Chapter 14: Finale

Lunch with her friends was a daily thing, but today was different. The three warriors, and the Lady Sif were quiet the entire time. Every now and then, Cellie caught them staring at her belly. "Do you mind telling me what is going on?" she asked, finally annoyed. "Um, well," stuttered Volstagg, "we think we may have come up with a solution for your troubles." Raising her eyebrow in question, "and what is this solution my friends?" Proudly standing tall, Fandral said, "We are going to bring Thor back." Cellie wanted to smile. She wanted to do something to show her appreciation, but the only movement her body allowed was leaning forward in pain. Sif quickly ran to her side, "Are you alright? Is this not good news?" With tears in her eyes, Cellie decided to tell her best friends what she had been going through for two days.

Her reflection in the mirror showed the tears she had been shedding. She slowly brushed out her long curls, thinking about Thor. She loved him so much, but she was being forced to marry his brother. What would it matter to Thor? Heimdall told her just yesterday that he had kissed the mortal woman. It was the kiss that Cellie knew was going to happen, but she kept pushing that thought aside. It had now become a reality. Even though he had been away for a long time, she felt her heart breaking. She slightly bent forward in pain. Placing a hand to her belly, she realized it had been painfully tightening all day. Not even eight months along, she became worried and left the comfort of her room to seek out her nurse.

The nurse removed her hand from the rock hard belly with saddened expression. "My lady, you are having contractions. We need to ready you for delivery." Cellie shook her head, "No. Not yet. It is still too early. I will wait some time, and return to you if it becomes too painful." The older woman simply nodded, knowing she could not argue with her soon to be queen. Leaving the medical wing, she set out for the kitchens. It was lunch time with her friends.

"That's it then! We must retrieve Thor immediately," shouted an enthusiastic Hogun. "My lady, please, go to the king. Tell him of the child, and that your body is ready to have him, whispered Sif. The warriors stood proud, as they adjusted the armor on their bodies. Cellie hugged each one of them before wishing them luck, as they turned to face the door. A guard walked into the room and stated, "Heimdall wishes to speak to the warriors. You are to meet him at the Bifrost, at once." They all gasped, and looked at each other, knowing they were in trouble. The king had set a travel freeze on the Bifrost a few days ago, and Heimdall had listened in to their plans. The brave group left to face the gatekeeper, as Cellie set off to find Loki.

She finally made it to the throne room, holding her belly in pain. Standing tall, she did not want to show weakness in front of her king. The guard opened the door, led her inside, and closed the doors. It seemed Loki wanted a private chat. He sat on his throne, sinister looking, with one hand running through his hair. "Loki," she meekly called out. No response. Stepping closer, she repeated herself, "Loki, I need to speak with you." Slowly looking up from his gaze at the ground, his face softened at the sight of a beautiful woman with an enlarged belly. "My Cellie, how do you feel?" He stood and walked closer to her, placing his hands eagerly on her abdomen. His face tensed when he felt it tighten under his touch. Her face showed no pain, but he could tell she was holding back. "What just happened?" She looked away, and stepped towards a small bench in the corner of the room. "We need to talk."

He followed her, and sat down next to her, keeping his hand on her belly. "Loki," he looked up, "I am to have the child soon. Very soon." With worry in his face, "It is much too soon. You have another seven weeks until you reach full term." "I am aware of this," she said with little expression in her voice, "that is why I had the warriors do what they are doing. If they are to be punished, let it be me." He chuckled, "What is it they are to do?" She kept her gaze down, "As we speak, they are traveling through the Bifrost to find Thor, and bring him back." He jerked his hand away from its resting spot, and glared at the woman. "You know he cannot return. His lesson has not been learned. If he comes back, he will be powerless. Like a mortal."

She stood and walked towards the throne. Once again, he followed her. "I love him, Loki. I want him here, to be with me and the baby..." "I am the father! You are mine! You have agreed to marry me!" "I want him back!" He stood close, and looked down at her, "I told you, that if you married me, I would bring him back." Keeping her head high, "Even though I agreed, I still do not want to marry you. I want Thor. Powerless, or not, I love him. And Sif found a way to bring him back. The four of them will explain everyth..." Loki's face turned dark, almost blue, as he growled, "You...are...mine..." He grabbed her by the wrist and led her out of the throne room. Leading her up the stairs, she realized where he was taking her. When they reached the all too familiar doors, he kicked them open, and tossed her onto the bed. "Stay," he commanded as she tried to get up.

