𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐄𝐒! ★彡 ᵒⁿᵉ⁻ˢʰᵒᵗˢ

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍

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title — more than a handmaiden
fandom — mcu
movie — thor, 2011
pairing — andromeda ymirdottir x athena cronus (platonic) (oc x oc)
characters — andromeda ymirdottir, athena cronus, loki laufeyson (mentioned), thor odinson (mentioned)
theme — friendship fic
word count — 1038
notes — andromeda is my oc. carletta is bell's oc.

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IT WAS NEARING THE DEAD OF NIGHT WHEN ANDROMEDA MADE HER WAY BACK TO HER KINGDOM AFTER THE BATTLE IN JOTUNHEIM. She made her way to her chambers after dismissing her guards so they could sleep as well, trusting the night guards to protect her kingdom while she was asleep. Athena, her handmaiden, followed after her to aid her queen with changing from her armour to her nightgown. Athena would frequently wear her favourite creamy white gown that flowed down to her feet, complimenting her warm, bronzed skin and dark eyes. She had been Andromeda's best friend for as long as the two could remember. After all, they were both in their 1000s and couldn't remember a time when the two were apart.

"So?" Athena asked as she stripped Andromeda from her clunky armour.

"So?" Andromeda repeated her question with a head tilt and furrowed brow. Now bare before her best friend, Athena turned to grab a cream-coloured, silk nightgown. She bunched up the material until the hem was scrunched up to the neckline. She hovered it over Andromeda's head and extended arms. The material pooled down the blonde's body until the hem landed a few inches above her knees and the sleeve fitting snuggly at the elbow.

"How was the fight?" Athena asked intrigued, guiding her friend over to the vanity desk and sitting her down in front of the mirror. The light-skinned woman grabbed Andromeda's favourite hairbrush — a vintage style paddle brush, with a decorative back and boar bristles. Grasping the handle, she began to gently run the brush through Andy's blonde locks.

Andromeda smiled. She knew Athena loved a good fight story. She was an excellent fighter, her speciality being martial arts and hand-to-hand combat.

"Nothing special, unfortunately," Andy chose to lie. If she went to full details about the secrets and drama that were laid before her nose, she knew that Athena would get upset that missed the fun. "I did get to finally meet the Odinson brothers."

Athena stopped brushing the blonde locks in front of her and locked eyes with her leader through the mirror. "As in Thor and Loki?" Andromeda nodded. "What are they like?" She implored, desperate for details.

Andromeda smiled. "They are an interesting duo. The eldest doesn't have any respect for others, and the youngest has too much respect for others. Of course, as you can imagine, it made matters the slightest bit more difficult."

The light-brown skinned woman raised her brows. "Oh, really? That is interesting," Athena commented. "Did you talk to either much?"

"I spoke to Thor is a rather demeaning way. I feel rather guilty thinking back on it," she spoke. It was true, especially after watching his own father cast him out. "But he didn't seem to take it to heart. I spoke to Loki too, he complimented my powers and leadership," Andromeda grinned, smugly sitting up straight.

Athena chuckled, her laugh died down but her grin didn't fade. "He complimented you? And how do you feel about admired by another god, Your Majesty?" Her tone teasing, urging for Andromeda to dish her feelings to her.

Though the blonde wasn't easily swayed or manipulated. She let out a laugh, spinning around on her stool to look up at Athena. "He was simply complimenting me. Nothing more, nothing less," Athena narrowed her eyes down at her friend, knowing there was something else under Andromeda's words, begging to burst out. "Fine, he was... pleasant."

"Just pleasant?" Athena asked with a shit-eating grin.

With a groan, Andromeda stood up and brushed past a smirking Athena, jumping on her bed, landing face-first into her cushions. "I don't know, Thena. You know I've never had any love in my life. I don't know what the difference between a simple comment and flirting is! Do you think he was flirting?" Her voice was muffled as she suffocated herself with her pillows.

Athena chuckled, perching herself on the edge of the queen-sized bed. "I wouldn't blame him if he was flirting with you. You are stunning, Andy. It seems the entire galaxy knows that but you."

Andromeda rolled onto her back to look down at Athena. "Thank you, but I don't want the entire galaxy to think that of me. I don't even want one person to think of me like that. If they focus the outside, they won't care for what's on the inside."

Athena nodded. "Understandable," she nodded. "But from what you've told me, it sounds like Loki doesn't care for your outside. He did compliment your skills and power. Not your appearance."

Andromeda sat up, her once neatly brushed hair now a mess from her rolling around and jumping. "I don't know how to feel about that either," she groaned after a minute of contemplation, believing herself to be unfit to be loved or to love another. She flopped back down into her cushions, staring up at the white ceiling in despair.

The handmaiden chuckled. Her hand rested on Andromeda's knee, her palm rubbing up and down the smooth skin that laid there. "I understand, Andy. I remember when I thought I met the love of my life a few years ago. Turns out he was only a lowlife criminal, and when he got what he wanted, he left."

Andromeda furrowed her brows. "You never told me before. I'm so sorry that happened to you, Thena."

Athena shrugged it off. "It's alright. But what I'm trying to say is that you'll meet a lot of people in your long life. You might think some are the one. You might get heartbroken here and there, but it only makes you stronger. Loki may or may not be the one for you. But you'll never know unless you try."

Andromeda sighed, knowing that her lady-in-waiting was a fountain of wisdom. "I hate you."

"You love me, and we both know it."

THE END