Calista's eyes glow an iridescent blue when she feels something akin to a soft, warm kiss on her forehead. A vision of Diana and Clark together with her Uncle Ares comes into her mind. I knew they would come for me! Mama, Papa and Uncle Ares are with a woman I haven't seen before. They're in a forest nearby! I must get to them!
Emboldened by her vision, Calista jumps off the bed and rummages through the room until she finds her training armor underneath some bedsheets. Changing quickly into her armor, Calista pulls out the dagger hidden in her bracelet.
With her ear against the door, Calista unsheathes the dagger and to her surprise, it grows double it's size. Thank you for this gift, Uncle Hephaestus. I promise never to complain about the heat in your forge for the rest of my life.
Why had I not thought about this earlier? Calista thought to herself, smiling. She inserts the thin blade of her dagger into the keyhole. With a click, Calista pries the door lock open.
Anticipating a confrontation with the guard in the hallway, Calista calms herself before she swings the door open. She frowns when she finds the hallway empty.
Sheathing the dagger, Calista slides it into its hiding place. She then silently makes her way along the hallway. She stops in a dark corner and lets her superhearing zero in on Neela's heartbeat. Neela's in the kitchen. Maybe she can help me get to the forest where Mama and Papa are.
The drunken elf guard barges into the palace kitchen sending the maids scurrying. "Neela! Where in Hel is she? I want my dinner now!" He grabs at a kitchen maid who had just returned with firewood for the hearth. "Where is that piece of bog-tiger dung?"
The terrified maid points toward the door as the guard pushes her aside.
"There you are! Where's my dinner?" said the guard as he grabbed at the elf girl.
"The-The palace cook hasn't returned with his supplies yet," replied the elf girl. "I-I promise to it bring to you as soon as its done! Please let go of my arm, you're hurting me!"
"The cook isn't back yet, eh? Maybe you could help me with something else," said the guard as he picks Neela up and slams her small frame on top of a table.
The guard laughs lasciviously as he starts fiddling with Neela's skirt. The kitchen maids scream as they avert their eyes from the unfolding scene.
The terrified elf girl tries to fight off her attacker. "No! Please let me go!"
The guard backhands Neela, stunning the elf girl. "Stupid girl. Just lie down and perhaps you'll enjoy it!"
"Take your filthy hands off of her!" roared Calista as she grabs the elf guard from behind and shoves him into cupboard filled with pots and pans.
"Who the Hel?" screamed the guard as he unsheathes his sword. "You! I don't care what Lord Malekith says. I'll have your head on a spike!"
The guard swings his sword at Calista who deftly avoids the blow. The guard follows up with several swings the last of which embeds his sword on a hardwood pillar. The guard roars as he tries to pry the sword from the pillar. Seeing a lull in the action, the kitchen maids run out screaming from the kitchen.
The guard's efforts at prying his sword from the pillar were unsuccessful. He rushes at Calista like a freight train. Calista sidesteps at the last moment sending the guard crashing into a of boiling water.
Calista seizes the opportunity and delivers several punches into the guard's abdomen causing the guard to double over. She then delivers a roundhouse kick which sends the guard flying into the granite-like wall of the kitchen.
The impact leaves a deep impression on the wall as the guard's limp form slides to the floor. A moan escapes from his lips as he loses consciousness.
"Thank-Thank you. I-I've never seen anything like that before. Is-Is he dead?" said a still shaken Neela as Calista helped the elf girl off of the table.
"He's alive," replied Calista. "And he won't be bothering anybody in the immediate future."
"You're strong," said Neela, smiling.
"I know," Calista replied with a smirk. "I think we should get out of here. Those friends of yours who ran screaming outside may have probably alerted the other guards."
"Who goes there? Show thineselves!" Thor calls out into the forest as he and the Lady Sif take on defensive stances. His knuckles turn white as he tightly grips Mjolnir's handle.
"What is your business here in Svartalfheim?" inquired the Lady Sif as she placed a calming hand on Thor's forearm.
Clark comes into the clearing with hands raised. "I am Kal-El. I am with my wife, Diana. This is my brother-in-law, Ares and our companion, Circe."
"Ares? He looks nothing like the Ares we know. This one looks a bit older," said Thor causing Ares to wince.
"We-We are not of this realm nor this universe," said Diana as she moved closer to Clark. "Someone from this realm has taken our daughter. All we want to do is find her and bring her back home with us."
Sensing that Diana and Clark were speaking the truth, the Lady Sif offered, "Perhaps the Lord Thor and I should join you on your quest."
"Lady Sif, may I have a word? I do not think it is wise to join with these interlopers on their quest," whispered Thor. Sif cuts him off with a dagger look as she walks to join Diana.
Malekith stood before the altar he had built on the palace grounds when a member of his royal guard comes running up to him. "My Lord! There was an incident in the kitchen! The child has escaped!"
"What? How could she have escaped? Fetch Amora and Kurse! I want that child found!"