He rummaged through all sorts of bottles that were laying around the room. It looked as if he had gone mad with some sort of potion. "Aha!" He walked back to her, and held out a small clear bottle, filled with black liquid. "Drink this. It will save the child." She raised an eyebrow, "How? How will it save my son?" His face wrinkled in anger when she said my instead of our son. "You are in active labor, are you not?" "Yes..." "The child will die if it is to be born now, will it not?" With tears in her eyes, "yes..." He knelt in front of her, holding the bottle in her hands with his own. "Then please," he pleaded, "drink this. It will save him." She nodded, opened the bottle, and quickly gulped it back. "Now what?" Loki stood, and pointed to the door. "Leave."

"But Loki, I..." "Leave!" She quickly left the room, and made her way back to her bedroom. Halfway there however, she fell to the ground in pain. Her stomach lurched as she felt nauseous. Hearing quiet footsteps fade away, she tried turned to them and held her hand out. Her vision was started to blur, so she could not tell it was Lady Frigga, walking in the other direction. Cellie felt helpless, and stupid. Loki did not want to save the child. He poisoned her. Her body lurched again as she emptied her stomach onto the floor. This caught the attention of Frigga, for she came running to her side. "Let us get you to the nurses, quickly." She helped the weak woman stand, but she refused to see the nurse. "I am alright. I just got dizzy." Frigga nodded, and let the woman pass.

It took her a few minutes, and small break, but she finally reached her favorite balcony. Maybe if her friends had returned, she would be able see them. Keeping her eye on the horizon, she watched curiously as her king rode out on his steed towards Heimdall. She watched in shock as they started to fight, and gasped as Loki lifted his hand, and froze the gatekeeper in a block of ice. Wait, ice? Another gasp left her lips as she watched in horror the scene that played out in front of her. As quickly as the rainbow bridge opened, it closed. From the mouth of the Bifrost, stepped Loki, and a couple of Frost Giants. Two stayed behind to keep an eye on Heimdall, and the other two followed Loki towards the palace. "I must warn my lady," Cellie exclaimed. She turned to run towards Odin's bedchamber, but was stopped by an unnerving feeling.

"Stay here," Loki commanded of the frost giants, as he spotted Cellie on the floor a good distance away. He jogged up to her, "What is wrong?" She was obviously in pain, and what he saw on the ground made him shudder in fear. She had just thrown up blood, and her face was white. "Frigga...tried..to.." "Ssshh," he tried to soothe her, "let us get you help." He bent down and picked up her up bridal style. "No...nnmm...that hurts..." He quickened his pace, trying to keep her as still as possible. By the time he reached the nurses' wing, she had passed out from the pain. At least, he hoped it was just the pain.

He laid her on the closest bed, kissed her forehead, and whispered into her ear, "Please forgive me...I knew this would kill you, but it will save our son. Like I once said, If I cannot have you, nobody will. I love you, Cellie. Farewell." He kissed her forehead once more before leaving her to the nurses. Leaving the medical wing, one of the frost giants told Loki,"You are weak." "At least I have a heart," he replied. As he turned his path towards Odin's bedchambers, Loki let a single tear run down his face. "Now, to business."

The nurses all quickly gathered around the woman to assess the situation. The only thing they could figure out, was that the baby was coming, even though it was too soon. It would be difficult now, for Cellie had gone unconscious. "The king said she was throwing up blood," said a younger nurse. "I heard Lady Frigga saw her on the ground earlier. Dizzy, and sick." The oldest woman there, Jana, the one nurse that helped Cellie her entire pregnancy knew almost exactly what had happened. "Poison," was all she said. The others gasped in shock, and looked to their elder. "Are you sure?" She slightly hesitated before continuing, not knowing if she should speak of such things. "The king has threatened her life many times. I knew he would do it. I just had no clue he would be so cruel to take the life of his own child as well." The nurses all looked downward in sadness. "Well, what are we to do then?"

They tied her arms and legs to a bed in the back. One nurse held her head tight in her hands. Jana stood by the side of the bed, a sharp blade in her hand. "I have only ever done this twice. She must remain perfectly still. It is our only chance of saving this child." All the women looked nervous as she placed the tip of the blade against the pale skin. She breathed sharply inward as she quickly, but steadily sliced through Cellie's delicate belly. "How is she," she asked while concentrating on her current task. "She's not moving, but her heart is slowing down. We are losing her, hurry." Tossing the blade to the side, Jana dug her hands inside the wide gash, feeling around for the child.

Darkness. Darkness. Everywhere she looked, was just darkness. Cellie slowly stumbled forward. She knew not where she was headed, but she hoped for a light to show itself along her current path. Reaching her hands out, she felt no walls. Nothing. Her feet dragged along a cold texture-less floor. "Cellie!" She turned towards the call of her name, but the sound bounced off the walls like an eternal echo. "Cellie!" The voice called again. She started running in the direction she thought it was coming from. Suddenly, a jolt of pain ran up her left side causing her to double over rather quickly.

Author's Note: Only one more left! Please don't kill me!