Chapter eight

Love and life

It was a beautiful summer's day in the great city of Fenir, one of the great floating cities of Vanaheim, home to the realm's most celebrated scholars and, most importantly, the magnificent library, said to be home to all of the books in the universe. Of course, there were so many that anyone who attempted to check either got tired, distracted or just bored. But Darcy was determined to figure it out. Or at least, she was a month ago. So many books from Earth were there, but even if she did find them all, she didn't know all of the books from the other realms anyway. No matter. She had already learnt a great deal in the sixth months she had been here from being a librarian. So of course she had to know a great deal; luckily for now she was the librarian dedicated to the Midgardian sections of the library. That had been the leading reason for her recruitment here; she was of Midgard (Earth! Gosh it took a bit of getting used to, this Midgard business) and knew a lot of the books from her time being a geek. And librarians were celebrated here; oh my God they were so much more revered. When she discussed Midgardian books with people, they listened and inputted enthusiastically, then at the end praised her and admired her knowledge of these books, the ones that were most unknown to their populace. It made Darcy all warm and fuzzy inside.

Darcy was cleaning the counter after she accidentally spilled her honey juice on it; honey juice. The drinks and food in this place was just…there were no words. When she had just finished, she saw Loki come in and spot her, smiling warmly and it made her smile too; his smiles always did. She came from behind the counter and rushed into his arms, giving him an almighty hug as he did her and if she'd had any worries in that day, they would have been washed away right now in his arms. He leant back and reached down to kiss her, tenderly in a way that always made her toes curl. When they pulled back and smiled at each other, Loki stroked her face with his fingers.

"And how are you, my love?" Loki asked.

"Even better now I've seen you; feeling a bit peaky today, but otherwise, it's been a good day," Darcy said.

"How about we take you to a healer? Just to make sure," Loki said. "You are an Aesir now; we rarely fall ill."

"All right," Darcy gave a dramatic sigh. She walked hand-in-hand with Loki, basking in the beauty of the city around her. No skyscrapers, no cars, no vulgarity. Darcy loved it here; of course, she missed home from time to time, but Loki took her home every so often to visit her family and friends. It didn't take long to get to the Healing Sanctuary and they were seen straight away, where she was placed upon the strange table and the golden imprint of her body rose up. She was still getting used to all of this; it was strange and so much more effective than Midgardian technology. Gah! She was being converted. There seemed to be something in the lower part of her golden-imprint body, but she couldn't quite work it out.

"Oh, this is wonderful news, Your Highness. You are ill because you are with child," the healer said, her voice brimming with joy. Darcy sat up very quickly and stared at her with shock, ignoring the fact that she had just ruined the imprint.

"I'm pregnant?!" Darcy gasped. The healer nodded to her with a smile. Darcy looked at Loki, who looked equally shocked, before looking at her with a joyful expression. He pulled her up into his arms and held her. "We're going to have a child! Oh my God, Loki!"

"I am the luckiest man alive," Loki said with a smile, before lifting her underneath her knees. "How far along is she?" Loki asked.

"About three months," the healer replied.

"Thank you, Auðr," Loki said. Auðr nodded before Loki did his teleporting trick and they were home. Darcy reached up and kissed him. "I think we should visit Asgard; there are a few people who would like to know."

"Your mother is going to fuss so much!" Darcy said, sighing dramatically.

"Indeed; she will be happy to know that she is finally getting a grandchild," Loki smirked. "I have packed our bags; we will make it a week's stay. We will notify the library and the school on our way." It involved taking a trip to the capital as well, since Loki taught magic at the school. The most prestigious magic academy in the nine realms, of course. Darcy told him he was a snob regularly. Which was probably how junior came to be. She giggled at the memory; he had been talking about his work and being slightly arrogant, so she called him a snob and she ended up being chased around the house until she was caught and dragged to bed. Of course, she never truly needed to be dragged into their bed; it was just a play. After they had settled their business, Loki looked up into the sky and called on Heimdall. The Rainbow Rollercoaster was as exciting as always and Heimdall as stoic as ever. Oh! There was a smile! He was smiling!

"Welcome back, Prince Loki and Princess Darcy. Your mother and father will be happy to see you both," Heimdall said. Loki grinned and took Darcy in his arms again, as if she couldn't walk.

"You know, I have legs and I'm not big yet!" Darcy said. Though that made her put her hands on her stomach; soon she would not see her own feet! She snuggled against Loki's chest as he walked along the Bifrost. She must have dozed off because Loki was nudging her and she blinked awake, taking in her surroundings. They were in the middle of a gathering and Loki led her towards his parents, where they greeted each other as usual. Frigga enveloped Darcy in her arms before pulling back, hands on her shoulders.

"My dear…are you with child?!" Frigga asked. Darcy smiled.

"I am," Darcy said, before she was enveloped in another hug.

"Congratulations my son, Darcy. This is wonderful news," Odin said, father and son wrapped in a hug. Odin stepped back and hit Gungnir to the ground. "Let it be known: Asgard will see witness to a son or daughter of our son Loki and his wife Darcy and we will hold a banquet on the morrow!"

"Have you eaten your evening meal?" Frigga asked.

