╟╫╫╫╫╢

"Higher, higher, little to your left... Good!" Thor beamed when I finally managed to get the sword up to the proper position.

I smiled, but was immediately caught off guard when he swung his blade toward me, knocking mine out of my hand.

"Position and accuracy aren't everything in swordsmanship, Alivia," Thor instructed, "You must maintain a certain degree of strength. Enough, at least, to keep your blade in hand."

He chuckled at himself as I stooped to recollect my weapon, before brandishing it at him as he'd taught me. I loosened my shoulders and rolled my neck.

"Come on, I was just warming up, try me again," I instructed, and he quirked a brow before swinging his sword at me again.

I managed to fend off his blow, which caught him off guard. He came at me again, and again I fended it off. He continued to swing at me again and again, slowly putting more effort behind his strokes but not enough to overtake me.

Until he met my blade with a succession of three sharp blows from different angles, the last of which pulled the hilt from my grasp and sent the sword careening to the ground. I raised my hands in surrender, out of breath.

"You can't play the defence game forever, you'll have to start learning some attacks," Thor remarked, "Otherwise, that was very good. Impressive for the short length of time we've been practicing."

"All thanks to you," I smiled warmly, "I really enjoy these lessons Thor. Thank you for giving up some of your time to help me."

"I'm not giving up anything Alivia," he said as he knelt to collect my sword, "Time spent with a friend is time well spent."

He extended the sword to me.

"Shall we have another go?" he asked.

I smiled, accepting the sword.

"What's this?" Loki's voice drew my attention to the left, where he was leaned casually against a pillar, arms folded as he watched us with dark eyes.

"Thor is teaching me how to use a sword," I explained, "I've been learning the past week."

Loki quirked an amused brow, chuckling, and looking at his brother, beside me.

"Haven't you heard? This one is purely Midgardian, and a Midgardian with a blade is just about as threatening as a kitten, brother."

"She's Asgardian, Loki," Thor began, but I cut him off, turning to face Loki fully, and taking a few steps closer.

"As I've said time and time again, my bloodline doesn't determine anything about me, and neither does yours. Sure, you might be stronger and have the advantage, but I'm not useless with a blade, and I bet that with practice I can rival you one day."

"Is that a fact?" he said with a cocky smirk and raised brows, pushing himself from the pillar and stepping closer to me, until we stood no more than a foot away from each other, "Care to prove it?"

I was pretty short, so Loki definitely had over a foot on me, and I had to crane my neck a little to meet his downturned gaze, his expression dripping with smug arrogance.

"Bet," I stood my ground, meeting his stare with a cocky one of my own.

"Boys, boys, you're both big and strong, can we leave it at that and call it a day?" Thor intervened, shoving Loki back a few paces.

Loki quickly stumbled back into place, gathering himself and shooting Thor an annoyed glare.

"She wishes to test her strength against mine, and I'm a willing participant," Loki said.

"An arm wrestle then?" Thor suggested.

"I'm down."

"A duel," Loki said, "Two weeks from today. We'll see whose bloodline is the worthier then."

I couldn't help but stifle a laugh at his serious tone and fancy way of speaking.

"Very well," I mimicked his voice and tone, "A duel in two weeks time. To the death."

I walked away, placing my sword on the rack near the stairs, before turning to wave goodbye to Thor. Both men stood in stunned silence as they watched me leave, mouths agape.

I made a mental note as I left to ask Sigrid and Bodil whether Asgardians understood the concept of sarcasm.

If not, I would have to start planning a funeral. Because I'd just invited a god to duel me to the death in two weeks.

I sighed deeply at my own stupidity.

Shit.

╟╫╢

"Good, you're here," I let out a sigh of relief as I swung the door open for Bodil and Sigrid, who entered into a mess of clothes strewn carelessly around the room, some draped across the bed, some hung over the folding screen, and some lying on the cushion seat in the centre of the room.

"I don't know what the hell to wear, I don't know what's casual and what's fancy out of these, I don't know how to put this on, and I quite frankly don't even know what this is," I said, all in one breath, gesturing at random articles of clothing around my room.

"Perhaps if we'd arrived sooner we could've prevented the hurricane that's apparently ravaged the place," Sigrid chuckled, striding over towards the folding screen.

Both women were dressed up in beautiful gowns of silk and velvet. Sigrid's dress was light blue, a colour which complimented her red hair nicely. Bodil's was a deep, cool green that went nicely with her dark skin tone.

I watched as Sigrid and Bodil looked over some of the dresses I'd hung over the folding screen, until Sigrid finally selected a black dress, made of the smoothest and shiniest silk I'd ever seen.

As I changed into the dress, I heard the girls bumbling around the room. When I emerged, Sigrid was holding an assortment of cosmetics, and Bodil had a brown corset and shiny silver accents to add to my ensemble.

The girls pieced together my outfit, applied makeup, and fussed with my hair until they finally agreed that I was ready to attend the banquet.

I stepped over to the large, vine-rimmed mirror attached to the vanity to give myself a once over. I hardly recognized the girl staring back at me. I looked like a beautiful but badass princess off Game of Thrones.

