Notes: Loki and Thor are going to be appart for a while. :/

That day Thor discovered with a sinking heart that Loki had left again. Thor had been sure that at least Loki would come to him to say good bye, and then he would have tried to stall his uncle's departure but Loki just left over night and there weren't even a note for him. Soon enough he was distracted from this by his mother's words.

"Are you certain, mother? A sibling?"

"Or siblings."

Thor's grin didn't quite fit in his face as he hugged his mother. Her embrace was warmer than ever and she looked radiant.

"I'm so happy, mother!" he said.

"Me too," she laughed. They started talking about names and what positions his little sibling or siblings should be ready for when they were grown up. Loki had been groomed to be Vili's advisor, so maybe Thor would have his little sibling as advisor too. But if they were a natural with the weapons maybe the master-at-arms of the kingdom would be better suited. The excitement was cut short when a servant anounced Lady Jarnsaxa. Frigga gave her permission and the Jotnar entered.

Thor had to concede that she wasn't that bad looking. And her sense of humor was acidic in an amusing way.

"Good day, Queen Frigga, Crown Prince," she said, bowing graciously. Her hair was, as always braided in mutliple little plaits plastered to her head and falling to her back. Thor wondered if she did them all herself or if she had an attendant to help with them.

"Lady Jarnsaxa," his mother greeted with a nod. Thor nodded too.

"I've come to talk with the Prince, if you will give leave, Your Majesty."

"Of course, Lady Jarnsaxa. Thor, you can go."

It was all protocol. And Thor hated it. After his time in the surface he had realized that protocol often times was just in the way. It was as if it had been made to hinder people talking with other people. Maybe he would relax it a bit when he became king. He nodded to his mother before kissing her on the cheek and leaded the way out to his study.

"Very well, pup. This is what I have learnt about the matter these past days, but I think we will need more information before we start the rumour. It has to be tightly controlled at first if we don't want it to backfire and for that we will need..." she started as soon as the door was closed.

Thor had half a thought of regreting his idea, but thinking about freeing his uncle from being pursuited by crazed fanatics fueled his determination.

The meeting extended until supper time and they were called to the dinning hall. Jarnsaxa parted ways with him then: guest or not the dinning hall was for the Royal Family only.

00000

Jarnsaxa had to give it to Loki: his nephew was a handful. He could go from having the most brilliant idea to make the dumbest comments in the same sentence and without stopping to breathe. Patience had been her ally through their meeting because the prince had talked like a sheltered brat even though he could say sensible things from time to time. And even with half plankton-brained cells he was still yummy.

It had been sort of a miracle that she didn't get distracted with the way his muscles moved under his skin or how his tail reflected the light from the spheres, but she had managed. After all, the pup was only an eye candy and she knew nothing would even happen between them.

That night, while she ate, she thought about the next step they could take when a whild idea occurred to her. What if Asgard sent another delegation to Jotunheim? After all, since the High Houses were now at relative peace, that another kingdom aknowledged them would help cement a new line of monachy without the need to buy it. However, it should be done in a way that the population didn't see it as Asgard pointing the one that suited them best, and in sending people there they could spread the word about Vili and Loki and making Vili the one they were truly seeking. After all who remembered now the specifics of the war? She had been in it and even she couldn't trust her memory regarding some events.

Finishing her meal quickly, she went back to her chambers to redact the proposal. She had the draft of it, now she needed to get into details, not too many, for if you wanted a plan to succeed you sometimes needed to leave things to chance instead of trying to control even the smallest of details. She worked on the plan, none-the-less, for hours. There were lots of protocol to review in case the people sent to Jotunheim were not acquired with their customs and she would rather cut her caudal fin off than to let this part to chance.

Satisfied with the first draft, she went to sleep. From there, if it was approved, they would just need to select the people they would sent. Not too old, to prevent bad blood, and not too young, to prevent brass comments. She knew that it would be difficult to select the correct mers but maybe with a few pointers Thor would find the correct people to send there.

00000

"I don't trust her," Odin said after he finished applying the muffling runes. Thor nodded. Odin sighed heavily. "You don't trust her by your own reasons, I gather?" he asked his son. Thor blushed and looked away. "What is it?"

"She was... She looks too comfortable with uncle Loki," Thor said, still not looking at him.

"That would be understandable. She was appointed as his personal guide when he first arrived at Utgard-Hall. She taught him how to behave and how to greet the nobles in a way that wouldn't be insulting while mixing it with the protocol held in Asgard. She was also his chaperone in case anyone was interested in him. Loki's mission was also about finding suitable spouses not only for himself but for a bunch of nobles to strenghten ties."

"They are... friends?" Thor looked at him now.

"You could say that. Though she is dangerous. She is Farbauti's niece," Odin said. At his son's confussion he added, "Farbauti is late King Thrym's half-brother. If he had wanted the throne after his half-brother disappeared, he could have claimed it and he and his spouse Laufey would be the monarchs, but with all the mess left by..."

He saw his son nod in understanding.

"Is that why you don't trust her, father?"

