Once again, thank you for all of your continued support! It is much appreciated :) Also, incredibly sorry this chapter took an eternity for me to finally post! I've had a lot of work to do recently.

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Riley crouched down in the muddy bank with her dirty hands wrapped around her ankle, wincing in pain. She could just about hear the sizzle of her own skin, raw and red.

"And that," said Loki, ghosting along the side of the creek, "is how you deflect an oncoming blow."

"Good...to know," said Riley between gasps for air.

She had to admit, after six hours of constant training, she was thoroughly exhausted. That morning she'd gone for her daily run around the palace gardens, with Loki, per usual, mocking her as she did so. Then, after a hasty breakfast, she and Loki had practiced hitting more targets, before finally moving to the edge of the forest, where they began to actually duel somewhat. Her current objective was to learn how to shield herself from any potential attacks.

"Can't...we take...a break?" Riley managed, as she tried and failed to clear her shirt of mud.

Loki fixed her in his gaze, his smile derisive. "Don't tell me the High-and-Mighty Harrow has grown weary?"

"Yes, she has," Riley muttered back. At this point, she would gain nothing from being stubborn and taking it "like a man." It would only lead to her undoubtedly passing out and making an even bigger fool of herself.

Loki blinked. Evidently he really had worn the girl out...How feeble. In his own training as a child, Loki was forced to take on much more difficult, longer challenges than this, but he never put up a fight, never had a go at any teacher. He just bit his tongue and forced himself harder and harder, all the way to his breaking point.

But then, there was always the loathing, the deep hatred for his mentors, the ones that praised "beloved" Thor every chance they got, yet never once made an attempt to convey their approval of Loki...Thor always complained, moaned, and bickered about every hardship, whilst Loki kept his mouth shut and did as he was told, till he would eventually black out from exhaustion.

Who was he to be a hypocrite? To be in any position to do the same exact things to his own student?

"Well, at least you've somewhat cooled that hot head of yours," said Loki evenly. He crossed the mud-caked ground, earning a faint squelching sound each time his boots made contact with the ground. "You may want to do something about that ankle."

Riley stared blankly up at him, her chest heaving up and down, each time slightly less painful than the last. Words slipped from her grasp. She'd expected him to argue, to demand that she return to her feet at once, or even maybe physically force her to move; not to actually listen to her plea.

"Oh. Yeah...Wait, I mean no," said Riley, examining her semi-sizzling ankle. "No, it's not that bad. I can deal." The unmistakable pain in her face betrayed her.

Loki breathed an exasperated sigh. "Yet the pigheadedness remains. Why don't we at least have it be put in an ankle splint or something of the sort?"

Riley opened her mouth, then closed it again. Loki was offering her the chance to take an actual break from her grueling training. What position was she in to pass up at that opportunity?

"Okay, one second." Riley undid the laces on her boots hurriedly, and then submerged herself in the creek water, allowing the cool water to rush over her scrapes, to ease her pain to some extent.

"I hope you know that that's not the same as a bath," Loki called down to her.

"Har har!" Riley hollered as she examined a small bruise on her upper arm.

"Are you quite sure you're a woman?" Loki mocked.

"Yeah, pretty sure I'd know that!" Riley snarled back.

After another minute or two, she hoisted herself out of the creek and shook the water from her hair like a dog...Fitting.

Together, they trudged back up the steep incline, back across the grounds, and through a side door into the palace. They made their way up several flights of staircases, and Riley grit her teeth as she dragged her leg. Loki could have very well just fashioned some sort of splint or bandage for her on one of the lower floors, but no, he insisted on going up to the Healing Room.

When they finally reached the double doors, Riley just about collapsed in a heap. She steadied herself stubbornly, forcing her expression to remain neutral. She refused to give Loki any more satisfaction than she already had.

A tall, blonde Asgardian woman stood near the doorway when they entered, holding what appeared to be a clipboard with parchment and a feather quill. She looked up when they entered with a bright smile, but when she saw who it was, her gorgeous face fell.

"Ah, hello," she said, looking between the two. Riley could tell (Not just by her aura, but because it was pretty obvious) that she was making an effort to remain pleasant, but her face kept wrinkling as though she smelled something rather nasty. "How may I be of assistance, Prince Loki?"

Loki seemed to stand both taller and shorter at the same time at the word "Prince."

"Yes," he said, returning her half-hearted demeanor. "My clumsy student here was too slow at defending herself and hurt her ankle."

"I'm not—" Riley cut in. Loki raised one hand to silence her, and she grudgingly bit her lip.

"Oh...well..." The blonde woman's eyes looked Riley up and down, and her nose wrinkled again. Riley wondered whether she was aware that she kept doing that. "I'll see if any of our Healers are not busy. Why don't you have a seat over there, sir?" she gestured to a row of benches positioned under the window. "Wait here, Miss...Harrow," she added.

Loki swept across the room toward the benches with his cape billowing behind him, murmuring something about "...waste of time..."

