Part II: New World

“I know who you are” 

Darcy Lewis looks older than she did in the picture Jane showed him back in Glassmere. The one he knew she kept in her satchel alongside the map and the dagger. She is all dressed in black too, except for the emerald green raincoat she’s wearing, all wet from the rain, and when he glances at her feet, her boots are covered in sand and mud like she walked all the way there. 

“You must be Jack” 

Bucky nods once, not being able to shake her hand as his own are clenched on each side of his body so hard that his knuckles are white. He isn’t sure if he’s upset because he actually thought it would be Steve waiting for him, or because Darcy Lewis has something to do with the Shadow Men he had heard so many bad things about. He remembers Elektra saying that she had been taken by a Lord from Cinders, and that the Shadow Men started appearing when Catalean and Cinders joined their colonies.

Once again, it feels like he’s getting pieces of a puzzle and is expected to complete it. But this isn’t about him, about his memories or his childhood, this has to be about Jane.

“I won’t take much of your time, Miss Temple” Darcy says, and Claire scoffs behind him.

The woman scoffs and leaves the room, pushing the two men blocking the exit. They remain static, and Darcy gestures them to leave the room too. Once they are alone, Darcy gives a step towards him and he moves one back, adapting a defensive posture and he narrowing his eyes at her. 

Darcy looks like she wasn’t expecting him to know about her. She licks her lips nervously and walks pass him, walking towards the wooden bar a few feet from them. She unlaces the string around her neck and shrugs off the coat, resting it on the stool’s armrest, before she takes a seat gesturing him to sit too.

Bucky raises an eyebrow, “Are you with them?” 

Darcy glances at where the Shadow Men had disappeared, and then gives him a strange look, but she doesn’t answer. There is nothing intimidating about Darcy Lewis, if anything she looks more intimidated or nervous about him, specially once her bodyguards left the room. Bucky relaxes his shoulders and walks towards her, pulling the stool next to her out and taking a seat.

“I’m aware that people are… Reluctant about them being around” Darcy says finally, “But my Commander insisted I came protected”

Bucky frowns looking at her fingers drumming on the bar.

“I’m under the protection of The Cinder’s High Commander, you see” The raven haired woman adds, “These are his men”

Bucky simply stares, waiting for her to say more but she doesn’t, instead she reaches for one of the bottles behind the bar – the vodka he had shared with Claire – and reads the label.

“I got Jane’s message”

He scowls, “What message?”

Darcy cocks an eyebrow, "the radio message” she replies, “Sent from The Bait”

The Bait. Bucky’s mind travels to the night before, while Luke talked to him about the many drinks behind his bar he remembers seeing an old radio, he wasn’t sure if it worked and he didn’t ask. But Jane did. Of course she did. 

“I wouldn’t have believed it was her if it wasn’t for her words at the end,” Darcy continues, she chuckles softly, “Whenever she wrote me a letter, for my birthdays or holidays, she would sign at the bottom with ‘Mobilis in Mobili’” 

Bucky follows her every movement with his eyes, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” She lifts her gaze towards him, “Jules Verne”

Bucky turns to her, and allows her to look for whatever she needs to find in his face by staring so much. Like she’s trying to catch him in a lie. Jane had mentioned him in the letter, he realises, and Darcy didn’t know him or his intentions. Bucky didn’t blame her for being… Cautious. Besides, Bucky knew how he looked like when he was defensive.

Darcy breaks their stare of and clears her throat, “The reason I send for you instead of her” she starts, and Bucky curses himself for not asking what was that about, “Is because I needed to meet you first” 

He frowns. She picks up two glasses and fills them up to the middle with vodka, sliding one to him across the bar.

"You must have been traveling for a while,” Darcy takes a sip from her drink, “Claire was kind enough to supply me with some information"

Bucky swallows, "We-"

"I need you to tell her that she will be better with me"

He is taken aback by the request. It’s like Darcy knew that Jane had decided to stay with him instead of going to Cinders. He gets the feeling Darcy knows more that what she says, or whatever Claire had told her. 

"Look, what happened to our home... Was awful, but I don't think it ended there" 

He tenses, "What do you mean?"

