Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers.

Authors notes: Thank you to those of you who reviewed and welcome to the new followers and favourites. Also, Merry Christmas to those of you celebrating!

Chapter 34

Dahlia was excited to be attending the wedding of Prince Gleksi and the soon to be Princess Aellice, not only because she would see Micah again but she was also excited to be experiencing another world. She of course had travelled within the nine realms since becoming a goddess, most of the time in hiding on certain worlds as they might have caused her harm if they caught her and she stayed cleared of Asgard due to the soul contract, forbidding her from Asgard unless she was given permission by a member of the royal family. As much as she enjoyed teleporting between the worlds of the nine realms, there were very few occasions that Dahlia had a chance to be out of the nine realms and to see other worlds. Micah had invited her to Durilia several times in the last month, knowing she could teleport there if she wished but due to training, classes, Hela's pregnancy and Micah's family preparing for the wedding, there was very little time. That and she didn't just want to appear and draw suspicion that there was more going on between them than just friendship.

Hela and Falcon were expected to attend the wedding due to being unspoken allies of Durilia but with the royals knowing of the pregnancy, they understood if Hela did not attend. Hela, being stubborn, insisted she would attend and used the excuse that if she didn't, people would wonder why not after they attended her wedding. The last thing anyone wanted was for the pregnancy to be revealed while Hela was still feeling weak so she had a cloaking bracelet on, hiding her pregnant belly and was given vials of tonic to take during her stay from Saida. Saida who made her swear to take them and Falcon insisted he would watch her drink every drop.

The whole family was invited but only Dahlia would be accompanying them. Fenrir did not wish to leave Isolda who was not ready to leave off world and had responded well to liquid form of Remus' scent they managed to make. She said her nose felt like it almost stung under an awful smell but she could handle it. Of course, it was much less potent but it was a step in the right direction. Jörmungandr and Loki, however, remained behind not wishing to attend the wedding and Dahlia knew they would spend their time in the Apex, looking more into the werewolf ritual, the war and what seemed to be a priority recently, how to help Hela through her pregnancy. She would brush off their help but the family and the council knew they had to do something or she would soon be spending the rest of her pregnancy bed ridden.

Going with them to Durilia were their personal servants as the planet had plenty of guests attending the wedding and a small number of soldiers, Akio included. They weren't expecting any threats or danger but it was customary to all those of royalty to bring some, in case danger occurred and they could get to safety while the hosting planet dealt with the threat.

They used a ship to get to the planet instead of opening a portal and Dahlia was thankful as seeing the planet from above was worth it. She could see it in a distance from Niflheim but it was just a very tiny dot, almost a distant star but with just a few hours in a ship, she was above the reddish gold planet swarming with life and the coming and going of ships. She couldn't see much of the desert planet except a few tall structures and the large red lakes and the singular ocean it had.

"Ready?" Hela questioned as she stood beside her sister.

"As I'll ever be. Are you okay?" Dahlia questioning glancing down to the flat stomach.

Hela rubbed her stomach and smiled. "I'm fine, you all need to stop worrying. The baby and I are okay today. Come on, get seated, we're about to land."

Flying above the capital city Druolia, Dahlia was able to see out of the window of her seat to see most of the buildings were made of white brick but as the sun reflected on them, she could see almost a metallic material, silver, shining from the buildings and Dahlia thought maybe it was protection against the sand storms that Micah told her were a regular occurrence in Durilia. The homes and shops were decorated with banners and colours and the people seemed happy and she could just make out children waving up at the ship from the small green land throughout the city.

At the centre, stood a large white and golden castle that shined with the crystals embedded into the brickwork. The castle had a large arched walkway, big enough to fit a giant, and had several towers all linked together by curved walkways that Dahlia could see people walking on. The only tower not linked to the others was the one at the centre of the palace, circular, and it had a spiral outer walkway of its own that she didn't see anyone on.

Landing with the directions of a Durilian ship, one ship was flying away from the landing zone just as they were entering it. They landed with ease and as the family and their company got off, a Durilian guard got on board and told their pilot where to go while the royals met.

They walked only a short distance to the courtyard, seeing the royal's greeting guests and Dahlia recognised the guests before them. Empress Teirrhi and her three children along with her servants and guards. She hadn't seen the tree-like empress since Hela and Falcons' wedding and Dahlia was thankful there were people there that she recognised. One of the empresses' children, her youngest daughter, even glanced back and gave a small smile to Dahlia before being escorted into the palace.

