The three of them stood together in a tense silence as they all looked up at the balcony over-looking the great hall and who was stood there in silence looking down at the three of them. Alba took a deep breath before finally breaking the silence.
"Doctor Banner." She said but he didn't respond. He just stared down at the three of them.
"You're going to get done for kidnap!" Rona hissed at Alba causing her turn and look at her shocked.
"Kidnap!?" Alba said horrified, "I did no such thing!"
"Try telling that to SHEILD!" Rona nearly shouted.
"Never mind SHEILD!" Markus shouted, "You've broken one of the rules, Madam!" This caused Alba to roll her eyes.
"John drove too much of his nonsense about keeping me under lock and key into that head of yours Markus." Alba said, "I'm free to come and go as I please. Anyway, I brought Doctor Banner here as he was suffering with hypothermia. He was in need of help, Rona! I can't turn away from someone in their time of need! You above all people should know that!"
"I know but you could have taken him to a hospital!" Rona shouted.
"And tell the A&E staff, what exactly!?" Markus shouted causing Rona to turn on him.
"Right, that's enough!" Alba said while stepping in between them both but they continued to argue just the same, "I SAID ENOUGH!" They both stopped at her raised voice and looked at her frighten. She turned to Markus and began to speak to him.
"Now Markus, head back to Saint Andrews." She said, "Get yourself ready for John's funeral and prepare for the Brotherhood's plan of action. Tell them what you know but don't mention where Doctor Banner is, alright?" Markus nodded. "Good lad. Now go and don't come back unless it is extremely important." He then left using the left staircase to the entrance hall.
"Rona," She said while turning to her and resting her hands on her shoulders, "I need you to go back to the mainland and get Doctor Banner's things for him then once you have them bring them back here." She nodded and went to leave as well but Alba stopped her. "And be careful." She nodded before hugging Alba quickly and then dashed from the great hall using the right staircase. Alba sighed as she heard the castle front doors swing heavily closed behind Markus and Rona.
"So," Bruce's voice said from behind her causing her to turn and look up at him, "I guess I'm staying." She nodded. "As a guest or a captive?"
"As a guess Doctor," She said before looking down at her hands, "But unfortunately my home is on an isolated Isle with no electricity or phone lines and there is no way for me to contact the mainland other than to use Markus to send letters to people. There's no post man here either as you can guess. It's just you, me and the wildlife really." She looked up at him to find him watching her. "I am sorry." He nodded before turning away from her and walked out of sight. She sighed before heading towards the spiral staircase.
"Bruce." She called, "Please, believe me. I didn't exactly plan this or the ball for that matter but this is where we are now. We can't change that past." She walked towards him as he stood near the balcony entrance. He looked up at her and he seen she was dressed in a long white day dress with long sleeves, square neck line and a purple sash around her waist as she walked towards him. "I only brought you here because you had hypothermia and I'm not someone who just walks on by and doesn't help." He ran his hand back through his curly brown hair as she stopped about an arm's length away from him. He sighed before speaking to her.
"What happened at the ball?" He asked causing her to relax and clasp her hands together in front of her.
"How about we talk about it over a cup of tea in the library?" She asked him before he nodded causing her to give him a small smile, "Okay. Follow me and I'll show you to the library." She turned slightly to her right and waited for him to walk towards her. At first he was unsure but curiosity got the better of him and he walked towards her before following her around the corner, past the spiral staircase and through a large archway into the library.
He stopped in his tracks as he seen the many floor to ceiling bookcases fully stacked with books of all ages and sizes. His eyes scanned over the many books in amazement. There were first editions of all the British greats -like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Emma, A Tale of Two Cities- and books Bruce had never heard of. There was even a complete set of Harry Potter in your library and he even noticed some American novels like Gone with the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath and Leaves of Grass. He admired all the old books and even some journals that were in a set of bookcases of their own.
"Those are some of the journals of the world's most famous scientists, though mainly those from Britain but there are a few from other countries." Alba said after stopping at the top of the stairs and seeing him looking over the journals, "There are even some from Sir Isaac Newton. Though, I've never looked at them."
"Why do you have them?" Bruce asked.
"The Brotherhood -who you were looking at- works all over the world." She said, "They take the most important items in history and keep them safe. They brought me these journals to keep them safe but all they've done so far is collect dust. I've only looked at some of the journals from Albert Einstein but I ended up losing the concept of the work."
