Mama do you love me?
Loki sat curled in Frigga's arms, his mother had insisted that they spend time in the garden and the little child was happy to comply. Biting his lip Loki looked up and tugged at Frigga's dress.
Mama do you love me?
Frigga looked down and smiled at her beautiful son, rubbing her nose against his. "Yes I do Dear One."
"How much?" Loki's green eyes met her blue ones and held them.
"I love you more than the raven loves his treasure. More than the dog loves his tail, more that the whale loves his spout." Frigga smiled and watched the boys eyes grow wide.
"How long?"
"I'll love you until Jormungandr flies into the darkness, till the stars turn to harts in the sky and until Muninn howls at the moon." Frigga laughed and held out her hand each of the images springing to life in her palm.
"Mama, what if I carried our eggs- our svanr eggs!- and I tried to be careful and I tried to walk slowly, but I fell and the eggs broke?" Loki's voice got progressively faster as he spoke.
"Then I would be sorry, but I would still love you." Frigga said.
"What if I put hakikarl in your vararfeldur, ermine in your mittens and doormice in your shoes?"
"Then I would be angry." She looked down at him
"What I doused our hearth?" Loki kicked his legs lightly as any fidgety child does.
"Then Dear One, I would be very angry but still, I would love you."
"What if I ran away?" Loki's voice was soft.
"Then I would be worried." Frigga pulled Loki into a tight embrace.
"What if I stayed away and sang with the wolves and slept in a cave?" Loki twisted in her arms and curled up on his side.
"Then Dear One I would be very sad but still I would love you." Frigga stroked Loki's hair and smiled down at him.
"What if I turned into a hjort?"
"Then I would be surprised." She tugged lightly on his hair and laughed when he wrinkled his nose.
"What if I turned into a bilgesnipe?" He bared his teeth at her.
"Then I would be surprised and a little scared." She bared hers in return.
"What if I turned into a Frost Giant and I was the meanest Frost Giant you ever saw and I had sharp, shiny teeth and I chased you into your room and you cried?" He snarled and she stiffened her brow furrowing. Quickly she pulled him into her tightest embrace yet and whispered in his ear.
"Then I would be very surprised and very scared but still, inside the Frost Giant you would be you and I would love you. I will love you forever and for always because you are my Dear One."