AN: Enjoy!
Vision had been in town for less than a day, in fact, probably not even an hour, when he heard the tale for the first time.
The beast that terrorised Westview. With a shriek that tore at your soul, eyes that glowed like embers, plumage as red as the blood of it's victims.
They called it the Scarlet Swan.
Apparently, so Vision was told, the Swan commanded an army of dark spirits that tormented anyone outside the town boundary once the Sun began to set.
Nearly a year prior, around the time the Swan had first appeared, it had killed a girl, Wanda Maximoff. Her twin brother, Pietro, had dedicated his life to slaying the beast and avenging his sister.
But.. something about the story didn't sit right with Vision.
On his way into town, Vision had been attacked by the dark spirits. He had seen the Scarlet Swan.
But the Swan was not controlling the spirits.. It had seemed as afraid of them as he was.
The Scarlet Swan had saved his life.
Vision was an artist and storyteller, and had spent most of his adult life on the road, travelling from town to town in search of inspiration for his work.
He was unaware of the troubles facing Westview, and unaware of the dangers for anyone still in the woods at sunset, unaware of the troubles he himself would soon face, until, a mile or two out from town, he began to hear strange noises, and soon, strange, wispy silver beings with glowing red eyes began to surround him.
Vision ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, but more of the creatures appeared, and it seemed that there was no hope of outrunning them before they would completely surround and consume him.
But then he heard the sound, like some sort of bird, and turned to see another creature, an enormous, scarlet-plumed swan, closer to the size of the dragons of legend than any other bird he had come across. At first Vision was afraid, but then it looked at him, with almost human green eyes, rather than the red that would later be described to him, and.. Somehow he was not quite so afraid anymore.
The Swan shrieked, and some of the silver creatures scattered, allowing an opening for the great bird to snatch Vision up, carrying him in it's beak by his collar, and beat it's large red wings, taking to the sky.
This should have been terrifying, and yet somehow, Vision knew that the Swan did not intend to hurt him. He was proven right shortly afterwards, when it gently deposited him at the edge of town.
Almost immediately afterwards, however, a young man, whom Vision soon came to know as Pietro Maximoff, came running into view, crossbow raised, aiming directly at his scarlet saviour.
"You won't escape this time, monster!"
"Hey!" Vision pushed the young man, causing his shot to miss. "What are you doing?!"
The Swan made a sad, almost mournful sound, before taking to the air once more, flying far out of range before Pietro could reload.
"What are you doing?!" Pietro shrieked back at him. "That thing killed my sister, and you let it get away!"
Vision was left stunned.. But he couldn't bring himself to regret what he had just done.
Despite his anger with Vision, Pietro guided him safely into the town, showing him to the Inn where he would find lodging, and along the way, told him the tale of the Scarlet Swan as he knew it, his belief that it had killed his sister.
However, that was so far from Vision's experience of the strange, beautiful creature that he simply could not bring himself to believe it.
Vision felt a sudden, burning desire to find out the truth, whatever that truth may be.
The following day, going completely against the advice of everyone he came across, Vision purchased a few days worth of supplies, and gathered his things, journeying into the woods in the hope of encountering the Scarlet Swan again.
He had travelled quite far, stopping to rest a short while before the Sun was due to set. Sure enough, once the Sun began it's slow descent below the horizon, the unpleasant silver spirits began to appear once again. Again, Vision fled, and eventually, with a loud crash as it descended through the trees, the Scarlet Swan landed before him.
It did not look pleased, and as it picked Vision up with its beak and tossed him high into the air, Vision screamed, thinking he'd made a terrible mistake, believing, for a moment, that the Swan intended to swallow him whole. But then, the creature bent its head forward, leaving Vision falling towards its neck. Vision, acting on instinct, or maybe just really good reflexes, threw his arms around it.
Once sure that Vision was holding on, the Scarlet Swan took to the sky, with the silver spirits giving chase.
The Swan flew quickly, putting some distance between them and their pursuers, but Vision, now clinging on for dear life, couldn't help but notice that the lower the Sun sank, the more erratic the Swan's flight patterns became, and it seemed to be shedding feathers.
"The town!" Vision yelled, not sure whether or not the great red bird could understand him. "Can you bet me back to town?"
No time.
Said a sudden voice in Vision's head. A rather beautiful female voice, and, Vision couldn't help noticing, it sounded rather annoyed with him.
He also noticed, as the Sun dipped even lower, that the Scarlet Swan was struggling to remain airborne, losing more feathers and somehow.. Shrinking.
Worse, the silver spirits seemed to be gaining on them. But then, suddenly, they halted their pursuit, as though kept out by an invisible wall, when the Swan dove, heading towards a cave beside a lake. However, that was not the strangest thing that happened.
Once the Sun sank completely below the horizon and darkness fell, the Scarlet Swan transformed, and Vision was no longer holding on to a giant bird, but a woman, and they were no longer flying, but falling. Instinctively, Vision twisted, taking the brunt of the fall as they hit the ground, and wincing at the feeling of a friction burn as they skidded along the cave floor.
Vision blinked dumbly as he tried to make sense of this strange situation. His blue eyes gazed up into a pair of wide green ones, and he registered that a gorgeous, dark-haired, and, oh dear God, very naked young woman was lying on top of him. Blushing, he hurriedly let go of his grip on her.
The young woman, recovering from her own shock at the situation, glared at Vision, then got off of him, heading towards a pile of clothes that appeared to be stashed within the cave.
