Ward looked around at his team from the back of car before glancing at his watch. He'd received a message saying that Campbell had pushed the wedding forward by three hours. The Scotsman probably would have asked for more time if it hadn't been for the fact that the priest had not arrived any earlier. All the same, Ward knew that they would never make it in time to save Fitz from marriage which meant that his cover would not have to be unnecessarily blown and Hydra would obtain something rather valuable.
It should have made him feel elated – helping Hydra and Ross in turn was helping his master. Yet the knowledge that the young man who had saved his life, who he had not realised until now was in some bizarre way like a younger brother was to be married into misery. Into misery and right into Hydra's hands. But what could he do? Nothing. He had his orders. For now he just had to wait out the car drive while keeping his face the perfect image of a worried Ward.
The chapel was cold and Fitz shivered despite how hard he tried, his usually steady hands, his engineer hands, trembled as he picked up the ring which was on his side of the red velvet pillow. He kept his eyes on Myrna's hands, anything to avoid looking at anyone lest they see his heart and soul breaking behind his blue eyes. When he was forced once more to look upwards and at the girl's face, he did so unseeing, feeling his body seize up with the weight of the gold ring upon his fourth finger, the one that Jack had once teased had knuckles too large to allow a ring to encircle it. Fitz prayed with all his might that the ring wouldn't pass, that it would get so stuck they would have to interrupt the ceremony. He wished that any moment now his friends, his family would come through the chapel doors and get him out of this mess, and save him from his fate. But the doors remained closed, the heavy oaken slabs holding him in and the light outside. The only light was that of the candles and the tainted colours of the glass windows which made the ring look almost red as it slipped onto his finger. He wanted to throw up.
The priest spoke some words in both Latin, English and Gaelic, his voice booming amongst the stone walls and pillars making Fitz stop himself from covering his ears and screaming. He felt everyone's gases piercing his flesh and into his body. His fathers were on his back, his now wife before him, his … father-in-law behind her as well as the priests and the guests. All looked upon him as he was told that he may kiss his bride. He hesitated, all muscle going hard and frigid as he forced himself to lean forward and with open and dead-looking eyes to place his lips upon Myrna's.
He pulled away to the sound of claps, offered his arm to his now newlywed wife and proceeded to walk stiffly out of the chapel paying no heed as to whether or not the others were following them or not. They were all quickly hushed up into the great house for the feast. Being the bride and groom, Fitz and Myrna were given the seats of honour at the head of the table and the former couldn't help but wonder if this is how his own mother had felt on her wedding day. If she had felt like she was slowly drowning in her pain, whether her skin had crawled with horror at the thought of what was still to come and if she'd ever thought of the release the could be found.
Leaning over discretely to his father Fitz caught the man's attention and whispered. "Sir, could Malcom and Alice be allowed out of th' room and be here?"
Campbell scoffed at his son's plea. "They will leave that room when ye have lain with yer wife and no sooner."
Through the rest of the dinner Fitz was barely able to reply to the various compliments and congratulations that were sent his and Myrna's way and was thankful when his father and father-in-law took it upon themselves to speak for the newly-weds.
It was with a deepening sense of dread that he realised that it was time to lead Myrna upstairs to the pre-prepared room and consummate their union. Under the steel gazes of Campbell and McFarlen and the knowing chuckles of the guests, Fitz walked mechanically with his wife to the stairs, slowly reciting … in order to keep himself calm enough to walk.
Having arrived at the door, Campbell turned and addressed McFarlen. "I won't be joining ye but I have full confidence that ye will make sure that what needs to be done is done."
McFarlen nodded before forcefully making the couple enter the room. Fitz had never been in this particular bedroom but he instantly understood why. The windows were bared so that even if the 10 meter drop wasn't enough to deter the room's occupants they would have no escape via that way. A thick cushioning fabric lined the walls, absorbing the majority of the sound that emanated within the room, essentially shielding it off from the rest of the house. The door itself was heavy oak like many others in the Campbell mansion but it was lined with a large set of deadbolts that ensured no exit which McFarlen himself was doing up with pleasure.
