Cleave | Loki x Reader

• III •

▪ a tutor or two ▪︎

1522, Asgard

Y/n

By the time I found myself lying awake in my expansive bed at four o'clock in the morning for the fourth time that week, Asgard had been my home for almost a whole month. Struggling under the weight of the thick blanket favoured by the Æsir in seemingly every season the year has to offer, I felt a sense of suffocation. Therefore, I definitely welcomed the noise jolting me up and out of this dreadful bed. Admittedly, I could have left my bed without any reason whatsoever – I'm fully aware of that – but trust me when I say, the Æsir aren't a people for equipping a nine-year-old's chambers with anything a nine-year-old ought actually enjoy fiddling with, or, Gods forbid, playing with. A golden miniature statue of my mother, positioned alongside Odin, wasn't exactly the kind of toy normal people would think of first, I suppose.

However, my chambers still offered the finest view of the training grounds behind the All-Father's palace, nestled amid a patch of woodland, providing the trainees with an enlivening quantity of shade from the blazing midday sun they usually had to perform under. Yet on that particular night, this lack of moonlight demanded an formidable level of concentration from me to discern who else remained as wakeful as I was. That it had to be one of the princes, I realised just moments after, considering that all the other young soldiers-in-training were prohibited from accessing the grounds after midnight.
Curiosity roused me – as usual – to venture out of my chambers as well, throwing on my Æsir combat gear that had yet to be worn. Tiptoeing across the palace's exquisite marble floors, which I from now on got to call home, it took me almost fifteen minutes to reach the fields just beyond the training grounds.

Approaching the shadowy figure, I discovered that it had been Thor who had been executing massive defensive maneuvers against a well-worn training dummy, oversized shield in hand. Taking even more cautious steps to avoid startling him into an accidental mishap that could have left me headless, I attempted to form my tone as moderate and even as possible when I hushed, 'Thor? Over here—It's me, Y/n.'
Hoping he'd notice me, I waved at him before stepping into the thin moonbeam, bleeding itself through the dense number of trees surrounding us.

'Oh, Lady—uhm, I mean Y/n. What surprise to find you awake and wandering the fields at this late an hour.'
'Yeah, well, it's because of you, actually.' His eyebrows shot up in a mix of shock and shame.
'Oh! No, no, you did not wake me up! I've been awake for hours. No, it's only that I heard noises coming from the grounds and decided to take a look at what, or who, might be causing them. Pure curiosity, is all.'
'But this means I indeed made too much of a ruckus! You see, I have yet to become accustomed to the back part of the palace being occupied. I am terribly sorry to have roused you out of your chambers this late, Y/n.' He took an attempt at a small bow but stumbled – likely from the hours of intense training prior to our conversation. Or perhaps simply because he's Thor.

'No, Thor, it's perfectly fine! Let me assure you that even if I had been asleep, I am quite positive that you would not have woken me.'
As the prince seemed to at last accept this, he returned a boyish smile, and an uncomfortable silence settled between us.
'Um, had you intended to use these grounds as well?' He gestured at my unusual attire as he made an attempt to break the silence.
'Oh, well, yes and no. The thought of visiting the training grounds must have subconciously influenced my choices.' I couldn't help the reddening of my cheeks. The moon did not do me any favours by moving it's thin beam on to my form, having previously been hidden in the shadows. 'That's how little sleep I've gotten these past weeks. My mind seems to be already playing tricks on me as a means of revenge, I suppose!' I attempted to laugh away the unease, but it only made me feel more foolish.