"You have so much knowledge at your fingertips." Bruce said causing her to look over the bookcases.
"You're welcome to read them sometime during your stay." She said causing Bruce to look at her shocked, "I might as well let someone read them." Alba then walked down the stairs. Bruce watched her -still shocked that she would so easily let him read the journals- and seen her stop at a pair of large high backed white wood and black sofa chairs with a white wooden table between them.
"You can sit here and read while I go and make us some tea." She said before turning and leaving through an archway behind her which lead back to the great hall. Bruce watched her leave the library before walking down the stairs and looking at the lower level of the library. He looked at the other bookcases filled with books and records. He also seen many old books, records and scrolls sat behind the glass of their display cases. He was amazed at how much she had in the library even though the room was -admittedly- small even with two levels of bookcases and display cases to hold everything.
"So, see anything you'd like to read?" Alba's voice asked softly as he sat down in one of the sofa chairs causing him to look at her as she held a sliver tea tray with two white china tea cups, saucers, a teapot and a small jug of milk with a small silver bowl and box while standing in the archway.
"A couple of things." Bruce said causing her to breathe a sigh of relief which he noticed. She placed the silver tea tray down on the table before sitting down in the sofa chair opposite him.
"I wasn't too sure which kind of tea you like so I brought two of each that I have in the kitchen." She said while opening the small box to show a set of different Twinings tea bags in individual packets. She pulled out a light blue packet and ripped it open before pulling out the tea bag. "I'm sorry about last night." She had placed the tea bag into her white china cup and started to pour hot water from the teapot over it. "Really I am."
"What happened last night?" Bruce asked watching Alba carefully. He hadn't even touched the small box or any of the tea bags inside it.
"A lot." She said while putting down the teapot and started to dunk her tea bag in the water to help flavour the hot water quicker, "Most of it caused by a darkness that Scotland hasn't seen in a very long time." She looked up at him to gauge his reaction only to find him watching her and nothing else. It made her feel uncomfortable but she knew she was going to have to do this sooner rather than later. "Bruce, what I tell you may or may not shock you." He sighed causing her to stop and watch him run his hand backwards through his curly hair.
"I've seen a lot, Alba." He said, "I've done a lot of things that would have shocked me before and now I'm not shocked by anything really. It would need to be really big to shock me."
"How about a 343 year old warlock who died back in the mid-1700s in Romania after fleeing Scotland in the early days of the year 1700?" Alba asked causing Bruce's eyes to widen slightly but not by much, "Because that's who the man that party-crashed last night at the ball is." Bruce sat and stared at her as she took out the tea bag from her cup completely and placed it on her saucer before adding a small dash of milk to her tea.
"A warlock?" Bruce asked, "How do you know this?" Alba froze as she thought about how best to answer that question. She bit her bottom lip as the truthful answer came to mind but then released she had a better answer though she knew he wasn't going to like it.
"Bruce, I know that we don't know each other but I need you to trust me." She said causing him to once again run his hand through his hair, "Please trust that if I refuse to tell you about something it is for your own good. Some things that you may ask me may put you in harms way or I might not know anything about them. Please Bruce, there are things I will keep from you and I have my reasons. I even keep things from Rona and Markus to keep them safe if something like last night happened." He looked at her and saw the pleading in her blue eyes, he could hear the begging in her voice as she spoke and the whole situation sounded rather familiar to him. He had already gone through all of what she was going through now and he had tried to keep people away but they never did and all he wanted was enough space to ensure their safety. So why wouldn't he give Alba the space she needed to keep others safe?
Because he wanted to know what she knew that could get people hurt and not let her carry this burden alone. He -like all those he tried to keep away- wanted to help.
"Bruce." Alba's voice said desperately as he thought about what to do, "Please." Her hand took his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Alright." He said before seeing her visibly relax with a relieved sigh as she let go of his hand and sat back in her chair.
"Thank you." She said with a smile as Bruce started to look through the tea bags before pulling out a green one -the Everyday Tea & Green Tea Blend- which Rona had sent Alba in a care package but she never really liked them that much. Green tea just didn't sit very well with her where as the Twinings Moment of Calm was perfect for her.
"Though I still want to know what happened." He said, "I don't remember anything in between the moment when ice replaced the fire and waking up." Alba sat up slightly and picked up her cup.
