Chapter 39 – Creampuffs and Champagne
Loki took stock of their new surroundings. They appeared to be in the middle of a grass field, surrounded by white fencing. Horses were galloping along a wide pathway on the other side of the fence. Quite a few people were standing near the fence watching the horses.
"Well, we appear to have lost a few people," Sif pointed out.
Loki realized that only Thranduil, the Lady Sif, and Tauriel were among his current traveling companions. He was still holding the bottle of champagne he had picked up at their previous destination. His eyes landed on an odd collection sitting on the grass and he started to chuckle. "Well, it appears we brought the food and beverages along with at any rate. I am certain we'll discover the others eventually."
Sif smirked. "Unless they went somewhere else not quite so pleasant." She glanced at their food collection. "And, we won't go hungry."
All the platters of cream puffs and bottles of champagne were neatly arranged on a blanket sitting in the grass.
"Well, y'all shore know how ta partay at the Darby!" a female voice piped up behind them, a heavy southern drawl making it almost impossible to understand what she was saying.
"Ah, well, I guess you could say so," Loki conceded, not completely certain what she was referring to.
Fluttering laughter erupted from the woman. "Rahlly! Now, y'alll have a pony running today? Or just visiting Kentucky?"
"Kentuck key? What does one open with a Kentuck key?" Thranduil asked.
"My, my, my, you boys shore are downright handsome, but not too smart, eh?" she purred. "By the way, my name is Susannah. And y'all are?"
Realizing she was requesting introductions, Loki spoke up first. "I am Loki of Asgard, and this is the Lady Sif."
"A lay-dee? A real lay-dee? Laike from England?" Susannah fanned her face rapidly, then did a quick curtsey. "Does that mean ya'll are a lord or something, maybe a prince? Is Asgard one of those oil rich Saudi countries?" she batted her eyelashes as she started to flirt with Loki.
"Actually, I am a prince," Loki admitted. "And this is Thranduil, King of Mirkwood and Tauriel."
"Oh my gawd! Real royalty! Wait'll I tell Georgina! She'll nev-ah believe me! Do promise me y'all will be here this afternoon? Which horse is yours?" Susannah now turned all her southern charm on Thranduil and batted her eyelashes at him.
"Well, that is rather difficult to say…" Thranduil began, darting a quick glance at Loki.
"Ah, I do not believe we have a horse here," Loki added, rather confused as they'd not brought along any of the horses from the dude ranch. Although, a quick inspection of the ones galloping around them indicated a distinct difference in the type of horse. These appeared to be more elegant representatives of the species. He vaguely wondered if Tony's plastic card would purchase one of them. "Can we buy one?"
Susannah blinked, then realized royalty probably had money, LOTS of money. "Buy one? Well, I suppose. We can stroll over to the stables and inquire. I know one or two folks that might be interested in a shareholder or two, and if ya'll have the money, well…"
"Excellent. What precisely is going to happen with these horses?" Loki asked.
Susannah looked at him. "Are y'all from another planet or something? It's Darby day! I thought y'all knew that."
"Well, we ah… Our host dropped us off and neglected to mention what the event for the day was. We are traveling throughout your world," Loki finally came up with what he considered a plausible explanation for what had been happening to him.
"Oh, that explains it. Well, this here is the biggest day in horse racing. Every year people come here to see the finest three-year old Thoroughbreds compete in the Run for the Roses. Now, if y'all want to see if we can find a horse to spend your money on, we'd best pack up all your food and head back towards the stables." Susannah swept her arm towards their cache of food and champagne. "Y'all shore aren't going to drink all this before the races, now are you?"
Thranduil stared at their meager pile - at least, he considered it meager. Champagne was rather hard to find, except here on Earth, and it had not been overly plentiful… at least, not in his opinion. He then recalled the key. "About that key? Could it be a key to a dwarven treasure vault? With more gold, we could purchase more champagne."
Tauriel rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You want more champagne? Personally, I prefer the cream puffs." She grabbed one off the pile and popped it in her mouth.
"Aw, no honey. Cream puffs are dangerous to us women. Go straight to the hips if y'all know what I mean," Susannah said.
SIf frowned, staring at Susannah. "Are you stating that cream puffs attach to the hips? I thought they were a food. At least, they were offered to us as a food." She glared at the offending cream puffs.
"Oh, honey, they're a food all right, but loaded with calories and if ya'll be wanting to keep that gorgeous figure, well, you must stay away from cream puffs," Susannah giggled. "Unless they're broken in half. Then the calories disappear and don't count. Least, that's what Georgina always says. Now, about that key, there just isn't a key. You're in Kentucky, it's a state. I take it y'all have never visited the States before."
"Well, I have been here a time or two, but this is our first visit to Kentuck," Loki admitted.
"I ought to have guessed. Your clothes are a bit foreign," Susannah eyed their outfits closely, recognizing the quality of materials that had gone into each individual outfit. She finally focused on the ladies. "And honey, y'all both need hats. It is Derby day after all. Everyone wears a hat today." She gently tapped the confection that was perched on the top of her head.
"What precisely is a der bee day? Is it like Durin's day, in which case I want nothing to do with pesky dwarfs!" Thranduil crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring sternly at Susannah.
"I can't say as I've evar heard of Dorin's day, but Darby day is the day to be in Lou 'Ville, y'all know. Now, come along with me and we can find your box and deposit this food before we head out to the stables… you do have a box, right?"
Loki stared at the pile of food, seeing no box. "It appears we neglected to bring a box."
"No, no, no. Not a box for the food, a box to watch the races from. The infield is no place to be, least if you want to be seen that is," Susannah laughed as she pointed to the grandstands. "We can get one of my boys to bring the food along. So you don't have a box, that might cause a problem."
"Perhaps Tony Stark has a box here?" Tauriel asked.
Loki grinned. "And if he does not, we can always use this!" He whipped out the plastic card Tony had given him.
"Ya'll know Tony Stark?" Susannah's eyes widened. "Is he coming today as well?"
Sif shrugged. "Who knows. He might, ah, pop in."
"Oooh. I've always wanted to meet him. May I see that card," Susannah extended her hand towards Loki. He held the card up so she could read it. She grinned like a cat who'd caught a bird. "Hmmm, I am certain we can arrange something. Stay right here while I go talk to my friends." She took off towards a tunnel.
"While we are waiting, I believe I shall partake of more of the champagne." Thranduil picked up a bottle and poured himself another glass.
Tauriel rolled her eyes. "Seriously. What are you going to do when we return to Mirkwood. We don't have that back there."
"We shall teach the elves to make it, of course," Thranduil replied imperiously. "That is, if I decide to return. I am rather liking this place."
"As long as no one is trying to kill me, I'm fine with staying here," Loki added. "Although your world was rather nice."
"Indeed, it is except for the orcs… and Sauron," Thranduil replied.
"Sauron is dead. I thought I had explained that," Legolas' voice piped up from behind them.
"About time you showed up. Who else came with?" Tauriel turned to face the elven price.
Kat peered out from behind Legolas. "Seems I got to come along. Where are we now?"
"Our newest friend keeps talking about a key to kentuck."
"Oh, Kentucky! This must be Churchill Downs and guessing from all the people with hats on, I'm betting it is Derby day!" Kat exclaimed.