Afi

My mother woke me earlier than usual, the sun having only just risen. I whined as she pulled the covers from me, smiling at me as if she enjoyed making me suffer. I knew this day would come, I had been so excited for my mother to teach me her skills as a witch, that I hadn’t factored in the early mornings. Elective classes were always held early in the morning, before breakfast and the start of the school day, purely because the afternoons were reserved for training or healing lessons. I had not taken up any other classes, despite many teachers telling me I would do well with an extra language or perhaps some knowledge of accountancy. I refused, knowing that one day I would take up witchcraft instead.

‘Get yourself some food, you may not have time to attend breakfast,’ my mother told me, giving me a kiss on my cheek once satisfied that I was awake and would not fall back into my slumber. I nodded, slowly rising from my bed, finding the clothes I had picked out last night folded over my armchair.

After getting dressed, I followed my mother’s instructions and found myself some food to eat. I was not hungry, the day having only just started but with the knowledge I would not eat until lunch, I forced myself to eat. The bread was dry in my throat and for once I found the rich cheese unappetising, but I swallowed it anyway, filling myself up.

‘Come, we cannot be late. Loki is more punctual that me,’ I was instructed as I sat at the dining table. I jumped up, finding the books I would need for the day. I carried them close to my chest as I followed my mother down the endless corridors until we reached a part of the castle I had not been to before. It was darker than the rest, despite residing on the same floor as my other classrooms.

It was not painted with cream and golden colours, no bright furnishings or smiling portraits. Instead, it was left bare, the dark stone walls making me shiver as the sun no longer reflected off them. There were no great paintings of Asgardian battles, in fact there was no decoration whatsoever, only torches lining the corridors. My mother led me to the room sat at the end of the dark hallway, a large wooden door now stood in front of us.

She pushed open the door, the hinges creaking as the door swung open, leading into a small room with a large open window that leant over the open sea. We had reached the edge of the palace, where it had first been carved out of the cliffside before being built with the gold of Asgard’s enemies. The smell of the sea air hit my nose instantly, the salty fresh fragrance attacking my sense. It was a welcomed change, although I needed a moment to adjust to the change. I was no longer cold, despite the wind freely flowing through the window, the room somehow felt warm and inviting. I wandered over to the window, enjoying the beautiful view of the open air.

Asgard was beautiful in its own right, but the city always felt crowded, too many people rushing around, desperately running from place to place, never taking a moment to enjoy just walking, enjoying the beauty around them. I preferred the forests outside the city, past the farms and villages. There was rarely anyone else with me, beside the occasional hunter or another lonely soul exploring the woodlands. It was the place I was found by Frigga, the last place I had belonged.

I had never been out to sea, only looked over the water from the palace balconies, or when cheering on the sailors as they raced each other in their impressive sailing boats. I was happy that my lessons would take place here, away from the chaos of the castle, allowing silence to focus on perfecting my new skill.

My daydream was interrupted by the door swinging open for the second time. I turned back to the entrance to see that it was Loki who was joining us, and whilst I was not surprised to see him, he was certainly surprised to see me.

‘Good morning, Loki,’ my mother said to him, he responded with politeness before his eyes fell back to me with curiosity. He did not question my presence, understanding that I would not be here without permission, but still gave me a wary look. We sat down on the large desk in the middle of the room that sat directly in front of the table my mother was leaning on, her own desk covered in books, parchments, pens, and drawings.

‘Afi will be joining our lessons from now on, he too wishes to learn the benefits of witchcraft. I hope you will help him out where you can, I am hoping he will catch up quickly,’ Loki nodded at this explanation, but his face was yet to relax, still not happy with my presence.

‘I understand, Eydis,’ he replied, smiling gently at her as to hide his disappointment with his new classmate. I would guess he was happy to learn on his own, never being held back or being bored by the chattering of other students, and here I was, ruining his perfect arrangement.

‘Then we can begin. Asgard is full of magic, and all Asgardians are capable of wielding it. It is, however, only a few who can truly become skilled in sorcery. Tapping into your mystical abilities will allow you to achieve more than most. While Asgardians use the mystical energy simply to make life easier, improving medical care, powering our transportation and weapons, and building our city. You will be able to use it for far greater things. The full extent of each of your powers is not yet known, so we will start with illusions, something I hope will come as easy to you Afi as it did to Loki,’ my mother began, Loki nodded along despite the fact he had already heard this before. I was suddenly more nervous than before, wondering if somehow a mistake had been made and I was not as skilled as my mother thought, and was about to make a terrible fool of myself.