"Jane might still be in danger" Darcy looks at the drink in her hands, "And only we can protect her" 

Bucky’s heart starts pounding in his chest, but Darcy maintains her poise and calm exterior. Smoke and mirrors, his mind supplies when she reaches for her drink and her fingers are shaking as they wrap around the tumblr.

"Who's we?"

Darcy lifts her gaze but doesn't look at him, instead focusing on the many portraits on the wall.

"I'm under the protection of the High Commander from the Cinder and his family" She takes a sip of her drink, "The Odinson family" she turns to him, "As in Thor Odinson"

Thor. The man Jane was suppose to marry. This time he reaches for the glass infront of him and wets his lips with the vodka.

"Did she tell you about-"

"Jane wants to stay with me" he hear himself say, and he hates the way his voice breaks at the end of the sentence.

Darcy lets out a strained chuckle, like she finds it ridiculous, or maybe at how pathetic he sounded. He grips the glass tightly looking away from her. 

"I believe she did say that" He hears her say, "And I do think she wants to stay with you" 

But. He thinks. 

"But you know that she would be better of with us"

It feels like someone slapped him. And he feels his jaw clench his teeth.

"You are nobody" Darcy says, "What would happen when someone comes for her? You won't be able to protect her" Her voice is soft but her words feel like daggers, "We can" he looks at her, "We will" 

The worst of it all, is that she is right. What if the reason Pierce invaded Glassmere was for something other than a broken business deal? If there was an ulterior motive Jane isn't aware of... Or safe from. He looks at Darcy, and takes the glass to his lips again. Darcy had the protection of a High Commander, who could protect Jane from any danger if there is one. Who had already saved Darcy from Arcadia, and taken her safely to her new home. 

He stays quiet for a few seconds, looking at the empty glass in his hands, "She won't agree"

Bucky knew Jane, she wouldn't stay in Cinders now that she made up her mind about going to Maraud with him. Now that she already knew she wanted to stay with him. And he had agreed even though he knew how dangerous it was, even when he knew deep inside that they might not even make it to the Freelands.

"Wh-“

“She wants to stay with me” Bucky says, closing his eyes feeling tired all of sudden, “I want her to stay with me”

He lifts his gaze, and he wished he had enough alcohol in his system to ignore the way Darcy looked at him with pity. Like she knows he wants to say it’s because he thinks he loves her. No. He didn't think it was love, he knew it. He loved Jane, and she... Didn't say she loved him.

"Let her go" She says, and then, “Break her heart”

He swallows tightly.

"It's the only way she would agree"

Darcy speaks quietly, as if she’s afraid her words would break the glass in her hands like they are shattering Bucky’s heart inside his chest. 

"The only way she will be safe"

What would happen when someone comes for her?

She is about to stand when he circles her wrist, “If I do this” and he can’t believe he is about to agree, “Do you promise” he licks his lips, “That no harm will come to her" 

The woman looks at him, “I would give my life for Jane” she says solemnly, “I promise”

Darcy stands from her stool finally, and pulls out two envelopes from the front pocket of her raincoat. She tells him one is for Jane’s eyes only, and the other one contains two tickets for the ferry that travels from Catalean to The Cinders every morning at nine.

She reaches for her coat, “You are expected to deliver her” She adds, “To collect your reward” 

Bucky doesn’t look at her, he listens to the sound her boots make as she walks away at a fast pace, adjusting the raincoat tightly around her neck before she pushes the exit doors open.

She is right. The voice inside his head tells him. He shouldn't listen to it, it's the same voice that told him to help Jane out of Arcadia, the same voice that said it was okay for him to fall for her, and the same one that told him the night before that Jane and him would stay together. He shuts it down. Because it was the same voice that told him that Jane and him would have a happy ending, and in a world like this, even the New World, that was not a possibility for a man like him.

She is right. Pierce would be looking for her. Hell, they must already be looking for him - for escaping, for killing Zola - he would never be able to protect Jane while he himself was in danger. They were never going to stop running. 

