An hour into archery and her arm ached like hell, her limbs like jelly. Sure, she worked out every week, but it seriously has been a long time since she's seen Clint and therefore done anything with a bow and arrow. Luckily, she only had thirty minutes left before she got a fifteen minute break to prepare for Natasha's hour and a half go at her. She groaned internally. No more! Her body couldn't take such an onslaught so soon; it's just been too long. "Again," Clint said, sitting in a chair and flipping through a hunting catalogue, his eyes flicking up to see her scowling at him. "Chop chop."
She rolled her eyes before preparing her arm again, ready to shoot the target again when she got a wicked idea. A smile slowly came to her face as she wound her arm back, the string tightening as the arrow balanced on her fingers. Before she let go of the arrow, she swerved around and aimed quickly before releasing the arrow at Clint. She watched with glee as it shot across the air towards the unsuspecting man, who was busying himself with his magazine. Before it could pierce the glossed papers, a hand shot out in front of it and grabbed the arrow, the palm encasing the tip. Dropping the magazine just enough to look over it, Clint raised an eyebrow, staring at her with interest. "You should know better by now, Darcia. They don't call me the Hawk for nothing."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she replied, her shoulders sagging forward. She was so tired. He looked at her expectantly. "Whatcha reading?" she asked as sweetly as possible, batting her eyelashes.
He shook his head, tossing her the arrow before going back to the magazine. "Back to work or I'm going to keep you here longer."
Darcia gave out a fake gasp, overdramatic and threw her hand to her heart. "You wouldn't!" she exclaimed, staring at him wide-eyed. He didn't say anything in return, just purposely flipping the page. She groaned loudly before turning around, drawing up her bow and letting the arrow fly angrily through the air, landing dead center of the target.
Darcia dragged her feet out of the sparring room and to the elevator. She pressed the 'up' button with all of the strength she had left (which wasn't much) and when the doors opened, she shuffled her way into the small room. After pressing the button to the penthouse, she leaned against the mirrored wall, out of breath. She forgot how intense Clint made her train. She ached in places she didn't even know could ache and she felt as if she could take three more showers before the day ended. And who even knows how Natasha is in training. She groaned loudly as the doors opened to the main floor. She almost-but-not-really crawled out of the elevator and walked to the kitchen. She saw Steve and Natasha talking quietly with Pepper in the living room and joined them after getting two bottles of water.
"Thirsty much?" Pepper asked, laughing slightly.
"You've no idea. I forgot how much Clint is an ass," Darcia groaned, throwing herself facedown on the couch, mumbling something.
"Sorry, we didn't catch that," Steve said, looked at her mildly.
Darcia lifted her head and laid her cheek down on the leather. "Natasha, do you hate me?"
Natasha's eyes widened. "Why would you think that? Of course not!"
"Then you're not going to kill me for the next hour and a half, right?"
Natasha laughed shortly, along with Steve and Pepper. "I'll make sure you're breathing by the time we finish. Don't worry."
"Oh, okay. Good. S'all I wanted to know," Darcia replied, closing her eyes. It was silent for a minute before Natasha spoke again.
"You've got ten minutes, by the way." Darcia let out a loud groan, which made the three of them laugh again. "Oh, Steve, did you ever read that article on..."
Darcia fell asleep before she could hear the rest of Natasha's question (much to her later embarrassment, drooling a little bit) and dreamt for the first time in days.
"Sir, he's back." The statement was full of meaning and it stopped the CEO's movement. His pen nearly dropped to the desk before he gathered himself and set it down gently. He stood up and slowly walked to a cabinet, pulling out a bottle of Brandy and two glasses. He looked over his shoulder to the president of the company.
"Drink?" he offered. "Lord knows we need it now."
The man hesitated before nodding. "May I sit?"
"Of course, Andrews," the CEO responded, pouring two glasses, then walking to his desk. He gave a glass to the man named Andrews before sitting down. He sighed, taking a large drink, wincing only slightly. "All right, where is he?"
Andrews took a drink before answering. "They don't know, sir. But they think he's near here. Should we call Stark or S.H.E.I.L.D. or perhaps your-"
"No," the man said harshly. "We don't need to worry her right now. She's going through a lot right now." He sighed, rubbing his eyes before continuing. "We don't want them to have to come all the way over here if it's nothing."
Andrews' face hardened. "Sir, you know that this is not nothing. You know he wants you."
The man stood up from his desk, his drink in his hand. He stood with his back to Andrews, gazing out of his window-wall. He waited a few minutes before responding. "I'm getting old enough. If anything happens, I don't want her to get hurt. She's not even thirty, while I'm in my sixties. I've already made up my will long ago, after her mother left. I have nothing to worry about. She's strong enough to get on without me. She is doing great with her branch of the company anyway. She'll be fine as the new CEO."
"Mr. Grace, please see reason. You're talking as if you've already made up your mind!" Andrews said loudly, slamming his glass down and standing up. Michael turned around slowly, a small smile on his face.
"I have."
Andrews' eyes widened. "B-But sir, he'll kill you."
"I know, Andrews. Don't worry, you'll still remain president."
"Sir! That's not what I'm worried about! I've...I've worked with you for so long. I can't imagine working without you."
Michael smiled at his comrade and walked up to him, putting his hand on the other's shoulder. "You'll be fine." He looked at his watch then back at Andrews. "Now, I'm going to finish my drink and then I'm going to the lab. Tell no one where I am. I don't want any other lives on my conscience before I go."
Andrews hesitated before nodding. "Yes, sir."
"Good job. I'll see you around," Michael replied, finishing his drink quickly before setting the glass down and walking towards the door. "Oh, and Andrews?"
"Yes, sir?" the other man responded, turning to look at his boss.
