Loki stayed where he was for a few minutes, on his knees, his forehead resting on the floor in front of him. After a while the pain subsided, at least until he moved.
He managed to half crawl, half stagger across the room to his bed where he eased into a sitting position. He opened his shirt and checked his torso. There were purple and black blotches appearing and he thought he might have broken ribs. He focused his magic on it gently and was able to east the pain a little. I really need to learn more about anatomy, he thought, so I can do something useful with my magic to help myself more.
He was angry at Thor, but didn't hate him. Mother and Father had both forbidden him to use his magic on his brother and told him he wasn't allowed to stab him either. But they hadn't forbidden hitting, because that was just something boys did. And Thor was better at it than he was. Loki wasn't sure that was a factor in their decision, but he suspected it might be.
There was very little he could do when Thor decided to wrestle with him or hit him. Loki always tried to fight back, but he just wasn't as strong as his brother or have the power in his fists that Thor did.
It wasn't fair, but he was no stranger to being on the short end of unfair. He hadn't even had the chance to hit his brother back this time. He always tried to leave a bruise or something so Thor wouldn't think hitting him was free; he had to pay something someway if he hurt his little brother.
Loki slowly got undressed and slid under his blankets. He needed to think, but he was in too much pain at the moment, tomorrow would do. He used his magic to put out the lights, no one had forbidden him to do that.
But he couldn't sleep. Thor's words kept playing in his head. You have no reputation as a fighter and no one respects you anyway. Tears started in his eyes, but he blinked them away even though there was no one to see. What hurt most was that Thor was right. He was terrible with the big weapons, they were just too heavy for him. He was just average with the rest of the weapons they sparred with, only near the top of the class with daggers.
He was going to have to practice more. If he could become an expert with something, anything, he would get respect. Or if he could find a way to incorporate his magic somehow, not for sparring but for real fighting, that might help. At least lying still in bed, the pain had subsided.
He had to decide what to do about fighting Sif. If he went to the healers for his injury, they would give him a note and he wouldn't have to participate in weapons training for sparring for a while, which meant other boys would fight her before he would have to. That would ruin Thor's plan, which would be highly satisfactory. But he knew his brother would retaliate, probably by downplaying his injuries and calling him a coward or a mama's boy, afraid to fight a girl and using a few bruises as an excuse. And Thor knew all the places he could catch Loki alone and there would be a long period of pinching, poking, hitting, and kicking for him if he did that.
He wanted to go to Mother and show her what Thor had done and get him in trouble, but then he really would be a mama's boy. Telling on Thor to anyone would make him a rat, a skunk, a tattle-tale. He was tolerated by the other boys now at least; if he told he would be despised and shunned.
So he had to fight. Maybe he could win in spite of the pain in his ribs, maybe he couldn't, but he had no choice other than to try. Having decided that, he was able to fall asleep.
In the morning he felt a little better. It took him a long time to dress though, and he was almost late for breakfast. Thor just smiled at him as he sat down stiffly. Loki glared back.
Classes were okay. He was a little distracted by sharp jabs of pain when he moved his arms certain ways, particularly the left one. It would heal in time, but not before he had to fight.
Loki ate little at lunch. He snacked on raw vegetables and ate an apple. Thor kept giving him looks and little smiles. Finally he said quietly so only Loki could hear, "Ready for your big fight? Everybody will be watching you lose, I'm sure."
"Shut up. I may have to put up with you, but I don't have to listen to you gloat," Loki hissed back. He left the table and went to his room.
Most of the pain occurred when he moved, it felt like bones were moving in his chest that weren't supposed to. He tore strips off the bottom of his sheet where it wouldn't be noticed right away and wrapped them around his torso as tightly as he could. That helped some, but it restricted his breathing too. Well, it couldn't be helped if he was going to spar. Loki changed into a loose shirt to cover the additional bulk, and went to meet his fate.
When he got to the training area, he saw Thor talking to Sif. Undoubtedly encouraging her to beat me bloody, he thought. He donned his padding slowly, got a stick and went to the back of the class where he couldn't be seen very well by the trainers.
They started with mid-level forms and progressed to the more difficult ones. He knew as long as he was moving at the same speed and in general direction as everyone else, the trainers wouldn't pay much attention to him. He cheated as much as he dared, letting go of his staff with his left hand and just using his right whenever he could. He got away with it, but he was tired and sore at the end anyway.
And then came the pairings. Thor had certainly used his position as prince to influence the trainers. Loki was matched with Sif using hammers and shields, not one of his better weapons. He picked up his equipment and put on the required helmet. The practice hammers were only about half as heavy as real ones, but they could still do damage, and bruises were normal after a sparring bout with them. Like he really needed more of those.
Sif and Loki circled each other. He feinted and she had her shield in place quickly. She attacked with a side blow that Loki was able to just barely block, moving his shield in place just in time, grimacing at the pain of holding it against the force of her hit. He responded overhand with all the strength he could muster, hoping for a quick end to the bout. Sif had her shield up blocking, but he felt it give way a little and he hit it again with everything he had left. But she slanted it to the side and his hammer slid off, taking most of the force with it. She swung at him as he retreated but he moved back fast enough she only got air.
They circled, probing for weakness. Loki was dimly aware they had an audience, but he was in too much pain and having trouble getting enough air, he couldn't afford to divide his focus. Sif tried an overhand blow. He couldn't lift his shield that high and he knew it, so he dodged to the side and aimed a strike at her stomach, but he only just barely clipped her side as she dodged too.
This was taking too long, he couldn't take a deep breath and was getting short-winded. Loki attacked, sweeping across at her head and backhanding at her body. Sif let the sweep glance off her shield and retreated from the backhand. She stepped forward and swept a blow at his head.
Loki saw in coming, had time to move a step away but couldn't raise his shield high enough. She got him square in the side of his helmet at the end of her swing, not at full power but enough to put a dent in the metal and take him down. Loki fell, unconscious.
Sif was grinning as the trainers rushed forward. She had finally won, just as Thor had said! She was declared the winner and raised her arms in victory, but then she realized that Loki wasn't moving and three trainers were clustered around him. The training stand-by healer pushed her way through to the fallen boy. The smile left Sif's face as she lowered her arms.
"Did I . . . is he all right?" She was horrified, she hadn't meant to hurt her opponent. Then Thor was there by her side.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. I bounce Loki on his head occasionally, you would be surprised how hard it is." Thor spoke loudly, but he looked worried at the same time.
But Loki's eyes were still closed, and there was blood leaking out from under his helmet. A stretcher was set down next to him, and the trainers gently lifted him onto it while the healer carefully supported his head. The younger prince was carried out of the arena, headed to the healing room.
The trainers got class going again, calling out names until everyone began sparring again. There wasn't much enthusiasm or energy to any of the bouts, but the boys were dutifully trying to train.
Thor and Sif stood apart and he took her arm. "Come on, I'll escort you home. The trainers will excuse us the rest of class today."
"Thor, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your brother."
"Oh, he's probably faking just to make you feel guilty, he'll be fine, really. I'll check on him later. You absolutely outfought him all through the bout. I liked it when he tried the second overhand and you just slid it aside. That was an excellent move."
Sif said, "Thank you," quietly. Thor continued to praise her, but she said little in return. She knew Loki wasn't faking, the blood had been real. She didn't want to go home, she wanted to see if the smaller prince was really all right or not. But Thor was a prince too and he would know his brother better than anyone, so she didn't argue.