"I had done wrong

You build your tower

But call me home

And I will build a throne

And wash my eyes out never again."

-"Lovers of the Light"

Loki sucked in a deep breath, long legs striding into the stables as the sun broke over the horizon. He had gotten up earlier than most of the mortals, needing time to gather his bearings once more before heading out to train. In a way, he also just wanted to see the prize of a horse that he would be riding on this fiasco.

"Morning, Joey," Loki murmured, letting a long-fingered hand slip up to pet the beast's nose. "Thought I'd come saddle you up myself this morning."

Joey pawed at the ground, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he watched Loki come closer. "I've made a wager that we'll be beating that snide Major Stuart in our ride this morning," Loki said with a grin, speaking quietly so the horse wouldn't spook. Loki could not explain the strange connection he had always felt with beasts such as this. He supposed a lot of it had to do with the fact that while animals had their own personalities, they also couldn't ruin their charm by speaking.

"We'll show them, won't we, My Bonnie Boy?" he said with a grin, the pearls of his teeth flashing in the dim air.

*o*O*o*

The metal of the cavalry sword glinted in the early morning light, smoke from cannons to mimic a battlefield setting settling low over the dew studded moor. Anja took in a deep breath, calming herself and Quicksilver with a bit of magic. Her glamour spell was in place again, and she knew that she was ready for whatever lay ahead.

"Out of the way, Lad," she heard one of the men next to her say quickly as a man on a great black horse trotted past her, sword already drawn and moving to the front of the line.

"That was the major," Charley Waverly said to her as his own white horse made it to stand beside her. "Trust me, you don't want to get on his bad side. That man is terrifying when he's angry."

Anja raised an eyebrow, appraising the major as he pulled his horse up next to Loki and Joey. For some reason she doubted Jamie Stuart would succeed in scaring her. Mortals had never truly scared her. She knew she had the upper hand with her magic if anything went in a way she did not care for.

Her tongue pressed to the inside of her front teeth as she focused in on her aura, ensuring her strength would hold fast for the duration of the morning. She could make out the image of Loki and Jamie in front of the troops, and her eyes widened as Charley motioned for her to follow him to stand next to them. She did as she was told, saddling up next to Stuart with a gleam in her eye.

"I'll be waiting for you three at the Duke of York," Charley's voice said rather loudly as the four of them backed into the ranks.

Anja could practically feel Major Stuart bristle at that, but he simply drew his own sword.

"Draw! Swords!"

That was Loki giving the order to prepare to attack…

She did as she was told, aiming the heavy weapon out in front of her in the form she had been trained to hold. Gold and silver gleamed in the morning light.

"Charge!"

*o*O*o*

Loki could not remember feeling such a rush in all his life. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rushing through his all too mortal body, or perhaps it was the knowledge that he was beating Jamie Stuart to a pulp with the talent that Joey possessed as he charged for the target.

He had left Anja, or Andrew as it currently was, back with the others long ago, charging ahead.

Joey torpedoed forward, sending both rider and horse at a break neck pace towards the little blue circle that Loki needed to get his sword through to win.

*o*O*o*

Anja fought desperately to keep from coughing as the smoke from the cannons gathered in her lungs. Quicksilver bobbed up and down between her legs, and she tried to use magic to ease the pain each time her thighs met with the leather of the saddle. She had ridden many a time back at the Academy, so why was this so hard on her now?

As she broke from the smoke, she was able to make out Loki's figure passing Stuart's on the home stretch. In a matter of seconds, his sword had passed through the target, spearing it in significance that he had won.

Then she felt the rhythmic up and down of her horse's running falter slightly as one of the infantry men fired a canon in the distance… and the ground shot even farther away from her line of sight as Quicksilver reared backwards. Anja had been told the canon fire would be from shooting blanks to get the horses ready for battle, but obviously Quicksilver did not approve. The next thing she knew, her body was flying through the air and she had landed on the soft grass of the field.

She looked up at the blue sky for a brief moment before the sound of the horses that had been behind her registered with her. Her gaze shot back in the direction of the oncoming horses before she rolled over, hands coming up to cover her head. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and disappeared into her mist state.

Her use of magic did not register with her until the men had passed. Quickly, she re-solidified in the grass, resuming her prone position as one of the field nurses ran out to check on her.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The mortal girl couldn't have been older than Anja looked and she nodded her head as she tried to get up. Her head was spinning as the smoke around her cleared.

"We thought for sure you'd be trampled," the nurse said. "It looked like that last horse ran right over you."

Anja bit down on her lower lip, reaching over to grab her cover as it lay in the grass… before a sharp pain shot up and down the arm she had moved. She let out a gasp as she looked down at the covered arm, realizing too little too late that she had most definitely injured it.

*o*O*o*

"Nice of you to turn up," Loki replied with a triumphantly arrogant smile towards Jamie.

"He's got speed," Major Stuart's voice said as he came up to where Loki was standing with Joey. "I'll give him that. But has he got the stamina?"

