Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers

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Chapter 19

Hela could only stare at the Horcruxes on the desk before her. The diary of Tom Riddle that was already destroyed by Dahlia in her second year at Hogwarts but it was still important as it was used as a vessel. The locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin and the ring that held the stone that Hela had created. They also had Dahlia and they knew that the snake was one but they couldn't get to Nagini just yet. There were just two more that Voldemort could have created, two more that would have stretched his soul and Hela was determined to find them before he discovered that they knew his secret to life.

As the Horcruxes were together, Hela could feel the soul more than ever, could feel its corruption and its whispers to her, tempting her to try the ring on but she knew the curse on the ring and if she wasn't the stones creator, if she wasn't a goddess and was a simple Midgardian mortal, she may have put it on but she had the restraint not to. She knew she would have to destroy the stone eventually, not just the Horcrux it was bound to but the stone itself. It had been on Midgard too long now and perhaps she would destroy the wand and cloak too, they had all done their job in teaching the Midgardian magical folk that power was not worth the consequences and would always lead to death.

"Is that what I think it is?" a voice said and Hela looked up to see Falcon walking into her office.

She sent him a quick smile as he walked to her and said, "yes. The resurrection stone as the Midgardians call it. The ring is a Horcrux, Dahlia and I went to retrieve it today".

He walked around the desk to stand beside her and picked up the ring and said, "it's been some time since I have seen this". He then put it down and said, "enough of this. Being around these, staring at them, studying them like you do is no good for you. Broken pieces of a soul, especially a dark soul such as his, will only make you feel anger and pain. Come on, I have a much more enjoyable way to spend our evening".

She smiled and looked to him with curiosity and asked, "really, what do you have planned?"

She stood from her chair and he reached for her hands and pulled her close before putting his hands on her hips and hers on his chest. He then said, "well I was thinking of a picnic. I haven't seen you at all today and I know it is selfish of me but I want you all to myself this evening. What do you say?"

Hela didn't speak immediately. She removed his hands from her and carefully picked up each Horcrux before putting them away near her bookcase where she hid them, shielded with magic so that no one could find them except those of her blood. When they were safely locked away, Hela turned back to Falcon and slowly walked to him and when she was close enough, wrapped her arms around his neck before leaning in for a kiss.

His hands immediately went around her, pushing on her back to bring her as close as possible but just as he was about to deepen the kiss, she pulled away. Not wanting to stop kissing her, he leaned in to kiss her but his lips were greeted with her finger, pressed between his lips and hers as she smiled.

"We should leave quickly," she said smiling, "if we don't who knows what will happen. People interrupting us, emergency council meeting, an invasion, or worse, my family".

He let off a small laugh then said, "the horror. Well, as my Queen wishes, let's go".

It didn't take long for the Queen and Death to escape the castle and the responsibilities it held and the servants and guards hadn't even realised they were gone until the stable hand realised their Thestrals were missing. They couldn't tell you how long they were flying for, being with each other flying across the lands, time seemed to stop for them. Hela was following Falcon though and put her faith in him and his female Thestral Nessie. Their two Thestrals were almost always in sync since the moment they were chosen, many people teased that Nessie and Zelda were the perfect match for Hela and Falcon as they represented their riders perfectly.

It didn't take long for Hela to realise where they were heading, she did know every inch of Niflheim after all but her curiosity was getting to her after they had passed several of their usual picnic spots. Nessie, followed by Zelda, finally started her decent at Sapphire Falls, the waterfall and pool so blue and clear you could see right to the bottom of the pool floor. It was obviously named after its colour. The white rocks of the hill and the rocks surrounding the pool only made the colour stand out, even under the moonlight, the blue pool almost sparkled fluorescent blue. The trees around only added to its beauty and tranquillity and gave it the view of a little piece of paradise.

They landed and that's when Hela noticed the blankets and pillows already set out not too far away from the pool with the picnic basket and wine. She dismounted as did Falcon and the Thestrals went about their own business walking to the trees. Falcon took her hand smiling as he led her to the blankets and laid out all their favourite foods.