"It's part of it, yes. She works in the shadows. Not many people know about her origins, not that she actively hides it but more often than not, people don't ask and she doesn't say it. It has worked in her favour: she knows a lot of dark secrets, she is a spy and not, and she can manipulate the right people in her own advantage. That she is close with the royal family from another country only makes her more dangerous."

"I see."

"And you, pup? Why are you so upset about her?"

Thor blushed again and Odin felt his patience growing thin. Instead of asking again he just kept staring at his son until he mumbled something. Since Odin didn't quite understand what was said, he just lifted a brow.

"I don't like how familiar she seemed with Loki," Thor admited, crossing his arms over his chest. Odin waited as long as he could but he didn't manage to swallow the chuckle. And at Thor's affronted look the chuckle became a laughter. He couldn't help it, his pup looked even more like a pup, sticking his lower lip out and frowning.

"What? Don't tell me you are jealous. Are you going to guard your uncle's chastity until he marries?" Odin started laughing again, feeling breathless. "You... you will find... hahaha, that... difficult to... hahaha, to do!" he tried to say.

Thor looked ashamed and angry now, but his son didn't say anything, only looked away.

"Well... I know I can't control his movements but I don't think it appropriate of him to go around flirting with whomever crosses his path. It does not-"

"Thor, son. I have to stop you here," Thor stopped at his words. Odin looked at him, fondly. "Loki has been a little flirt all his damn life and if my father couldn't stop him from taking whomever he wanted to his bed before I doubt he is going to change now." He took a long gulp of water and filtered slowly before continuing. "The only times when he... Settled down were when he got married."

"Married? Ah... Yes, he told me about it. Sigyn," Thor said and Odin looked at him, surprised.

"He told you about Sigyn?"

"A little."

"Mm..."

Odin was surprised. Loki hadn't told anyone about Sigyn until he already had two grown kids and even then it took a lot of coaxing. Shortly after he told them about his wife and human kids they were attacked and since then, any important matter was hiden close to his heart. Odin didn't blame him for that, though.

A globe shone by the door indicating them that someone was outside waiting for permission to enter. Odin undid the runes and then proceeded to open the door. The sturdi plank –carved with runes as to not rot– swung over its hinges and Jarnsaxa entered with a grin.

"I've got an idea..." she said, glee sparkling in her eyes.

00000

Frigga had kept drinking the elixirs that Loki had left her with instructions for her eggs. Most of them, she knew herself from her own training as seidrmaster, but some seemed so foreign that the only explanation was that Loki had developed them himself. She was grateful, very grateful to him and the only way she could think to thank him was by having strong, healthy pups. Looking at herself in a mirror she frowned.

She hadn't told anyone the reason why she had not been able to carry more eggs to the final stage but she was sure that she had been poisoned at one point or another. At first, every new batch of eggs took root perfectly well, but when the time to laid them came they just... broke. At first, the doctors had told her it was because she was putting too much pressure into herself, and that her body would do what it could when she calmed down. After centuries of marriage and not even a single child she had started to believe that it was, indeed, her fault, so she stopped holding her breath whenever Odin gave her eggs. She just knew what would happen so if she didn't raise hope then she wouldn't feel disappointed.

Then, it was decided that she had to do a route around the allied kingdoms. She had informed Odin that the eggs, as always, had taken root, but she didn't expect for them to reach the last stage. Odin had also been convinced of such, but instead of glowering at her, he had just taken her hands and kissed them.

"Some day," he had said with a sad smile. "There's no rush..."

Well... There was rush. Odin needed an heir. It was either that or appointing Loki as the next in line and at the time Frigga didn't know the mer enough to trust that decission. For her, Loki was a wayward mer with too much power and too little interest in the matters of the Royal House. It was then when everything changed. She was away from the palace at other countries and protected by her own loyal people. She laid the eggs. It was a surprise to everyone, most of all for her.

Out of the whole batch only one had been fertilized correctly and had a tiny mer inside. At the time, she was in Vanaheim, quite a ways away from Asgard so instead of going back, the King himself came to her –with the permission of the ruler of Vanaheim, Frey–, and saw the little thing. Until the egg hatched, the Queen stayed away and soon after they made the trip back.

Arriving with the little prince in her arms, Frigga had been celebrated, and her suspicion became a reality when she spotted several sour faces: she had been poisoned all these years to prevent her from having pups. She wasn't sure who the perpetrator was, though she had a list of candidates. And this reality became a problem, since ever since they had Thor, not only one egg had taken root. The poison used against her prevented any egg to be assimilated correctly and they just dissolved inside her body.

It was true that after all these years, with Thor a grown mer already, there shouldn't be a necessity for another prince or princess, but Frigga feared for her son. He had been targeted several times, though she had been able to keep him in blissful ignorance, but she dreaded the day that they ones trying to take her down would manage to hurt her pup, and so she knew it was a duty to produce another heir. She hated it, because she wanted a pup just for the joy of having another child and not as a tool. If it had been up to her, she would have had a large family.

