Contemptuous (Loki x fem!reader)

Chapter 18 - A Battle of Honour

"This is hopeless Agda, I might as well hand him the throne," you sit down on the wall behind you. You've tried everything for almost a week now, but nothing seems to work. You should be showing some signs of improvement at this stage, or just anything at all.

"Are we even sure I have magic?" you ask her defeatedly.

"Of course, I detected it inside you, and I'm never wrong." She sits beside you.

"What am I going to do Agda, even if I do manage to learn anything, this guy has hundreds of years of experience on me. How the hell am I supposed to beat him in a duel?"

"Would you like my honest opinion on why you're struggling with this?" she asks and you nod.

"You're stubborn. To excel in sorcery, you have to remain calm and collected. It's not something you can force out, you have to feel it. Being assertive and strong-willed is great for combat, but you must find a balance child," she explains to you.

"Well what am I supposed to do, meditate?" you say sarcastically.

"Not a bad suggestion, but it won't work for you. You need to learn patience and restraint, but in your own way," she clarifies. The sun has fully set, and it's gotten dark outside.

"We will pick up on this again tomorrow, don't worry we will get there," she assures you and heads back inside.

You stand up trying to clear your mind, practising the techniques she showed you. Still nothing. Fed up with being utterly useless, you walk through the courtyard. You explore the garden, everything constructed around the tree branches. They really appreciate nature here, thats for sure.

You reach the edge of the courtyard, and look down at the river miles below you. If you were still indestructible you would have done a huge cannonball right now. Instead, you try to practise again.

"It's not going to work," you hear the voice of a familiar trickster.

"Yeah, no shit," you reply dejectedly.

"Getting angry at yourself won't help either," he approaches you, and you turn around to face him.

"Well how do you do it? Based on what Agda said, you have to be mentally-sound to use magic, which you're clearly not."

"I have an idea," he walks over to the square in the centre of the yard.

"Pray do tell," you say mockingly as you follow him.

"Fight me."

"Sorry?"

"No weapons, just fight me," he turns to face you, throwing his daggers across the ground.

"I don't see how this is going to help," you reply.

"Sorcery is instinctual, something you certainly don't lack," he explains his way of thinking, and you toss all of your weapons to the side.

Loki aims a green blast at you, which you dive to the side to avoid. Teleporting behind you, he pulls you into a chokehold. You elbow him in the stomach in response, and push him off you. He suddenly creates multiple illusions of himself. Unfazed by them, you send a spinning kick into the real Loki to your left, knocking him backwards and the illusions dissipating. 

You can't beat him hand to hand anymore, his hits take too much of a toll on you now, and you wear out quicker. You block his oncoming attacks, already beginning to tire out from the force of them.

"I thought you were better than this," he says, landing a kick in your side, aggravating you. You attempt a punch, but he grabs your arm, twisting it behind your back making you wince. It's maddening how easy it is for him right now.