Screams filled the vaulted healing chamber, rising to the high ceilings and bouncing off the stone, as golden flecks swirled and organized themselves into complicated images of Nancy's insides. An alarm began, trilling softly, and mingled with Nancy's cries of agony in a strange, discordant symphony. The colors changed, then, blending gold and red into the image of a baby. The alarm grew louder.
"Something went wrong with the healing spell!" The voices were distant, faded, as colors blurred in and out of Nancy's vision. "Her wounds are beginning to come open again. She went into labor early. Hopefully we can save the baby."
A vile was placed to her lips and her mouth filled with a bitter, thick liquid. Through the fuzz and fire, Nancy remembered the taste. The bitter medicine that relieved her pain. She swallowed as quickly as her body would allow.
Loki couldn't stay back. He stepped to Nancy's side and wrapped his fingers around hers. She was so cold, as if her body barely grasped on to life.
He shot the healer a glare. "Save them both, woman."
"Yes, your majesty. We will do all we can."
Another vile was placed to Nancy's lips. This liquid had the consistency of water, but had a deep, earthy taste, like that of fresh, pulverized herbs. This, too, she swallowed quickly, thinking it was a pain reliever as well. As soon as the liquid hit her stomach, though, Nancy's body curled and convulsed in response, pain searing through her abdomen and ripping her internal organs to shreds. Her agonized cries rose an octave, far surpassing those even of her terrified cries from her first encounter with Loki's snakes.
Loki's hand involuntarily clenched around Nancy's. He had to keep a hold of himself. He had to remain calm. For her sake. He couldn't panic, no matter how much he wanted to. Loki reached his other hand to stroke his bride's hair, hoping it might help. Every other emotion, he shut down. His eyes went dark, his body still and rigid. "Why is she still screaming?"
From deep within the sea of broken glass and splinters, Nancy heard Loki's voice. His question. Felt his hand in hers and his fingers tangled in her hair. Her consciousness rose to the surface long enough to retort back the obvious, "Because it hurts!" Idiotic man; wasn't it obvious to him how much pain she was in? Why was he asking stupid questions?
Another vile was placed to her lips, and Nancy knocked back another draught of the thick painkiller. It dulled the pain, but nowhere near ended it.
"She's lost a lot of blood." Nancy recognized the woman's voice. The same woman who had treated her every time she came to the healing rooms. The woman shrouded in gold, silver, and blue. The healer in charge of all the others. "Let us pray she has the strength to continue."
Loki kept his fingers moving atop Nancy's hair, the only thing keeping him sane at this moment. "Do you need her awake for this?"
"Very much so." The healer moved down to the end of the bed, near Nancy's feet. "This is not a pleasant sight, majesty. Perhaps you would like to wait in the hall?"
"My place is by her side! I am sure I've seen worse, and besides if I leave now, I will only destroy something else."
The healer gave a soft sigh, then turned her attention to Nancy. "M'lady, you need to push. We need to get the baby out. ….
Skillful as they were, the healers left no time for an answer. One stepped to Nancy's side, speaking calmly while she coached the woman through birth. Healers, more so than anyone else, knew how much a calm, kind word could assist the process.
Still, calm and kind words wouldn't be enough. Though the king looked on and each healer feared what he might do if anything went wrong, they couldn't keep a hold on what happened. A tear in Nancy's abdomen split open. Nancy's scream could hardly be counted as human. It shook the rafters and rattled pillars. A cry of agony so high and loud that not a single healer could keep from flinching.
"The baby..." One of the healers motioned to the hologram. "We need to move it. Now."
The woman in charge sighed. She no longer had a choice. Though it may get her fired—or worse—she would rather have a clear conscience. As they did with many surgeries, the healer ghosted her hands into the womb and cradled the baby within them. A short spell would save the child, so the woman used the old magic. From the womb, the baby slowly disappeared. It reappeared on the other side of the room, amid the hands of healers awaiting its arrival.
For a moment, the healers worked tirelessly in a room far too quiet. Spells floated in the air, magic swirling as they did their jobs. Finally, a cry tore from the corner. A baby's first breath filled the air.
With the baby saved, the healer removed her hands from the womb. Blood ran freely down her arms and dripped to the floor. They had only removed one obstacle. The woman still bled too profusely for anyone to feel safe about it.
Nancy's head lolled to the side as consciousness left her.
