Beams of sunlight came in through the window, filtering through the branches of the trees outside. Lord Nicholas Fury sat in their warm glow, resting his head against the back of his chair. Within minutes, the cyclops had fallen asleep in this relaxed position. His deep, monotonous breaths were the only sound in the otherwise empty room. All was peaceful, until a figure came barreling through the doorway. Startled awake, Lord Nicholas' eye snapped open as he jerked backwards, successfully tipping his chair over. The new figure in the room gave a gasp.
"Lord Nicholas! I am so, so sorry… let me help you!" The figure stammered, rushing to the cyclop's aid. Lord Nicholas waved him off with a growl.
"...Coulson," he acknowledged, glaring at the skinny young page boy before him. "I was wondering if you were ever going to show up."
Philip Coulson's face turned a deep crimson as he looked down at the floor. "Yes, well, my apologies, My lord. I was just-"
"I don't really care, Philip." The cyclops grunted as he removed himself from the floor. "Just make sure you break this habit of never getting to our meetings on time."
Philip's face returned to a more normal hue as he cleared his throat. "Of course, my lord. But if I may point out, Dame Maria isn't yet here, either…"
Nicholas glared at the boy. "No, you may not point out. You can sit your back-talking butt in that chair, and wait for the others for at least as long as you made me wait."
Philip scurried over to a chair on the far side of the table that was placed in the middle of the room, obediently taking a seat. Nicholas huffed and set his chair back upright, settling back down into it. For a while, an awkward silence was thick in the room. The only noise came from Philip blowing gusts of air up towards his hat, attempting to straighten the feather plume that continually drooped in front of his eyes. Nicholas was about to open his mouth and yell at the page boy in annoyance, when there was a knock on the door.
"Hear that? A civilized knock," Nicholas remarked as he gestured for Philip to go open the door. "Not someone breaking through the wall like we're under siege." Philip flashed him an apologetic look as he hurried from his seat and opened the door.
Panting, Dame Maria lurched through the door still wearing her riding gear. "Lord Nicholas," she muttered with her hands on her knees in an attempt to catch her breath. "I apologize for my tardiness, but I bring news!"
Philip's eyes widened at the sight of the Dame's disheveled appearance. Nicholas stood up from his chair and crossed to her side, snapping his fingers at Philip to go and fetch her a drink of water. "What news do you bring, Maria?" he inquired.
Maria cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure while grasping the stitch in her side. "Well, I am sure you have heard the legend, as have we all, of the noble Sir Steven Rogers? The valiant knight lost long ago on a treacherous quest?"
Nicholas' eye squinted as he nodded. "Indeed. The tales are many, though the ones who knew him are few. Why do you speak of him now?"
"Well, the matter is, my Lord," she smiled and chuckled in disbelief, "he is lost no longer."
The sound of glass shattering came from the hall. Nicholas and Maria started, turning around to see a wide-eyed Philip in the doorway, the chalice of water he had gone to bring Maria now a pool of glass and water at his feet. "I'm...I'm sorry," he stammered, his eyes never leaving Maria's face. "Could you... repeat that, my lady?" he asked, almost in a whisper.
"I did not know what to think of it either at first, but I beheld him with my own eyes. Some fisherman said they happened upon him when a current whisked their vessel out farther than than they ever dared travel. The water was clear and they spotted him pinned down at the bottom of the sea by the wreckage of his ship. It took many men to bring his body to the surface, but when they did, they found he still breathes. It appears to be some sort of enchanted sleep that engulfs him; I know not if it is the work of a witch or merfolk, but I ordered the men to bring him here because you, my lord, would surely know how to break the curse. I came as fast as I could, time is working against us here," the dame spoke eagerly through heavy breaths and then collapsed into the nearest chair.
Nicholas clasped his hands together and brought them to his chin in thought. "I see," he murmured. "There are many ancient texts in my library, the solution to this curse will undoubtedly be found there. Philip, go fetch my...Philip?" Nicholas' sentence trailed off as he looked at the page boy, still standing frozen in the doorway. He had paled considerably while listening to Maria's account, and his whole body trembled as if he were cold. Nicholas would have worried that the boy had fallen ill, were it not for the bright gleam in his wide eyes and the impossibly large grin on his face.
"Did you say… that Sir Steven was… here?!" Philip squeaked, his voice cracking into a higher octave than he had intended. He cleared his throat to remedy it. A hint of a smile played across Nicholas' lips as he realized the boy's trembling was that of pure excitement. The young man hardly knew what to do with himself. Nicholas put a hand on the page boy's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly.
"Philip. I need you to go into my library and fetch the Healer's Tome." Nicholas instructed. "Bring it to me, and you will be helping save Sir Steven's life." he added. Philip's eyes widened even more, to the point where Nicholas was afraid his eyelids were going to disappear altogether.
"I..I would be…" Philip breathed, looking from Maria to Nicholas. He shook his head and gave a small jump. "Right away, my lord! I'll run faster than a brown rabbit! I'll be back before you can notice I'm gone! I.. I need to clean up this glass! Watch your foot, m'lord!" Philip bent over hastily to clear the pieces off the ground, his shaking hands resulting in a particularly large shard cutting his palm.
Nicholas winced for him. "Philip, you're bleeding," he pointed out gently. Philip looked at his hand for a few seconds before it registered. "Am I? No, it's not important. I have to get the book!" He declared, running down the hallway once more.
