Choices

Chapter 5
Seraphina led in the midday sun letting it dry her off. She had, at one point, removed her underwear and gave them a toss to shore and now she lounged in the sand stark naked. Fandral was to her left doing the same and Sif was on her right. Cephera was still in the water splashing about, which was not unusual.
"You have to be fearless and confident in all that you do." Serpahina was saying to Sif. "If an enemy were to find you in a state of undress would you stand there trying to cover your body or would you ignore your nakedness and defeat him?" She asked turning her head to look at the blond girl who was still a shy woman. Seraphina was never a shy girl. She had no problem with knowing who she was or what she wanted.
"I suppose I would fight." Sif replied.
"Little moments like this you need to find that confidence within yourself and over time it will become second nature." Seraphina smiled.
"I agree Lady Sif. Perhaps we can come here again tomorrow, the three of us and we can practice." Seraphina sat up and cracked the back of her hand hard against the mans hip. He yelped in surprise.
"Don't be a pervert." She warned him.
"I was only trying to help," He said innocently, but she didn't buy it. She knew his type. The kind with the polite manners and the brilliant smile that made girls swoon. They were players and Seraphina had known her share of players.
"I will hit you again. I'll hit you so hard I'll leave a mark that the next girl you bed will ask about." She was looking down at him and he was glancing down to her chest.
"That sounds rather kinky and I'm willing to try new things." He flirted. Seraphina gave him a glare before turning her attention back to Sif.
"Know thy enemy as well. Depending on what you know it can make or break your battle." Seraphina told her reaching a hand behind her and trailed her fingertips down Fandral's side lightly. "Use what you know and make them putty in your hands." She watched Sif blush as Fandral sat up his length standing at attention.
"I feel I'm being slightly used here, and not in a way I'd prefer," He said with almost playful indignation. He got to his feet and left to join Thor and the others who were man wrestling in the sand, still naked. Sif laughed.
"I think he was embarrassed," She said.
"He'll get over it." Seraphina replied waving it off.
"You're not a maiden then?" She asked.
"Ha, hell no. Not since I was 16. Virtue is overrated. You could give the man of your dreams first crack and he could be fucking a different woman the next day. I say to hell with it and fuck the first guy that made my thighs moist and learn to use them instead of getting used instead." Sif looked somewhat startled by Seraphina's confession. "Look at my sister. She's never known a mans touch in any way. Not even a kiss. She chooses that, but as a result she comes off as childlike. She has never shown interest in it before. When men have approached her in the past she became a flustered fool. Sure she can talk to them fine, but once they make their intentions clear she shuts down. I like being in control of how I feel and what I do. If you want to become a warrior here, it will be difficult to get a man to take you seriously. Being in control of your own sexuality and your confidence will help boost you along in life." She shrugged. "At least that's my opinion."
"And what would your sister say on the subject?" Sif looked intrigued.
"Cephera would say that your virtue is something you can only give once. Give it to someone you care deeply for. Really if you like you could offer yourself to the man of your current desires." She turned her head to look down at Thor who had just thrown Hogun down into the sands.
"I couldn't," Sif said knowing right away what she meant.
"Why not. Even if you didn't get a relationship out of it at least you would have experienced something you want, with a person of your choosing. You'd always know you chose to give your 'maidenhead' to him no matter how many men graced your bed after. What's the harm is a little causal sex? As long as it stays discrete there is absolutely nothing wrong with exploring your inner sexual goddess." Sif was still shaking her head, but Seraphina could tell she was at least thinking on what she said.
"What do you mean 'maidenhead'? You say it like its a joke." Sif was still shaking her head.
"Well if your anatomy is like my own, which I suspect it is, it's bullshit that a girl NEEDS to bleed with her first sexual encounter. Bleeding occurs when you are not properly excited and lubricated before you're entered. Normally a man can't be bothered with such tasks as properly preparing a woman when it's his first time with her." Seraphina was half grinning.
"I didn't realize." She replied.
There was silence between them after that. Seraphina liked Sif. She had potential in her that drew Seraphina in. Seraphina had very few friends, but she'd like to have Sif as one. They held the same interests and Seraphina saw her as someone she could help out. Her modesty and shyness would have to go, but Seraphina could work with that. 'Are you corrupting her?' Cephera asked in her mind.
Seraphina smiled. 'I guess maybe a little.' She replied and smiled out toward the water were Cephera was shaking her head.
(Cephera)
Strange noises woke Cephera up late that night. She found her bed empty of her sisters presence and got up from bed. She wasn't worried about where he sister was, but she was curious as to what that noise was. It seemed to be coming from above her room somewhere. She walked outside in her pink coloured night gown and looked up. High above her was a balcony and she was sure the noises were coming from there. "Hello!?" She called up into the nothingness.
There was no answer. Curiosity would be the death of her someday. She ventured back through her room and out into the hallway. Her nightgown flowing along her legs as she walked briskly down to the end and turned the corner to find the stairs. She traveled up the stairs in a hop. Even at this hour she was feeling chipper. Their entire day had been spent at the beach until they moved back to the palace and to the coliseum where Sif learned a few training moves after a little bit of arguing.