Half the food was eaten by the time the sun was setting and the two were just talking, barely knowing how much time had passed since they arrived. They began to talk about their childhood and the waterfall when Falcon asked, "do you remember the first time we came here?"

Hela smiled and gave a slight nod, "we were still learning to be Queen and Death by Alec and Ari and we were all travelling around Niflheim, creating a map of all the places created once life began. This place was once on the very edge of our creation. You said you couldn't swim".

Falcon hummed, "after you pushed me in".

They both laughed then she said, "you never said anything and you'd been here years at that point. Besides, we taught you how to swim after that".

"I remember you teaching me how to swim every day for a week, our studies became unimportant until I learnt".

"Well it was more important," Hela said then shrugged, "I couldn't let anything happen to you because of something as simple as being unable to swim".

"Protecting me, even back then," he said and leaned close and gave her a brief kiss. He then stood and said, "come on," then started to walk backwards towards the pool as he took his shirt off and soon shoes and pants leaving him in nothing but his underwear as he jumped in. He treaded water as he said, "come on. We haven't swam here in close to two centuries".

"People could be watching us," she said as she glanced around.

"No one lives for miles and we both know no one followed us. You scared?" he teased.

She stood at the challenge and removed her dress, leaving her corset and underdress so the weight of the dress was gone but she was still covered. She jumped into the pool but when she came up from the water, he was gone. She looked around but then felt someone grab her leg and pull her down and she knew it was him. They smiled at one another in the water before swimming to where the waterfall was crashing and coming up.

Both laughed as they splashed one another but he came close to kiss her and without realising, they swam back till her back hit the wall beside the falls. She felt a slight ledge beneath the water and pushed herself up to sit on it so she could bring him closer and hold him, wrapping her legs around his waist beneath the water while her arms went around his neck. His hands gripped at her waist as they yearned for one another but as they ran out of breath, he moved the kisses to her neck and said as her eyes closed, "perhaps a guard wouldn't be so bad".

She hummed in agreement as her eyes opened but she didn't push him away, instead she pulled him closer. Both wanting to indulge in the primitive urges that almost all species had but of course, it wasn't the time. A shriek was heard and the two stopped kissing and looked to see Zelda and Nessie were now out of the forest and stood at the edge of the pool. It seemed it was Zelda that shrieked and he began to scruff his hove along the ground. When he realised that he had their attention, he stopped and Hela let off a small happy laugh and said, "I think he's trying to tell us something".

"Who needs guards when we have your winged protector on hand?"

She gave off another laugh before they both went silent. They still held on tightly to one another as she ran her fingers through his hair. He sighed and leaned into her touch, eyes locked onto each other before he noticed her smile was gone and she was looking at him in a sort of strange fascination. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said softly with a shake of the head before she leaned her forehead on his.

"Tell me," he said softly.

A few moments passed before she answered, "I'm just thinking about how lucky I am to have your love. You could have given your love to anyone but you gave it to me and I will forever be grateful".

"Oh, Hela, you really don't see," he said and raised a hand to put on the side of her neck, his thumb tracing her jaw. He pulled his forehead away from hers as he said, "I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, could hear my thoughts, feel my every emotion whenever someone says your name, let alone when I am near you. I love you; I will always love you".

"But there are other women out there who want you, who some would say are better matched. You're always talking about men who wish to be with me, I don't think you've noticed the long line of women who desire you".

"I noticed," he said then kissed the tip of her nose before he brushed it up against hers and added, "my attention has just always been elsewhere".

He placed a brief kiss on her lips and she then said, "stop being so charming, I'm trying to be serious".

"Well I don't like it when you're being serious when it comes to me not being with you because in my world, that is unimaginable, unthinkable and I can't live in a world without you by my side…let me prove it".

He let go of her and began to swim away and she followed as he got out of the waterfall pool and began to dry off and get dressed. It took her slightly longer to get dressed but she used magic to dry off quicker so her hair wasn't getting her dress wet. Even though Falcon had seen her in her underdress before, he kept his back to her as she dressed. It was when she was finished, she turned to see Falcon stroking both of the Thestrals.

He whispered something to them that she couldn't hear, but Nessie took straight to the sky while Zelda hesitated but soon followed. Hela frowned as she wondered why they were leaving but Falcon then reached down to the picnic basket and brought out a cloth and said, "I need to cover your eyes".

