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

Chapter 6

"Should we wake her up?"

"I don't want to be rude."

"We'll have to eventually." Through the fog of semi-consciousness comes a smell, a sweet, cloying perfume. "(Y/N), right?"

You open your eyes slowly, trying not to yawn. "Yes?" The woman leaning over you is short, short as Carlie, almost, with a tiny waist and childbearing hips. Her hair is tinted a dark burgundy, and her straight, shiny teeth are displayed proudly as she grins at you.

"Hi! I'm - "

"Sapphire Georgas, age twenty four. Greece, right?" You rub your eyes as you sit up. "Nice to meet you." She shakes your hand, giggling.

Behind her, Rosa Perez, twenty one, of Argentina, crosses her arms. "Well, it's about time. Your snoring was unbearable."

"Excuse me?" You don't snore! At least, you don't think you do...Do I?

"I'm sorry. But, um, it's nice to meet you. Rosa, right?" Instead of answering, she turns her eyes to the ceiling.

Oh. Okay.

The others introduce themselves: there's Rosa, Sapphire, Irina, Alexandra, Rhea, Li Sun, Juliette, and, of course, you. You're trying to categorize them when you feel a slight shift in the otherwise steady movement of the train. From the others' reactions, you know you're not alone.

"Are we speeding up?" Sapphire runs to the window. Rhea shakes her head, smiling almost maternally. From what you've seen of your fellow contestants up until now, she is the most mature, by far. "Slowing down, I think."

Sure enough, when you join Sapphire by the window, you see crowds of people waving and yelling as the train pulls into a new station. You look back at the others. "I think we're here."

At once, all seven girls rush for the door, all eager to be the first one out - from what you hear, you're fairly certain Rosa wins. Let them fight. I'm not rushing. The cameras, the cheering masses - you don't want any part of it.

The roar of the crowd takes you by surprise, and your eyes widen in shock - only for a moment, though, before you're forced to shut them against the bright sunlight. Squinting, you can just make out the faces of those closest to the stanchion - mostly girls, mostly young. Your age, give or take a few years. The excitement on their faces - jealousy, for some - hits your heart in the worst way. They'd probably switch places with me in a heartbeat.

If only they knew.

You walk closer, following Rhea at a distance of a few yards.

"(Y/N)!"

"Over here, (Y/N)!"

"Lady (Y/N)?" You look down, the smile leaving your face for a moment as you see a little girl, surely no older than six or seven, holding out a Sharpie and a notebook. "Could you please sign my book?"

Taking the book from her, you recognize it as an autograph book, the kind they sell at amusement parks, with a pink fuzzy cover and ribbons on the side to tie it with. Opposite the earliest blank page, Minnie Mouse's sweet, bouncy signature swoops and curls in purple ink. Little heart above the "i."

You force yourself to smile again, ignoring the sudden sting of tears. "Of course, sweetie."

You do your best to make it look pretty. Funny, you'd always dreamed of being a princess, someone little girls looked up to, but this just wasn't how you'd imagined it happening.

Several other people want your autograph, after that. By the time you finish, you're stunned and speechless and more than a little emotional, even as you settle yourself in the new train. Slightly scared, too - some of those teenage girls who asked for autographs made comments that were most definitely passive-aggressive.

"You okay?"

"Huh?" You look away from the window to see Irina has slid in next to you. "Yeah, just...thinking."

She smirks, but not unkindly or in a way that comes off as condescending. More...conspiratorial. As though you're an old friend she hasn't seen in a while. "Yeah, you've probably got the most to think about, huh? What's it like, being the only min?"

"What do you mean?"

"Minimum ager," she explains. "Juliette and Li are maxes. I'm twenty, which makes me closest to you, I think, but you're the only teen. So, what do you think?"

"What do I think?" She nods. "Of what?"

She gestures around the train car. "Them. Him. All of this."

"I...I'm scared." It feels good to admit. But then you remember that this is a government train, and you don't know who might be listening. "...of failing."

She raises an eyebrow, and you can tell by the look on her face that she is not buying your flimsy cover up one bit. "Failure?" Thankfully, she lets the issue rest.

Something else occurs to you. "So, how come all of you, like, know English?"

She throws back her head, laughing. "You think I'm speaking English?" She lets out one last snort before getting the giggles under control. "That's funny."

"You mean, um, you're, like - "

"I'm speaking Russian. To me, you all sound like you're speaking Russian, too. Sapphire over there probably hears Greek, Rosa's probably registering Spanish." She shrugs. "Must be some kind of spell or something. I mean, we've got to be able to communicate somehow, right?"

"Whatcha talking about?" The train stops, and Sapphire crashes into you.

You help her to stand. "Ah, my gosh, I'm so sorry 'bout that, I - "

"Nothing to apologize for! You excited?"

You exchange a look with Irina. "Excited?"

"God, yes! When they announced the names, my sister - my twin - looked like she wanted to murder me." She giggles again. "He's gorgeous, isn't he? I know, I know, we haven't even met him in person yet, but let me tell you..."

Exactly what you're supposed to let her tell you, you're not sure, because she trails off, gazing at nothing in particular with a dreamy look on her face. "I mean, I'm, like, nervous. I dunno, I have no idea, like, how to...you know. Live in a palace. I'll probably fall flat on my face." As you speak the words, you realize they're truer than you'd thought. You want to get out as soon as possible...but if you can avoid humiliating yourself on national - sorry, international - television, that would be preferable. "I mean, it's a bit much. I'm excited, I guess, just not used to being around so many people who aren't either my age or else teachers."

Irina laughs. "Girl, I graduated college last year, and let me tell you, you should be glad you don't have to suffer through all that shit."

You shrug. "Depends on how long I last."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Rosa calls across, her voice sickly-sweet.

Irina rolls her eyes. "Back off, Perez," she says. Before Rosa can retort, the train stops again, much more abruptly than last time, and everyone grabs on to the back of their seats to avoid flying across. Once everything has settled, once you've smoothed down your skirt and helped Irina help Sapphire fix her hair, once the doors open, that's when you speak.

"So, I guess this is it?"

Rhea, waiting by the door, overheats you and nods. "This is it."