Word of the upcoming ball spread throughout the entire kingdom like wildfire. It was all your friends in the kitchens spoke about for days. Of course, you all knew that the closest you'd get to going would be making the food that the guests got to gorge themselves on during the banquet. Sadly that knowledge did little to fill the void you all felt.
That all changed when, out of the blue, less than a week before the ball, Odin made the most extraordinary of announcements.
Squashed into the palace courtyard with practically every other servant and non-noble in the whole of Asgard, you waited with baited breath to hear what the king had to say. Everyone was nervously muttering to their neighbours, trying to guess the nature of the grand announcement.
The moment that Odin stepped out into view, holding the hand of the beautiful Frigga and followed closely by the two princes, the crowd immediately fell silent. Falling to your knees in respect for your royals, you felt your gaze wandering to where Loki stood. You couldn't help it. Dressed in his most formal wear - all those layers of unbelievably well fitted black and green leather - he simply took your breath away. When his gaze met yours you instantly looked down, embarrassment at being caught staring so openly bubbling in your chest.
"It has come to my attention," Odin began, his voice booming around the courtyard. "That you, my people, are disappointed in being unable to attend the coming ball. That perhaps you feel unworthy or beneath the lords and ladies of my court. This is untrue. As a gesture of my goodwill to my subjects, I have commanded extra accommodations be put into place to allow a proportion of you to attend also. There shall be a random draw tonight to determine who may join your princes in the festivities."
A wave of hushed - but unbelievably excited - murmurs spread through the crowd as the people decided if this was real or not. Normal citizens being invited to a palace ball? Surely not! Never in the history of Asgard had such a thing happened. As strong a king as he was, Odin was rarely one to show such overwhelming concern for what the kingdom thought.
Your eyes once again drifted to Loki, who you realised had been watching no one else but you this entire time, and you suddenly understood. This had not been Odin's idea at all. Loki must have recalled how bitter you'd been about only the gentry being invited to the ball and somehow he'd convinced his father to change that. Still maintaining eye contact with the dark haired prince, you bowed your head in thanks before allowing yourself to be carried by the dispersing crowd.
***
"Thank you," you said, the moment that Loki joined you in the kitchen the next day. He didn't say anything, simply took his spot by the window and let his gaze wander outside. Needing the prince to understand how grateful you were, you continued, "You don't realise how many you made happy yesterday. The entire household hasn't stopped talking about how generous a gesture it is. It will change the lives of many, you know. People like us don't get chances to mix with the upper class. Not like this. Not where we'd be seen as equals."
"People like you?" Loki's gaze burnt into you, so intense that if you didn't know better you'd have thought he was angry. He wasn't angry, of that you were sure. But he was clearly upset that you saw yourself and those around you as separate from the nobles. "Your station should not define you. You are worth far more to me... Far more to Asgard than any of the lords and ladies that grace the palace halls with their presence."
Noticing how he stumbled over his words, you gave him a soft smile and began chopping the next batch of potatoes. Feeling more free to speak your mind when you weren't looking directly at Loki, your grip on your knife loosening slightly as settled into the rhythm of the job, you said, "I know my worth. I believe I am as deserving as the next person but that does not mean life is fair enough to give it me."
Loki didn't reply for a while, instead just sat reading some new book from the grand palace library - one you'd never been allowed to enter. Eventually, the prince got bored and asked, "Did you get an invitation to the ball?"
"You know the answer to that already. I assume I have you to thank for it?"
"Well, it was your idea to open the ball to all the people. It seemed only right that you were granted an invitation."
Keeping your eyes low, you suddenly became very engrossed in peeling the potatoes. So quiet that you were surprised he even heard, you breathed, "Thank you, Loki."
"Y/N, look at me." Even with the relaxed friendship you had with him, Loki was still your prince and there was no way that you would refuse a direct order, especially when there were others nearby. You knew that, even though they pretended not to pay your interactions with Loki any attention, they were listening out for any morsel of gossip. "Tell me why you've been avoiding my gaze."
Putting the knife down, you walked over to where he sat and stopped an appropriate distance away - as close as a servant would ever be expected to come to their royals. As you'd noted before, there were a lot of eyes turned towards you right now and the last thing you needed was for someone to berate you for breaking protocol. "I'm sorry. I gave my invitation away. I really appreciate that you made sure I got one - especially when you didn't need to go to the trouble for me - but my sister deserved it more."
