"I name you, Caoimhe Jaxon, Daughter of Loki, heir to the throne of Asgard." Placing a kiss on top of his niece's dark head, Thor gently lowered her back down into his arms before handing her back to Loki.
Loki smiled down into Caoimhe's golden brown eyes and gently stroked her face. His heart was full pride, his little baby daughters were being formally named heirs of Asgard today. The whole kingdom had come to the palace to watch, all of them dressed in their finest garbs. They were almost as proud of Caoimhe and Aine as Loki himself was.
Almost, Loki thought as he watched as Jaxon handed Aine to Thor. Aine, like Caoimhe, was swathed in golden robes, no unsimilar to baptism dresses religious Milgardians dressed their children in.
The only difference between the young girl's robes was the color of their borders. Caoimhe's golden robes were lined with a deep plum, while Aine's were emerald, matching her eyes and Loki's own colors.
"I name you, Aine Frigga, daughter of Loki, heir to the throne of Asgard." Loki soaked up the scene with his eyes like a man dying of thirst drank water. Growing up, he had normally found ceremonies such as these boring, merely an excuse for his father and brother to boast of their power to the people. Now, he saw them in a totally different light. The people loved these ceremonies, rejoiced in the knowledge that they had such powerful men (and women) to look up to, to know that no matter what happened, they would always do whatever it took to keep the citizens of Asgard safe and happy.
That's what these ceremonies represented, and Loki found himself the happiest he could remember feeling in a long time. Everything about today felt right, his daughters being formally named, his wife standing beside him, her curves wrapped in a dark green dress that had made Loki's jaw clench and his cock harden all at the same time. His green and golden knot-work ring still hung around her neck on a golden chain, the small hoop resting between her breasts. Her ears were adorned with emerald and gold drop earrings and two smaller studs on each ear behind those.
Loki was barely able to resist nibbling a path from those earrings to the golden ring whenever he walked into their chambers and saw her dressed like that. Okay, so maybe he hadn't the strength at all to resist and the red hue gracing his wife's cheeks and chest was due to his weakness, but that's neither here nor there.
Her blushing cheeks along with her wide smile and sparkling brown eyes reminded Loki just how much he loved her and how sure he was about what he had planned. Loki smiled slightly, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face.
After kissing Aine's head, Thor handed her to Jaxon. When Thor held a hand out to Jaxon, she stared at it, confused.
"Take it." Loki encouraged with a nod of his head.
Handing Aine to her proud Grandmother, Jaxon took the offered hand and squeaked when Thor pulled her up on the dais to stand with him.
"What's going on?" Jaxon asked, looking back and forth between Thor and Loki, suspicion grazing her features.
Odin relieved Loki of his little bundle before he joined his wife on the dais. The poor woman was still completely lost.
Loki simply smiled, and pulled a small velvet pouch from a pocket inside his armor. Untying it, he kneel in front of Jaxon, releasing the contents of the bag into his hand.
"Loki...." Jaxon began, looking in wonder at the object in his hand.
He grinned up at her, he had been waiting for this moment ever since they returned to Asgard. "I never did get you a proper engagement ring." The entire room went quiet.
Jaxon swallowed.
"Give me your hand." Taking the soft pale hand she held out to him, he caressed her fingers with his, before sliding the gold band on her ring finger, right above her wedding band. This ring had knot-work that matched the ring on her neck only it was smaller, and contained one large emerald, surrounded by shiny freshwater pearls. It was more feminine than the ring he had originally given her, more suited to her personality. He had after all, had it specially crafted just for her, making sure the jewelry maker had every detail correct.
Hot drops splashed on their joined hands and Loki glanced up at his silently crying wife. Placing a kiss on the tips of her fingers he stood up and cradled her in his arms. Jaxon wrapped her arms around him tightly, seemingly fine with the thought of never letting go.
The citizens of Asgard cheered around them, and Loki could hear Thor's loud shouts over them all.
When he and Jaxon returned to gather the girls, the people grew even louder, rejoicing in the sight of the lost prince who had finally found his way.
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"When did you do this?" Jaxon asked from her place beside him on the bed. The ceremony was long over, and the girls were sound asleep in the nursery. Jaxon was holding her hand up to the light, admiring her new ring.
Loki smiled and grabbed her hand from the air to kiss her fingertips. "I went to visit to jewelry maker everyday. only for small increments of time so you wouldn't notice my absence."
Jaxon turned on her side to face him, and ran her hand down his face, "Thank you."
"You like it?" he asked, he could still be slightly insecure about things sometimes.
She just looked at him like he was crazy and leaned in to kiss his lips, "I love it, it's perfect."
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Deep in the castle dungeons, a figure hunched against the cold stone wall. She knew exactly what today was, she could her the raucous laughter and cheers all the way down here.
Those brats were being named as heirs. It should be her children cradled against Loki's chest, children with golden hair and ice blue eyes formally named.
It should be her given a ring hand crafted and made especially for her.
She knew all about that too, her guards had been whispering about it earlier in the evening. About how, oh-so romantic is was and how they were still so surprised Loki was capable of such affection.
Sigyn knew he was capable all along, she had always seen that soft side in him. She knew for a fact that he loved her, what he felt for that mortal girl was simply a projection of his feelings for Sigyn. They had to be.
Sigyn was meant to rule by Loki's side as the true queen of Asgard. Someday, soon, her fate would become her reality.
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End of Chapter 23
Thoughts?
