Hours ticked by as the two young princes paced around a room, wondering about the traits of their new sibling.

"I want it to be a boy," said Thor.

"It might be a girl," said Loki.

"Yes, but I want it to be a boy."

There was silence as the two brothers stared at each other.

"A girl would be nice for a change, though."

Loki grinned. "I'm just glad I'm not gonna be the youngest anymore. I never liked being the only one to suffer from a certain older brother."

"Hey!" said Thor and pushed Loki playfully. Loki laughed as Thor chased him around the golden circular room.

"I hope she's playful," said Thor as they each settled on soft couches across from each other.

Loki leaned forward. "Oh, so you're settling for a girl now, then?"

Thor grinned at Loki. "You've convinced me that it is. I can't change my mind now."

"What if it ends up being a boy?"

Thor laughed. "I'll feel bad for him when I accidentally give him a dress for his birthday."

They both laughed when the big golden double doors opened and someone stepped in. "Thor?" he asked.

Thor stood. "I'll be back for you, brother," he said to Loki and stepped into the next room. The man closed the doors behind him.

Loki barely waited a moment when Thor rushed back in, opening the doors himself.

"You are forgiven, brother. Come and meet our new sister."

With each step toward the room, Loki's heart rate sped up a beat. He smiled back at Thor and together, they entered the room.

Their mother, Frigga, was sitting up in a bed with Odin sitting on a chair next to her, holding her hand. In her other arm was a sleeping baby.

Loki went to the edge of the bed and knelt down. He took his mother's hand and kissed it, then took a hand of the baby. Tears pricked his eyes as he touched the soft, warm fingers.

"Loki, Thor, this is your sister- Leah," said Frigga.

Loki looked up. "Has she opened her eyes yet?" he asked, taking her in his arms.

"No, not yet."

Thor looked over Loki's shoulder to look at Leah. Loki studied her face, wishing her to wake. Suddenly, he found two big, bright. baby blue eyes staring at him. They all laughed and wept.

The months passed by and Leah started to smile whenever she saw her family or anyone she knew. She was a curious and cheerful little baby, crawling out of her room every chance she got. When she started to walk, Loki found her wandering the halls on her own. She squealed when she saw him and fell. Loki picked her up, laughing, and brought her back to her room.

When she was about 16 months old, she started to become interested in people's names.

"Mo-my. Da-dy. Lo-kee. Tho-Tho-wah."

She grinned at her attempts. Thor tackled her and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Leah!" he said. She giggled as he tickled her.

That night, when she was put in her room to sleep, there was a noise. Leah opened her eyes and rolled on her side to sit up, and a pair of hands lifted her up. She was turned over and found herself staring into a pair of cold eyes.

She opened her mouth but barely made a peep before she was taken away.

Before her captor could reach the edge of Asgard, there was a flash of light and Odin and a dozen men appeared in front of them.

"Leave her be," Odin boomed.

The captor's laugh sounded like shattered glass. "Like you can stop me."

Enraged, Odin pointed his spear, Gungnir, at him. The captor held up the crying Leah and said, "Oh, you're not going to risk hurting her, are you?"

As Odin's men surrounded the captor, Odin aimed Gungnir at the captor's head. The captor spun around sharply as a burst of light shot past his head. It grazed the edge of Leah's jaw and she shrieked with pain. The captor sneered at Odin before he disappeared. Shaken, Odin reluctantly headed back to spread the traumatizing news.