"Not yet; it was late afternoon in Vanaheim," Darcy said. Frigga smiled.

"Then you will dine while we talk; I simply cannot wait!" Frigga said, excitedly. She heard Thor before she saw him.

"Brother! This is great news! And less pressure on my shoulders," Thor teased. Loki grinned at him.

"Just wait until you become King, Thor. All eyes will be on you and Jane," Loki said.

"That will not be for a while, Loki; father wishes to see me settled with Jane for much longer," Thor said. Darcy was then pulled into another hug with her friend Jane.

"Darcy, I'm so happy for you! When did you find out?" Jane asked.

"Just today; I was feeling a little peaky and Mr. Worrywart over here insisted on taking me to the healer," Darcy said. "Married a year and already pregnant! God!" She was playful in her tone, though.

"It's not too surprising; you're being somewhat traditional. I thought you guys were careful?" Jane asked.

"We were, but it must have been a freaky I don't know…" Darcy said.

"It may have been during the convergence; magic can get a little strange during certain events," Loki said.

"Oooh, so it may not have been the night I called you a snob?" Darcy asked.

"No, dear…if I had no spell upon me, though, you would be pregnant by that night," Loki said wickedly, causing Jane to blush.

"Oh, come on, Jane; you can't still be so easily embarrassed. There's no way you two haven't done it!" Darcy said.

"It's…of course we have, but we're not quite as bold about talking about it," Jane said.

"You might not be; I guarantee Thor is not," Loki grinned. Jane looked at Thor who was pretending to not have heard him. "At any rate, we are here for the week."

"Good gracious, I will not be able to sleep now!" Thor teased.

"Now why would I be so obvious?" Loki grinned. Thor clapped him on the back before bringing him in for an embrace.

"I have missed your wit; we need to visit each other more oft," Thor said.

"It should be a lot easier now that we are more settled into our new lives," Loki smiled. "This is much better than our last meet; defeating Malekith was at least worth the feast that came after. I assume the Aether is safe?"

"Father decided it best to be given to Hel, along with the Tesseract. That much power is too risky anywhere else; anyone could steal it," Thor said.

"The Destroyer would surely defeat any who would try; not that anyone has. Quite boring, really," Loki said, earning a whack on the arm by Thor.

"And you said I was the one always after a battle," Thor teased.

"I can never resist a little drama," Loki said. "It is Darcy's fault."

"Hey!" Darcy said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I still have my taser you know!"

"Oh, I know; I know very well, since you threaten me with it on a monthly basis. I can still feel the tickle from when we first met," Loki said.

"Yeah, well, you deserved it for appearing in my bedroom while I was changing!" Darcy said.

"In fairness, I was drunk and looking for Thor. He had been with our friends and I as we made merry in the tavern, only to end up on Midgard, kissing Jane. I did not realise my brother had a sneaky bone in his body until then. Still, it led to me meeting the fairest lady in all of the nine realms," Loki said.

"I've heard that line before; nice try," Darcy said.

"Damn," Loki joked before they smiled at each other.


Six months passed and Darcy felt like an elephant. She could no longer travel, so they were staying in Asgard for the birth. It made a lot of sense; Asgard would want to see the new addition to the royal family, so staying in Vanaheim would have been a little difficult, since she didn't know when they could travel. Loki always preferred to travel by Bifrost if he could help it. Sure, he had found many hidden pathways in his many years (old fart), but he was more sensible now. The God of Magic and Mischief was a tamed man. She hadn't said that to him out loud, though. In fairness, Thor was far more tame as well, so he at least wouldn't be alone in the description. It didn't stop all of the mischief, of course. She reckoned he would have pranked her with water down there if he didn't think it would stress her and the baby out. The pranks were likely being saved for after the birth. Darcy would be ready. Today, she sat on a sofa in his old quarters. She missed it here; it was beautiful in Asgard and in Vanaheim, so she was really stuck for which she preferred. Of course she missed Earth, but they visited enough that it didn't worry her too much. Besides, her parents were up here and she'd even witnessed the renewal of their wedding vows, Asgardian style, since it was their Silver Wedding Anniversary. What topped off the day was that they were offered an apple each. An apple! Darcy got to keep her family and her best friend forever. Darcy couldn't be happier. Well, once this baby was here she could.

"Lookiiiiii…can you get me some pie?" Darcy asked. "I really want pie. Get me some pie."

"Of course, dear―" Loki started, but they were interrupted by the sound of the alarm bells. She saw Loki become serious and he took out his sword. A magical ball appeared in his hand. "Thor, I am in my quarters with Darcy. Send all those who cannot fight to my chambers." Loki sealed his windows with magic and the walls. He walked to the doors and opened them, seeing the mass hysteria outside. Servants, cooks, all who were not equipped to defend themselves were beckoned inside. Jane and Darcy's parents also rushed inside and to her side, hugging her.

