Bibbidi Bobbidi Asgard: A Cinderella AU (Loki x F!Reader)

Chapter 8: Beware Friendly Warnings

"Indeed! I've heard many tales of your bravery," Fandral said, flashing that ridiculous smile of his before reaching for your hand and bringing it to his lips. "You are something of a legend among the household, my lady."

"You can flirt later, Fandral. We have work to do," lady Sif said, rolling her eyes at how the men could barely take their eyes off of you. As much as you wanted to say you hated it, you couldn't. Unlike the rest of Asgard's upper class, the warriors eyed you with great respect and friendly interest rather than seeing you simply as a beautiful woman to charm to their beds. That felt pretty great. It was no wonder that Thor held them in such high regard.

"Come, my friends. Sit." Thor gestured towards the large table and everyone took their seats, the atmosphere in the room suddenly a lot heavier. To the warriors, the prince asked, "Have you learnt anything more of Cinderella's origins?"

Although you'd hardly been expecting a breakthrough, your heart dropped in your chest upon confirmation that they indeed had nothing new to report. Thor immediately clocked your dejection and said, "Do not worry, Y/N. Whatever her intentions here, we will make sure that no harm comes to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," you mumbled under your breath.

"Very noble of you indeed," Fandral said, earning him another eye roll from lady Sif. "What? Honour and valour in a woman are by far the most attractive traits. You can hardly blame a man for..."

"I have seen her in the palace grounds talking to a few of the guards," you said, cutting that line of discussion off before it went any further. Still, you couldn't help but smile at Fandral's flattery and you knew he'd seen you blushing when he winked in your direction.

Much to everyone's amusement, it was Thor that winked back and when you'd finally collected your wits you explained, "Every day for the past week, Cinderella has left her room in the middle of the afternoon to wander the gardens. She always goes alone but there's a window in the servant's corridor that overlooks a usually hidden part of the grounds. Those parts of the gardens are supposed to be closed off, though. I don't know how she's getting out there without arousing suspicion."

The warriors nodded along, very interested to hear about your secret vantage point. "The whole southward facing side of the palace is servant's quarters. Most of the windows were shattered and boarded up after the attack but there are a few that are still intact."

"Would you recognise the men you saw her with?" Hogun asked, speaking for the first time.

You shook your head, apologising. While you'd been able to recognise the uniform of the guards, seeing them all the time around the palace, they had been too far away to notice any details about them. The only reason you knew for sure that it had even been Cinderella there was because of how distinctive her dresses were around the court - after all no one, not even Frigga, wore such audacious shades.

Despite Thor's reassurances that you had nothing to apologise for, you still felt bad that there was nothing more you could add to the discussion. Especially when it moved away from Cinderella and the warriors began to focus on the unrest in the outer villages. Your attention drifted, the defence plans of the kingdom feeling like something you really shouldn't be privy to.

"Oh!" you exclaimed, pushing your chair from the table with such speed that the warriors actually drew their weapons to fight of the invisible foe. Waving you hands in the air to calm them, you said, "I'm sorry, I've got somewhere else I need to be. I didn't realise the hour."

You bid farewell to the warriors and allowed Thor to escort you to the door, whereupon he whispered, "Do not do anything rash to anger Cinderella, Y/N. Until we can say otherwise, we should treat her intentions here as hostile. You must stay safe. Leave this to myself and the warriors. If she doesn't know you suspect anything, you will be far safer. Now, go and enjoy your evening with my brother."