My mother asked Loki to demonstrate, easily turning a butter knife into a dagger. Of course, the dagger was still the same butter knife, and would not be able to stab you quite as effectively as a real dagger, but Loki had cast an impressive illusion making it appear as if it had always been a dagger. I could pick it up in my hands, inspect the sharp edges and strong handle, and if I had not seen him cast it, I would assume it was an ordinary dagger.

Loki returned it to its original form, handing the knife to me. I took it in my hand, fingers tightening around the handle. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, I felt as if I should just know, that something would call to me and suddenly I would know how. But no whispers came, no sudden knowledge. I looked up to my mother for advice, but she simply gave an encouraging smile, waiting for me to cast my first illusion.

I did not know what to do, I stared down at the small, blunt knife in my hands, picturing it becoming a dagger as I held it. Then something did come to me, not a voice telling me how, but a feeling, a rush of energy passing through me. I suddenly felt more confident in my abilities, and somehow managed to conjure the same green light from my hands that Loki had done moments before. The light washed over the knife, and for a moment I believed that I had cast a perfect illusion, the blade now as sharp as a dagger. However, I quickly noticed that I had only changed the blade, and the handle had not become the strong, leatherbound, wooden craft as it should have, instead the dull metal handle of the butter knife remained.

I heard Loki laugh. It didn’t sound like a cruel laugh, more one out of amusement, but my heart still sank with the embarrassment of failing something he had done so effortlessly. I looked to him, finding him smiling wide at me.

‘I don’t mean to laugh; it’s just I did the exact same thing the first time I tried it! How funny, it does look ridiculous doesn’t it, such a threatening blade with an old, flimsy handle,’ he explained, his amusement putting me at ease. I looked back down at the blade, laughing at the creation I had made.

‘It does, certainly not very useful. I suppose I ought to try again,’ I agreed before turning the knife back to its original form.

‘Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, it took me three times to get it right. You just need a little practice,’ he encouraged, his smile not faltering. I could feel my mother eyes watching me, I knew she expected great things from me, to even be more powerful than Loki, and this may very well be her first test, to see if I will live up to her name.

I tried the illusion again, but the same thing happened. My mother stayed silent, just waiting for me to get it right, Loki continued to offer his charming smile as encouragement, which settled my nerves. I told myself I could do it, I had already managed to transform half of the knife, how much harder could the entire blade be. I turned the odd-looking dagger back into the original butter knife and pictured the dagger Loki had conjured. I focused on it, the picture becoming clearer in my mind, then I tried again. To my surprise, this time it did work. Loki cheered, and my mother gave a small smile in satisfaction before making me do it five more times. It felt easier and easier after that, and once I could do it effortlessly, we moved on to larger, more complicated objects.

We were finally excused once I was able to turn a mouse into to cat, something that went disastrously wrong the first few times. A cat with a mouses head and tail is not something I wish to see again. Loki and I hurried quickly to our next lesson, my mother correctly predicting we would not have time to stop for breakfast. I let Loki walk ahead as I didn’t yet know the route back to the left wing of the palace, where our lessons took place.

Thanks to Loki’s knowledge of the intricate hallways and short cuts through the winding corridors of the palace, we arrived just in time for our Mythology and Legends class. Unfortunately, most students had already arrived, giving us an audience when we walked in together. This earnt a questioning look from Thor, but Loki said nothing, only holding his head up high as he sat down at his desk. Thor gave me, however, a hateful glare, and I wish I could say I was as brave as Loki, but I am not, so my eyes fell to the floor as I shuffled over to my desk.

The rest of the day went a lot slower, all my lessons now feeling far duller than before now they had to compete with magic. I listened to my teachers rambling on, and I took notes just as I did before, but I was not interested, my mind wandering constantly. I tried to pull my focus back, but it seemed harder and harder as I remembered the fact I had casted illusions the very same day, and now I was sat listening to a man explaining multiplication. I imagined this must be how Thor felt, not caring about any knowledge, knowing that throwing spears and waving a sword around was much more interesting. I understood him a little better now, but I still found him incredibly obnoxious with the firm belief he should at least try to care, or at least not ruin the lessons for everyone else.

I was happy when we broke for lunch, my stomach now growling angrily at me. I normally ate well at breakfast, I was seemly always hungry despite the fact I was barely growing and never seemed to put on weight. Perhaps my body was preparing for a rather large growth spurt, that would happen suddenly over the summer holidays. 

I followed the rest of my class to the small dinning hall, filling up the few tables that stretched the length of the room. I found Loki had appeared next to me, seemingly out of thin air, gracefully sitting down on the bench next to me. I turned to look at him, finding the confidence to smile at him. 