He reaches for the bottle of vodka and pours himself a glass, before reaching for the letter Darcy left Jane and opening the envelope.

Jane doesn't remember the dream she was having as she starts to wake up. She shuts her eyes tightly as she stretches her legs as much as she can, uncurling her toes not covered by the sheet she is wrapped in. There's a pleasant sensation that runs through her body, before the memories of the night before rush to her brain. Jane smiles softly, ignoring the blush she feels on her cheeks and the warmth in the pit of her stomach, as she reaches for the other side of the bed for Bucky, frowning when she finds the bed empty and already cold, like the man had awaken a while ago. She sits on the mattress, looking around to find the sliding doors open ajar and the curtains slightly pulled.

"Bucky?"

When there is no answer she wraps herself in the sheets, reaching for the gun left in the nightstand the night before. When her fingers brush against something else her gaze falls, finding a bright yellow sheet of paper. The sound of the waves crashing outside disappear as her heart starts racing, blood rushing through her ears when she recognizes the handwriting. It's messy, the ink splattered in the ending of each word, but still clear enough for her to understand. Darcy always wrote like she was in a hurry.

Jane,

If it wasn’t for the words you so carefully chose to be sent to me, I wouldn’t have believed it was you. I am so happy that you have found your way out of Arcadia and now you are so close to me.

Sir Odinson took me from Arcadia when he recognised me from many years ago. He had ordered for you to be brought here safe and sound, I have already told him about what happened to our home, about the terrible fire that took our family and how we decided to leave once your father was overthrown.

Jane, you will find a home with me.

Tomorrow morning, the ferry will be waiting for you and your companion, who will be rewarded accordingly, and I will be in The Cinders waiting for you.

Come winter we shall be stronger, Jane, and winter is coming.

 -L.

mobilis in mobili.

Jane's sight blurs at the words in the end of the letter, and the thought of Darcy knowing she is closer. She feels a rush of excitement and happiness, but then she realises the letter is crumpled in the same spot she is holding it. Bucky had already read the letter before she did. With the back of her hand she wipes the tears on her cheeks and blinks the rest away before she leaves the letter aside. Jane reaches for her pijamas that were left on the floor and then wraps herself in the robe that matched.

When she slides the doors open the cold morning air hits her face, sending shivers down her spine. There is a small staircase that leads to the beach, Jane can hear the waves as she makes her way down, she can smell the salt in the cold air and the fact that the sand is cold under her toes remind her about the storm the day before. She can see Bucky sitting a few feet away in the sand, looking at the distance like he’s trying to find something, or like he lost something. Jane knows now that he had seen the letter, that he figured she had gone behind his back and contacted The Cinders, that she had finally found Darcy, what she doesn't understand is the way he looks at her when he turns.

They just stare at eachother.

And when Bucky starts walking towards her, his posture is the one of the stranger she had first met instead of the man she had spent the night making love with. 

“I’m sorry” 

Jane says, because she knows this is about sending the message without his permission. It has to be.

He stops when he's one step above her, but he doesn't look at her. Jane reaches for his hand making a fist and squeezes softly, trying to make him look at her. 

“Talk to me”

“After the sun goes out, we leave in the ferry to Cinders, Darcy will be there” he says, “you’ll be there safe and sound, just like I promised”

Jane frowns at the tone he is uses. Dry, cold. 

“You wanted to stay with Darcy, right?” Bucky says sharply, wrenching himself from her hold, “I’m doing what you wanted”

“Yes, it is- But I-“

“And for that, I will be rewarded accordingly” 

Jane feels like her heart shatters. And she inhales sharply as her mind goes completely blank. Bucky does look at her then, and despite being close enough to feel the heat from his body, his eyes seem distant, grim. He waits a few beats as if letting her find a reply but she is lost at words. He nods then, and walks inside the room leaving the sliding doors open for her. Jane lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and swallows back the tears threatening to leave her eyes, instead feeling the anger recoil her insides, and a phantom hand squeezes her lungs preventing her from breathing. She holds on to the wooden banister as her legs cave under her, sitting on the steps as she tries to take a few deep breaths.

Bucky was right, the dawn is beautiful.