Chapter 29.

"You promised me that we could wait until I was better prepared." She said and he closed his eyes at her reaction, she paced and worried at her hands in her shock. Loki letting out a cleansing breath and looking back at her.

"The truth was out the night that Thor made his move. We said we would announce it in the Spring or Summer, it is Spring now. And preparations are being made, in a month we will be married and no one can tear us apart." Loki said, her shock at the news she was to be married in a month showing on her face. She shook her head, trying not to be afraid but the letter she found came back to her.

"A... A month?" She said and he took her hands to stop her motion.

"It is tradition in Royal Weddings. They occur a month from the formal announcement." He said and cupped her soft cheek. She shied away from his touch, her eyes looking at the floor.

"I must ask you this, and I want the truth Sir." He said and she stood and picked at the thumbnail of one hand with the other.

"I have been nothing but honest in my intentions with you Floria, always." He said and she stepped back from him as he walked toward her. The whole morning, she seemed distracted, and she barely spoke to him as they walked together.

"Are you... I mean... Did you seduce me into marrying you to gain favor from the King? And then use this favor to elevate yourself?" She blurted out and Loki felt shock at what she asked him. He then thought about how she was reluctant to go to his bed, all that she overheard from the argument with Thor and he found himself loosing control of his temper.

"How could you ask me such things? After all that I did for you, after all I have given you." He said and raised a finger to keep her silent. "I would have gladly sacrificed my life for you, and now I see that you will never see me as more that the monster I am."

"No. Sir, please. I am only trying to... I... I don't know... The letter." She said and ran through the two rooms and into hers, he followed her and saw her looking through desk drawers for it and she brought it back to him.

"What is this?" He asked and he opened the folded paper. He read it, turning over the page and looking up at her. "Your Wedding Night will become your funeral? Do you know who wrote this?

"No Sir. I found it under my pillow last night." She said and he crumpled the page in his hand, he looked at her and took a step forward. Fear filled her eyes, and he caressed her cheek and leaned close to her.

"Don't worry yourself my darling. I will find who put these lies before you, and ensure they are revealed as traitors." He said, and looked into her eyes. "You have nothing to fear from me, I only ask that you keep that faith in me that you have had and allow me to continue to prove my devotion to you."

"Yes Sir." She said and she pulled him into an embrace. "I only want for us to be happy, and no secrets to be kept between us."

"I know my Nightengale, and I promise you that you will only know love from me." He said and he lifted her chin. "Promise me, the next letter like this you get, bring it to me as soon as possible."

"I promise Sir." She said and he kissed her softly. She nodded against him, her forehead against his and he knew her greater fear now.

"I will only bed you with your consent Floria, and not a moment before I have it. And when I do, I will be very careful and gentle with you." He promised her, kissing her hand gently. " I do not want you to suffer any more than you already have, and I will never let any person cause you harm. Not even myself."

"I know Sir." She said and he tapped her chin with his finger.

"Loki. No more Sir or titles, only my name. It sounds like music on your lips Nightengale, and I pray to only hear that from you for all my days." He said and she smiled. He felt her hand cradle his cheek and she kissed him, his heart beating rapidly when she whispered her next statement.

"As you wish, Loki."

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She lay with her head on her Mother's lap, Queen Frigga combing her hair and she reached up and touched the swell of a belly above her. Her mother smiled at her delicate daughter, holding her hand over here and smiling at her. Frigga had already begun to think of Floria as her true daughter, and Velora did not mind sharing her child. The three women lay on pillows under a canopy in the garden and they laughed together, the task of selecting the fabrics for a Wedding Gown done.

"What is it like Mama?" She asked, her eyes innocent and filled with wonder. Frigga laughed softly, braiding her hair into small bits and weaving them together.

"It is wonderful, to be filled with life. And when the child moves, I feel so close to it." She said and Floria smiled, something on her mind.

"It sounds wonderful, I hope it is like that for me." Floria said and Velora looked down with sad eyes. "I hear it hurts terribly when the baby is ready to be born."

"It does, but it is so worth every awful pain." Frigga said and finished her work. Floria sat up and looked at The Queen, her eyes wide with fear.

"Like when you go to your husband's bed the first time? Does it hurt like that?" She asked and Frigga shook her head in shock. She hugged Floria from behind, offering the girl a bite of a sweet cake.

"If your husband is caring, and gentle, there is little pain. And that ends soon after it begins, leaving the most wonderful pleasure." Frigga said and Floria looked back at the woman.

"A pleasure?" She asked, her eyes widening in suprise.

"Yes, it is as if he carries with him a part of you that was missing. And when his body joins with yours, you feel a peace and complete for the first time in your life." Velora said and Queen Frigga nodded at her with a smile. Floria liked the idea of being complete, laying with her husband and becoming joined with him.

"I am sure Loki will be a wonderful and giving lover. He was always so sensitive, his heart burning with passion and grace." Frigga said and Floria felt a movement under her hand. She looked at the belly and gasped, her mother smiling brightly.

"Was that the baby?" Floria asked and she took Frigga's hand to let her feel the movement. The Queen smiled, her graceful hand feeling the child stir.

"It is. Your brother or sister is quite active today, quite the opposite of how you were Dear." Velora said and Floria giggled. "You were so calm, almost as if you held my body as sacred."

"Thor was awful to carry, he kicked me terribly and was so very strong inside me." Frigga laughed. "He once kicked my breakfast tray off me as I was trying to eat."

"That had to have been awful! How did you manage My Queen?" Floria laughed, covering her mouth and trying not to burst out in shrieking laughter.

"I did a lot of scolding to him before he was born." She replied, all three women shrieking in laughter and grabbing the attention of the Nobles who walked past. Frigga lay back on a pillow, eating the rest of the pastry in her hand. She looked at Velora, seeing the sadness from the guilt she carried in he on her face. She had comforted the woman several times before, and knew Loki better than anyone. It would be no bother to him of Floria could not have children, and he would still love the girl no matter what happened.