It was then their turn. They approached, dressed in blue and silver and the guards wearing the emblem of Niflheim as it was an official visit. Even Dahlia was dressed in a silk long blue dress with silver see-through sleeves showing where she hailed from. Like many of the guests at large events such as this, it was much easier to identify their people if they wore similar colours in a crowd. Hela had her armed linked with Falcon as he stood to her right. To Hela's left, Dahlia was stood one step behind knowing her place while Akio stood one step behind to the right of Falcon. The guards and servants were stood behind them, knowing their place wasn't side by side with the royals or councilmen.

The Durilian family were dressed in their golden clothing and seemed happy to see them. Both sides gave their respected bows and curtsies. "Welcome, we are glad you could make the trip," King Zandr said.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Hela said with a smile.

"May I present the soon-to-be newest member of our family," King Zandr said and gestured to his eldest son, Gleksi and his bride Aellice.

She was certainly beautiful in Dahlia's opinion with a tan complexion, slim, long auburn straight hair that almost touched her waist and brown cat-like eyes like the rest of Durilians. She stood straight and held her shoulders in place, giving off a confident and regal exterior but her arm was linked with Gleksi and Dahlia could see she squeezed his arm as they stepped closer. Whether or not in fear of meeting the Goddess of Death and Death himself or anxious about meeting them, Dahlia was unsure. She just hoped it was the latter.

"May I present my bride," Gleksi said. "Aellice."

Aellice curtsied. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesties, I have heard much about you and your kindness and friendship."

"While I have heard much about you, I hope to get to know you myself," Hela said hoping not to scare the girl. "Being married into a royal family can be hard, especially marrying the heir to the throne and future king. You yourself shall be queen and if there's one thing I know about being queen, is that us queens have to stick together. Stops our kings from making fools of themselves."

"Hey!" Falcon protested with a smile knowing she was teasing.

"Don't you agree Queen Aura?"

"Completely," the queen replied, teasing her own husband.

"The queens are forming an alliance, we should run," King Zandr pretended to whisper to Falcon.

Falcon laughed. "Where? Our queens will be home waiting for us, knowing us love-struck fools will return to them."

"True," both Kings loved their wives and both queens smiled as they looked to their husbands.

"I hope you both find happiness together and have a long-lasting marriage," Hela said to the bride and groom.

This and the teasing between the two monarchs seem to relax the future princess and Dahlia could see it was only nerves at meeting them. They continued to talk and were distracted so Dahlia looked past them and found the eyes of the younger more handsome prince and her secret suitor.

Micah seemed to have already been staring at her and the moment her green eyes locked with his yellow, she struggled to keep her smile from polite to an outright happiness grin. Micah could see her struggle but since he had no one watching him, he started to grin almost hiding laughter as he knew she struggled and Dahlia just wanted to slap him for acting childish while they were supposed to be representing their worlds and acting like the royals they were. His younger sister, Galya, glanced their way and being stood beside her brother, she gave him a nudge and Dahlia looked away, almost blushing, as she saw the princess give her older brother a teasing smile and Dahlia wondered what she knew as they were close.

The next guests were approaching so they were escorted inside by a servant and shown their rooms where they were told their belongings on the ship were already being brought to. Dahlia looked back to Micah quickly before they headed into the palace. "Later," he mouthed and she nodded knowing she would see him after all the introductions.

Their rooms were on the same corridor, side by side and Akio immediately began to talk with the guards surrounding that area of the palace and informed them that they wouldn't be needing to guard that specific corridor as he and his men would take care of it. The guards refused to leave unless they had the King's order to do so and Akio assured them that they needn't leave, just that his men would also stand guard. They understood, even if some of them looked a little nervous having the dead stand close by and unlike them, they didn't need to move on their feet after they grew tired of standing or leave to relieve themselves or eat and sleep. It was the ultimate defence and the Durilian guards knew it.

Hela and Falcon left to join the other guests in the hall to talk while Dahlia decided to stay in her room using the excuse that she had a few tricky prayers to deal with. It was true she had prayers to answer but the real reason wasn't that she didn't want to mingle with others just yet and relax in her room, it was that she was nervous. Nervous about being on another world, nervous about meeting new people, nervous about seeing Micah again. The smile outside was one thing and the message and calls, but she was now on his world, surrounded by his people and he was their prince. The royal family wouldn't have spoken ill of her family or her heritage but who knew what his people had heard from guests or other worlds while travelling as everyone had an opinion on her. She didn't wish his people to dislike her, as that could very well affect his feelings for her.

