Loki's Favorite

Part 1

Today is a very special day. Today is the Day of Opportunity. On this day, the royal guards go to each village and select two Untouchable children over the age of 13 from each town to offer them a chance to live at the palace. I'm excited because I just turned 13 last week, and my best friend Benjamin has been 13 for two months now. We are both Untouchables, because of the fact thatwe are orphans. He was basically my family growing up, and today we have the chance to finally leave our small village behind.

"Attention!" The head guard roars, and the crowded town square immediately hushes. "From the Lottery, the boy selected to move is... Benjamin." Ahhhh! I turn to my best friend who has a black face of astonishment, and give him a bear hug. He barely moves, but places a light hand on my back.

"Benji, I'm so happy for you! You are going to have a chance at a better life."

"But, what if you can't come. My life won't be better without you." I pull back, I almost want to slap him. It doesn't matter if I get left behind because he has the chance to leave this life of poverty and abuse. He sees the annoyance in my eyes and says softly, "I'm serious, I need you." I'm about to reply when I get cut off-

"From the Lottery, the girl selected to move is...Rose." Did I hear that right? I- I get to leave. With Benjamin. We both get to go to the palace. This is something straight out of a dream, the best dream I've ever had. I go in for a hug again, and this time he squeezes back hard. "Will the two children please come forward." We run, hand in hand, to the guard, to embrace our new life.

They put us in a royal carrier, and fly us to the palace. Tomorrow I start training as a Silent, and Benjamin as a plebe soldier. When we arrive, we are separated. He is sent to the barracks, and I am sent to the Silents' quarters. Hopefully, I can move up from a Silent to a Middle at least. It's not as hard to move up as I thought. Apparently all you have to do to become a Middle is be a quiet, obedient, and helpful Silent for 3 years.

***(timeskip)

Apparently I'm not as good at being quiet as I thought. I have a tendency to speak back, when as a Silent I literally cannot talk back to anyone. Luckily, that doesn't matter much and I'm moved up to a Middle. At the advancement ceremony, I see the Royal family for the first time. I immediately notice that the princes are close to my age, and that Queen Frigga is possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Lady Sif is in charge of the Middles and Assists, and she takes the time to meet with each of us individually.

"What is your name dear?" She asks me, without a rushed tone,

"Rose, m'Lady." I look down, suddenly shy for some unknown reason. Perhaps being a Middle has instilled humility in me.

"What are your goals here?" This seems like an odd question, and I pick my words carefully.

"To serve the Royal family to the best of my ability." This answer seems to satisfy her. She looks as though she is about to leave, as she has spent the normal amount of time with me, but she stops. "Is something wrong, m'Lady?"

"Nothing is wrong...I just feel that there is something special about you. Meet me in the dining hall after the ceremony." I don't respond, I simply nod and wonder what could possibly be special about me. I watch as she moves on to the rest of the girls and sit puzzled through the rest of the ceremony.