GAME ON PART ONE
PRESENT
“What I saw on that day..”,Barton's voice was faint,his eyes squinty.
“It's fine. Tell them” ,i reassured him.
He pressed his knees and then stood up from the armchair. He was thinking,trying to get the words right.
“She,uhm..she didn't speak to me that day. She just left,went home and when I saw her the next day she barely remembered why she even left. Said she had to or some shit”,he started.
I could feel my chest tightening,my scars both burning.
“That day..i was watching,i had my eyes on her,she wanted me to see what Reina does to her,what's her trick,but..”,he sighed,taking a small pause. “Persephone lifted a wall and crashed herself back”,i closed my eyelids,the memory itself still not on my mind.
Steve tightened his grip on this chair's arms. I could tell everyone was feeling the same discomfort.
“What?”,Steve asked in disbelief.
“That's not all Cap...”,he slowly shook his head to Steve.
“After that she put the wall down and..damn,her fist was on fire,she tried to choke herself!”,he said it. His brows were knitted,Barton himself still trying to make something of it.
Steve stood up abruptly,all eyes were on me. I began untangling my scarf,one I wore because of this exact event. My movements were slow as I spoke.
“From my perspective though,i was choking Reina. I felt no pain,no heat or pressure,neither from the wall or my hand pressing my neck”,my scarf was now down.
“Had it not been for Clint's voice through the intercom to snap me out of it...i'd most probably be dead by now” ,my voice was cracked and raw.
Natasha's eyes were big,herself next to me,eyeing my neck's skin.
Suddenly Steve stood before me,his knees bent as to take a better look at me;
It was a print of my hand's length,the skin itself died in a dark purple color while many parts were parched,some skin peels still coming out.
Steve's eyebrows were knitted together.
Disbelief and bitterness flowed his entire face.
He was slow,his movements careful and somehow hesitant as he gently touched the skin of my neck.
I couldn't help but flinch; be it from my skin still being vulnerable,or from Steve's touch..maybe both. My chest was tight,and I was afraid I might break down in tears.
“I'm sorry”,he said in a faint,low voice as he quickly pulled his hand back.
“It's fine”i lowered my gaze. “Anisa said so...”,i now pulled the glove from my left hand.
“The Sparrow won't let you leave with no scar “ ,i recited her words,a bitter chuckle following as I showed them the inside of my palm,the skin still red and puffy.
“Twice I went inside the Red House..each visit gave me a scar”,i said with a hollow voice.
“Can you even burn yourself?”,Tony asked worried and in actual confusion. “I mean,is that even possible?”
“No. It shouldn't”,i shook my head. “I can't really explain it in words...but think of it like that: there's a reason my fire doesn't burn not only my skin,but also my clothes,my hair...It's like...it comes from me,you know?”,i was looking down,my eyelids half closed as I was explaining.
“Then..how..”,Natasha asked in a faint voice.
“I think...i think I get it now actually..”,i let out a laugh and they all gave me a concerned look. “Oh my..sorry,but..it really seems so funny to me..I've been going crazy for two months now you know..”,i slightly shook my head. Steve's gaze was fixed on me,and so I looked straight to his eyes.
“All this time..no sleep,no eating,no form of living whatsoever...I mean,i even picked up smoking”,i lifted my brows,my amazement upon this statement rivaling their own.
“What? Are you..really?”,Natasha asked in disbelief,tilting her head.
“Oh,yeah. She's telling the truth. It's not frequent,but it's hella annoying. She acts like a detective from a 50s movie...”,Barton murmured to himself,arms crossed.
“All this..battle against my own sanity and yet..one meeting with you guys and suddenly..it all makes sense!”,i threw my head behind; they all gave me worrisome looks.
“Oh,i'm sorry. I'll explain”,i waved my arm.
“Please do”,Tony said. “Cause i'm really thinking poor Fury now,and that's a really low place to be for a man”
“But first”,i lifted one finger and Tony rolled his eyes,somewhat annoyed by my dragging on.
