Sagya was surrounded by books, focusing all her concentration on the goblet in front of her. She was still young, only about 8 years old, but she was getting stronger day by day. While her best friends were still away with their father, she distracted herself with her studies.

Murmuring an incantation under her breath, one she had long memorized, the water began to rise from the cup on her command. Moving her hand with the water, it followed Sagya's movements, changing shape until it became a snake, fangs barred. It moved as though it were alive, hissing at the girl.

Sagya kept her focus, staring into the water snakes eyes, before whispering the new spell she had just read, willing her magical energy to do her will. She felt the spark right at her fingertips, and the snake began to move slower. She concentrated harder, her thin eyebrows pushed together. The snake began to transform in to a shiny sculpture of silver, stopping when it was about half-changed; then the whole snake plopped back down into the goblet, all water. The spell had failed.

Sagya huffed in disappointment and frustration. She moved a chunk of bright white hair out of her eyes as she continued to read on the spell; to turn water to silver. Sagya should have ended up with a small snake statue made of silver, but all she had was the cup of water she started with. Suddenly, a pair of cold, pale hands cover her grey eyes, making her gasp and drop the book in her hand.

"Guess who," said a smooth voice behind her. Sagya spun around to come face to face with a pair of bright green eyes. She smiled widely.

"Loki!" she cried, excited, throwing her arms around his skinny neck. Loki laughed, hugging her back. She was almost as large as him now, just a few inches shorter. Loki was now 13, still young, but well on his way to becoming a man. "You're back!"

"I've missed you as well, Sagya," said Loki, a smile in his voice. He was glad to be home; the journey with his father and brother had been tiresome, making the mischief god long to be back in this very library. He had been deprived of the ancient smell of the books and ink, and most of all, of his friend.

"How was the journey?" Sagya asked, then her expression fell. "You are not injured, are you?" Loki chuckled at her childish concern.

"I'm fine," Loki assured her. "And the trek was painfully uneventful. I had to sit and listen to Thor rave over Father's adventures, the same ones we've been told since infancy." Sagya rolled her eyes at Loki's complaints.

"It's been quiet without you and Thor," the half Elf commented, toying with Loki's black hair, slicked backwards. The pre-teen grabbed the book that Sagya had dropped.

"Turning water to silver," he read, and Sagya nodded.

"Still some work to be done. The spell failed." Loki looked at the younger girl, amused.

"Well, then shall we get to work?"

"I'm going to get you, Thor!" Sagya came running down the corridor of the castle, her flowing little sundress flying out behind her. The eldest prince, now at the ripe age of 16, was jogging ahead of the elfling, chuckling as he did. She had approached him in his chambers, insisting that she had been practicing spells all day and wanted to play a game of chase. So, there they were. Most likely setting themselves up for scolding later by Frigga (especially Sagya for no acting lady like), but for now, they were having fun. After all, between all the training, it was nice for Thor to get to act childish for a while.

Suddenly, without warning, Thor's feet flew out from under him and he landed hard on his back. Ice. He had slipped on ice, and in the middle of the summer. Sagya was becoming as tricky with her magic as Loki. After all, the trickster himself took pride in teaching her his ways. Giggling, Sagya flopped across his stomach, pinning him down.

"I told you!" Thor laughed in a good-natured way.

"I guess you did, little sister!" Thor bellowed. "Or maybe not!" He grabbed the 11-year-old's sides and tickled her relentlessly. She burst into hysterical laughter, trying to roll away from her older friend.

Soon, Loki walked upon the scene, his nose stuck in a book and his mind preoccupied; so much so that he too slipped on the ice, landing a few feet away from Thor and Sagya. The look of utter shock and surprise on his face was priceless, and Thor no longer needed to tickle Sagya. She was laughing too hard at Loki.

Soon, they were all laughing. Not at anything specific, just at each other. And that was how Sagya's guardian, Kalr, a servant in the palace, found them. Rolling on the ice-covered ground, just laughing.

Chapter 2. So far so good?

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Live Long and Prosper

Luna von Rae