Dahlia's room was beautiful with a large four poster golden bed with thin white curtains around it, the walls a yellow with blue crystals embedded into them as a flowery pattern emerged. There was a vanity and a mahogany-coloured chair as well as a wardrobe and a couch in front of a fireplace as it may be a desert planet but the nights could get cold, she was warned. The fireplace had winged beings carved into either side that looked like humans and smaller versions on top with a face in the middle. On either side of the fireplace hung two tapestries, both showing the same images of what Dahlia believed to be a place in Durilia with the sun setting across the sand and ocean. She even had a small balcony overlooking the city, a perfect view of all that was down below.

Eva had accompanied her as her servant and as Dahlia looked out across the city, she was busy unpacking her trunk and making sure everything was prepared for Dahlia for the day. Unknown to Dahlia, the maid servant was looking in every nook and cranny for any traps or anything that could harm the princess. She had to be certain Dahlia would be safe, not only as her maid servant but as her friend.

"It's beautiful," Eva said after she was finished and stood beside Dahlia. "Not as beautiful as Niflheim, but still beautiful."

Dahlia giggled. "I don't think anywhere is going to be as beautiful as home. You know you don't have to be here; I can teleport you home to William and Lucia. I told Hela I didn't need a servant; you don't need to be away from your family."

Eva shook her head with a smile. "Dahlia, it is fine. One thing you'll understand in the future about living so long, or in my case being dead so long, is that a couple of days is nothing. If you were gone years or months, I wouldn't have agreed to come. William and Lucia will be fine for a few days. Besides, it's not often members outside of the council and military are allowed to leave Niflheim, this is an opportunity not many get and I get to come up with more ideas for Lucia's stories."

"How you haven't run out of bedtime stories after all these centuries is beyond me"

Eva hummed. "It's difficult, but stories come and go with time and Lucia is so small she forgets certain parts of the story or falls asleep while I'm telling her them. It gives me a chance to repeat myself often…what's wrong, Dahlia?"

"Nothing," she answered.

Eva then glanced down to see Dahlia playing with the silver bracelet with the purple crystal that Micah had given her and Dahlia stopped playing with it.

"I've known you for close to two years, I'm your friend, I know when you're nervous. Is it because we're here?"

Dahlia sighed and shrugged. "I just…having an official event at home is easy. Being here, I don't want to disappoint anyone."

Eva reached out and held her hand. "You could never disappoint anyone, Dahlia. I know sometimes it feels like you have the weight of the realms on your shoulders with being the Goddess of Destiny and your heritage being what it is and it is something no one can ever truly understand but…what I know for certain is that you could never disappoint anyone. All those who matter are proud of you and if you worry about disappointing your sister here, don't be. I know she wants you to be yourself and she would distance herself from every planet and realm who don't accept you for who you are, mixed realms and all."

Dahlia gave a small smile. "That's not a good thing, distancing from worlds that could help in the future."

"Family and Niflheim, that's what the queen cares about and she makes no point in hiding it. There's plenty of reasons why Niflheim has no true allies but one such reason is that the queen puts her family and people first and getting involved in was that allies are involved in is not in Niflheim's best interest. That and a planet's reputation can damage its allies. Niflheim has always had a complicated reputation, both good and bad, there's nothing to be done about it and I don't believe you could affect that. As for your own reputation, well we both know many worlds are already spreading their lies about you and the type of person you are and all you can do is be yourself and prove those lies wrong. Prove to everyone you meet what a kind, brave, selfless person you are and let them form their own opinions by knowing the true you. There is not a single person in the universe alive or dead that everyone likes, don't try to please everyone, be happy with who you are and the people who stand by you for you."

Dahlia turned her hand and squeezed Eva's hand. "Thank you. I think I needed to hear that."

"Well, I'm here for all the encouragement you need and to remind you of the person all of us on Niflheim see. One we are happy to call our princess and friend…" Eva gave one last squeeze of the hand and a smile before she moved her hand from Dahlia's. "Now if there's nothing else you need, Baelen and I have work to be done."

"We've only just arrived, what could you both possibly have to do so soon after our arrival?"

"We have to go speak to other servants. An opportunity with many royals and dignitaries doesn't come around every day."

"Oh," Dahlia said in realization. "Basically, you're going to be spying for information."

"Yes. Politicians lie and will lie to the queen's face or manipulate the truth and like everyone knows, the help hear all. While Niflheim treats everyone with respect and acknowledges them, other worlds don't so servants are seen and not heard, giving them the chance to know everything, especially those servants close to those in charge. We lie and give them a little false information on Niflheim and they suddenly open up to all their worldly problems and gossip. As I said, they're treated so differently, they don't believe what they say will have an impact as who'd believe the word of a servant over a king or ruler?"

"Except those who respect them," Dahlia smiled. "You know sometimes I forget; you can be a little scary with all that you know."

