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He'd been in his mother's library again and had managed to steal a book without being seen. Loki had decided he was going to spend the rest of the afternoon studying it. The spell on the pages involved writing your wishes on ink, but the strokes had to be just right.
It was a wish of will.
You could wish to be brave and it would make you so. A mediocre artist could wish for the perseverance to become the best and he would have it. If you wished to never forget a story, then this spell was just right.
Loki had been having strange dreams he couldn’t quite remember, but still feared.
So here he was, on the middle of the lake that was closest to the palace, ready to conjure his will. Perhaps a small boat didn't seem like the best place to practice this, but there was no wind for the water to dance. The peace of the lake will help him focus his magic, he was sure.
He might not share his mother's gift of sight, but anyone could have a premonition. He would be careful.
He would be good.
He began to write.
The moment ink touched the parchment, he realized he had sub-estimated his brother's interest in him.
______
Thor hadn’t been looking for his brother. He had been walking and distracted when he noticed he was close to the lake and the sun was up in the sky. The day demanded swimming and oh, look! Loki is there.
So, Thor decided he would swim to greet him.
The young heir to the throne was said to be the god of thunder, but now it was the sun that was shining on his skin while he took off his tunic and got in the water. He might like silver better, but he was Argard's golden boy. Beautiful and strong. Every maiden dreamed of him and every boy dreamed of following him.
Loki focused on his task and refused to spear him a look. Thor climbed up.
"Would you be careful?! I'm trying to work on something, don't sit close to me, you'll wet everything."
"Calm down. Why are you writing here if it’s so important? You could work in the palace." He made sure to accentuate the word sarcastically, for surely, his young brother wasn’t working, but playing and probably at something he shouldn’t be.
"I can't do this on the palace."
"And why not?" At the question, Loki finally looked up. A smile on his lips and mischief in his eyes. It was starting to become a regular look for his young brother and Thor will never tell him, but he found it endearing.
"I took a book I'm not supposed to. Mother says the magic is too advanced, but I think she just thinks me too young, instead of too weak.”
That comment made Thor frown. Surely, they should always listen to mother. Magic could be a dirty thing and his brother was indeed too young. However, his line of thought bothered him even more, he didn’t want to sound like father.
"You know, you missed Fandral’s cousin telling a story of the Valkyrie." He said moving to a safer subject. "He told us many centuries ago, there was a great beast shaped like a snake. It appeared right before dawn and it took children from their mother's breast. The people had tried to fight it, but every time someone tried the snake casted a spell that made that person succumb to darkness. Father decided such a beast could not be, so he sent the valkyries to slay it. The warriors, knowing of the beast's power, covered their own eyes for blinding themselves would be better than the blind despair caused by the beast. And that's how they had to fight." Suddenly, the prince stood up and posed as if he were holding a sword. Loki wondered if he would ever grow as big as his brother. He himself didn’t look like a warrior.
"They had to fight without their sight.” The prince continued, filled with excitement. “By the Norns, it should have been impossible! But Odin’s greatest army was so used to fighting, they had killed so many enemies that instinct took over and in every breeze of the wind they felt their enemy's intent." Thor smiled brightly under the sun and looked back at his brother. "They won, of course".
Loki found it to be another aggrandized tale and said it so, but he was ignored.
"You know, I've decided when I'm king, we will have valkyries again, they will be as glorious and adored as the ones that followed father." He felt strange talking about the future, but in front of just Loki, it didn't bother him too much. "Maybe I'll even become one myself. No reason a king can't be a warrior as well."
"Will you be becoming a woman, then?"
That made Thor stare at him, but Loki didn't seem to be mocking him. He seemed… curious, but serious, then he seemed confused by Thor’s expression and then...
"Thor! You’ve spent all these years obsessed with them… surely, you know."
Silence filled the lake.
Loki looked at the sky and then hit his forehead with the pal of his hand.
"Could you explain yourself? You're acting queerly."
"You feeble-minded fool, all the valkyries were women. They were all fair and beautiful and strong and very much female-only" He said this very quickly and it took another moment for Thor to catch up.
He truly hadn't known. He'd always heard the stories, and yes, most of the individual acts of heroism had been by women, but... now that he thinks about it, he'd never heard of one that was by a man. Still, only women? All of them?
Loki burst into laughter.
"Cut it out! Nobody ever mentioned it."
"They probably didn't want to embarrass you. Have you told the whole kingdom you want to be a female warrior?" He side had begun to hurt from laughing too much. Thor dipped his hand into the lake and threw water at him.
"Hey! my things!" Had been completely forgotten and now the parchment was wet.
"You deserve it for laughing at your future king."
"I wasn't laughing at my future king, I was laughing at my brother."
It made Thor smile.
At least until Loki decided to throw water right back at him which led to Thor trying to grab a hold of him, Loki trying to escape and both princes falling off the boat.
_______
A while later, while they were walking back to the castle, Loki remembered the reason he'd gone to the lake on the first place and he told his brother of the feeling of his dream.
"Don't worry, brother" He answered with a smile. "In my dreams, I have a feeling everything will work out just fine."