Daphne cherished every second of her – literal – free time. Every day at school, all the evenings spent in Peter's arms, the ballet classes, the rehearsals for the Swan Lake performances... Spending Saturday evenings at Avengers Tower became a fun habit and she got to get to know a lot of the Avengers quite well over time. She frequently visited Emma's bakery with Peter and resumed taking over shifts for Marie at the store. Daphne did everything she could to lead the most normal life she could allow herself to have. Yes, Loki still visited monthly to check up on her and being friends with the Avengers isn't exactly considered normal, but hey, she felt normal.
At some point, near the end of March, Peter mentioned he started feeling heat around Daphne again. The fire was coming back. It scared him more than he liked to admit, but Daphne knew. Loki handed Peter the second vial and Daphne was present when Peter took it, this time. Knowing how it was made, had her feeling a little awkward about it, but Peter didn't mind. The taste was still horrible, but he was doing it for a reason. For her.
Something Daphne was incredibly grateful for, was that her curriculum went back to normal. Her classmates supported her through thick and thin and she did the same for them. Sarah was a little wary of Peter and Daphne dating again, but ultimately let it pass, since she found Peter cute. Sarah was easy to please. Fortunately for Daphne and Peter. The nerd classes and the art class got along rather nicely, but there was always room for some healthy rivalry. This often ended up with people pointing fingers at Peter and Daphne, who received the nicknames Romeo and Juliette. It didn't take long before the entire school called them that. Even the people who didn't know their real names.
As much as there were a lot of positives in the months leading up to summer, there was one big downside: the speed at which time passed. Daphne mentally crossed out the days on a calendar in her head every time her alarm went off and it's safe to say she hated how quickly April came by. The month marked the start of terrible insomnia. Whenever she slept, she'd have nightmares about Somm. With that, came the anxiety and paranoia. Starting conversations with strangers was a no go. Replying to strangers trying to start a conversation as well. When Daphne wasn't at school, she was either at the ballet school, Avengers Tower or with Peter. She was only ever at home when she was a hundred percent certain her father would be there too. She was never by herself. Alone. Peter noticed her shift in behavior first, when Daphne started holding her backpack on her chest again. A nervous habit she didn't seem to have shaken after David got locked away permanently. Peter asked her about it and she did come clean about her fears. She explained that it felt like David was back, even though he wasn't. Somm wasn't even here, Peter would've felt the lurking danger. But the idea that he might be watching her, waiting for her, had Daphne act like this again.
Daphne didn't want to be alone. Ever.
The second Tony caught on to Daphne's anxiety, he wanted her out of New York. ASAP. He realized that's where Somm knows to find her and what might be adding to her paranoia. Of course, she still had to finish her school year and there were rehearsals she'd have to attend, but surely, he can take her away from Manhattan for one short week, right? Just to get her to cool down a little. No strangers around. Only a couple Avengers and her father. Tony pretended the Avengers were offered the vacation in the same way as she was, but he actually did prefer having some kind of wall of protection around her. If shit goes south when they're there, Tony won't be able to beat a sorcerer by himself. Even if Peter is there as well, he had to keep a realistic mindset. He announced the vacation in May, right before the school's finals, so that Daphne would have enough time to mentally prepare for it and arrange with Madame Touha that she'd be out for a week after the last day of school. He informed the Avengers that anyone who wanted to come with was welcome to, but with a certain look on his face that most of them caught on to. It was going to be busy in his Summer retreat.
In the last few weeks leading up to Summer, Peter would have to wake up Daphne every single night, to shake her from the nightmares she was experiencing. It would always start with her talking in her sleep and Peter's heart broke whenever he heard her beg in fear. He embraced her tightly, holding back his own tears, when he heard her mutter the words: "H-Have to die." She would whimper Peter's name, but also Somm's and Loki's. He awoke her quite roughly when she called out for Ravir. Peter still didn't trust that sorceress. Something about her and the way Daphne spoke about her always seemed off. It made his Spidey Sense (a name Daphne decided on when he brought up how 'tingle' wasn't exactly a cool term for it) poke at his head. Ravir might not be bad. But she's not good either, Peter knows that for sure.
...
"To keep the balance, things always happen in pairs." Ravir carefully braids Daphne's hair. She's sat beside the golden basin Daphne is sitting it. She's bathing in the blue potion that should help nullify Peter's addiction. Daphne frowns as she stares at her pruned fingers.
"To what extent?" she asks quietly. Ravir hums monotone and Daphne closes her eyes, letting Ravir's warmth wash over her. Obviously, Daphne's faking her submission to Ravir. It's not real. Daphne's in complete control. She's only pretending to be influenced by the sorceress. Ravir is falling for Daphne's lies and Daphne is in no way actually affected by Ravir's words and magic. Right?
