"Am I late?" Christie burst out quickly the next morning, skidding across the warm tiled floors as she entered the enormous open space that was the palace kitchens. Jennie smiled at the sight of her and made her way over from where she was kneading dough for bread.
"Good morning, Annerledes! How wonderful it is to speak with you again! You slept well, I pray?" Christie opened her mouth to reply but found herself slightly distracted by Jennie's large, molten brown eyes that were now worryingly close to her own face.
"Um…yes thank you - the beds are extremely soft," she finally hummed back once she finally managed to tear her eyes away from hers. "So…where do I start?"
"Your core role will be to take breakfast up to the main dining room. That's where the entire family eats every morning, without fail," Jennie explained swiftly, taking Christie's hand to lead her to one of the deep copper sinks that lined the edge of the kitchens.
"I see, and what do they eat? Is there a set menu…?" Christie quizzed her as they both began to wash their hands under the running tap. Jennie giggled had her question, handing her the cake of rosemary soap once she had lathered up.
"What do they eat? Well that'll be…well, everything, especially Prince Thor. Prince Loki's slightly more reserved at the best of times, he picks quite a bit, never really finishes his food - rather rude given that we spend so long on cooking it fresh every morning, but what can we say," Jennie smiled brightly before shutting off the taps and opening one of the creaky doors of the tall cupboard next to them. Christie blinked to herself a few times before nodding. She had always anticipated that mentally logging all this information would be slightly overwhelming, but where would she draw the line? Would small details like Loki being 'slightly reserved' with his food or Thor 'eating everything' even matter in the long run? What could someone 'picking at' olives even translate to? Just idly standing around waiting for something to kick off with this family could potentially see Christie in Asgard for years, and she was only just realising that.
But then something else rudely interrupted her thoughts. Although the mission brief was clear and she could tell that Coulson seemed interested in monitoring Thor, there was something about Loki's picture that made a little alarm bell go off in Christie's head. For what? She had no idea…
…yet.
"What does Loki 'pick at' usually?" Christie asked Jennie as casually as possible.
"Erm, usually lightly toasted olive bread and garlic oil seasoned with salt to dip, but even that depends on if he's hungry or not. Most days he doesn't seem to have an appetite. But enough of that, you'll learn that over time - let's begin," Jennie deflected loudly over the noise of the pots and pans she was cluttering about. Over the next few hours, Jennie taught Christie the basics; how to cook, chop, measure and weigh. She informed her of the different styles that the Odinson's enjoyed eating. Christie tried to take it all on board - she was a trained assassin after all…it wasn't hard for her to remember things on the spot without feeling overwhelmed. She could never crumble over pressure.
Or so she thought.
"Right that's enough for now! You can prepare the meals for the table since you'll be serving breakfast this morning," Jennie explained, whipping off her apron and stretching her arms behind her back. Christie froze suddenly in her tracks.
"Are you serious? But I literally just got here yesterday and learnt these things in the last few hours, isn't it a bit soon?" she stuttered in a slight frenzy.
What happened to not crumbling?
"Ah trust me Annerledes, I know it feels scary- but it's tradition for the new maid to wait on the family the day after she arrives and/or acquires her job in the palace. Don't worry, you'll do a wonderful job - now take these to the dining room," Jennie smirked whilst handing her a tray full of sparkling clean silverware.
Within minutes, the family were seated at the lengthy dark dining table in a careful yet comfortable silence. Odin sat at the head, Thor on his right side, Loki on his left and Frigga on the opposite end. Luckily, Christie wasn't waiting on them by herself - she had two other maids there to help her. One was named Delilah and the other was named Renesme. Delilah had sleek black hair styled in a pixie cut with enticing dark blue eyes, her skin a pretty porcelain colour; Renesme had bright red wild curls that she wore up in a bun to stay presentable, and she had the sweetest delicate freckled nose.
"Annerledes, it's time to bring the drinks," Delilah whispered to Christie.
"Oh, yeah, right," Christie mumbled, smoothing out the creases of her white fabric apron. She checked herself in the reflection of the silver dish that held a glass pitcher of water and quickly fixed her hair. Taking her time to ensure everything was perfect, she carefully picked up the tray and approached the table, placing it in the centre as she was taught, feeling all eyes fall on her. As she bent down to pour water into each glass, she briefly glanced up and suddenly caught Loki's mossy green eyes staring straight at her. She genuinely couldn't read his expression but found herself flushing under his gaze regardless, forcing her to break eye contact as quickly as she could. Delilah and Renesme also gracefully placed their trays down and bowed before leaving. Christie did the same and scurried out of the room after them, still a little shaken from her encounter with Loki. Jennie saw enter from where she was tidying the kitchens.
"Annerledes! What are you doing back here?!" she exclaimed in surprise as she wiped the countertops free of flour and leftover oil spills. Christie blinked at her sudden unexpected energy.
"What do you mean? I've waited the table, they have their drinks and the other girls put down the food and left too!" she exclaimed defensively with her hands risen.
"No, no, NO, Annerledes! Waiting the table means that you must WAIT to see if they require anything throughout the entire meal!" Jennie broke it down as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, her eyes wild and frantic. Christie swore under her breath before spinning on her heel to return to the dining room, slipping back in and leaning against the wall. She carefully assessed how the family operated. Today they were discussing the most random things over their breakfast, such as the weather, and their plans for the rest of the day. Odin appeared to be relatively serious, Thor constantly loud and boastful, his words full of amusement, Frigga was bright and gentle - whilst Loki seemed oddly quiet. Christie noticed that he kept glancing over at her, not an ounce of expression on his face.
Even once the meal was over and Christie silently swept out of the room with the empty dishes stacked on her tray, she could still feel those beautiful green eyes gazing deep into her soul.
Reviews always appreciated 3 I'm so proud of how my writing style has changed compared to the old one!
Stay safe!
- J x