Afi

I eventually reached the door of my small apartment after wondering the long hallways of the palace. It was located within the royal grounds to the left of the gardens. The building stood tall and proud, decorated in the similar golden architecture as the palace, well-kept with large bay windows that looked out over the gardens.

The building housed a few families, mainly friends of Frigga and Odin, as my mother was, or guests from other realms. Our home was on the first floor, my mother loving the balcony that came with it. She had filled it with many different plants with all sorts of different uses that she was yet to teach me. My mother, like Frigga, was a skilled witch, one of the greatest in the nine realms. She rarely used her magic for anything other than household chores nowadays, but told me stories of the spells she casted, the illusions she could muster, the potions she could brew.

She had promised one day to teach me, telling me I too had a talent for witchcraft, I just needed an excellent teacher. She was of course boasting her talents then, knowing that she could teach me to be as skilled as her. She was yet to do so, but I always remained hopeful. Maybe I would find her sat at the kitchen table ready to finally start my lessons. I was however disappointed to find her not at the table, rather lay on the sofa sipping a cup of tea.

‘You took your time today; I was starting to wonder if you had decided to attend the training lesson?’ my mother asked as she heard me close the door. I slipped off my shoes, finding my slippers by the door exactly where I had left them this morning. I turned into the living room on the right of the hallway, placing my books down on the small table by the door.

‘Don’t be silly, you know my strength is not with a sword. I simply see no use for it,’ I told her, shaking my head at the suggestion. I noticed a secondary cup of tea on the side table at the end of the sofa, smiling to myself knowing my mother had made it for me.

‘I know, I know. And you know I prefer you being intelligent that brutish, but it wouldn’t hurt to learn some basic fighting skills,’ she said to me as I sat down on the sofa next to her. She often tried to make me attend training. I suspect she knew of the bullying and wanted me to be able to protect myself in case it ever got physical. I knew Thor wasn’t that stupid, his mother wouldn’t be happy with him if he laid his hands on the son of her oldest friend.

‘I could defend myself with magic, if you would ever teach me that,’ I smiled at her cheekily, and she sighed at my request. I knew one day she would say yes, but it appeared it was not this day. I never held it against her, knowing that my mother knew better than me, and that she had shown me great kindness taking me in as an orphan. She had always told me she was ecstatic to adopt me, having been widowed before she could have children of her own with her husband, and yet I always felt as if my adoption was more of a favour for Frigga.

‘I knew you would bring that up again. So desperate to learn,’ she shook her head, not surprised by my words.

‘You say that as if it’s a bad thing,’ I said taking a sip of my tea. She smiled at me, a different smile than I would have expected. This was not one of humour, but more one of excitement, a cheeky smile as if she had something to hide. I gave her a questioning look, which only made her smile wider.

‘It’s not. And given that you are still just as desperate to learn magic, I feel as if it is time we began your lessons,’ she told me, and I almost choked on my tea in shock. It was finally happening; I would finally become the skilled witch my mother promised me I would become. I had been jealous that Loki had started his lessons a few years before me, knowing that magic was a difficult skill to learn that took years of dedication, and he had a head start.  

‘You’re being serious? You are really going to teach me magic?’ I questioned, wanting to make sure before I got even more excited.

‘Of course I am. You will join Loki in his lessons, and if you are lucky, you might get a few lessons from Frigga,’ she explained. I was suddenly rather nervous, the thought of having lessons with Loki was rather frightening, not only because he was already years ahead of me, but also because it meant we would have a lot more time alone than I had been expecting. I was prepared for the odd conversation here and there when we found ourselves away from Thor, but not every day during private lessons.

‘That is very generous of the Queen, but would you not prefer to teach me separately? Given that Loki has started his lessons already?’ I asked nervously, hoping my mother might change her mind.

‘No, it will be easier with Loki, he can help you out. It is easier to learn the basics from someone who had also just started to learn the craft,’ my mother explained, shutting down the hope I may not have to spend all that time with Loki. It appeared I was destined to be awkward around him every day, an experience I was not looking forward to.

‘Yes, that does sound like a good idea,’ I reluctantly agreed.

‘Now, try and get some of your studies done, we have to attend Odin’s feast later tonight,’ she informed me, making my heart sink. I hated the royal feasts.

‘That’s tonight?’ I whined, hoping my mother would let me out of it. I should have known that was a foolish attempt.

‘Yes,’ she said simply as she stood up from the sofa, taking the teacup from my hand and walking through the archway to the kitchen.

I sighed knowing there was no way out of it, I would at least enjoy my set reading for classes tomorrow. Mythology and legends is my favourite class, learning all the legends from all nine realms, it was fascinating. The Midgardian myths were especially interesting as many were based on the old Asgardian gods, when Odin’s father Bor vowed to protect them, then Odin himself fulfilling that promise when the Frost Giants attacked. Their names were solidified in Norse legend, and whilst those on Earth would not know us as real anymore, our kings were still known in legend.

I plodded down the hallway to my bedroom, finding the book of Celtic legends open on my desk. I had begun reading last night before mother ordered me to bed, knowing I would stay up all night reading if not told to sleep. I happily picked up the book, climbing on to my bed to continue reading.