"The party-crashing warlock from last night took that staff that Rona kept bidding against him for -do you remember it?" She said and he nodded, "Well the crimson ruby that sits in the staff on the top is called the Devil's Stone. It was stolen from its hiding place -Dunstaffnage Castle- in the port town of Oban over three hundred years ago back when the war between humans and the Darkness raged in Scotland." Bruce looked slightly shocked by what she was saying. "When the stone was stolen most of Scotland became victim to many horrible actions dealt by the warlock who had it."
"What's his name?" Bruce asked but Alba thought for a moment causing him to speak again, "Can you tell me it or is it-?"
"No-one really knows his name. You would have had to have been alive at the time of his reign of terror over Scotland -back over three hundred years ago." She said while cutting him off, "But people know his title -The Devil's Servant. It's mostly know by those who are left over from the many covens, the old tribes and those who had read many of the stories about him that know his title. He got it after stealing the Devil's Stone and using it to enhance his powers -or so the story goes."
"How do you know his title?" Bruce asked before he could stop himself. She gave a very small and short smile against her will before sighing as the only option made itself clear.
"I may not look it but I am a... a witch." She said before looking down at the half empty cup in her hands. Bruce watched her for a moment before speaking.
"When I get angry I lose control and turn into a monster." His statement caused her to look up at him confused. She had expected another kind of reaction to her confession but his confession in return shocked her greatly. She looked him over as he watched her carefully and took in the sheer amount of pure shock upon her face. She really hadn't expected it from him.
"You can't be." She whispered, "You're just not dark enough."
"Not dark enough?" He asked as a confused -but still amused- smile broke onto his face. She nodded before taking a sip of tea.
"There is no way you're a monster, Bruce." She said, "There's just no way. If anyone is a monster it's me."
"How are you a monster?" He asked but she turned her face away from him and took a drink of tea. There was an emotion that was clear in her blue eyes that Bruce could see and knew all too well.
Regret.
Rona opened up the room the Bruce had -or would have- been staying in at the hotel for the night of the ball. She quickly and quietly closed the door behind her and started to look for the things Bruce had brought with him. She picked up the cloths he had left over the back of a chair in the room from before the ball; she searched through the draws provided and the cupboards where she found all of the things Bruce had brought with him. She packed it all into Bruce's bag before zipping it up and walking over to the door. She looked out through the peep-hole to check if anyone was outside and when there wasn't anyone she slowly opened the door before walking out into the corridor while closing the door behind her before disappearing down the corridor.
"What's this about more than one type of witch?" Tony asked as he stormed into the conference room back at SHEILD HQ in Edinburgh the same morning.
"I'd like to know how you came to the conclusion of witches." Rachel said from the large chair that she was sat in, "I mean this can't be real! Witches alive and running around Scotland causing disaster?"
"Why can't it be real?" Thor challenged, "People thought that I wasn't real and only a myth but here I am stood in front of you now, talking to you just as real as Stark or the Captain would. So tell me, how can't witches be real?"
"Because they can't!" Rachel said, "It. Has. Been. Proven! Plus, this all sounds rather medieval and dark ages if you ask me! Do you have any idea what it would mean if I told Director Fury what you just told me?"
"But look!" Natasha said while pulling up a video that had been taken by one of the survivors, "It's not normal for the air just too suddenly burst into flames and then turn into ice. Plus the description that Tony gave us looks like this!" A picture appeared on the screen of what Tony had described of the hall had looked like when the ice storm had cleared. "It takes a lot of supernatural power to do that!"
"It looks like a Frost Giant." Rachel said causing Thor to look at her confused, "We all had to research Viking beliefs and Scotland has many records that give rather detailed accounts of what happened and what things looked like." Thor nodded and turned to Steve as he spoke.
"Are we sure this isn't Loki or-" Steve managed to say before Thor cut him off.
"I know this isn't Loki." He said sternly before turning away from the group. He hadn't told them about Loki yet which meant the others -except Tony who wasn't paying attention to the others- were giving Thor confused looks. "This woman is not a Frost Giant. There is no way that she could be, there aren't very many left and they wouldn't dare to try anything here on Midgard. A witch on the other hand, I can believe. They come from your world and they have the ability to wreak havoc just like this." Rachel shook her head before sighing in defeat.
