Down below

Chapter 9.

   Elianah was practicing spells the rest of the afternoon until the sun set. She was a bit hungry, but she wanted to avoid the crowd at the feasting hall. She knew by now what time to go to avoid the peak hours. When she entered the hall, she spotted Sif, Loki, Thor and Fandrall sitting at a table, so she headed over to them. Loki never came back and she was curious to find out if there were any news on the kidnapping.

'Good evening, everyone!' she smiled at them and sat next to Loki.

'Elianah! How are you doing today?' Thor asked her.

'I'm very well, thanks for asking. How are you?'

'We are celebrating Sif. She identified the wretched scoundrel that ordered the kidnapping.'

'Oh, wow! Well done, Sif.' Elianah told her. 'Who was it?'

'His name is Qhatsyr. We are still gathering intel on him.' Sif replied, but Elianah could sense some tension behind her smile.

'What's going on?' she asked her, thinking she was withholding information related to the investigation.

'Nothing.' Sif replied and drank from her cup.

'She's cross with us for ignoring her advice.' Thor chimed in.

Elianah could tell he was already in a merry mood based on the amount of empty cups in front of him. She looked at Sif who rolled her eyes.

'Because it's risky.' Sif said.

'What is?' asked Elianah.

Thor leaned over the table.

'We are sneaking into town to celebrate her wonderful results.' he said in a lower tone.

'Uhm...right.' Elianah said. 'Do you think it's safe?'

Thor and Fandrall laughed. She looked at Loki, who seemed completely uninterested in the ongoing conversation.

'Sif told us the same thing. We are the best warriors of Asgard. We can take care of ourselves. Have you been to town yet?' Thor asked her.

Loki raised his head, looking at his brother who grinned at him.

'No, not yet.' Elianah replied.

'Well then. You should come with us. We go out, show you around, have a few drinks.'

'I don't think Elianah is interested.' Loki added.

'She can speak for herself, brother.'

'Are you going?' Elianah asked Sif. She didn't want to be the only girl on a pub crawl.

'Of course she does.' Thor said, shooting a sly look at Sif. 'She is a member of the royal guards along with Fandrall. They will be our guardian angels.'

Fandrall let out a short chortle. Sif and Thor were staring at each other intently. Elianah could tell Thor was up to something, but she hadn't been outside the palace grounds yet and she wanted to see the town.

'I'm in then.' she said.

'That's the spirit.' Thor flashed a bright smile at her.

He told her about the sights of the town, then told funny stories about how he used to pull pranks on the costermongers with Loki at the market. Elianah listened to him reminisce while she was eating her dinner. She couldn't wait to go. Fandrall reminded Told that they should probably get ready and they got up and left.

'Do you have anything to wear?' Sif asked her.

'What's wrong with this dress?'

'It looks too fine, you need something less conspicuous. I'm sure Loki can conjure up something for you.'