#pre loki

Soft sobs were heard throughout Queen Frigga's quarters. She had lost the child. Sada, the queen's handmaiden and Chief Midwife, sighed and wiped her sweaty brow. The Queen had delivered her child, a stillborn girl. 'Thor would have enjoyed a little sister', Sada thought sadly. The room had grown warm from Queen Frigga's exertion-she feared her magic would interfere with the child's birth. No matter how often Sada insisted that it was a physical issue, not one borne of the queen's magic, she had nevertheless crafted special cuffs to bind her magic. Frigga wiped her tears away, and Sada nodded discretely at lower maidservant, standing unobtrusively in the corner. The girl dipped her head once and quietly opened a window. It was a sign to the guard across the courtyard; time for the King to visit his queen. It would be Sada's responsibility to tell him the sad news. The queen motioned weakly for Sada. Though not as well versed in magics as her friend, Sada was competent enough to remove the cuffs. With a deep breath, she focused and waved her right hand over the queen's open palms. The cuffs fell away. The Chief Midwife glanced at her assistants and they left the room somberly, one by one. Then, the Queen and the Midwife were alone, waiting for the king to arrive. Sada wiped a warm washcloth over her Queen's brow, sloughing the sweat and tears away. Frigga grasped Sada's wrist and asked, hoarsely, "Is he coming?" "Soon," the midwife murmured, "Any minute, m'lady." It was time to tell King Odin that, in all likelihood, little Prince Thor would remain his sole heir.