He was putting his boots, slipping his gloves, readjusting some locks of hair. He didn't want to be ridiculous towards his brother but he had to be careful not to be late. Today there was no title prince. Loki had to be ready to become a student in the Royal Academy of War. This Academy was the most prestigious school in the kingdom. One enters as a boy, one gets out as a man. A soldier. Better: a warrior. If you asked a man what could be his ideal studies, he would say the Royal Academy of War for sure. There were a lot of appliquants but only a few passed the entrance test. Odin had decided the honour of being accepted at the Academy wouldn't be how much money you can bring but how talented you are. In fact, each pretender had to fight in front of a jury to be accepted. For this, Thor and his friends Fandral and Wolfram were ready. But was he ?

The arena of the Academy wasn't that big. It was nothing compared to the gigantic one where games were organized in the summer next to the palace. But it was frightening because of the dozen of juror present in the first rows to judge your every move. Families and rich bourgeois were sitting higher. The royal family had a special place in front of the judges. Odin was waiting for every challenger to arrive, his wife at his side and the princes' teacher, Algrim, behind them.

Loki came into the room where the young men were standing prepared. Everyone was choosing a sword and a shield. Among the demonstration of muscles and testosterones, Loki finally found his brother, laughing with Fandral.

"Brother, at last ! We thought you will never come !" said Thor.

"As you can see, I am here", answered Loki. "Do you know what is the running order ?"

"No, but I can't wait to defeat the unlucky man who will have to fight with me."

"You are very sure of yourself", said Loki.

"Yes, too sure, I'd say", added Fandral.

"Please care of yourselves, girls. Let me fight like I want !"

With that, Thor stormed out of the room.

"So impatient your brother !" said Fandral to Loki.

"Yes… Fandral, do you mind if I ask you a question ? And please, be sincere."

"I'll see what I can do, my prince."

"Do you think I will succeed ?"

Fandral didn't know what to answer. Loki asking this question meant he was not sure of himself. That was the first time he had heard this. But the moment wasn't for jokes. Either he could tell him everything will be fine. Or tell him the truth… During days, Thor and his friends had laughed about Loki's attempt to enter the Academy. He didn't fit at all the warrior's physic, neither the spirit. He was more into mental, psychic and reflection things. Sure it would be a failure. But Fandral didn't have the heart or the courage to tell it to him.

"Yes, of course. Do you know if you can use magic ?"

"I already asked. I can't."

"Oh…" said Fandral unable to hide his doubt, he bit his lips. "Don't worry, your brother taught you well."

Fandral couldn't stand one minute more to lie to the prince, so he left Loki alone and got out to reach Thor. The elder prince was talking with Wolfram about the best way of beating the herald. He was a man chosen by the General of the Army – in fact there were several. Their task was to fight all the young men volunteered to enter the Academy. They were still debating which strategy was the best, when Odin stood up and the trumpets rang. Everybody quieted and the All-Father started to speak.

"Today will see a new generation of student in the Royal Academy of War. As the others, it will become a generation of brave warriors. Those students, for they are promised to a bright future, will be well chosen among those who volunteered. Only the mightiest ones will find a place in the rows of the Academy. In this goal, I named ten jurors in charge of recruiting the students. They will grade each candidate regarding his aptitudes to fight, to adapt and to think in a combat situation. Today the combat will take place in this arena, tomorrow it could be in the valley of Vanaheim or the mountains of Asgard. To all of them, I wish success !"

Everybody applauded the king's speech. Then the quartermaster spoke in turn:

"I will now call each candidate one by one. At your name, please, stand before the judges and salute the herald who will fight with you. I remind to the candidates, only a wooden sword is allowed, no real swords, daggers, knives, arks, magic spells are permitted. When a judge says "Stop", you need to stop immediately. Now the best be the victorious ! Orag Burnison !"

The man was twice Thor's height and walked like each of his steps was making the earth shake. The fight didn't last too long. It was clear he was ready to be a soldier.

"Accepted !" said the quartermaster after consulting the judges.

Everybody clapped his hands. Some other men were called more or less victorious. Then it was time to let enter a prince into the arena.

"Thor Odinson !"

The entire arena held his breath and the blond haired man moved forward in the middle of the courtyard. He beamed in front of his opponent who did the same. Thor looked at the man in the eyes. He could see he was impressed by him. Thor knew it wasn't his muscles but only his name he was fearing. So he said:

"I didn't know the army recruited girls !"

The man tried to give him a first hit on the shoulder. But Thor anticipated his movement so he avoided it. The prince made a turn on himself and gave a slam with his sword in the calf. The fighter fell and turned somersaults to stand up again facing Thor. The prince put his sword high to make his opponent believe he was releasing his guard and made a feint on the side giving him a hit in the ribs.

"Stop !" shouted the quartermaster.

After a short talk he added:

"Accepted !"

The royal family applauded Thor and everybody was shouting and saying his name. Thor lifted his sword up in a sign of victory. The fighter said to the prince:

"See you in class, my prince. I will teach you the good manners during your technical course !"

"Loki Odinson !"

His name resonated in his ears. He knew it was time for him to show in the middle of the arena but he was frozen. A deep fear climbed from his inside. Luckily, Fandral was next to him again.

"Loki, it's your turn. You will do great !" he said encouraging him.

Loki get out of his torpor and put a feet before the other to join the courtyard. Odin and Frigga were tense. Thor was applauding his brother. The crowd was now still. Loki saluted the other fighter. The best way to get over his opponent was to understand his tactic. The first hits he gave, Loki avoided them. It wasn't really a combat and people in the arena were already betting that the young prince would give up. However after studying closely the steps of the herald, Loki made a move with his fist to prepare his sword. He was ready for another attack that this time he was decided to counter. He didn't wait long. The fighter gave a big slam from the left that Loki warded off. Then the prince gave a severe blow with his shoulder to destabilize him and placed the point of his sword on the heart of the herald.

"Stop !"

Nobody waited for the answer. The crowd who was mocking him just few seconds before was already standing up acclaiming his prince, all saying his name.

"Loki ! Loki ! Loki !"

"Accepted !" said the quartermaster.

New acclamations burst forth when people heard the judgment. At this moment, Loki was so proud of himself, he would have cry if he wasn't in front of all of Asgard. He turned to his parents and saw them applauding too, proud of their son. It erased, or so he thought, these last years being left alone among his grimoires. His brother even came in the arena to take him in his arms.

"How did you do that ? You were even better than me !"

Loki was so grateful to hear his brother. Saying he was better than him should have been hard for Thor, so he had to take it to its proper value.

"Thank you, Brother. I had a good teacher", he said winking.

Explanations for this chapter:

- Hello everybody ! Back for a new fanfiction ! I hope you loved this one.

- Not a lot to explain here. Don't forget to look at my profile page to see the doc where I put every character in order of appearance (name of the character, picture from Marvel comics, name of the actor, picture of the actor). For the characters you already know, it's not very important, but for the rest my 'casting' will help you to figure out how I imagined them.

- Loki and Thor are about 18 years old here. This story takes place 10 years after "The Beginning" and something like 600 years before the movie "Thor". Wow! What a fic! Don't worry, you'll understand. ;-)

- Feel free to review !