Pots clanged and pans banged together as the kitchen staff bustled with anxiety. Everyone knew of the ball to be held later that night. All the maids on kitchen duty were excited due to the special permission from Her Highness that they got to wear a red dress to signify that they were kitchen staff. Well, most maids were excited anyway. To be completely honest, the girl didn't care for festivities. Too many people. All in one place, she knew from previous experiences that gatherings like these never go unnoticed by rivals. Liv approached her with a smile.

"What are you assigned to?" she asked with a grin. "I'm assigned to the hors d'oeuvres for the royal family and their direct guests." Liv's face was lit up, and the girl could tell that she was very proud of herself.

"Who knows?" the girl said flatly, "this could be the start of something great for you."  She forced a smile. Liv gasped.

"Not beverages again..." she almost whined. She shrugged.

"I've only been here for a month or two. I'm a newbie still. You and I both know that the better jobs go to those with more experience."

"You know full and well that you've been here for more than a couple of months. More like four months." Liv pointed out.

"Four months, three weeks, five days." She mumbled under her breath.

"Oh, Hal. You know tallying up the days only makes them go by slower."

The girl, Hal, could only shrug.  Liv looked sympathetic.  Hal hated that, she hated pity, and sympathy. And empathy, and all of the other, 'oh, I'm so sorry' feelings.

"Well, my highest congratulations go to you, Liv; maybe you'll finally be Recognized." Hal forced another tight smile. This was the main excitement for most maids. At balls like this one, the royal family was there and maids got promoted if enough effort had been put forth, and the maid was then recognized as one who deserves such a promotion. It was also at events like these that the royal family picked another maid to assist them if they feel the need to have another one. Many of the higher ranking maids in the kitchen were convinced that Prince Thor and Prince Loki would be seeking out maids, for they had such small amounts. Rumors went around explaining what happened to the maids of the princes, and why they always seemed to be running short.

To be Recognized was a very high honor. Some of the maids even got a chamber provided to them, other than having to sleep huddled in a dusty room with all of the other maids. Liv sighed in pleasure at the idea.

"Well, let's get prepared for a ball."
***
Dim lights elegantly illuminated the soft color of caramel brown on the walls. Soft velvet curtains the color of cocoa powder cascaded down the window frames and grazed the granite floors. Guests in gowns of rich colors talked in hushed voices. Hal stood in a red silk maids dress that reached the floor. She wore her sash around my shoulder and across my waist, as the uniform demanded. The dress was a single strap, the one strap on the left side: thick and forming into a sleeve that tightened at the shoulder and flowed down to her elbow. In her left hand, there was a gold platter with a red velvet fabric that covered the bottom of the platter. At the start of the night, the platter had been cool on the surface of her palm, but as the night went on she found it growing clammy much like her exhausted hand. On the platter, there were three tall glasses filled with a liquid that had a translucent ivory color to them.  She and two other maids stood at the entrance of the ball room, greeting guests as they came and bidding them farewell as they left. As guests entered, most accepted the offer of the drinks as they entered. Some collected glasses of the sparkling alcohol as they departed, dropping off their glasses with the other maids at the exit.

A pair of guests arrived at the door, the woman wearing a violet gown that had soft puffs at the shoulders made of a lacey material. The gown dipped at her neck, exposing her collarbone and the ends meeting at 'V' where her breasts met each other. She looked drastically younger than the man she had arrived with, making Hal have to catch herself before she rolled her eyes at the predictability of it. The woman's partner wore a black suit with a crisp violet shirt under to match the woman's dress. His tie was ebony black, contrasting the purple and matching the suit.  They each accepted a glass of alcohol.  They each held petite gold tickets in their fingers, signifying that they were some of the royal's direct guests. Hal bowed her head in respect, and when they asked for directions to the royal guests' area, she was quick to point them in the direction without missing a beat. They uttered a quick and low "thank you", making Hal smile politely, as she bowed her head again in a 'farewell' gesture. They nodded stiffly and practically floated over to where Queen Frigga and King Odin were greeting guests.

To Odin's left, Thor stood tall and proud, his hair newly clipped to shoulder-length, as to where it had previously been down to the middle of his shoulder blade. To the Queen's right side, stood Prince Loki. Hal had come to be familiar with the royal family tree, and some of its secrets. The two stood tall with their heads held high and their shoulders drawn back. Her eyes followed the newly arrived guests adorned in violet as they made their way and stepped up to reunite with the royal family, whom they hadn't seen for ages. Her eyes trailed over to Loki, admiring his lithe frame and his cropped hair that curled by his ears. His emerald eyes seemed to glow, contrasting with the gleaming gold of his horned helmet and the gold lining of his forest green suit with a black overcoat that trailed behind the prince.

He scanned the crowd and his eye caught hers as she continued to inspect him. He almost seemed to be glaring at her, but he then smirked sarcastically, causing his eyes to shimmer. Hal tilted my head, dragging my eyesight away and questioning what his strange behavior could have possibly meant. She shook her head slightly and glanced down at her tray. The third drink had been taken. With ease, she lifted her dress at the waist slightly and made her way to the bar, asking for three more drinks to fill her tray with. She gathered the drinks and swayed back to her post. Out of the blue, the voices hushed as Odin's voice rang above all the others.

"Beloved citizens of Asgard, let the Recognition begin!" The shift in the air was drastic, as the excitement level all around Hal rose dramatically. She shrugged and began to tune the King out, and continue to bid farewell to the leaving guests, and warmly welcome the newly arriving ones. As a string of guests finished filtering in and out the doors, she turned her attention towards the Recognition. She took a quick glance to where the royals were, and it looked as though Frigga had promoted one of her maids to become her lady-in-waiting. She had also chosen another maid. Odin had selected one more maid, and as Hal scanned the royals' posts, it seemed that that had been all that had been done.

"Now, the Princes, my sons. First, my eldest, Thor." Odin retreated to his throne-like chair, as Thor stepped forward.

"Thank you, Father," Thor spoke, as he took place as the center of attention. He went on for a while, thanking the guests and giving honorable mentions to his previous personal maids who had since left, either to promotions or to death, Hal didn't know. 

Hal strained to pick out Liv's name from anything the prince was saying, hoping only for her friend to move up. The prince continued talking and finally approached the topic of interest. "And finally," he started, "to become my new maid, I choose the Lady..."

He paused, letting the anticipation fly throughout the room, before continuing,

"Haldor."