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A/N: I am so sorry for the long hiatus. Life just caught up to me extremely quickly. Here is the next chapter for those of you who are still wanting to read it. We are approaching the end!

Adalwin was at the observatory much longer than she had intended to be. It was late when Heimdall finally spoke.

“Adalwin, it is late, and you have a bed to be getting to,” his loud voice shattered the silence around them.

She quickly snapped back to reality, having been lost in a realm of peace and tranquility. She yawned and stood up slowly. Re-awaking her once sedated legs. She rolled her shoulders and tilted her neck, before she bowed to Heimdall.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, not wanting to ruin the silence in the observatory that still sat in its upper rafters.

“How many times must I tell you that you don’t need to thank me every time you visit? You are welcome here. You are, after all the princess to the ruling King,” Heimdall turned to lead her out.

For whatever reason, his last sentence stuck with her. She was the King’s daughter, the princess, and she was going to have to take over the throne when her father passed it down to her.

She shoved the thought down, and left the observatory to walk home under the familiar stars.

As she walked, the thought kept nagging at her. Finally, she growled frustrated.

“I don’t want to be Queen!” she snarled to the air. “I don’t want the throne, and I definitely don’t want to be in charge of so many people!”

She had figured out what emotion that thought kept provoking; fear. She was terrified of being Queen.

“I just won’t then. There’s got to be another person Father can hand it off to,” she shook her head to clear it.

As she looked around, she realized it was much later than she had thought. She walked along the dark streets, the sky black with night. The guards posted every now and again, just within earshot of each other, would nod their heads as she passed. Asgard was by far the safest city in the nine realm, so she was completely at ease.

She loved walking alone at night. The silence that hung in the air, the mystery of night, the time when creatures and strange oddities and possibilities began to crawl out. Her favorite part was walking down the street, with the street lights illuminating only spots of the walkway.

She slowly walked back to the palace, she had several ways of getting in without being noticed. She just hoped her father hadn’t come to check on her at any point while she was away. He would have a cow.

She smiled at the thought and looked up at the stars. She turned off the main road and onto the palace’s street. The gold glittered under her feet.

The soft buzz of crickets was alluring. The guard opened the gate with a knowing smile, and crept through the gardens towards the back of the palace. The palace grounds were dark. There were no lights here, and the multiple flowers scents hung in the air, half cooked from the sun.

She walked even softer here, wanting to preserve the night. She judged it was probably about midnight now, maybe even later.

As she walked, the fireflies began to come out to mate. Their lights flashed around her. There were yellow and green ones, all of the richest of hues.

She grinned and followed them. They led her in circles around the maze, and through the gardens to the palace walls.

Here, she pulled out a piece of crystal and drew the shape of a door on the wall.

“Icoherem Mortiso es” she whispered. The door became solid and with a soft push it swung open. Before entering, Adalwin turned back to the fireflies.

“Good night,” she whispered before she entered into the passage.

Adalwin, at the request of her father, always carried an enchanted stone that acted as a light. The stone itself was buoyant, and when activated would float a few feet in front of the user to light their way, keeping their hands free.

She pulled out hers, it was white, and held it in her hand, imagining light coming from it.

It sparked to life and drifted off her hand to just above her eyes. Adalwin began her maneuver through the passages of the castle.

She had to duck to avoid pipes and vents and other wirings of the palace, but she knew the way pretty well and quickly wound up at the entrance to the servant’s door of the kitchen. It was dark and silent.

She snuck out, and crept into the hallway, extinguishing her light. The hall lights were always on until you reached the sleeping quarters.

Adalwin began her trek through the palace, avoiding guards and hiding when she needed to.

Eventually, she reached the throne room. From here, she could sneak out to a balcony, and drop down to the pathway that went around the west side of the palace. There, she could find her balcony and climb in.

This was the easiest route to avoid other guards and the stables. It was risky, yes, but not as risky as running across a stable hand, or getting stabbed by one of the watchmen, or worse, spooking a horse and have all of the above happen.

