~This is my first time writing and submitting a fanfiction. Critiques are appreciated!~
*Loki has been called away by Thor to help with some dispute. To avoid leaving the Jotun throne without a royal, Ashda has been named as the royal regent. She is expecting and Loki refused to leave her without a personal guardian. Frigga has come to stay with her on Jotunheim.*
Ashda sat on the edge of the bed staring unseeingly into the night. The soft knock at the door of her chamber went by unnoticed. Frigga gingerly opened the door and stepped inside closing the door gently behind her. "Ashda?" A soft sigh of acknowledgment was the only response. "Ashda, dear." Ashda turned to face her mother-in-law, "I'm sorry Frigga, I'm afraid my mind was elsewhere." She smiled at her, this woman who had been more of a mother to her than her own mother ever had been. Frigga couldn't help but notice that the smile did not quite reach her eyes.
"How are you feeling my dear?" Frigga lowered herself onto the corner of the bed closest to Ashda. "I'm fine. A bit tired perhaps, but I suppose that is to be expected when one is in this condition." Frigga nodded knowingly. She briefly remembered her own confinement when she was pregnant with Thor.
Frigga continued to observe her beloved daughter-in-law. "How are you really?" She knew her suspicions to be correct when Ashda turned to look at Loki's side of the bed, untouched for many nights now. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. "I miss him. More than I ever knew that could miss someone." No tears fell, but sat pooled in her deep brown eyes as she continued. "I know it must seem silly. He hasn't been gone that long, but my heart longs for him."
Frigga took Ashda's cold hand in one of her own while she used the other to turn her face to look into her eyes. "Oh, my sweet dear, it's not silly at all. That's exactly how you are supposed to feel when you are in a loving marriage." Frigga knew there was something else bothering the sweet girl before her when she was given only a sad smile in return.
Rising suddenly from the bed, Ashda made her way to the large bay window that overlooked the snow-capped cliffs and mountains of Jotunheim. Frigga sat patiently, allowing Ashda to gather her thoughts before she spoke. "I… I find myself wondering if Loki is having similar thoughts where he is. That he misses me as much, I mean." The pain and uncertainty in her voice spoke volumes to Frigga.
"Ashda, I can assure you," She started as she stood and made her way to stand alongside her at the window, "you need not dwell on such thoughts. Loki loves you more than we ever imagined him to be capable of. He left me with instructions should such doubts arise." Ashda gazed at Frigga with a mixture of hope and a hint of confusion. How could Loki have prepared for this event? What instructions had he left to comfort her?
The sound of incessant arguing reverberated off the walls of the great room where Loki and Thor had been trying to reason with leaders from other realms. They'd been at this for more than a week and he'd had more than enough of it. All he could think about was the curvy little brunette waiting for him back on Jotunheim, and he couldn't keep his mind from drifting off to her while the brainless oafs around him continued to beat their chests.
Slowly some vision started to enter his mind's eye and Frigga's voice filled his head as the noise of the great room faded. Loki, it's time. Ashda is missing you terribly. You mustn't say anything, but she's confided in me that she doesn't know if you truly miss her since you've gone. As Frigga's voice receded, Loki looked up to find his brother's eye trained on him.
If Thor knew anything, it was the look that was crossing his brother's face that very moment. That was the look of a man who had a mission in mind and would not be swayed. With Loki, that look also meant that anything, or anyone, that stood in the way of his mission was going to be cut down. Leaning in close, Thor whispered for his brother's ears only, "That look is rarely a good thing. What's happened?" Loki's response came from his throat like a low growl. "These fools have kept me away from my wife long enough. This petulant squabbling ends today!"