Lady Dahlia | Loki Odinson

Chapter 4 - Thor

Dahlia wakes and sits up, the unfamiliar sheets under her telling her that she's not in her own bedroom. She reaches around, trying to figure out where she is.

"Rest, Lia. You're in the healing room." Thor says from somewhere to her left. The attack in Odin's room comes back to her and she raises her hands to her neck, feeling bandages. She tries to speak, to ask what happened, but the pain in her throat is too much.

"You need to rest and heal. We'll still be here when you wake." Heimdall adds from her right. Dahlia reaches towards his voice, and he grabs her hands, encouraging her to lay back down. Once she does she squeezes his hand, silently telling him to stay. "I'm not going anywhere, Lia." He assures. She reaches to her left and Thor grabs her other hand.

"I'm staying too." He tells her. She nods and gets comfortable, falling asleep quickly. Once sure she's asleep, Heimdall and Thor look at each other.

"You have to tell her." They say at the same time. They begin to argue as quietly as possible about who has to tell her about Loki.

"I'll tell her." Frigga interrupts. They both turn to find her standing at the edge of the bed, looking down at Dahlia. Her eyes are slightly red, but neither comment. She pulls up a seat next to Thor and the trio wait for Dahlia to wake again.

When Dahlia wakes, she squeezes her father and Thor's hands, silently thanking them for staying.

"Mother is here. She has something to tell you." Thor tells her, letting go of her hand so Frigga can take it in her own. She carefully explains what happened with Loki and how he fell off the edge of the Bifrost.

"I'd like to be alone now." Dahlia says after a moment. The three look at her for another moment. "Please." She adds.

Once she hears the doors close behind them, she turns onto her side and curls up on the bed. She squeezes her eyes shut, thinking of her own bed and reappearing there a moment later. She burrows under the covers, pulling them over her head and hiding from the rest of Asgard.

***

Dahlia sits at the end of the table, her head down as the group around her laughs at Volstagg's story of them fighting the Destroyer. She stays as long as she can for Thor and Frigga but leaves once she's finally had enough of the others' celebration.

She moves to the edge of the Bifrost, where she knows her father continues his watch over the Nine Realms. She sits next to him, and they stay quiet for another moment.

"How are you, Lia?" Heimdall asks. She stays quiet, playing with the skirt of her dress as she debates whether she should lie to him or not.

"I'm all right." She lies, hoping he won't call her out on it.

"I'm your father. I know when you are lying." He replies. She sighs.

"Can we not talk about it now? I don't...It's too soon." Dahlia tells him. He sits next to her and pulls her into his side, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry. We'll talk when you're ready." He says. She nods, leaning her head on his shoulder. He squeezes her shoulder, and they sit in silence, comfortable to simply spend time in each other's presence.

"Lia? Mother was asking for you. It seemed important." Thor interrupts, approaching the edge of the Bifrost. Heimdall stands and helps her to her feet. She retrieves her new staff and makes her way across what's left of the bridge.

Dahlia enters the palace and returns to the feast, hoping Frigga is still there. She wanders around until eventually Frigga finds her and pulls her away into an empty courtyard.

"I believe I've found a way for you to use your magic to sense your surroundings. It won't be the same as sight, but you should be able to feel where the things around you are. If you would like, I want to teach you not only this, but also how to fight." Frigga explains. Dahlia smiles and nods.

"I'd love nothing more." She replies. Frigga rests her hands on her shoulders and smiles.

"Perfect. Our first lesson will be tomorrow in this very courtyard." She tells her.

***

After weeks of training, Dahlia was finally able to "see" the courtyard, and after many more weeks, the whole palace. The only downside to this new magic being that her eyes glow yellow, similar to her father's, when she uses the magic to feel her surroundings.

After months of perfecting Dahlia's new magic, Frigga began training her to fight, beginning with her staff and moving onto swords and daggers. Satisfied that Dahlia can take care of herself in a fight, Frigga changes their meetings to once or twice a week to keep her skills sharp.

"Thank you for everything." Dahlia says after one of their sessions. Frigga smiles, gently patting her cheek.

"Anytime, darling." She replies, knowing Loki would be happy that she was able to train Dahlia to kick the ass of anyone who dared try to harm her. 

Sorry the update is later and shorter than expected! We got back home later than I thought we would, and I accidentally fell asleep lol. For Dahlia's new magic, it works similar to Daredevil's enhanced senses so she can basically feel where everything is and can "see".

She doesn't really use these new powers unless she's anxious about a new place/person or when she's kicking ass. She's comfortable being blind and only really needs her "sight" for extra comfort around unfamiliar things or to be able to know exactly where her opponents are during a fight.