She opened the door and peeked in, surprised to find her father pacing the floor.

“Well poop,” she muttered.

He was violently pacing, excitement making him shake. Whatever he was mulling over was extra important. It seemed as if he was waiting for something.

She shrugged it off, but braced herself on how to get passed him.

Adalwin shifted her weight to the balls of her feet, and carefully opened the door wide enough for her to enter. As soon as Loki made the turn towards the throne, she dashed in and ran behind a pillar, noiseless.

She slowly breathed out. Loki didn’t look at all. Now, with every turn he did towards the doors, she dashed to the next pillar.

One by one, she almost made it to the curtain when suddenly, on his next turn, Loki threw a knife towards the pillar she was behind, and missed her by inches.

She froze and held her breath.

Loki stalked over to retrieve the knife that had been stuck in the wall. Adalwin moved along the pillar opposite of his line of sight. He looked where she had been standing, and snorted.

“You’re getting the best of yourself, Laufeyson,” he muttered. “Steady.”

Adalwin waited until he was grabbing the knife before she darted down two pillars and dashed onto the balcony behind one of the decorating shrubs.

He hadn’t seen her. Success.

She leapt on top of the balcony’s ledge, and jumped down, catching her self on the rim. She then fell, and landed softly on the ground.

Her senses tingled and she swished underneath the balcony, in time to see Loki emerge from the throne room and look around. Perhaps she had celebrated a bit too early.

He stood there for a good 15 minutes, listening, watching, aware to every little sound.

She was pretty sure he hadn’t noticed it was her. Not yet at least. If he had, he would have called out or said something. Most likely he would have reprimanded her for being out so late. For the first time in her life, she was glad for the training she had received on being still.

Finally, after an eternity of Loki standing above her. He went back inside and shut the curtain again.

Adalwin almost swooned with relief. She quickly ran along the wall, being extra careful this time.

She wanted to go faster, but she didn’t want to draw attention. She hoped Loki wasn’t going to check on her, but most likely he was. After that little ordeal, she couldn’t risk him thinking somebody had taken her, or worse.

When she reached the bottom of her balcony, she grabbed onto the vines that grew up the side. She began to climb them, steadily and calmly. They were sturdy, but they also were only a plant that she was trusting with her weight.

How the vines laid out, was that they stretched around each balcony, to the next one which was a few feet above it. The climb was easy from the ground up, but once the balcony’s got in the way, it became much harder.

Adalwin made it to the first balcony no problem, and grabbed onto the edge of the railing. She pulled herself onto it, and stalked along its edge to the wall where the vines continued. They had been cut by the gardeners today.

“Meyla beiskaldi,” she muttered, practically hearing Loki scold her for her language. She was going to have to freehand it. She crouched low, and put all of her energy to her legs. She then channeled her magic to her hands. Once she felt charged, she leapt to the above balcony, and grabbed onto the bottom of its floor.

The initial change in direction made her slightly disoriented, but after steadying herself, she grinned.

“I did it! I don’t know how, but it worked!” Her hands were gripping the flat surface for dear life and her legs were attempting to find a foothold. She shook her hair from her face, which was now dangling towards the lower balcony.

“Ok, it’s ok, everything is safe, everything is fine,” she talked to herself as she began to inch her way towards the bottom of the railing.

When she was just below it, she swung her legs out and around, hooking her knees onto the railing. Now she was completely upside down. She then detached her hands, and using her abs, she curled herself upright to sitting. One balcony had been defeated. She had 5 more to do.

“Whoever decided to plant vines and then cut them, is a real asshole,” she muttered as she repeated her process. She didn’t have time to spare, and pushed herself as fast as she could go.

Halfway through her body began to tire, and when she reached for the third balcony, her hand slipped and she almost fell over the side of it.

She smothered her scream as her knee hooked the edge, and she was stuck dangling about 15 stories up.

