Brigitte lounged in her bed, the sun was just beginning to peak over the mountains. She already heard some of the early risers of their village beginning to stir, readying to feed their livestock. Stretching underneath the heavy fur blankets, her body hit the still sleeping body of her husband.
"Good morning little one," She whispered, rubbing her very round belly as the baby inside stirred. With her oldest child already having young children of his own and her youngest ready to be wed, this new baby came as an incredible surprise, Arne had spent three days straight drinking in celebration to the Norns that they had blessed them with another child. Brigitte secretly wished for a girl, after having four sons, while Arne like any other man wished for another strong and healthy boy. The village thought her touched by the Gods, but behind her back they did not think she would survive another birth at her age.
Arne snored loudly, his naked back toward her, littered with scars from battle, and his hands worn from his work as the village blacksmith. If she was honest, she thought her parents were mad when they told her they were to be wed. Arne was hulking and it seemed his only thoughts revolved around drinking and brawling; both things he was good at. She had her doubts that he would be a good husband and a good father, but unlike some of her friends husbands, he was not a brute when he was drunk, and he always doted on his boys and treated Brigitte with the greatest respect. They had a fiercely happy and long marriage and were content in their grandchildren when Brigitte first begun to suspect.
"It is probably just the next phase of life." The old healing woman said, and Brigitte had to agree, "Your bleeding as not come in three months, and your mother was about this age when hers stopped as well."
"What about my morning sickness, and my breasts are full and tender?"
"All just signs of the change," The healer smiled at her, "Be grateful my dear, a birth at your age now would almost certainly be a death sentence."
Brigitte walked home, very nearly convinced that she was not with child, get a nagging thought in the back of her head told her that after four pregnancies, she should know what it felt like.
It was a month later when she first felt the baby flutter in her belly. She sat by her husband's side as they ate dinner with their sons and their families when she let out a startled gasp.
"Brigitte, what is it?" Arne had asked, dropping his fork on the wooden table.
"I think…I think I am with child after all." She stuttered, smiling excitedly.
Arne had taken her happily that night once they had returned home, and the next day brought the old cradle down from the loft and set it close to the fireplace. Brigitte set to mending baby clothes that she had not had the heart to throw away, and though some she had given to her grandchildren, she had enough to get her by for a while at least.
Lost in her thoughts she had not realized Arne had stopped snoring, with a sleepy sigh he rolled over and placed a large gnarled hand on her belly, to which the baby inside responded with a vigorous kick.
"He is strong today," He said, smiling at Brigitte's belly.
"How do you know it is not a girl?"
"I don't, but I've been right so far, have I not?"
"Only the Norns know for sure husband, don't be so careless as to think you know more than they do."
"Still, with five boys, it's quite the legacy to leave behind."
They talked quietly for a long while then, half listening to the world wake around them, Arne rubbing her belly softly.
"I'm starving, I'll go make us some food." Arne declared, getting up and pulling on a pair of pants. "I'll go see if the chickens have any eggs this morning!" He called back up the stairs. Eggs had been Brigitte's favorite food this time around.
Getting up was rather difficult, but Brigitte managed it, she was just getting her balance when her water broke.
"Arne!" She yelled, "Arne!"
"What is it?" He hollered back.
"I think it's time you go and get the midwives! Oh and healer Jutta!"
There was a thunderous noise as he ran up the stairs, his face bright, "Is it time?"
"If my experience has told me anything, I dare say it is."
Brigitte had had relatively easy births in the past, and had no real concern about this one, no matter what anyone else said.
But as the midwives, healers, and her daughters-in-law surrounded her, she began to feel quite fearful. With each contraction, she realized that a scores of women, many much younger than her had died giving birth to their children, and any woman near her age it was almost unheard of that they would survive the ordeal. The room was full of her heavy breathing and pained sounds while the others chanted words of protection over Brigitte and the baby.
