The next day, Amanda traveled to the next village over to go to an auction of livestock. They held it once a week since the village mainly dealt in trade. It was its main source of income. People from all over the land came to sell whatever they could. She was going to buy a horse for everyone so it would make it easier on everyone going to Blonoria. It was going to be maybe a week's journey just to get into the kingdom and about another five days to get to the castle. That was a lot of walking.
Steve had decided to go with her, claiming he was a good negotiator, but in all reality, he felt that it was his duty to protect her since she was the leader of this cause. If everything Miss Unfortune was saying was true, she was the key of them getting home. The others had stayed behind to gather up what they could so they could go on this journey. The trip was silent for the most part. Small talk was exchanged mostly.
"Steve, can I ask you a question?" Amanda asked as she slid off the horse so she could stretch her legs a little and give the horse a rest. Steve hummed a yes. "What was my father like? What was he really like?"
"He was a very smart man. A good man. He'd bend over backwards to help me in any way he could. Women loved him. He had a new one everyday it seemed like. I guess until he met your mother. From what I understand, when I crashed, he searched for me up until the day he died, and then they found me twenty years later frozen in ice. It takes a real friend to do something like that." Amanda lowered her head.
"Tony told me different. He said he didn't care about us. Said he was an ass hole. He never spent time with us. And you know that doesn't really bother me; I was still in diapers when he died. Tony said he didn't like me especially because our mother died when I was born. Obadiah took us in when dad died and he became obsessed with turning Tony into our father. Making him the next Howard Stark. I was mainly ignored by Obadiah. Tony was the one who raised me." There was a long pause between them.
"When I was born, it was just me and my mom. I was a very sick baby. They didn't know how I made it, but I did. They said I wouldn't make it to five, but I did. They told me I would never reach puberty, but I did."
"What was wrong with you?" I asked looking at him.
"What wasn't wrong with me? I had so many problems that I shouldn't have made it. When World War II hit, I wanted to join the army. They wouldn't let me in because of my problems. There was no way I was going to be able to fight. It got to the point to where I was lying to them. Giving those false names, false addresses. I was approached by a man." He paused for a moment remembering the moment when he was asked if he wanted to kill the Nazis. "I was taken into boot camp after that. I was the smallest man there. Everyone was faster and stronger than me, but that still didn't stop me. I tried my hardest every single day. I was approached again this time they asked me if I wanted to take part in some kind of experiment to make a super soldier. They said I would be the one to change the war. That was when I met your father."
Amanda looked up at him with a small smile.
"Your father was an interesting man. He reminds me a lot of Tony. A good man, but very stubborn. Tony acts like he hates his father. I don't know why."
"From what he says, dad never had time for us. He was always busy working on his inventions and looking for you." Steve finally knew why Tony hated him so much. "I remember when I found a couple of his journals. I read them all. He spoke a lot about you and Peggy." Steve felt a pain in his chest. "She passed away before I could meet her, but she seemed to be a wonderful woman and I can see why you cared for her." Amanda couldn't understand why, but the more and more she talked about Peggy, she felt like she was jealous. She pushed the feeling out and looked over at Steve.
He was staring at the ground in front of him. He looked sad. Amanda felt sorry for him. She stopped her horse and dropped the reins. She walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. She gave him a small smile which he returned. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She didn't care if he held her back; she just wanted to hold him. She had realized that she had wanted to for a while now. She took a deep breath taking in his scent. Unfortunately, he smelled like he hadn't bathed in a month, but Amanda was sure she didn't smell any different. She made a mental note to take everyone to the river so they could take a bath.
Her heart pounded in her ears when she felt his hands on her back. Then she felt like she was going to throw her heart up when he tightened his grip. In that moment, she didn't want him to let her go. She liked this feeling. She had only had a couple boyfriends in her life, all of them chased away by her brother. But this man, this man was Captain America. He was the epitome of a good man. This man that was holding her so tightly. She looked up at him just noticing how smooth his lips looked. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to know how he tasted. She stood on her toes slowly trying to get up to his lips. He began lowering his head to kiss her back, but he pulled away from her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. Amanda stepped away from him.
"I am too. I don't know what came over me." She looked up at the sun to see how much time they had left before dark. "We should make camp. We'll get there by noon tomorrow if we start walking again by day break." Steve nodded and walked off the trail a little so he could start collecting fire wood.