As Thor and the recruits make it onto the rainbow bridge, they are suddenly greeted by a few of Thor's friends.
"Ah, my friends! Good to see you all." Thor says hugging a burly red haired man.
"Likewise. So, these are the children from Midgard?" A dark hair woman in battle armor asks.
"Yes, they are all skilled with their own set of powers." Thor says and turns to the recruits.
"Does anyone know who the four warriors are that stand in front of you?" Thor asks, all the recruits look back and forth from one another with wide eyes. All except Cora, who simply raises her hand.
"Yes, Cora?" Thor says, everyone moves away from Cora, but also turns their gazes to her. She looks around at everyone, but then takes a deep breath.
"It's Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Or when they are not in battle; Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun." Cora answers and points out each warrior as she names them.
"Very good, Cora." Thor says and turns toward Lady Sif and the others.
"This one seems to know much about Asgard already, and you have not even made it to the castle." Lady Sif looks at Cora and comments.
"She is very bright and reads about the different realms often." Thor says, complimenting Cora.
"Well, she will be a lot of fun to have around here, then." The short dark haired Hogun says.
"Yes, forgive me for being so abrupt. But, why are you all here?" Thor asks a bit of concern coating his voice.
"Odin sent us as soon as he saw you all were arriving. He wanted us to escort you and the recruits to the castle." The blonde haired Fandral says.
"Very well, then." Thor says and begins to walk toward a horse drawn carriage. The recruits follow in suit behind him.
"Alright, everyone hop in." Thor says and motions to the carriage, the recruits all get in, and Volstagg jokingly tries to squeeze in with the recruits.
"The carriage is for the new arrivals, only." Lady Sif says and pulls Volstagg away from the carriage.
Volstagg laughs and backs away from the carriage and mounts one of the horses at the front, Thor mounts the second just after Volstagg mounts his. Lady Sif, Hogun, and Fandral mount their horses and ride along side the carriage as Thor and Volstagg pull it with the horses down the rainbow bridge.
As the carriage is pulled down the bridge, the recruits all stare in wonder and take in the scenery around them. Once across the rainbow bridge and at the edge of the village, the recruits are greeted by villagers standing along side the path to the castle. As the carriage passes by, villagers wave in excitement.
"You okay?" Peter asks Cora, who is looking around intently.
"I'm having the strangest feeling of déjà vu. Like I've been here before." Cora says and keeps her eyes on the castle as the carriage approaches it. The carriage comes to a stop in front of the castle, Thor and Volstagg dismount their horses and turn toward the recruits.
"Everyone will be shown to their rooms. You each have your own, and once you are shown your room, you are to get dressed. All of you are going to be presented to his and her majesty's Odin and Queen Frigga. So dress appropriately." Thor says, then turns and enters the castle, the recruits all exit the carriage and follow behind Thor. Lady Siff, Hogun, and Fandral dismount their horses and follow behind the recruits. Volstagg on the other hand leads the horses back to the barn.
As the recruits walk through the castle, they all look around and take in the beauty of it. Thor stops just in front of a hallway full of doors. As he walks down the hallway, he says a recruits name as he points out each door.
"Derek, Sadie, Andre, Ruby, Xander, Olivia, Peter, and Cora." Thor says alternating each recruits name.
"As you can see, males on the left side and females on the right side of the hall, keep it that way. Now that you all have your room assignments, get dressed. We will be back shortly to take you all to Odin and Queen Frigga." Thor says, as he turns and walks away from the recruits.
Cora watches as the recruits-except Peter- all go into their rooms, as they all enter the rooms, they each gasp. Peter let's out a light chuckle as he watches the doors to each room close once the others are in them.
"Pretty crazy, huh?" Peter asks trying to make small talk.
"Crazy isn't the right word to even begin to describe this." Cora responds, and looks blankly down the hall.