Maria shook her head and smiled as she watched him disappear from view. "What has gotten into him? I have not seen him that excited since you finally let him carry a knife." She looked to Nicholas with a concerned face, "You will be able to help Sir Steven, will you not? I considered Lord Stark or Master Banner, but you know how dangerous dealings with them can be; I thought bringing him here was the safest bet, for now at least. I could only imagine what would happen if he were to fall into the wrong hands."
Nicholas pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eye, taking a deep breath. "You did the right thing, Maria," he said. He opened his eye again to give her what he hoped was an encouraging look. "The ancient tomes speak of matters such as these, and it would be much safer for him to recover here, away from the prodding fingers of Lord Stark or Master Banner. Perhaps when he is well, he can make the journey, but until we know all we can about his condition we cannot risk it." Nicholas paused and ran a hand over the bald skin of his head, glancing out the window. "It's time. Bring him in," he instructed.
"As you wish, m'lord. They are coming up from courtyard, I will hasten them. It will just take a moment," the dame spoke as she stood and strode out the door.
Within minutes Dame Maria's men brought in a stretcher. On it lay the unconscious form of Sir Steven, his blonde hair standing out against the tarnished silver of his armor. The Dame's men lay the stretcher on the table in the middle of the room, and Nicholas quickly walked over to check the man's condition. His breathing was normal, deep and slow, a good sign. Nicholas checked his pulse and frowned. It was a bit too weak and thready for his comfort.
"Philip!" Nicholas called out. "Hurry!" As if his words had been a summoning spell, Philip suddenly appeared back in the doorway, breathing hard to compensate for his sudden sprint down the hall.
"I.. I got… the b-b-book!" he gasped, smiling. He looked up and saw Sir Steven lying on the table, and suddenly his words caught in his throat. He dutifully walked over to Nicholas to deliver the book, but his gaze never left the unconscious knight.
Nicholas gave him a distracted smile, already leafing through the pages of the book. "Well done, Philip. Now go bandage that hand," he said, motioning towards the cut on Philip's palm that was still oozing blood.
"Yes, my lord. Right away." Philip said absently, not moving from his spot. Nicholas glanced up from the book.
"Philip," he repeated, a little more forcefully. "We need space. Go bandage your hand before it gets infected." He paused. "I'll make sure Sir Steven knows how much you aided us in saving his life when he awakens." he added.
Philip looked at him in disbelief. "Y-you will?" he breathed. Nicholas nodded, already absorbed back in the pages of the book. He only looked up again when he heard a dull thud, and discovered that Philip had fainted from excitement.
"Worry not, m'lord! I will attend to him," Dame Maria spoke as she knelt to Philip's body. She lifted his head onto her lap and checked for injuries. Finding none, she pulled a cloth from her satchel to bind his wound. His face was flushed, but he seemed to be fine. "I have never seen anyone engaged in such dramatics," she chuckled. "You two, take him to his chamber. It will be best to let him wake when he is ready," she ordered the nearby guards. "Too much excitement to be contained in such a small form," she mumbled as she smoothed the brown hair away from his clammy forehead before they carried him off.
As Maria had been attending to the young Philip, Nicholas had discovered what he had been looking for. Clearing his mind of all thought, Nicholas recited the ancient words written on the dusty, aged pages. He had removed the armor chestplate, and kept a hand pressed down on the knight's chest, keeping note of the rhythm of his heartbeat. Closing his eye, Nicholas repeated the words a few more times before pausing to take in a few deep breaths. The room fell silent as he did.
After a few moments, Nicholas felt the knight's chest begin to rise and fall rapidly. Opening his eye, he glanced down and removed his hand from the man's chest, reaching instead for his wrist to check the pulse. Instead of getting stronger, the veins pumped blood more erratically. Nicholas frowned. Steven began to convulse, and a tremor surged through his body that nearly caused him to fall off of the table.
Nicholas quickly held him down by his shoulders, firmly but gently. The knight convulsed a few more times before lying eerily still. Nicholas grabbed his wrist once more, laying his head on the man's chest to measure the beats. Instead, he was greeted with silence. Nicholas gave a deep sigh and hung his head, one hand going to his brow to cover his eye. The others in the room hardly made a sound, but a feeling of mourning began to permeate the atmosphere.
Suddenly, Sir Steven sprang to life. His entire upper body shot up as he took in a deep breath, eyes wide open. Nicholas sprang back in surprise, and then relief flooded through him. He caught the man's head just as he was falling back onto the table, gently easing him back down. Steven's eyes fluttered closed as he began to succumb to the darkness once more . "I...dance...M-Margaret...Buc...Bucky." He mumbled before falling once again into unconsciousness, a single tear from the corner of his eye streaking across his cheek.
Nicholas checked his pulse once more. It was strong and steady. Nicholas breathed a sigh of relief and smiled to Maria. "His sleep is natural now. He's going to be fine once he's had time to recover." he said. He turned to Maria's men. "Take him into Philip's chambers- it's the only room with a spare bed. He will need all the rest he can get." he ordered.
"Of course, m'lord." Maria complied. "I will see to it that Philip's soul stays in his body when he wakes up beside Sir Steven; the last thing we need is another incident today," she stated as she
followed her men to Philip's chamber, weary from her long journey and wanting to rest herself.
After everybody had filed out of the main room, Nicholas returned to his chair and once again leaned his head on the back of it- drifting off into a deep sleep.