Hours passed by before my mother interrupted me, informing me it was time to leave for the feast. She pulled out a robe of her choosing for me to wear, one of my more expensive ones as we were celebrating the return of Odin from battle. It appears despite all the peace he brought us, he was still having to run into battle as members of the realms conspired against him.

I reluctantly got dressed, not looking forward to an evening of war stories, knowing that Thor and his entourage would be boasting that one day it would be them they were greeting from battle, that we would be celebrating their victory. No doubt they would make some sly comment about how I can attend as long as I serve them wine or muck out the horses’ stables. I laughed to myself thinking of what poor joke they would come up with this time, wishing they would come up with anything original.

I joined my mother at the front door, who inspected my robe and fussed as she fixed it. My mother was not nervous about making a poor impression, she rarely cared what others thought, she just held tradition in high value, no doubt a symptom of being raised in a coven. One she was satisfied with the way I looked; she led the charge to the grand hall. She hurried down the corridor, telling me to smile or at least not look as miserable as I did.

We quickly arrived at the hall, my mother reminding me where I was to sit. I was sad I never got to sit with her, knowing she would sit with the other ladies who would share interesting stories of magic whilst I had to sit with the other palace children who would get excited over the violence of battle.

‘At least try to act interested, won’t you?’ my mother pleaded with me. I think she was often disappointed in my lack of interest in battle, knowing it had such a firm place in Asgard’s history, and no doubt it’s future, but I could not find the interest that everyone else seemed to have.

‘I promise,’ I smiled at her, knowing I would applaud when I was supposed to, to laugh when everyone else did, and look impressed by the tale of Odin's victory. She smiled back at me, cupping my cheeks in her hands, giving me a quick kiss on my forehead, making me squirm, before she headed off to sit at her table.

I strolled over to the familiar table where I would sit, disappointed to see few available seats, all of which were far too close to Thor than I would like. I sat down as far away from him and his friends as I could, avoiding glancing over at them, hoping they wouldn’t notice me. I was, of course, very unlucky.

‘Is it nice of my father to allow a poor orphan to join his feast!’ Thor boomed, grinning at me as his goonies laughed at his poor joke. I rolled my eyes, knowing I had a rightful place at this table and refusing to dignify his insult with a response.

‘Oh dear, have I hurt the little boy’s feelings?’ he continued to tease, putting on a horrible baby voice. ‘Are you not excited to see the soldiers, you should take some inspiration from them, instead of keeping your nose buried in a book,’ I tried to ignore him, looking down at the table in front of me but the cackles of Thor and his friends were getting louder. ‘Although maybe it’s better if you don’t. We wouldn’t want you hold us back on the battlefield, you’d only get killed and then who would be able to serve us wine at the celebrations after,’ he persisted, and I tried my hardest not to smile at the insult he had hurled at me so many times before.

‘Dear lord, Thor, could you not come up with a new insult every once in a while? You’re getting rather repetitive and dull,’ Loki spat, rolling his eyes at his brother. I hadn’t noticed that Loki had sat down opposite me, and now I couldn’t help but smile. Whether or not Loki had snapped at his brother out of genuine frustration of his lack of creativity, or to stand up for me in some way, he had made Thor shut up.

He may have kept his mouth shut, but Thor did not stop his deadly glances in my direction. He was clearly angry at his brother for spoiling his fun, and I have no doubt he would make that my problem. Normally his glares would frighten me, but this time Loki was sat across from me, casually eating his dinner and chatting away to those around us. 

My eyes wondered to Loki, but I was far too nervous to speak to him. His presence was making me nervous, forcing heat to rise to my face. I was sure I was turning a horrific shade of red, so I shot my eyes straight back down, staring instead and the food below. I remained focused on my dinner, pushing the gravy soaked meat around the plate or picking at the pastry. 

My hands were sweating slightly, making me feel more ridiculous. He was just sat in front of me. He hadn't even said hello. But I did feel him start to stare at me. I couldn't make eye contact with him, convinced my face was still bright red. Loki, clearly frustrated with me, softly kicked my shin under the table. And I couldn't exactly ignore him now. 

'Are you okay?' he said quietly as I slowly looked up at him. I nodded, smiling weakly but unwilling to speak. 

'You sure? You're not eating,' he questioned. My heart started beating rapidly, my hands getting clammier with every second that passed. I feared if I spoke my voice would crack with nervousness. He had asked me a simple question. How could I be this incapable?

'Um, yeah I'm fine, just not hungry,' I managed to force the words out, in a low voice not wanting to draw the attention of Thor, or anyone else for that matter. 

'Oh,' he replied, pausing for a moment and definitely not believing me. 'Well in that case can I eat the rest of your pie?' he asked, a much more relaxed look on his face. 

'Uh, sure,' I said as he reached over and grabbed my plate. 

'I know I said I try to lay off the food a bit, slim down and all, but I can't resist a good meat pie,' he said with a charming grin on his face. A laughed softly, still aware of the others around me, but his relaxed demeanour was putting me at ease. We didn't speak much after that, Loki happily scoffing down his food, me with a now empty plate. It was one of the better feasts I have to admit, and the excitement for my magic lessons re-ignited, knowing I would be spending time with him.