"Well we have more than one of them running about out there and I've given Rona some time off to recover with her brother." She said while standing up from the chair, "Try and figure this out and be fast about it. I don't want a repeat of the charity ball. Mr Stark, are you sure you don't want any time off to recover?" She looked at Tony to find him not listening to her. "Mr Stark?" He didn't look up from the file in his arms as he went searching through it.
"Tony?" Natasha said, "Hey!" He looked up at her shocked after she shouted at him. "Are you alright?"
"I-I have to go." Tony said before turning and walking over to the door before stopping. He looked back with a frown at them before nodding to himself as he agreed with a thought he had. "Point Break, how much do you really know about witches and black magic?"
"Enough to help you if you so wish." Thor said.
"Yeah." Tony said, "That would be great." He then left the room.
"Is everything alright with Mr Stark?" Rachel asked.
"He's worried about Bruce." Natasha said after recalling the begging that Tony done to make her believe him about the witch. She turned to look at the picture on the screen -it had a photograph of the destroyed hall in the background which had been taken from where Tony had been standing and superimposed on the photograph was the drawing of Alba cradling Bruce's head on her lap as he lay unconscious while she watched the blood red haired warlock walking towards her. The artist had done a really good job with the information Tony had given them and they had drawn Alba clearly with a lot of attention to detail.
"Doctor Banner!" Rona called as she entered the entrance hall. She closed the large and heavy wooden and metal door behind her before turning to look out over the great hall. She didn't hear anyone so she walked past the two large identical jade busts of human heads but only on the right side while on the other half of the face was the face of a creature of the dark -a bold hag or dark elf or goblin.
"Hello!" She shouted again as she entered the great hall. She looked around and didn't see either Alba or Bruce there. "Doctor? Alba?"
"She's asleep." Bruce's voice said suddenly and startled Rona, "Sorry."
"No, no." She said while looking over at him as he stood in the archway to the library, "Its fine. I'm fine. Where did you say Madam was?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at Alba's title. "Sorry, it's something the Brotherhood came up with for Alba."
"Oh!" Bruce said, "Well, Alba is sleeping at the moment." Now Rona raised an eyebrow but shook it off and walked down the right hand staircase -the closest staircase to the library- and held out Bruce's bag to him. "Thanks."
"Thank me after I get some of your stuff from SHEILD HQ back in Edinburgh for you." Rona said causing Bruce to give her a small smile.
"So I'm staying for a while then." He asked causing Rona to nod.
"I'm sorry to say it but it is for the best." She said, "At least, here you're safe."
"From the warlock, right?" Bruce asked causing Rona's eyes to dilate with shock and a hint of fear, "Sorry, Alba explained everything."
"Everything?" Rona asked.
"Well, not everything." He said, "Only the things she deemed fit to tell me." This caused Rona to relax.
"Sounds like Alba." She said before sighing, "Always keeping secrets. She has her reasons to but it drives you up the bloody wall when she continues to throw up blockades and brick walls to stop you finding out anything." This caused Bruce to chuckle.
"So the two of you are close?"
"Really close. Markus as well. She may not look it but she raised us from birth near enough." This caused Bruce to frown. "I guess she didn't tell you that she's not in fact my cousin." Bruce shook his head.
"No, she didn't. I think that got lost in the fact that she claims to be a witch." He looked up at Rona as she nodded. "So she really is a witch then."
"Yep!" She made a popping sound with her lips on the 'p'. "She's very old as well. Helped to look after evacuee children back in World War One and Two for that matter."
"How old is she?" Rona just shrugged her shoulders.
"She never told us when we asked. Though in saying that she could have forgotten her age. She's always looked the way she is -early to mid-twenties, beautiful and not a sign of how old she really is. She's a mystery to Markus as well -or so he claims anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"Markus wasn't only Father Douglas' assistant at the University but also in the Brotherhood -who you've no doubt asked ten ton of questions about."
"Yeah... Nearly all of them got an answer as well."
"I bet the one that didn't get answer was the one about how she got involved with the Brotherhood." Bruce nodded. "Markus knows how she came to be in league with the Brotherhood as he worked closely with Father Douglas -who was Alba's keeper.
"Keeper?"
"He was meant to watch her and keep her safe, healthy, well fed and all that but he always sent Markus with a newspaper and the odd record -which was a rare once or twice- everyday to give to Alba. Father Douglas never visited her once except when he had no one else to send to do the job for him."
"Why didn't he visit?"
"He doesn't like Alba because she's a witch."