Frigga waited in the nursery, playing with Thor. She knew the battle was over and Odin would be returning soon. Her connection to him told her he had been injured, but he was not concerned so she was not.
The Queen of Asgard used her magic to fly a mounted Valkyrie toy around the room, letting her son chase after it, squealing with delight. Thor was just a toddler, but he had begun to run almost as soon as he could walk, and had a great deal of energy that needed to be worked off if his nurse was to get any sleep tonight.
When she heard and felt the thundering vibrations of the army returning on the rainbow bridge, she knew Odin would arrive shortly. She turned Thor over to the nurse for a more sedate game, and went to meet him.
When her husband arrived in the entry hall with his officers, she was shocked to see he was missing an eye. He carried a package wrapped in a colorful piece of cloth cradled in one arm and he waived away the waiting healer with the other.
"Later," he said, "Frigga, come with me. Gamir, attend."
He led her and his lieutenant to her chambers, into her innermost room. Gamir carried Odin's war pack containing necessities for camp, and the King of Asgard had him set it on a table and leave. Then he closed and sealed the door, so no one could spy on them in any way.
"Odin, what in the world are you doing? What do you have?"
Odin set down his package and began to unwrap it. "Something for you, very special."
The cloth came off, and under it a makeshift package of semi-stiff leather that he began unstrapping carefully. A soft, weak cry came from it, and Odin opened it wide and stepped back.
Frigga gasped when she looked within. A large, slightly bluish baby looked back, scrunched up his face, and let out a louder wail. She reached in and quickly picked him up along with the saddle blanket he was wrapped in, comforting him, his wail trailing off into a whimper.
"What have you done? Whose child is this?"
"This is Laufey's son. Now listen to me, I have a plan."
"And what did Laufey have to say about you kidnapping his baby?"
"Nothing, he doesn't know. I forced his surrender, and he was being held at my tent awaiting me while I searched his compound. I found this child, alone, cold, dying. I saved it. Here, let me take it a moment."
Frigga handed the baby carefully to Odin. She knew he hadn't held a baby since once or twice when Thor was new born, so she made sure he was holding it correctly, supporting its head, before she relinquished control.
She felt the magic flowing from Odin into the child, The bluish tinge left, his eyes turned from murky red to a clear pale blue very much like the remaining eye of the man holding him. The baby stopped crying.
Odin handed him back. "I think I will name him Loki."
"I think you had better start explaining."
"Very well." Odin turned to his pack and started digging in it while he spoke. "Laufey will think the child dead, killed in the confusion of the fighting. It is a runt and was left out to die anyway, so he won't look very hard. I plan to secretly adopt this child as our own, letting everyone believe he is our natural son."
Frigga gave a derisive laugh. "My love, I think people will notice I have not been even slightly pregnant, and this babe is large- well, small for a Frost Giant, but large for an Aesir, and obviously would be full term for me."
Odin turned to her with a glowing blue casket in his hands and put it in the leather case where the baby had lain. "Fortunately, during your pregnancy with Thor, you were a bit vain and concealed your growing girth until shortly before you gave birth. And now, you have done it again."
"But why?"
"For one, there is no reason for anyone to think he is a Frost Giant and treat him differently since he no longer looks like a Frost Giant. Secondly, he will grow up with Thor and be loyal to Asgard. The heir to the throne of Jotunheim being my loyal son could some day give me a great advantage in dealing with Laufey."
Frigga was silent as she rocked the baby in her arms. He was gradually falling asleep. "But that is not all, is it? You always have a plot within your plot."
"No." Odin wrapped his package in the colored cloth so it looked no different than when he had carried it in. "The third reason is Thor. Without a sibling he will grow up in the certainty that he will inherit the throne. He will have no need to try, to learn, to make a man of himself that is fit to be a king."
"So this child is to be a spur to drive Thor to improve himself?"
"Yes."
"And what of this babe, Loki? You will raise him thinking he might become king, when in reality he will have no chance to rule Asgard or Jotunheim."
"That is true of all second sons. And there is no reason for him to ever learn what he is. I will see that he does not grow taller than Thor, nor become stronger than our son."
"And what else, Odin?"
He looked at her sharply, but she just smiled back. "Oh, very well. The Jotuns are intelligent, but they have never developed much of a civilization. They are barbarians, and always have been. I admit, I am curious how one might turn out if he were raised in an advanced civilization such as ours. There. That is all the reasons I have. I believe they are sufficient."
Frigga smiled. "I agree. I shall need Remi to assist me though. She will have to know the truth."
"Why? Yes, yes, I know she can be trusted."