"Why?" she asked drawing out the word.

He came close and asked, "trust me?"

She didn't answer, she simply turned and he brought the cloth over and covered her eyes before tying it. He moved to stand in front of her before taking her hands to his chest then wrapping his own arms around her and said, "hold on tight".

She did just that as she placed her head on his chest and could feel the power of Death surround her. Falcon had changed into his skeletal Death form and allowed his magic to flow around them, both of them began to float as his cloak wrapped around them and they disappeared from sight.

Hela kept her arms tightly on him, especially when she felt light headed and felt the magic of the Niflheim barriers leave her and a familiar sort of magic surround her. He let her go and she stayed still for almost a minute before she said, "Falcon…Falcon, how long do I have to wear this? I know we're on Midgard, I can sense its magic".

Fingertips began to trace up her arm, her hair moved over her shoulder as he stood behind her, his arm wrapping around her waist. He began to kiss her neck, slowly moving down to her shoulder before he whispered, "my impatient queen".

She moaned, "this impatient queen is about to get more impatient if you don't explain".

He stopped kissing her and let off a small laugh before he took off the cloth blindfold. She looked around to see they were indeed on Midgard, it was night and the stars and moon shined bright but her attention was to the ground. They were in a clearing of a forest but there was a single tree in the centre, older than the rest, large with its roots spanning almost five feet above ground, the tree itself seemingly brittle and ready to crumble.

Candles were placed around the clearing, all lit, except for the circle they were stood in beside the tree. Falcon moved to the tree and reached for a carving of a falcon that was on the tree, old and almost covered but still there. Hela knew where they were and asked, "why are we here?"

"You remember?" he questioned back.

"Of course. This is the place that Ari found you," she then said much quieter, "where your parents left you to die".

He hummed then turned and said, "this is the place where my life as Fredrick ended and where Falcon began." He walked to her and took the tip of her hands in his and said, "my life filled with so much happiness and love and magic, I sometimes fear that I will wake up to be that same scared 8 year old boy, about to be killed by a bear right in this spot. I remember being so scared when I saw Ari for the first time but he offered me nothing but the love of a father, a chance at a new life and unbeknownst to him, he took me to the girl who would one day be the woman I would love more than anything. From the day I met you, I knew nothing could be as bad as the day I was left to die because I had you by my side. I love you, and I know people use that word all the time but not me, not between us because I care about you beyond all rationality, I want you to have everything your heart desires no matter what I have to do to get it because you are my partner, my queen, my best friend, my one true love and by the end of this…" he let go of her hands and went into his pocket and brought out the familiar silver sphere she had seen before. He went one knee as he opened it and said, "I hope you are my wife".

"Falcon," she gasped and a hand went to her mouth as tears filled her eyes as she looked at the ring. It was a silver band with a large black diamond with two emeralds on either side that did look their normal dark green but lighter, almost like the shade of her eyes. Smaller clear diamonds then followed along the rest of the band.

Falcon took her hand that wasn't on her mouth and said, "I brought us here because it seemed only appropriate that another new step in my life begins here. I know people look at us and question our love for each other, some have advised us against it, some have even tried to come between us but I have seen throughout my years that love is the most powerful source of magic and my love for you is without compare. We both did not have the best start in life, we've had people that claimed to love us and then betray us, we've had people work against us, we've lost people but I swear on this day and for the rest of our lives, in this life and the next, that not a day will go by where I don't tell you I love you. I will protect you, encourage you, honour and respect you because you are not only the woman I love, you are my home. I've seen millions and millions of souls, all with different faces and stories to tell but none of them have come close to making me feel like how I feel about you. I look into your eyes and I get lost in the love you not only give to me but your family and those of Niflheim and I know I cannot live without it, without you. I also know this speech may have been a little longer than expected".

She let off a laugh as a tear slid down her cheek.

"So, I'll get right to it. Hela Lokidottir, my queen, love of my life, owner of my heart, will you do me the absolute honour of becoming my wife?"

Hela nodded and smiled a tearful smile before she finally managed to say, "yes".

