With a goddess
And a dream,
In sleep's misty shade
I lie beneath worlds imaginary
Delerium – "Nature's Kingdom"

The commercial district of the downtown was abuzz with activity. Sensing a prime opportunity to sell their wares, shopkeepers and merchants were on the sidewalks in front of their shops trying to sell their wares. Spring had arrived, and it seemed to have infected the people with a desire to get out and enjoy the weather. Women and children were out and about, wearing spring clothes and shopping as their husbands or fathers worked. The crowds were filled with smiles and laughter.

There was one man in the crowd who was not smiling and laughing, however. Looking nondescript and wearing nondescript clothing (including glasses), the sandy-haired man walked around the commercial district, stopping every few feet to look around at his surroundings. Omega had taken the time to disguise himself in one of his typical human disguises so he could scout the area. His disguise was virtually impenetrable to humans, and even goddesses would have to work to break through it.

He had just passed a bakery when he decided to stop and sample a piece of bread that the portly baker was offering him. Taking the morsel in his fingers, he casually looked around. His eyes had just scanned the crowd when he caught sight of a familiar head of long, white hair. Cursing to himself, he ignored the baker's odd look as he dropped the piece of bread on the ground and hurried through the crowd to catch up to the fleeting tall woman who, he realized, was Urd.

Urd was preoccupied and deep in thought, muttering about how silly her sister was acting at a time such as this. Clearly Skuld could take a joke when one was thrust in front of her! The lithe goddess shook her head and thought back to earlier times when she could have her fun without Skuld around to ruin it. It had been eons since she'd been able to sit back and watch her movies without her younger sister barging in on her, and just as long since she'd found an attractive, handsome young man. A wistful smile crossed her exotic features and fled just as quickly as she almost walked past the dress fitter's shop and had to stop and turn around to return to it.

This was another mystery in her book. The three of them were goddesses and there was no reason for them to need human dresses for the upcoming wedding. Goddesses could change their clothes at will and Urd had found many occasions when a sudden change of clothes was necessary to keep life lively. Belldandy had explained it all to her one day, about how they did not want to draw too much attention to themselves in front of all the humans present. Sighing as she shook her head, the Goddess entered the dress fitter's shop to check on the status of the dresses for the wedding.

Omega casually watched Urd enter the dress fitting shop as he leaned against a building across the street. She'd paid him no heed as he'd passed within a few feet of her. His disguise seemed to be working well even though the two of them had met before previously. Still, he sensed that there was something on her mind. She hadn't acted like the Urd he remembered; there was no haughtiness in her movements and she'd almost missed the entryway to the shop in which she was entering.

Omega noted the shop. It was a wedding dress shop with plenty of dresses on display for the springtime. The fact that she was here, in the city where Belldandy was rumored to be, and standing inside a dress shop, was partial confirmation of the intelligence that he had been made privy to back in The Realm. He could have stopped here and returned with his news, but knew that Loki would demand more information and confirmation before any action could be initiated. This greatly irked Omega, whose patience was only skin deep. Action was something he was born and bred for; it was something that he needed to function. Sighing at the continued inaction he had to suffer, the demon shook his head and melted back into the shadows to consider his next move.

All this had not gone unnoticed. Standing on a corner two blocks away was another young man who could have easily passed for a college student. Wearing a black baseball cap that partially obscured his face, Enigma watched the proceedings with some interest. He'd recognized Urd and his curiosity had been aroused, but then he'd spotted Omega and decided to take up residence in a more comfortable location. He was fortunate to not have been noticed or recognized by either; both would have killed him for different reasons.

It should be noted that Enigma was not really young or even a man. Just as Morgan had been a faerie (albeit one who had caused an awful lot of problems), Enigma was a faerie of another sort. He did not have the beautiful butterfly wings that she or others of her kind had. This was a considered benefit for him; wings tended to cause lots of problems with maneuverability, he'd found. Enigma was no stranger to the war of good and evil; he had experienced it firsthand and had run into both goddesses and demons at various points in time, but had remained out of the way. Until now, that was. The appearance of both a goddess and a demon, the latter seeming particularly interested in the former, had brought his curiosity back to life. He turned to face his companion, a tall raven-haired woman who was holding a sketchbook in one hand.

"Well, it's just as I thought – Both Urd and Omega are here. I wonder what's going on…" His voice was alive with curiosity that always dwelled under the surface, waiting for an opportunity to come boiling up like an unseen hot spring. Now, though, he forced himself to hold his nature in check. It was not a wise idea to rush into things, especially when those things included two powerful entities who could easily turn one to slag with little more than a flick of their finger.

"I think Omega's up to something, m'self," came the response in a mild German accent. Even though she was not from Germany, the faerie known as Tsui enjoyed using the accent when she wanted to drive Enigma up the wall. "Perhaps the Realm is planning at striking against the goddesses directly."

