Passionate Misfortune

Chapter Twenty

Delysia went to sit up on the bed and Loki stopped her.

"Don't move a lot. Eir needs you to rest." Loki told her.

"I know but I want to see her." Delysia replied.

"Eir is bringing her in shortly. Just relax." Loki said.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Delysia asked.

"Eir said about a week." Loki replied.

"Must I stay the whole week?" Delysia whined.

"You can start to move when you feel ready for it. But for now, she recommends you stay bedridden for the first few days. You need to let the wound heal properly." Loki explained.

Loki sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her temple as she smiled brightly. Moments later, Eir entered the room cradling Egnari in her arms. Egnari was wrapped in a blanket and she was sleeping soundly. Loki and Delysia smiled brightly upon seeing their daughter. Eir handed Egnari to Delysia. She pushed down the blanket covering her face and Delysia giggled softly as she looked down at her daughter.

"I'll get your breakfast." Eir told them as she exited the room.

"Look at her. She's so peaceful when she sleeps." Delysia commented.

"I know. She's perfect. I love her already. How is that possible?" Loki chuckled.

"We'll love her always until the day we die." Delysia told him.

"And maybe she'll have brothers and sisters." Loki said.

"You're already thinking about that?" Delysia gasped.

"Not now. Not so soon. Maybe in a couple of years." Loki told her.

"I was thinking the same thing." Delysia smiled.

"You're amazing, Delysia." Loki commented.

Delysia blushed as he kissed her cheek.

"You truly are. I don't know how my life would have turned out if those men had killed you." Loki confessed.

"Well, let's be thankful they did not and I'm here to be with you and our daughter." Delysia explained.

"I am. Every day." Loki told her.

"I can't wait to watch her grow up." Delysia chuckled.

"She most likely possesses my seidr. Oh, I can already tell she's going to be a great with magic." Loki told her.

Egnari slowly began to wake and Delysia cooed at her as she rocked her.

"Good morning, Egnari." Loki spoke softly.

Egnari squirmed in the blanket and he took her hand in his. She began to cry and Delysia pouted as she got her adjusted in her arms to feed her.

"She'll be bedridden for most of the week." Varin spoke.

"And Loki will most likely be at her side the whole time." Knorr commented.

"But the girl will be in the same room as them." Varin huffed.

"How will we get her?" Knorr asked himself.

"There are several healing maids that go through the rooms each day. We could hire one to slip in during the night to tend to the girl. She'd take her and bring her to us." Varin suggested.

"Yes, but several of the maids are loyal to the royal family. How will we know which are willing to do this?" Knorr explained.

"We'll find out." Varin sighed.

Loki rocked Egnari to sleep before laying her down in the cradle next to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed slowly rocking the cradle back and forth as he watched her sleep.

"She's gorgeous, Delysia." Loki commented.

"She is. She took a lot after you." Delysia told him.

Loki chuckled as he turned his head to face Delysia.

"Well, I'm still grateful everything went well with the procedure." Loki told her.

Delysia took Loki's hand in his and she smiled brightly.

"Tonight, can you sleep here with me instead of on that chair? It looks terribly uncomfortable." Delysia inquired.

"Won't it be cramped? I don't want to make you uncomfortable with the stitches and everything." Loki told her.

"I'll be alright." Delysia replied.

As the days went by, Delysia healed properly and the two spent their time with Delysia. In her state, Eir helped Loki learn how to change and bathe Egnari as well as bottle feed her if Delysia was ever asleep. Egnari would cry in the middle of the night, waking both of them up. He'd check if he had to change, burp, or feed her and when he took care of her, he got back into the bed and held Delysia in his arms. Frigga, Odin, Thor, and several others would come and visit to see Egnari and make sure Delysia was doing alright.

"How are you feeling?" Frigga asked as she rocked Egnari in her arms.

"Better. I can move my upper body up and down with more ease." Delysia replied.

"That's good. Soon, you might be able to walk around." Frigga told her.

Delysia smiled brightly and took Egnari into her arms.

"She's adorable, Delysia. You and Loki are very lucky to have found each other." Frigga explained.

"Thank you, but it was not luck. It was chance." Delysia told her.

"You and Loki are going to be very happy together." Frigga beamed.

Delysia blushed as she looked down at Egnari. Loki entered the room and Delysia and Frigga smiled up at him.

"How is she doing?" Loki asked.

"Very well. Your mother has been telling me how I might be able to get out of this bed soon." Delysia replied.

"Really?" Loki asked Frigga.

"Mhmm. She won't be able to walk for too long each day but she'll be out of this bed." Frigga told him.

"That's great. Soon, we'll be able to show Egnari all of Asgard." Loki chuckled as he sat on the edge of the bed.

He took Egnari into his arms, raised her high into the air and smiled brightly as he brought her back down to lay a kiss to her head. Loki carefully handed her back to Delysia as she cooed softly. That night, Delysia slept soundly as Loki bathed Egnari. She cried as he poured the water over her head and hushed her as he rinsed her off.

"Shh, it's alright. You're in good hands." Loki said softly.

Egnari continued to cry as Loki dried her off carefully.

"Egnari, you need to be quiet. Your mother is trying to get some well deserved rest. Shh, I know you're tired, darling." Loki told her.