Loki sighed in relief, hearing the first cries of a healthy child. Nancy would be happy they had saved the baby. Loki turned back to his bride, only to find her face pale as death and her eyes closed.
Panic rose inside him like a tidal wave. "What is wrong now? Why is she unconscious?"
The woman in charge shooed Loki aside. "She's lost too much blood." Spells, magic, or medicine? The woman briefly paused to decide what would work fastest. Upon closer inspection of the patient, the woman turned to give orders.
Loki didn't budge. How could he, when he might lose the only thing he ever found precious? "How could you allow that to happen? I told you to SAVE HER!"
The woman, old enough to be Loki's grandmother, shot him a glare. For the first time in a long time, her voice rose above its standard volume. "I am doing everything I can! But you need to remove yourself forthwith! You are in the way."
How dare she raise her voice at him? Still, Nancy had no time for Loki to stand around and argue. For the sake of her health, Loki removed himself from the station. Instead, he stalked to the corner and craned his neck to see his child.
The healers' voices whisked back and forth in a whisper so small Loki almost didn't hear it. But he did.
"She's so small. How can she be so small when the mother was so… large? I've never seen one this small."
"Let us hope she survives."
A baby girl. A small child, but no less beautiful. Loki couldn't see much, so he stalked closer. "She? I've a daughter?" A glance over the women's shoulders showed a babe no larger than the palm of Loki's hand. Something so small and weak... he wouldn't allow all this pain to come to naught. "She will survive."
Both women startled at the voice of the prince. They glanced to each other, but only one was brave enough to speak up. "Sire, she was born too early."
"Yes. I am aware of that. But, if the Midgardian doctors can save a child born early, surely the great healers of Asgard can do no less." Loki glared at each of them in turn.
Unable to refute a direct command, both women turned back to the baby. She cried as they cleaned her, ever so gently, but seemed more content when they finally swaddled her in a blanket of the finest silk.
One of the woman looked back to Loki, then. "Would you like to hold her, sire?"
Hold her? What was he to do? Loki didn't have a gentle side. He had hurt this child's mother. Why did he think he could do anything but hurt the child? Loki swallowed convulsively. "Will I not break her?"
The healer smiled at the nervous king. "Be gentle with her and she will be fine." She didn't give Loki much choice, she simply reached out and set the child in Loki's arms.
Loki studied his new daughter. Such tiny features. Such a small face. Hair so like her mother's in its color and texture. Never before had Loki thought he could love something so small so instantly. "She is perfect."
"Loki?" Nancy's voice was weak from pain and her lack of strength, "Darling…." She groaned softly as consciousness slowly returned, and brought with it the dull ache of a body repairing itself.
Loki turned immediately at the sound of his beloved's voice. He didn't care that the healers may not want him to carry the child around. He wouldn't put her down. "Love, look at your perfect daughter. Our Senna."
Nancy gave him a soft smile, barely registering his words or features. "Senna. I like it." The drugs and spells swirled around in her mind, muting her senses. All she needed to know was their child had survived. Gathering what remained of her strength, Nancy craned her neck to see her daughter, not quite making out her tiny features either. "She's beautiful." Nancy managed to mumble before beginning to slip back into a magic-fueled sleep.
"Yes. She is." Loki took a breath, steadying himself. At last, he felt his heart could beat on. He looked up at a groggy and sleepy Nancy. "And you? Will you be alright?"
"Hm… dunno." Nancy mumbled again as her eyes slipped closed and she fell back under, her unconsciousness now calm and safe. She would need her rest in the coming days, this rest serving as only the beginning of it.
The old woman in charge of the birth motioned to a complicated replica of what had happened inside Nancy's body. "She has a great tear inside, caused by the mingling of your magic and ours. The older tendrils could not handle both the new threads and the growing child. In her condition, she should never have been able to conceive to begin with."
"It doesn't matter. The child is well... and perfect. Nancy will be well, too." Loki took a moment to glare at the old woman once more. "Will she not?"
The woman sighed. "She will survive, but that will be your only child by her. She can never have another, lest the magic snap again. As time progresses, the spell will become a part of her. If a new object appears, the spell will try to reject it. Apologies, your majesty, but this is the only way she can survive a tear this great."
Loki took his eyes from the healer to study his bride. She had survived. All would be well. She could remain by his side. Now and forever. Loki shook his head, his thoughts finally, completely clear. "I do not care. This child is perfect. And I would rather she live alongside me than produce more heirs."