Odin was only able to stay for a few days before he had to take his leave back to Asgard. Frigga slept with him in the tent he pitched outside the cave, and the feeling of being in his arms was so good that she didn't want to talk, for fear of ruining it. One the day that he had to leave, however, she pulled him aside.
"Odin, I love you," she said, twining her fingers through his. "And I know that my recent behavior must be difficult for you to accept—"
"No, I understand. Frigga, I have been so worried—"
"And I'm sorry, I shouldn't have worried you. It's just—"
"I know. I have regretted my actions ever since—"
Frigga shook her head. "Don't. The time for regrets is past. You have a beautiful little son, and I love him. And I love you. I had my own regrets, but they don't have to stand between us anymore. I'll write about how little Thor is doing. I'll write every day."
"And I will write when I can." Odin kissed her knuckles. "I apologise ahead of time that I won't be able to write as often as I should."
Frigga pressed a finger to his lips. "It's alright. It's alright. As long as you love me."
"I do." He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you more than life itself, Frigga. And I will never do anything to jeopardise our marriage again. I swear, even if Asgard would fall unless I had to—"
Frigga silenced him with a kiss. "I know."
They spent the next hour not talking, before Odin had to leave. When Frigga returned to Jord's cave, she was tired, but happy. Jord was feeding little Thor, and she eyes Frigga a moment before speaking.
"It seems you had quite the goodbye."
Frigga flushed and smoothed down her hair. "We did."
Jord nodded, as though satisfied. "Good. I take it you and Odin have worked through your difficulties then?"
At the moment, it certainly felt like they had, but Frigga didn't respond at once. When it came to how her relationship with Odin fared, most of it was best kept between the two of them. However, Jord was going to give her child into the relationship between the king and queen of Asgard, and so how they did or did not get along definitely affected her.
"I think we've started to. I don't think it's solved yet," Frigga said slowly. "But I know that it will. I'm not angry anymore. I've forgiven him. Now I think it's just a matter of forgiving myself for pressuring him, and then for being so angry with him for agreeing to my pressuere."
Thor twisted his head away from his mother, seeking out Frigga. He stuffed a fist into his mouth.
"Would you like to burp him?" Jord asked as she covered herself with a blanket.
Frigga nodded, taking the small baby. She put him on her shoulder and patted his back. "I still can't get over how small he is."
"Small?" Jord laughed. "That there is a huge baby. I've only had one to top him, and that was Atum. He's going to be a strapping young lad, just like his father."
Thor let out a tremendous burp, and Frigga brought him down from her shoulder. She cradled him on her knees, supporting his head in her hands, and smiled at him. Thor stuck his fist in his mouth again.
Jord moved to sit next to her, and put an arm around her. "I was afraid that once the baby was born you'd feel worse. Jealous that you don't have your own."
"I'm not," Frigga responded honestly. "He just feels so right. I can't really explain it."
Jord smiled. "You don't have to."
#
For a year and a half, Frigga continued to live with Jord, helping her mind Thor. He was the sweetest baby Asgard's queen had ever known. He started smiling quickly, and had an infectious laugh. The days always seemed to be sunny and bright when she was with him, either telling him a story, singing him songs, or taking him for walks in the woods. There had never been a more even-tempered baby. Even when he fussed, he would stop as soon as he saw Frigga or Jord.
It amazed Frigga that Thor didn't seem to prefer one of the women over the other. He settled for either of them, and was quite content to let Frigga as well and Jord soothe him after a grazed knee or a bumped head.
"He'll be completely weaned soon," Jord mentioned one day as they walked through the woods. The buds were just beginning to blossom, and the air was filled with a natural warmth that heralded summer right around the corner. Thor walked between the women, holding each of their hands.
Frigga nodded. Her stomach twisted at the thought. She knew that Odin wanted Thor to be brought to Asgard as soon as he was weaned, but Jord wanted to wait until he was a little older, so that she could explain to him what was happening. Frigga tended to agree with Jord. Thor was just so little, and it seemed cruel to take him away from the only life he knew. Besides, even though there was a lull in the war, she didn't trust that Laufey had given up his quest yet. If he was planning another strike against Asgard, she would rather Thor stay on Midgard, in safety.
"Do you think he'll be happy in Asgard?" Frigga asked aloud as Thor released her hand to toddle forward, jabbering excitedly as he grabbed at a flower.
He brought it to his nose, inhaled deeply, and then put in in his mouth and started chewing.
Jord retrieved him and fished the masticated flower out of his toothless jaws. She tapped his nose lovingly, and he giggled, grabbing it and putting it in his mouth. "I'm sure he will be. He loves you, and he gets wildly excited every time Odin comes, so I can't see why he wouldn't be happy there."
