The Wisp

Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world's more full of weeping than you

can understand.

~ The Stolen Child by W.B. Yeats

Steve crossed his arms over the windowsill, leaning his body partway out of the open window. The night was warm, if damp, and the air that swirled through his hair was welcome after the stale air of the A/C. He had been on the same mission for over five weeks, and so far nothing had come of it.

He could hear the others in the room next to his, laughing as they played another round of whatever board game they had chosen for that night. Normally Steve enjoyed surveillance missions, they gave him a chance to rest. The problem was they normally never took this long. Steve was finding himself beyond bored.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He did have to admit that the location couldn't have been better. From his bedroom window he could see the rolling hills that slipped delicately off into a thick wood. The moonlight glimmered down upon those hills most nights, but the land was dark that night as a new moon had risen in the sky.

A breeze stirred around him, playing with the ends of his hair like the gentle fingers of a woman. The air grew colder, the temp falling to a comfortable chill. He opened his eyes, blinking against the sudden gust of wind that swept around his face. He must've been getting tired as he swore the moving air felt more like a gentle caress from a silken hand than anything.

He had just moved back from the window when he noticed a flicker of light off in the distance. He focused his gaze on the edge of the forest, eyes unblinking as he watched a small light bob in and out from behind the trees. Closer and closer it came, that little point of light.

Steve felt himself glued in his place as the little ball of light floated gracefully over the hills towards him. When it was only a few yards away it seemed to sprout legs that touched down upon the grass without disturbing a single blade. From out of the rest of the light formed a woman. She stood before Steve draped in silver silk, eyes directed at him.

She seemed to glow from within, as though the moon resided in her, resting safely beside her heart. Her hair, dark as bog wood, fluttered about her full face. Steve felt his heart stutter in his chest at the sight of her. In the back of his mind there was a whispered word, something half remembered from his childhood and the stories his mother once told him. It was a word of warning, but he paid no attention to it as the woman glided closer and closer until she stood right before his window casement.

He stood still as she lifted a hand and slid it along his jaw. Her skin felt like fire and ice all at once, like light encased in darkness, and velvet and silk. He took a breath in, his nose filling with the sent of heather and wet clover.

She smiled as she pulled back and he followed. He wasn't sure how he ended up on the other side of his window, but none of that mattered as he gazed into her eyes, so much like emeralds engulfed in flames.

Steve matched her step for step as she walked backwards, over the rolling hills and into the dark wood. His eyes remained caught in her gaze, never straying or taking in the world around him. She was his everything, his light and his darkness. His life and his death were wrapped up in the small woman guiding him through the trees.

It felt like a moment and an eternity before they finally stopped and Steve found the ability to remove his eyes from the woman. He looked around him in a sort of wonder. They had to be far into the wood by that point, so dense and dark the trees around them were. They stood in the middle of a clearing, tall stones edging the perfect circle.

Steve could see markings engraved in the stones, swirling patterns that seemed to move in the light emanating from the woman. Slowly he reached out to one, his fingers running over the pockmarked stone. He could feel an energy tickle at his fingertips and seep into his very bones.

Warm breath slid along his back, fingers walked up his sides, and a pair of lips seared a mark between his shoulder-blades. He turned slowly in the woman's embrace, his eyes once again caught in hers as she led him into the middle of the clearing. She pulled him down with her into a pile of pelts, his body covering hers completely.

Her flaming emerald eyes glimmered hotly as she arched up into him, legs spreading and clasping around his hips. Her searing lips pressed against the lobe of his ear, her hot breath tickling the fine hairs as she whispered one word; "Mine."


Author's Note: So, I really should be working on my final project for Children's Lit, but I needed a night off and this is something I have been running in my head for awhile now. There will be a few more, none of them connected, but pretty much with this sort of feeling.

The woman in this is supposed to be Darcy of course, and each chapter will be Darcy with someone, probably mostly Steve and Bucky as I adore those two way too much.

If you like listening to music while reading I would suggest these to listen to while reading these:

The albums Beneath the Below is a River from Craig Patterson

The Silver Wheel from Trobar de Morte

And pretty much anything from Elane and Artesia…all of these can be found on Spotify.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.