Maid or Princess [English]

Chapter 1

"Princess Faye welcome to Asgard," the All-Mother and Queen Asgard greeted her warmly as Leila arrived at the palace. She curtsied and smiled kindly at her.

"The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty," she replied, glad that she had managed not to sound nervous.

Frigga smiled and took her hands in hers. "Please call me Frigga, after all we will soon be a family."

"As you wish, Frigga." The queen squeezed her hands affectionately and Leila looked around; only a few of Faye's servants and Einherjer stood beside them, there was no sign of Faye's fiancé.

"I'm afraid I must excuse my sons and husband as they had matters to attend to, but you will meet them for dinner." -Leila nodded in understanding as they were led into the palace- "Was the trip pleasant?"

"Yes, it was, thank you." Frigga talked a bit about Asgard as they walked to their chambers. She was a nice woman and she liked her already. They stopped outside the chamber and she noticed the queen looking at the amulet.

"A very unusual pendant," she remarked with a raised eyebrow and Leila reached for it; she made an effort to smile.

"Thank you, it's a gift from a friend."

"I will leave you alone now to recover from your trip and will send Loki to pick you up for dinner," she said goodbye and Leila nodded with a smile before stepping into the room. The room was beautiful and perfect for a princess, but she wasn't a princess, she was a maid and this was no fairy tale. She sat down on the bed and stared into nothingness, but after a few minutes the room smothered her. Leila knew that as a princess she could not walk around the palace unnoticed, but Leila could. She took off her necklace and let it disappear with her Seidr in a green mist, before she changed her clothes with a wave of her hand, into those of a maid. She took a deep breath before leaving the room and looking at the Einherjer.

"The princess does not want to be disturbed for any circumstance," she ordered them and the men nodded while keeping their eyes forward. "Where is the library? The princess ordered me to bring her books."

"Down the hall to the end and to the left; at the end of the corridor is the library," the Einherjer explained to her and Leila thanked him before heading off. The library was larger than the one in Alfheim and she was more than surprised to find books from all nine realms. She ran her fingers over the books as she bit her lip.

"Haven't you ever seen books before, or why are you looking at them like that?" asked a voice behind her, making her cringe. Leila turned to the man, he had raven black hair and was about twenty inches taller than her. The unknown man wore a dark green tunic and a pair of black pants; he leaned against a bookshelf and smiled at her.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Of course, I have seen books before, and I have read many, but I have never seen such variety."
"Servants aren't really allowed in the library," he said, taking a step toward her. "Who are you?"

"I am the personal maid of the Princess of Alfheim, Prince Loki's fiancée, and I was sent by her to fetch books for her." -She lifted her chin and looked at him confidently- "And who are you?"

He seemed to consider for a moment. "The servant of Prince Loki." Leila nodded and pulled a book from the shelf. She felt the man step closer and pull out another book before handing it to her. "Give this to your princess, it is one of my favorite books." She took it and turned to face him; she felt his breath on her skin and she looked up at him.

"Thank you," she said softly and stepped away from him, but before she could go too far, he gently grabbed her arm and she turned to face him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Leila," she answered simply and the man let her go. Leila quickly hurried out and back to her chambers. She put the books on the bed and realized that it was already late and she was now turning back into the princess. She summoned the necklace back and put it on herself before changing her dress into a purple one. There was a knock on her door and a young servant of Faye entered the room to do her black hair. She looked at herself in the mirror and considered the updo, Leila couldn't remember when she had worn such a complicated hairstyle and there was no reason to. She did not notice that there was a knock at her door.

"Your Majesty, Prince Loki is here to escort you to the dinner," the maid said and left her chambers.

Leila got up from the chair and smoothed her dress. "Prince Loki it is a pleasure to meet you-" She looked up and her breath caught when she saw the servant from the library.

"The pleasure is all mine, Princess Faye," he replied, bowing to her. Leila realized that he had lied to her earlier, her true self, but what did she expect from the god of mischief and lies? She had to admit that she had been no better than him. "Shall we?" He offered her his arm and after a moment's hesitation she took it before they both left the room.