After talking with Heimdall, I went back to sitting by Hilde's side. She was breathing a lot better now, which was a relief. I hated seeing her hurt, especially because of me. I knew it wasn't my fault, but she was still put in this position because of my attachment to her. The person I blamed for this with all my heart, was Odin.

Everything in me was telling me to shove a sword down his throat and twist. I knew I shouldn't, but god, I wanted to. It would be hard to keep my anger in check when I saw him next. I was only waiting to be called for an audience at this point. He still had the rest of our bargain to fulfill.

I fell asleep with my head on Hilde's hospital bed. I was using both of my arms as a pillow with soft breaths leaving my lips. It must have been early morning by the time someone woke me up. I jumped and immediately looked at Hilde, thinking it might have been her, but she was still asleep.

"Sorry to wake you, Princess." Asa said softly. I turned my head to look at her and shook my head.

"Don't worry, I should be up anyway." I told her as I stretched.

"Uhm... his Majesty has requested an audience with you." Asa said. Her voice was hesitant when she spoke. Odin scared her, especially since she knew he was putting me through hell. I nodded and got up, turning to see Emil standing at the door.

"Morning, Emil." I smiled warmly.

"Morning, Princess." He responded with a nod. "I will wait right here for you to be ready." Emil explained kindly. I probably looked like a mess. I had washed the blood off of my body before going to see Heimdall, but I still had blood soaked into my clothes.

"Right," I sighed. "I need a bath." I chuckled quietly. I didn't want to wake up the Valkyrie. She was angry in the mornings.

"It's ready for you." Asa assured and walked with me into my room. "Don't take too much time. His Majesty is not a patient being."

"Don't I know it." I groaned.

While Asa laid out my clothes, I had my bath. The warmth felt good on my muscles and it was a shame I couldn't soak and enjoy it. I got out a few minutes later and dried off. I threw on my dark purple robe and walked into my bedroom while towel drying my hair. Asa set out a purple, floor length dress for me that had light purple, mesh sleeves going to my wrist. The dress had a deep V neckline that stopped a few inches below my sternum. I made a face at the revealing dress and Asa bit her lip.

"I'm afraid his Majesty has insisted on this dress." She explained. "I know it's a bit more revealing than the other dresses you've worn."

"Nah, I've worn way more revealing things. I just know I'll have to be conscious of how I move in this thing. I don't want to be flashing people." I sighed and started undoing my rode.

Asa helped me put the dress on and position it correctly. The sleeves were my favorite, probably why my dress maker always added mesh sleeves, with the shoulders being my least favorite. The top sat at the very edge of my shoulders, almost falling off. I really had to be careful. I had to stand completely straight in it. I sat in the chair at the vanity to allow Asa to do my hair and makeup. She also added double stick tape, so my dress wouldn't fall as easily. I still had to be extremely careful, though.

My hair was kept down and put into loose beach waves. One strand of hair at the front was straightened and wrapped over to look like a headband. It was pretty. The final touch would be my tiara, but what Asa put on my head was not a tiara... it was a small crown.

"Uhm-" I muttered, moving forward and away from the crown as I eyed it.

"Another request, I'm afraid." Asa told me. I sucked my teeth, but moved back, so she could pin it to my head.

The crown wasn't as big as the ones that someone like the Queen might wear, but it was still too big, and too heavy, for me. It was between a neo gothic and baroque crown with high, sharp points alternating tall and short. The crowns base was silver with diamonds and purple jewels. The purple gems mainly created the spiked points, but there was a single white diamond at the end of each of the points.

Asa took her time to pin the crown to my head and position it correctly. It did look good on me, unfortunately. After the crown was on, Asa put light makeup on me and stood back to look at her work.

"Am I pretty, yet?" I teased with a bashful expression. Asa snorted at me and rolled her eyes.

"Gorgeous," She confirmed with a laugh. "All thanks to me."

I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed. High contour, heavier blush than what we normally did, pink, glossy lips, and mascara. Very light, but still noticeable. As I looked at myself, Asa ran off to grab me a pair of heels.

The heels she grabbed were extremely high, but beautiful. The actual heel of the shoe was a dark silver metal with intricate leaves holding to the actual shoe. The shoe itself was purple to match the dress and had swirling, silver metal designs over it. But, it was still a very high heel. It was four and a half inches tall. To people that enjoyed wearing heals, it was no big deal, but I hated it. I wasn't wobbling or anything, it just wasn't practical footwear for my lifestyle... well, my preferred lifestyle.

"Ready?" Asa asked after helping me slip on the heel.

"Never, let's go." I told her, taking her hand as we walked out of my room to see Emil.

"Whoa," Emil said when he saw me. His eyes widened as he straightened his posture. "You look like proper royalty." He smiled at me.

"It's a bit much, I know," Asa started sheepishly, "but the Alfather requested her like this." She explained.

"We'll, you did a great job, Asa." Emil told her, making her blush which he smiled brightly at. "Princess," he turned to me and held out his arm to lead me to the throne room. We had to leave Asa here, so I asked her to take care of Hilde while I was gone.

While we walked, I decided now was a good time to question him about his relationship with Asa.

"So, when did you and Asa become a thing?" I asked teasingly. Emil's cheeks went bright red and he cleared his throat.

"Uhm... the second week I was assigned to you." He answered, doing his best to answer correctly. I was surprised it was that long ago. They've been together for over two weeks.

"You're soul bonded." I smiled happily. I remember the conversation Frigga and I had years ago about how long Asgardians are together before they know it's love. She said that two weeks was standard to know if they were your forever partner.

Emil got even redder, if possible, and started stuttering.

"Well- we- I mean- it won't- I promise I won't let it interfere with my duty to you. I just-"

"Emil," I stopped him, "I wouldn't dream of asking for you two to be apart just because of me. And, it should interfere somewhat." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"What?" Emil asked, surprise covered his expression.

"Listen," I sighed, "I know that while you're with me, you'll do everything in your power to protect me. But, if it came down to it, I would like you to protect Asa. That's a direct order, by the way." I told him and jabbed my finger into his arm to emphasize my point. "I can fight, Asa can't. Get her to safety first and then come back for me. Plus, once Valkyrie heals, she'll be assigned to me, so you don't have to worry as much." I explained. Emil went quiet for a minute. The only sound in the corridor was the sound of my heels clacking against the hard ground. Not even the palace officials, guards, or maids were around... which was strange.

"Thank you," Emil whispered gratefully as we kept walking.

"You don't have to thank me. Just take care of her." I smiled at him, bumping him playfully with my shoulder to get him to smile.

"I will." He told me, giving me that smile I was aiming for.

"Good, now where is everyone?" I questioned and looked around. Emil lifted his head to look, too, before frowning.

"I'm not sure." He said as we turned down the hall the throne room was off of.

We froze slightly at the sight. Guards lined the hall to the large doors. Their swords were out and upside down, so the point was aiming at the floor.

"Creepy..." I sighed. "Ok, then. Into the Lions den we go."