Sighing, she examined her next elixir and after drinking it she realized. It was laced with an antidote. Frigga recognized this taste, as it was one of the many she had brewed and administered to Thor whenever she suspected he had been poisoned. So Loki knew. Or at the very least suspected.

Once again, she felt grateful for having managed to get to know her brother-in-law.

Having taking all her elixirs and potions, she closed her drawer with a minnor enchantment and activation runes –it would be counterproductive if the very things that were boosting the eggs now were to be trampled with– and left her chambers to go to court. That day she was to hear the complains of the population at the border. But before she could reach the hall she felt such a sharp pain that she became breathless. Her attendees were with her in seconds and she was rushed to the medical wing.

She knew this pain. She had felt it before only once. She couldn't breathe.

"Call for the King," she ordered as she was laid on one of the nests. Frigga laid sideways. Oh! This one was big. "Call for the King!" she repeated when some of her attendees stayed put, looking at each other. They scattered but her personal guard, Sváfa, stayed at her side, glaring at anyone who tried to approach her Queen even if they were doctors. Sváfa was privi of Friggas suspicions and she would not let anyone take away the new prince or princess from her, she had sworn on her blood that she would find the culprits and bring them to justice.

In matter of minutes, the King, the Prince and some nobles were there. She looked at Odin, who looked back, hopefull. She nodded and saw the exact moment her husband's heart swelled with happiness.

"They are coming," he whispered. The room was hushed and Thor and Sváfa made everyone leave save her personal nurse and doctor, who came rushing from a side corridor.

"Yes."

"How many?"

"I don't know... But they are big..."

Big was good. Big meant strong. Big meant less likely to be killed.

The rest of the day, she laid on her side as the eggs were pushed out. Their shell wasn't soft nor didn't give way as they did when they were first laid. It had gotten hard and as she remembered, it took time for her body to open up and push them out. By the end of the day, five eggs had already been laid, connected between each other by a sturdy mucus.

Odin stayed with her, though Thor was sent to rest. Odin didn't move, holding her hand throught the whole process. When she laid Thor, Odin had been so far away, but now... Now he was right here, at her side, combing her hair and whispering sweet words of love and adoration.

It wasn't until the early morning that the whole batch was out and she could close her eyes for a while. Upon waking, Sváfa would tell her that she had had the most beautiful smile on her tired face.

00000

"Congratulations, you have competition," Jarnsaxa told him, slapping at his shoulder. He frowned at her smile and she held her hands palms out in a non-threatening way. "I mean it well. Now you can dump some of your responsibilities on your little sibling, can you not? You could even, I don't know, marry another merman and never have children for your sibling could be the one producing heirs," she winked and Thor's frown deepened.

"What do you mean?"

"D'aw, pup! Do you remember what I do for a living? I know how to connect the dots. And let me tell you, you have horrible taste in mer. I mean, sure, the cover is interesting but the insides are rotten," she laughed.

Thor repressed the want to strangle her, mainly because the anxiety of being busted, yet again, filled his mind.

"Who are you referring to?"

She rolled her eyes.

"C'mon! You don't have to act with me. I already know." She looked both sides before leaning in. Thor did the same and she whispered in a barely audible voice: "You have the hots for Loki."

"That's not-"

"It is! And if you think you are so good at concealling it let me tell you that you should take up some acting classes, because you are quite transparent."

Thor felt the heat rise to his cheeks.

"What do you want?" he grumbled, sure that the Jotun only wanted to extort him.

"Me? Nothing much... Just help you to hide it better. It wouldn't do for more people to realize that you want to be with uncle dearest in a private nest for ever and ever. Not now, anyways, because people could think that you have been hoarding the prize for yourself and that Asgard wants to take what's rightful theirs, do you catch me?" she said, one eyebrow raised. She also looked mildly annoyed. "Look, pup, your uncle asked me to protect you and I have all the intentions of doing it."

Thor sighed.

"So you don't want to blackmail me?"

"Who? Me? Why? If I asked Loki he would give me his heriloom in a second. No. I don't want treasures, nor richies or the like. No, no. Listen. As repulsive as his personality is, Loki is my friend, so I will try to help him as best as I can," she looked at him, pointedly. Thor was quite lost now. This woman was the weirdest mer he had ever found. "First of all, you need some classes on how to hide what you are feeling and thinking."

Thor narrowed his eyes.

"Mm... Maybe after we send the envoy. I have the list of people in my study." She nodded.

"Good. Ah! Were you going somewhere?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. It seems that my pup sibling might hatch at any time now and I want to be there."

"Then, by all means, don't let me entertain you any further," she said, smiling sideways and pulling away while extending her arm to the corridor. Thor rolled his eyes. He had to admit that the woman had her charms and that she was growing on him.

Just a few hours later the notice was given. The new prince of the Kingdom had hatched safely, followed shortly by the princess. Out of the batch of eggs, two had had pups in them. In the upcoming days, the whole kingdom knew the names of the new royals: Baldr the beloved and Sigrun the victorious.

More Notes: Well, we have new contenders for the Royal Crown. :D