"Do everything in your power to protect her. She's the only thing that matters to me. That's my final wish, if you will."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Michael Grace walked down the many hallways and stairways (no elevators...he didn't want questions) until he reached the lab. His fingers lightly touched the keypad before he punched in his access code and walked in after the doors opened. He looked at all of the plans spread out on the tables; the blueprints, the models, the sketches, all with some sorrow. 'She'll do fine. She's smart enough. She does take after me, after all.'
"Is that so?" a voice said behind Michael, quiet but menacing. "Then I suppose I'm going after the wrong person." The voice was right behind Michael, speaking into his ear. "Maybe I can pay little Darcia a visit next. Show her how us Asgardians like our women." Michael shouted in anger, spinning around with a model of a new dagger in his hand, stabbing the air. The figure disappeared and then reappeared ten feet away, by a couple model jets. He picked one up, examining it. "This isn't bad. I should like to have one of my own," he smiled evilly, looking at the older man.
"You leave her alone, Loki. She is of no concern to you," Michael spat, trembling.
"Oh but she is," Loki replied, smiling. He set the jet down and walked a few steps towards the man. "If she is with my brother and his little...friends," he spat out the word, "then she knows more than any innocent, unconcerned girl should. Which makes her my concern, Grace."
Michael's eyes filled with tears but he held them back. "You can have me. Don't hurt her."
The man grinned at him. "I plan on having you both. Now, on your knees, human." Michael dropped to the floor, using all of his strength to keep the tears away. He needed to be strong. "Maybe I should tell her exactly how you acted in front of me. Crying, bleeding, begging for life but was denied so cruelly. Maybe I should reenact it for her. It would be a mercy on my part, really. I would be giving her one last moment with her precious daddy," he paused, fingering the point of a blade he now held in his hand. "One last thing the Graces could bond over."
"Please..." Michael responded.
Loki grinned at him. "Yes, I will do that. With a few adjustments. After all, she is still so young. So...fruitful."
"No! You can't have her! They will protect her!"
Loki laughed. "Who? The human who gave you an easily broken promise when his own life is in danger? Or are you talking about the Avengers? Who knows. Maybe one of them would even kill her for me. He does have anger issues," he grinned, his tongue running along the front of his teeth. He stepped forward to Michael and knelt down, looking into his eyes. "Thank you. Really, you have no idea how joyful you've made me today. I do love to see people suffer." With one last grin, he stabbed the dagger into the man, who drew in a shocked breath, blood running out of his mouth, eyes wide. Gathering the last bit of dignity he could muster, Michael spit blood onto Loki's face, smiling ruefully before falling to the side, dead. Loki wiped the blood of his face and looked up into the air, as if looking into a camera, or a mind. "You're next."
Darcia shot up from her place on the couch, scaring Steve so much that he dropped his cup, water going everywhere. Pepper and Natasha blinked, stopped in mid-conversation, staring at the girl who was flushed and panting. "Wha-what time is it?" she demanded, standing up, stumbling over her feet.
Natasha looked at the wall clock. "Twenty 'till. What's wrong?"
"I-I fell asleep. I had a dream," Darcia replied, eyes wild and shooting between the three of them, who all looked at her weird. "I need a phone. Hold on."
She ran out of the room towards the hallway that housed her bedroom, barely hearing Natasha shout "Hey! You've got five minutes!" She rushed to find her purse (which was on her bed, though she missed it the first three times she looked there) and fumbled for her phone, pressing the speed dial for her father's number. She shakily held it to her ear, tears in her eyes. As it rang, tears began to spill and she started to quietly sob, holding the phone in a death grip to her ear.
"No, no, no. Please, please, please pick up. Please, ple-"
"Grace speaking." The ringing had stopped. A man answer. She paused, breathless. "Hello? Is this a prank? Andrews, is that you? I'll cut your pay, I swear!"
"D-Daddy?" she whispered, blinking the last few tears out of her eyes.
"Darcia? What's wrong? Why did you call my work phone? Is everything all right?" he sounded panicked.
"Yes, daddy. Oh my god, yes. I just...I just wanted to check on you." She thought it better to not talk about her dream.
"Oh," he replied, surprised. "Well, I'm fine, sweetie. But I've got to go back to work. I'm working on something big for the expo. I'll see you at your Gala next month, all right?"
She closed her eyes. "Yes, yes okay. Good luck on your project." She bit her lip. "I love you."
There was a short pause before he replied, "I love you too, Darcia." The line went dead shortly after and she had to hold her hand over her mouth before she could breathe. She dropped her phone on the bed and went into the bathroom to wipe her face and gather her bearings. She was in there not a minute before she heard Natasha calling for her.
"Darcia! We've got to keep on schedule! Are you all right?"
She took a breath before answering. "I'm fine! Just tired. I'm coming!" She took one last look in the mirror before leaving to meet the agent. She needed to talk to someone about this. But she didn't want to sound crazy. It was just a dream, just a dream. And that was that.
(A/N: Dun dun dun. What do you think will haaaaaappen? (; I've had "I Dreamed a Dream" on repeat since I saw Snow White and the Huntsman last night (which is completely related because I saw the Les Mis trailer for the second time and I'm SO PUMPED FOR IT) so there's my inspiration. I'm also in a mood where I just want to watch 13 Going on 30 and a bunch of sad movies in the dark in my pajamas with my sad playlist on repeat so I figured I could write some. I hope you all liked this chapter. I've got so much good stuff coming up, so don't worry. I just can't add it now because it's waaaay too soon. But we'll see(: For the usual stuff, dear readers, let me know what you think and/or what you want to see! Also, shout out to my friend LxIsxJustice because I promised her one for being so completely awesome. I'll get to the rest of you because I just love you all so much, little angels! :D Thank you for everything!)