A/N: oh my god, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever! I'm in my last year of college, so obviously real life (and school work) come first. Anyway, I have managed to write another chapter over spring break and my wonderful beta Yoshinator is a goddess of a proofreader. anyway, I'm sorry to say that you wonderful readers of mine shouldn't expect another chapter for at least a month, finals are coming, ugh. anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Darcy was not having a good day. Her "wonderful" morning had started with her phone ringing, work calling her in two hours early on a Saturday because one or two people were out with mono. Apparently the books desperately needed to be re-shelved and the other people working couldn't spare a second to do it until she came in. As she was rushing to get to work she had spilled her shitty instant coffee, staining one of her favorite shirts, and to top off her day, it seemed like every person who visited the library today had decided to make her life worse and simply put books back in the wrong spot instead of leaving it out on a table.
"I better get paid overtime for this shit," Darcy muttered to herself, violently grabbing wrongly placed books from shelves and shoving the proper ones into place. She had forgotten her iPod in her mad rush to get out of the apartment this morning and so she didn't even have the calming effect of her music to help her through the day. She was just heading back to the front desk to ask to leave early when she caught sight of a familiar form standing there, seeming to terrorize the front desk manager.
"Jane, Thor, what are you guys doing here?" Darcy asked, jogging the last few feet over to the couple.
"Do you know them? They've been demanding to know where you were," the front desk person, Heather, asked, trying to subtly step back from where the couple was standing.
"Yeah, they're friends of mine…Jane, is something going on?" the younger woman demanded.
"You might say that…um, you should really come with us right now. I don't know for sure, but you might be in danger or in trouble," Jane told her, worrying at her bottom lip.
"Well which is it? Trouble or danger? Because I can pretty readily handle either of those, especially trouble. Where do we have to go? SHIELD?" she asked, glancing up at Thor.
"Lady Darcy, I'm afraid it has nothing to do with SHIELD. We must go to Asgard," the blond answered.
"Oh boy…last time a human was in Asgard the school got destroyed. This is really bad, isn't it?" she asked, grabbing her bag from behind the counter and waving at Heather as the three of them walked out of the building.
"It is a rather serious matter," Thor mentioned before turning to the sky and calling to Heimdall. Darcy was not at all prepared for the swirling vortex of color that sucked the three of them up into the sky. The rough landing did nothing to help quell her severe dizziness. She found herself stumbling forward, flailing in an attempt to keep her balance before she simply gave up and sat down, putting her head between her knees and taking deep breaths.
"Oh honey, I'm sorry. I probably should have warned you about what it was like traveling the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. I guess it's a bit disconcerting," Jane mumbled, crouching next to the younger woman and rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Yeah I don't think the swirling rainbow vortex of doom and my motion sickness get along very well. Suddenly that roller coaster at Six Flags doesn't seem so bad," she moaned. Jane chuckled lightly as Thor looked down on them, slightly confused and worried. Eventually Darcy was able to get to her feet, glancing around the golden domed room.
"Lady Darcy, welcome to Asgard," a deep baritone voice spoke. The younger woman turned to see possibly the largest person she had ever laid eyes on standing next to Thor, holding a sword that was probably taller than her easily in his grip.
"Hi, you must be Heimdall. Hell of a ride you got there," she told him, motioning behind her to where the three of them had exited from the bridge. The gatekeeper gave a small grin, bowing his head slightly.
"The Allfather awaits you in the Main Hall my lord," the man said before turning back to gaze across the cosmos.
"Friendly guy," Darcy muttered as the three of them exited the dome and out onto the bridge. The brunette could hear Thor and Jane talking quietly as the two of them walked ahead, but for once, the younger woman didn't care to listen in. She was much too engrossed in looking around her. Asgard looked like something out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel…Middle Earth on an HD TV. Everything was bright and golden, almost as if having a visible aura. As they strode down the opalescent bridge a pair of ravens flew above them, circling. She smiled and waved at the pair. Darcy was surprised they had something as normal as ravens here on such a different world.
"Hello there," she said as one of the birds flew down toward her. It seemed to be hovering, waiting for something. Darcy paused, brushing her hair back from her shoulder and allowing the raven to perch there.
"Well aren't you the smartest bird I've ever met," she told it, brushing at its feathers affectionately. The raven made a low, soft croaking noise, shaking itself out and nipping playing at her fingers. She laughed, taking a careful step forward to see if the bird would take off at the movement. When it kept its perch she continued on, following Jane and Thor into the city and along the stone roads. As they were walking up to what Darcy assumed was the palace Thor seemed to hesitate before turning to face her.
"I feel I must warn you Darcy, you will not feel welcome here. You will not be greeted and I fear the only allies you will find in the main hall are Jane and I. This has nothing to do with the fact that you are from Midgard, but has everything to do with why I asked you to come here. Please remember, that whatever happens, no harm shall come to you, I promise," he told her. He seemed to be waiting for her reply, Jane anxiously wringing her hands beside him. Darcy took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and nodded.
"Let's do this," she said, managing a mischievous grin. Thor nodded before turning back to the entryway and leading the two women through.