Dahlia awoke to the bright morning light assaulting her corneas, driving the headache that sliced through her frontal lobe to pound even harder. I'll never drink again, she groaned inwardly, knowing full well that was a lie and had been the last thousand times she'd said it. Sitting up, Dahlia looked around, deciphering where she was and why, only noticing the goblin child monkeyed around her ankle when she tried to move from the bed.
"Home," she mumbled, not really talking to anyone nearby as much as assuring herself that was indeed where she was; she'd woken up in enough back alleys to start her day with a reality check. Peeling her sibling off of her leg Dahlia finally stood, stretching to the symphony of her joints crackling and shifting after what she assumed was a very rough night. Walking into the too bright kitchen she nearly moaned, the smell of greasy foods making her realize just how hungry she really was.
She sat down at the table, watching her mom hum old folk songs while she cooked thick strips of bacon in the same pan as two sunny side up eggs. Her mother turned, giving her ragged looking daughter a cheery smile.
"I made you breakfast. The grease will help with that hangover, I assure you. You know, you really shouldn't drink like that sweety." Dahlia nearly laughed, the thought of being babied when she was nearly a thousand years old amusing her tired brain. She stifled her giggles, instead digging into the plate of pure grease and egg that her mother put in front of her. "I take it you're not here just to see your dear old family, hm?" her mom questioned, starting another army load of food for the rest of the goblin pack asleep a room over.
Dahlia took the opportunity to chew, mulling over what exactly she could tell her mother. In the end she decided to just tell the truth, well, part of it. "I'm here on a job. A big one. I wanted to see you guys before I went off to stress myself out with it." She bit the inside of her cheek, realizing this would most likely be the last time she ever saw her family, no matter the outcome of her assassination attempt. Her mother just hummed, analyzing her daughter.
"Alright then," she mused, stepping across the kitchen to kiss her forehead. "Just stay safe, yeah?" Dahlia met her mother's eyes, seeing the worry that swam in the blue-green irises. She gave a soft smile, standing and hugging her mother tightly.
"I promise."
~~~
Soon after breakfast the family parted ways, each person off to individual duties as the children screeched and whooped down the street towards the center of the town for their daily lessons. Dahlia took this quiet time to plan, schematics of the palace she'd snatched from the city library scattered about the bed around her while she studied them. She was so engrossed in her scheming she didn't even hear the man that slipped into the room, nearly jumping out of her skin when he said her name.
"Oh shit, my bad. I didn't mean to scare you!" His eyes landed on the schematics, eyes roving over the lines and plot points she'd etched into the paper. "What's all this?" he asked inquisitively, about to pick up a map piece when Dahlia smacked his knuckles with her pencil.
"Nothing. Don't touch." She quickly gathered up her plans and flipped the stack upside down. "What're you doing here?" she asked, the clip in her tone having gone as fast as it'd come. The man just smiled, plopping down beside her on the bed.
"What? You think I wouldn't come see the great flower of the east village on her return home? I'm insulted." He grabbed his chest in feigned pain, using his other hand to hold against his forehead like he was about to faint. Dahlia chuckled, standing from the bed with her stack of paper which she stuck into her bag. She turned.
"It's good to see you Luca. It's been so long," she said, not moving to sit back onto the bed with him. "Nearly forty years no?" The man flushed, looking down as if ashamed.
"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm sorry for not coming to visit the last few times you were here. I'd been busy at the time." She raised an eyebrow as if to imply bullshit and he flushed again. She dropped the subject, neither wanting to actually delve into why they had been apart so long.
"So," Dahlia chirped, determined to steer away from the multiple heavy topics looming in the room. "Wanna go riding? I have Átthagi with me and he hasn't seen these mountains in years. It'd be a nice refresher, don't you think?" The change in mood seemed to satartle Luca and he faltered, mouth bopping in an O like a fish as he stumbled over the words.
"Oh, uh, yeah sure. I'd really like that." He gave her an awkward smile, not really sure how to naturally bridge like she had, let alone a divide of forty years. He'd have the ride to figure that out he supposed.
The mountains were quiet, only the occasional hawk or billy goat to startle the horses down the path. In truth, Dahlia had invited Luca out less because she wanted to bond, but more to eye the back of the palace where it met the rock face, looking for any sign of weakness.
"So," Luca hummed, breaking her concentrated focus on the adjoining cliffs. "Where've you been?" She snapped her eyes away, flicking them towards the man.
"All over I suppose. Mostly the nine realms, though I did make a few stops to Knowhere and other places such as. I've enjoyed my adventures," she divulged, spurring on Átthagi when he tried to stop on a particularly steep ledge. After he'd carefully made it past she continued. "I was most recently in Vanaheim. I've made plenty of Vanir allies over the years I suppose." Luca just nodded along, not seeming particularly interested in divulging his recent past. She'd already guessed, and it wasn't very exciting.
After thirty minutes of silence later, she finally saw it, a chink in the armor. Dahlia didn't show her excitement however, only making a mental note as to where the bashed out section of the palace wall was located. That was her ticket in.
~
When the pair finally made it back to the stables they were both rather tired, parting ways with gentle smiles and happy farewells. This was probably the last time she'd see Luca as well. She wondered absentmindedly what he'd say about this suicidal plan to kill one of the princes of Asgard. Would he be thrilled by the master plan she'd cooked up or disgusted at her greed? She wouldn't know she supposed, or hoped she'd never have to.