Riley remained rooted on the spot as she was told, frowning down at her ankle. Once again, both Loki and The Allfather were right about something: She wasn't at all prepared for war. If a simple energy blast to her lower leg caused this much damage, then how would she be able to handle the real battlefield? Would she just curl up in fetal position if someone hit her too hard? Would she just sit down and moan and groan about how much pain she was in?

And even if she did put on a brave face, that didn't mean she would be able to fight at her hardest whilst hurting. She would have to learn to just deal with it...

"Miss Harrow?"

The blonde woman had returned. "Healer Aberleson can see to you now."

"Aberleson? Kane?" said Riley, mildly surprised for no reason she could think of. He had mentioned before that he was a Healer, didn't he?

Loki looked up from his fixation with a speck of dirt on the ground. He could not pinpoint what it was about the Asgardian boy that he did not like...He'd seen him before around the palace, but only recently a spark of dislike had ignited in him, for whatever reason. His sharp green eyes tracked his student as she crossed the room to sit at one of the many long, white tables lining the room.

"Oh, hello, Miss Harrow," said Kane, glancing over at Riley as she approached. "Get yourself into trouble again?"

"You could say that," said Riley, shooting a glare in Loki's direction.

"Was it the Snake?"

"What gave it away?"

Kane laughed, then uncorked a bottle of some purplish liquid. "For the pain," he said, measuring out a teaspoon and handing it to her. Riley winced at the sour taste, reminding her of a shriveled, tiny grape.

"Sorry, it's not exactly juice," said Kane, smiling in a sheepish sort of way. "Lanya said it was your ankle, right?"

"Yup," Riley confirmed.

"All right, bring it up on the table, then."

Riley lifted her leg, awkwardly as it was hard to bend it, and placed it onto the table, aware of the mud caked onto her skin and the smell of creek water.

Kane drew back her pant leg, rolling it up so he could get a good look at the wound. Riley shivered slightly, for no apparent reason, at the touch of his warm hand. She wasn't exactly used to contact with many men, mainly because the majority of them turned away from her right away, and it didn't help that Kane's face, she only then realized in the bright lighting from the torches, was quite ruggedly handsome.

Loki's dark eyes narrowed. Why? The word rung through Loki's mind a thousand times over and over again, but an answer never met him. Why was it that his stir of disdain for the son of Aberle had intensified in a single moment? Surely Kane had done nothing to warrant the God of Mischief's hatred...He watched the boy carelessly run a hand slowly along Riley's ankle, tracing it with two long fingers as he mumbled a spell. Loki's blood began to boil.

But why?

Riley had every intention of remaining cool and blasé through the inspection, but the second Kane's thin fingers ran along her leg, she could not help but darken red in the face. Stop freaking out over nothing, she told herself firmly, biting her lip. Don't lose your head. It was like with Thor, when he had brushed his lips against her knuckles, only strangely different...somehow.

Going through life without ever being kissed or even so much as being called "Beautiful" will do that to you, I suppose, Riley thought. You go mad over stupid little things.

"There, how's that?" Kane's voice broke into her thoughts. Riley blinked twice, coming out of her daze, and peered down at her ankle. It was not healed up the same way it had been before, when he sealed her finger cut, but it certainly looked better than before. The sizzling, irritated red skin had calmed, and the whole thing had been bandaged up in a tight white cloth.

"Oh—brilliant." Riley gave it an experimental shake. It didn't hurt nearly as much. "Thank you, Kane."

"Of course." Kane grinned, and his already-bright hazel eyes lit.

Riley swung her leg off of the table, and she steadied herself on her feet.

"Try not to get yourself hurt again, all right? Unless you're just trying to see me again." Kane winked.

Riley cursed herself as she felt her face grow hot. "I'll...I'll keep that in mind."

"Are you quite done?" said Loki in a raised voice. He'd gotten to his feet now.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming...See you at the ball, then," Riley added to Kane.

"I look forward to it."

Riley half-limped, with the bandages over her ankle, toward the door, past the blonde woman, who did not try to hide her annoyance with them this time. She watched the pair leave, her expression nothing short of disgusted.

Ah, the life of two outcasts.

Loki shouldered his way out of the doorway, with Riley on his heels. She waved to Kane as she followed suit, half-smiling.

The moment the double doors swung closed, Loki shot her a sideways glance, his mouth turned upward in a smirk. But it wasn't his usual, almost playful smirk. Riley detected a darker, more cruel aura beneath the surface.

"What?" she asked.

"I cannot even begin to imagine why he's pursuing you," said Loki. "Not for your physical features, that much is certain. The Asgardian women here can fulfill that much twice as well."

Riley's jaw dropped a fraction in shock. She'd expected him to mock her more on her supposedly "self-inflicted injury," or to perhaps just say nothing at all. But his words had caught her completely off guard, causing her to stagger a little.