The black silk dress cascaded to the floor, slit about a foot and a half on either side to reveal my legs, which wore tall, lace up boots. The arms were sheer and off shoulder, leading to a scooping neckline. The brown corset tied at the front had silver accents on either side, and my fingers bore a few silver rings, in addition to a fine silver necklace, with an amber stone set in the middle. I had dark eye makeup and a red-brown shade of lipstick, and my hair was pinned to one side, the curls flowing loosely down my left shoulder.

"You're miracle workers," I marvelled, trailing my fingers down the smooth fabric of my dress.

"That will definitely catch his eye," Sigrid smiled.

"Whose?" I frowned, turning to her.

"Loki's, of course," Bodil explained like it was obvious, "It's quite clear he's captivated by you. This will only make him more interested."

"Oh, good," I said, "I'm glad I'll attract the attention of the guy I just invited to kill me in two weeks."

"The guy you what?" Sigrid blinked her eyes at me.

"Oh, yeah, Loki and I are duelling in two weeks," I said, folding my arms.

"Loki, the god who's had several hundred years to practice wielding a blade, against you, who just picked one up for the first time a week ago?" Sigrid asked, trying to clarify.

"Yes indeed," I nodded, plastering a smile across my face, "Now, don't we have a banquet to attend to?"

The girls exchanged looks and I walked past them, through the door and out into the hallway. I waved my arm for them to follow, and they reluctantly did, still wearing expressions of equal parts confusion and worry.

We made our way through the palace, which was quieter than usual, with most people either attending or working the banquet. There was a faint din of chatter and music that drifted through the halls, and we followed it to the large room that I'd helped prepare for tonight. The large double doors were propped open, revealing the room in all its grandeur.

There were chandeliers, shining ribbons, hanging garlands, beautiful dresses and robes that ranged in colour, the smell of delicious food and wine, and the sound of cheerful folk music in the background.

"You look beautiful," Bersi was the first to greet us at the door, his attention fixed on Sigrid, who blushed and smiled.

"Ugh, spare me, brother," Bodil groaned, grabbing my hand, "Come, let's give these lovebirds their space."

She led me towards the table where the wine was being dished out in fine crystal glasses, and the beer in hefty tankards. Bodil surveyed the selection, picking out two glasses of deep red wine. She handed me one, and took a sip of the other. As I lifted the glass to my lips, I spotted Loki entering through the large double doors across the room, dressed in long black and green robes, his dark hair combed back out of his face to frame his striking blue eyes.

I hastily whirled around so that my back was to him as his gaze trailed across the room. Suddenly, I felt mortified in my fancy black silk dress. It didn't suit me at all. What was I doing here? A human from New York City amongst a bunch of gods celebrating the peace with a whole other realm.

I lifted the glass of wine to my lips again, taking in several large gulps. It had a kick unlike any wine I'd tasted on earth. It was strong. And really, really good.

"This is-"

"Amazing?" Bodil finished for me, "Nothing but the finest for the King's banquet," she paused to take another sip from her own glass, before looking at me with a smile and a quirked brow, "Now, you wouldn't happen to be turning away from the door because a certain somebody just entered, would you?"

"What? No," I shook my head, drinking.

"So... You wouldn't be bothered to know that I've waved him over, and that he's heading this way?"

"You did what?" I whirled around, spotting Loki cutting his way through the crowd, politely asking people to move, gaze focused on us.

"Oh, and that I'm most definitely about to leave the two of you be?"

"Bodil, Bodil, no," I shook my head, trying to pull her to stay, but she broke free of my grip and waltzed off into the crowd, with a parting wave and a mischievous smirk.

I hurriedly whirled back around so that my back was again to where Loki was approaching from, hoping that maybe he wouldn't notice me. After all I was pretty short. Maybe I would blend in.

"Mmm, you look ravishing," his voice came in a low purr from directly beside my ear.

I jumped, turning to face him and putting a few steps of distance between us.

"And you look as fancy as always," I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of wine and turning away from him.

"You're behaving quite rudely this evening," Loki smirked, stepping in front of me once again, "Anxious you might lose our upcoming duel?"

"No, just debating whether I'll 'accidently' slip up and murder you," I joked, "Finally get a break from your constant arrogance."

"My, it's quite adorable that you've convinced yourself you even have a chance of landing a single blow." He folded his arms, standing beside me so that we both faced the ballroom.

"I plan to land several, thank you," I shot back, "Aimed specifically at your stupid, smug face."

"Darling, you adore my stupid, smug face."

"Your claim lacks evidence."

"The way you look at it is evidence enough, I think," he chuckled, bumping his shoulder against mine.

"You infuriate me."

"You love it."

"Hate it."

"I'm sure."

"You will be when I impale you with a sword in two weeks."

"But until then, I'm sure we can deign to get along," he said, extending his hand to me, "Care to dance?"

"Pfft, you dance?" I laughed.

"I take offence to that," he responded, grabbing my hand, "I'm a very skilled dancer."

"Believe it when I see it," I smiled, quickly setting down my wine glass as he dragged me to the dance floor.

╟╫╫╫╫╢