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The three siblings sat on the floor of the royal baby's bedchamber. Odin and Freyja had stepped out and asked them to watch over their sister.
"It will be a good experience for you," Freyja told them.
The Odindottir, with an appearance of an eight-nine month year old baby, sat on the blanket. A bunch of toys were set out in front of her. She picked up one of the rattles and started to shake it.
"Aren't babies fascinating creatures?" Thor exclaimed.
"Simple if you ask me," Angela said. "I'd wait a few years for a real interaction."
"Well you have to admit she's cute," Loki responded.
Thor crouched down in front of his little sister. He caught her gaze.
"Who's the most adorable baby in all the nine realms? You are!" Thor baby-talked. He tickled her chin. His sister giggled.
"That is nauseating," Angela remarked. "Who in their right mind would talk like that?"
Thor picked up another rattle on the ground and shook it. His sister watched and repeated his actions. Soon, the two were shaking the rattles in unison to the same rhythm.
"Quite clever for a baby," Angela remarked.
The baby dropped the rattle. She reached out and took hold of Angela's pointer finger.
"Yes? What do you want?" Angela asked.
She only gripped the finger harder and swung it up and down.
"I think she likes you," Thor said with a smile.
Angela glanced down at her sister.
"You want to play a game?" She asked.
Angela covered her eyes. The baby leaned in, trying to see where Angela's face went.
"Peekaboo!" Angela said as she lifted her hands from her eyes.
The baby giggled. Her chubby cheeks dimpled as she grinned ear to ear.
"Peekaboo!" Angela did it again.
She giggled louder.
"Peekaboo!"
Her sister tried to grab one of her hands. Angela smiled. She was much warmer than she had been before. Her hand tickled the baby's chin.
"I see you!"
The baby mimicked Angela's peekaboo motions. Angela let out a laugh.
"And what about me?" Loki asked with a chuckle. "You two are not the only siblings she has."
Calling the child's name, Loki waved his hands. Green light flashed and formed into the shape of a bird. The magic bird flew over the infant's head. Her eyes followed its movements. She let out a squeal and reached up for it. She swayed side to side, trying to catch it.
"I think I'm her favorite," Loki boasted.
His hands waved again and the bird floated down towards the child. She grabbed it and held it close to her chest.
"I think we should make a new rule for the next few hours. No magic allowed," Thor muttered.
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It was lunchtime for the Odinsdottir. Thor held the baby girl in his lap. Angela held a small bowl of porridge her in hand. She took some on a small spoon and guided it towards the baby. But she turned her head whenever the spoon came close to her mouth. She gazed at the small bowl of mashed peaches that Loki was holding, which was her dessert.
"Come on, you have to eat," Angela told her.
"She squirms so much!" Thor was trying to keep her still.
"Sit still!" His hands had grabbed her waist once more and set her down. "You want to grow strong don't you? The food isn't that bad."
He grabbed a spoonful of porridge and popped it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed.
"It tastes bland," Thor said. "No wonder she doesn't like it."
"Loki!" Angela had an idea.
"What?" Loki asked.
"Do the thing again!"
"What thing?"
"Make another bird. Maybe it will distract her."
Loki did so. The magic bird floated up. The infant focused her gaze on it. Angela moved in with the spoon. She took notice and pouted. Her head turned to her left.Frustrated, Angela held the side of her sister's face and put the spoon into her open mouth. For a second, it looked like the baby would eat her lunch. But then her tongue wagged about, and a mushy mixture of oats dripped down her chin.
"For Heven's sake!" Angela exclaimed. "Why won't you eat!"
Her sister whined. She made a grabbing motion at Loki. He gave her a confused look.
"What? I'm not going to eat it for you dear sister," he said.
Suddenly, it became clear to him. He gazed down at the bowl in his hands.
"Forget the oatmeal! She wants the peaches!"
"We can't do that! She has to have the porridge too!" Thor objected.
"She can have both."
Angela took the peaches and mixed them with the porridge. She took a spoonful and guided it towards the baby. This time she opened her mouth and bit down. She ate.
The three older siblings sighed in relief.
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A few more hours passed. The older siblings played with their sister. She was at that stage where she was mastering the art of crawling and her siblings followed her around the room. On and on this went with shouts and laughs. Suddenly, the baby stopped crawling. Her eyes grew big and a surprised expression appeared on her face. She began to cry.
"What's wrong?" Loki was the first to pick her up. He moved his tongue up and down and made a silly noise . But his sister still cried.
"Perhaps she is hungry," Thor took her and offered a cookie. But the baby shoved it away.
"She's tired," Angela took her from Thor and placed her in the cradle. Several minutes passed. The baby did not sleep.
Thor, Loki, and Angela gazed at her in the cradle, confused. A few more moments passed. Finally Angela piped up:
"Do any of you know how to change a baby?"
"What?"
"You heard me. I think she's soiled herself."
Thor and Loki shook their heads.
"I'm not doing it," Loki said.
"Me neither," Thor added.
"I don't want to but somebody has to!" Angela exclaimed. "Give me one good reason why I should!"
Her brothers were silent. Their sister cried harder.
"How about we all do it," Thor suggested.
Angela placed the baby down on the blanket. Her brothers looked over her shoulder.
"Well, let's hope she hasn't pooped or that she doesn't empty herself on the blanket or us," Loki said.
"Don't be so disgusting!" Thor shot at Loki.
"Disgusting? It's a baby Thor, of course it's going to be disgusting!"
Angela lifted up the baby's dress.
"One. Two. Three."
A servant walking down the hallway heard shouts coming from the Odinsdottir's chambers. She popped her head in to find a strange scene in front of her. A dirty diaper lay on the floor. A clean cloth meant to be the new one, was on Thor's head. Angela was squeezing a bottle of lotion that overflowed. Loki had his hands in a bucket of hot water. The baby squirmed on the blanket, kicking her legs in the air.
"Your Highnesses?" She asked. "Are you alright?"
The three siblings turned around and looked at her.
"Change the baby!" Loki begged.
"I'm only a cleaning maid Your Highnesses. I'm no wet nurse," she told them.
"We'll give you the day off if you do!" Thor exclaimed.
The servant thought this over.
"Very well."
"And you won't speak a word of it," Angela said in a tone that was almost intimidating.
The servant nodded.
"Nobility," she muttered under her breath. She knelt down before the blanket and proceeded to clean up their mess.
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The baby lay in the cradle, her eyes wide, staring at the faces hovering over her. A hand reached down and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.
Thor was humming a slow sounding melody. He rocked the cradle back and forth. He began to sing:
Rockabye baby on the treetop
Loki joined in, his voice rich in tone yet soft.
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
Angela sang along with them. Even though she was unfamiliar with the lyrics, she quickly caught up with the tune. They took turns rocking the cradle. Their sister let out a yawn. Her eyes started to close.
Rockabye baby, your cradle is green
Father is king and mother is queen
Sister's a lady who wears a gold ring
And brother's a drummer
Plays for the king
The baby had fallen asleep by the end of the song. The three siblings sat close to the cradle, gazing down at her.
"Look at her," Loki whispered with a smile.
"Like a little angel," Angela agreed.
The baby took a deep breath. Her lips parted and she sighed. Thor gently caressed her cheek.
"Sweet dreams little one," he whispered.
Not too long later, Odin and Freyja returned to the palace.
"We're back!" Freyja exclaimed as she opened the door.
The baby was fast asleep. So were her sister and brothers, who sat by the cradle, leaning against each other.
"Aw," Frejya chuckled. "Look at them!"
"I've never seen anything so peaceful," Odin remarked.
They stood in the doorway, watching their children sleep.