Unit One: Battle of the Garden
~ The Competition ~
Loki lay belly-down in the grass. His mother's garden was always breezy and welcoming. The grass soft and flowers perfumed. The idle place to curl up and read.
"Hey, Loki. Did you find that smoke spell yet?" Amora hadn't looked up from the red, brick of a book she was reading out of.
Okay, maybe it wasn't pleasure reading, more like Seidr practice, but the garden was still a wonderful place to be secluded enough to puzzle out spells and practice forms. This place was off limits to most people and didn't hold much interest to others, at least to the type of others Loki wants to avoid.
"Yes, but I am still reading through it." Loki told her. Amora perked up and shuffled forward, her forgotten book nearly falling off her lap in her new interest in Loki's spell, until she crowded next to Loki, reading the spell from her new vantage point smushed up against him. Loki grunted, but didn't really care as much as he put on. Amora's lack of personal space had ceased to bug him centuries ago.
Attention torn from his book, Loki looked around at the sorted group of people that fluttered about him. Two kids, one strongly build girl, tall and sturdy, the other, a young boy with long hair and a thin body, sparred with sticks brandished against one and other. Angrboda and Bladr respectively. The sounds of their grunts and huffs and wood clanking against wood was the loudest thing in the garden, only rivaled by the voices of Sigyn and Svadilfari. The two of them sit back-to-back in a small nest of flowers. Svadilfari twisted a long piece of grass between his teeth while Sigyn braided a garland of flowers. Glut, a gangly girl to have not quite grown into her own body yet, lay on her back in a patch of clover, pushing herself in a vigorous exercise. Lastly, there was Lorelei, who was leaning against the tree that shaded the lot of them from the noonday sun, memorizing and writing scrolls for her history tutor, looking like for all the nine realms she'd rather be up with Loki and Amora and their magic books.
"Ha!" Baldr cheered as he finally knocked Angrboda's stick away from swinging at him, not quite out of her hands, but enough to make her fumble. He got in a good throu-wack! against her shoulder. "Take that!"
Angrboda's eyes narrowed, she didn't like being bested, but Baldr's smile was so brilliant, she found the strength to let it go. She smirked at him and poked him in the stomach during his little victory spill. He doubled over, but mostly in show.
"Hey?" He asked. "I've been thinking, and I think that maybe... maybe I should start training with two swords."
Angrboda raised her eyebrows. "Two swords?" She echoed. Baldr nodded. It wasn't too bad of an idea. She would admit that Baldr was strong, strong enough to wield two swords. It would be a good idea to train to use a sword in his right hand rather than just rely on the sword in his dominate left hand, since most warriors do fight right-handedly. He also had that nasty habit of using his unarmed hand to block or swing about unnecessarily, itching for something. Angrboda had suggested a gauntlet before, but Baldr had been unsatisfied with it, saying that it threw his balance off. Another sword then. Perhaps that would work. It would only make Baldr all the more dangerous.
"Sure." Angrboda said, shrugging. "Why not."
Baldr's eyes lit up, no doubt reassured now that he had someone else's agreement in his idea, even if it was as vague as Angrboda's was. She picked up another one of their sparring sticks, and tossed it to Baldr, who tried to catch it in his right hand and failed miserably. Angrboda clicked her tongue in disapproval. "You will have to be better than that."
Baldr nodded and picked up the stick. They stood off again and started swinging.
"I still think it is ridiculous." Sigyn complained, weaving a green lily into her garland. "I have been dealing with it for centuries and I still find it so ridiculous."
Svadilfari shrugged. "Nothing you can really do. Things are different because of it, but I do not, and never will, regret becoming his friend."
"Me neither." Sigyn said fiercely. "I just sometimes wish he was not a prince."
"Do not wish for things like that. If that were to come true everything would change."
"You are right." She pushed against him playfully with her shoulders. "You are always right." She grew quiet for a moment, fiddling with her flowers. "I just hate being the center of attention and gossip. I can not make a trip to the market without everyone knowing about it by nightfall."
"Is it really that bad? I understand your disdain for a lack of privacy, but is it really that bad?"
Sigyn stopped and thought, this was why she liked to talk to Svadilfari, he could always make her think things through, question things until she came to a more rounded conclusion. Svadilfari made a good point.
