The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training || Loki x Reader

Chapter 16

He's eating breakfast with you. Holy - he's actually eating with you. Not you personally, of course, but still - he's sitting at the head of the dining room table, opposite Lady Amara (who's positively beaming at this development), Rosa and Lexi on either side. You sit next to Lexi, trying your best to be inconspicuous. So far, you think you're doing pretty okay.

Of course, something has to come along and ruin it.

"So, Lady (Y/N)," Sapphire starts - you're all very much aware of the way you address each other in "His Majesty's" presence - that was some impressive dancing you did last night."

You freeze, a forkful of pancake halfway to your mouth. "Thank you?" You feel Lady Amara's gaze burning into you from the other end of the table, and you lower your fork to the plate hastily. "I, um, had an excellent partner, of course." You wince internally. You'd meant to avoid tension by moving the attention to Loki, but you sound like you're bragging about the fact that you were the first one he'd danced with. "I mean - "

"You really were wonderful, Your Highness," Sapphy chimes in, and you heave a sigh of relief. Bless her. "You were just - oh, my God!"

A servant has tripped, nearly spilling coffee on her. He regains his balance, but an empty cup on the edge of his tray falls to the floor, shattering upon impact. The room falls silent as he scrambles to clean the mess.

"Stop."

The silence intensifies, if that's possible. The servant looks up at Loki with a mixture of fear and terror. Your stomach twists just watching him. "Your Majesty?"

"Come here."

The servant slowly leaves the mess on the floor and approaches him, head bent. Loki rises to his full height, looking even more intimidating than before. "I am so, so sorry - "

"Silence." The man obeys. "What is your name?"

"A-Albert, Your Majesty."

"You are dismissed. Permanently."

Did...did he just fire him for tripping and dropping a cup?

"Your Majesty?"

"You may go."

Albert falls to his knees. "Your Majesty, please. I need this job. My family - I have two young ones at home. Without me working here, they can't go to school, they can't - "

"Enough!" His voice rings through the dining hall, echoing off the far walls and high ceilings. And amplification spell, maybe? "I am feeling kind. Get out of my sight now, or I assure you, you and your family alike will regret it - "

"Are you serious?"

A quiet gasp arises from the ladies at the table, yourself included, as a new voice enters the fray. Everyone, including Loki turns their head to the source of the outburst.

Oh. Me.

"Lady (Y/N)?" Between his glare and that of Lady Amara, you're surprised you haven't dropped dead on the spot. "Would you care to contribute."

"I...yes, I would." You stand, but he's still solidly taller than you. Oh, well. "He didn't fall deliberately. It was an accident. You'd really condemn him and his family to poverty for something so small?" Your heart is racing a mile a minute, but you can't help but feel a sense of pride. I barely stumbled! Woohoo!

"Are you questioning my judgement?"

"I think that, in this case, your judgement is faulty, so yes, I guess I am. You're basing this man's future off of one misstep. A literal misstep. If you're planning on ruling over an entire planet, you're going to have to be a little more lenient than that."

At this point, the whole table is staring at you in horror, and you're beginning to think that this whole standing-up-for-what's-right thing may not have been the best idea. But it's too late to back down now. Loki remains silent for a moment, and you struggle not to break eye contact. After a few breathes, he looks away. "I think we are finished here. I will not be joining you ladies for lunch, but I will see you at supper. Enjoy your day."

There are a few beats of uncomfortable silence before Lady Amara springs into action. "Right. Breakfast is over, ladies! Remember, we have our afternoon lesson directly after lunch, but beyond that, the day is yours."

You and the others all rise, and scramble for the door. Loki storms off in the opposite direction, leaving Albert on the floor by his chair. Lady Amara, thankfully, doesn't call you out, but you imagine you'll be thoroughly chewed out in the afternoon. For now, though...as the last of the contestants and servants trail out of the room, you approach Albert. "Hey."

He backs away hastily, then moves back to the fallen teacup. "Lady (Y/N)!"

God, I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing that. "Do you need help?"

"N-no, I - " He lets out a hiss of pain, and you see blood on his hand.

"Oh, my God!" You crouch down and reach for his hand. "Let me see." He obliges. You're relieved to see that there are no shards of glass in the cut, which itself isn't too deep. You unceremoniously tear of a strip of your petticoat, and wrap his hand in it. "I'm so sorry. He shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I promise, you and your family will be all right. The job here is yours to keep." You don't even know if that's a promise you can keep, but you have to try. Besides, there are so many servants here - Loki is bound to forget about this incident after a while. The blessing of anonymity.

"Thank you." He's quiet when he speaks. "You're a nice girl. Remind me of my older one."

"Yeah?" You smile, thankful that he hasn't started crying or anything. You'd be at a bit of a loss as to what to do if that happened. "How old is she?"

"Nineteen. The younger one's eight. You're her favorite - she wanted to come see you off, but I didn't...I wanted her to stay home."

"You're from New York too, then?"

He nods again. "Queens."

"Wow. Is it hard?" You have to ask. You need to know if it's just you. "Being so far?"

"Pays better than anything I could have gotten back there."

"Right." The conversation comes to a lull. "Well, Albert - please, don't worry about this. You go take care of your hand, and I'll - I'll find someone to clean this up, safely. And tell your daughters I said hi." You want to offer to meet them, but somehow you don't find that likely, if he didn't want his younger one even coming to the send-off.

"Thank you, Lady (Y/N)." He cracks a smile, and warmth spreads through you. "You're a good kid."

When he leaves, you're left to clean up the mess all by yourself.

It's worth it.