He changed her and smiled as he took her into his arms and rocked her while walking around the room.

"You're a beautiful baby, Egnari. Everyone is going to love you. Your mother and I will love you so much. We'll keep you safe. No one will ever hurt you." Loki told her quietly.

Egnari looked up at Loki and squirmed around, removing her arm from the blankets. Loki chuckled as he held out his finger for her to wrap her fingers around. After a few moments, Loki began to see a wave of magic glow around his finger. Egnari huffed as she released his finger and the magic stopped. Loki gasped in surprise and watched as Egnari began to fall asleep.

"Oh, Egnari. Oh, I'm so proud of you. I wish your mother was awake to have seen that." Loki whispered.

He readjusted her blankets and laid her down in the cradle. Loki then got into the bed carefully and smiled as Delysia curled herself around his body. His eyes felt heavy as he laid his head down on the pillow and sighed before falling asleep peacefully. Later that night, Loki awoke to a sharp pain in his hand. Delysia woke up as well and furrowed her brow as she squinted at him.

"What is it?" Delysia asked.

"My hand hurts." Loki replied.

"Maybe Eir can help." Delysia said.

"I'll go get her." Loki sighed.

Loki got out of the bed and exited the room looking for Eir. Before he could find her, he heard Delysia screaming on the top of her lungs.

"Loki! Loki, get in here!" Delysia cried.

Loki ran back into the room to find her gripping the cradle's edge as she was hunched over it.

"Delysia, why are you out of the bed?" Loki inquired as he rushed towards.

"Did you put Egnari down?" Delysia asked.

"Yes, I did. I put her in the cradle." Loki replied.

"Are you sure? No one else was here when I was asleep?" Delysia inquired.

"Delysia, what's wrong?" Loki asked as he gave her a look.

"She isn't here." Delysia replied.

"What?" Loki gasped.

He gripped the cradle and looked in to find it empty.

"Did anyone come in here?" Delysia asked.

"No, I fell asleep after I put her down. I wouldn't know if they did." Loki told her.

"Where is she?" Delysia cried.

Moments later, Frigga, Odin and Thor came rushing in after hearing Delysia screaming.

"What's going on?" Odin inquired.

"Someone's taken Egnari." Loki announced.

Everyone in the palace was awake as Odin ordered a search of the palace to find Egnari. Odin alerted his council and they gathered into the room. However, Loki quickly noted Varin and Knorr's absence. They always followed Odin's orders and to see that they weren't here, made Loki suspicious. Loki took Delysia's hand in his and looked down at her.

"I'm going to go to the stables and find her myself. I have a hunch as to who might have taken her." Loki whispered.

"Be safe please." Delysia told him.

"I will." Loki smiled weakly.

He kissed her cheek and left to go to the stables. Once inside, he discovered two horses were missing, sealing his hunch to hold some truth. He got onto his horse and made his way into the forest, following the trail of hoof prints in the soft ground. Loki felt another sharp pain in his hand and realized why it hurt. It was Egnari's magic. Frigga helped Delysia back into bed and did her best to stop her crying.

"We're going to find her." Frigga said.

"They took her only because of what she is." Delysia told her.

Frigga sighed as she nodded her head.

"Just like those men, whoever they were, took me. They sold me to the brothel knowing of what I was. They treated me the same way those in Vanaheim did. And they're going to treat my daughter the same." Delysia explained as she began to cry.

"Hush now, dear. Everything will be alright. They're going to find her." Frigga told Delysia.

"What if they don't? I know Loki went out to find her but they-"

"Wait," Frigga interjected. "Loki went out to find her?"

"He did. He said he had a hunch as to who might have taken her. He said he was going to the stables." Delysia replied.

"Thor!" Frigga called out.

Thor and Fandral entered the room and Thor gave Frigga a look.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

"Apparently, Loki's gone out alone to find Egnari. I want you to go after him and keep him safe. We don't know if the people who took her are malicious. After all, Loki is only one man." Frigga told them.

"We'll go right away." Thor said.

"Good. Be careful out there." Frigga told them.

Thor and Fandral left the room and made their way to the stables.

"I know who took her." Fandral said quietly.

"You do? Why didn't you say anything!" Thor inquired as they got on their horses.

"I'm not sure. I didn't want to upset your father since the two are his council members." Fandral told him.

"His council members?" Thor asked. "Oh...Varin and Knorr. They weren't there."

"I was making my way to my chambers after spending the night with a very lovely girl..." Fandral trailed off.

Thor raised a brow at him and Fandral chuckled.

"As I was making my way back, I saw them heading to the stables carrying something in their arms. I didn't know what it was but when Loki announced that Egnari was missing, I then knew it had to have been her." Fandral explained.

"And Loki has gone after them." Thor said softly.

"We have to get to them before they kill each other, or the girl." Fandral told him.

The two rode into the forest following the multiple hoof prints.

"I have to go see if he's alright." Delysia said as she hunched forward.

"Please, Delysia. We don't want you aggravating your wound. Please, lay back down." Frigga told her.

Delysia sighed in defeat as she did what she was told.

"Don't worry, Delysia. They'll be back with her." Frigga smiled.

"Do you promise?" Delysia asked.

Frigga paused for a moment before smiling brightly and nodding her head.

"I promise." Frigga replied.