His Property [English]

Chapter 7

When Lauren awoke and rolled over, the other side of the bed was empty, and it had been that way often over the last two weeks. She didn't even know if Loki was still sleeping in that bed. He kept his promise. He didn't touch her, didn't kiss her, and Lauren wished he would. She wanted him, even though she should hate him and be content. Her situation wasn't helped by the fact that the princess from Vanaheim, Loki's likely wife, would be arriving soon. The possible engagement had not even been the worst thing in her situation, it only made her other possible problem worse. It was probably even better that Loki had distanced herself, at least until she figured out what to do. Lauren sighed and ran her hand over her face before rolling out of bed. The sun was already shining high in the sky when she looked out the large windows. How long had she been asleep? It had to be noon already. Hastily she put on a dress and hurried to the kitchen before Loki would come back to his chambers. The servants were hurriedly running through the corridors and the kitchen was also extremely hectic today. As she entered the kitchen, she was almost knocked to the floor by a young girl; instinctively, she put a hand on her stomach and, fortunately for her, quickly managed to regain her balance and hold on to the corner of a countertop.

"I'm sorry," the girl apologized, and Lauren nodded kindly.

"Why is it so hectic today?" she asked her.

The girl frowned as if it wasn't perfectly clear why. "There's a banquet for the princess today. Didn't you know?"

"The...the princess is in Asgard?" asked Lauren quietly.

The girl nodded. "Yes, she arrived here two days ago."

Lauren turned and walked out of the kitchen without another word. Why didn't Loki at least tell her something? Didn't she deserve at least that? She needed to find Loki. She didn't know what to say to him, but she knew she wouldn't let him ignore her anymore. Lauren and him, before all of this, were what came next to a friends. Where could she find him? He was probably with the princess. So he was either in town or in the gardens with her, Lauren thinks, where else would he spend time? Certainly not in his room, she was a princess after all, she thought bitterly. She walked with quick steps to the gardens, looking for Loki. She didn't care if he would be angry that she showed up, even though she was supposed to stay in the room, and she didn't care what the princess would think either. As she walked through the royal gardens, she couldn't hear a single sound except for the chirping of a few birds. Lauren sighed in frustration and sat down on a stone bench. She put her head in her hands and closed her eyes tightly; it was probably for the best that she didn't find him. Her hotheaded decision to confront him might have caused her more problems than she already had without it.

"Is everything okay?" a friendly voice asked. Lauren opened her eyes and saw a beautiful, blonde-haired woman standing in front of her; she was wearing a classy-looking purple dress. She had to be Sigyn, Lauren finally concluded. She quickly looked down at the grass beneath her feet.

"Yes, your majesty. I'm sorry to have disturbed you," she apologized to Sigyn.

"Not at all," she said with a smile, looking more closely at Lauren "You're King Loki's maid, aren't you?"

"Yes, my name is Lauren, Princess Sigyn," Lauren said softly, taking a deep breath.

"May I?" she asked. Lauren looked at her confused and the princess pointed to the empty seat next to her; she nodded in agreement and Sigyn sat down next to her. "So what's the problem?"

"I wouldn't want to burden you with my problems," she said. Lauren thought of the life growing inside her and put a hand on her belly. It was wrong to say the baby was a problem, because she couldn't help but love it already. The only problem was Loki and what he would do once he found out.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sigyn noticing her hand on her stomach. Lauren quickly pulled it away from her still flat stomach, but the princess had already seen it. "You're pregnant?" she asked. Lauren closed her eyes and nodded as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said softly, keeping her eyes closed.

Sigyn gently reached for her hand. "Is it not joyful news?"

"It was unexpected, and I'm worried about what the father will do when he finds out."

"You are carrying Loki's child, am I right?" she asked gently, smiling reassuringly at Lauren. She looked at Sigyn with wide eyes and was about to protest, but the princess stopped her. "Although I can see it's true, you don't have to answer me, Lauren."

"I-," Lauren began to reply.

"Princess Sigyn, I see that you have made acquaintance with my maid," Loki said as he stepped closer to the stone bench; he was not wearing his armor today as usual, but a dark green shirt and black pants. As he looked at her, he smiled kindly, but it did not reach his eyes.

"Your secret is safe with me," Sigyn whispered softly, squeezing her hand one last time before releasing it and turning back to Loki. "It was really nice having Lauren keep me company."

Lauren stood up from the bench when no one spoke and turned to the princess first. "It was a pleasure to keep you company, Your Majesty." -She curtsied before turning to Loki- "My king." -She made another curtsy- "I will take my leave and leave you both alone."

She was about to walk away, but Loki raised a hand and stopped her. "In fact, I have another matter I need to discuss with you." -He looked to Sigyn- "I hope that's all right?"

"Yes, of course. I wanted to rest a bit anyway." The princess smiled and looked to Lauren. "I hope to see you again soon."
Without another word, she walked away. As soon as she was gone, Lauren looked to Loki and now she could see the anger in his eyes.

"What do you want? I have not harmed your engagement in any way," she declared. Loki was silent and his jaw was tense. Without a word, he grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her in the direction of his chambers. She already knew this situation well, she thought, she had found herself in this situation only a few days ago. Lauren managed to wriggle out of his grip as they entered the room.

"Why are you angry? You haven't spoken a word to me in several days, so-"

"You're pregnant! With my child!" he shouted, making her flinch. Loki stepped toward her and she stepped back with each step. Lauren clutched her stomach and her back hit the wall.

"It's my child, too," she said.
"The child will kill you!" -Loki's skin began to turn blue and different markings formed on it as well, his eyes would turn from green to red- "Or have you forgotten my True Origin!"

"I realize who you are, and if I have to die to give my child life, then I will," she declared, looking him in the eye. "Whether it's eighty years from now or a few months from now, no one cares." Lauren shrugged her shoulders. Loki began to take on his Asgardian appearance again and stepped toward her.

"I care about you-" he said softly, but she raised her hands and stopped him.

"At most, you care enough about me to warm your bed," she said bitterly, "You've told me this often enough, and I don't need another reminder of it from you." -Lauren took a deep breath- "I will keep my child whether you like it or not, this is my decision to make."

"It will freeze you to death! You're just a Midgardian-"

She suddenly felt weak, but interrupted him, "Then it should be perfect for you to solve two of your problems with my death in one fell swoop: The child and me."

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly her vision went black and Lauren fell unconscious to the ground....