A.N: Hello! Yeah, I know I have a lot of stories to finish not to forget my doujinshis *sigh*. Anyways, this is a plot that I have had like weeks ago? I don't know, it came from a dream really. This is a thing that Jamie and I made, so there's like two versions of this story. If you guys want to check it out, here's the link:
s/9332348/1/Castle-Adventures
And I'm sorry for the grammar mistakes and spelling and all, English isn't my mother language and I'm still learning it. SORRY!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Avengers or the character (even though I wish I do). I just own the plot and that's pretty much it.
Before he was Tony Stark, the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. He was Anthony Stark, the one and only son and heir of Howard Stark and Maria Stark. The next in line to inherit and run the kingdom.
Tony looked out from the windows of his chamber, looking at the kids presumably around his age, chattering and playing and running happily and Tony wanted to get mad at himself, to shout at himself. Why can't he have a normal life like them? Like those kids? He's just 16 for fuck's sake. He never wanted to go through all the shit he's going through now. He doesn't want to be taught about the proper way of holding a spoon, the proper way of sitting, the proper way of talking, "proper proper royal royal gentle gentle," Tony groaned as the words keep on repeating themselves in his head.
He slumped onto the ground.
"Why can't I be normal?" He muttered as he hugged his knees.
Tony walked towards a field of grass, clearly abandoned, but Tony doesn't care, to him it's a perfect place to meet his friend.
A black skinned young man stood in front of him, a blade in his hand as he enjoyed the light breeze of air, causing some grasses to dance along with it. Tony smiled, "James," he called. The said man turned around, a small smile on his face when he saw his friend, "Ah, young prince," the man replied as he gave Tony a small bow.
Tony shook his hand with a small "pshh" sound emitting from his mouth. "Really Rhodes, there's no need for such formality. We have been friends for 5 years now," said Tony.
James laughed, "Very well then Anthony, shall we begin our sparring session now?" The man asked as he moved his sword and body along, changing from his normal stance into a fighting stance.
"You have underestimated me my friend," said Tony, acting a bit hurt before he wielded his own sword and moved into his own fighting position, "I would never back down from a fight with you,"
Tony ran into the castle, a black coat shielding his face and sword as he made his way towards his chamber, hoping that no one will find him. Once he arrived, he locked the door, put down his sword, leaning it towards the wall and threw himself onto his bed. He winced, he turned his body around so he was laying on his back instead of his stomach now.
He lifted his arm, staring at the rather long cut and bruises that decorated his perfectly tanned skin. He sighed, "Remind me to wear armors next time I spar with James," muttered Tony before he sat up and grabbed a first-aid kit near his bed.
He opened the wooden box and started treating himself with the available in the said box. It took him only several minutes to finish treating up himself before he tidied all the stuffs and put it neatly inside the box.
A knock disturbed him from tidying all the stuffs.
"Anthony?" the man behind the door said.
"Coming!" Tony said. He took off his hood and kicked both the hood and first aid kit under the bed, hiding it, though rather poorly.
Tony ran towards the door and opened it. It's Obadiah.
"Greetings Obie," called Tony as he smiled to the said man.
"Greetings to you too Anthony, I wanted to see whether you are done or not," replied Obadiah, Tony smiled. Obadiah Stane (Tony called him "Obie") has always been there for him, almost like a father figure but better since his own father is rather ignorant towards him, acting as if he's some kind of blatant, gall mistake that he has made.
Tony's eyes widened, "Ready? Ready for what?"
"Don't you remember? There's a feast tonight," Tony wanted to bang his head towards the wall at Obadiah's reply. "And your father requested your presence immediately,"
"Very well then," replied Tony, "I'll be there soon," before he closed the door and Obadiah left.
Tony looked at himself in the mirror on the wall. He never wanted this type of life.
Tony came to the said feast wearing some long-sleeved shirts, not wanting to let the others knew of the presence of the recent cut he got from his secret spars with James. "Anthony," he looked to see his so called father called him, "come seat," the man called with a rather affectionate tone.
