sight of the snow-covered golden turrets of the palace. The sun stood low in the sky and gave out a brilliant radiance to the city of Asgard. Even the Bifrost bridge basked in its glow, the colours playing and dancing to a quiet, intricate tune. In moments like these, with her home at peace and the sound of joy and laughter coming from below, Frigga truly felt at ease.

"Frigga, may I ask... what else I can expect?"

The Queen turned to see Sigyn peering at her. She was amazed at the frightened expression on her daughter's face. It seemed unfathomable that a woman as strong as Sigyn could be overwhelmed and intimidated by a natural element of life. But then she remembered how she'd been with her first child. Not Thor. There'd been another before him. Another boy who, despite her love and care, did not survive past infancy.
Frigga rarely allowed herself to think of him, but she couldn't help but do so now — not of his death, but his life. And the way he'd grown inside of her. It'd been different with Thor. She knew by then what it all meant. But with that first baby, everything had been intimidating. Having Sigyn go through it alone as she had would be too cruel.