A/N: I'm sorry for the delay, guys!

I wanted to thank Alliprince, Argetaie and the kind Guest for taking the time to review and to anyone who favorited or followed. I just wanted to say it really means a lot and your support is awesome! :)

Anyhow, when you're done reading the chapter, do tell me what you thought of it and, just out of curiosity, do tell me your reaction when you found out the meaning of Loki's infamous insult (it will be mentioned in Sif's part below). I think I must have made a priceless expression.

News

Elsred had a frown on her face as her eyes quickly skidded across a small piece of paper. Whatever she was reading, it was making her upset. Thor had been with her when the servant came to deliver the letter and the quick change in her expression was worrying him. He had been spending a lot of his spare time with her as of the last couple of weeks, so he was begining to know how to read her quite well.

"Who's that from?" Thor asked. His tactefulness was admittedly not his strongest suit. Fortunately, Elsred wasn't going to hold that against him.

"My mother. She says King Eldvindur was injured in a battle. Nothing serious, as far as she tells me, but things are getting harder over there. He might appeal to your father for help soon. I hope he does. The king can be rather stubborn, father has always said," she was still entirely focused on the message and Thor felt rather useless, standing there without knowing how to diminish her discomfort.

"Is your family well, though?" Thor inquired, managing to make Elsred shift her eyes back to him and stuff the letter in the pocket of her apron. She had been helping in the kitchen before meeting up with him.

"Yes, my parents have both escaped the confrontations unscathered, but I worry for anyone who is living in Alfheim at this point. If nothing is done soon, the Dark Elves are sure to make a bigger mess of things."

"Perhaps my father should not wait for King Eldvindur to plea for aid. Perhaps the best option would be to intervene now and apologize for doing it without consent later, when everyone's safe," he suggested, excitement igniting in his eyes.

"I don't think disrespecting his wishes would do any good, but maybe it's just a matter of how you approach the idea. If King Odin offered his help, instead of forcing it right away, given King Elvindur's situation, I don't think he would refuse!" Elsred smiled, the same emotion mirrored in her eyes.

"We should go pitch that idea to my father. He's wise. He'll see it's the right thing to do," Thor started to walk away, expecting her to follow him. When she didn't, he turned around to raise an eyebrow at her.

"We?" she asked nervously. "But I'm not worthy of the honor of an audience with the king of Asgard," she whispered with wide eyes.

"Nonsense, Elsred! You're my friend and a smart girl. Father'll be delighted to meet you," he outstretched his hand, smiling confidently and she took it, feeling a bit hesitant.

Then she let the tall blond prince whisk her away into a meeting with his father, the almighty All-Father.

Valhalla, I really must have lost my wits.

Sif ran into Elsred as she was making her way outside, to the training grounds.

She still felt embarrassed at what she had done. Why did she kiss Loki's cheek? It was sort of a heat of the moment thing, really. Sif had felt so grateful for his presence, for the fact that he hadn't used what he had seen against her, even though that would've been so easy to do, that she sort of lost her sense of place.

Loki. Of all people in the nine realms, she kissed Loki's cheek.

This he was sure to mock her about. He had already said the anger she directed at him was simply misguided attraction.

That one had earned him an intended kick to the groin - that he avoided rather skillfully, but didn't deflect entirely - which ended up as an actual kick to the thigh. Sif smiled a little, as she recalled his angry eyes and unusual cursing, while he rubbed his sore leg muscle.

What was a mewling quim, when you really put your mind to it? He kept calling her that.

Sif was by no means a scholar, but it nagged her when she didn't know things; it just gave Loki something else to tease her about, which Sif could absolutely not tolerate.

She ought to search for it in the idiom dictionary up in the library some time and finally find out. She doubted Loki himself knew the meaning, though. He had probably found the expression in one of the obscenely old books in the library he usually busied himself with and thought it sounded like an adequate insult, so he used it. Sif had to hand it to him: it did have a certain ring to it and it did make her feel offended in a weird way...

Why was she still thinking about him?

She shook her head, trying to clear Loki out of her head, extremely frustrated with herself for both the out of the blue kiss to his cheek and for continuously letting the insufferable little bastard wander in her thoughts.

"Sif!" Elsred's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Elsred, what a nice surprise!" Sif genuinely smiled as she registered the other girl waving at her from down the hallway.

"Where are you headed? More practice, I suspect?" Elsred followed her, since she kept walking, albeit slower than her usual pace, which let Elsred know she was welcome to join in.

"Yes. Well, I don't know. I needed to clear my head and this always seems to me like the obvious route," she shrugged as they got out into the open.

"Is something the matter, Sif?" Elsred put her hand on Sif's arm gently, searching her eyes.

Sif downcast them, not wanting to face the concern she saw in the other girl's face. She sighed. This was Elsred, the only friend out of the few she had with whom she wasn't on a constant tantrum throwing spree or who wouldn't simply frown in confusion at her.

"I... I argued with my mother again. I doubt I need to tell you why by now. I do not wish to dwell on it, though, I just want it out of my system," she looked fiercely in the direction of the trees ahead. If her gaze could burn, Elsred thought, the thick line of trees would be nothing but ashes.

"Your determination is... astonishing. You're really something," Sif turned to see her friend with tears and awe in her eyes and a lopsided smile.

"Elsred..." she put what she was carrying down and hugged the other girl. "It's okay, you don't need to feel bad for me,"

"It's just that it's not fair. You're the most amazing courageous girl I know. And your parents won't see that. They won't see how far and wide you will bloom, if only they let you! You're meant for greater things than embroidery lessons and a husband!" Elsred huffed indignantly, between poorly contained tears.

Sif was moved by her friend's fierce belief in her and at the same time, she thought it was funny that after she had been slapped and yelled at, Elsred was the one who was crying. She smiled and marvelled at the level of compassion and kindness the other girl possessed. Sif was glad to have Elsred on her side.

"They will see. I'll show them. They'll regret ever scorning me for pursuing what I want most," Sif's feral smile and intense eyes made Elsred laugh and wipe her tears away.

"I don't doubt that they will. If there's a girl who will make it, it is you, dear Sif."

"Are there news of your parents and Alfheim?" Sif asked after a moment, when they'd reached the edge between Frigga's garden and the training grounds, sitting on a nearby marble bench.

"Yes. King Elvindur was injured and they need support more than ever. Luckily, Thor took me to the All-Father, to ask if we could share our view on the matter of extending aid faster than was supposed to happen. It took us a while to sort it out, but by the end of it, he was happy to oblige!" Elsred's smile was wide and her eyes shined bright as she talked, the tension that had built up with the concern for her homeland slowly easing off her shoulders a bit.

"Those are fantastic news!" Sif smiled genuinely back. "We must celebrate somehow!"

"Oh, Thor is already taking care of that. He told me to go see where you were, so we could do something fun together; that's why I was coming from the training grounds. I was trying to find you; he went to search for Loki," she explained.

Sif's stomach did a flip-flop at the thought of seeing Loki so shortly after the kiss in the cheek fiasco and her ears and cheeks tinged bright pink.

Elsred detected this, but decided not to comment, a knowing smile finding its shape on her lips.