It was to his rapidly amounting horror that Fitz realised that the man intended to watch the consummation giving him no chance to persuade Myrna of his unwillingness or even knock her unconscious if necessary.
"Well ye best get to it." McFarlen grinned lewdly at the two of them. "Strip."
Without a moment's hesitation Myrna began to undo her pristine white gown leaving herself in her undergarments to Fitz's horror.
"P…please stop." He stuttered, his eyes darting wildly between father and daughter.
"Now Myrna, it isn't fair that you are so underdressed when young Leopold is still in full attire." He slowly deposited himself into the large armchair that had been provided for him. "I suggest you help him."
Myrna walked up to Fitz and immediately began attempting to undo his waistcoat buttons before the engineer grabbed her hands. "No. I don't want this and so far nothin' has indicated to me that ye want it either."
"Don't be ridiculous boy. Neither of you have any choice in the matter. So I suggest you get on with it."
Fitz turned to face him. "No. I refuse to let ye and my father use me like this anymore."
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this Leopold." McFarlen sighed disappointedly as he withdrew a glass syringe from his coat pocket, pushing the plunger just enough for a thin jet of liquid to escape. "I'll just have to give you a helping hand. It'll be just like old times. I bet you've missed handing over everything to someone else, being paralysed."
"No!" Fitz's pupils had grown with pure fear, the blue of his iris barely visible under the panic that held his features. "I won't let ye do that to me ever again. I won't be yer victim anymore."
With an unhappy sneer, McFarlen lunged at the young man only to plunge the syringe into Myrna's arm when Fitz sidestepped out of the way. They watched as she managed to get onto the bed, her body rapidly beginning to shake as her muscles gave way to the relaxant and were no longer able to support her.
Wasting no time, McFarlen turned to Fitz once more, paying no heed to his incapacitated daughter. He swung his fist out, catching the boy square on the cheek before handing a blow to the stomach which made Fitz double over wheezing. Grasping at the boy's curled locks, he yanked his head up to stare at him in the eyes.
"You are mine Leopold! Your father good as gave you to me, do you understand! Your own god-forsaken team left you behind because they didn't care about you. They probably think they're better off without you, you worthless piece of shit. You're just as useful as your mother. That bitch was only good enough to be bred and follow orders. You will do as I tell you. You will fuck my daughter and consummate this marriage or so help me god."
Fitz eyes narrowed with steely resolve as he stared down his abuser. "No."
"Have it yer way boy." McFarlen snarled as he heaved Fitz up by the hair and began dragging him towards the bed. Seeing the possibility of escape swiftly diminishing with every moment, he dropped his weight suddenly, snapping his elbow back and cracking it into McFarlen's nose. The older man immediately let go of his grip on the boy in favour of gripping his now bleeding and broken nose, his groans of pain cutting through the rooms as Fitz ran towards the door. Attempting to undo the locks with his quivering hands, he barely heard McFarlen walk up behind him before he wrapped him in a choke-hold. Immediately he started to scratch at the holding arm before he swung one arm across to break the attacker's hold then his other arm's elbow to once again hit the bloody nose. Turning around swiftly he dealt a kick between the older man's legs taking great joy in the pained wheezes that followed as he snatched the keys out of McFarlen's jacket pocket.
Unlocking the door, Fitz was barely in his right mind as he locked the door behind himself, McFarlen's cries following him as he sprinted down the Campbell halls, using the servants' stairs to avoid the rest of the house's occupants. Tearing out the house and into the darkening landscape he kept running, his blood pumping through his body with adrenalin as he made for the caves.
Only once he finally arrived there, his mind, which had been numbed by the panic and desperation, finally settled down long enough for him to think about McFarlen's words. He was alone. His team hadn't come back for him, they hadn't saved him. He had hoped that his father had removed them from the Campbell property in an attempt to force the marriage but now it seemed as if this was not the case. They had truly abandoned him, his true family had left him for a fate worse than death. All at once he felt the cold sink into him. He felt the darkness that had consumed his life before S.H.I.E.L.D return with vengeance. Sinking to his knees he curled in on himself within the stone cavern.