“I promised Steve i'd be clear; i'd tell everything”,i turned to Steve,a faint smile now on his face as his eyes were already on me.
“I met Reina once more”,i started and Barton's brows furrowed.
“What?”,he asked,bafflement covering his face.
“Yes..sorry Barton but,as I said..you'll get why I left that one out”
I stood up,the hot espresso cup on my hands as I was pacing up and down;
Yes,i said i'd be clear,but still...I would have to tell a lot more than just a story here.
It all comes down to this after all. My trust on them,and their trust on me.
SEVEN DAYS BEFORE THE MANHATTAN ATTACK,SHIELD'S APPOINTED APPARTMANET TO AGENT PEARSE,DC
I need to put an end in this,i know I do.
It's already well past past one o'clock in the morning and here I am,one cigarette on my mouth,one bottle of vodka on my grip. Sitting on that armchair,only one lamp's faint light to somehow dissolve this endless dark which has spread out inside my entire apartment.
Tasha is to be back tomorrow and Barton...fuck,i have dragged him along so much shit. I'm sure Tasha worries about that more than anything else. How i'm going down with Barton and not alone.
He's...a good friend though.
I get to say that now.
Tony sent out word that we can move in the tower,it is now all in place. Tasha has already moved in,since she says it is much more convenient ,and Barton has taken some of his things in his room as well...As for Steve..just like with Tony,i haven't seen him in a long while.
Supposedly he's in a mission, one appointed to him just two days after the party. First it was Singapore,then Germany,now...i don't even know. He hasn't spoken to me,and neither have I.
I believe he's been avoiding me,but it's not like i'm not.
Maybe I can close my eyes for a while; just a few seconds. A few minutes at least. I need to sleep,i really,really need to-
“Oh,my. I don't think that's a really good idea miss Pearse. One ought to be awake when having guests over”
“What?”,i turned around but I saw nothing.
I stood up,the bottle falling down,strolling around the floor until it landed on the couch's leg and finally stopped;
Have I..been hearing voices?
“Please don't ignore me miss Pearse”
A small clicking sound and another lamp was lit;
More light emerged inside my living room and I could see her sitting on a chair,right across me.
She looked to be comfortable,the same smile on her face as she was looking straight at me,her eyes bearing that white tint on their irises.
I sighed;
I grabbed the bottle from under the couch and sat down on my armchair; my shoulders laid back as I allowed my body to fall on the chair.
“Oh? You will not try and attack me then?”,she asked,a faint “o” on her lips.
“What for...”,i shrugged and took a sip from the bottle. “Just do your thing and leave. I'm not even sure you're real to be honest”,i admitted.
“Oh my..Jean was right about you after all”,she laughed out. “Isn't that right,Mr Key?”,she asked and only then I noticed another man approaching us from the depths of my kitchen.
He was rather tall and quite thin; as far as the faint lighting went,i could tell he had one nasty,horizontal scar across his face,from one ear,down his nose and to the other ear. His hair were dark,yet kept short,and he appeared to be around his forties.
“Who's that now?”,i asked,some annoyance on my voice.
“Oh,right. You've only met Mr Lodger”,she nodded and I furrowed my brows as my eyes followed her while I took another sip of vodka.
“Mr Key is a very valuable friend of mine as you see miss Pearse”,she turned at him and the man put one hand on her shoulder,smiling down at her. “But we are not here to discuss my friends miss Pearse; we're here to discuss yours”
“What?”,i asked,genuine bafflement and confusion shown through my expression.
“Why are you here,miss Pearse?”
“Because...i live here?”,i asked in a rhetorical manner and she let out a small chortle.
“So..”,she huffed out, “your mother's assassination would have nothing to do with that then?”
I could feel my chest tightening along with my grip on the vodka bottle.
For a dream,this was rather nasty.