"Make your way into the bedroom," Loki told those who were entering. Their quarters had the large bedroom, a study, bathroom and this lounging area. Suddenly one of the tyrants tried to get in and Loki started to fight him with a mixture of swordplay and magic. Needless to say Darcy's man took him out easily. Loki threw him out of their quarters and continued to scour the halls for anyone else who needed protection. For some reason, it was always wonderful watching Loki fight. She had lost count of the amount of times she had been turned on by watching him defend her or anyone else, which was always a highly inappropriate moment for such a thing since she couldn't exactly do anything about her urges then. More footsteps and Thor appeared.

"Brother, father is badly hurt," Thor said. "Otherwise, the intruders have been dealt with." Loki disappeared instantly and Darcy started out of the door. Thor helped her through the palace and when they got to the room Odin was in, Loki was knelt next to him and using his magic to heal him. Whatever had happened, the healers were only able to do so much and it was down to Loki to save him.

And he did.

Of course he did; it was Loki. Mischief man he may be, uncaring was he not. Darcy waddled over to Loki as he stood up and lifted him up with his magic. She and Thor followed silently as they made their way to Odin's chambers, where they sat by his bedside.

"My son, thank you. Thank both of you; Asgard is safe once again thanks to your efforts, and I continue to live to see another day," Odin said.

"It surprises me that one of those ruffians managed to do this much damage," Loki said. "Although perhaps I only got the stragglers."

"Stragglers or not, you protected those unable to fight; that is as honourable as fighting the main battle," Odin said. Frigga then burst in and joined his side looking anxious.

"Odin, I heard you were injured―" Frigga started, before Odin held up a hand.

"I will be fine; Loki saved my life," Odin said.

"Any son would, father. None of us could bear to lose you," Loki said fondly.

"In other words, if you weren't here anymore, there'd be no one to be a buffer between their mother and them," Darcy joked. "They'd get pestered even more."

"Pregnancy does very strange things to you women," Loki said playfully.

"Especially when they are pregnant with my second son; I only give what I got, Loki," Frigga said with a playful smirk.

"Buuurn," Darcy said. Loki pulled her chair closer so that he could put her into a headlock. "Oi, get off!" But they laughed.


The birth went smoothly and they had a healthy baby girl called Ebony, because Darcy had always wanted to name her child Ebony and Loki had drawn the short straw. She told him he could name the next child. He did like the name, though, which Darcy was glad for. Their little Princess had her hair and Darcy was amazed by the startling green eyes that peered up at her; it seemed Asgardian babies were different to humans in another way. She had read somewhere that babies' eyes started out blue before becoming the colour they're meant to be, depending on whatever that word was that she had forgotten now. Melanin or something. No matter what eyes her baby had, her baby is adorable and she just wanted to cuddle her forever. Unfortunately it was her father's turn to cuddle her, which she begrudgingly allowed. In the meantime, Darcy just couldn't believe how lucky she was; how happy she was that they'd had a child, even though she was still so young and they hadn't even been married a year before conceiving this little one. It was almost like a dream.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Darcy cooed.

"What did you expect, having you for a mother?" Loki smiled.

"Please don't, Loki; you'll make me cry. These hormones still haven't gone," Darcy said, blinking.

"I don't think they ever came nor will ever leave," he grinned, rocking his daughter.

"If you weren't holding Ebony, I'd kick you in the package," Darcy said. "No amount of space alien power will keep you from feeling my wrath." Loki looked at her strangely, but with amusement. "I'm trying to keep the language to a minimum in front of Ebony. So shush." Loki moved and sat down next to her carefully, holding Ebony in his left arm and put his right arm around Darcy, pulling her close.

"Our perfect little family," Loki murmured. "You two are perfect. I love you with all my heart and soul."

"I feel the same about you both," Darcy said, before she leant her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

A little time later, she woke up and she was still in the same place as before. She looked over at Ebony and she was sleeping peacefully in her father's arms. Oh, she was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She loved her so much. It felt like a dream. Except this was real. It was real…Darcy was taken out of her thoughts by a gentle kiss to her throat, not far from the ear and just below the jaw. It made her melt, as always. She turned around and kissed his lips, though she felt like there was something she had forgotten. Something she needed to do? Not really. To say? Nah. Whatever it was, it was important. She hated it when this happened, though it very rarely happened to her.

"What troubles you?" Loki asked, worried.

"I just…feel like I have forgotten something," Darcy admitted.

"I am sure it will come to you in time," Loki said.

"In time…yeah, I'm sure it will. Sorry, weird moment. It's still kind of strange; you and me with a baby. Well, I mean, you're like a thousand years old, but me…I'm only twenty-four! It just feels like a dream…" Darcy rambled. She blinked. Why did she keep repeating those words? It was very strange. She looked at Loki and bit her lip. "I think I need some fresh air. I'll be back as soon as I clear my head, do you mind?"

"Not at all, go ahead. I will look after our little gem," Loki said, reaching for a kiss before she left the room and wandered through the halls towards an exit feeling a chill. Once she was outside, she escaped into the gardens and just…breathed. What was happening? She felt like this was connected to the strange feeling like she had forgotten something. Something important. Forgetting something and feeling almost like a dream. Forget and dream. Forget and dream. You dream and forget. Forget what? What could she have forgotten and what could be a dream? And why did Loki's use of the word gem affect her so?

Wait, wait, wait.

What is the opposite of dreams?

Reality.