Tony knew his father was far beyond affectionate. His father though may seem brilliant, a genius from birth, wise, and from the many words that could describe him, affectionate is not one of them. He abused Tony since his young age, fresh from infant actually. Not to forget since the death of his mother, his dad has been abusing him more and more. But Tony hid it well. Behind his smile and thick article of clothing, he hid the bruises that his dad has recklessly painted on his sun-kissed skin.
Tony walked towards the place where his father had sat and sat next to him.
And Tony saw how the men and women around him started to laugh and chatter and talk about the future of the kingdom and how they talk about riches, about glory, about gold and ruling other kingdoms and how their knights have led the kingdom into many victorious fights despite of the amount of deaths.
Tony frowned, "How can these people be pleased by such monstrosity and barbaric methods?" he thought as he ate the food on his plate slowly, not saying a single word, afraid of bringing his father's wrath upon himself.
"How is the young prince Anthony doing? Ready to take over the throne?" one of the man asked. Howard just laughed, "Once he's ready for my standards,"
"Which is never," Tony wanted to say but instead he kept himself silent.
After the said feast, Tony went directly to his chamber, locked the door and went to his bed. The room was dark, except for the moonlight escaping the silk drapes that cover his windows.
Tony looked up the dark skies, feeling the cold night air clashing against his skin, causing him to shudder at the contact. Nights like these he often wondered to himself, what would it feel like if one day he could just ran away from these entire kingdom thing? Will everything turn up to be better or worse? What if suddenly the last heir of the Stark throne gone missing or something worse, dies?
Tony shook his head, "no Anthony, no suicidal thoughts," he muttered to himself.
Tony ran to his father's throne, the place he always at in the day. Sword in one hand as he barged into the said room without even knocking the door.
"Father!" he called, "I demand an explanation,"
Howard looked away from his advisor to look at his son who suddenly barged out of no where.
"What is it Anthony?" Howard asked, a growl followed the sentence.
Usually Tony wanted to run, to hide, and to find some place where he could rest and hide from Howard's anger. But this time he won't.
"I do not understand! Why would you declare a fight against the neighboring kingdom?" Tony asked as he gripped his sword tight.
"To expand our territory of course," Howard replied easily, not really giving Tony a glance as he continue talking to his advisor about which war tactics should they use instead.
Tony groaned, "You can't do this! Though the kingdom of Virginia is weaker than ours, there's no need for a war to start! Imagine the amount of deaths that it will cause father, the casualties, the pain that it will cause," Tony reasoned.
"Enough Tony," ordered Howard.
"But father! You need to stop the war!" 'Because James Rhodes is joining and I don't want to lose my one and only friend'.
"Enough is enough Anthony!" shouted Howard. The room fell into silence. Tony looked at the ground, unable to look at his dad. But Tony must do this. Not only for James but also for the kingdom.
"No. It's not enough. Father if you insist on bring up war against another kingdom, then I shall put myself into the front lines, I shall not stay and see our bravest knights go and sacrifice themselves for your recklessness, if they would die, then I shall leave this realm along with them," Tony replied. His head held up high, his chest rose, the grip on his sword gets tighter as he stare his own father with his own two eyes, firmly.
Howard frowned, "very well, if that is what you wished for, I shall not do anything to stop you," Tony nodded before he turned around and left the room.
But one thing that he heard his father shouted before he left the room was, "May your body rot in Helheim Anthony!"
Tony walked out of the room with a slight pain and pride manifesting deep inside of him. At least by this he could protect James and vice versa. Not knowing deep in the darkness, there's a shadow, lurking in the darkness, making plans and waiting for Tony to fall.
When Tony arrived to the camp for the knights that day, they were shocked to see the prince came to their humble, dirty camp site. There's nothing to offer, there's no place for such man with a royal blood to sleep on, least sit on. But Tony didn't care. He changed the expensive clothes that he once wore into the same article of clothing that knights wear. And Tony sat along with them, joked with them, talked with them and slept on the same place as them.
When James saw him, he was surprised. But Tony only laughed and saying that he needs to get off his highly princely horse once in a while.
But happiness didn't last though.