Eva laughed. "Fear not, you and your family have my undivided loyalty. Now if there's nothing else, I should get going. We have two days and the guards don't nearly have as much luck as we do when it comes to overhearing truths."

"Go, I'll be fine." Eva gave a slight nod of the head then left. Dahlia heard her speaking to Baelen who was already waiting outside the door.

Dahlia continued to stare out to the new world below but her mind wasn't completely there. She knew later she would be attending a dinner to celebrate the wedding that was tomorrow so while she was alone, she looked to the world around her and part of her mind focused on answering those who most direly needed her help and some of them were being quite loud and persistent about it. Dahlia knew she would not be able to give those at the dinner later her full attention if she could not clear away some of the voices. She was still so new to being a goddess, she had managed to isolate voices and ignore them most of the time but being a goddess for only almost five months came with its own unique set of challenges and Dahlia knew she would face them all eventually, just like her father and sister. Sometimes though, the voices were hard to handle, people's need for her to help and guide was overwhelming but what choice did she have. Ignore them? That wasn't in her nature to ignore those who needed help.

She didn't know how long she stood on the balcony, she worked her way through the louder voices until there was nothing but whispers that she could push to the back of her mind and let her subconscious and the flow of her magic deal with. It was while she was silencing the voices that arms wrapped around her waist. There was no need to scream, no need to call for help as Akio trained her to fight and defend herself so she quickly turned, drawing her dagger from her waist before pushing the person who dared to sneak up on her back against the wall.

"It's just me!" the all-too-familiar voice of her suitor said.

With his body held against the wall by hers, her dagger at his throat and a spell on her lips, he didn't seem afraid. He was smiling as if amused and even moved his hands to rest on her hips. She released the breath she was holding, thankful she hadn't sent a curse his way that would have alerted the guards to his presence or they would be having a very awkward conversation with a stern Akio.

"How did you sneak up on me?" she questioned not hearing his footsteps behind her as he approached.

"Perhaps you need a little more training from Akio."

"Doubtful. I may have been answering prayers but I would have heard the door or you using some device to teleport in."

"Correct…which is why I took another way," he said as he moved his hands from her waist, raised one to push away her hand still holding the knife to his throat and slowly move her back.

Micah walked inside to the tapestry closest to the window and gestured to Dahlia to follow him. She put her knife away and followed as he pushed the fabric of the tapestry to the side to see just an empty wall. That was until he reached for the winged figure on the fireplace and pushed down one of the wings. The wall moved to the side and opened up a dark passage way.

"Don't worry, not many know about it, only family and a few close trustees," Micah said as Dahlia looked down the passageway just as the wall began to close.

"Do they lead throughout all of the castle?" she asked.

He nodded.

"What about Hela's room? Does she know?" she asked with urgency.

"There isn't a passage to that room and I believe she does know. She was visiting centuries ago when an attack happened and she was taken through passages to safety. Like I said, only a few close trusted know. If you want to lock it, make sure no one can enter in the night, you push this side." He pushed the wing to the right down and Dahlia heard a slight click and when he went to the left wing of the being again, it refused to be pushed down.

He walked back to her, his hands automatically going to her hips and held her close as she smiled and put her hands on his chest.

"Is it a coincidence that my room has a passageway and Hela's doesn't?" she asked as she was curious.

He blushed ever so slightly and looked away for a moment before he looked back. "I wanted to see you without having to have the door open and guards watch us. So, I may have suggested what rooms to give you to my father, stating safety reasons as there aren't many ways to access these rooms with the corridors, easy access to flee the castle if a portal or teleportation isn't available and the view. I thought you might like it. You're still wearing it." he glanced down to the bracelet he gifted her.

"Always," she replied then grew worried. "I can take it off though if it will make your people suspicious. The stone, you said the purple crystal is rare."

"No, no, keep it on. My people may recognise it but they will see it as an act of friendship like my parents did when I had it made. No will suspect us. I've missed you."

"It's only been a few weeks."

"Still, I went from seeing you everyday to just calls and messages. Turns out those two hundred and three days together, the memories of them, clearly are not enough. Staring at your beauty now shows clearly that memories do you no justice."

She giggled. "Still a flirt I see."

"Only for you," he said as they both smiled widely. "Besides, you're only here for two days so I have to charm my way as much as possible in the little time we have together behind closed doors."

"So, your feelings haven't changed?"

