Loyalty and Mischief (WIP)

Chapter 31 - You are lost, hope is gone, but you must go on

34 weeks

It was almost a month since the Allfather fell into the Odinsleep. Loki managed well the first weeks, but it was getting more difficult to maintain the constant illusion of being Odin. He kept the meetings and petitioners to a minimum to preserve his strength and magic, delegating wherever he could to other court members when Frigga could not handle it either. 
Conjuring a double while maintaining a full-body illusion was getting tiring as well. It was becoming more frequent that either Loki or Odin was absent from the hall during meal times, but no one asked any questions so far. The Allfather was, after all, a busy man, and it was not uncommon for him to dine alone in his study to keep up with his work. 
And after what happened to Sigyn, everyone understood that she could not exert herself too much and that Loki preferred to eat with her to keep an eye on her (whether his motive for this was genuine concern and love was, regrettably, still discussed among those who failed to see what many within the palace had already come to grasp).
And it was not just Loki who struggled.

The Queen also showed signs of fatigue. She was looking for a way to force Odin to wake up from his slumber since it took longer than it ever had. Adding this to all the extra work usually done by the Allfather and helping Loki maintain the ruse that Odin was doing well, Frigga grew frustrated at everyone around her. She yelled at Odin's sleeping figure, scolded the servants for the tiniest things, and had little to no patience to deal with Thor and Baldur. 
All Princes of Asgard were expected to handle certain affairs when Odin or Frigga commanded this of them. Yet, much to everyone's surprise, the eldest and youngest Odinson only did a bare minimum. Sometimes, they did not even show up at all. Thor had already fallen asleep twice when taking over the petitioners, and Baldur only bothered to put on his princely face when the task at hand involved magic. And that was another thing - the princeling had suddenly gotten exceptionally good at spell casting. 

Whatever had happened in Jötunheim - and yes, people did know about that since Volstagg found it necessary to turn their failed folly into some epic quest where they found resistance from a hundred Frost Giants, even though he didn't recall a single thing of what actually occurred - it was clear to everyone that the Princes had changed. Their eyes bore a dark glistening, their voices a deep echo and their bodies somehow seemed different as well. The healers found nothing amiss with them, but Frigga still believed there was. Sif, Volstagg and Hogun were asked to always be near one of the Princes if 'Odin' or Frigga couldn't be, but unfortunately, Thor and Baldur stayed within the privacy of their quarters. At least... that's what they did now. 
The Crown Prince and princeling attempted several times to contact Sigyn after she awoke, demanding she meets with them privately. Loki urged her not to talk to them alone and even fought with his brothers when he found them skulking about the apartments one late night. It had become so bad that he asked Fandrall and Rúna to stay with Sigyn when he was away and ensure no one entered their rooms without his permission.

Despite sensing the change within her brothers and worrying for them as well, Sigyn found it quite vexing that Loki was so overprotective of her. She understood, of course, but he would not even allow her to take a simple walk outside in Frigga's garden. And he certainly did not allow her to use her magic either.
Sigyn offered a few times to help with the illusions and to let her double pose as Odin for a while so he could rest, but Loki would have none of that. He was so afraid that anything would happen to her that he restricted her every move. Sigyn had never imagined that the day would come when she would find herself stifled by him. It came to the point that she would seek out her mirror world to have just a few minutes without anyone trying to coddle her, simply lingering in that dark void with all the portals to all those different places. 

In those moments of calming solitude, Sigyn took the time to mull over her vision. It clung to her like an annoying itch. Nearly every night, she saw those same dreadful things; the flames, the blood, her husband and brothers hanging in the air. And that haunting laughter...
The few times she jolted up from her nightmare, she managed to convince Loki it was only because their daughter was moving and kicking a lot. By some miracle, the baby always gave a fierce kick just when Loki placed his hand on Sigyn's belly, so this did convince him (more or less, anyway) that their little girl was simply acting up. It still took another few minutes of Loki constantly asking her if she was all right while subtly checking for any bleeding before he would finally relent and go back to sleep.