The Secret Asgardian (An Avengers Fanfiction)

Chapter 10: Unexpected

10. Unexpected

I sat at a table, sipping a glass of some form of alcohol. It was sadly weak compared to Asgardian liquor.

I could just see Peter near the bar, chatting to Iva in a careless way. They laughed at something, and I glowered, gripping the glass so hard I briefly wondered if it would smash.

"Caviar?"

"Is that all you ever say?" I sighed wearily, turning to face the girl once more, who didn't dignify me with an answer.

This time I noted her clothes. She was wearing a basic combo of a white shirt and black pants, neatly ironed and pressed. Her brown-auburn hair was scraped back into a painful-looking bun on the top of her head, and she looked at me with sharp brown eyes.

"How old are you?" I asked suddenly, my eyes narrowing as I looked at her face.

"Thirteen," She replied uninterestedly after a moment.

"Thirteen? And you work here?"

She snorted, nearly dropping the tray.

"No, I'm Iva Sykes' daughter," She explained, and then glanced at me sharply.

"Why do you care?" She asked harshly, suddenly suspicious.

"I merely thought you looked too young to be a servant," I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, do you want any caviar?"

"What's your name?" I asked in a friendly manner, ignoring her question.

"Diana," She supplied reluctantly. I held my hand out to her with a cheerful smile.

"I'm Carlotta - it's nice to meet you. Why don't you sit down a moment and keep me company? I'm sure no one will miss the caviar," I suggested when she hesitantly shook my hand.

She looked around, as if checking for something, before sitting down opposite me.

"So what type of things are you interested in? Any hobbies?" I asked casually, taking another sip.

"I like to read."

I eyed her over the rim of the glass.

"What type of things do you read?"

"I like reading about ancient civilisations."

I nearly spat my drink out. Hastily, I put the glass down and looked at her interestedly.

"Really? That's an interesting subject, particularly for older people. It's unusual for someone your age to like that type of thing," I said carelessly, and her eyes flashed.

"I'm a lot cleverer than most people my age," Diana said with a hint of smugness.

"You think so?"

She frowned at my question.

"Yes."

"Why? What can you do that other people your age can't?" I shot at her, and her face darkened even more with the need to prove herself. How predictable this girl was.

"I can read in over ten different languages," She boasted.

"I can speak twelve."

That wasn't even a lie. Her eyes narrowed.

"I can speak fluent Latin."

"I can speak Gaelic."

"Well I can speak a language that no one has even heard of!" She said passionately, so loudly that people sitting around the surrounding tables looked up in annoyance at being disturbed.

"And what language is that?"

"I can read Atlantic."

"Atlantic? Isn't that a sea? The Atlantic Ocean?" I frowned.

"No, no," She laughed harshly at my lack of knowledge, "I mean I can speak the lost language of the city Atlantis."

She waited for my reaction, and seemed disappointed when I looked at her in confusion. Atlantis? Was this another place on Earth I hadn't heard of?

"Where's that?" I asked, and Diana stared at me in disbelief.

"You've never heard the legend of the lost city of Atlantis?"

"Nope."

"My mum donated a book to the museum a couple of weeks ago that was written entirely in Atlantic. Only my mother and I can read it - she taught me the whole language as I grew up," She smiled for the first time.

"A book?" I murmured, piecing it together.

I was just about to question her on it when a bloodcurdling scream shattered the air, and the glass windows exploded.