Enigma frowned and looked down at his sneakers, turning the possibility over in his mind. "But that would break the truce, wouldn't it? The battlefield is supposed to be limited to earth and involve the humans, not the goddesses and demons directly. I thought they made that truce after Omega…"

"Who knows?" Tsui interrupted, desperately trying to change the subject to something more pleasant. "Hey, why don't we go check out the latest anime at the video store? Maybe they have that new season of Witch Hunter Robin." It was the equivalent of a boxer nimbly sidestepping a blow. It got tiring when she hung around Enigma sometimes. He could be so intellectual and investigative, yet utterly without a real personality.

They had just turned away when Urd exited the shop, sighing and shaking her head. Of course it would only be three more days to get the dress finished. Of course it would only require that they re-measure her twice and decide that her dress was too short. The older of the goddesses was frustrated.

Deciding to take her time going back, she had just started on a roundabout route through the lines of vendors when an older man walked up to her. He was, she judged, pretty good looking with light hair, sharp blue eyes, and dressed in a fine suit to top everything off. "Excuse me, ma'am," he bowed politely. "I'm a reporter for the Daily Press and I was wondering if you could help me."

She smiled, even though she could have sworn he looked vaguely familiar. "Ah, yes! What can I do for you?"

"I'm writing an article on local springtime weddings, and I heard about one but I haven't been able to find anyone who can help me with it. A source tells me that Keiichi Morisato is getting married in a few weeks and I wanted to interview the bride and groom before the wedding. The problem is," Omega paused and tried to sound dignified but embarrassed, "I don't know the first place to look. I'm not from around here. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction!" Flashing what he hoped was a disarming smile, Omega's eyes were watching the Goddess carefully in case she realized just who it was she was talking to.

"It's funny that you happened to mention that," Urd chuckled and tried to get the nagging feeling that she'd seen this man before out of her head. "My half-sister is getting married to him!"

"Oh, really? Would it be alright if I interviewed her?"

Urd considered for a moment. It was not often that strangers came to the temple, but she doubted her sister would mind. With how nice her sister was, she was positive that Belldandy would welcome the interview. "I don't see why not. In fact, I was returning there. I just got done with the dress fitters for the wedding." She shrugged and beckoned with a finger and a sly smile. "If you'll just follow me I'll take you to meet her."

Despite Omega's departure, things in the Realm continued as always. There had been more business to complete at the meeting and Loki had just finished yet another discussion with one of his top advisers when Omega's first report filtered through to him. The system they used was akin to telepathic e-mail; the receiver would have the sensation that there was a message waiting for them in their mind and could then see a replay of things through the sender's eyes.

Opening his eyes as the last of Omega's report ended, Loki contemplated things for a minute, then summoned two more of the council to join him. These were his two female advisors, as ruthless and cunning as they were feminine. Both were hooded as all the Council had been, but the taller of the two displayed a hint of dark red hair under her hood.

"As always, Omega's reports are swift. I am glad that he doesn't waste time dallying. His report indicates that he's already sighted Urd in the same general location where Belldandy defeated Celestine last year."

This invoked a shudder from the other hooded figure, the shorter of the two. "Urd! I HATE her!" Her voice rose for a moment, sounding much younger than her thousands of years of age would have belied. "She's such a punk; it makes me want to go up there and kick her ass! Doesn't she realize that she's a part of us? Acting all goody-goody isn't good." Aura scowled under her hood, wishing she could have a fair crack at the tall goddess and maybe knock her down a couple notches.

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," Loki smiled and continued smoothly. "But as we know, where one is the rest are sure to follow. Omega is currently attempting to get closer to the situation to determine if rumors are, indeed, true. If this is the case, I will need the two of you to assist Omega in keeping a close eye on this matter and preparing a plan, if necessary, to disrupt things before the situation grows too severe."

The two nodded and Loki continued. "Aura, do not let your dislike of Urd interfere with these duties. I swear to you that you will have a chance at her when the time comes."

The hooded figure sighed. "As you command, Exalted One." Her voice was almost sulking, but she maintained her respect for her leader despite the disgust she felt. Luna was more polite about the matter, simply bowing before the two of them withdrew from his presence.

Turning away, Loki returned to thought. The situation seemed to be more and more what he did not want to happen. If the rumors were true, which seemed likely, then The Realm could easily find the battle turning against it. He could not permit a goddess to mate with a human. Of all the reasons, the strongest one was the knowledge that their offspring would overthrow the balance of power. Like another Adam and Eve, Belldandy and Keiichi Morisato would create a new race of demi-gods imbued with the purity of Yggradsil but the effortless curiosity and human ability to dream.

The thought made him shudder with dread, but he quickly regained his smirk. Yggradsil's plan would be foiled, as it had been so many years prior. "Interesting plan," he remarked to no one in particular as his eyes looked skyward. "Too bad that it will never work."