The Next Morning
Lazily, I rolled over onto my back, feeling my silky sheets brush across my slightly bronze tinted skin. I let out a small groan and then proceeded to stretch my arms back until they turned into jello. 'Ugh, what time is it?' , I thought to myself. Once I finally decided to open my eyes, I sat up and looked around the room, suddenly remembering where I am and what my plans were for today. I reluctantly slid off my bed, staring longingly at the balcony. "Wow, I could just stare off into Asgard's sky all day, to be honest", I said to myself in a quiet voice. "But Lady Jane, you've got plans with Prince Thor today", said the strange lady in my room.
My body locked up as if I was tased, and I screamed. The servant, I assumed her to be, simply giggled and watched me as I stared at her, my eyes sending off waves of bewildered terror. After I sat down, making sure to keep an eye on her, I spoke, although my voice was a tad shaky. "Who..are you?" She smiled softly, and her eyes began to shine a bright crystal blue. "I am merely a servant, but a few call me Azalea", she spoke earnestly and genuine. "I was sent to help you get ready on this beautiful morning. For your part of Midgard, it is only 7 a.m. Asgard is conveniently only an hour ahead, so it is 8 a.m." I smiled, now calm, and watched her as she tidied the room up while I mentally prepared myself.
Azalea was a very gorgeous Aesir, as if they weren't already beautiful. She is a tiny one, really. I wouldn't say she is more than a few inches over 5 feet. She is paler than snow, a rare thing in Asgard. Her eyes sparkled with truth and honesty, a clear blue. I noticed the outside of her iris was a deep navy blue, nearly black. Her face was gently sprinkled with a few freckles, and they complimented her brilliantly long, slightly auburn tinted, brunette hair. It was intricately braided, strands of hair twisted into a fishtail, and then the rest into a very neat bun that rested atop of where her braid started, at the back of her neck.
Immediately, I decided that I liked her. She already seemed really sweet and trusting. Even though I very well know servants are told to be friendly, Azalea seemed to truly be kind and caring. I wonder why, though. 'Does she like doing things for others?' I glanced up at her and slowly said, "I um..I don't have anything to wear for today." Azalea turned to me, nodded, and stepped out into the hallway without even so much as a reply. Being confused, I stared at the door and patiently waited. A few minutes later, she quickly stepped back into the room and shut the dark wood door. From behind her, she pulled out a dark cranberry dress, accented with a splash of cream and black on the neckline, buttons, cuffs, and fringeline. I typically don't like dresses, but this one was different. The neckline didn't plunge to uncomfortable levels, and it wasn't drastically long either.
Azalea recognized the wonder upon my face and asked, "Does this please you, Lady Jane?" My eyes met hers and I quickly nodded, embarrassed because I truly have never owned anything so nice as this. "I'll leave you for a few moments to be changed. Please knock once you are done, as I am to apply some makeup on you and fix your hair for today.", said the pleasant servant. I smiled and said okay. She quickly left once again, and shut the door with a muffled clicking of her shoes.
As I slipped on the dress, I realized that it wasn't as thick as I imagined. 'Good, I hate overly thick material, and it keeps me from freely moving'. The dress was made of what felt like a cotton and silk blend. I could tell it had been made with a bit of magic as well, so I recognized the safety and wonder I felt while wearing it. 'Did Thor tell them to make this for me? It fits so well.' The dress came down to roughly a few inches above my knee. I put on my boots from the previous night, and noticed that it matched so perfectly. I can tell, they know current Ear-Midgard fashion.
I dressed myself quickly so I would have a few minutes to peer over the balcony before Azalea expected me to be finished. Quickly, I walked over to the ledge and looked down to find the garden I saw last night. The garden… it was… gone? 'What? Where did it go? I know I didn't dream of that last night… or did I? No! Impossible!', I thought. My eyes wandered across the streets, watching the Aesir. I almost tried to look for that man I saw last night, but I figured I wouldn't see him. After looking for a few moments, I walked to the door and knocked on it lightly. Azalea peeked in the door, and then opened it to its full capacity, her eyes going wide while her smiled consumed me. She excitedly squealed and said, "It looks so beautiful on you, just like I imagined!" I curiously replied, "Like you imagined?" Nodding gracefully, she twirled her finger as a gesture to tell me to slowly spin. "Yes, I saw you last night without any luggage of sorts, so I figured you'd need a dress. I spoke with Prince Thor, and he had completely forgotten, and asked me to make you one. I know you're of Midgard, so I wanted to blend the fashion of Midgard and Asgard together."
