The sound of sparring on the children's training field rang from metal blades rather than wood, and the sound halted as Thor and Baldur locked their blades as they sparred. Thor was excited, having won four sparring matches in a row, and Baldur looked determine to stop his cousin's winning streak.
Both had been thrilled when they realized that they were going to be sparring with real, albeit dull blades. Thor gained the upper hand, and managed to send Baldur's blade spinning away from him. Baldur cursed at his cousin softly in frustration but was a good enough sport to bow. Now Thor was up to five wins in a row, and only Hogun stood between him and total victory over his friends.
"Keep your arm up Baldur," Eirill told the child who was third-in-line for Asgard's throne. "A sword can be used with two hands if your arm isn't strong enough to manage a block or swing with one hand."
Baldur looked away, a little upset that at being called weak. He needed to practice and increase the strength in his arms so he could manage the one-handed swings. In battle when he was older he would be holding shield in one hand so he would have no choice but to use only one hand.
Eirill looked back at Thor, "stay light on your feet child. Remember you're using a sword, not a hammer."
Thor smiled at his wording. Mjölnir was a hammer, and one day he would wield that instead of a sword. Baldur went back and sat on the grass, and Hogun stood. Normally, Baldur trained with the other children noble children instead of with Thor and his clique, but not today.
"All right Hogun," Eirill called out to Vanaheim's prince. "Let's see if you can end Thor's winning streak."
Eirill was surprisingly easygoing as long as things stayed sane, and he didn't have to fetch the Allfather. The only time that happened was when Loki didn't cause mischief. He looked back at where Loki was sitting, wary of his misbehaving insolence, but he was sitting calmly looking at his sword with a disgusted look. What a bizarre child. One could almost imagine that he wasn't Asgardian.
Hogun and Thor saluted each other and fell into their respective fighting stances, starting to circle each other.
Loki hadn't payed attention to his swordplay all day, and he didn't intend to do so now. There had been a little confusion with Hárekr's notes, so he had dismissed the class before lunch and given them to Eirill for some combat training to fill in the time.
Swordplay always annoyed the younger prince, and it was even more frustrating now that his fighting style was focused purely on daggers. Training with a weapon he wouldn't use and had no skill in like a sword was a monumental waste of time. Loki wished dearly that he could skip these lessons without getting in trouble with his father.
A senseline pinged a warning, and Loki glanced up from boring lasers into his stupid training sword. There was a boy about his age walking nearby with a book tucked under his arm. The boy was not a threat, so Loki closed his eyes and tugged on his magic again, altering his visual range so he could see on the inferred and ultraviolet spectrum.
Doing this helped his stamina, and increased his skill in switching between spells rapidly as he would have to do in battle. Even better, it helped pass the time. Slítas clicked a warning to Loki not long after, startling Loki from his spellwork. He sat up quickly and saw that the boy was standing near him. Loki was a bad angle to see him, and he leaned back and craned his head up to try and see him better.
"Hello," he greeted the boy politely.
When it came to social interaction Loki hadn't had any experience other than Thor and Thor's friends, so he wasn't sure what he should say. Everyone else was intently watching Thor and Hogun match, so they hadn't noticed the boy's appearance yet.
The boy nodded to him in greeting as Loki had seen Tilaria do, and looked between Thor and Hogun. "Is that Prince Thor?"
Loki felt a slight pang when he realized the boy didn't recognize him as Thor's brother. Then he shrugged it off, more used to this happening then he should be. In the past Loki had also been recognized on sight, but it had been a century since he had harnessed the Tesseract's power without being vaporized. His fame had faded because he was a mage instead of a warrior.
"Yes," Loki told him straightforwardly.
"I'm Angborn Eirillson," the boy greeted.
"Eirillson?" Loki whispered and looked at their training instructor.
"That's my father," Angborn agreed, relieved his father hadn't noticed he was here.