She calmed herself before she attempted to pull herself up again. She still had 2 more balconies to climb, she couldn’t tire out now.

“Come on, come on,” she whispered as she pulled herself onto the bottom of the one above her.

It was hell, but she did it. When she finally reached the balcony to her room, she was sweaty and almost exhausted. She struggled to pull herself over the railing, and collapsed onto the ground.

“I did it, I really did it,” she muttered. She gave herself about 30 seconds of relaxing before she bolted up and grabbed her night clothes off the bed. She ripped off her clothing, and quickly threw them on the floor while attempting to hop into her night clothes at the same time.

An absolute mess, but dressed, she began to throw pillows off the bed to get to the sheets, but at the last second, she realized her clothing would be warm still, so she sent a cold draft of air over them. Hopefully the sweat hadn’t frozen or anything.

Thinking she heard footsteps in the hall, she leapt into bed and slammed her face into the pillow. It was by far the most ungraceful maneuver she had ever pulled off and looked completely unnatural, but it worked for what she had.

The footsteps echoed down the hall, and slowed near her door. Adalwin waited for the entrance.

The door didn’t open. She sat curiously waiting, the tension mounting with each footstep. Still, the door didn’t open. Instead, they continued down the hall without a second thought.

Adalwin would have considered it strange, if exhaustion hadn’t have gotten the best of her. She was out before she could even consider thinking the thought.

Just as she was entering the darkest part of sleep, she heard the echo of the Bifrost starting up.

She blearily sat up in bed, curious as to what was going on. Nobody had used the Bifrost since Thor’s banishment.

She crept over to her window to see the Bifrost illuminated with light and swirling to a stop. Heimdall was being carried out by the warriors three. She vaguely remembered them talking about leaving earlier that day.

Adalwin rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of what was going on. Why were they back all of a sudden? What had happened to Heimdall?

Then, she saw a flash of red, as a tall, blond haired, red caped man emerged from the Observatory.

Her jaw hit the floor.

Thor was back.

Description
A/N: I am so sorry for the long hiatus. Life just caught up to me extremely quickly. Here is the next chapter for those of you who are still wanting to read it. We are approaching the end!

Adalwin was at the observatory much longer than she had intended to be. It was late when Heimdall finally spoke.

“Adalwin, it is late, and you have a bed to be getting to,” his loud voice shattered the silence around them.

She quickly snapped back to reality, having been lost in a realm of peace and tranquility. She yawned and stood up slowly. Re-awaking her once sedated legs. She rolled her shoulders and tilted her neck, before she bowed to Heimdall.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, not wanting to ruin the silence in the observatory that still sat in its upper rafters.

“How many times must I tell you that you don’t need to thank me every time you visit? You are welcome here. You are, after all the princess to the ruling King,” Heimdall turned to lead her out.

For whatever reason, his last sentence stuck with her. She was the King’s daughter, the princess, and she was going to have to take over the throne when her father passed it down to her.

She shoved the thought down, and left the observatory to walk home under the familiar stars.

As she walked, the thought kept nagging at her. Finally, she growled frustrated.

“I don’t want to be Queen!” she snarled to the air. “I don’t want the throne, and I definitely don’t want to be in charge of so many people!”

She had figured out what emotion that thought kept provoking; fear. She was terrified of being Queen.

“I just won’t then. There’s got to be another person Father can hand it off to,” she shook her head to clear it.

As she looked around, she realized it was much later than she had thought. She walked along the dark streets, the sky black with night. The guards posted every now and again, just within earshot of each other, would nod their heads as she passed. Asgard was by far the safest city in the nine realm, so she was completely at ease.

She loved walking alone at night. The silence that hung in the air, the mystery of night, the time when creatures and strange oddities and possibilities began to crawl out. Her favorite part was walking down the street, with the street lights illuminating only spots of the walkway.

She slowly walked back to the palace, she had several ways of getting in without being noticed. She just hoped her father hadn’t come to check on her at any point while she was away. He would have a cow.