She drew back her hand sharply to slap him, then thought better of it. No point in hitting the teacher and getting detention. Besides, she'd already dealt with assholes like him before in high school...Although granted his words stung her heart more than they would coming from a teenage boy.

Instead, she merely smiled pleasantly up at him. "I'm not quite sure who you mean." She was quite sure who he meant.

"The Healer," said Loki, still smirking coldly at her. "The son of Aberle."

Riley continued her own clearly-faked, amiable smile. "I disagree. Kane doesn't fancy me."

"Oh, certainly not," said Loki. "I highly doubt any sensible Asgardian could stand that dim-witted yet sharp tongue of yours."

"Glad we could come to an agreement on that, then," Riley snapped.

A short pause commenced.

"Is it really that far-fetched that any man could ever like a person such as myself?" Riley knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn't help it. Despite her seemingly-hard outer shell, on the inside, the insecure little girl that resides in every woman had begun to question herself. She'd had "crushes" before, but she could not recall one man who returned the feelings. But up until now, she mainly tried to avoid the idea of "love" like a plague.

Loki turned completely so that he was completely facing her, towering over her in height. "Oh yes. I mean, what is there to like, my dear?" His icy grin had curved downward into a frown as he hissed. "Not the inside nor the outside are in any way desirable. You are a child, a child trapped within an adult body, stubborn and ignorant! How could any man choose you over the many beautiful maidens of Asgard? They would have to be both blind and deaf."

Loki wasn't sure what was driving him to say it. The words flowed out of his mouth, quickly, before he could stop them. His real contempt, he knew, was not directed to her, but to Kane. So why was he turning it on his student, then? Why was it that his anger seemed directed to them as a pair, that he could not help but gain satisfaction from bashing the girl and ruining any hope she had with the other Asgardian?

Riley couldn't believe it. She froze, petrified in place, her eyes wide. Then they began to swim with the beginnings of tears. This wasn't just an immature teenage boy in high school calling her "ugly" or something in the hallway...he had targeted her personally, had stabbed her directly in the core of her heart, had completely ripped her into tiny shreds.

Wasn't she stronger than this? How could words, simply words, sting her so badly?

"Well. Thank y-you for letting me know." Riley hated herself for letting her voice shake.

"Harrow—" Loki began, green eyes widening, subconsciously reaching one arm outward.

Riley turned sharply on her heel, then took off down the winding stairway as fast as her feet would carry her.

"Riley—"

Riley didn't look back at the sound of his voice. She bolted down the long hallway back toward her room, wiping her eyes messily on her sleeve as she went. She knew she should have casually walked away from him, calm and unaffected, but she would have broken down in front of him, which would be much worse. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible, to cry without anyone there to taunt her weaknesses, how easily she cracked...

She swung herself up the stairs to her bedroom, thrust the door open, and threw herself down upon her bed, sobbing openly into her arms. She hated Loki. She hated herself. Whether Loki was just testing her or being quite serious, it did not matter. The look in his narrowed green eyes as he snarled at her...it had hurt. Horribly.

Riley buried her face in her hands. She felt pathetic, just as Loki viewed her. She should have known to just harden her heart around him, to not forget that he was in fact known for his cruel tongue...

Loki watched her go, one hand somewhat outstretched toward nothing but empty air. He clenched one fist slightly, contemplated doing a move Thor did often by throwing the nearest object, then thought better of it.

What had made him do it?

This wasn't how it was supposed to play out. He was the God of Mischief! He was supposed to gain nothing but sheer delight from things like this!

He remembered Agent Romanoff, the satisfaction he'd earned from the flash of fear in her eyes, the hurt expression that overwhelmed her visage. That was how this was supposed to be, wasn't it? Picking people apart was part of what he did. Getting under their skin, voicing their flaws...

What made this any different?

And it was then that Loki realized what he was feeling currently, something he'd not felt for quite a long time: Regret.

Damn her.

...

Thanks again, everyone! I really hope I didn't make Loki too OOC in this chapter, because I think someone's a bit jealous of Kane ;)

Also, sorry if this chapter was short...it seemed short to me.

Viktorskrumpet: Haha, yeah, Loki really is an ass xD And I agree; Riley could do some damage to him if she so chose. Granted it may not hurt him much, but she has a decent amount of restraint. Thanks!

Marianne: Thank you! I can't believe you read the whole thing at once, that means a lot to me! (: Aw, you flatter me. It's so hard to keep their relationship the way I want it. Thanks so much!

Stargazer1364: Yeah, he's a strange character haha :) Oh, but the God of Mischief is very sneaky. You'd think that being psychic and all, Riley would sense him coming haha. And yes, Loki's done a good job of proving Riley wrong again and again!

Viv: Most of my readers seem to like their spats, and I appreciate it! :D I think they have a very love-hate relationship, currently leaning more so toward hate. And thank you! I was originally going to just do the bit with the Avengers, but I thought Asgard would be both more interesting, and keep their relationship more gradual.