Prologue

A rather small boy shuffled towards her. His black raven hair made him stand out from the other blonde, strong boys bustling towards her.

"Sif, Sif, come on!" the boy cried excitably as he clutched her shirt hem.

"Yes Loki, wait a moment!"

She laughed. The girl was dressed in a warriors outfit, the armour she wore looked uncomfortable and cumbersome but she didn't show any displeasure.

"We should wait for your brother," she said uncertainly.

"No, no, no," Loki looked ruffled, "he's very well capable of finding his own way back to the palace."

Sif sighed and smiled at the boy beside her. They were just 7 years old and had come out of the realms private schooling area. They trailed off together to the palace, chatting and giggling and joking.

"We will be friends forever wont we Lady Sif?"

"Loki do not call me that title, I am a warrior through and through. I am no lady!" She laughed and turned to look at the dark haired boy and saw he looked hurt. She paused and bit her lip, feeling turmoil inside.

"Yes, Loki, we will be friends forever."

Chapter 1

A groan sounded from Sif's personal chamber, echoing off the rounded walls of the golden palace. She heard the heavy thud of footsteps hurrying towards her room. She tilted her head towards the thick, iron door to hear a sharp knock at her door.

"Lady Sif?" It was Thor, Loki's elder brother.

"Oh, yes sorry Thor comes in," she quickly draped a bright, green robe around herself and turned to see the future king of Asgard walk in. His blonde shoulder-length hair was combed back, his armour sparkling in the red glow of her room. 'He looks perfect,' Sif thought to herself with a sigh.

"Something troubles you, Sif, what is it?"

"Your trickster brother troubles me!" she laughed, "he has taken many of my things and swapped them for others. Why would I use a chicken bone as a hair-pin for instance!" she chuckled to herself. She looked up at him, betraying amusement on her face. Thor was standing awkwardly in the doorway as if not sure whether to enter or just stay in his current position. "Well come in then," Sif chided him, "we must have been friends for eons of years and yet you do not feel comfortable enough to come into my chamber? Some brave God you are!"

The God of Thunder flushed red and walked in and sat down on the deep red sofa opposite the Goddess of War. 'That's one heck of a title,' Thor thought with a secret smile. He looked up at Sif who was trying to put up her long, black hair into an acceptable style. She did not care for the "frills and glamour" as the other Asgardian maidens did. Everything about the way Sif dressed was to make her daily tasks easier. Thor remembered how she had scoffed at the thought of riding and fighting on a horse in a flowing gown. She looked particularly beautiful, Thor thought to himself.

Even in the green robe and- "Whose robe is that?!" Thor asked accusingly, suddenly suspicious. Only one person in the whole of Asgard wore green- and that was Loki.

"Oh it's your brother's," Sif replied smoothly, either not noticing how it ruffled Thor or else she pretended not to notice.

"And how is it his robe came to be in your room?"

"Loki and I had a midnight chat last night, like we used to as children…" Thor's eyebrow rose at this. "Oh… well then..." he looked sheepishly at the floor.

"Now, if you do not mind me asking, My Dear To-Be-King, why did you come to see me?"

"Excuse me? Oh, oh yes, my Father he wishes to see you, Loki and I in the Valhalla Room at midday."

"Why- what have I done!?" She bit her lip trying to remember.

"Nothing, Sif do not worry so," he laughed slightly at her worried expression, "Father told me to make sure I assured you, you are not in trouble. If anyone, it'll be Loki." Sif blushed but turned away to hide it from Thor.

"Come then, 'Big Brother'," Sif said playfully, "turn around one minute…" Without asking why Thor turned and faced the door, the temptation to look back was almost overwhelming.

"Done!" Sif laughed after a minute or two and hurried over to join Thor. She was now dressed in her black and red armour. To Thor she looked strikingly beautiful.

"We promised Loki we would train with him this morning, let's go!" She giggled like a young girl and ran off leaving Thor to follow quickly behind her.

Chapter 2

The training fields were empty apart from the odd Asgardian scurrying around. Sif smiled as she looked around at the incredible arena around her. Red and orange roses threaded there way through the trees along the left side, the sun-light glinting off everything giving the place a warm feeling. She came to stand still at a pile of discarded weapons in front of her and chose the lightest sword she could find. She turned to see Thor scoff at her choice.

"A light sword for my Lady," he grinned.

"Sure, sure," she smirked back. She could beat almost anyone in the arena with her bare hands and she knew it. Thor chuckled to himself and held out his hand toward the morning sun. Sif sighed as she knew what would come next. Less than 3 seconds later, a huge, silver hammer flew into his palm as he deftly caught it.

"I would win more often, had my Father given me a magic hammer," Sif rolled her eyes with a smug smile. Suddenly, they felt a whoosh of air behind them and as they spun round, saw Loki standing beside them, his green and black armour glinting in the bright morning sun. Thor frowned as he noticed Sif's smile widen ever more as his younger brother appeared.

"Magic, Loki, tut tut," Sif joked, "If I do recall correctly... The All-Father has banned you from using magic for a while after you last trick…"

"Shhh..." Loki laughed, "You'd better not tell, Lady Sif, we wouldn't want him to hear your last trick either would we…" Sif blushed and giggled.

"Last trick?" Thor asked.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Sif sung playfully, "now let's go, brothers, we don't want to miss anytime sparring!"

They fought hard and long and soon the perspiring, tired Gods trailed back to the palace. They were caked in mud and grass and they laughed at the sights of each others disarray.

Suddenly, Sif stopped and shook Thor urgently. "Wha- what?!" he cried between the shakes, "stop that Sif!"

"Your father! He wanted to see us!" Thor bit his lip and glanced down worriedly at how messy they looked. Hardly proper to see the All-Father. Sif spun round and looked wide-eyed at Loki. He guessed what she wanted without even having to hear her plea.

"Oh, all right then," he sighed. He flicked his fingers and in his palm a clear blue wisp appeared. He ran his hands a few centre metres away from Thor and Sif's bodies and instantly was made clean. There faces were pure and shining. Their opposite hair, Thors glistening blonde while Sif's was raven-black, that was originally covered in mud was seemingly washed and groomed, not a spec of dirt in site. But Loki had out-done himself, Sif thought, smiling. Their armour had been transformed to smart outfits. Thors was a draped cape with tight leggings and armour top, whereas Sif's was a bright green dress, covering the floor a meter behind her. In her hair were green jewels, twisting it back like a snake. Sif hurried towards Loki and lovingly hugged him close. She could feel his cool breath on her cheek.

"You are a life saver, Loki! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Yes, I can not thank you enough, Brother!" The black haired man in front of them, grinned and took a mock bow before disappearing into the shadows.

"We must go now or else we shall be late, Sif,"

"Yes, let us go," and with that she hooked her arm around Thor on one side and Loki on the other and left the great hall.

Chapter 3

"Thank you both for coming." The All-Father was sitting upright in his great throne, the throne that was to be Thors when the time came.

"Father, may I ask- why have you summoned us?"