The room the basin is in is relatively small compared to the rest of the palace, but it's still completely gold. It looks like a Roman bath house. Daphne only felt self-conscious about being naked in front of Ravir for a little bit. She knows there's something off about it. Daphne's generally quite prude, but Ravir only said a few words of encouragement and Daphne no longer felt any shame. At least, Daphne remembers it being words of encouragement. She's unsure if Ravir spelled her, or did anything else. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Ravir's been in her head a lot the past few days. However, Daphne feels quite in control of herself. Her mind feels like it's still hers. She asks the questions, Ravir answers them. She's the one calling the shots. She's still only pretending. Right?
Loki doesn't know about what Ravir has been 'doing' to Daphne, since he's away a lot; keeping Odin at ease and fetching ingredients for the potion. Somehow, Daphne doesn't feel the need to inform Loki of Ravir's 'hold on her'. Part of her thinks that's also Ravir's doing, but she always ends up telling herself she needs Ravir for this potion. Getting on her bad side wouldn't be good for anyone and Ravir's expressed her hatred for Somm often enough to know that she's not a threat to Daphne. Whatever she did to Daphne has no negative side effects and in all honesty, it does feel kind of nice to 'let go'. As long as Ravir thinks she's controlling Daphne, Daphne can get all the information she wants. Besides, Ravir can't use Daphne's power, so the only thing Daphne has to fear is accidentally touching her. Ravir can't use her. Right?
"You will have to die again in the same way you did before," Ravir sighs. Daphne jolts and pulls away from Ravir, turning around in the basin to face the sorceress. Her hair falls down her shoulders, slowly untangling Ravir's braiding with every movement.
"What?" Dread rushes through Daphne's veins. "You're saying I-"
"I do not make the rules, child." Ravir reaches out for Daphne, careful, so that she won't touch the potion. Daphne moves away a little further. "Death does."
"I figured it wouldn't be a pleasant feeling, but now you're telling me I have to get struck by lightning? And die?! Again?!" Daphne's breathing quickens. The panic aches her chest and the potion splatters with every move Daphne makes. "And what do you mean with 'Death does'? I don't want to die again, I never want to experience that again!"
Ravir still has her arm stretched out to Daphne and she cocks one eyebrow when she beckons Daphne to return to her.
"Come here, Zephyr," she says, her voice low. Daphne's breathing immediately steadies and her eyes glaze over for less than a second. Her shoulders droop and she moves back to Ravir without putting any thought into it. Well, that's what she wants Ravir to think. She briefly wonders how Ravir's words calmed her down so swiftly, but quickly credits her acting skills for that. The sorceress can still sense Daphne's distress, so Ravir sighs. The sorceress gently takes Daphne's shoulder in her hand and softly pushes to turn her around again. "Let me ease your mind." Daphne admits the offer is tempting, so she indulges the sorceress some more.
"I don't want to die again." Daphne's voice sounds weird and soft. Like she's not speaking herself.
"I know you do not, child. But you have to. For all of us. You will meet Death like you did when you first died and after you pass Death's final test, they will bring you back to us. And you will be a true Zephyr. Our savior."
"I will meet Death..." Daphne repeats mindlessly, relaxing under Ravir's soothing touch. There's a pause as her brain processes Ravir's words. "Death is a person?"
"Death is an entity. You cannot come back from the dead without their aid. You being sent back by Death the first time, means they considered you worthy of becoming a keeper of balance. And to keep balance, things happen in pairs. Your death is inevitable."
"Do you know what test I have to pass? What happens if I don't pass?" Ravir considers not telling Daphne, but the more the child can prepare for it, the higher the chances of success are.
"You will have to reconcile with emotions linked to the past deaths of people you care about." Daphne would have tensed up again if Ravir's attention hadn't turned her to mush. She still had to keep up the act of being some kind of obedient thrall. Right. An act. "Everyone who died before you turn into a Zephyr will be waiting for you to work your way through your feelings about them. You cannot fail the test. If you cannot reconcile, you will simply be stuck in between worlds until you do."
"How do you know all of this?" Daphne mumbles, feeling sleepy. She blames spending a day in the pleasant warm water instead of the sorceress gently running her fingers through Daphne's hair, massaging her scalp.
"I have a new source who has seen all of this from up close." The politically correct reply makes Daphne chortle quietly.
"Nuveth?" She asks.
"Loki was very angry with me for not telling him about my brother." Ravir's hand creeps around Daphne's head to caress her cheek. The other still plays with her hair. "But you will not inform him of things I have not told him myself, now, will you, child?" Daphne closes her eyes. A dreamy smile spreads across her face.
"I won't," she sighs.
"What did we discuss today, my Daphne?" Ravir's thumb rubs gentle circles on Daphne's jaw.
"I will not tell Loki about Nuveth, I will die by lightning, meet Death and become a true Zephyr." There's a pause before Daphne's lulled voice adds: "All for you."
"Good girl. Now, sleep for me." Daphne didn't remember much from what happened after that. But that didn't really matter. She only played along with Ravir's little game. She is still in control.
Right?