"Siiiiigriiiiiiid?" Thor called cheerfully as he stepped into her bedroom with his hands hidden behind his back.
"Thooooooor?" She called back, getting up from the desk in the corner with a smile, "What can I do for ya?"
"My goodness, reading all of those dusty tomes are you? I don't think anyone has opened that book in a good three centuries. I remember studying it as a boy."
"Odin is teaching me about the realms. He recommended this book for some basic knowledge. It has really interesting information in it…"
"But it is as dry as a desert during a drought," Thor nodded, "I remember it vividly."
"Deserts are kinda always in droughts…" She smirked, "So what can I help you with?"
"I have brought my favorite niece in all the realms a present!" He declared proudly.
The girl's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly at him.
"A present? You didn't have to do that."
"You are a princess and you shall be spoiled! Besides, it's really more of a practical gift than anything, so don't get your hopes up too high. It may bore you terribly."
"I'm not a princess," But she was staring eagerly at the brown paper package he handed her all the same.
"Go on! Open it!" Thor was almost bursting with excitement.
"Okay, okay!"
Paper flew through the air. Susan gasped when the present was uncovered and immediately held it up for inspection.
"They're beautiful! This is so cool!"
"I thought you might like them for training. They were always your father's weapons of choice."
The daggers gleamed beautifully. The blades seemed to be made of some sort of iridescent metal and shown like rainbows when tilted in the light. The handle, wrapped in soft leather, fit neatly into her hand as if it had been made just for her.
"Loki used daggers like these? He seems like more of a spear guy to me."
"He, like any prince of the realm, is trained to use all manner of weapons. However, his style of fighting always involved a lot of magic. Stealth was his favorite tool and daggers like these are as stealthy as they come."
"And you prefer the hammer?"
"If you had the choice between any normal weapon and Mjolnir, which would you choose?"
"Okay, a magical hammer is pretty awesome too. But gosh, these knives are awesome! I can't wait to learn how to use them! Do you want to start training now?"
Thor smiled and tapped the ancient book on her desk.
"Ah, but you have many studies to keep up with."
"That can wait! C'mon Thor!"
"Very well, but I must warn you, though I know how to use these tools you will find there are many more skilled at this than I. I'd suggest when we are done you go ask your Grandmother for tips."
"Well, if Loki's the best then why don't I go ask him?" She wanted to tell him about the talk she'd had with Frigga the day previous. Her mother was coming to Asgard and she wanted to share the news with everyone. Everyone but Eiliff, naturally. But perhaps with Amy in the palace the guardsman wouldn't be able to do her any harm and Susan would be able to tell Odin and Thor what really happened in the dungeons and what Eiliff was up to.
"Because you are forbidden from going to the dungeon. We will not allow him to deceive us again," Thor held out his arm for her and she took it, fingering the knives with her other hand as they walked.
It wasn't that she really wanted to spend time with her father, but she really did want to learn how to use the daggers to their full capacity. Talking to him was something she needed to do as well, but that was becoming more and more difficult with Eiliff always hanging about.
Luckily, he had the day off today and had told her he wouldn't be back until that evening. So this was the best time to sneak in some plotting. But first she might have to do some plotting to sneak in the dungeons.
At first he didn't recognize her. The maids uniform and different hairstyle - hair rubbed through with black and done up in the style maids wore - disguised her at a glance. Her face was tilted downward, but he could still spot the smile on her lips from a mile off.
"Pleased with your costume are you?" He asked when she stopped in front of his cell, a pile of towels in hand.
"It got me past Thor so, yeah, I think I did a pretty good job." Her chin lifted haughtily.
"Yes, but next time be sure to change the gait of your walk. Often times, the way a person moves is just a recognizable as their face. Other than that you did well," He stood up and looked her over, "I must say, black hair suits you. Not as well as the red, of course."
"I'm not here to talk about disguise techniques… although maybe later. I needed to tell you something," She looked around the prison cautiously, "Mom's coming to Asgard!"
Loki would have been embarrassed to admit it, but the notion filled his stomach with butterflies. Amy Mort in Asgard. How often in the past fifteen years had he hoped for that very thing? Sure now it would be in less than ideal circumstances and she was probably still furious with him, but she was coming to Asgard. He fought off a grin and blinked indifferently.
