There was no doubt about it. Belle proved to be a difficult baby.
A princess or a marcher child would have been easier, despite their magical surges and eagerness to march. The daughter of pure mischief had that and more.
While her magic satisfied her hunger, a task that the parents were relieved of, the infant did not fully understand the capability of her powers. A single thought from her simple mind would cause something extraordinary to happen. One day, Maddie had the misfortune to come into the nursery and find her child gnawing on the bars of her crib, which had been turned to licorice.
Loki would never forget the night he made the most shocking discovery. A month after bringing their baby home, the couple woke in the middle of the night hearing her wails.
"Your turn," Maddie said wearily.
With a groan, Loki teleported to the nursery and gasped when he saw the crib empty.
"Beauty?!" he called desperately, using his nickname for her. "Beauty, where...?"
He heard a sinister laugh and looked up to see Belle floating (floating!) above his head.
"Oh heck," he mumbled.
He should have guessed this would happen. He jumped up and swung his arms at her, oh, but she was as stubborn as her father and easily dodged him.
"Get down here, young lady!" he demanded.
Then he jumped so high that his head crashed into the ceiling, his horned helmet leaving him stuck. Belle snickered, but gasped when she saw the angry look on her father's face. She took that as her cue to flee.
"Oh, so that's how you want to play it, huh? Come back here!"
He pumped his legs furiously as he chased her around the room. For an infant, she was quite fast and sneaky. She flew beneath the crib and he collided into its side, thanks to his horned helmet, once again. He chose to go around and finally got a grip on her.
"Gotcha, you little scamper!" Loki shouted triumphantly.
The child tried to struggle out of his grasp, but her father's hands were too strong. At last, she gave up with a pout. He laughed as he stood and held her up.
"Now to get you back to bed so your Daddy and Mommy can get some sleep," he cooed.
Then he took a sniff of the air and cringed. Belle snickered again.
"But first, somebody needs a change." He sighed. "Ugh, I hate this part!"
He snapped his fingers and the baby's dirty diaper disappeared, a clean diaper replacing it.
"Who knew raising a child would be so much work?"
He grunted as he set her down into her crib. She crossed her arms and glared at him with her blue eyes. He began to wonder if she had inherited her mother's Stare.
"Don't give me that look, little missy!" he ordered, pointing his finger at her. "You may have mischief power at your disposal, but I'm the God of Mischief and I make the rules around here, got it? Playtime is over! Now get to sleep before I make you sleep!"
The baby suddenly broke into tears, causing Loki to freeze. That had been louder than he had intended.
"Please, please don't cry!"
She opened her mouth and wailed at full volume. It was not that he hated his daughter or vice versa, but when it came to her crying, he was helpless. He did not have the ability to calm down any living creature like Maddie. So far, she had been the only one to handle situations like this.