Loki turned the way he was sitting so he could get a better look at Angborn. The two of them appeared to be the same age, but Angborn appeared to have a layer of muscle that Loki lacked from excessive combat training. He had dark, almost rose red hair that hung straight and was parted in the middle. It was cut shorter than most Æsir, and didn't even reach his shoulders. His eyes were brown like dark chocolate, but Loki didn't see any gold in the irises that would be there if he was a mage. Unlike many Æsir, he didn't have any freckles.
Loki heard the sound of Thor's triumphant whoop, and he knew even before he looked back at his brother that Hogun had been defeated. Sure enough, Hogun was rubbing his hand and his sword was behind Thor. Hogun dipped his head respectfully, knowing that he had been bested.
"That is six wins for me!" Thor said triumphantly and punched the air energetically while Hogun fetched his sword. "There is nothing that can defeat me!"
"You Æsir are very confident of your abilities," someone called off to the side and pretty much everyone on the field looked towards the voice.
It was Tilaria. Obviously she'd wondered onto the courtyard when she'd been strolling around the palace grounds, and decided to interrupt Thor. She had her head tilted curiously as she looked at Thor.
"I know what I'm doing," Thor told Tilaria, "obviously. I won."
"Arrogant," Tilaria chided softly, making Thor bristle. "You instantly assume that you can defeat any opponent."
"Do you think you can do better?" Thor asked with a huff, making the same assumption Fandral had that she wasn't a good warrior because she was a girl.
"If you want me to try, I wouldn't mind sparring with you." Tilaria shrugged. "I've never fought an Asgardian before."
Tilaria looked to Eirill for permission, and although he looked stunned he recovered quickly and nodded. When he nodded Tilaria unpinned her cloak's clasp and dropped it onto the ground. She walked over calmly and took Fandral's blade when he offered it while Sif rolled her eyes.
Loki turned his head back to Angborn and saw him staring slack-jawed at Tilaria. No doubt he was surprised by how much skin Tilaria had revealed when she had taken off the cloak that had been hiding her body. He recovered, and sat down next to Loki, surprising the prince.
"Who's that?" Angborn whispered to Loki in surprise.
"Heiress Tilaria of Alfheim," Loki introduced her. "I feat Thor's about to lose."
"Heiress, as in Princess?" Angborn's dark eyes widened in shock when he realized exactly who he was talking about. "That is Tilaria?"
Tilaria fell into a fighting stance with Fandral's sword, but Thor wasn't quite sure how to fight the girl so he hesitated. After a moment he swung, and although Tilaria sidestepped his first swing she expertly parried the second. The parry was a close one and Thor's redirected sword came within an inch of hitting her cheek, but she did not flinch.
"Can she beat him?" Angborn leaned in closer to Loki when he asked his question, eyes never straying from the fight.
"She beat Arlen, one of King Hallien's council," Loki admitted. "I suppose it's likely she can handle Thor."
Angborn's eyes got even wider at the mention of the impromptu duel that had happened a month ago. "Didn't she use some sort of Dark Magic to kill him?"
"I'm not sure," Loki dodged with a slight bluff.
Tilaria's blade slid against Thor's and Tilaria shifted her weight and twisted her wrist, forcing Thor to drop his sword. His sword fell on the top of Tilaria's foot, and she kicked it away as she moved closer to Thor. Her grip on the sword changed to a reverse grip and she held the blade at Thor's throat, forcing the elder prince to stop moving.
Everyone stared again when they realized that Thor was beat.
"No way," Sif whispered.
"Not fair!" Thor argued, "That's not fair. I've never seen moves like that before. How do you expect me to counter them?"
Eirill was going to remind Thor of how foolish his question was, but Tilaria beat him to it.
"When you are older and in battle," Tilaria said with a sigh, "do you really expect to your opponent to use moves you know? If you want to survive on the battlefield you have to be able to adapt and anticipate your opponent's next move. Otherwise you're dead, trust me."
Tilaria wasn't supposed to mention that she had died during the civil war, but she decided to scold herself later.
"That is certainly a different style," Eirill mused softly. "It focuses on speed and agility over strength, and I've never seen it before. You clearly are well trained."
"Wow," Angborn whispered and leaned a little closer to Loki. "Father almost never gives compliments. He's too busy pointing out everything you did wrong."