"He has everything," Loki shot back, a playful smile on his face as he taunted the mortal. The blue of his medal was quite a welcome sight at the end of his saber and he did little in an attempt to hide it from the major's jealous gaze. Oh no, Loki was not above taunting mortals. It was something that he had grown up loving.

Loki looked back towards where the rest of the recruits were, but wavered slightly as he found that while he could see Charley, he did not see Anja- Andrew.

Charley rode up to the pair of men, a slight look of panic in his brown gaze. "Andrew's fallen off his horse," Charley said quickly. "The nurses have him in under the tents, but they think he broke his arm."

Loki's pupils constricted as panic shot through him. It was all he could do to remain where he was. On the outside he was calmly seated upon Joey, but his insides were boiling. That damned woman was going to get herself killed…

Jamie looked over at Loki for the briefest of moments before turning back to Charley. "Will he be able to ride within the week?"

Charley shook his head. "I don't know, Major," he replied. "The nurses were taking care of him when I came to tell you."

Jamie nodded. "Well, accidents happen in training. Better here than on the battle field, right, Jim?" Stuart said as he directed Topthorn back towards the stables.

Loki had turned his green gaze to the tents, stowing his blade in its hold at the saddle. He didn't answer at first, too lost in his own thoughts.

"Jim?" Charley said quickly. "Are you alright?"

Loki snapped his head back around to his two mortal companions. "Aye," he said quickly. "I think I'll go check on Lieutenant Raeburn though."

"Ah, Jim. The lad'll be fine. The nurses just have to tend to his wound.

Loki pressed his lips together in a fine line before nodding. Anja had brought it on herself. Let her deal with the consequences. He would check on her soon enough.

*o*O*o*

Anja made her way down the hall that led to the officers' offices, cover tucked under her good arm and boots clicking along the wooden floors. She rapped lightly on the closed door, waiting on the man she knew to be in there to permit her to come in.

Her right arm was in a sling. Despite the gruesome injury she had sustained, she had been able to heal it with her own means once the mortal nurses had stopped flocking around her. The sling was just for show.

"Come in."

She smiled softly at the cool voice that answered, and she realized idly that she could hear the slow drawling of a man's voice on a phonograph from the depths of the room. It was late evening at this point and sunlight poured into the small office that had been given to Loki.

He didn't look up as she made her way inside the room. It was hot and stuffy, but she paid it little heed as her gaze landed on Loki's mortal form. "I hear congratulations are in order, Captain," she said playfully, walking in to stand in front of his desk. She caught the reflection of her glamour spell in the mirror that was across from his desk, and she smiled.

"And I hear a good thrashing is in order for you, Lieutenant," Loki replied calmly.

Anja arched an eyebrow, ignoring what he had said as she looked down at the beginnings of a drawing. The unmistakable eyes of Joey looked back at her from the paper and she bit down on her lower lip. "I didn't know you could draw like this," Anja murmured, tilting her head to the side. She set her cap down on the desk as she stayed across from him.

He pressed his lips together in a fine line, a long, slender finger shooting down to run over the graphite. "What happened to your arm?" he said quickly, looking up at her finally.

Anja shrugged, licking her lips before plopping down in one of the chairs across from Loki's desk.

"Anja. Tell me."

Anja studied Loki for a time, shaking her head and running a hand through her shortened hair before answering. "Quicksilver spooked," she said after a moment of deliberation. "I… I couldn't hold on."

"Ah," Loki murmured, looking back down at the desk. "You do realize you are insane, I hope," he said after another moment.

Anja's silver gaze widened at that as she reached into her breast pocket with her good hand. Loki's nostrils flared as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and proceeded to light one right in front of him with her good hand, balancing the white roll of paper in between her front teeth as she did so.

"And you do realize you are only mortal," Anja shot back. "I saw you tearing through those ranks today as if you had nothing to lose." She drew in on the cigarette. She hadn't ever tried one and she resisted the urge to cough. She had thought it would be good fun to mess with Loki in such a manner with something that only a mortal would succumb to.

Loki shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What if that-" He nodded towards her sling- "had been your neck?" he replied. "Magic doesn't heal all things. Especially not when the only wielder currently in the realm is unconscious."

"Loki," Anja said warningly, letting the smoke exhale from her lips. "You can't protect me forever."

His mouth twisted into a strange expression before he looked back down at the paper in front of him, but before he could say anything else Jamie Stuart came through the doors. Anja stood up as he entered, waiting on him to address her before slipping back into her seat. It was a procedure that all militaries she had ever observed used, standing for a higher ranking officer when he came in the room.

"Afternoon, Jim," Jamie said, nodding towards Loki before he looked at Anja. "Lieutenant Raeburn, is it?" he said, looking her over.

Anja nodded, hoping her glamour spell wouldn't slip under pressure. "Yes sir," she replied in as deep a voice as she could manage without sounding silly.

"Medical says you'll be able to ride tomorrow. Just a sprain, am I correct?"

Anja nodded. "I'll be ready, sir," she replied evenly.

