The Unknown

Chapter 29: Aftermath

Seeing her sister come through the portal, Dahlia was relieved and finally smiled as best as she could with a knife wound. The others didn't think so though as they held on to their weapons, not knowing what to expect from the Goddess of Death. It was a surprise to most who have never seen her before and only heard the stories from Thor, that she was in fact half dead but she was also extremely beautiful and held the posture of a true queen. Although the Avengers, minus Thor, played little part in the condition Dahlia was in now and was trying to stop the bleeding, they suspected Hela would feel differently, not knowing the whole story, and instantly held on tightly to their weapons, ready for an attack. They all suspected the Goddess of Death and her soldiers to rip through them, killing as many of them as possible and maybe attempting to kill Odin but what they saw was different. As she laid eyes on her bleeding sister, gone was the royal queen who held her head high, gone was the strong and confident young woman who ruled over a realm and whose name was feared not just across the nine realms, but throughout the stars. What they saw was that young woman wash away and in her place a grieving, scared sister.

Hela took only a quick look around to see who was present in the room but took little notice after she saw her baby sister bleeding on the floor, with Odin standing only a few feet away. Almost running to her, Hela practically slid on the floor in her dress and pushed Steve away as she took Dahlia into her arms. Akio and Morek, however, drew their swords and stood either side of their Queen and Princess and their main focus was on the Asgardians. Held tightly in Hela's arms, Dahlia relaxed but that certainly didn't calm Hela's worry as she was looking over her little sister and only assessed two injuries to her leg and abdomen. She even touched the wound at the abdomen, which Bruce was applying pressure to, and noticed it was the same blade that Akio had gifted to Dahlia. With her sister's blood on her hand, she said, "no, no, no, no, no, not you too. I can't lose you too, not again".

Dahlia, who was gasping at the pain in both her leg and abdomen, raised her hand and held her sister's bloody hand as she said, "they're not that bad".

"What?"

"The Avengers...minus Thor...they're not that bad".

Hela looked surprised at her sister's words and looked to the Avengers, minus Thor, to see them looking worried about Dahlia and actually trying to help stop the bleeding. It wasn't her sister's words that shocked her, Dahlia did have a good heart, but it was her timing. Shaking her head, Hela looked back down to her sister and said, "you've been stabbed, you could die and you're what? Complimenting, defending them?"

Dahlia shook her head with the little strength she had and said, "they didn't know the truth...following blindly by Thor's stories..."

Hela saw, at the corner of her eye, Odin take a step forward and immediately looked to him and the rage that was in her eyes was so familiar to Odin as he saw, in her father's eyes, the same rage the day she was banished from Asgard. She seethed, "you step one more step closer and I will end you. You know I have the power to do so".

Odin stopped, not knowing how much her powers had truly developed in the last thousand years, but he wasn't willing to put it to the test. He wasn't the God of Wisdom for nothing. He did, however, stand his ground and said, "another bastard child".

"Which makes four, and papa treated us like his children, unlike how you treat yours like a puppet," she glanced quickly to Thor.

"Her mother?" Odin questioned.

Dahlia squeezed her sister's hand tighter as Hela glared at Odin and said, "don't you dare bring her into this. Ragnarok has already started because of your attack".

"He didn't do it," Dahlia said weakly.

"What?" Hela asked confused as she looked down.

"I did it. I had to. Outnumbered, had to alert you...Thor has a poultice bag, I couldn't contact you. Three inches in the abdomen, with the blood loss from the arrow too, I calculate it's about an hour before I die of blood loss, that's time for you to save me," she said breathlessly.