He didn't answer with words. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her. His kiss firm but not lacking in desire as he pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her while her hands slid from his chest to wrap around his neck. The kiss wasn't like their kisses weeks ago, it wasn't just long enough that they could feel each other's warmth and the slight taste that would linger after they parted. No. This kiss may have started sweet but the desire soon took over. The kiss was hot and breathy, not trying to fight for control but as if to seek a union of one breath, one passionate moment of togetherness. The heat rose all over her body and she knew her cheeks would be red as he moved his hands up and down her back, the need to touch seemed to be all-consuming and he emitted a moan when Dahlia grabbed his hair as something to hold on to as she became weak at the knees and feared falling over. His moan, however, made her desire to be closer to him. She didn't think it was possible to be any closer but her body pushed against his own, tightening their grip on one another and restricting their breathing.

Finally pulling out of the kiss to breathe, Dahlia released her grip on his hair but kept her hands on his neck just as he kept his on her back as they both breathed heavily trying to catch their breath as he released his grip ever so slightly so they weren't as tightly pressed up against one another. Dahlia's heart was thumping so quickly, she feared it would jump out of her chest but it felt lighter, the worry she had was gone with the look he was giving her. He then placed a kiss on either cheek and a simple kiss to her lips.

"Does that seem like my feelings have changed?"

"No…" she said, still trying to catching her breath. "Feels stronger in fact."

"Well absence does make the heart grow fonder and I hope this is the last time you doubt my feelings."

She hummed amusedly. "Well, if I get kissed like that every time I doubt you, maybe doubting you isn't the worst thing."

He leaned his head close to hers, brushing his nose against hers as he gave her yet another quick kiss. "It seems your little talk about kisses is now non-existent."

"No, it could still get you killed if we're caught, I'm just following what you said…no one's around. No one's here and no one can see."

He smiled as if he was going to kiss her again and he glanced to her lips but then pulled away, taking a step away from her and running a hand through his hair. "As much as I would like the stay and kiss you, we only have two days and seen as the wedding takes up tomorrow, all we have is today. You showed me Niflheim, you took me to Midgard and I met your friends, let me return the favour. Let me show you my world and my people."

"Of course," she said then he went to reach for her hand but she pulled back. "You should probably leave through the passageway though and come to the door. Remember Akio and the guards outside. If I leave through the passageway and anyone comes in to check on me, they will freak out thinking I've been kidnapped or something. We clearly can't leave the room together seen as they didn't see you come in so you're going to have to leave and come back and act like we haven't spoken."

"Right," he sighed. "Let's waste time."

She stifled a laugh. "Hey, you know the rules of a secret courtship."

"Doesn't mean I have to like them," he said as he backed up and opened the secret passageway and disappeared.

Dahlia was quick to look in the mirror to straighten out her dress, fluff her hair as it was a little scuffed and checked her make up. Thankfully she wasn't wearing lipstick as that would surely be smudged on her and on Micah and although her lips were a little plump, no one would guess she had just been kissing her handsome prince.

A knock was at the door only minutes later and she took a deep breath, putting on the act so she didn't immediately smile like a fool when she opened the door. "Micah, hey," she said with polite smile as she leaned against the opened door.

"Dahlia, it's nice to see you again."

"You too," she said and glanced down the hall to see Akio.

"I was wondering if you would allow me to give you a tour of the city."

"That's nice, thank you. I would love to."

Dahlia left the room and began to walk with Micah down the hall as Dahlia noticed there were fewer guards and she guessed they were with Hela and Falcon. Before they came to the end, they were stopped by Akio.

"He's just giving me a tour," Dahlia said.

"Rules."

"Rules?" Dahlia asked surprised as Micah almost laughed.

"Yes, rules for your safety," Akio said seriously. "You may walk around the palace freely, you may go into the city but you mustn't leave the city, if you do, I shall know. We have a guard at the palace gates if you need anything and if anything unfortunate happens, you teleport to me immediately. I shall be in the hall with your sister. Do you understand?"

Dahlia almost rolled her eyes as she replied. "What is the point of you training me and all the magical training I've had if I can't go where I please?"

"Not at a high-profile event such as this. You may have training but we must all be cautious. If it was not for your training, you would be being accompanied. Now, tell me you understand these rules."

"I understand," she replied and Akio gave a nod for them to leave.

He did, however, grab Micah's arm as they walked past and the prince stopped. "Keep her safe."

"Always," the prince said and moved his arm as they walked away as Akio walked down another corridor going to the hall.

"Child of mixed realms, feared for my potential evil and power," Dahlia said sarcastically. "Yet I still get treated like a fragile little girl."

Micah laughed then offered his arm. "Come on. We don't have anything to do until the dinner." She hooked her arm with his as he led her out of the palace.

Authors note: Please review