Chapter 5
The first time it had happened, you were about 17 years old. If you remembered correctly, the year was 1693. Or something around that time. A queen had died in England but that's all you could signify during that time.
There was a famine as well and someone had shot you for a bag of wheat. It did nothing to you but your fear made the bullet ricocheted back to him. That was your first up-close encounter with death. You were numb with shock but the scene kept replaying in your head. The bullet was absorbed into you and shot back. You prayed to every god and goddess you knew of, you went to every place of worship to rid you of the devil.
Afterall, witch trials were on the rise and you didn't want to be another one, but you were.
His name was Adam or Adrian, or something of the sort. It had been so long ago, honestly. Your father was hitting you for not getting married off to the rich stranger that he'd arranged for you. You were almost 27, too old by society views. He kept hitting you until a rush of energy came from you and your father was pushed away, breaking the windows in the process. The screams had attracted someone's attention and when he saw you mutantcy, he reported you to the Chruch.
You hoped that they'd hang you but no, they decided to burn you. An event for all to see. Your small town decided to have a witch trial of their own and once more, someone decided to shoot you to prove a point. Your heart thundered in your temples because you knew what was going to happen.
They strung you up and lit the fire but to your surprise, the flame did nothing to you. You felt a power growing inside you and a thirst for vengeance. You never wanted to hurt anyone but still, they had decided to sign your death sentence. Your screams could've been heard for miles but then a silence fell. The whole town crumbled to dust and you believed for the longest time that perhaps that devil did reside inside you.
A wave of energy flattened the town and you were the centre point of it. You didn't know your own strength and couldn't control it either. The fire had fueled you and you had emptied yourself of all the energy inside; making yourself younger in the process as well.
So you did what anyone in your position could do... You ran. You were barely eleven again, anyone could take pity on you.
When you turned 20 again, you met your first lover. You couldn't remember his name but his smile, god, his smile, it used to make your heart thunder. His laugh used to echo in your one bedroom house, loud and rambunctious. However, when you couldn't give him any children, he left.
For the longest time, you thought that there was something wrong with you, however, you next lover proved that there wasn't.
At 25, you had a baby daughter. The pain was excruciating but you didn't die, even though everyone thought that you would. The baby died a year later due to pneumonia because the windows had been left open one night. Pain and grieve had rendered you ageing rapidly. You husband left as well and you understood that it was just how the world worked.
You packed your bags at 40 and left to travel the new world. A new country came into being in the Middle East and you ventured close to the equator. Over your travels, you decided that you wanted to live. You wanted to live for as long as you could.
Up in the mountains in Nepal, at the age of 60, you finally discovered that you weren't a witch. The elder woman had told you that you were a newer breed of humans, chosen by the universe to lead the weak and sick. She taught you how to harness your powers but you still needed a large quantity to reverse your age. You had been on your deathbed at the age of 97 when the Ancient One had decided that you were to live longer.
When you asked her why were you granted the opportunity, she had simply smiled and told you that you had a long way to go.
You'd come to Nepal at the age of 60 and lived till 97, however, when you left, you were 15 once more.
At 21, you finally came to the United States. You kept your head down and tried to earn a living. You opened your first bank account with barely any money at all. You began your life and felt that perhaps now you could settle down.
This time, however, your interest wasn't captured by a man. It was a fiery-tempered brunette that took no shit that sparked something inside you that you weren't even aware of. She had a heavy accent and wasn't from the States. She was from Greece and had been visiting with her fiance. Her name, you could never forget. It was Calliope, like the goddess of poetry and it suited her perfectly.
You two grew as friends and then lovers rapidly but then the times were much different and she left as quickly as she had come.
You moved around a lot. You would move to another city, another state, growing old, having a string of lovers and then finding a source of energy to become young again. Though fire would have become a perfectly good source, your fear of it remained. Your first supposed death was something of a painful memory and something that you might never be able to forget.
Times changed slowly and you saw the rise and fall of nations, governments and alike. Deaths of stars and births of legends that would too come to pass. Age brought you wisdom and you knew slowly where to make the right investments. Using your mother's name sometimes and then your grandmother's and then, your own name for documents. The day and age would bring different fashions and everyone would comment how you looked exactly like your mother, they didn't know that you were all just one person.
Slowly, your fortune grew and you were a wealthy woman with a world of possibilities. You'd seen wars tear apart nations and forge unlikely alliances but you'd never thought that you would truly find love amongst your lovers.
You were 22 when you met James Buchanan Barnes, or rather, you were 22 when you met Steve Rogers and then by default, you met Bucky.
You cast another glance at Steve who stood at you side with a black eye. You knocked on the door that Steve had led you to.
"You know," You began, "Next time you go fighting," You looked at him, "Always keep your hands up and cover your face, tighten your core,"
"You ain't gonna tell me to stop picking on guys bigger than me?" Steve smiled
"Nah," You shrugged, "You seem like the guy who doesn't back down,"
He laughed and the door swung open; you were met with eyes that took your breath away.
"Steve? What trouble he get in now?" The man asked as he looked at the both of you
"No trouble," You lied, "He fell down and I figured I could accompany him for a walk,"
The man cocked a brow and Steve smiled innocently, "Come on in," He stated and you followed the smaller man inside the apartment
"Can I get you some water?" The man asked, "We ain't got nothin' fancy, though," He chuckled and you smiled
"It's alright," You told him sweetly
"Go clean up," He told Steve and he nodded
"Thanks for walkin' with me, Y/N," Steve smiled and left the room
"Thanks for bringin' him back," The man sat down, "I usually am with him but today I had to stay in, my sister's supposed to be home soon,"
"Don't worry about it," You assured him and his eyes swept over you
You were wearing a string of pearls and your dressed look expensive, he couldn't understand why you were on their side of the city
"My manners are gettin' lost on me," He laughed and it was such a deep laugh, it could drown out the world's noise, "I'm Bucky,"
"Y/N," You nodded, "Don't be too hard on him," You referred to Steve
"Punk's always getting in fights," Bucky shook his head, "I know he didn't fall,"
You smirked and nodded. A silence fell as there was just something about the way Bucky was looking at you with a lopsided grin. You couldn't tear away from his gaze either. You knew the look in his eyes and you didn't know if you wanted to leap just yet.
"Well, I must be off," You gathered yourself as you stood up
"You can't go just yet," Steve's voice cut through the heavy tension between you and Bucky, "You gotta stay for dinner," He urged you
You looked at Steve and realized that no one could ever say no to the blue-eyed blonde
"Sure," You found yourself saying and everything else just faded away
You jerked awake as a man towered over you, "We are about to land," He told you with a thick accent
You nodded and buckled yourself in; from the window, you saw stunning greenery and through it all, a magnificent country coming into view with massive statutes of panthers.
"Welcome to my country," Ayo said with an air of pride and you couldn't blame her, if this had been your country, you would've never left, but then, you couldn't even remember what country you had been born in.