The Unthinkable Offering (A Loki FanFic)

The Dissonance

***TRIGGER WARNINGS***

Mentions of pregnancy loss, infertility, maternal fatality, and infant fatality. Child abuse, evil stepmother, weight and body scrutiny.

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"Did you hear? Finna and Anina are getting another sister."

"Oh, my Gods! Seven girls?!

"Yes. And I have it on good authority that the Viscount is livid. He has been cursing the Norns since the Lady had her scan. He has even moved out of their chambers. I heard he has been staying with his mistress."

"That is terrible! What an ass."

Loki could not help but overhear the hushed conversation of the two librarians at the counter behind him as he sat in the school library, studying for his history test. He recalled seeing the couple in the dining hall recently, the Lady barely eating, one hand pushing her food around with her fork, the other cradling her bump. He remembered she looked frail and pale, but he just chalked it up to normal pregnancy woes. The Viscount seemed to be more churlish than usual, barking at servants and brooding over his plate.

Another girl. What are the odds? Loki shook his head and wondered if Viggo would finally give up his pursuit for an heir or if he would keep breeding his poor wife like a prized mare in his quest for a legacy.

As time passed, Lord Viggo returned his stoic façade, but the Lady Agda remained shut off, declining social teas and leaving her younger girls in the care of nannies more often.

One morning, Loki exited his bedroom to discover his mother sobbing and distraught in the sitting room of their chambers.

"Mother!" He rushed to her side. "Mother, what is it? What is the matter?"

She accepted the handkerchief he passed to her and pressed it to her face as she continued to cry. Thor came out of his room then and joined them at their mother's other side. Each boy trying unsuccessfully to calm her. Eventually, the sobs slowed long enough for her to speak.

"Agda..." She wiped her nose.

"Did she lose the baby?" Thor asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

She drew in stuttering breaths, "She's... she is dead."

The princes looked at each other, stunned and horrified.

"When? What happened?"

Frigga took a deep breath. "Sometime in the night. Complications of childbirth."

"And the baby girl?" Loki asked quietly.

She squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head. "They did not get her out in time."

The boys sat and held their mother as she let her tears flow. They knew once she stopped, she would button herself up and not cry another tear after this day, putting her Queenly mask back in place and becoming the picture of strength.

Loki looked around, "Where is Father?"

"He went to console Viggo."

Thor and Loki exchanged a look.

"Those poor girls." Frigga sniffed. "Thor, you must be a pillar of strength for Finna."

"Of course."

Loki heard the tightness in Thor's voice.  He looked to his brother again and he quickly looked away. He did not have time to ponder what that as all about, he was still reeling from the news.