1940s [Year Left Unspecified]
United States [Exact Location Left Unspecified]
"Do you know why you're here?"
Aura squinted at the sudden white light, everything a painful haze. Her breath suddenly visible, leaving her parted, blue-tinted lips. She shivered compulsively. The events leading to her current situation unregistering. Where was she? How did she get here?
Her lungs burned. Icicles grew within them and the back of her throat. She coughed, thinking about her thinning esophagus. What she assumed was a figure before her hadn't moved. Was this all in her head? She blinked. "Are you this country's government?"
The woman silhouetted in the doorway of the cold cell room crossed her arms. British accent filling the small space. "I am a part of it, yes. You're in a secure underground facility run by the S.S.R., the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Do you know why you're here?"
Tears of exhaustion welled up, but they instantly froze before leaving her eyelids. Now the icicles pierced into her eyes. "Is it because I'm different? Do you know I'm different?"
"Yes. I would like to interview you for my own personal records. Will you allow me to interview you? Only I and a few other people would have access to it."
She nodded. Anything to get her out of this freezing cell. She couldn't take the cold. Couldn't handle the isolation. She didn't know how long she had been in this place. Lost track of all time. Her current dwellings were constantly dim; there was no way to tell day from night.
The woman entered with clicking heels and freed the captive from her bonds. "Will we have any unnecessary circumstances?"
"No. I won't flee. I won't attack anyone. I have no desire to hurt people. Please believe me."
"Very well. Follow me, please."
Aura rose from her bed, her hands still cuffed in front of her. She left her gaze lowered. Encased in front of her, really. These weren't the normal restraints she had seen before. They encompassed her whole hands and constantly kept them frozen. She had lost feeling in them altogether. Unable to tell if her fingers were wiggling on command.
She followed the woman out of her cell. Her deep blue eyes finally adjusted to the light she wasn't accustomed to. The narrow hallway they walked through had turned yellowed over the years and felt about as warm as the room she left. Then she was led to a new room where a metal table with a single metal chair awaited. She didn't need to be told to sit.
The woman stood on the other side of the table.
Aura dared sneak a peek at her. The other female held herself with authority, but she didn't seem heartless. In fact, the woman looked quite beautiful with her dark hair and bright red lips. However, she knew looks could be deceiving. In both good and bad ways.
"Shall we begin?" the woman asked. Upon receiving a nod of affirmation, she pressed a button on a recording device. "Let's start with your name."
Her sight returned to the silver table. Limbs pressed against herself for warmth. She couldn't tell if this interview room was cold, too, or if she needed much more time to thaw out. But the sudden need to answer questions sent her into a panic. "M-my name is A-Aura."
"Is Aura your full name?"
"Yes. I don't know who my parents are, and the palace never gave me a surname. It wasn't required for my line of work.
The woman remained silent for a moment. Obtained a hidden chair from the corner. Sitting down, she smoothed her pencil skirt. "My name is Agent Peggy Carter. Do you know where you are?"
"Last I knew, I was in the United States of America. Am I still?"
"Yes, but I can't tell you where, exactly. Can you tell me where you're from?"
Her eyes slightly lifted, but she didn't look up for long. "I'm not sure if you've heard of it. It's a place called Asgard, one of the Nine Realms. Midgard—or as I've come to refer to it as Earth—is another one of Realms."
"And how long have you been in the United States?"
Aura's brows furrowed in thought. "The people brought me over here from Europe during the witch trials. Time passes differently here. I'm not sure how long ago that was."
"That was the 1690s, a little over 200 years ago. Do you know what people?"
She shook her head, fresh tears forming. Reliving the memories as if the events transpired yesterday. Her tiny frame trembled. "They were always dressed in black, and I never knew their names. They made me burn the people they claimed to be witches. Said my fire was the only one that could burn their unholy magic. I didn't…I didn't want to do it. But they killed children if I didn't. Why children?"
Agent Carter's jaw set. She looked off to the side then placed a hand on Aura's arm. "Cruel people have no regard for life, and they will use other people's care for life as leverage."
