Chapter 2
“Ok, ok I can do this.” Pacing around the room, Steve frantically throws things into a satchel. “Nat has told me about missions that she’s been on...it shouldn’t be that hard.” Looking outside, Steve watches the sun begin to set. “Shit...now or never.” Taking the map out, he glances at the first obstacle. “Sirens. That’s alright, I can totally handle a Siren.”
“Of course you can Rogers.” Spinning around to face the voice, Steve sees Nat leaning against his door frame. “Don’t worry I’m not here to give you any tips. I just want to say good luck and don’t die.”
“Wow thanks Nat, I’ve never been so enthused to go on a life-threatening mission.”
“Hey, I’m justtrying to help.” She said with a grin on her face, “I didn’t think you’d be so pissy with getting such a good quest.”
“Pissy? Damn Nat, you’re doing a fantastic job at helping me,” he said rolling his eyes as he wrapped up his provisions to stuff them in his bag. “You know if I get this right, they’ll might make me Captain and you’ll have to take orders from me,” he teased.
“Oh please Rogers, there’s no way that I’d ever take orders from you.” She crossed her arms and walked into the room. Despite her tone and blocked off posture, she straightened his clothes and tucked a small vial into his satchel. “This is for later.”
Steve looked at the bright blue liquid and raised a brow and she shrugged, “you never know what’s in the forest ok? You gotta be safe. I asked Banner to whip something up, you need a drop or less and it should protect you from a variety of things. We don’t need you dying in there,” she said. “Come back safe ok? I won’t be able to stand James saying how I killed his best friend.”
There was no emotion in her voice, she was trained far better than to let something like her voice let her concern slip through but the sentiment was still there. “I’ll be safe, you take care of that bone head, ok?”
“Will do Nat. I promise.” Together they both walked to the gate at the entrance of the kingdom. The Queen was there to see Steve off personally.
“Safe travels and a fast return Sir Rogers.” She bowed her head very slightly and Steve took a knee in front of her.
“I promise to return your son to you safe and sound.” He looked towards the horizon and set foot outside the gates. Only six tasks, how hard could this be?
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The prince had regretted every single one of the words he had spoken to his father the day he left. It wasn’t like this was the first time they had a fight, far from it, but this time he felt a knot in his stomach over it.
Tony was worried. His dad usually would have sent a raven already to ask whether or not he needed anything so he could start prepping the provisions. He’d tell tony about the latest books that had arrived to the kingdom and to start sorting out the ones he was done with so he could take them back.
No matter how many times they fought, his father would always send a raven every fortnight to make sure he was ok. Sometimes sooner when the fight was as bad as the one they had. A really bad fight, and the King would send one as soon as he arrived to the kingdom or when he was passing by one of the small towns. This time he hadn’t and Tony had a bad feeling about his father's journey and there was nothing he could do about it except sit in his tower watching leaves fall out of the trees around him.
Tony started scavenging through all of the stacks and stacks of books he had in his room until he found a book he’d been hiding away from his father. It was a spellbook that had slipped in on one of his dad’s book hauls. It was made out of a muted red leather and dull gold embellishments. It wasn’t thick it was probably one of the thinnest books he had and it worked to his favor because he could wedge it behind anything to hide it away. When he finally found the book lodged behind one of the bookshelves, he started flipping through it until he found a spell he had only used a handful of times before. It was simple and he saw no harm in wanting to see beyond the seemingly never ending forest that surrounded him.
It was a simple water spell with a small incantation. The prince spilled all the fruit out of a bowl and filled it with fresh water all the way up the the brim and started to recite the words in the book.
“Quid ultra aquæ mihi oculis meis videre. ostende mihi… Kind Howard Stark.”
“Water show me beyond what my gaze can see. Show me … King Howard Stark.”
Tony put every ounce of his will into the words, he said them over and over again but nothing happened. Howard wasn’t there, nor his cape or crown of voice. Not a trace of him, he started to think maybe it was his fault, maybe his magic wasn’t working.
“Quid ultra aquæ mihi oculis meis videre. ostende mihi… Queen Maria Stark.”
“Water show me beyond what my gaze can see. Show me … Queen Maria Stark.”
He felt warmth bloom in him and the constant glow at the center of his chest started to glow a little brighter as the water rippled and the image of his crying mother started to take form on it. “Oh Howard…” she sobbed into her hands, her long hair wasn’t pinned up and it was tumbling over her shoulders on to her lap and her crown was discarded with little regard on the floor. “How could you let this happen, If you would have just brought him home you’d both be here with me… I… I wouldn’t be alone…” she sobbed out.
The young prince felt his knees give out under him his and tears fill his eyes. His father was dead. He was dead and it was all his fault. If only he hadn’t turned him away like he did. If he hadn’t been so cruel to his father he wouldn’t have left so soon. He’d be here alive and well.
Tony spent hours crying. When he finally managed to control his tears and pick himself off the ground, the sun had gone down and it was cold. The forest suddenly seemed far more empty and dark than it had the night before. He glanced at the bowl with water and wiped his tears. He needed to get out of this tower. His mother needed him, Howard had wanted him to live his life away in hiding but that was no longer an option. He had to make his way out of the tower or die in it when his rations started to run low.
He pulled a hooded cape from his chest of clothes. He also packed some rations, water, a dagger and his spell book. He needed to find his mother.