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

Chapter 50

And so it comes to pass that you do return to the palace, after all. And it seems that people have taken notice. On Good Evening, America, they do a little rewind to some of the earlier moments filmed of the remaining contestants, and you're surprised to see this included:

"Now, I'm not going to lie, Ashley—I'd almost forgotten about Little Miss (Y/N). As the only teen left in the competition, I didn't think she was even old enough to be homecoming queen, let alone queen of an entire planet, but looking back, her interactions with the crowd at the train station really blew me away, let me tell you." Footage plays of you with that little girl, and you're shocked by how much younger you look on camera—was that really just a few years ago?—bending down to sign her notebook. "Isn't that sweet?"

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You'd be lying if you said you didn't fear things would be a bit awkward after your last conversation. But if anything, the opposite seems to have happened. Things are normal. Perhaps a bit too normal.

Like on your second day back, when he asks you for advice on a date with Irina. You must have stared at him for a full five seconds before shutting your jaw and thinking enough to give him a proper answer (horse-riding, of course).

You knew he considered you a friend, but this? Really?

And then the day after that, he invites you into his office for tea. And you find yourself wondering if this is maybe a date of your own, until you end up talking again about a date for one of the other girls. You wonder: is he trying to make you jealous? Or is he really just that oblivious?

Which option is worse?

There is a third option you've considered, which is that he's giving you room to consider...well, consider the capacity in which you want to stay in the competition. Which, to be fair, is very sweet.

But that means he's probably expecting you to make a decision. Soon. 

So, again: which option is worse?

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On top of that, the return to the palace has done nothing to improve your friendships with the other girls. If anything, it just seems like it's made them more conscious of the competitive element of the competition. Rosa's outfits are more carefully coordinated than ever, and she's perfected her already razor-sharp conversation skills. Rhea's previously motherly air has taken on an edge that makes her seem even more formidable than before. Irina hasn't changed much, actually—she keeps her head down and rides her horses and seems normal. But she's here, and that alone is enough of a statement that she, like the others, doesn't plan on going anywhere before the competition is done.

And you? You are determined to work harder than ever. Because if you're going to choose to be here, you're going to do this right.

(What is "this?" And how exactly do you plan to do it "right?" Unclear. But it's good to have a sense of purpose all the same).

Etiquette classes continue; and of course you attend. But you find yourself drawn more than ever to the library. You try to study the basics of a foreign language or two—for when you're no longer under the protection of a language spell. With some difficulty, you begin to reteach yourself the math and science you've missed or forgotten since high school. And you find that, if you mention an interest in a particular topic, a slew of modern books on the subject will appear on your usual corner table, neatly stacked, the next day. Computer science. Literary analysis. Ornithology, ichthyology, other "ologies" you've never heard of— you do your best to dabble in a bit of everything. In case, you know, you want to go to college. Once all this is through.