He took the ring out and put it on her hand before standing, reaching for her to kiss her. He kissed her with more passion than any other kiss before he wrapped his arms tightly around her and began to spin.

She laughed then he dropped her but kept his arms around her as she said, "I love you so much".

"I love you too".

She raised her hand to look at the ring but suddenly saw the black diamond was now clear and then it dawned on her and said, "is that…no…those are rare".

Falcon could only smile as he said, "a Geigro diamond. As long as this diamond is clear, symbolise how long I love you. So, expect never to see it black again",

She let out a happy laugh as he raised a hand to wipe her tears away as she asked, "how? They're extremely rare".

"Tora," he answered, "I couldn't have just any normal diamond you could get and she was only too happy to help when I told her what I wanted. Took her some time but she came through. You ready for our new chapter, my queen?" She stopped admiring the ring and wrapped her arms around his neck before bringing him down to kiss. When he pulled away after the kiss, he leaned his head on hers as he said, "I am never letting you go".

"I'll hold you to that, my King," she teased with his future title before kissing him again.

Back at the palace, in a family room only down the corridor from the royal family's bedrooms, Loki sat on a couch with his arm wrapped around Dahlia, stroking her hair as she leaned against him with her feet on his lap while Jörmungandr sat on the floor in front of the fire with Fenrir and Isolda who was sat on his lap. They were teaching her to play Hnefatafl but it was clear that Jörmungandr was letting her win, even with Fenrir whispering in her ear which moves were best.

Isolda had just won another game and Fenrir was laughing while Jörmungandr put his hand to his chest and fell to his back in defeat and complained, "lost again, how will I beat you?"

He sat back up and Isolda smiled as she leaned back into Fenrir and looked up to him, her smiling like she wanted to laugh but no sound escaped. Fenrir just smiled at her, his eyes purely on her as she turned to cuddle up into his chest. She didn't get tired, she didn't even sleep for pleasure and they all knew that, it was just clear she wanted to be held, that she felt safe enough in their presence to be held like the child she truly was. Fenrir did just that, he wrapped his arms around her before leaning back against a chair.

Jörmungandr stood and dropped into a chair close by before he smiled at his sister and said, "you're about to fall asleep".

"No, I'm not," Dahlia said as her eyes were slowly fluttering, fighting the sleep.

She snuggled closer to her father who continued to stroke her hair but now placed a kiss to her head and said, "go to sleep".

She moaned, "too early".

"No, it's not, it's almost ten".

"Your fault," she mumbled, "stop stroking my hair".

Loki didn't listen, he just held her closer so her head was tucked into his shoulder and he continued to stroke her hair as his other arm wrapped tightly around her. He kissed her head but didn't move his lips off, he simply began to hum the lullaby he sang to all of his children and knew it wouldn't be long before she was asleep in his arms.

Dahlia was asleep much sooner than he thought, cuddled up into his side as she left off soft little murmurs as she slept in comfort. Loki then looked around to see that the boys were asleep too, it seemed him humming their lullaby had sent all three of his children present to sleep. He then noticed Isolda was still awake and smiling as she looked at everyone before she reached for her notebook, never moving from the comfort of Fenrir's arms as she wrote in big letters so he could see from where he was sat, "MAGIC?"

Loki gave a slight shake of the head and replied, "no its not magic, it's a lullaby I used to sing to them when they were all small. Do you want me to teach it to you?"

Isolda shook her head quickly then wrote, "bad sleep".

"You don't have to sleep if you don't want to, no one here will ever force you to do something you don't want to do. I swear to you. I just thought you might like to know it".

Isolda seemed to consider the offer for a moment. She looked around at the others sleeping before she focused her attention on Fenrir, as if looking at him for some guidance on her decision or to be told what to do. Fenrir, however, stayed asleep but his arm around her tightened, pulling her closer so she was snuggled into his chest again. She smiled at the comfort before she looked back to the God of Mischief and nodded, wanting to hear the song.

