"Th... Thank you, Lord Odin." She curtsied so fluidly Thor almost imagined seeing her in a royal court. "I am not sure if I am available, but I sincerely appreciate the invitation."
Odin left without another word, and a tense silence fell between Thor and Elle.
She turned back to him. "What's next?"
He studied her for a moment. The way she stood at the ready. Her stance strong and balanced. "You've been taught to fight, haven't you?"
Elle swallowed, and her smile fell a bit. "Some."
"More than some, I think."
She shrugged.
"If you've been taught to fight, why didn't you fight back when the man grabbed you?"
"There is a difference between fighting off an attacker and defending yourself from someone you think means you no harm to begin with."
Thor nodded. "True."
"If you came at me intent on punching me in the face, or stabbing me with a sword, or trying to kill me, it would be different. Those are attacks I am used to fighting off. But... It's like you said. I should keep my shoes on because it helps me feel like I will when things happen to me. I was taught to fight, but only wearing fighting clothes. Only in one room. Only with one person. So, it didn't feel the same. When he put his arms around me, I wasn't trained for that, so I froze. Plus..."
"Plus, what?"
"He's mortal. Things are different on Midgard. I can't grab a sword without causing a lot of people, including Lady Frigg, who has done so much to help me, a lot of problems."
She wasn't wrong. Thor had learned that the hard way. His record with the Midgard police would be at least a dozen pages long if Loki hadn't helped.
"Show me," he said.
"Show you what?"
"What you've learned."
"You want me to fight you?"
"Sure. I'll go easy on you. And I promise not to use Mjölnir."
She chuckled. "What's the fun in that?"
Thor and Elle sparred for thirty minutes, and he had to admit how impressed he was at her skill. But more than the level of her skill was the technique she'd been taught. A technique he'd seen thousands of times before.
Thor walked to the fridge. "Where are you from?"
"You know where I live."
He opened the fridge, pulled out two bottles of water, and walked back to her.
"No. I mean, before that. Before coming to the Midgard and Helheim. Where were you before? You have to be an immortal or paranormal of some kind. It's obvious you are hiding from someone or someones. Are you another god? Greek? Roman? You don't look Egyptian or Asian. And your fighting style is Asgardian. Why is that?"
Elle's eyes rang with fear. She took several gulps of the water and sucked in a breath. "I'm from one of the nine realms."
"You're Asgardian?"
"Yes and no. My mother was a priestess. A sorceress, like your mother. In fact, they were friends for a long time, I am told. But my father was not Asgardian."
He studied her face, trying to see if any of her features were familiar. "Frigg knew your mother? How did we never meet?"
"It was quite a long time ago. I wasn't born yet, and when my mother... met my father..." She trailed off and sipped her water.
