Avengers Imagines

Thor | Guard

"So you want to be in the immediate guard," he mocks. "Then you must prove yourself." He takes a step backward and you stare blankly. "You must fight as though you are fighting for your lives. You must train longer and harder than the one next to you, and you must succeed."

He makes it sound simple, but it's not as easy as that. You know how hard it is to be accepted into the immediate guard. There's no way that Odin is going to allow protection from amateurs to be what he receives. Everyone standing in this group is the cream of the crop; the students who surpassed their teachers, and the warriors that have saved Asgard many times over. Most of them are men and there is just over a handful of women. You watch Sif pace at the top of the stairs, watching Thor carefully.

"These next few weeks will be make the decision of personal guard very easy for me. The remaining eight will be it. Every week, some of you will go, but be not angered. You have done well to reach this point. Your King thanks you for your loyalty and determination." He smiles. "Welcome to initiation."

*****

The girl's shared room was quite he disappointment. It was a room with three bunk beds, for the six girls, connected to a shared bathroom where there was no luxury of full privacy. Showers were merely stalls, and a thin curtain separated the single changing rooms from the taps.

You finished washing your face with water and dried it quickly on a hand towel. Tomorrow, you'd begin true training with the current immediate guard. The elite of the elite. You head quickly to bed and almost instantly, fall asleep.

*****

Someone walks in, hitting a metal rod on the frame of one initiates bed. You don't groan, or fight the unwanted wake up call. You're refreshed from resting earlier than the others, and you're a natural born solider. You know that wake up calls aren't optional and that for that moment, you have only s couple minutes to change. So you do.

Five minutes later, the same person is back. You recognise her. Kailee. She's the one that was continuously paraded around, winning gold and other awards for her valiant nature in battle. "Breakfast in the dining hall, now," she says.

You're the first one dressed and so you walk out to female your way to a dining hall full of soldiers. Elite soldiers.

You take food from the table and find a table to sit at. You don't have many friends here. You've always worked the other perimeter of Asgard, and the inner city is unfamiliar territory.

You sit and eat and just as you finish, Kailee comes back and immediately she sends all initiates to training, or as it's better called, duelling.

*****

You're thrown in first. As the runt of the group, you struggle to fight against the opponent you're out up against. His name is Wes. Simple enough to remember. It's also simple enough to remember that he's good, and you find yourself with a fist in your face.

You get up and immediately you return to defence. You gulp, but notice a weakness. His left leg has a limp. If you can manage to step on the knee, trying to force it beyond its capabilities, you can win. You guard up and he throws a punch which misses you as you duck. His fist is where your head was moments ago.

You swipe him off his feet and he hits the ground with a thud. The taller the person, the bigger the thud. And his height is most definitely considered tall. You take your chance to run at him and grab his leg, putting your foot just on the kneecap. His eyes widen as he sees what you're about to do. You begin to apply pressure as he claws at you, scratching you and making you bleed a few times. So you push harder and then you hear a snap.

He cries out in agony and you let go, looking to Kailee who seems impressed and slightly horrified. But your eyes don't stay on her for long. Standing considerably further back are Sif and Thor. Thor's eyes catch you and you quickly avert your gaze as your heart begins to flutter.

"Winner, (Y/N)," Kailee calls, taking your hand and raising your arm above your head. The groans are ever present and the moment you step off the mat, you're apologising to him.

*****

You'd left after your fight, going to calm yourself. Now they knew what you could do, they would know to avoid being swept off their feet. You sighed, walking to the well, bucket in hand. You tie it before lowering it.

"That was a good fight," you hear. It shocks you and you let your rope go. Thor catches it, invading your personal space, his eyes staring into yours. He hands you the rope.

"Thank you," you whisper, your voice breaking slightly. You feel vulnerable and stupid.

You turn back around to pull the bucket up the rest of the way. When you turnaround he's still there. You give him a small smile to be polite before beginning to lug your bucket.

He stops you, taking it. "I'll take this for you, where are you going?"

You shrug. "Just back to the sleeping quarters."

He nods and begins to lead the way.

You rack your brain for something to talk about. You end up asking him "Are you and Sif together?"

He stares at you for a moment. Then he laughs. "No."

"Ok. Right."

"Why?"

"No reason."

He chuckles. "You're a good soldier, but not a good liar."

You go red. Why? Who knows. You cuss mentally at yourself and your weakness for him. How can you be an adequate guard if you're so easily swayed?

He puts the bucket down in front of the sleeping quarters. "Sif and I are not together, and she has her eyes set on someone else."

So does that give you a chance? Why are you hinting these things?! It was no secret that half the reason you'd signed on was to meet the Prince of Asgard, but now your heart was ruling your head and making you seem stupid.

"Right," you say.

He simply chuckles. "I'll see you at training."

You nod. Oh gosh. How will you survive training now?