Bibbidi Bobbidi Asgard: A Cinderella AU (Loki x F!Reader)

Chapter 2: A Royal Invitation

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."