“It's a..”,she tapped Mr Key's hand, “..rather sad story actually”
Mr Key helped her get up. She was now standing,trying to reach the big window with Mr Key's help and guidance.
“Such a shame,really”,she shook her head,her brows furrowed as a deceitful sorrowfulness took over her face. “For a father to only use his firstborn child as a war machine”
This had to be a dream. No way she would know such things otherwise.
Right?
“To be so blinded by arrogance,he cares not for his family. I mean...”,she let out a huff of air before continuing.
“He did assist in your mother's gestation's termination” ,she clicked her tongue.
I felt my eyes getting watery.
“It was her...seventh month,right?”,she now turned to me.
“Yes”,i said with a hoarse,raw voice.
“And...by your laws,had it been a boy in your mother's belly, he'd be announced as a king at his eleventh birthday”,her brows were now lifted.
“Your father would need to step down from his rein of power and assist in that brother's of yours kingship,as a counselor”,she exhaled a huff of air,her hands now tied together in front of her.
“In the end he locked her in a room and put up a fire; Pelimorreans's powers can't really manifest when one's with child,so it was a great opportunity. You had just come back from a war,and your father wanted to not only be announced as the Great King,but also make Pelimorre the Tenth Realm. He couldn't have you,or a new to be king on his way”
I lit up another cigarette.
I couldn't help but have all these images get thrown in my mind.
My mother's burned up body,the healer's announcement that she had died from the flames...
My father's finger pointing directly at me,the crown heavy on his head.
“It's the Pyreph! Her murderous fires burned her mother,our Holy Queen of the Capital”
“Of course...it could have been a girl”,she said then,a small chuckle coming out her lips.
“But..your father couldn't have any of you. Not your mother,not another child,not..you”
“What do you want?”,i asked,smoke coming out the corners of my mouth. My voice was raw,almost cracked. I couldn't listen to any more of this. Not...not anymore.
“Well...”,she almost held out her tongue as this word came out. “You did attack your father. Fire and Water...what a vain fight that was...Even though you did burn him in the end...”
She approached me.
“So,i can't help but wonder...”,she took a small pause. “When your father does find you..because you know he will...Whom do you expect to be fighting alongside you,Cursed Princess?”
She took one step closer,her hands tied behind her as she did.
I felt a knot deep down my throat,the tears one word from falling down.
I was almost trembling.
“Will it be the archer,the one you've been dragging down with you all this time?”,one more step.
“Will it be the rich one? The one all the tv screens speak of? Well..you do see him as a brotherly figure...but,does he feel the same?”,she furrowed her brows. One more step closer.
“Or perhaps the spy? She hasn't been on your side for a long time now,miss Pearse...The Asgardian Prince perhaps? Oh,no..”,she shook her head,her smile never fading.
One more step.
I felt like I couldn't breathe; I couldn't even move.
One tear fell down,though my eyelids couldn't move at all.
“The doctor whom turns to a beast whenever he's angry? Well,you do share that ability..don't you?”
She was now in front of me,bent forward as her eyes were mere inches away from my own.
This white veil covering them seemed like it was peaking inside me.
“Or is it the soldier?”,she clicked her tongue. The second tear fell down. “Yo bear truly pure feelings towards him. Is it because he too had fought? He too had bled and killed ? No...”,she shook her head,her lips pursed.
“It's because he too has felt Death's Grip,strongly on his chest”
She slowly stood up,Mr Key assisting her every move as she did.
She turned around,her palm touching Mr Key's shoulder as she slowly paced away from me,deep in to the living room's darkness.
“This is your battle,miss Pearse. You are the one whom brought this upon yourself,and so..you can only blame you”
She was lost.
As if she was never there,suddenly I was alone.
My chest was coming up and down,both the cigarette butt and the vodka bottle now down,hitting the floor as I began breathing heavily.
I was gasping for air,maniacally pulling my blouse away from my chest,as if this would help.
I fell down,tears heating up my cheeks as my body curved inwards.
Was it a dream,or a nightmare..it was real.