You suddenly shivered as the air turned cold around you. Loki swung his legs around so they were dangling off the window ledge and patted the space beside him. Catching your frightened glance around the kitchen, the prince smirked and said, "Do not worry about them. What they can see is an illusion. They will see only what I want them to. You may move as you wish, although I would very much like you to join me here."
"Need I bring my knife?" you asked, narrowing your eyes slightly at the thought that there were now no witnesses to dissuade the prince from doing whatever he wanted. You knew better of him but that niggling distrust of nobles was not easily overcome.
Loki chuckled, shaking his head in exasperation. "You have made it perfectly clear what should happen if I overstep your boundaries, Y/N. I swear on my honour that I mean only to talk. For the sake of my hands, I shall keep them to myself."
Taking his word to be true, you perched yourself on the window ledge by the prince's side. As you made yourself a little more comfy, resting your back against the wall and drawing your legs underneath you, you began to understand why Loki would come and sit down here day after day. This was a surprisingly comfortable place to sit and watch the world pass.
"Y/N, are we not friends?" Loki asked, when you finally stopped wriggling about. The worried lines on his face softened when you nodded and he continued, "You must know that you have - surprisingly - become one of my most trusted confidents. And you have spoken freely to me on multiple occasions in the past. Sometimes far too freely, if truth be told. But that aside, I must know why you thought I would be angry about this."
"I don't know. I thought maybe you'd be upset that I gave my invitation away after you went to all the trouble of getting the king to allow we common people into the ball and then making sure my name was on the list. I don't know why. I'm sorry. I was being stupid. I wanted to go. Honestly, I did. I wanted to be there to help you through it all but my sister... She's a seamstress, you see. And she's just had another child. If she doesn't get some new patrons soon then she won't be able to afford to look after her family and I thought that if she went then she could impress some of the lords and ladies and..."
"Breathe," Loki said, stopping you from rambling any further. Holding back a smile at the utter ridiculousness of your fears, the prince patted your knee and sighed, "How could I be upset with you, Y/N, when you'd do something so selfless for your family? You truly are too good a woman for this world. I will personally introduce your sister to a handful of potential patrons."
"You really don't need to do that!" you exclaimed. "That's not why I told you at all! You owe me no favours, Loki. I honestly didn't mean for you to..."
"Y/N," he interrupted, again. "It is no hardship."
"Thank you so much," you said, pulling the prince into a hug. The moment you realised what you were doing, you pulled away, running a hand through your hair and apologising immediately. "I'm sorry. That was inappropriate."
Loki responded by pulling you back into another embrace, refusing to let you go until you finally relaxed in his arms. "Stop holding back because protocol dictates you keep a distance from me. Stop apologising. It's becoming tiring. I don't know how else to make you understand, Y/N. You are more than just a companion with whom I pass away the hours. Our conversations are the highlight of my day. You are insightful, have a bigger heart than is good for you and - at least most of the time - display more tact than the entire council. You are my closest friend here and I will never be offended if you decide to act like it. Understand?"
You nodded, a warmth settling in your chest. You couldn't ignore the fears that others would seek to reprimand you for your friendship with the prince but knowing that Loki thought you so dear helped bury them deeper in your mind. "I really would liked to have gone," you told him. "If not just to see you stepping on the feet of all the fair maidens wanting to dance."
"Oh, of course you're coming," Loki said as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. "You shall be my personal guest and stay by my side to ward away the tiresome hoards. I can think of no one better to keep me company through such a dull event."
"You will still have to dance with most of the kingdom," you pointed out. "I am not brave enough to step in the way of the king's great match making plans. And you never know, you may find the one you wish to marry after all."
"Perhaps." The prince smiled, although you both knew it was forced, before rising to his feet to leave. "I was warned by your troll of a head cook that I am not allowed to visit tomorrow as you'll be far too busy preparing the feast for the ball. So, I shall suppose I shall see you there. You have a gown to wear?"
You nodded. Your sister had, many years ago, made you the finest of dresses as a birthday present. Layers upon layers of blue silk, covered in the most stunning gem work so that they shone in the light like a million tiny snow crystals. It had never been worn - you'd never had reason to wear something so grand - but you knew it would be perfect for the ball.
Loki took your hand and kissed your knuckles, as he did after every visit. "Until then, my lady."
"My prince," you said with a curtsy. As he went to leave, you caught his hand, barely brushing your fingers past his, and whispered, "Thank you, Loki. For everything."
"Anything for you, Y/N."