The Verdant Prince

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Children bustled about heading every which way to the mentors who were spread out in a large circle. We needed as many mentors to vouch for us as we could.

I looked around carefully, I needed an open mentor or fairly open so I wouldn't have to wait forever.

Finally, I landed my eyes on a tall man whose eyes shimmered curiously. His hair shaved on one side, the other braided tightly into a ponytail. He was wearing the simple armor of a beastmaster. I walked over to him not caring what task he had as long as I could carry it out.

"You wish to try with me first?" The man asked, his voice deep but soft.

"Yes, no other mentor is open," I replied steadily. He chuckled and moved out of the way to show me what the task was.

"I want you to approach the beast and pet him." He said.

"That's all?" I asked.

"That is all." He replied before opening the wooden stall. Inside was a massive horse, his coat was heather grey and his mane in careful battle braids. I looked back to see the man leaning against the stall door his lips curled ever so slightly.

"Hey, there boy.." I said softly. The stallion immediately shrieked out and began jumping and grunting angrily. I moved forward trying to make small slow movements but the horse was rearing and I couldn't get nearly close enough.

Nearly ten minutes had gone by and I had made no progress. In fact, the damned beast grew more confident and was more aggressive towards me by charging at me.

"Alright, that's enough times up, lass." The man said he quickly unlatched the stall door and let me out.

I kicked the ground.

"What is your name, girl?" He asked.

"Y/N. My mother was Synu-battle maiden of the 5th Vanguard in the Fjord Wars." I answered stiffly. He simply nodded his head and waved me off.

^*^*^

By the time closing of the tasks, I was exhausted.

I had made a buffoon of myself sitting in front of Queen Frigga staring at my hands as if they were really going to do something magic.

I had to retell hundreds of stories for history, clean weapons, and armor, climb trees with only using my arms, pack up gear in mere minutes, and much more; just to win the favor of the mentors that I was beginning to dislike.

The long walk home was just a blur to me as I trudged on, shivering as the golden sun slowly set before me. I looked back at the Asgardian Palace.

A flash of green caught my eye and I turned all the way around. In the courtyard, both Princes of Asgard, Thor and Loki, were sparring. The mentors nodded and pointed, motioning to them every now and then. I nearly gasped when I realized what this meant.

The Princes were going to be two of the fifteen in training.

~*~

"How did it go, Y/N?" My father asked eagerly as soon as I had arrived home.

"I'm exhausted..." I sighed as a screaming Uthgard nearly took out my legs. I patted her head as she rambled on about what she did all day. I ate my supper quickly knowing I would need both strength and sleep if I was going to make it through tomorrow.

"Both Princes are going to be in it," I mentioned quietly as I took off my dusty boots and unbuckled my belt and satchel. Father nearly choked on his roasted boar. Uthgard jumped into the bed we shared and began humming to herself as she played with her dolls, not giving a care in the world.