She found herself, between periods of agony, praying to the goddess's Freyja and Frigga to make sure her baby would be born safely.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the baby came into the waiting arms of one of the midwives, everyone was silent as they waited for the baby to make its first cry.
"She is born," Heimdal said in a deep voice, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder so he too, could see the new baby.
Brigitte let out a sigh of relief when the baby began to cry in earnest,
"It's a girl!" Jutta declared.
"Oh, finally!" Brigitte sighed, while the women around her laughed, "Give her here."
Loki looked away as the baby began to nurse and the midwives cleaned her with warm rags.
"I've seen enough." He shook Heimdal's hand off of him and headed back to the palace.
He headed straight for his and Sigyn's chambers, lodgings which Odin had given him, much to everyone's surprise. His path took him past the feasting hall where Thor and Sif sat, along with their two children, and regret squeezed his insides.
Sigyn had wanted babies, she had told him so from the very beginning, but he felt like he had too many things that he wanted to do, and none of those things involved smelly, sticky, loud little brats. But seeing Thor with his children and watching Sigyn be born, he couldn't help but feel like he had missed out, and in return made Sigyn miserable by not giving her what she wanted.
Realizing that Thor had seen him staring he continued down the hall, but not before Thor caught up with him.
"I hope you aren't planning any kind of retaliation. It is not like you have any wives left that can take the fall for you." He taunted.
"Shut it, golden boy." Loki snarled.
"If it makes you feel any better I argued with father not to do this to Sigyn. Why should she take the fall for you, why should she be punished? If I had it my way, I would have you chained to a rock, in the deepest, darkest cave. With only a snake to keep you company. Sounds fitting doesn't it?"
Loki said nothing but picked up his pace to get away from Thor.
"It's a shame, we all warned her about you. But no, she just had to have you, she didn't care what we said, she saw something different in you. Even after Hoder told us it was you that tricked him into killing Baldr, she stood by you. You had the most magnificent woman in all the realms as your wife and do you see what you did to her?"
Thor's taunting followed Loki all the way to the door of his chambers, once he entered them he slammed the door shut in Thor's face causing the entire palace to quake.
It was now nine day's since Brigitte had given birth to the couples only little girl, and she felt like she had only just begun to recover. Arne had only seen the baby a handful of times, until today. A feast was laid out in the rooms below, and all their friends from the village gathered to see the new baby.
Carefully, Brigitte gathered her precious bundle in her arms and joined everyone downstairs. A hush fell over the house as she handed the baby to Arne who sat in the highchair of their house, and watched as he placed the bundle on his knee, and motioned for the village elder to come and sprinkle water one the babies head.
"What is she to be called?" The ancient man asked, looking from Arne to Brigitte.
"Sigyn," Brigitte answered ignoring the fact that no one in their ancestral line had had a name even close to that, but the elder didn't seem to be bothered.
"Why Sigyn?" Arne whispered as everyone gathered to present gifts and offerings to the Sigyn.
"I don't know, it just seems right," Brigitte replied simply.
Shrugging Arne turned back to the people, thanking them for their gifts, and laughing when people asked if they were going to have any more children.
A strange cloaked man was next in line, Brigitte had never seen him in the village before, and had traveled often to the next closest ones that she knew he was a stranger in these parts.
"Who are you?" Arne asked suspiciously.
"Just a traveler, I heard from a group of people that a new baby was to be christened today while I stopped to get water from the well. I decided I had to pay my respects." He said bowing.
Arne and Brigitte looked to one another, unsure how to take this strange man.
He reached into his traveling cloak and produced a long silver chain with a pendant on it, which when Brigitte took it, realized it was an elegantly twisted snake.
"Isn't this-" She looked up, but the man was gone.
"Where did he go?" Arne too was busy looking at the necklace and didn't notice he had left either.
Thinking he must have just slipped into the crowd, Brigitte and Arne tried to put the strange man out of their minds and enjoyed the rest of the celebration.