"I noticed," Loki promised Angborn, eliciting a chuckle from his temporary friend.
He had also noticed what Eirill had said about Tilaria's fighting style. Speed and agility instead of strength? That sounded just like his fighting style. Although he wasn't too sure about her magic yet, he admitted that she might make a good sparring partner for himself, and the Ljósálfr fighting style seemed to compliment his own. Maybe he could learn some new moves from her once she settled in.
"You think it's bad being his student, imagine living with him," Angborn reminded Loki in a scolding voice. "Sometimes I want to escape through the Bridge."
"Bifrost?" Loki asked curiously.
"Not exactly…" Angborn hesitated, deciding not to give away ant tactical information.
There was more than one bridge between realms on Asgard, but Angborn wasn't supposed to know about it and he especially wasn't supposed to know where it was.
Loki sensed Angborn would say no more so instead went back to Tilaria. "She knows what she's doing."
"Pretty to, prettiest I've seen." Angborn continued.
"I think every boy on Asgard agrees with you there." Loki replied keeping a straight face with some trouble.
Angborn smiled at him.
It was a welcome change for Loki. He knew that as soon as Angborn realized that he was the prince who practiced the women's art of magic then the smile would fade. It always made the smiles fade, so he decided to enjoy it while it lasted.
Eirill looked around to see the other children's reactions to Tilaria and saw something he did not expect. He nearly flinched when he saw Loki and Angborn sitting next to each other on the grass, heads lowered as they spoke with each other. This was bad. Loki was not just a disgrace, but a very dangerous one and he didn't want Angborn anywhere near him.
"Angborn!" Eirill shouted.
Angborn bolted to his feet at his father's snapped words. "Yes father – yes sir."
His casual and cheerful attitude became nervous, just like how Eirill became nervous when faced with the Allfather's wrath.
"Did you finish your work?" Eirill crossed his arms and asked.
Angborn hesitated. "Mostly, but I have one page left. I was going to do it after dinner."
"After dinner," Eirill said in a calm voice that almost made Angborn cringe.
Tilaria tossed Fandral's sword back to him, using her magic to control its arc so it landed calmly in his hands. She was watching the exchange curiously.
"I have plenty of time." Angborn tried to defend himself.
"So I see" Eirill said in a displeased voice. "A Star Guard does not put off things they can do now, go finish."
Tilaria's dark blue cloak floated off the ground and draped itself on her shoulders. She reached up and clasped the copper sun, eyeing Angborn slyly.
"Angborn," Eirill repeated.
Angborn tore his eyes away from Tilaria to his father.
"Go," Eirill ordered again, eager to separate his son from Loki.
Angborn gave a quick wave to Loki and went off before his father could say anything else. Eirill frowned when he saw his son wave to Loki. He was aware not only how large of a disappointment Loki was to his family, but also how vindictive he could be. It would be best if he warned Angborn who he was befriending.
Thor's match with Tilaria ended the official training for the day. From here on out, the children were free to leave, but Eirill gave them the option of free sparring as he usually did. His suggestion of free sparring was the signal to the children that their lessons were over, and no sooner did the words leave his lips then did Loki teleport off of the field.
Baldur waved goodbye to his cousin Thor and walked off to head back to his suite. His younger brother Hodr had fallen ill recently. It was genetic instead of infectious, so Fey had allowed him to stay in his room on the condition that he remain in bed. No doubt Baldur was going to check on his sibling.
Fandral said goodbye as well, intending to meet up with his friend Kasir and go down to the marketplace to listen to Kvasir tell some stories. Most of the children dispersed as well, and Volstagg went to get something to eat. Sif walked up to Thor however, and the two of them saluted in each in preparation for another fight. Hogun stayed to watch however.
Since some of the children were staying, Eirill had no choice to stay as well and supervise them. His warning to his son would have to wait.
As it turned out he got swept up in other duties once his lessons with the children were done, so Eirill had no choice but to wait to warn his son. Eirill was frustrated, but resigned. He was doing some paperwork - cursed stuff - when someone knocked on the door to his study.
