Cold Blood

The Encounter

 Facing the Queen's bedchamber was a large wooden door which she pushed open to reveal Prince Loki holding the infant. It seemed as though the Prince had been talking to the infant before me and Queen Frigga walked in, which left him silent although worry was clearly written all over his face. Her Majesty did not appear to be troubled by it, therefore I did not wonder further about the matter and kept my eyes on the floor.

« Loki, my son, let me introduce you to Maid Vira. She is the young woman I told you about. From now on, she will take on the duty to care for the infant, » said the Queen before she turned to me and added « Vira, it also falls on the line of your duties to pick a name for the child. Please, let me know when you have found his name. ».

« I will Your Majesty, » I answered bowing, still looking at the floor.

« Very well! Now, son, how about you let Vira hold the infant. We should allow them some time to get acquainted with each other. »

Queen Frigga led Loki out of the room, not without some trouble as Loki seemed to not want to leave the infant behind. It was as though what he was not done talking when we interrupted him by entering the room, and he wished he could have had some more time with the child.

Once the door closed, I carefully observed the infant's features. He was wiggling in my arms, most probably uncomfortable in the presence of the stranger who was holding him. I started humming a lullaby to calm him down, his green eyes found mine as he settled in my arms.

« Hello there, my name is Vira, I will look after you from now on, » I said not breaking eye contact with the small child. « Now what should we name you? »

I pronounced names out loud until the baby reacted to one name in particular.

« Aldri? Do you want to be named Aldri? » The infant responded with a small noise and was moving his arms about. « Very good, Aldri it is. I am pleased to meet you Aldri, I hope you grow up to be a smart and strong man. »

I spent a few more hours in Aldri's bedchamber, arranging the room and finding out where was everything I could need to take care of Aldri. When it was time for supper, I remember how Queen Frigga had told me the child should not leave his bedchamber, for now, therefore I had to feed him in here. In front of the door were standing two guards whom I asked to ask Livia, the Queen's maid, to get a bottle of milk for the infant. Livia brought me what I asked for and I settled on the divan near the fireplace with the infant in my arms. I fed him the milk which he seemed to enjoy. For now, he was still small and frail which broke my heart, though if he kept on feeding with as much eagerness as he had done with the bottle of milk, he would soon gain strength.

Time passed by until a knock on the door was heard. It was Queen Frigga visiting us to see how I and Aldri got along. Behind her, was Loki standing in silence, his eyes fixated on the infant.

« Vira, my dear, how is it going with the child? »

« Very well Your Majesty, I even found him a name. »

« And what would the name be? » said the Queen with a smile on her face seeing how your eyes already lit up when you spoke about the child.

« I found he picked it out himself Your Majesty, he appeared to particularly enjoy the name Aldri. »

« Aldri does suit him, don't you think so Loki? » she said turning towards her son.

« Hum, » answered Loki still staring at the child.

« Vira, why don't you let Loki hold the child. I believe him to be rather attached to him. He kept on asking to visit the child during the feast. »

I settled Aldri in Loki's arms and they moved to the opposite corner of the room, where Loki started whispering to the infant.

« Have you settled in alright Vira? Do your quarters content you? » asked Queen Frigga.

« My quarters? I apologize My Queen but I do not know what you are talking about. » I answered shyly.

« Yes, your quarters dear. If you are to look after Aldri you then need to be near him at all times. It is why you will find your own personal quarter behind this door, » answered the Queen whilst pointing out a door I had not open yet.

Together, the Queen and I entered my quarters which consisted of a large room in which sat a four-poster bed, a wardrobe and another door leading into a bathroom. It was not as luxurious as the royals bedchambers but it was still way more than I ever had. Growing up as a maid in the castle, I had to share everything with the other maids, therefore having my own bedroom and bathroom is a luxury in itself. I turned towards the Queen and offered my gratitude to her.

« Thank you, my Queen, I appreciate all of it, and I will do my best with Aldri, although I must warn you, I know nothing about children, I was alone growing up and never had to take care of any child before... »

« It is alright Vira, I can assure you your motherly instinct will take over and you will take great care of Aldri, » she said sweetly. « Now Loki, we should leave Vira and Aldri for the night, they have both had a very long, and so have you, you should get some rest, my son. »

« Alright mother, » answered Loki. These were the first words he had spoken in my presence, I had never heard his voice before. He spoke in a soft voice, though I did not know if it was because he was near Aldri, or if it was just his normal voice.

Both Queen Frigga and Prince Loki left the room after bidding goodnight to Aldri and me, though as usual Loki only addressed Aldri and ignored me.