Loki awoke in the middle of the night after noticing an emptiness in his bed. He stretched his long arm out, hoping to feel his wife's belly. Instead, his fingers brushed against the silk sheets, forcing the prince to awaken with a start. "Natalia!" he gasped.

"Yes?" She turned her head towards the bed. A letter was in her hand while a single candle resting on Loki's desk acted as her reading light.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked. The red glow from the moon outside told him that it was still night time.

"I couldn't sleep," the princess admitted. "Someone refuses to let me," she tiredly laughed, rubbing her swollen stomach. "I figured I'd read and reply to Ivan's letter now."

Loki got up and knelt before the chair his wife was sitting in. "And how is he?"

"Fine," Natalia smiled. "All is well back home. No attacks, no killings..." She set Ivan's letter aside to run her fingers through Loki's soft hair. "Why aren't you sleeping now?" she calmly asked.

Loki sighed heavily and rested his cheek on Natalia's knee. "This is the third Moon. The final one before my betrayal to the witches is revealed…"

"Look at me," she whispered, stroking his cheek. "You're going to be fine. Thor, Sif, Clinton-they're all going to fight and win this. All because you have faith in this plan. How has your Father been handling this situation?" she added.

"Still unsure of what to think…" Loki looked away from Natalia's eyes to notice a visible movement in her belly. "Tomorrow, I will tell him to make an announcement that the witches have disappeared and the guards will no longer be needed. Except they will still be ready to fight at any given moment. Odin will agree that even though no harm has come to anyone, an attack is still possible." He let his palm trail along the silky fabric of his wife's nightgown. "Come to bed with me," he told his wife with saddened eyes. "Please. I feel safer knowing you are right beside me."

"Help me up, then," Natalia ordered with a smile. "Then read some poetry? Your voice seems to soothe her."

"She is still in need of a name. Have you thought of anything yet?" he wondered, rising to his feet so he could help her get up.

Natalia felt her weight shift as Loki helped her up from the chair. "Your Mother and I have been discussing names. When I find one that sticks, I'll let you know."

"Something beautiful," Loki told her. "And fit for a Princess of royal blood."

"I'll also have a boy's name in mind in case my gut's wrong about this being a girl," she laughed as Loki led her to the bed.

"I'm positive that this is a little girl," Loki proudly grinned. "If you believe that, then I trust your gut," he chuckled.

At one point in the early hours of the morning when the sun was making its appearance, Loki felt a shiver in his body as he heard Amora's voice calling out to him. Loki rose from his bed, making sure Natalia was still asleep before he approached the window. He stared out towards the woods and felt a strong urge to go out. The prince grabbed a robe and slipped it over his pyjamas. "I will be back soon, Natalia," he whispered before his body vanished.

"I knew you would come, my King," Amora greeted the man. Joining her were Yelena and Jane.

"What is it now?" Loki asked in concern. "Has something happened?"

"A change in plans," Amora corrected. "Listen closely, Loki," she stated. "I've talked with several others last night and they've started to…convince me."

"Of what?" Loki prodded, wary.

"A truce," Jane interrupted. "Complete peace."

Amora rolled her eyes at Jane.

"A truce," Loki parroted. "So you wish to disregard my plans?" The prince felt grateful that Amora was willing to make peace, but a gut feeling told him something wasn't right.

"Oh?" Amora blinked. "So you crave the throne, after all…" she purred in interest.

"The throne is mine no matter what the outcome," Loki snorted. "However…" For Natalia's sake and for the safety of his family, he decided to play along with this so called 'truce.' "I will agree to go along with a peace treaty. So long as no blood is shed. Not one drop," he warned the witch.

Amora winked before grabbing Yelena's hand and vanishing into thin air.

"I don't trust them one bit!" Jane huffed once the witches were gone.

"Nor do I," Loki admitted with a determined look in his eyes. "She is lying. I can sense it…"

Jane looked to the prince in disbelief. "Then what do we do?!" she exclaimed. "Do you think she will attempt to kill the King herself?"

"No," Loki stated. "I will see to it that my family is far away from our home during the next Moon."

"She'll find you," Jane warned him. "Who knows what company she'll bring with her..."

"How can you be so sure that I will be found?" Loki asked. "She's never come to me on her own… Or perhaps she wants me to leave my home…" He frowned, letting a finger stroke his chin. The prince felt the need to be at least two steps ahead of his opponent. Loki began to feel trapped as the proverbial walls of his scheme came crashing down on top of him.

Jane furrowed her brows, unsure of what to say. She knew Loki was in a mess. His worried expression was a new sight to her. "Loki…"

"I will wait for the next Moon," Loki decided. "There could be the possibility that Amora wants me to let my guard down. Maybe to kill me… or Natalia," he quietly added. "I will make certain that the hunters are standing guard in case anything comes up."

"But what if there aren't any attacks?"

Loki paused to look Jane in the eyes. "Then maybe, just maybe, I will trust that Amora is set on a truce…"

"If you ask for my opinion, I say we bring in hunters from our neighbours. Perhaps Lord Stark's town," Loki suggested during a meeting with the King.

"Funny," Odin noted, folding his hands atop his desk. "You have seemed so carefree as of late. I thought you believed that we were at peace with the witches."

"One can never be too sure. Or too careful, for that matter," Loki reminded the King. "You never know when an attack might come about." He noticed that Odin seemed pleased with his sudden interest in an attack. Lately, everyone with the exception of the King had become more relaxed. "With a child of my own on the way, I realize that safety is key for the sake of my family," Loki continued. "I have responsibilities not only as a Prince, but as a husband and father. If something were to happen to Natalia, I would never forgive myself…" Loki looked straight into Odin's dark blue eye. "I want everyone safe. For this reason, I wish you to hire more guards to surround the castle."

"A wise decision," Odin noted. "One that will not go ignored," he promised with a small smile.

"Elizabeth?...Arabella?" Frigga asked aloud as she read from a thick tome. "That name is very pretty..."

Natalia wasn't sure what to say. Tea with the Queen turned in to 'let's find the baby a name right this second.' Natalia couldn't complain, though, since she was the one who mentioned that she and Loki were just discussing the child's lack of a name. She wished she could be with Loki while he talked with his Father. That sounded much more exciting…

"Katherine? The name means 'pure,'" Frigga continued. "Or Anton-'beyond praise.'"

Natalia idly stared into the empty contents of her tea cup. A nap sounded pleasing right about now.

"Merida. 'One having achieved a high place of honour.'" She heard Natalia groan and glanced up from the book to look at her. "Is everything alright, dear?"

"She just started kicking again," Natalia remarked. "What was that name about honour?"

"Merida," the Queen repeated.

Natalia hummed to herself as she rubbed her middle. "I'll remember that. She seemed to like it." She hoped that Frigga would let her off the hook with that comment, but the Queen didn't seem too reluctant to see her off just yet.

"Now, on the chance that your motherly intuition is wrong, we should have a prince's name picked out," she beamed.

Natalia knew she meant well, but this was boring. Horribly, horribly boring…