Part One - A New Beginning (Loki x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Competition Signup

New Character List

Lady Eydis pronounced IE-dis, a lady around Sif's age that flirts with everyone, especially Thor

     "Were you able to ask Queen Frigga to call you first?" asks Lady Sif as she sits next to me and sets her lunch down.

     I nod. "Loki and I stopped her in the hall and explained. She said she would call me up after two other ladies because she knows what competition they would pick."

     Lady Sif turns forward to look at Loki. "Assuming she gets dagger throwing, it will be down to you to win. Are you up for it?"

     Loki raises his eyebrow at her and swallows. "Why would I not be?" A dagger appears in his hand and he smiles a small smile. "Shall I perform a quick demonstration?"

     Lady Sif rolls her eyes. "Save it for when you actually practice and for the competition. This little Valkyrie's first kiss is at stake."

     Loki's cheeks turn pink and he takes a bite of his food without saying anything. Since he helped me with that problem, it's not a problem anymore but I don't say anything about that either.

     "He was actually going to let me watch him practice and start teaching me how to handle daggers after lunch," I say getting all excited about it again.

     Loki shakes his head. "How to handle a dagger, as in one single dagger. First, you need to master how to use one with both hands, and then, I can begin to show you how to use two at the same time."

     "You know, most people only master wielding a weapon with their dominant hands. That is just extra work for her before she can use two at the same time," says Lady Sif.

     "Yes, and most people are wrong." Loki looks at me. "And why are they wrong?"

     "People assume you can only fight with your dominant hand and therefore underestimate your skill. This gives you the element of surprise that can save your life and help you defeat your enemy," I say, remembering what he told me when I asked why I had to learn using both hands.

     Lady Sif's eyebrows go up and Loki smiles looking very pleased. I smile happy I can remember things he teaches me. Before we can say anything else, I see Queen Frigga stand up. The hall gets quiet again and she smiles at us.

     "I shall be calling each lady up one at a time so they can voice their choices. If you choose a competition that has already been taken, I shall ask for your next choice. Once we have gotten a competition name from all eight of you, you can leave the hall if you are finished eating. Tomorrow after those who went on the hunt come back, lunch will be served before we all adjourn to the grounds where the competitions will take place. I will announce the order of the competitions as we break our fast."

     Queen Frigga sits back down and Lady Sigrid calls out "Lady Eydis". Lady Sif snorts and rolls her eyes.

     "What's wrong? Do you not like her?" I ask.

     Loki stops chewing and looks like he's trying not to laugh. Lady Sif's face starts to get pink before she takes a deep breath.

     "She is one of those prim ladies who look down on women who are warriors because they run around and get dirty and sweat. Apparently, it is not "ladylike" and even riding a horse makes her wrinkle her nose in disgust because "horses smell weird". She also goes around flirting with Thor which makes his head even bigger."

     I've never heard Lady Sif talk this quickly and I've never heard her talk about anyone like this before. Loki still looks like he's trying not to laugh and Lady Sif takes another big breath. Lady Eydis sits back down and Lady Sigrid calls out someone else right as Lady Sif starts whispering again and I miss the name.