Chapter 3

The Announcement

"My Lady!"

A chambermaid and an Einherjar guard came rushing into Sigyn's room at the sound of her blood-curdling cry.

"What has happened? Are you alright?"

Sigyn stared wordlessly at the servant and the guard, still too frightened to form words. For several long seconds, she could only pant and clutch at the silken bedsheets.

Loki! Every fiber of her being cried out that he was in danger- and he was so far away.

"Princess, please. Is there something we can do for you?" The guard asked, but Sigyn remained unable to answer. The maid frowned and disappeared, returning a few moments later with the Queen.

"What's this?"

The guard snapped to attention as Queen Frigga entered the room. She noticed Sigyn's tear-streaked face and settled on the edge of the mattress beside her, reaching up to gently cup her cheek, "Sigyn?"

"Something's happened to Loki," Sigyn rasped, finally mustering the strength to reply. "Please! you must send help!"

Queen Frigga's expression darkened. She signaled the guard. "Get to the observatory as fast as you can. Tell Heimdall that Prince Loki may be in peril. Ask him what he sees and send whatever aid is needed."

"Yes, my Queen." The man scurried to obey. Frigga turned her attention to the maid. "Bring the Princess some spiced wine and let the Allfather know where I have gone."

"Yes, your Majesty." Frigga watched the woman leave and then helped Sigyn out of bed and into a silk robe. "Tell me everything that happened."

"I had a dream..." Sigyn began anxiously. "It was a dream I've had many times before. When it starts, Loki and I are in a cave. I can't see anything at first. Everything is shrouded in mist. When the mist clears away, I see that Loki is tied down to a rock and can't move. No matter what I try, I can't break him free. Up above there is a coiling snake, and the snake drips poison on his face." Sigyn shivered at the memory, drawing the robe more tightly around her shoulders. "I always try to save him, but I can't. I try to untie the bonds, but they are too tight. Then I try to catch the poison. There's a bowl. I hold it until it fills, but I must leave him to empty the bowl and when I do…It's agony for him. The entire world seems to shake. Then it starts all over again. Usually, I wake up with Loki safe beside me and the dream simply fades away, but this time…something was different. Something was wrong."

"Wrong how?"

Sigyn was grateful for the Queen's Vanir heritage. The older woman didn't question the idea of prophetic dreams or premonitions. She accepted them as fact.

"Do you know the kahalan?"

"The Vanir mindsong? Of course," The queen smiled wistfully, "But I was taken from Vanaheim so young that I am not adept."

"Few are these days. I, myself practiced only a little until my days on Jotunheim. Do you remember what I told you about my time there?"

"The sorceress Angrboda transfigured you into a wolf."

"Yes. The mindsong was my only way of speaking then. I grew quite skilled. I can send messages to Loki when he is near and I can feel him even when we are far apart. Tonight, when I reached out. I felt him, but the snake was there too. It was exactly like in my dream, but I was completely awake."

The queen frowned and paced the room, trying to make sense of what she had heard until the Einherjar returned.

"Word from Heimdall, my Queen," he said, kneeling to deliver his message. "He bade me tell you that he has looked in on Vanaheim this night and all is well. The palace is secured, and the princes are both asleep in their beds."

Sigyn sank into a chair and accepted the glass of mulled wine that Frigga pressed into her hands. Her expression was a mixture of relief and shame.

"I am sorry that I disturbed you. I was mistaken, it seems."

Frigga shook her head. "There's no need to apologize, child. Our people have the sight. It is never wise to ignore a premonition. It may truly be nothing more than loneliness that disturbed you tonight -or the Norns may be selecting new threads, showing you a fate that is not yet spun."

In Vanaheim, Thor and the army worked to clear out monsters and raiders from the settlements while Loki attended to the more mundane tasks of governance, planning infrastructure and settling claims to farms that had been abandoned a millennia before. He worked four days receiving a summons back to Asgard to account for his requisitions.

"The Minister of the Treasury said you asked to double the allocation for Vanaheim's defense," the Allfather said, scowling down from his throne at his youngest son.

Loki frowned and took a breath before responding. "Double, for now. It will take many times that amount for the realm to rebuild proper fortifications."

"Fortifications against what?" Odin demanded. The annoyance in his voice was patent.

Loki scowled. "I'm sure you've been reading Thor's reports…"

I'm sure you haven't. Thor never takes enough time away from brawling and drinking to submit reports. Not that you care or notice.

"…but the Northern provinces were all but overrun before he and his men came through."

"Precisely. Were overrun. The Einherjar made short work of any resistance."

"For now," Loki said carefully. "Vanaheim sits at the Western edge of the Nine Realms. It's vulnerable."

"But Asgard can contain the threat."

"Provided we can respond in time. You don't mean to garrison an army on Vanaheim?"

The Allfather frowned, "No. Nor do I intend to provide my oldest enemies with defenses that they will most likely turn against us. I gave Njord his freedom. It's up to the old fool to keep it -if he can."

I'm sure your grandchildren wish him success since you care nothing about their inheritance.

"Is that all, father?"

