Disclaimer: I own nothing!
A/N: Thanks to bebepantheon for the idea!
Chapter 12
The next day, Gerda once again woke her up, and the woman did not look happy. "What is it, Gerda?" Rayna asked, as Gerda laid out black leather pants and a black leather tunic for her to wear today.
"If you ask me, my lady, no woman's place is on the training fields, let alone the battlefield. Especially a princess."
"Gerda, there are people out there who don't care about the fact that I am a woman, or a princess, they just want me dead. And I'm pretty sure that some of them are women too. Plus, most of them rely solely on magic. This will just give me an upper hand."
"But you are perfectly safe here on Asgard."
"I am. But my friends aren't." Rayna sighed. "I have to go back at some point, Gerda. I can't leave them on their own to fight this war. Not with what that monster has already taken from me."
Gerda nodded, but Rayna knew that her opinion hadn't changed, and was unlikely to change.
She bathed, dressed, and then had breakfast before heading outside, where Sif was waiting for her. She grinned when she saw Rayna heading out.
"Ready for your first day of training Princess?"
"As ready as I can be. And call me Rayna. I'm not used to being addressed as Princess. By anyone." She said, as Sif led her towards the training fields.
Sif nodded. "Very well, Rayna it is. Have you ever learnt to physically defend yourself before?"
"Does learning to climb trees very quickly count?"
"No it doesn't."
"Then no, I haven't."
"Very well, we'll have to start with a few basic defensive moves, before we move onto anything heavier. When we move onto weapons, you'll start with a pair of hunting knives until you build up your strength." Sif playfully pinched Rayna's upper arm. "You have no muscles to speak of. There is no way you could successfully wield a sword at this point."
"I managed to bend thick iron bars." Rayna pointed out to her.
Sif scoffed. "Childs play. You will learn, soon enough."
"Trust me, it didn't feel like child's play." Rayna said, shaking her head, before stopping short as the training fields came into view. Many warriors were sparring with each other and it was quite the sight to see. Each warrior's skill put the skills of the boxers that Dudley watched on the TV regularly to shame. She groaned.
"I am going to make myself look like a complete prat." Rayna said.
"Everyone starts off as a beginner." Sif assured. "I may not know what a 'prat' is, but no one will expect you to be an amazing warrior from the start."
Rayna let out a breath. "Well, that's new. My fellow classmates expected me to know everything when I first went to Hogwarts. It took them a year to come round to the idea that I was at their level learning wise."
Sif clapped her on her shoulder. "Well, not here Rayna, not here. Come, Thor, Loki, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg are waiting for us."
The first things she was taught were, like Sif had said, basic defence moves, like how to deflect a straight on attack, or get out of a hold and also how to disarm her opponent if they had a knife. The lesson progressed from there and Rayna was sure that she was going to be very bruised later on. Sirius, who had come to watch, found it rather hard to laugh at her misfortune, and she knew she had to get him back for that. He wouldn't laugh so much if he was in her position.
"Hey, Padfoot?" She said slowly when they were taking a short break- Hogun and Volstagg were currently sparring.
"Yes?" He replied, still sniggering slightly.
"How well would you be able to defend yourself without a wand?" Her tone was conversational, but both she and Sirius knew what she was up to. And either way Sirius answered would earn him a round of fighting with one of the Ӕsir.
He opened his mouth, before closing it, and then clearing his throat. "Well it, err, it never really came up. But I am a very good dualist- one of the top Auror's you know- before Azkaban of course."
"That will not do!" Thor declared. "Rayna may one day need you to help her- what if you are rendered unarmed? You would not be much use in protecting her then."
Not long after, Rayna was laughing openly at her Godfather's misfortune of being on his back, a pitiful moan escaping his lips.
"You brought that up for this very reason, didn't you?" Loki asked, smirking slightly.
"Of course. He was laughing at me. I had to do something." She replied. "It was honestly the first thing that came to my mind."
He laughed slightly. "I wouldn't have wanted to give you time to come up with more ideas then." He looked over to Sirius. "Thor didn't go too hard on you I hope, Sirius." He grinned.
"I should just stick to magic." He groaned, pulling himself to his feet.
"Did your father not teach you, or hire a tutor for you to teach you hand to hand combat?" Thor asked Sirius.
"In the wizarding world, many wizards, especially purebloods, hold the view that muggle brawling, as they call it, is beneath them as they have magic."
"That's ridiculous." Volstagg said. "You just got beat to a pulp! What if they lost their wands?"
"Then they're dead meat." Sirius answered.
"They sound it." Sif said. "Taking on these Death Eaters shouldn't be that hard. Disarm them and they're useless."
"You have to disarm them first." Rayna pointed out, before they moved onto weapons. She was taught a few moves with hunting knives, and Loki also began to teach her how to use throwing knives and throwing stars. She got frustrated when she kept missing the target, and falling incredibly short, but Loki reassured her that it was normal for all beginners to not hit anything the first time they tried, except perhaps it was unintentionally, and far off the intended target.
"Later on, when you're ready, I'll teach you how to lace a poison spell into the blade." Loki said. "That way, when you throw it at someone, it will do even more damage."