She smiled at the thought and looked up at the stars. She turned off the main road and onto the palace’s street. The gold glittered under her feet.

The soft buzz of crickets was alluring. The guard opened the gate with a knowing smile, and crept through the gardens towards the back of the palace. The palace grounds were dark. There were no lights here, and the multiple flowers scents hung in the air, half cooked from the sun.

She walked even softer here, wanting to preserve the night. She judged it was probably about midnight now, maybe even later.

As she walked, the fireflies began to come out to mate. Their lights flashed around her. There were yellow and green ones, all of the richest of hues.

She grinned and followed them. They led her in circles around the maze, and through the gardens to the palace walls.

Here, she pulled out a piece of crystal and drew the shape of a door on the wall.

“Icoherem Mortiso es” she whispered. The door became solid and with a soft push it swung open. Before entering, Adalwin turned back to the fireflies.

“Good night,” she whispered before she entered into the passage.

Adalwin, at the request of her father, always carried an enchanted stone that acted as a light. The stone itself was buoyant, and when activated would float a few feet in front of the user to light their way, keeping their hands free.

She pulled out hers, it was white, and held it in her hand, imagining light coming from it.

It sparked to life and drifted off her hand to just above her eyes. Adalwin began her maneuver through the passages of the castle.

She had to duck to avoid pipes and vents and other wirings of the palace, but she knew the way pretty well and quickly wound up at the entrance to the servant’s door of the kitchen. It was dark and silent.

She snuck out, and crept into the hallway, extinguishing her light. The hall lights were always on until you reached the sleeping quarters.

Adalwin began her trek through the palace, avoiding guards and hiding when she needed to.

Eventually, she reached the throne room. From here, she could sneak out to a balcony, and drop down to the pathway that went around the west side of the palace. There, she could find her balcony and climb in.

This was the easiest route to avoid other guards and the stables. It was risky, yes, but not as risky as running across a stable hand, or getting stabbed by one of the watchmen, or worse, spooking a horse and have all of the above happen.

She opened the door and peeked in, surprised to find her father pacing the floor.

“Well poop,” she muttered.

He was violently pacing, excitement making him shake. Whatever he was mulling over was extra important. It seemed as if he was waiting for something.

She shrugged it off, but braced herself on how to get passed him.

Adalwin shifted her weight to the balls of her feet, and carefully opened the door wide enough for her to enter. As soon as Loki made the turn towards the throne, she dashed in and ran behind a pillar, noiseless.

She slowly breathed out. Loki didn’t look at all. Now, with every turn he did towards the doors, she dashed to the next pillar.

One by one, she almost made it to the curtain when suddenly, on his next turn, Loki threw a knife towards the pillar she was behind, and missed her by inches.

She froze and held her breath.

Loki stalked over to retrieve the knife that had been stuck in the wall. Adalwin moved along the pillar opposite of his line of sight. He looked where she had been standing, and snorted.

“You’re getting the best of yourself, Laufeyson,” he muttered. “Steady.”

Adalwin waited until he was grabbing the knife before she darted down two pillars and dashed onto the balcony behind one of the decorating shrubs.

He hadn’t seen her. Success.

She leapt on top of the balcony’s ledge, and jumped down, catching her self on the rim. She then fell, and landed softly on the ground.

Her senses tingled and she swished underneath the balcony, in time to see Loki emerge from the throne room and look around. Perhaps she had celebrated a bit too early.

He stood there for a good 15 minutes, listening, watching, aware to every little sound.

She was pretty sure he hadn’t noticed it was her. Not yet at least. If he had, he would have called out or said something. Most likely he would have reprimanded her for being out so late. For the first time in her life, she was glad for the training she had received on being still.

Finally, after an eternity of Loki standing above her. He went back inside and shut the curtain again.

Adalwin almost swooned with relief. She quickly ran along the wall, being extra careful this time.

