This time, I will save you

Little Miss Perfect

Loki was bored to death. Endless tea parties with Thor and his friends, and some other kids his mother had invited so "he would make new friends". Well, had they not been all idiots, maybe he would have. But they all were fools, drawn to his brother's golden aura, only pretending to be interested in Loki long enough to meet his older sibling. It was always about Thor, never about him, and Loki feared it would always be the same.

That day, the AllMother had announced a new pupil would join their classes. Great. Another moron to worship every foolish answer Thor would give, and try to humiliate him to get his brother's attention. Eir was giving them a lesson on healing magic that morning, so he knew no one but him would truly listen.

Was he wicked to want a friend of his own? Someone who would look for him first when they arrived in the classroom, wave at him, run to him, have nice conversation with him, chatting happily before the lesson, planning some trick or prank on Thor or on some poor unfortunate soul. How fun it would all be.

In his dreams, he had a friend, but he could never see their face clearly, nor hear the sound of their voice. It was like an echo from some far away lost timeline. He was not even sure if his friend was a girl or a boy or a cat, for all he knew, only that they were there for him, by his side.

But those were only dreams, and meant nothing. Here, in the cold real world, he was alone and feared he always would be, hidden in his glorious, shining brother's shadow.

The new student was a little girl with red hair and blue eyes. Eir introduced her as Sigyn Iwaldidottir. Strange. She did not look like a dwarf, though she was not very tall either. She looked at everyone in the room with a calm glance, and smiled when she saw him.

Oh.

Had that smile truly been for him?

No, he was probably mistaken. No one ever noticed him, why would she? Thor was already welcoming her, Sif just behind him, eying the new potential rival with caution. Was she afraid the Dwarf lady would steal her prince's attentions? Well, it was possible after all. It had never been the case yet, all the new children introduced being not as fierce as the Asgardian future great warrior. But you never knew. Dwarves were famous for their strength and their forging skills. Sigyn would probably become soon a favourite of Thor's little band of merry friends, while Loki stood on the side, alone.

Of course, it would be entertaining to see the chaos this friendship triangle would create. Would Sif make the redhead cry, or would there be a plot twist and would they see the wannabe Valkyrie's face drowned in tears? Maybe the defeated girl would end up looking at him not so condescendingly, and would accept his friendship, after Thor was busy elsewhere, out of their reach forever?

Would Loki truly accept being a second choice? Well, it was not as if he had the choice. No one would ever pick him first, so he would have to be content with Thor's crumbs. He had to accept it, though frustration was growing more and more in his young heart. He knew it was not Thor's fault, that his brother was good and kind at heart, though a little arrogant and reckless. He would not want Loki to feel left out, but he was. He would not have said it, always smiling and never complaining, seemingly happy with his lot. People didn't like Princes who complained. He knew he was privileged, but he also felt more and more like an outcast in his own home, in his own family. He felt he did not truly belong, and he had no one to talk to.

At least, he had something the other did not. Thor had his strength and his bravery, but Loki was still the smartest person in the room. Everyone agreed on this. He was intelligent and his magic was unmatched. They could not take that from him.

Well, of course, that was until that day.

From the first lesson, it was clear that new girl was a genius of some sort. She could answer easily any question from the teachers, and showed off her magical skills... much more impressive than his, he had to admit it.