Frigga sighed. "I just think you should come with me, back to Asgard. Freyja would love to see you, and I think it would be easier for Thor. I remember when my grandmother died. It tore out my heart because she wasn't there anymore."
"I'm not going to die," Jord said. "I am still going to be in his life. But he does need to learn the ways of his own people. Don't you, my boy?"
Thor kissed her nose, and she kissed him back.
"Still—" Frigga stopped as a snowflake drifted in front of her face. She frowned, then shivered at an unexpected gust of wind.
Thor let out a piercing wail and buried his face against Jord. The Elder Goddess had gone still, her stance rigid. Her blue eyes sharpened, but they gazed forward as though she was seeing through the trees. Frigga was almost afraid to touch her, but when her arms tightened around Thor, and the little boy wailed again, Frigga hastily took him. He screamed, reaching for Jord.
His cries seemed to rouse Jord. Her gaze focused again, but she didn't take the baby back. She cradled his head and kissed his hair. "Be good. Frigga, take him back to the cave. There is something unnatural here."
Frigga nodded, and hauled Thor back to the cave. He was having none of it, though, and screamed, writhed, and kicked, growing louder with every step. He started beating at her with his tiny fists, and nothing she did seemed to soothe him. It was surprising and frightening; he had never acted this way before!
The warm spring day had turned into a blizzard by the time Frigga reached the cave. She stumbled in, expecting it to be warm and protected. Instead, she found herself knee-deep in snow. Shivering, she looked around wildly. It was the same cave, but the little creek had frozen solid, and wind howled through it. She found her winter cloak and pulled it around Thor before she found a relatively protected corner and huddled there.
She didn't see the Jotuns until they were already surrounding her. Too big to stand in the cave, they had crawled in, hidden by the snow. She saw the red of their eyes and her heart leapt to her throat.
She had been worried about Asgard. She hadn't even thought they would come after her.
No. Not her.
Thor.
As the closest Jotun reached towards her, Frigga drew the dagger she carried with her and plunged it into the giant's eye. He shouted and jerked back, unintentionally knocking over the one beside him. Frigga darted from the cave, running as fast as she could. Thor's screams increased, and he bit her arm, hard. She only held him tighter.
Calling on her magic, Frigga sent off a dozen illusions of herself, spreading in all directions. She heard the roars of Jotuns behind her, but didn't risk looking back to see if her ruse worked.
"Heimdall," she whispered, her lungs burning as she ran in the frozen air. "Heimdall, the Jotuns are after Odin's son."
A hulking blue figure loomed in the whiteness before her, and Frigga skidded to a stop. The giant grinned, raising a club. Frigga darted to the left, and the club came down right in front of her. She yelped and backed up. The giant hefted its club once more…
Only to drop it, yelling, when it burst into flame. The blizzard stopped as suddenly as it had started, and the trees began growing rapidly. Their branches reached for the Jotun. Before he even realised what had happened, they had wrapped around his throat and hoisted him in the air.
Thor bit Frigga again, clawing at her arms. She grit her teeth and held him tighter, determined that she wasn't going to lose her grip on the child.
Three more Jotuns stumbled into the clearing. They stopped dead when they saw the trees choking their fellow to death. When they turned to Frigga, a light as bright as the sun burst through the trees. Even Frigga flinched back. In the brightness, she could just barely make out Jord's form as she stalked forward. With a flick of one hand, vines burst from the ground and began winding up the legs of one Jotunn. With wave of the other hand, the ground beneath a second Jotun opened up.
An icy blast hit Jord from behind, causing her to stumble. The light dimmed, and Frigga backed up against a tree, which rapidly grew branches, shielding her and Thor.
Ice began to build beneath Jord's feet. Another dozen Jotuns were behind her, all concentrating on sending ice at her. Though she struck them away with a tree branch, they regrouped and kept blasting her with ice. More and more Jotuns arrived, joining on the attack on the Elder Goddess. Soon she was completely encased.
The tree protecting Frigga and Thor twisted and sighed, and stopped growing with only a sliver left for Frigga to see what was going on. Thor had finally gone silent. His thumb in his mouth. Thunder rumbled in the sky.
"I am goooood…" the tree moaned.
Frigga shook her head. No. The tree did not speak. It was just creaking against the clubs as the Jotuns smashed at it. Thor started crying again, but this time he didn't fight against Frigga instead cuddling against her.
"Heimdall!" she screamed. "Open the bifrost!"
There was a large groaning sound, and the tree suddenly snapped upright. The Jotuns were thrown back, but they quickly recovered. The tree pulled one foot out of the ground, and then the other. Large eyes blinked at Frigga, then turned. With a roar, it charged the giants, spikes bursting from it's trunk.
The bifrost descended in a whirl of colour and light. The last thing Frigga saw was Jord's ice casing explode in a million shards, and heard a wordless scream from the Elder Goddess.