Up on the next floor she passed many closed doors and as she came to the end she could now hear the noises she heard earlier. They were coming from another narrow staircase that spiralled up. She followed them all the way to the top to find a single closed door. A tower, she realized. The sounds were louder now and it was the sound of shattering and thuds. She knocked hard.
The sounds stopped abruptly and the door came open a moment later. Loki was stood in a casual tunic and pants. He looked ruffled. His hair slightly messy instead of the usual slicked back. "What do you want?" He asked her. She could tell he was trying to hold back his irritation, but he was failing miserably.
"I woke up and heard noises up here. I was curious as to what was causing them," She said.
"I am sorry to have woken you." He replied and literally closed the door in her face. Startled and annoyed Cephera knocked again. The door opened as if he had been waiting. "You should go back to bed." He told her.
"I can't. I'm wide awake now and as you're the cause you could at least satisfy my curiosity." She told him giving him the sweetest look she could muster. He looked at her before looking her over. With a sigh he opened the door wider.
"If you insist," He said and gestured for her to enter. She did so with no hesitation. Once inside she couldn't help but look around. A large desk just near the large oval window, tons of bookshelves on the curved walls filled with many books of all sizes, a fireplace on her left and a long table full of broken glass to her far right. The ceiling was very high up and graced with wooden beams. Cephera thought it might be fun to sit on them looking down.
"I like this room," She said more to herself than to him. He was no longer standing near her; he was now brushing the glass off the table into a large basket full of more glass. "What on earth were you doing?" She asked. He looked at her and gave her a contemptuous look.
"I was practicing my aim." He told her and said no more than that. Cephera eyed the table. Clearly the glass had been his aiming tools, but what was he throwing at them?
"How many glass items have you broken?" She asked approaching and looking down into the basket.
"I have lost count, but as many as I need to until I have perfected my method." He replied. His tone was cold and she could tell he only answered her to shut her up. She gave him a curious look tilting her head and putting a finger to her lips in thought. He sighed at her. "I will only demonstrate this once," He said to her clearly irritated this time.
He waved an arm and she heard him mumble something. Five empty glass jars of different sizes appeared separated with a nice bit of space. He walked back to where she currently stood and stretched his arms out to force her back a few steps. Loki bent his head down and closed his eyes concentrating. Finally, he chanted a quick spell and tossed, in quick succession, five ice daggers. He took out four out the five jars on the first try, growled and quickly took out the last.
Cephera was impressed. She knew how to use magic, but she wasn't very good. She had to work for her magic. She had the potential, but it didn't come to her as naturally as her sisters did. Although her sister's power was limited to the Mechanovian magic of manipulation of all things run by energy. Cephera wasn't bound to just a small assortment of spells. She could learn many and already had, but she was still learning. Finding teachers for the art that expanded outside the realm of Mechanova was difficult.
"Wow. That was great," She said giving a small clap and she got a glare in return.
"I missed one." He growled moving back to the table and cleaning up the glass.
"Yeah one out of five, big deal. That was great." Cephera didn't understand why he was being so hard on himself.
"Missing one means it was not perfectly delivered and so it was not great it was subpar." He growled again, but not so much at her this time.
"How long have you been practicing?" She asked taking in his ruffled look once more. He was defiantly a handsome man or boy. Whatever they saw him as here.
"I woke a few hours ago and have been practicing ever since." He didn't look at her as he spoke. He seemed to be brooding over his 'subpar' attempt.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You'll get it." She tried to soothe him, but he turned and glowered at her.
"Do not presume to tell me what to be. You do not know me." He hissed. He was moody this morning.
"I'm sorry, but to be fair you haven't given me a chance too. You don't seem to like myself nor my sister much," She finally said back, her feelings were hurt and she felt a lump in her throat at his outburst.
Loki snorted. "I've no want to waste my time on either of you. You hold no interest to me. I do what I have too to keep up appearance, but I am no babysitter." Cephera felt a small bubble of annoyance toward him build up. She set her jaw tight and looked him right in the face. His green eyes held only contempt and irritation toward her.
"You'll never get far in life with that attitude. If you bothered to get to know us you'd see we have much in common." Before he could respond she said the same words he had to summon his ice daggers to summon her own. She threw the single dagger at him. It caught his shirt near the shoulder and pinned him to the wall. She left the room feeling nothing but hurt and agitation toward the younger prince. He was arrogant and cold. Two things Cephera was not. She instantly regretted getting angry with him, but at the same time felt he deserved it.
When she finally arrived back in her room she found her sister still gone. Her sister was in a strange place missing in the middle of the night. That meant only one thing; her sister must be sleeping with someone else and most likely a male. Sighing Cephera climbed back under the sheets staring at the ceiling. The sun hadn't even broken the horizon yet and already she was having a bad day.

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