A/N: Thanks so much to Toolazytologin for the encouraging review and to SuzzieSiddle for following! Hope y'all like this chapter! Feedback is always welcome.

Mischief

Thor was sitting in a chair in the large balcony adjacent to his room. He was polishing the sword he was going to practice with later that afternoon in the fields. Although he knew Odin would probably assign him a more powerful weapon once he was older, Thor had to be instructed in all sorts of things before he was worthy of such an honor.

Handling different weaponry and using different fighting stances, techniques and tactics - those were all part of what he was expected to excel at. Perhaps one of the most important lessons Thor had learned from the swordmaster who was in charge of his and Loki's physical training, however, was that he should also know how to take proper care of his tools; not let someone else do it for him.

Thor was a prince. Although good-natured, arrogance was a trait he innately possessed, given his lineage and how he was next in line to rule over Asgard. The first time his instructor had taken Thor and Loki into the weapon's vault to sharpen half a hundred axes, swords and daggers, Thor had protested.

He scornfully argued that it was no chore for the sons of Odin and refused to do it, crossing his arms over his chest. The swordmaster's calm reply to his tantrum echoed through his mind now, as he was working on the sword.

What if you're away on another realm in a battle and you don't have anyone to do it for you? What then, young Thor?

Over time he had learned to enjoy the task, simply because he figured it did give him leverage to know how to do things himself, instead of relying on someone else.

Even Loki, who had since evolved such lenghts with his magic that he was able to improve a weapon's condition with nothing but a snap of his fingers, would sometimes sit with him and do it slowly by hand.

Thor enjoyed the silence that would settle over them on those occasions. There would be nothing but the sound of metal against metal, hanging in the air for a long time. It felt peaceful, the task having an unsual way of making Loki quiet. He felt it humbled them both into understanding respect for those who served them and the work they developped.

"Brother!" Loki's call distracted Thor from his musings and made him look up to face the mischievous ear-to-ear grin Loki had plastered across his face. "There you are!"

"Is something the matter?" Thor frowned as he took a step inside the room, knowing that grin better than anyone else would. It was the one Loki wore when he had been up to no good and someone was going to fall prey to his schemes, just to entertain him. He stepped in just to make sure Loki wouldn't lock him in his balcony. Again.

"It's a good thing you're holding a sword. Let me fix it for you," Loki ignored his question and waved his hand. With a faint glow, the sword became perfectly sharpened and polished. "There," he kept his grin in place, eyes glinting.

"What-" Thor's question was interrupted by a loud scream, coming from somewhere down the hall.

Without putting down the sword, Thor ran towards the sound out of instinct. Loki stayed behind with an even bigger grin, if such a thing was possible.

"Help! Please, someone, help!" the cries were distinctively feminine, but he couldn't make out whose voice it was, because it was distorted and high-pitched from fear.

Thor raced towards the chamber where the plea for help was coming from. When he got in, Elsred was perched on top of a dresser, crying. There was a black snake on the floor, hissing at her and trying to reach her.

The snake was not very thick, but it had long fangs and it looked poisonous. The snake turned its head in Thor's direction and swiftly glided across the floor towards him, hissing and dripping venom from its fangs. Thor wasn't one to be frozen by fear, so he charged at the snake, slashing its head off quickly as it was moving to bite him.

As soon as he was sure he had killed it, Thor ran to Elsred, who was still numbly terrified on top of the dresser. He helped her come down. She was shaking and as soon as her feet hit the floor, she collapsed into his arms, holding him tightly for balance as she kept crying.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how absolutely hopeless I felt before you came in," as she stammered the words out and her gaze met his, Thor became suddenly aware of how tightly pressed she was to him, which made him blush furiously. Never before had he been in such a position with a girl before.

"It wasn't anything much, my Lady, I assure you," his adam's apple bobbled like crazy and he felt nervous. Elsred didn't move away, leaning her head against his chest as she settled down, which didn't really help. Just as he was about to suggest she may need to go to the healers, so they could give her a potion to soothe her, a metallic sound came from the entrance of the chamber.

"What's going on?" Sif was at the door, looking at the both of them with a rather exasperated expression, her eyes quickly moving between Elsred and Thor. She had dropped the dagger she had brought with her out of shock.

"Well, Thor saved his first damsel in distress, it would seem," Loki said, appearing on the side opposite to the one Sif had come from. He had a smug expression, pointing with his chin towards the slaughtered snake.

Sif's eyes followed his movement. It didn't take her very long to connect the dots and figure out who was to blame for the whole incident. Her eyes turned fiery and she lifted her fist, intending to smack Loki on his jaw. He was quick to side-step her, smiling infuriatingly wide.

"You fool! She could've been seriously hurt! Or Thor!" Sif launched herself towards him, but Loki ran away, saying "Catch me if you can!" in a singsong voice. As expected of the hotheaded girl, she followed him, fuming.

Thor was angry at Loki for putting Elsred in danger, but he had been too dumbfounded by Sif's stormy entrance to do anything about it. He heard Elsred giggle and faced her, confused at her sudden mood change.

"Although Prince Loki scared me half to death, I must admit seeing him and Lady Sif bickering is always funny to me," she smiled and Thor found himself thinking she was beautiful, despite her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He smiled back and nodded.

It was Elsred's turn to blush as she realized she was still holding him close. She disentangled herself from his arms with a crimson red face.

"I'm sorry, your Grace. I didn't mean to overstep boundaries. Is there any way I can try to compensate you for your troubles?" she laced her fingers together and shyly looked up at Thor, who already towered over her despite his young age.

"It wasn't any trouble at all," he hesitated. "But there is something I'd like to ask, my Lady," he smiled.

Perhaps Loki hadn't acted so badly. No one had been hurt, after all and Thor had looked good in front of the Lady. She hadn't even taken offense to his brother's jest and now she was asking if he wanted anything in return.

This was a perfect excuse to ask her to bake her chocolate cakes and talk to her some more.

His smile grew broader.