She wanted to go faster, but she didn’t want to draw attention. She hoped Loki wasn’t going to check on her, but most likely he was. After that little ordeal, she couldn’t risk him thinking somebody had taken her, or worse.

When she reached the bottom of her balcony, she grabbed onto the vines that grew up the side. She began to climb them, steadily and calmly. They were sturdy, but they also were only a plant that she was trusting with her weight.

How the vines laid out, was that they stretched around each balcony, to the next one which was a few feet above it. The climb was easy from the ground up, but once the balcony’s got in the way, it became much harder.

Adalwin made it to the first balcony no problem, and grabbed onto the edge of the railing. She pulled herself onto it, and stalked along its edge to the wall where the vines continued. They had been cut by the gardeners today.

“Meyla beiskaldi,” she muttered, practically hearing Loki scold her for her language. She was going to have to freehand it. She crouched low, and put all of her energy to her legs. She then channeled her magic to her hands. Once she felt charged, she leapt to the above balcony, and grabbed onto the bottom of its floor.

The initial change in direction made her slightly disoriented, but after steadying herself, she grinned.

“I did it! I don’t know how, but it worked!” Her hands were gripping the flat surface for dear life and her legs were attempting to find a foothold. She shook her hair from her face, which was now dangling towards the lower balcony.

“Ok, it’s ok, everything is safe, everything is fine,” she talked to herself as she began to inch her way towards the bottom of the railing.

When she was just below it, she swung her legs out and around, hooking her knees onto the railing. Now she was completely upside down. She then detached her hands, and using her abs, she curled herself upright to sitting. One balcony had been defeated. She had 5 more to do.

“Whoever decided to plant vines and then cut them, is a real asshole,” she muttered as she repeated her process. She didn’t have time to spare, and pushed herself as fast as she could go.

Halfway through her body began to tire, and when she reached for the third balcony, her hand slipped and she almost fell over the side of it.

She smothered her scream as her knee hooked the edge, and she was stuck dangling about 15 stories up.

She calmed herself before she attempted to pull herself up again. She still had 2 more balconies to climb, she couldn’t tire out now.

“Come on, come on,” she whispered as she pulled herself onto the bottom of the one above her.

It was hell, but she did it. When she finally reached the balcony to her room, she was sweaty and almost exhausted. She struggled to pull herself over the railing, and collapsed onto the ground.

“I did it, I really did it,” she muttered. She gave herself about 30 seconds of relaxing before she bolted up and grabbed her night clothes off the bed. She ripped off her clothing, and quickly threw them on the floor while attempting to hop into her night clothes at the same time.

An absolute mess, but dressed, she began to throw pillows off the bed to get to the sheets, but at the last second, she realized her clothing would be warm still, so she sent a cold draft of air over them. Hopefully the sweat hadn’t frozen or anything.

Thinking she heard footsteps in the hall, she leapt into bed and slammed her face into the pillow. It was by far the most ungraceful maneuver she had ever pulled off and looked completely unnatural, but it worked for what she had.

The footsteps echoed down the hall, and slowed near her door. Adalwin waited for the entrance.

The door didn’t open. She sat curiously waiting, the tension mounting with each footstep. Still, the door didn’t open. Instead, they continued down the hall without a second thought.

Adalwin would have considered it strange, if exhaustion hadn’t have gotten the best of her. She was out before she could even consider thinking the thought.

Just as she was entering the darkest part of sleep, she heard the echo of the Bifrost starting up.

She blearily sat up in bed, curious as to what was going on. Nobody had used the Bifrost since Thor’s banishment.

She crept over to her window to see the Bifrost illuminated with light and swirling to a stop. Heimdall was being carried out by the warriors three. She vaguely remembered them talking about leaving earlier that day.

Adalwin rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of what was going on. Why were they back all of a sudden? What had happened to Heimdall?

Then, she saw a flash of red, as a tall, blond haired, red caped man emerged from the Observatory.

Her jaw hit the floor.

Thor was back.