New Character Name List
Trygve pronounced TRIG-ve, leather worker recommended by Lady Sif
"Good morning, little Valkyrie."
She looks up from her food and looks at Loki. He sits down next to her with his own plate of food. Lady Sif is sitting across from them and she nods at him.
"Good morning, Lady Sif." He smiles at her and she raises her eyebrow at him.
"You are in a suspiciously good mood this morning, Prince Loki. May I ask why?"
"I shall tell you why. I think I have thought of a way to bring our little Valkyrie back to life."
They both look at her and she is chewing slowly, not paying attention to them at all. Lady Sif's brow furrows as she watches her before looking at Loki again.
"I sure hope so. She seems to be retreating into herself, not really focusing on anything around her."
"I noticed that too. I hope I am not too late in reaching her."
He turns to her and nudges her arm. She looks at him but this is just a shade of his friend. There is no light in her eyes, no warm smile on her face for him, her eyes red from another restless night of bad sleep.
"I have a surprise for you."
She blinks at him but her expression does not change so he tries again.
"Did you hear me, little Valkyrie? I have a surprise for you."
She blinks at him again and he sees his words finally break through the fog that has been following her.
"A surprise?"
"Yes."
"For me?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
Loki smiles. "I did say surprise. We need to finish our breakfast first before you find out."
She takes another bite and chews a bit faster. Lady Sif and Loki glance at each other, a hopeful smile on their faces. Lady Sif raises an eyebrow before leaning forward.
"Do you think Loki will tell you if you guess correctly what the surprise is?"
They watch her perk up and look at them both.
"Give me a clue and I will try and guess. You know I am a really good guesser. I think it's because I read so much."
Lady Sif smiles wider as she takes the bait. They watch some of her old spark come back into her eyes, very faint but there. Loki decides to see if she will take the bait again.
"I did not agree to any such thing. You just have to wait and see what it is when we finish our food."
She takes a bigger bite of food and they watch the wheels turn in her head. She turns to Lady Sif and Loki begins to eat.
"He didn't agree but you could give me a clue. Just a tiny one."
Lady Sif chuckles. "I would if I could but I have no idea what your surprise is. Sorry."
She takes another bite of food then chews it quickly before looking at Loki again.
"What if I try and guess without a clue?" Loki shakes his head. "But that's fair. You can tell me if I guess and not tell me a clue."
Loki covers a laugh by coughing once. "I do not spoil surprises. You can wait a bit longer. You are almost done with breakfast and it does not take you long to change."
His best friend turns to him with narrowed eyes and Lady Sif cannot help but burst out laughing at her expression.
She crosses her arms together and pouts. "I have to change too now? You didn't say I had to change first before. Now you're just making things up so I have to wait longer for my surprise."
Loki feigns innocence. "I could have sworn I mentioned that the first time I mentioned your surprise. Did I not?" He pretends to think back and the little Valkyrie at his side sighs.
"Why can't I wear what I'm wearing now? This dress is fine."
"If you get your dress dirty, you will get in trouble and you know it."
She takes a savage bite out of the roll of bread on her plate and thinks as she chews.
"That's true. Mom will go on and on about how it's going to take forever to get the dirt off and then say I should've changed first. Then she'll say something about how ladies don't go off in their dresses."
Lady Sif nods. "Very true. Ladies throw a fit when you soil a dress and your mother seems to be quite the lady of a similar mindset."
"Ok, what do I change into then?"
"A riding outfit is fine. Or a training outfit. Something you would not mind potentially getting dirty."
Her eyes widen. "Ah-ha! A clue. So we'll be outside somewhere. Interesting. Oh. Maybe you'll finally teach me how to climb tall trees."
She turns to Loki with her eyebrows raised and he simply shrugs. She finishes the rest of her breakfast in silence, the wheels in her head turning as she eats. Lady Sif looks excitedly over to Loki and he nods once. Her disposition already a marked improvement from the zombielike daze she has been under since the day she got the news about her father. When she gets up to put her dirty plate and utensils with the rest, Lady Sif leans towards Loki.
"She already looks better. Not back to her regular self but definitely better. I will help keep up her spirits any way I can, Loki. I promise. She might not see me as a friend yet but you cannot help but love her."
Loki blinks in surprise. She has never called him solely by his name before which emphasizes her feeling behind her promise.
"Thank you...Sif. And I am sure she already does think of you as her friend."
She nods once at him with a small smile and their friend returns but stays standing behind the spot she vacated.
"I think I know what my surprise is. We're going on a long ride somewhere."
"I guess you will find out soon enough. I will wait by the entrance for you since I will probably finish here by the time you come back."
She sighs a long sigh and rolls her head to look at Lady Sif.
"Can you give me a clue now? Did he say anything while I was up?" Lady Sif shakes her head. "I don't see why I can't have a clue."
Loki clears his throat before turning to her. "Do you not know what a surprise is? I can explain it easily enough for you, you know. You just had to tell me you did not know."
"I know what a surprise is, Loki."
"It does not sound like it to me since you keep asking for a clue even after I told you I did not agree to give you one and that I would not spoil the surprise." He turns towards Lady Sif. "Am I alone in this? Did it sound like she did not know what a surprise is to you, Lady Sif?"
"Alright, alright. I'm going to go change already. Stop it."
Lady Sif smirks. "You know what? It did sound like she did not know what a surprise is now that you mention it."
The little Valkyrie moves her hands up in surrender. "I said I was going already." She turns to walk away but turns back around. "Are you going to sit with us for lunch, Lady Sif?"
"If you want me to, I will be here. Then you can tell me all about your surprise."
"Yes! See you at lunch." She walks off with more energy than she had when she first came into the hall.
"I am very curious now. What is your surprise?"
Loki leans forward and Lady Sif leans forward as well.
"I have arranged for her to pick out her very own horse from the new foals that were born a couple of days ago. I will also be talking to one of the leather workers so she can also have her own saddle."
Lady Sif's eyebrows shoot up. "That...is a great idea. She will absolutely love having her own horse. And her own saddle for that matter. You should go to Trygve. He is one of the better leather workers even though he is younger than the rest. He is naturally gifted and takes the time to add flourishes to his work without being asked to. He also tends to have less to do since most go to one of the older leather workers."
"Thank you for the advice. I will make sure to go straight to him then. Does he mind receiving an idea for the flourishes he adds?"
"I would not think so. He is more open to that as well. Not that you would have trouble getting anyone to do exactly what you want them to do since you are a prince."
She says it so matter of factly that Loki does not take offense. He takes a couple more bites of his breakfast as Lady Sif finishes her drink.
"You are a truly great friend to her. It is nice to see another side of you."