He himself used to be a serf. A lowly worker on his employer's farm with a widowed mother and no siblings. When he met Loki and befriended the Prince, things changed. He now lives in the castle and is training with the Master of the Horse. The prejudices he gets, the names he gets called, the scrutiny he's under, is a completely different match than Sigyn's fight. Different and perhaps somewhat worse, but it did not erase Sigyn's troubles. Just because someone was more miserable didn't mean you couldn't be miserable too. Not that she thought Svadilfari was aiming to make her feel guilty, but was she miserable? No, she just held a distaste for attention and people with nothing better to do than stand at the corners and whisper to one and other.
Lately though, there was less and less of her in the grapevine. Not because she wasn't doing stuff – No, she was always naughty. Loyally following Loki into trouble. Someone had to keep an eye on him. – but because they were getting smarter. Especially Loki, that boy could talk you into thinking an orange was an apple. They still made mischief, they just didn't get caught. A small smile tugged at her lips. She wouldn't trade her adventures and memories for anything. Nor would she trade future escapades for a chance at privacy. Just like Svadilfari pointed out.
"I think it is tiring, but you are right. Again. That it is worth it, to be his friend, everyone's friend." She smiles and holds up a finished flowercrown. "It has not been that bad lately anyway. We are getting quite clever in our old age."
Svadilfari chuckled and Sigyn caught a pair of bright green eyes and a white smile aimed her way. Loki had been eavesdropping. Not that she minded, they were in a public place, and they hadn't talked about anything private or that Loki didn't know about. She laughed and tossed him the garland. He caught it in two hands to avoid hurting the delicately weaved flowers. "There you go your Highness." She teased.
Loki just rolled his eyes and humored her, placing the flowers over his dark hair. It looked good on him, The pale blues, bright yellows, and vivid greens showed the downiness of his black hair and complemented his pale complexion. His eyes shown with humor and Sigyn couldn't help but think that he looked like a male Valkyrie. Noble, beautiful, and full of powerful magic and carnage. She could easily see him picking warrior's fates on a battlefield, who to die and who to live, who to go to paradise in Valhalla and who to go to eternity in Niflheim.
"Those plants really bring out your eyes." Amora joked and elbowed him, not hard to do with how close they were pressed together in order to read the same book. He elbowed her back and soon the two of them started a wrestling match. Sigyn and Svadilfari watched with gazes of happy amusement. It was quick to end with Loki pinning her down, sitting on her thighs with her wrists held above her head. "Cry uncle." He mocked.
"Never!" Amora struggled in his grip. Before mumbling something, Loki knew it was a spell, but both of his hands were holding her wrists, so he couldn't cover her mouth. A small pop was heard and a fizzle of smoke appear between them, barely big as a trail of a dampened candle.
Amora's face fell. "The smoke spell didn't work."
Loki sat back and cocked his head. "What went wrong?"
"I don't know." Amora pursed her lips in thought.
"Maybe you said it wrong?" Loki suggested. "Let us go look." He moved off her and back to the book and placed it in his lap, Amora knelt behind him and read over his shoulder. Baldr laughed at their easily given up fight, his distraction earned him a wallop on the side of the head from Angrboda.
They'd been there only a few hours, holding onto the hope of a whole afternoon to themselves, when noise came from the left of them. Everyone stilled to listen.
"Your Highness, please. As I have said, the Royal Gardens are occupied." The strained voice of a house servant was heard. Loki knew what had happened, what was going to happen, even before he heard the returning sneer.
"Then remove them." The golden voice said. "I do not see what is so hard about that."
"I cannot. Perhaps, I may fetch you what you need from the Royal Gardens and bring it back here to you?"
"What is this foolery?" Oh, Loki could hear the small well of patience drain. "Get out of my way!" There was a scuffling noise and a soft 'oomph' as someone was pushed out of the way.
The voices were loud now, just on the other side of that ghumin willow. The voice of the servant babbled on, slightly panicked, but more defeated than anything. "I advice you not to continue your Highness. It will-"
"Why do you continue to pester me so?"
"I must say! Being warded away makes me want to see what you are hiding even more." A different voice spoke up, another familiar voice. So they were all here. Loki wanted to sigh. Amora did sigh.
