"And you have your phone?"
"Geez, Jane. You're worse than my mom!" Darcy readjusted the strap on her rucksack and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I have the one that Fitz guy designed. He promised me it would work in Asgard and the battery is good for at least a few months. And I have about ten extra when that runs out. And I have this laptop and a tablet and he made me take some kind of sleeping dart gun or something. Seemed really insistent. I'm good."
"Call us if you need anything, okay?"
"I'm a personal guest of the queen, I think I'll be okay." She saw that Jane was either about to press the issue, or move on to another question and she rushed to beat her to it. "But I'll call anyway to catch up and stuff. Jane, I'm gonna be fine."
The other woman just nodded, looking all the world like she was coming to grips with never seeing her friend again. For a scientist, Jane could be a drama queen, Darcy thought.
Thor, silent so far during their exchange, stepped forward and clasped her on the shoulder with one of his great big hands. "We will miss you, Darcy Lewis. Tell my brother we plan to visit in a few weeks. If there is anything you require from Midgard before then, send Jane a message in text and we shall bring it with us."
"Thanks, big guy."
Darcy took several steps back and looked up at the clear autumn sky. "Um okay, Asgard Transit Authority. You can beam me up now." That Heimdall guy had better be paying attention, otherwise she just looked like an idiot standing in the middle of a field.
But before she could feel self-conscious, the familiar weightless feeling enveloped her along with the much too bright light. She stumbled into the observatory with a curse, but managed to keep her feet. She had no idea how Thor made it look so damn easy. Maybe that hammer did something to help his balance.
Before she knew it, Erna was there handing her bags off to a small army of soldiers in glinting gold armor. The queen traveled in style. "You're not the size of a house anymore," Darcy blurted, wishing (not for the first time) that she had a filter. "I mean… shit. I'm sorry. You look nice. Very queenly."
Erna gave a snort of laughter, happy to have another person around who wasn't so awed by her position that they turned into a blithering sycophant. She could trust Darcy to be honest to a fault and that turned out to be surprisingly refreshing. Loki had once referred to her as the charmless charmer and something about that rang true. Everyone warmed to Darcy, sometimes despite herself.
"I'm rather glad to be back to my normal self, more or less. Motherhood changes your body forever, but I won't lie and pretend I miss the waddle I'd acquired over those last few months." The other woman nodded, likely choosing the safety of silence rather than risk her friend's wrath again, so Erna continued. "I have a lovely suite ready for you. They used to be my rooms before Loki and I were wed."
"Dude, I don't need rooms. That's really nice of you, but I meant it when I said I wouldn't be any trouble. I'll sleep on whatever you guys have instead of couches."
"Darcy," Erna took her hand and led her towards the waiting horses, Heimdall shooting her a grin as they left. He knew as well as anyone it was next to useless to argue with the queen. "You are our guest and you'll be afforded the courtesy we would give any visiting dignitary."
"But I'm definitely not a dignitary!" That was definitely the first time anyone had put her in the same category as dignified.
"You are a Midgardian scholar set to study our government. There are many men here who would wish to diminish your power by dint of your sex, I won't let them have another excuse to do so. How we treat you will signal to them how seriously they're meant to take you. The sooner they accept your role, the easier your project will be. I don't know how it is in Midgard, but court politics are heavily reliant on social cues, however archaic they may be."
"Yeah, that's true where I'm from too. Old white guys get so bent out of shape with us womenfolk."
"That seems to be a universal truth. So it's not only my affection for you personally that led me to give you my old suite. It sends a very tangible signal to the court. And tomorrow night we're having a feast in your honor."
"I brought the dresses you had made for me last time, so at least I'll look the part this time."
"They won't do for your grand reception. Those garments are over a year old and there are those that will notice such minuscule things. Again, I'm taking no chances with the details of your arrival, no matter how trivial they may seem. As soon as you've recovered from your journey you have a final fitting with my own dressmaker. We kept your measurements, so it will hopefully be a short sitting, just to finalize the details."
"This is… a lot, Erna. I'm not gonna lie I'm starting to get a bit anxious. I thought it would be like it was before. I can just sit in the visitor's gallery to get the material for my paper. I don't need all this extra stuff."
"You do. Will you not need to speak to those in power to capture their own words on the matter?"
"I mean, I don't have to…" She sounded less than sure, suddenly very interested in studying her shoes.
"Nonsense. Nobody will say you weren't a thorough scholar. I know how important this is to you, Darcy. I will do everything I can to help you succeed."
"And making me wear a new dress and raising a toast of mutton or whatever at a feast will help me do that? You're worse than my thesis adviser."
"As silly as it sounds, you'll soon see that these are all necessary."
"I feel bad to waste the taxpayer's money on dresses and feasts."
"Oh, Darcy what a joy it is going to be to have you at court!" Erna didn't disguise the delight in her voice. "The state isn't paying for your visit. Loki and I have family funds we use for such things. None of this is at the burden of our citizens. As much as I enjoy your company, only true matters of state are paid for by the treasury."
"That's even worse! You can't pay for this out of your own pocket!"
"You brought my ice cream when I was in Midgard, this hospitality is no different."
"This is a lot bigger than some crummy ice cream."
"My pockets are a bit deeper than yours, yes, but rest assured we wouldn't be doing this if we couldn't. So take your first lesson in court politics to heart and accept."
"I feel like Alice through the looking glass here."
"I don't know who this Alice person is, but I assure you you'll come out with a more interesting tale than her gazing into a mirror."
Darcy let the subject drop, unwilling to delve into the explanation of who Alice was and how the damn mirror fit in. Suddenly she was very tired. She let Erna prattle on as they rode for the palace. The queen promised to leave her to rest as soon as she met the new princess. Even Darcy wasn't so heartless as to stop a new mother from showing off her baby.
As they trudged through the massive corridors, Darcy was very grateful she'd seen it all before. There were still things she glimpsed that begged a further look, but she'd have time for all that later. As it was her brain was starting to get overloaded with information. Something resonated within her, reminding her this was a momentous day. Intellectually she knew it was the start of what was hopefully going to be a monumental academic and anthropological work, but even that didn't explain her feeling. It almost felt like her normal emotions were being amped up by something. Like an emotional triple shot espresso. Weird.
She resolved to grab a nap in her chambers as soon as it was polite to excuse herself. Just a baby meet and greet and then she'd be free.
Surprised to find Loki bobbing around the room with a delighted child in his arms, that wasn't the biggest shock of Darcy's day— by a long shot. Not even the dancing green lights bobbing around the pair was the source of her shock. No, the girl's captivating eyes and shock of dark hair were what stopped her dead in her tracks. When she finally found her voice to ask the question, she was starting to feel more in common with the girl in Wonderland than she had moments before.
"Do either of you know why I've dreamt about your kid every day for the past two weeks?"