In her zoned out state she failed to notice the man coming towards her, only realizing he was there when she was colliding with his chest. The man immediately reached out to catch her, surprised when she twisted away from his grasp faster than he could see her move. "Oh I'm..." he trailed off, eyes locked on Dahlia who was wrangling a scared Átthagi. He watched her strength when she pulled his reins downward to make him stop moving. When the large stallion had calmed enough for her to turn her back on him she faced the man, ready to apologize when her breath caught in her throat. This was Loki Laufeyson, the very man she'd been sent to kill.
The two locked eyes for at least a minute, both randomly babbling without any real language leaving their lips. Finally Dahlia snapped to, stepping back a pace and apologizing for disturbing his night. Loki simply nodded, not seeming to be able to yet form words. She cleared her throat, putting her head down slightly and going on her way with Átthagi in tow.
~
Dahlia couldn't believe she'd just walked away, wasting a perfect vulnerable moment to slay the prince and make a break for it. She grumbled to herself as she stuffed her foot into her boot angrily, gearing up to find the prince wherever he had been rushing off to.
"Darling?" Dahlia's mother said from the doorway, eyeing the armor she'd donned since she'd stormed inside no more than five minutes ago. "What's the matter sweetheart?"
Dahlia sighed, snapping her bo-staff to the magnetic sheath on her back. "Nothing to worry about, Mother. Just work related things." Her mom hummed, looking at the floor before turning back to her.
"Work stuff?"
"Yup. Work stuff." She stood, walking up to her mother and embracing her, kissing her cheek gently. "I'll be back soon. I promise." Her mother just smiled, kissing her daughter's forehead. She knew those words were a lie. She just hoped she'd come back at all.
~~~
Asgardian nightlife consisted mainly of ale soaked celebrations and bar brawls, cheerful laughter and yelling spilling into the city streets with the scent of spiced rum and companionship. Dahlia herself had been a part of many such joyus nights and as Átthagi trotted past a particularly full pub she took a deep breath. She wanted to remember these sounds and smells as best she could, either because she was about to die or because she'd simply never be able to come back to experience them again.
Dahlia hadn't given much thought to blending in when she'd left, only realizing the pair were like a single person parade when they had begun to draw eyes from drunk passersby. While an armored Asgardian was no rare sight, her alien looking gear stood out like a beacon topping her Vanir draft horse. She nudged him into a quick trot, hoping to get to the darker outer villages quickly.
~
After hitching Átthagi just outside a pub Dahlia made her way down a side alley, hoping to avoid any eyes that could place her rather distinct profile slinking in the dark. The street she and Loki had collided on was dark, each street lamp on the block of shops snuffed out. Despite the ominous darkness, Dahlia was quick to pick up the rather imposing aura that the prince had left behind in his hurried trek through the outer village, finding where it entered a dimly lit shop. When her eyes properly adjusted to the near darkness she could faintly read the sign hanging above the doorway. The words 'The Empty Bottle' etched into the fine wood, with care.
The Empty Bottle, Dahlia mulled, trying to place a memory the name had stirred. She'd been here before but only once, in the daytime as a child. Her mother had dragged her along to pick out expensive wines for their spring feast. She remembered that the shopkeeper had given her and her mother sweet rolls with the wines her mother had purchased, her mother letting her eat both of them on the walk home. "But why the prince?" she wondered aloud, eyeing the dim frosted window for movement.
"I'm sure if you just asked I could enlighten you." Dahlia nearly jumped out of her skin, snatching her staff off of her back and swinging back and around before she could see who it was that stood behind her. They ducked, making a grunting sound before snatching the staff mid-swing when she came back around. "Now," the man huffed, "is that any way to treat a prince?" Dahlia froze, eyes like saucers when she realized the person gripping her staff was Loki himself. She tried to yank her staff back but he didn't let go, looking her armor up and down before shoving it away. She stumbled back a step. "You're following me now," he stated, putting his hands in his trouser pockets.
Dahlia was quiet for a moment, not entirely certain how to explain herself, not that he waited for her response when he spoke up again. "That stallion isn't very inconspicuous. Haven't seen a Vanir horse here in ages, let alone armor quite that like. Not to mention you looked like you'd seen a flerken when you so rudely bumped into me." Dahlia's face twisted into somewhat of a scowl.
"Last I checked I was the one with one ton horse in tow. Not my fault you don't have depth perception." She paused. "Or manners for that matter." She bit her tongue before she called him a flerken himself, knowing he most likely wouldn't be inclined to let her walk away if she called him slimy.
"Ah," the prince hummed sarcastically. "My deepest apologies, m'lady, for not being able to see you all the way down there." Dahlia just rolled her eyes, attempting to side step the tall man who crossed his arms and stepped to block her path. "So why are you following me, hm?" Loki questioned, chest puffed in some sort of dominance display. Dahlia scoffed, folding her arms across her chest like he had. She looked around for any excuse she could find, eyes landing on the carefully carved sign just above the prince's head.
"Came for a bottle of wine."
"Wine?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the piss poor excuse she'd so promptly concocted, giving Dahlia the split second she needed to slip past the man. Loki attempted to grab her by the collar, earning a harsh smack on the knuckles from her staff. She didn't wait to see how long it'd take him to catch up, hearing him curse behind her as she sprinted back down the back alley she'd taken before. She could see her horse standing idly at the hitch she'd left him at as she skidded around the corner. As she swung into the large horse's saddle Loki scrambled out of the alley, meeting her eyes just as she got her feet in the stirrups. She held his gaze for a moment, a mischievous smirk curling across her lips.
"Too slow, your majesty," she laughed, seeing him tilt his head in curiosity before she spurred Átthagi's sides. The stallion whinnied before galloping off, carrying a shaken Dahlia further into the night.