The Brightest Star

Chapter 40 - Returning Home

(Kára's POV):
"What?" I breathed, wondering if the pain was causing me to mishear what the healer was saying.

"Sometimes, especially if the body is under a lot of stress, you can experience contractions early on in your pregnancy. I would suggest trying to relax the best you can and try to stay hydrated," the healer explained, brushing past how she had told me that I was pregnant. "But if you can, you really should try to eliminate whatever is making you so stressed if possible as it is not good for the baby."

"I-I am pregnant," I almost whispered, still not quite able to fully comprehend what was going on.

"Oh, I apologize, did you not know that?" The healer questioned. "You are not very far along, which is why I am assuming stress had an impact on your early contractions. I would assume you are at about five weeks."

"Am I free to leave now?" I asked, the pain finally seeming to have gone away for good.

"I suppose that if you have somewhere to go, but please get some rest and drink lots of water," the healer spoke, looking at me warily.

I nodded as I slid off of the bed, "of course, thank you for informing me of my pregnancy."

I vaguely heard the healer tell me to come back if I had any other problems or if I just wanted to check up on the baby, but I was too lost in my thoughts to reply. Fandral and Volstagg both asked me if anything was wrong as I walked past them to get to the exit. I shook my head, "n-no, everything is fine. Would one of you be willing to come to my room and inform me if you hear anything about Loki?"

"Of course, Lady Kára," Volstagg replied, still seeming quite concerned that there was something wrong with me.

I practically ran back into the safety of my room, where I then collapsed on my bed in shock. I was pregnant. Loki had gotten me pregnant and now he was out on Svartalfheim on a suicide mission, committing treason to get there. Even if he managed to survive whatever Thor's plan was, he would certainly be convicted and perhaps receive a sentence worse than life in prison.

The healer's words came back to me, telling me to try to stop stressing, but it was extremely difficult to take my mind off of my fiancé. I got out of bed and decided to finish packing, singing old lullabies that I used to sing to my siblings while I worked as a distraction. I finished packing and I still had a while before Odin was going to kick me out. Had it not been for the uncertainty Loki's life, I would probably leave now, but I wanted to stay until I knew the outcome of the mission, if possible.

Needing to keep my mind off of Loki, I went down the kitchens to get some food and brought it back up to eat in my room as that was were I had told Volstagg and Fandral to contact me. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of agonizing wait, I heard a knock at the door. I leapt up from my bed and threw the door open, finding Fandral standing there.

"Good afternoon, Lady Kára, may I come in?" He asked, his normal flirty personality no longer present.

"That depends, do you have information about my fiancé?" I replied, hesitant to let such a womanizer into my bedchambers.

"I do, please let me in."

"Very well, come on in," I replied, moving out of the way so that he could enter my chambers. "So, what has happened?"

"I think it would be best if you sat down."

"Whatever you came to tell me, do not waste your time with such requests. What happened to Loki?"

"There is no easy way to tell you this, but they found his body on Svartalfheim, he was stabbed. I am sorry, Lady Kára."

"H-he is dead?" I asked, my heart stopping momentarily. Tears threatened to fill my eyes, but I quickly tried blinking them back.

"I am truly sorry. Loki and I never really got along, but I know how hard this must be for you and if you ever need someone-"

"Thank you for telling me about Loki," I interrupted, grabbing my bag and turning to leave the room.

"Lady Kára, may I ask where you are going?"

"Odin is kicking me out of the palace as Frigga is gone. Now that I know what has happened to Loki, I can leave and not anger the All-Father any further."

"Wait, Lady Kára-"

"Thank you again, Fandral, but I really must be going," I replied, knowing that I was losing my control over my emotions and I needed to get out of there.

I teleported to the gardens, following my normal route when I snuck out, except this time I did not need to hide from the patrolling guards. I even gave one of them a wave goodbye before stepping off of the property and teleporting back to my home. Brynjar was outside with Erna practicing their sword fighting skills.

"Kára!" Erna cried out, dropping the wooden staff and running to give me a hug. "What are you doing here? And why do you have that bag? Y-you still work at the palace, don't you?"

I took a deep breath, "have you heard about the Queen?"

"Yes, I still cannot believe that she is gone," Erna replied, a shadow of grief washing over her.

"Well she was the one employing me and now that she is gone, I no longer have my position considering that Loki is-" I broke off, knowing that the minute that I spoke the truth I would completely break down. "Now that h-he is imprisoned."

"Kára, I am so sorry, how are you taking it?" Erna asked, wrapping her arms around me again.

I shook my head, "I am fine, I-I am happy to be with my family again. I knew that the fairytale was not going to last forever, I guess a part of me just wished that it had lasted a bit longer or had been terminated under different circumstances. I did manage to steal some fine clothing and jewelry on the way out, so I suppose that that is a bright side."

I gave her a smile and a kiss on the forehead before giving my brother a hug and heading towards the house. However, I did not want to face the rest of my family quite yet, so I walked into the forest, stopping when I got to my favorite spot to spend time while I was growing up. It was a beautiful small clearing through which a river flowed. I would spend hours out here, just taking in the beauty and allowing myself to think.

I dropped my bag on the forest floor and approached the river, running my hands through the rushing water. Tears began to form in my eyes as my heart clenched in my chest. A soreness arose in the back of my throat as I was filled with a desire to scream, although I did not know who I wanted to scream at. The pain of losing Loki washed over me all at once and I began to sob, finally allowing his death to sink in now that I was in private. I still could not believe that he had died, right after I had discovered that I was pregnant. He would never know about our child and he or she would be raised without their father. But at the same time I knew that I would have my family to support me and, although they could not understand what I was going through, they would always be there to support me.

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(A/N): Kára's going through quite a bit right now! Especially since we all know that Loki canonically faked his death on Svartalfheim!