Eirill gave a long sigh, expecting another chore. "Yes?"
The door opened and Angborn shyly poked his head inside. "Father, may I speak to you?"
Eirill quickly jumped at the chance to abandon the paperwork and nodded approval. Angborn entered and stood before him at attention, waiting for permission to speak.
"Yes Angborn?" Eirill asked, giving him permission to speak after he shuffled some of the classified papers out of sight.
"I apologize for not doing my work," Angborn said seriously. "I heard stories of Tilaria and wanted to see her myself. When I was getting a book for my assignment I saw her walk by. I followed her to the training field and I thought it would be fine to take a short break and watch them train."
Angborn had also meant that nice black-haired boy. He knew he had seen the boy before, but he wasn't quite sure where.
Eirill sighed at his son's innocent plea, realizing that he had once again been too hard on him. He wished yet again that Genza was still alive. She would know how to be gentle with their son.
"Angborn, I do understand where you are coming from about Tilaria. She's quite a sight." He chuckled and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. "I am trying to make you into a warrior Asgard will know it can depend on, but I do not have your mother's touch. For that I apologize."
"It's alright father," Angborn assured him with a smile that quickly faded. "I miss mother."
"I as well," Eirill vowed, and thought back yet again to the Jötnar who had slaughtered her a century ago. "Angborn, your mother was the younger sister of General Tyr and Command Vir, Asgard's two greatest military leaders. I am glad that you want to join the Star Guard, but the other cadets will assume that every advancement you get is because you are Vir and Tyr's nephew."
Angborn start to defend himself, but Eirill shook his head for him to quiet.
"I know that you would never bribe your way to get a promotion or use your uncles as leverage," Eirill smiled when he said that, glad that his son was so trustworthy. "You would rather flunk out of the Academy then ask Vir to waive you by because you're his nephew, and I'm glad for that."
"I shouldn't get a promotion if I haven't earned it," Angborn said darkly. "If I haven't earned it then my lack of skill could end up hurting Asgard or troops serving with me. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I want to serve my princes, especially Thor since he's going to be my future king. He has great potential, and I wouldn't mind following his orders though I wonder what Loki's like."
Here was the topic Eirill wanted to discuss. "My son, do you remember that black-haired boy you were sitting with when Tilaria was sparring?"
"Yes father," Angborn nodded. "What about him?"
"That was Prince Loki," Eirill admitted.
"Oh," Angborn said after a moment. "He's smaller then I thought he'd be."
Angborn remembered hearing about how Loki defeated Nira. The tale had made him seem larger than life. Seeing him in real life altered the perception. That little boy defeated Nira and tamed the Tesseract? It didn't seem real.
"Are you sure father?" Angborn asked, having imagined Loki as something more like Thor.
"Quite sure," Eirill promised.
Angborn hummed. "I guess appearances truly are deceiving."
"Angborn," Eirill cautioned as his son began to get lost in his thoughts. "I do not you befriending Loki. He is a powerful mage, and very vindictive. You know what he did to Thor once. He nearly killed him. His rank as prince likely makes him more willing to act out against others because he knows he can't be severely punished."
That brought Angborn out of his ideals and back to reality. Eirill was right. Loki was dangerous to his brother, and to others. It was not just his magic, but the fact that he was so insolent and rebellious, causing strife because it amused him.
He had also harnessed the Tesseract without being killed by it, and he was the only mortal to ever do that since Malekith had used the Aether. It was different for the Aether thought because it would kill its host eventually, but the Tesseract had only ended up expanding Loki's horizon of power. It had made Loki stronger, but power came with a price and it was widely believed that for the power of the Tesseract Loki had lost his conscience and ability to feel mercy or remorse.
Now that Angborn thought about it, there had been something bizarre in Loki's aura when he'd spoken to him during Tilaria and Thor's duel. He hadn't understood it then, but he did so now.
"I'll keep my distance from father," Angborn promised Eirill.
"Good," Eirill sighed in relief.
You see what Loki's up against, and suddenly you understand his comment that he doesn't have any experience speaking to other people. Angborn, unlike Azura, is an OC that is imporant.