The servant backed into view and glimpses of color was seen through the thick leaves as the opposing party plowed on towards them. "Please? I'm really not suppose to-"
"Who told you to turn us away? Are they really important enough for you to speak so to your crown prince?" He was irritated, Loki could hear it in his voice, and if the servant were to speak out again, that 'crown prince' would have lost all his remaining patience.
"I told him." Loki snapped his book shut and stood just as his brother and his goons turned into the alcove they've been lazing in.
"Loki?" Thor says in surprise. Which quickly turned into a squinty-eyed weariness. The other four looked at Loki strangely, then with hidden smiles. Loki choose to ignore this.
"He was instructed to warn away everyone while we are in here. Everyone. Including you." Loki hissed a sigh. "Kigne," he addressed the servant, "you may be dismissed." The boy bows gratefully and leaves.
"You know his name?" Thor blurts out, obviously not thinking if that confused look on his face said anything.
"Yes, he is mother's favorite handmaiden's son" Loki replied slowly.
"Oh." Thor replied so very eloquently. Loki rolled his eyes, he doubted that Thor even remembered the handmaiden's name, despite her having been around since they were born. Thor was just that thick headed.
"Sooooo..." Amora drawled out her Os in a condescending way. "Why are you here?"
"You don't own the gardens." Sif, the only girl in Thor's group and definitely the most fiery, spat the words out in indignation.
"No, but we were here first." Angrboda put her hands on her hips and leaned forward with a scalding glare just for Sif. Sif glared back with just as much intensity. The unsaid 'go away' was easily determined by every person there.
"So? What if you were here first?" Sif crossed her arms and raised her chin haughtily. "We're older."
Angrboda sputtered, fingers flexing around her stick. She stalked forward and pointed her stick straight in Sif's face. Sif's face contorted into a snarl. "That does not-" Angrboda shouted, but before she could get much farther or either of them could do anything too stupid, Baldr grabbed her arm and gently tugged Angrboda back. The girl ripped her arm out of his grip, but didn't finish her rant.
"That's not fair, Sif." Bladr, who was the youngest of the bunch, spoke up with an irritated look on his face.
"Life is not fair." Fandral spoke up to pitch in his two cents, his voice bright and teasing in the tense atmosphere.
"We are not leaving." Loki said finally.
"We can share?" Svadilfari suggested tilting his head back and to the side to see the intruders, for he had not moved from his position with Sigyn. He still chewed on his grass and didn't sound interested in the conversation, speaking with a nonchalant, nearly bored air. He didn't think people would take his suggestion well, and they didn't.
"That's absurd," Thor snorted. "there is not enough room for all of us."
"Of course there is." Sigyn finally spoke, taking up her friend's back. "You just don't want to share."
"We can't share." Hogun spoke plainly, his voice solemn. "We don't get along."
"Fair enough." Loki said.
Silence stretched as a stare down commenced. Thirteen kids hold ground like armies facing off.
"I got an idea." Glut said softly. Attention was suddenly on her and she shifted uncomfortably. "Let us have a competition."
Loki's eyes lit up at the idea. "That is perfect, Glut!" Glut grinned shyly under the praise. "We will have three competitions. One chosen by us, one chosen by you, and one chosen by a servant. We get to pick whoever is best suited from our parties to enter the competition chosen. The winner of two of the rounds gets to stay in the gardens the loser is forced to leave." Loki raised his hand and extended it towards Thor. "Is it a deal?"
Thor was weary about this. The word 'deal.' made him pause. It was know that Loki was devious with his little 'deals' and has, regrettably, tricked Thor more than once with his cunning words. The palace was even starting to whisper the moniker 'Silvertongue.' So, it was obvious why Thor would hesitate, but thinking past the initial cautiousness, Thor realized that this was a competition. A little competition! How could he lose this? He and his friends were older and more trained than the young brats his brother hangs around. Why should he worry? This would be an easy win.
"Are you going to do this or not, brother?" Loki wasn't impatient as much as he was mocking Thor for his hesitation. It got the desired effect.
Thor puffed up and immediately snatched Loki's hand, squeezed hard, and shook it up and down once. "Prepare yourself for failure, brother."
Loki's smirk grew at Thor's arrogance. "I would not be so sure about that."