"You idiot!" She yelled. "You absolutely stupid fucking idiot!"
"Um.. I'm sorry?" Vision sat up, but made sure to avert his eyes while the young woman dressed, and crossed his legs to hide any issues that may have, er, arisen due to her nakedness.
"I dropped you safely right at the edge of town!" the woman continued. "Why the Hell would you come back out here? Surely Pietro told you why that was a bad idea.."
"Hang on.." After a quick glance out the corner of his eye to check she was at least mostly dressed, Vision turned to look at the young woman once more. There was definitely a resemblance. His eyes widened. "You're Wanda Maximoff! The Scarlet Swan didn't kill you.. It is you!"
"Great deduction" Wanda rolled her eyes, draping a red shawl, a similar shade to the Swan's feathers, around her shoulders.
"Then.. why.. Why does he think you're dead?" asked Vision, running a hand through his blonde hair, trying to smooth it after their flight. "Why don't you just go tell him the truth?"
"I can't" Wanda's face fell. "I.. It's a long story, uh.."
"Vision."
"Right, well.. It's a curse. I'm the Swan during the day, and myself at night. For some reason, I can't get into town as myself, but Pietro doesn't recognise me when I'm the Swan.. There's more to it than that, but.."
"I have time to listen" Vision interrupted. "I don't think I'm going anywhere Tonight.."
"Good point" Wanda sighed, sitting near him on the cave floor. "Okay then, here it goes.."
So, Wanda told her story. How she had been separated while on a walk in the woods with her brother.
How she had encountered, and then been cursed by, Ultron, a dark entity that had been slowly spreading its influence through the land for the last few years. Pietro had eventually found the Scarlet Swan, surrounded by Wanda's things, scattered around her abandoned rucksack, with the evil silver spirits appearing shortly afterwards and, understandably, had come to the worst possible conclusion.
"It's part of the cruelty of what Ultron does" Wanda had explained, sighing. "As long as the cursed victim.. Ie, me, is alive and aware of who they are, the spirits can't enter anywhere that I call home.. That's why the spirits only swarm outside of Westview, and why they stopped following us over the lake.."
"Okay.." Vision blinked, trying to take in all this information.
"And I'm not the first person this has happened to" Wanda continued. "You're new around here.. You would have travelled through the surrounding towns, heard the myths.. The Black Widow, the White Wolf.."
"I have, but.." Vision was slightly confused, "How have you, if you can't go into town while you're human?"
"It's only my own town I can't go into" Wanda muttered. "All the myths.. They aren't myths, but no one ever wants to talk about what's really happening. The monster appears near a town, and the people assume it brought the spirits with it. They don't realise that the monster is actually what keeps them safe. The Black Widow's name was Natasha.. She was accidentally killed by her best friend. He's permanently traumatised.."
"And.. What about the White Wolf?" Vision asked, not entirely sure he actually wanted to know the answer.
"After a year, the curse is permanent. No more becoming a human at night, and after a while.. The White Wolf doesn't even remember who he used to be."
"How long do you have left?"
"A couple of months.."
"Oh.." Vision's heart sank a little. He hadn't known Wanda long, but to lose yourself so completely seemed too horrible a fate for anyone. "But, curses can be broken, can't they?"
"Sure" Wanda dead panned. "And if someone breaks their curse, Ultron loses his power."
"Wonderful!" Vision's eyes lit up, missing the clear sarcasm in Wanda's voice. "We'll find a way to break your curse, and.."
Wanda laughed, but it was hollow, completely devoid of mirth or joy, and sounded very out of place from the lips of someone so young and beautiful.
"There's no breaking the curse."
"But you just said.."
"See, that's the cruelest part of all" Wanda continued, "Ultron made the curse unbreakable, because the thing that breaks it? 'A Vow of Everlasting Love'. That type of thing doesn't exist. No-one can really love somebody forever. It's a fairytale."
"Well.. there must be some other way to break the curse" said Vision. "I'll help you find one."
"Oh really? And how are you going to do that? What do you do, anyway?"
"Well.. I'm a Storyteller.."
"Great, the guy who writes the fairytales.." Wanda rolled her eyes.
"And an artist.." Vision murmured. "But I know stories. Most stories are inspired by something real, and in real life, there's usually some sort of other loophole that the stories don't mention because it's, well, not as interesting.. But if there is one, I'll find it. I can help you."
"Well.." Wanda's expression softened a little. "It's sweet of you to want to try, I suppose.."
"I do."
"Alright..But if you're staying, you're staying outside. The cave is mine, and no woman in their right mind would let a strange man stay in their home. You have a tent, right?"
"Uh.. yes, of course.. I'll go set up outside" He gathered his things, some of which had been scattered in the crash. "And Wanda?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you.. For saving me" He smiled shyly, then hurried off to set up his tent by the lake.
Wanda smiled sadly.
"Thank you, for trying" She whispered, when he was out of earshot. "But it's hopeless.."
"There's no breaking the curse."
"But you just said.."
"See, that's the cruelest part of all" Wanda continued, "Ultron made the curse unbreakable, because the thing that breaks it? 'A Vow of Everlasting Love'. That type of thing doesn't exist. No one can really love somebody forever. It's a fairytale."
"Well.. there must be some other way to break the curse" said Vision. "I'll help you find one."
"Oh really? And how are you going to do that? What do you do, anyway?"