Tony didn't lead the army towards the war but he did fight at the front lines. Though he was born as a royalty, that doesn't mean he's spoiled or weak. His capabilities in wielding the sword were as good as the higher ranked knights. That made Tony rather proud of himself.
He was able to block some of the attacks that were aimed for his friend James and vice versa. The knights of Stark kingdom were able to win the war slowly but surely. Though there are some lives lost, but they need to finish this. It was an order from their king.
Tony slashed the enemy in front of him with his sword. Tony panted as he saw the enemy's body lay lifeless and blood staining his sword started to dry. Tony sighed as he looked up front. Some people in black… "Wait, what?" and suddenly there were bombs and explosives thrown to his place.
"Bloody hell!" he muttered before he ran away, trying to find a better place to hide. Tony looked around to find that there's no place to hide. Tony wanted to smack himself on the head for his stupidity, "Of course! It's a battle field!" he shouted before he took the nearest shield and shielded himself against the upcoming attack from a man wearing black.
It was a tough fight, Tony admitted, but the man wasn't that good. Tony moved his sword a bit, making it comfortable and firm under his grip before he thrusts his sword forward. Tony closed his eyes, not daring to see what's going on as he heard the sound of flesh being ripped and penetrated. The all so familiar sound that he has heard all day long today.
Tony opened his eyes to see the no longer breathing body lying on the ground, in front of him. The body of the said man was staining the ground. And Tony wanted to cry because why waste such a perfect life to kill?
"Ah!" He turned his head around to see James screaming, an arrow deep in his chest. Tony threw his sword and shield onto the ground and ran towards James.
"James! James! Oh God," muttered Tony, holding James body in his arms, "Don't leave me buddy," Tony pleaded.
James only chuckled before he let out one last breath and his body going limp against Tony's.
"James? James?" called Tony, desperately. But Tony knew his dark skinned friend won't reply him.
Because he's dead.
Because James Rhodes is fucking dead.
He hugged James' body close to him as he cried, "No," he muttered.
Then Tony felt a dash of air next to him, "You may escape this time Stark, but you won't be able to do so next time," the wind whispered into his ear. Tony shuddered at the thought. Even Mother Nature wants him dead.
Well, why not put up a last fight then?
"I believe that the men who attacked Sir Rhodes are from the kingdom that we attacked sir," one of the men said to Tony as he sat next to James' lifeless body, starring at it.
Tony nodded, "very well then, let's avenge the deaths of our mates," Tony replied. He took his sword before he stood up and walked out from the camp and head towards the nearby forest.
His thoughts are running wild. There's too much violence, there's too much blood, there's too much deaths for him to be here. But Tony shrugged it off, he needs to avenge James' death.
"Tweet tweet" He heard a sound from behind the bushes. Tony went to the source of the said sound and saw a small bird behind the bushes. Unable to move, perhaps because of the broken wing. Tony carried the bird with his two hands. The bird seems to back away a bit, but Tony held it in place, his finger gently stroking the bird's head. "Shoosh, it's alright, I'm here to help. No need to worry, I shall aid you," Tony whispered, a smile forming on his face
Tony brought the hurt bird back to his camp. He aided the bird as promised and tidied his pillow, making a small bed for the bird to rest. He put the said bird on top of the pillow before sat next to his bed, observing and eying the bird.
The bird was unique, unlike other. The head of the bird was white, along with the neck, but as it goes lower, the white fur started to turn into the shade of blue and as it goes much lower it turned into dark navy blue. Like the skies during night time. Not to forget, the light emitted by the candles in Tony's camp caused the feathers of the bird to shine a little. Tony tilted his head to the right side a bit. Staring at the bird in confusion, never once he saw a bird as unique and as captivating and mesmerizing as this.
The next morning Tony woke up, the bird was gone. Not a single trace, not a single feather left behind. Tony only looked at the pillow the bird used to rest in confusion. His mind wonders whether his encounter with the bird is just one of his dreams or not.
Tony stood up, straightening his back. He fell asleep sitting, leaning against the side of his bed.
