Lady Dahlia | Loki Odinson

Chapter 17 - The Dark World | Age of Ultron

"What are you doing?" Erik asks as they run, ducking to avoid the rubble from the explosion behind them.

"My signal's not connecting." Jane answers. She stops as elves emerge from the building behind them. More come from the other direction.

"Jane!" Dahlia scolds, knowing that keeping Jane safe is her part in the plan. 

"Come on." Erik says, grabbing both of their arms and pulling them away.

"Can't you use your magic to kill some of these guys?" Jane asks as they continue running from the elves.

"I won't. I don't deserve magic anymore, not after both the people who taught me aren't here." She answers. 

They reach the end of the hall and Jane twists the knob just as the elves reach them, sending them away. In their place is Darcy kissing Ian.

"Darcy?" She asks, making the woman drop him.

"Jane!" She exclaims.

"Ian!" Erik says.

"Selvig!" He replies.

"Mew mew!" Darcy calls as Mjolnir flies past them.

"I feel left out." Dahlia complains.

"Dahlia!" She exclaims, making the Asgardian smile.

"Thanks." She tells her. She takes a deep breath and unsheathes Loki's dagger. "Someone find me another weapon. I don't need magic to kill these bastards." She says, hearing elves firing their weapons in the distance but growing nearer.

"Go find the lady a weapon." Darcy tells Ian. He quickly begins searching for a fallen elf to steal their weapon. He quickly finds one as a few elves reach them, giving her the sword. She quickly kills the elves as Darcy and Ian cheer her on.

Jane and Erik move towards the steps of the building and look up, spotting the other realms above them. 

"We're out of time." She says, running away from the building.

"Jane. Jane!" He calls. Dahlia joins him and the two follow after Jane, finding Thor.

"Thor!" Jane calls as they approach him. "We're too late."

"The Convergence is at its peak." Erik adds.

"Can those things stop him?" Thor asks, nodding to the devices in his hand.

"Not from here." He answers.

"We can't get close enough." Jane says.

"I can." Thor replies, grabbing the devices. Jane and Dahlia both breathe shakily as he disappears into the Aether surrounding Malekith. Dahlia sheathes Loki's dagger and presses her hand to her chest, over her heart.

"Are you okay?" She asks her, noticing her new friend massaging the spot.

"I will be." She replies. Jane looks back to the device in her hands, activating the devices Thor has as they beep, until eventually, Malekith is banished. She leads Dahlia towards the edge of the building, spotting Thor on the ground, unconscious. 

Malekith's ship rumbles as it begins to collapse. Dahlia covers her ears, the sound too much for her. Jane's shouting is muffled as she runs towards Thor. Erik spots Jane trying to drag Thor away, then the ship falling towards them. He activates the device Jane had discarded, sending the ship into Svartalfheim where it crushes Malekith.

"Everybody okay?" He asks. Jane rests her head on Thor's chest, and he wakes. 

***

Dahlia walks out onto her porch, breathing in the smell of the forest around her. She sighs and grabs the basket from the bench next to the front door. She walks the familiar path down the steps and around the house, approaching the chicken coop.

"Hello, my friends." She tells them, scattering their food around their pen. As they begin eating, she gathers their eggs, carefully placing them into her basket. She moves on to the pair of goats she rescued, two sisters who had been abused by their previous owner.

"How have you been?" She asks, setting the basket down outside their pen before entering. She kneels and they affectionately butt their heads into her. She laughs and scratches their chests, knowing it's their favorite spot to be petted. The goats bleat happily, loving the attention. "Come, Frigga, Sif." She calls, holding the gate open for them, knowing they love exploring and will stay within the fence around her property.

Dahlia moves towards the last pen, smiling when she hears him approaching. The large, black horse whinnies happily as she reaches the gate and enters. She raises her hand, and he nuzzles his face into her palm. "Hello, Loki. Let's go for a ride." She whispers. He snorts and leads her towards his stall in the small stable.

She grabs his bridle, and he helps her slip it on, adjusting his head so it goes on easier. She gets his saddle on and climbs on his back. She strokes his neck as he guides her out of the pen and towards the path they normally take around her property. She pats his neck, silently telling him to go. 

***

Dahlia returns Loki to his pen after their ride, Frigga and Sif already waiting for him after exploring for the hour they'd been gone. She chuckles at them, hearing them chasing each other around the large space.

She enters her house and her golden retriever barks from his spot near the dining room table. She carefully holds her hand out as she approaches the table and her hand bumps into the basket she'd used to collect the eggs.

"Oh, thank you, Thor." She says, thankful he'd brough it inside as she'd forgotten all about it.

"Oh, the dog brought those in. It wasn't me." Thor says from his spot on the couch across the room. Dahlia screams, not knowing that he was there. "Sorry, Lia." He apologizes as she clutches her chest.

"Did you break into my house?" She yells, glaring at him.

"Nope. I let us in." Tony answers, taking a bite of the sandwich he'd made. "Where'd you go?" He asks, as she sits, taking the one across the table from her. Thor complains under his breath as he gets up and moves across the room to sit with them.

"I was out for a ride. What are you doing here?" She replies, holding her hand out. He chuckles and hands over the other half of the sandwich.

"Hold on. Is that thing named Thor?" Thor asks. Dog Thor barks, resting his head on the God's lap and wagging his tail at him.

"Tony insisted on the name when he gave him to me. When he described his appearance, I knew it was the perfect name for him. You should be flattered, Thor." She explains. 

"Come on. He's a golden retriever, he looks just like you." Tony adds. Thor rolls his eyes and scoffs.

"Now, what are you two doing here?" Dahlia asks. They both visit her often, but never once had they come to her house at the same time.

"We found it, Lia. We found Loki's scepter." Thor tells her.

I couldn't sleep so I decided to update now lol