All cats are grey in the dark

Chapter Five

That evening, Eldrid draws herself a bath. 

As she lays soaking in the lavender-scented waters, she counts herself lucky. Her entire family rests in the halls of Valhalla but here she is among heroes mortal and immortal, on a mission to save the crown.

And yet, still, she cannot get one goddamn moment of peace.

"Lady Eldrid, I am hungry."

"Then eat something."

"I do not wish to eat in my room."

She closes her eyes, hoping and praying that her silence will send him away but to no avail. He continues to pester her until she rises from the silky waters, drys herself, summons her clothes and goes back into the room.

"May I not have one single moment of peace?" She cries, exasperated, at the smug man stood before her.

"If you are this easily exasperated, the time we spend together will be fun."

"Try me, I dare you." She growls at him before teleporting them to the kitchen.

They spend ten minutes there, Loki pretending to peruse the cupboards until Eldrid gives up hope that he is going to choose something and takes them back to their room. 

"Sit." She commands him. He doesn't. "Fine, you stay here then, I'm going to brush my hair." She heads back into the bathroom and sets about brushing out her hair. She combs over the knots, gently untangling them until her wet, blonde hair is smooth once more. Whilst she does so, she thinks.

She wonders why she actually did this. Why she chose to leave her life for a world that did her no favors and why she can't seem to let go. Every time she closes her eyes she thinks about home: her little hut just outside of the palace, full of small comforts. Home.

But, not only that, she thinks of Loki. She's always been a little afraid of him, never having met him all she had to go on was the stories she heard and the visions she saw and they were terrifying. Yet, since being on earth, she's seen another side of him. 

She's seen the way his eyes glint when he thinks of an idea, the small grin when he thinks she's not watching. She's begun to see the way he acts when he thinks no one sees, the way he curls up with a book to escape the storms that rage, how he cows his head at dinner but his thoughts run rampant. He is the most intellectual creature. By looking at him, one would not realize that he tried to wage war on Midgard and tried to steal the throne.

"Lady Eldrid, Lady Natasha has come to speak with you." Loki calls from inside their room. As she steps out, she sees the shit-eating grin on his face. He heard her thoughts.

"Lady Natasha, how can I help you?" she queries, pushing Loki from her mind but allowing a small smile onto her face.

"Please, if we're going to be living together just call me Nat." She smiles kindly. "We were going to go and train but we should probably assess your skills so that we know where you would be best suited for during missions so, do you wanna come too?"

"That sounds good, I need to get some energy out of my system. Only, what do mortal women wear to train?"

Natasha lends her some clothes and then tells them to meet her in the training room in ten minutes.

These clothes, they aren't at all what Eldrid is used to. She picks up the garments one by one, puzzling over them.

"It's called a brazier. Mortal women wear them over their breasts, it's much like your Stays." Loki tells her, now back in his customary position on the bed.

She mutters a thank you before putting on the clothes with a flick of her wrist. They fit strange. The trousers are clinging, yet stretchy, the top loose and the Brazier restraining. The shoes though, oh lord, the shoes were as though she was walking on clouds. She made a vow to suggest these to every member of the Asgardian army if she ever returned.

Tem more minutes sees them in the training room among the heroes. They are all dressed much as she is, in comfy yet non-restricting clothes.

"Hey, Eldrid."

"Sir Rogers." She nods at the captain and bows her head slightly. Though she may not be on Asgard any more, she cannot seem to drop the courtesies.

He grins slightly, "Please, ma'am, just Steve." 

This coaxes an even bigger grin from Eldrid. "Well then, just Steve, we came here to train, did we not?"

And that they did, each mortal hero takes their turn standing against her, all falling in due course but she always helps them up and they always admit defeat with a smile. When all have come before her, they stop, panting.

"Wow, you're good." Natasha pants, wiping her hands off on the stretchy fabric of her trousers.

"Well, yes, if I do say so myself." Eldrid answers, not one bit out of breath.

Steve puzzles for a minute and, for a few moments, Eldrid worries that she has bruised his ego in some way, that she has offended him for she knows how fragile mortal men can be. However, after a few seconds, his face breaks into a grin.

"We have to have you on the front line, you could decimate any enemies in mere moments! But... we've seen how powerful Loki is... perhaps you two could spar? We could see how strong your magic is as well."

Eldrid looks back at Loki who leans hunched against the wall. He rolls his eyes.

"Fine." he agrees.

Then, they spar. It's like watching some kind of dance, elegant, beautiful. Sparks of magic fly between them as they fight. 

The fight ends with Eldrid pinning Loki back against a wall. He cannot move. She won.

"Well done, love." Her face blanches slightly at the pet name but she smiles a little and answers.

"And you, my Lord."