Odin waved his hand in dismissal and Loki seized the opportunity to escape. There were a thousand tasks wanting his attention on Vanaheim, but he decided they could wait.

Let Thor make decisions about sanitation systems for a few days.

Loki hurried to his private apartments. It was early afternoon. He expected to find his wife inside, and so he was disappointed to discover that the room was empty. He was about to flag down a servant and inquire about the Princess's whereabouts when he heard voices drifting in from the terrace. Loki followed the sound outside to find Sigyn sitting at a table with two soldiers dressed in the uniform of the Crimson Hawks. One of them, a tall man with graying hair and a scar above his temple, seemed familiar. His companion did not. Loki eyed them both with suspicion.

Like mother, like daughter.

The second man noticed the Prince's arrival and scrambled to his feet. He stood at military attention. "Your Highness!"

His companion copied the action a moment later.

Loki acknowledged the men with a cool nod of his head and then turned to Sigyn for an explanation.

"My love! You're home!" She exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and rushing to Loki's arms. She dabbed a kiss on his cheek before introducing her guests. "You remember Grevis and Theoric?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"From Jotunheim."

The taller man, Grevis, stepped forward. "You only met us once, Highness, and it was under difficult circumstances."

"The night the witch died." Theoric clarified.

"Grevis and Theoric were under Angrboda's spell at the same time I was. They helped me survive in the Iron Wood."

"Ah," Loki nodded, finally making the connection, although it didn't improve his mood. He offered the men a terse smile that Grevis immediately acknowledged.

"We should take our leave, my Lady." He said, bowing smartly, first to the princess and then to the prince. "You'll want to welcome your husband properly."

"My Lady." Theoric copied his actions and both men disappeared through the terrace doors.

"I'm sorry about that," Sigyn said as soon as her guests left. "I didn't know you would be home today."

"I'd hardly expect you to entertain strange men in our rooms when you expect me to be here," Loki snapped.

Sigyn looked stricken by his suggestion. "Loki! you don't think-!"

Loki sighed. "No. I don't think that. I'm tired and hungry, and my plan to ravish you the second I got home was thwarted, putting me in a terrible mood."

"Was Vanaheim horrible?"

"It was tolerable…until father dragged me back to tell me everything I'm doing wrong."

Sigyn stepped forward and reached her arms around Loki's neck. Her eyes focused momentarily on the golden necklace. She touched it and frowned, but seemed to think better of saying anything about it. She drew her hand away quickly and continued twining her arms around her husband to pull him close. "I want to hear everything."

"Absolutely not." Sigyn squealed when Loki scooped her off the ground and carried her to their bed. "I spent the last four days talking about land disputes and logistics chains. I am not going through all that again. I intend to make love to my wife, eat some proper Asgardian food and sleep in my own bed."

It was several hours later after the servants had carried the supper plates away when they both were curled together under the blankets that Sigyn mentioned Vanaheim again.

Loki told her about the changes he had seen, and the transformation of the palace, but decided not to mention the specifics of his conversation with Odin.

"What did you do while I was away?"

"I visited grandfather and my sisters. It pains him that he wasn't well enough to go. And I accompanied your mother on some engagements and... I went to see Eir."

"Eir." Loki sat up in the bed at the mention of the healer's name. "Why? Were you sick? Are you hurt?"

Father could have sent word, but didn't.

"No! I'm fine!" Sigyn said quickly, laying a soothing hand against his chest. "I was feeling...unsettled. I had a bad dream the night that you left and the queen thought I should ask Eir for a draught to help me sleep."

"But everything was normal."

"Not normal, exactly."

"Sigyn."

"I'm pregnant." Sigyn blurted the words and let them hang in the air between them.

Loki went very still.

"Have you told father?" he asked after a long pause.

"No. Of course not. I would never tell anyone before you." Sigyn tilted her head uncertainly, "You're not displeased?"

"Displeased? How could I be?" Loki pressed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm merely surprised."

Sigyn cast a pointed look at the crumpled bed linens. "Surprised that it took this long?"

Loki laughed and kissed her again. "I supposed that's fair." He stroked his hand down her side and settled it on her stomach. "How long will it be until the baby comes?"

"Eir thinks he will be born sometime after your great-grandfather's feast day."

"He?" Loki seized on the word.

"He." Sigyn laid her hand over Loki's. "Our son."

"You seem in good spirits, brother! "

Thor greeted Loki in their father's council chambers the following morning. The other councilors bowed to the prince as he shuffled to his seat.

"A good night's sleep can do wonders for one's disposition," Odin's treasurer opined.

"Oh, I doubt sleep had much to do with it," Thor said. He shot his brother a conspiratorial wink across the table but steadied his expression as the Allfather entered the room.

"Gentlemen," Odin said. He nodded and took his seat at the head of the table. The High Chancellor began a recitation of the business of the day. Loki listened with disinterest until the discussion turned to Vanaheim

Thor's recitation of his military exploits was followed by a more mundane review of Loki's reports and expenditures and a renewed debate on fortifications.