"Oh? And why does that concern me?"
"Well, if she's here do you think it will be easier or harder for Eiliff to hurt her? Because I'm thinking it will be harder and then we can tell Thor all about his plans and then I won't have to date the guy!"
He could see the gears turning in her mind as she thought her scheme through.
"And then I could visit you again and you could teach me how to use these!" She pulled three daggers, much like his own, from within the folds of the towels. It warmed his cold heart to see her so excited to spend time with him and he was desperately trying to think of ways not to blow this conversation.
"Where did you get those?" He asked, trying to sound polite.
"Thor gave them to me! Aren't they cool?" She admired the blades with a smirk, "He taught me the basics - and I'm not very good yet - but I thought you might be able to give me some pointers. He says you're the best with knives."
"And what does our fiendish guard friend have to say about this?"
"Who cares? He's gone for the day so I can do whatever I want. I'm thinking about sneaking in a quick magic lesson with Frigga when she gets done attending to some matter with the sorcery academy. Then maybe I'll flirt with somebody in front of Odin or wear all green and gold and parade around in your helmet." She was grinning wickedly as she tucked the daggers back into the towels.
"He's out for the day? Hmm, I thought the dungeon seemed more cheerful."
Sigrid laughed with a toss of her head. Loki couldn't help but smirk as well. He wondered if all teenagers were like this; last time he'd seen her she'd been about ready to have a fit and now she was laughing with him. Perhaps it was just the joy of not having Eiliff watching her every move that made her so giddy.
"So, when will your mother be coming?"
"That's the hard part. Not for a few months. Odin isn't too happy about the situation and apparently Director Fury doesn't want my mom coming up here, so neither of them is in any rush to make that happen," She sat down on the ground and leaned back on the golden energy field, "Frigga says that Odin won't let it happen until August. But hey, then she'll be here for my birthday!"
Inwardly pleased that he would have some time to prepare before his ex showed up, Loki gave his daughter a sympathetic look.
"Pity it will be so long."
"Yeah," She sighed and then turned to look at him, "It's so weird to think that you guys used to be a couple. You're so different."
"Opposites attract, as they say."
"I guess. Do you ever regret leaving her?" Her blue eyes bored into his inquiringly.
"Every time I think of her. Each moment spent in your company," He looked away, "I'd thought I was over it. When I set out to invade Midgard I considered trying to find her again, but I thought it might be best just to let her live her life."
"Y'know, if you'd won, even if I hadn't been there, she would have marched up to Stark Tower and demanded to speak with you," She smirked, "Then she probably would have yelled at you for a few hours."
"Ah, but if I'd won then I would have been her ruler and I could have simply ordered her away," He grinned too, "But I wouldn't have. She could have yelled at me for days and I would still love her."
Sigrid sat up straighter and her smile vanished.
"You still love her?"
Loki silently cursed. He hadn't meant to let that slip.
"She certainly hates me."
"Well, yeah, I'm not your biggest fan either. But do you still love her?"
"Did you know, right before we left Earth, she came to speak to me?" Changing the subject might be the only way to get around answering the question.
"What did you two talk about?" Sigrid's eyes widened and the evasion seemed to have worked.
"Not much. It was mostly her pleading with me to try and convince the others to let you stay. I refused her and it was pretty much all arguing after that," He crossed his arms and looked down. He'd wanted for years to see her again and when he did all he did was sneer and scoff, "Norns, I miss her."
"You do still love her!"
"Don't go spreading the word, Sigrid," He glared, "Or I'll never teach you how to use those daggers."
"Can I tell her at least?"
"You must keep it secret especially from her," He noticed a crafty gleam in her eyes, "And do not think you'll be getting us back together again."
"Oh come on! It would be like The Parent Trap, 'cept I don't a have a mystery twin sister," She smiled and took the daggers out once more, "But I won't tell, I promise."
"Show me whatever poor stance Thor taught you," Loki ordered gesturing to the weapons, "By Yggdrasil, you've much to learn if that's how you think you stand when throwing a knife. Put your weight on your back foot - no, no, you look like you're attempting some bizarre dance move! Let's try this again…"