Her body shuddered more than it already was. Weeping harder. "All those people. None of them I saw actually did anything wrong. What the ordering people claimed was magic is not magic. There was one woman who was saving her son's life, but because she used herbs and roots, they dragged her out of her home. I had to burn both of them. They said the son would resort to witchcraft if left alive."
"Those were ruthless times, and there will always be those types of events. History will always repeat itself, just in different formats. Do you know why you're truly here?"
Aura sniffed, lifting her head. Her eyes were red and pleading. "No. I don't know. I don't know what I did wrong. I haven't hurt anyone since then, I swear my life to you."
Agent Carter's expression softened. "It's not because you've done something wrong. I know it's hard to believe this, but you're here for your protection, just as much as everyone else's. There are terrorist organizations who would do anything to get their hands on you if they knew about you. They would turn you and your abilities into weapons that could destroy entire nations. We have you here to keep you from them."
"Then why do I have to be cold?"
"I'm sorry, but that order comes from someone in a much higher position than I am in. Like the people who made you do terrible things, there are those who are afraid of things they don't understand. You are someone they don't understand. They see your abilities, and they see you as a threat. They think they're protecting themselves."
Aura's eyes lowered again. "I understand. I won't complain about it anymore. I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for. It's a completely valid question. Can I ask you another question?"
"Yes. If that's what you need to do. I don't mind."
"How long have you been on Earth? Why are you here? What did you call it? Midgard?"
She nodded. "Midgard, yes." She took a deep breath and winced. The ice needles in her lungs hadn't dissolved yet. "I came here during the times of castles and royalty. I think you call it the medieval times now. And…and I'm here because I was banished from Asgard."
Agent Carter's brows knotted. "You were banished? What did you do?"
Another round of sobbing overcame her. "I was loved."
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
Her words came through broken cries. "Somebody loved me, and Odin hated it, so he threatened to kill me, but Queen Frigga managed to convince him to let me live. He didn't want me on Asgard anymore, so he made Heimdall send me here."
Silence filled the room, save for the soft whirr of the recording tape and Aura's weeping.
Agent Carter gave her a quick squeeze and shut off the recorder. "I think that's enough for today. I didn't mean to upset you. Come on. Let's get you back into your room."
She bit her lip. Looked over her shoulder at the door they would have to walk through as if it would come and attack her. She didn't want to have to go back into "her" room. She knew why they called it her room, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a tad ungrateful. There was nothing in it to call her own. And it was cold. So much cold.
"Let's go, Aura. I promise you I will do my best to get you different accommodations."
A nod. That was all her fading heart could muster. She followed Agent Carter back to her cell, as it should be appropriately called. Allowed herself to be chained back to her bed. Which she curled up on with a heavy sigh. Trying to keep herself as warm as possible. Watched the door close and plunge her back into darkness.
She didn't blame this Agent Carter woman for her misfortunate situation. From the brief times they interacted with each other, she could tell the woman's heart was pure. But even the best of them had to follow orders given by people who weren't so kind. She knew that all too well.
Shivering started again and her breathing already began shallowing. Her position in Asgard's palace wasn't one to be envious of. In fact, her position was considered the lowest of the low, not even a position, but she would trade almost anything to have that life back. Even though having her old life back would mean dealing the terrifying guard who left scars on her.
Subconsciously, she pressed her thighs together. He never reached the part where he touched her in an inappropriate way, but his crazed slashing left its mark on her right arm, legs, and back. She had never been so thankful for the guards' roll call in all her life.
She didn't know what happened to him. A short time later, he disappeared. Was never heard from. His wife and child were heartbroken, and she felt bad for them, but she almost didn't care what happened to the guard. Almost.
Her mind hazed over before she could imagine what happened to him. Vision blurring. But not with tears. Mercifully, not with the ice barbs. She could feel her senses slipping from her. She had never been this cold before. Was this what normally happened? Everything becoming desensitized while painfully heightening at the same time?
Aura's eyes closed, unable to form the strength to keep them open. All she could do was wait until something resembling a new day came. She knew they wouldn't kill her; she wouldn't die in her sleep. At this point, she wondered which was worse.
She hoped they would have more questions for her. And she would try not to break down again. Just so she could stay outside of her cell longer. Her eyes opened slightly, able to see the outline of her bed. Was this really her new life now?