"Two reasons. One, the Queen of Asgard would hardly give birth alone, someone will have to be with me, and as our senior healer she is the obvious choice. Two, what exactly do Jotuns eat? I mean, besides the stories to frighten children that say they eat bad little boys and girls. Their planet is a cold ball of rock and ice."
"They raise things in caves below the surface where it is warmer. Fungal things, plants that don't need much light, blind fish, animals, things like that."
"Remi will have to determine what his nutritional needs are. You do want him to grow up healthy?"
"Yes, of course, of course." Odin picked up his revised package and started out. "You can handle the details and have my pack sent to my quarters. I need to take this to the weapons vault and get my wound tended to."
After Odin left, Frigga sat down with the child. She sent an illusory image to Remi, asking her to come as soon as she had finished with the wounded, and bring a large empty medical bag. Then she simply contemplated the sleeping baby.
She spoke to him softly, so as not to waken him. "You poor little thing. You should have been the heir to the throne of Jotunheim, instead here you are. I know your world is resource poor, and cannot afford to feed a deformed or substandard child, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with you other than being small. Small people can contribute, even lead, and you would take fewer resources to raise than most. Laufey was a fool to throw you away."
Frigga added a little of her own magic to Odin's to reinforce the physical changes. In a few days the little one would adapt and no more magic would be needed to keep him looking like an Aesir. At this point his fate was decided, and all she could do for him was to make his life as good as she could.
In a few minutes Remi knocked softly and entered at Frigga's command. She was initially as shocked as Frigga had been at seeing the queen with a baby, but Frigga quickly explained, leaving out all of Odin's reasons beyond saving the little mite's life.
The "new mother" changed the saddle blanket into a large, soft blue baby blanket and they used it to cushion him as they placed him in her medical bag. Remi took it with her to the lab to run tests to determine if Loki could live on Asgardian food alone or would need some sort of supplement, and to determine if anything that would be served to him would be harmful.
Frigga changed into a loose, flowing gown. She had used magic to look not pregnant when she was, but a little weight wrapped in padding of the right shape and tied around her middle was all that was needed for her current illusion. She went down to the main hall to dine and advertise that a new prince or princess would be presented to the court very soon.
Odin had cleaned up, changed, and was wearing an eye patch that matched his clothing. She smiled at his vanity and sat next to him. He tapped a glass with his knife, getting everyone's attention. Then he made a show of placing his hand on her abdomen and announcing, "I do believe it is a boy, and my second son will be here very soon!"
Of course everyone leapt to their feet, picked up glasses and steins, and toasted the advent of a new prince. Frigga could not resist a smile at his show, pretending to know the future, strengthening his legend of being all-knowing. Odin smiled back at her, knowing very well what she was thinking. It was a pleasant and occasionally useful fiction that she supported for him to keep him strongly on the throne.
The next morning she remained in bed, and allowed herself and her very large baby bump to be pampered. When she was alone, she contacted Remi by illusion, and found her chief physician looking tired, but pleased.
"Am I ready to give birth yet?" she asked.
Remi smiled and said, "Yes, I think you had better. I was up quite late with the biochemical analysis, but the child should have no problems with our food. His body will tell him which foods will satisfy his needs best, and none will harm him."
"Excellent. I will start having labor pains soon, and should be ready for you in an hour or so."
"Give me two hours. I will need to pull together something for the afterbirth and fluids that accompany birth so everything looks normal."
"Of course. Two hours, then."
Frigga had given birth before, so she knew how to act. She started her labor pains twelve minutes apart and progressed to five minutes by the end of two hours. That was quick, but not unlikely, and then called for Remi. The healer arrived quickly, her large medicine bag with her.
Frigga sealed the room so there would be no intrusions. She rid herself of her padding, and took the child while Remi prepared the bed. The usual bedding was removed, a leak-proof pad and coverings put down. Then the healer took out a second smaller bag that had fit with the baby in the larger bag and proceeded to make a mess. She wrapped all of it up in the outer pad and put the pile by the door to be burned later.
Frigga changed into a pretty bed sitting gown, Remi remade the bed as it usually was.
As Frigga got back into bed and Remi handed her the baby, the healer said, "I have some formula for him with me as well. Perhaps you should feed him before we let anyone see him. I'm afraid nursing would not be good for him, so he will have to be a bottle baby."
"I would nurse him in private anyway, so I will be able to bottle feed him for a time in secret, letting everyone believe I am nursing. Then I suppose we will have to come up with some excuse to not have a wet nurse for him."
"Simple enough. His color is going off a little anyway, keep it just a little unhealthy looking and I will insist on special formula for him. Once he's a few days older he can become rosy and pink and no one will think twice about the bottle feeding."
And so it worked out.
