To Be Free (Loki fanfic)

Chapter 1

Tick. Tock. Tic. Tock.
Although there was a great deal of noise surrounding me due to the daily hustle and bustle, I managed to focus on the sound of the one lone clock in the room.
I usually wake up earlier than I need to out of occupational habit. Some of the women and girls around me are still fast asleep, but many are already moving about with their hectic schedules.
I take a deep breath in, stretch, and look at the clock. 5:45 a.m.
Just a little bit longer before I have no choice, but to start my day. Some of the women and girls here are cooks, many are maids, and some are lucky enough to be a part of the healing staff. No matter what position we hold, we're all just servants at the end of the day. One could argue we're all just slaves here. Sure, we aren't exactly here against our will and being in a castle is definitely better than starving on the streets, but I yearn for the freedoms I have never known and sadly will most likely never know. I've been here ever since I was born.
My father was one of the bakers here and my mother was a maid. Years ago, the work became too much for them, so they left and settled in a small house in town. The responsibility of earning a sustainable income fell onto me. My father died over a year ago and I still miss him dearly. I think about him every single day. I felt like he was the only one who really understood me and every day I go without him, a swell of loneliness continued to grow, the likes of which I've never known before.
As much as I want freedom, my mother has no one else to support her. She was devastated when my father passed and I know she could never return to any sort of work. I don't earn a lot, but it's enough to keep a roof over her head and food on her table.
I sigh and rub my eyes.
6:00 a.m. Time to get up.
I roll out of bed and change into my dull uniform. I pick up one of my few possessions, a hairbrush, and brush all the knots out of my hair. I pull my hair back into a simple braid with a few shorter strands out which framed my face.
I put my shoes on that are two sizes too small and make my way out the door.
I don't find myself to be remarkable in any way. It's kind of part of the job to not stand out and to not be noticed and honestly, I'm pretty damn good at that. Somehow, despite my quite invisible existence, I have been one of the prince's personal servant for the last few years.
Honestly, I think it's partially because most of our people are rather afraid of him. Let's just say being nice is not his strong suit.
It's not exactly a rare occurrence for a staff member to be berated or yelled at or hit to certain extent either by little Mr. ray of sunshine himself.
He didn't scare me though. Well, at least not enough for me to show it.
He's never really gotten mad at me before. There's been a few times that stand out where he did blow up at me. He does have a fondness to lecture and heavily critique as well, but overall, he doesn't really pay attention to me. In fact, I think I'm more invisible to him than anyone else. I don't even think he knows my name. Not implying that he would ever care to ask for it in the first place.
I like to tell myself I'm irreplaceable though, that no one could do my job and do it as well as me. Deep down I know that's not true though. I know I could be replaced in two seconds and he, nor anyone else would even notice.
I knock softly on the door before I enter. Sleeping beauty is still fast asleep. His bed is enormous, but lucky for me this morning, he is alone without any 'company.' Thank god.
I open the heavy, but elegant, dark green drapes and let the warmth and light of the sunshine stream through the room. He mumbles a groan like usual. He's not exactly a morning person.
I stand by his bedside and quietly say, "It's time to wake up my prince."
He doesn't move or show any sign of acknowledgment to what I just said.
I shake my head and smirk slightly, "Don't make me get a water bucket my prince."
He groans louder and starts to move, "I'm up, I'm up."
A small smile appears on my face as I head to the intercom by the door and order his breakfast. As I finish order, he has managed to get out of his bed.
His long hair is ruffled and he looks like he is still half-asleep. I go to his wardrobe and pick out his attire for the day. We stand in silence for a moment as I undress him from his nightwear and start to put on his regular attire.
"What do I have today", he asks dully as he looks off to somewhere else in the room?
"Well, you have a meeting with the king at 7:15 this morning," I say.
He rolls his eyes and sighs in annoyance.
"Great," he mutters. "What a way to sour a whole entire day."
As I start fixing his hair I say, "That's why I went ahead and said you couldn't make it to family dinner tonight, so you'll have the evening to yourself to look forward to today."
He hums in approval.
"After the meeting with the king, you have several other formality meetings until lunch. You're having lunch with the queen today in the gardens. You'll have about an hour of free time afterwards. Then, you have sparing practice for a few hours during the afternoon. At 5:00, you have an appointment with one of the tailors to double check your measurements for the upcoming ball. You're done with your responsibilities for the day after that," I say as I finish fixing his hair and making sure that he looks presentable overall.
There was a gentle knock at the door. I head to the door and let the servant named Erik in who has Loki's breakfast. I don't know Erik that well, but the few times we have been able to actually interact, he seems like pleasant and caring person.
Erik leaves quietly and I move the breakfast tray to Loki's desk. He tends to enjoy reading or working on stuff while he eats, so I find that he prefers it when I move his tray on his desk without having to be told to.
Loki sits at his desk and starts eating while reading a book. I take this time to start on my daily tasks. First by making the bed.
The blankets and covers look clean and since he didn't have company last night, I know they're still clean, so that's one less thing I have to do today.
I pull the sheets and blankets up and straighten them out. I make sure there's no wrinkle or crinkle in sight. I fluff the pillows and set them in a more presentable way on the bed.
"Do you dust," Loki asked suddenly?
"Excuse me, my prince?"
He flipped a page in his book, "You heard me, so don't make me repeat myself."
"Yes I dust, my prince," I responded.
"That so?"
"Of course my prince."
He paused. Oh shit. Why did I say that??
He gently put his book done and stood up, his full attention on me.
"Of course, huh?"
There was a slight irritation and anger in his tone as he continued to walk towards me.
I nodded, darting my eyes to the floor.
He grabbed my chin tightly and forced me to look him in the eyes.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? You were completely confident in your abilities just a second ago," he said sneering.
He grabbed my arm and harshly pulled me towards his desk and pointed to a small section of it.
"It's part of your job to dust, isn't it? And yet, you missed a spot completely," he said as he put more pressure on my arm.
Staying silent was the smartest thing for me to do right now.
With his other hand, he grabbed my chin again so tightly that even if I wanted to move, I wouldn't be able to. His eyes bore into my skull and if looks could kill, I'd be ashes at this point.
"If you can't handle doing a simple, brainless task, then I see no point in you having this position you clearly do not deserve," he said with venom.
I knew it still wasn't the time to speak, even to apologize at this time. That would just piss him off more if you could believe it.
He glared at me for a few more seconds that felt more like a lifetime, then he let go of my arm and my chin as if I was revolting to touch and started heading towards the door.
"Make sure you complete all your duties today before I come back. If this room isn't spotless by the time I come back, don't even bother staying," he said in a huff before slamming the door in his way out.
I sighed and rubbed my arm. Most people would be losing their shit if they faced his little episode, but I knew better. He was a drama queen. He loved to threaten and scare people out of their wits and yes, he has fired people before for missing even a speck of dust. However, I have been his personal servant the longest and he's too smart to fire me over something as insignificant as this. Yes, I'm replaceable, but I know he hates dealing with new people, especially in regards to us "inferior" servants. As long as I complete my tasks even more diligently than normal, I'll be fine. I look down at my arm as the red marks left from his hand starts to deepen in color.
I sigh again and mutter to myself, "What a way to sour a whole entire day indeed."