Tony sighed, time for another war. Somehow he's glad that the bird had left, if not it's such a pity to see a bird that beautiful dead in the hands of unforgiving war.
Tony walked out from his camp and winced as his eyes started adjusting themselves to the light of the sun. Tony looked around. There's no one. Not a single sound. He walked towards where the camp fire used to be. He touched the black ashes around it. It's warm. That means there used to be human's presence here. Tony turned around, looking at his surrounding.
"Hello?" he called, but there's no answer.
"Anyone out there?" he called once again but there's no reply. 'Could it be that hey left me?' Tony thought, he shook his head. There's no way his comrades would left him all alone here.
Tony walked further, towards the camp where their leader rests. On his way, Tony can't help scrunching his nose at the smell of something rotten. Like a rotten meat—Tony's eyes widened.
In front of him were dead bodies of his comrades. The carcasses of the army of his kingdom. "No," he whispered to himself.
"I told you that you can't escape death this time Stark," he heard someone shouted. He turned his head around to see that it's one of those men in black. This time, three of them appeared in front of him.
"What do you want from me?" Tony asked rather desperate. How could they kill his comrades if they only wanted him dead. "Why would you do this? If you wanted me dead, why did you kill them?"
"We were bored," one of them replied. Tony felt the building anger inside of him. He turned his hands into fists and attacked the face of the one who said that. But only to find his punch stopped halfway because of the sudden pain in his chest.
Tony looked at his chest, the same arrow that killed James.
Tony fell to the ground with a loud "thud", his vision swimming and blurring and darkening.
He felt a kick against his ribs and a laugh following after.
"Look at the crown prince, isn't he pathetic?" one of them said.
"Yeah, imagine how he would react once he knew that one who sent us to kill him is none other than his trusty Obadiah Stane," the other replied.
Tony wanted to shout, to tell them that they're wrong. But the arrow in his chest shows the other way around. That Obie is responsible for this.
Tony felt the pain that surges into his body as he inhale and exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale and… Everything goes dark.
"Anthony," a soft voice called. It sounded like a woman's voice. Tony opened his eyes, he saw a blinding light in front of him.
"Who are you?" asked Tony, his eyes wincing from the blinding light.
"I am the bird that you once saved," the light replied, Tony's eyes widened. There's no way that the bird could talk to him like this but… Here they are, talking to each other.
"I shall give you one more chance to live, for I see the light within you. Change this world Anthony, I knew you have the power to do so," the light said.
Tony felt something warm caressing his chest, touching where the arrow once rested.
His chest started to glow, emitting a beautiful blue light on his chest.
"Now go Anthony, the world needs you," the voice said and he felt like he was falling into some endless pit of darkness.
"—Man, young man, can you hear me?" Tony opened his eyes slowly to see a face of a man in front of him. Curly, wavy grey hair, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and—Tony woke up with a violent gasp, he quickly sat up.
"W-Where am I?! What happened? I-I-…" Tony's hands traveled on his chest, feeling something on it. Tony opened his shirt to reveal something round, made of metal and emitting a blue warm glow nestling on his chest.
"I-I…"
"Calm down!" the stranger told Tony.
"W-What happened?" asked Tony, his voice shaking. What happened? He should be dead? The others are dead aren't they?
"It seems that you have survived a vendetta," Tony's eyes widened at the stranger's reply. So everything did happen. It wasn't a dream. And the bird is magical.
The man wrapped an arm around Tony's waist, helping Tony to stand up. "Let's go now and take you to safety," the stranger said and Tony only nodded his head. Still shaken of what happened.
But one thing that he knew.
Anthony Stark is dead. Dead in the hands of assassins sent by Obadiah Stane.
Which means one thing.
There's no more Tony Stark.
A.N: Next chapter will be about Bruce! Okay you guys, they will not use their real name because well I have some plans up my sleeve. He he, alright, all credits goes to Jamie-Is-Totally-Not-On-Fire for being a great sis and all. :3
If you guys have feeds on how the story should go, I would gladly accept it, just give me a PM. All reviews are welcome by the way~!