"We should do what Thor said." Peter says and cranes his head toward the end of the hallway. Cora nods and begins to walk to the end of the hall. Peter keeps pace as Cora reaches her door. Standing in front of his door, Peter watches as Cora opens her door. Her eyes go wide, but she doesn't gasp. She closes the door behind her without looking back at Peter.
"Still can't believe this is real." Cora says to herself as she looks around the large elegantly decorated room.
As she further enters the room, she notices a box and an envelope on the bed. She goes to the bed and sits on its edge. Taking the envelope, she opens it to find a note inside.
'Welcome to Asgard! We hope your time here will be adventurous, and you discover who you believe yourself to be. Here is an outfit for your first meeting with His and Her majesty's.' The note reads, Cora sets the note and envelope aside and opens the box. Inside is a large piece of Navy Blue fabric. Pulling the entire thing out of the box Cora sees that it is a full length ball gown style dress, with a medium sized Tulle skirt, three-fourths length sleeves, and a faux corset top.
"This should be interesting." Cora says and changes into the dress. She pairs her own silver heels with the dress. Looking down at her bracelet, Cora debates taking it off. But, decides against the idea, she also tucks the amulet inside the dress. Going through her bag, Cora grabs her makeup case, and applies a natural look to go with the dress. As she clips her curly hair in a half up-half down hairstyle, a knock sounds on her door. Taking a deep breath, Cora goes and answers the door.
"Well, don't you look proper." Lady Siff says after Cora answers the door. Without thinking, Cora lightly takes hold of her skirt and curtsies to Lady Siff, who lightly chuckles.
"Dear child, you do not need to curtsy in my presence." Lady Siff says, and steps out of the way of the door, and gestures to the hallway. Cora nods and exits her room.
"Apologies, I guess it is my nerves acting up." Cora says as she looks around the hallway.
"Do not worry. Thor, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun gathered the others already. Thor thought it'd be best if I came and retrieved you. He believes you and I to be alike in more ways than one." Lady Siff says, Cora gives her a confused look.
"Us alike? I'm not sure what Thor means by that. I'm the one who causes destruction when I am near anything. And you, you are a great warrior who has won many battles." Cora says as she follows Lady Siff down the hallway.
"That may be true. But, I was once like you. Unsure of my true potential, not sure if I could handle my powers. But, I excelled in school and was top of my training class. No one dared mess with me once they saw what I was truly capable of." Lady Siff says and looks at Cora whose eyes are wide with wonder.
"You? The great Lady Siff were unsure of your powers?" Cora asks not knowing what else to say.
"I know, it is hard to believe. But, yes I was like that at one time." Lady Siff says as she rounds a corner and catches up with Thor and the others as they wait outside the great throne room. Lady Siff goes and stands by Thor and Cora stands next to Peter in the cluster of recruits.
"What took you so long?" Peter asks enthusiastically as he looks at Cora, and sees her dress.
"Wow, never mind that last question. You look great. Way better than Sadie, Ruby, and Olivia." Peter says, Ruby hears her name and turns, her eyes go wide as she sees Cora's dress.
"Where did you get that dress?" Ruby asks as she walks over to Peter and Cora.
"In a box on the bed in my room." Cora responds, Ruby's eyes go wide, she makes a disapproved noise, turns and walks back to where she had originally been standing.
"Well, that sure was weird." Cora says and looks at Peter. Thor stands in front of the doors that lead to the throne room, everyone goes quiet as he raises his hand to gain the recruits attention.
"All of you are about to enter the throne room, as I stated yesterday and this morning, respect is a must. If you disrespect Odin, the Queen, or anyone else for that matter while you are here, punishments will be handed down." Thor says, everyone nods in understanding as Thor turns around and pushes the doors open.
Slowly the recruits enter the throne room behind Thor, they all gasp as they look around. As Cora looks around, she notices from the corner of her eye, that someone straightens up while sitting on their throne. She fully looks to see who it could be and she see's Loki, staring directly at her with wide shock filled eyes.