Loki returned her smile before he began to sing the song, he sang to all his children out loud. Of course, Isolda wasn't his child but from just her first day at the palace, he knew she was family already and he knew that all of his children looked at her the same way. He had seen a change in his son since he met and began to care for the little wolf, a positive change and it was only today that he saw the two together in person for the first time and he could now see it with his own two eyes. His son was happier, even in his classes he was doing his work and wasn't messing around with his sister, he was smiling more and laughing. His eldest had a light in his eyes, as if he had found the meaning to life, and Loki knew all too well that look. That look had been in his eyes for close to two thousand years, it was the look of a father who loved his child with unconditional love and would do anything for that love. Loki saw that look more prominent today with Fenrir and Isolda, and if he had any doubts before that Isolda was the one causing his sons happiness, it vanished the moment he saw them together.

Truthfully, Isolda seemed to affect everyone in the family because she was so easily accepted and fit perfectly. She was a child that had lost her family and was taken from her people, she was hurt, locked away by monsters who wanted to use her for her gift but escaped in the land of the dead yet was still haunted by her past and what she experienced. She was finally moving on, learning that she could be happy in death because of Fenrir and was finding family in his own and they were only all too happy to accept her.

The following morning, Loki, Dahlia, Jörmungandr, Fenrir, Isolda and Micah were all sat in the dining room eating breakfast. Hela and Falcon's absence was noticed but no one mentioned it, they all noticed their absence the night before as well but everyone, except Loki who knew the truth, was too tired or busy to question it. It was only halfway through breakfast when Hela and Falcon finally arrived, trying to hide their smiles as they approached the table and said good morning to everyone. Everyone said good morning to them while they stayed stood at the end of the table, Loki was the only one who didn't as he glanced quickly to her hand before reaching for his goblet to take a drink to hide his smile.

"We actually have an announcement to make," Hela said and reached to hold Falcon's hand as the two smiled at one another.

They heard a squeal of excitement and Dahlia jumped from her chair and ran to her sister to hug her while Falcon filled the boys in on what they had clearly hadn't figured out, "I asked Hela to marry me, she said yes".

They were immediately greeted with hugs, handshakes and congratulations and questions about the proposal and wedding and they all admired the ring saying that Falcon did a good job. Everyone but Loki had congratulated them. He stood back, allowing everyone to go in first but his eyes soon caught the attention of Hela who said, "papa".

She let go of Falcon's hand and walked to him as everyone suddenly stopped talking. Even though he had a small smile on his face, Hela's hands shook slightly before he took her into his arms and said, "congratulations, sweetheart".

"Thank you, papa".

As she pulled out of the hug, he kept his arm around her as they walked to Falcon and Loki held out his hand which Falcon shook as the father of his bride said, "you look after her".

"Yes, sir," Falcon replied, "always have, always will".

Dahlia giddy with excitement that it was finally happening, almost couldn't stay still as she moved to stand beside her sister and asked quickly, "so when's the wedding? Have you decided on a date? A dress? The guest list? Flowers? Are weddings here like they are on Midgard? What about-"

Hela cut her off, "Dahlia, sister, calm down. I will explain everything to you and you can help me plan the wedding. As for the date, we were thinking of just over four weeks' time".

"Why so soon?" Jörmungandr questioned.

Fenrir added, "can you plan a wedding in that time?"

"Of course," Hela answered, "it's just the dress that has to be started immediately and the guests list sent out. When it comes to the day," she smiled to Falcon.

Falcon said, "as for the wedding day, we chose it because it is the day we met, a millennia ago".

Dahlia awed and said, "that's so sweet". She then gasped and reach for Hela's hand and began to pull her towards the doors as she said, "come on we have to get to Madame Caivano quickly so she can't start on the dress".

"What about breakfast?" Hela questioned but allowed herself to be pulled along.

"You can eat later, I'm in class in half an hour, I don't have time to waste. Besides, Madame Caivano has probably been designing your wedding dress for centuries, at least the last decade, she is not going to be happy that you are only giving her 4 weeks to merge all her designs and make the perfect wedding dress".

As the sisters left the room, Micah looked between everyone and said, "I think somebody should tell her teacher that she won't be making it to class." They all laughed and sat back down for breakfast, knowing it was all too true that Dahlia would happily miss class to help her sister plan the wedding she had worked hard making sure would happen.

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