By lunch, Rayna felt ready to sleep, but afterwards she found that she wasn't going to get the chance, having magic lessons with Loki straight after lunch. The next few days passed in this manner, with horse riding lessons from Sif in-between, except for her birthday. She received a pile of presents which was probably bigger than the combined amount of gifts Dudley ever got from Christmas and his birthday in a year. The presents included a load of jewellery, clothes and books, and not just from her family, but from those who were very influential in the court too apparently. Someone even sent her a couple of horses. She also received armour of her own, hunting knives and a set of throwing knives and stars off Thor. The innermost layer of the armour was a leather tunic and leggings which had protective enchantments on them, meaning she would be able to wear them under just about anything, therefore having protection all the time. The only thing she couldn't wear them under were her gowns, and she probably wouldn't be able to wear the leggings under her school skirt either. But, that was about it. She had taken to wearing clothes suitable for training anyway. She was just more comfortable in them than the fancy dresses. Loki had also surprised her with a familiar.
Her jaw dropped when she saw the small, jet black wolf pup in his hands, which he handed to her. Its big blue eyes looked up at her, before it let out a small bark and began licking under her chin.
"When he's grown, he will be a fine protector for you. He will be bigger than an ordinary wolf; his shoulders will come up to around your elbows when he's fully grown."
"He's just the size of a normal pup!" Rayna said, gazing at the bundle of black fur in her hands, which was licking at her affectionately.
"Now he is. But not for long. He will grow quickly, but will live as long as you do, as your familiar."
"Oh I love him Loki, thank you!" She hugged him tightly, surprising her Uncle. She was finding it much easier now to think of Thor and Loki as her Uncles, and Odin and Frigga as her grandparents, but she had never called them that out loud. The yelp from the pup alerted her that she was squashing him and she let go of Loki, so she wouldn't squash her new familiar. "Though he had better not eat Hedwig." She thought, thinking of her other familiar.
"He will not harm her if she is close to you." Loki informed her. "What are you going to call him?"
"Ardwyad, I think." She said, after a moment's thought. She nodded. "Ardwyad is definitely what I'm going to call him."
Later on, she thought she would have to rename him gluttony. He ate ravenously and his appetite only increased as he grew. A week after her birthday, Ardwyad was more than double the size he had been when Loki had given him to her as a gift, and he was still growing.
Sirius had also managed to get her a present too- a silver Athame knife which was good for both ritual work and potions.
Rayna still had terrible nightmares every night, but the presence of her new familiar, who had at first slept on the pillow next to her, but now occupied the area at the foot of the bed when sleeping, eased them somewhat. She assumed it was the subconscious knowledge that her familiar was close by to protect her should something happen. But she was starting to be able to eat substantially more than she had been before, and she knew it showed. With the help of Eire's potion regime and Iduna's apples supplementing each of her meals, she was getting back to a healthy weight. She wasn't skin and bones anymore. Add to that her training, and some of the weight she was gaining were becoming muscles that would be able to help her in a fight. Of course, her muscles weren't exactly noticeable; she wasn't looking to be buff. But they were there- at least, they were developing.
Odin had borrowed her mirror again one evening after her birthday but she had no idea what he had wanted to use it for. The next evening they were in the same lounge that she had fainted in the first day she had been in Asgard for. It wasn't just Rayna and her grandparents. Thor and Loki were there too. Ardwyad, who was now just a bit bigger than your average wolf, was curled up in front of the large fire, seemingly fast asleep. She knew her wolf better by now though, and knew that he was just doing it so as to remain unnoticed. It was his own way of being able to keep an eye on things, without any threats thinking he was a threat.
Rayna instantly recognised the stone basin that was in the room with them.
"That's a pensive, isn't it?"
"It is." Odin nodded. "Last night I had a long talk with your headmaster. You may return to Midgard to finish your schooling, so long as you return to Asgard the moment we hear of any sort of threat to you in that school, and so long as Thor, Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three remain there with you."
"Really?" Her face lit up in a bright smile, but then her smile dropped, and her eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"
"Before he says anything else, the three of us are against this. You should be able to tell us in your own time." Frigga gestured to herself, Thor and Loki, neither of whom looked particularly pleased.
Odin brought the attention back to the subject by speaking once more. "In order to better protect you while there, your Uncles and the other four accompanying you will need to know, not only the ins and outs of your school, but also the various dangers you have faced there."
Rayna knew where this was going. "You want to view my memories of my years at Hogwarts." She groaned. Ardwyad's ears perked slightly at the sound, searching for trouble when he sensed her tone wasn't quite right.
"It would be easier for you than telling us." Odin said.
Rayna closed her eyes. They would find out eventually- and it would be better than them hearing different versions of the truth from people who had let the rumours change the true events. Not that she, Ron or Hermione had ever actually let people in on events, except for Dumbledore of course. And, it would mean she could go back to school… Rayna nodded, opening her eyes. "Alright. Where do you want to start?"
"Probably just before you begin your first year would be a good idea." Frigga said, shooting a glare at Odin. "But you don't have to if you don't want to."
"It's a good idea. Now, how am I supposed to put my memories into the pensive?"
A/N: Please review! I hope you enjoyed!