'It's all rather dull now isn't it?' he smiled knowingly, as if he read my mind. 

'Unfortunately yes, the day seems to go much slower than usual,' I replied, happily filling my plate with a variety of food from the dished laid out in the middle of the table. 

'Shame, you always seemed so interested in your studies. I suppose magic can't be all good,' he said casually, too casual for my liking. My stomach flipped. He had noticed me in class? A thought so wild to me. He must have noticed my surprise, my face and now stiff body not hiding it well. 'You're the only other person who makes notes during class,' he said leaning into me slightly, his elbow giving me a small nudge. 

'Really? I thought everyone did?' shocked by something I had never noticed. 

'Nope. Just us. Everyone else doodles, or they pass notes about who they fancy at the moment, or take a nap,' he said with distain, his nose turning up the idea of it all.

'Or interrupt the teacher' I muttered accidentally, my hatred of Thor over riding my common sense. I waited for Loki's reaction, hoping he didn't realise who I was talking about. But he did. But he laughed. 

'Or interrupt the teacher,' he agreed, glancing over at his brother. Thor was at the head of the middle table, laughing loudly and spilling his drink on the table. He didn't seem to notice the mess he made, even as it dripped onto the floor, creating a small puddle. 

'I don't know how I'm related to someone that slovenly,' Loki said almost tutting at his brothers behaviour. I wasn't sure what to say back to him, so I kept quiet. As much as Loki could tease his brother, I'm sure he would defend him if I made some harsh comments. We ate the rest of our lunch in silence. But a nice silence. A peaceful silence. 

I was grateful when the day came to an end, knowing I could head straight home. Normally I would study when I got home, but the early morning had made me tired and now I felt a strong need to go for a nap. I could study later, or even on the weekend when I had plenty more free time. I watched the boys run off as they always did, the girls laughing at their excitement. They too wandered quickly out the room, excited for their healing lessons. Apparently, they got to practice on real people today, which seemed frightening to me. Allowing children to run around a hospital and trying to heal people, certainly a scary thought.

Then once again, Loki and I were alone as we carefully put away our stationary. I now believe he purposefully takes this long, now I know he doesn’t enjoy the training sessions as much as the others. He turned to me, just as he did yesterday, but today I was far less nervous in his presence. Still nervous, but I could look him in the eye.

‘You did well this morning, it seems it won’t be as bad as I thought to have you join me every morning,’ he smiled at me before heading out the classroom, not giving me a chance to reply. It was one of the stranger compliments I had ever gotten, but I was thankful I had changed his mind, not feeling as such an inconvenience to him. I smiled to myself as I left the room, but my smile quickly fell from my face as I found Brandt standing outside waiting for me.

‘There you are,’ Brandt said to me, his voice shooting straight through me. He was a large, scary man, certainly the tallest on Asgard. He towered over me, his broad shoulders blocking the corridor. He did not smile at me, I don’t think I had ever seen him smile, and doubt I ever would. He had a large scar down the side of his face, rumoured to have been given by a dark elf, but no one dared to ask. I had no idea what he wanted with me, knowing full he didn’t like me, or my scrawny frame. I had lost the ability to speak, his deep, sharp voice taking me by surprise.

‘I’ve been told you will be joining my training lessons, although it looks like you are not prepared,’ Brandt said plainly, frowning down at me as he noticed the numerous books in my arms. I had no idea what he was talking about and was certainly not prepared.

‘There must be some mistake, I don’t attend the training lessons,’ I shook my head in horror, terrified of the thought of Thor charging towards me with a spear in hand.

‘Yes, that is fairly obvious. Clearly you have not been informed,’ he sighed, and my heart began beating faster.

‘Not been informed of what?’ I questioned, very fearful of what the answer may be.

‘It was part of Odin’s agreement to allow you to grow up here. You are to serve in the army once you come of age, and by the looks of you, you ought to have started training already,’ he told me, looking me up and down in disgust. He knew as well as I did that I had no place in the army, and would no doubt be an annoyance for him. I swallowed hard, taking in the information he had just told me. How had I not been informed before that there were conditions to my stay, certainly ones that ask me to risk my life for Asgard.

‘Apologies, Brandt, I was not aware of these conditions,’ I stuttered, unsure of what to say but not wanting to anger the man I would now be taking orders from.

‘Very well. I’ll allow you to make a proper first impression tomorrow, and I hope you will not be too much of an inconvenience,’ he replied, turning on his heals and striding down the corridor. I stood still in shock and fear. Tomorrow I would be attending a training session, and I would certainly embarrass myself.