"Father, I ask you to reconsider," Loki felt that his position was stronger with Thor's description of battle fresh in the Council's mind, "If we leave Vanaheim exposed to attack, they may not have time to call for help. I understand why you are wary, but I believe your caution is unwarranted. It seems nearly certain that king Njord's life is near its end. Sigyn will be Queen. You cannot doubt her loyalty."

Odin snorted. "Sigyn's loyalty is to her family, not to Asgard."

Loki's expression blackened. "I'm her family. I'm Asgardian…" He met his father's eyes. "Our child is Asgardian."

There was a moment of silence as Loki's words sank in.

"Sigyn is expecting?" Odin's voice was oddly hollow.

Loki nodded, confused by his father's reaction. "She informed me only last night. She will deliver sometime around the feast of Buri. We're expecting a son. The Vanir succession is secured. You've won."

Odin's features looked grim. He gazed around the table, meeting each man's gaze. "You must forget what you have heard here today. This news does not leave this room without my order. I will make an announcement when I deem it fit."

Loki blinked in shock.

"But father- !"

"Silence, boy! There are more things at work here than you know."

What kind of a man treats would want to hide the news of his grandchild?

Loki scowled and sank back into his chair, tugging at his collar.

The dark cloud that had hovered over Loki's mood for the past week returned. He endured the rest of the meeting in brooding silence and tried to slink away as soon as it was over. He wasn't fast enough to evade Thor.

"Congratulations, brother!" Thor's voice boomed through the hallway as he slung his arm around Loki's back. "A nephew! I can scarcely wait to start corrupting him!"

"Thank you, brother, but you should probably save this conversation for a less public venue. Didn't you hear? Father doesn't want us to tell anyone."

"Since when do we do as we're told?" Thor asked, utterly unconcerned with Odin's orders.

"You're not plotting mischief again?" A feminine voice cut in.

Thor and Loki turned toward their mother. The queen excused herself from a clutch of ladies-in -waiting and joined her sons. She kissed them both on their cheeks. "Now-what is it that you aren't going to do?"

"Keep Loki's secret,'" Thor said gleefully.

Frigga looked at Loki expectantly. "Tell me. I learn everything anyway."

Loki sighed in surrender. "Sigyn and I are having a baby."

The expression on Frigga's face was the one he had longed for from Odin. The Queen gasped in delight throwing her arms around his neck and kissing both his cheeks.

"Oh, Loki! How wonderful!"

"Well, I'm glad someone is happy about it." Frigga arched her brow and looked to Thor for an explanation.

"Father was very strange about it."

"Ah..." Frigga's smile dimmed. She looked down at her hands. "There are some... conversations... that he needs to have with you before Sigyn delivers. Things that you both need to know."

"About what?" Loki demanded.

Frigga shook her head, "It is not my place to say."

Months slipped by without any explanation for Odin's strange behavior.

The days passed in a strange sort of suspended animation. King Njord remained in Asgard at Noatun. He was alive but too ill to travel. Odin continued to treat Sigyn's pregnancy with an odd reserve, refusing official acknowledgement and excluding Sigyn from royal engagements as her belly swelled with Loki's child. Loki continued his visits to Vanaheim, struggling to stretch their meagre resources as far as they would go, invariably returning to lectures that he was asking too much, doing too little and ungrateful for what he had. Nights with Sigyn were a respite from the grinding monotony of his days.

Loki observed with wonder as Sigyn's body ripened with his child. He lingered with her for hours, stroking his fingers over the voluptuous spread of her curves and resting his hand on her stomach to feel their son's first fluttering kicks. Some women fell ill when expecting, but Sigyn was radiantly pregnant. She seemed to grow stronger every hour along with the life she carried. Seeing her at the end of each day justified Loki's clashes with Odin.

He vowed to restore Vanaheim.

For Sigyn.

For their son.

Two months before the feast of Buri, Loki and Sigyn were summoned to dine with the King and Queen.

"You're looking well, Sigyn," Frigga said, offering her daughter-in-law an appraising glance. The girl seemed ready to deliver at any moment.

"Thank you, my Queen," Sigyn answered, accepting the compliment. "I feel well. Eir says that the baby is uncommonly large, so it cannot be much longer."

Loki saw a look pass between his parents, but they said nothing further to Sigyn.

"Be seated," the Allfather commanded and then nodded for the servants to begin filling glasses and plates. He took a sip of wine and cleared his throat. "I called you here today for a particular purpose. You know that you are both very dear to me. I am quite pleased with the things you have accomplished, and I look forward to the deeds that your future holds. I wanted you to know that ten days hence, I intend to gather the Lords of the Nine Realms here to make an announcement."

"Norns be praised," Loki said, laughing and lifting his glass of wine toward his father. "I was starting to think you intended to wait until my son was born before you let us announce Sigyn's pregnancy."

The Allfather's face turned grim. Frigga reached to take Loki's hand.

"You misunderstand, Loki. The purpose of the assembly is not to herald the new prince. I am weary, and the days of my reign are ending."

The Prince sat his wine down very slowly. "What are you saying?"

Odin met Loki's eyes.

"I'm going to name Thor king."