"Good," Jamie said. "If there's one thing I can't stand it's a man who backs out of a fight over something little." Anja fought the urge to furrow her brow at that before Jamie turned back to Loki. "What have you got there?" he said, indicating the paper that Loki had.

Loki glanced at Anja before looking back at his drawing. "I'm writing a letter," he replied evenly.

"With a picture in it?"

"It's to the boy who owned Joey," Loki said. Anja smiled slightly at that, leaning forward to extinguish the cigarette in an ashtray before she sat down again. "I want to show him how wonderful he's looking."

Anja doubted she would ever know exactly what to expect from Loki. Here he was, writing a letter to a young mortal in an attempt to make him happy. She sat back in her chair as Jamie spoke with Loki of strategy. It was all quite interesting, the way the days were planned out around here.

"4 a.m. start tomorrow morning," Jamie said, taking a sip of brandy from the glasses and canter that were perched on the edge of Loki's desk. "I want all men that are not required to go in bed by 9 pm, but we'll have to go to that officer's farewell this evening. It's just in town, some sort of pub."

"Did someone say a pub?" Anja's silver gaze shot up at the sound of Charley's voice as the lieutenant entered the room. He was sporting his cover indoors, and she tilted her head to the side as he made it to stand next to Jamie. He nodded at her before turning to face Loki.

"Yes," Jamie said. "It won't take long but-"

"I quite like the sound of that," Charley said quickly. "Perhaps we'll meet some girls, eh, James?"

The smile on Loki's face was positively shit-eating as he looked back at Charley, but to the mortal Anja was certain that it was just one of excitement. "Yes, Charley, perhaps we shall." He looked back at Anja with a grin, as if to say, "what will you do about it?"

Anja simply smiled sweetly back, shrugging before looking out the window.

Jamie rolled his eyes, turning away from the two before heading out of the room towards his own quarters. "What about you, Raeburn?" Charley said. "Will you be joining us?"

Anja opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. She knew Loki was waiting on her to say yes, but instead she looked back to him with a grin of her own. "I'm not sure, Charley," she said. "I may need to rest my arm." She cut her eyes back to Loki, knowing he would want her to come along on this. It wasn't a battle, after all, and she was certain that he would want someone other than a mortal to talk to.

She heard Loki let out a little huff as he rolled his eyes behind Charley's back, turning back to his drawing.

"Well, that is honorable, Andrew," Charley replied with a grin, looking back to his cap. "Wouldn't want you to get too tired, now would we?"

Anja smiled back, reaching for her cover as she rose.

Charley turned to look in the mirror, readjusting his cap. "What do you think of the new cap?" he said with a grin. He turned back to the chair Anja had been sitting in, slipping down into it as she went to look out the window. Loki arched an eyebrow, and Anja knew right then and there the silvertongue was about to do its work. "Silk lining," Charley said. "I quite like it."

"I don't think it will make much difference to the Germans," Loki replied.

"You never know," Charley replied. "They may take a great stock in silk. Perhaps they'll be thinking of who to shoot and realize I'm wearing quite a stylish cap. Might cut me some slack and shoot another man instead, eh?"

Anja crossed her arms, fighting a smile as Loki glanced back up at her. "Or alternatively think," Loki said, green gaze cutting back to Charley's. "I fancy that cap and kill you first of all."

Anja closed her eyes, shaking her head as she fought the laughter that threatened to surface as Charley went quiet.

"Didn't think of that," he replied, tossing the cover onto the table in front of him.

Loki licked his lips, looking back down at the drawing.

*o*O*o*

Anja smiled to herself as she slipped through the darkened woods. It had been quite the evening to say the least. After she had gotten back to her rooms, she had waited on her roommate to leave before launching into her plan.

She had heard about the officer's farewell earlier that day- just after she had healed her arm, in fact. She grinned to herself as she cut through the darkness towards the stables. Her glamour spell was gone, her uniform transformed into a simple green dress. Her now long dark curls were pulled back part of the way from her face. It was the height of Midgardian fashion, and she knew she looked stunning… even if she would tower over the rest of the women.

Bah, it wasn't the women she would be associating with anyways.

She couldn't wait to see Loki's face when she showed up like this. He was in for quite the surprise. Her injury had proven to be quite a good alibi to get out of having to show up as Lieutenant Raeburn, and she was thankful that- if only for a night- she would be able to act as herself before the troops moved out in the morning.

With a final smile, she stopped in the middle of the clearing she had been heading for. She closed her eyes, honing in in her abilities, before teleporting straight to the inn that she wanted to go to.

Thanks for hanging in there, guys! I am honestly trying to update stuff but school's winding down and taking up a lot of my productive time. I'll be updating something soon though, I promise!

In the charge scene of the movie, if you look to Jamie's right when James is calling to "Draw Swords," there is a smaller looking guy with dark skin. Maybe I'm imagining things, but it looks pretty darn close to our friend Lieutenant Raeburn ;)

Oh, and happy April Fool's day! I'm sure a certain trickster loves this day ;)

Review if you liked it. Also, who is looking for smut in this? My dirty mind has an idea, but I don't want to offend anybody…

-Sirius