After I stopped spinning, she immediately took me to the bathroom and sat me down. I sat in the chair for about ten minutes of her styling my hair into a beautiful french braid, while chatting to me about Asgard's current fashion. I really have no sense of style, being that I am a scientist who focuses more on formulas than fashion. I nodded, half paying attention. My mind was merely fixed upon that man I was spying on last night. 'Today, I will ask Thor who that was.' I am determined to know.
Azalea excused herself for a moment, saying something about needing to grab makeup. I sat there for a moment, thinking about how much I missed Thor during his absence. 'He really is such a kind soul, and quite fun. Maybe he isn't the brightest star, but he does shine, right?' Then, I glanced at the mirror, and in jade writing was "I saw you last night." My body froze instantly, as the temperature dropped in bathroom at an astonishing rate. I thrusted myself higher, breathing outwards. I watched as my breath turned to ice before me, and shattered onto the floor. I blinked, and it was suddenly gone.
She came back just in time to watch my eyes dilate and return from the horror that I witnessed. She ran to me and kneeled down, shaking me. "Lady Jane? Lady Jane! Are you ill?" I jumped a little and said, "Oh my, I'm fine. I just haven't eaten in a while." I hated lying to her, but I don't think she'd believe me if I told her what really happened. As she calmed down, she began speaking more nonsense about cosmetics. I nodded a lot, not fully understanding. 'He saw me, he saw me. Oh how embarrassing!' Rage and blind anger swelled up in me at that moment. I was so stupid, how could I have knocked something over. I am always so damn clumsy! 'Now what do I do? What if he sees me today?' I sat there and angrily moped at myself, until Azalea told me I was finished. I stared at myself in the mirror, noticing all the glow that came from my face. My makeup was very natural, and accented my best features. I smiled, and sat up and nervously thanked the lovely girl.
Then, she escorted me to the dining hall. There, I saw Thor speaking to a servant man. Azalea gently coughed to make Thor aware of my presence, and he turned, his eyes locked upon mine. His eyes then wandered down to my dress and hair. He gracefully walked up to me and grasped my right hand between his, and kissed it gently. "Good morning, my lady. Was your slumber as good as you would've wished?", he quickly asked. I laughed gently and said, "Yes, it was. It was nice sleeping in a real bed. It is nothing like my bed in my trailer." He met my eyes with a sort of sad smile, knowing what I meant. I don't really have much, considering my parents died when I was fairly young. Erik didn't really have much money, and finding a job was very hard. I've pretty much always been on my own, so it wasn't too different. Erik was nice company, though. I miss him, but I'm sure he is doing fine without me.
To much of my embarrassment, my stomach let out a loud grumbled. Thor laughed heartily, and gestured to the table full of food. "My dear Jane, let us feast. We have a long day ahead of you. I plan on showing you around today to see the street entertainment Asgard provides. We have the greatest magicians you've ever seen. Maybe they'll provide you with answers, being I'm sure you'll have sciency questions to ask them." I sat down and then scanned the table, noticing they didn't have coffee. That was definitely missing, but they did have eggs and pastries with meats and cheese. I gathered a handful of bread, cheese, and meat upon my plate and dug in. I tried not to eat too quickly, but I wanted the time to ask Thor about that man I saw last night in that garden.
After eating, I began to speak to Thor about the man. "Thor, I saw a man last night. He was in a gar-" "Good morning, Thor!" said a lady who had interrupted me. This lady was tall and built, pale as well. Her hair though, I noticed, was as black as the night sky in the dead winter. Thor stood up and greeted her, ignoring what I had been saying to him. I sat there and watched him speak to her about the new weapons she had forged the previous week.
I will ask him later, then. Damn.
Hi guys, it is Cierra again! I hope you liked this chapter. I will be writing about their day in Asgard for the next chapter, but I wanted to add a lot of detail and a new character. Things may be going slow, but I am just not trying to rush this. You will be meeting this mysterious garden man soon, I promise!