Hey all! Ready for some more? My beta, Skye Coulson, is ready to see the next few chapters (actually, Skye's wanting to ready the entire story, but I'm teasing not only her but you guys)! So I've decided to post THREE chapters to get ya'll caught up. I'm on Chapter Twenty.
Here it is: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Really? You have to ask?
"I Can't Ever Change"
"I can no longer live without you, and I refuse to."
So many noises, so many senses, cold…voices…beeping…throbbing everywhere…These were some of the things she became conscious of as she popped her chocolate doe eyes open. Blinding white light sent her eyes to immediately close as they adjusted to the light hidden behind her eyelids. Eventually, she managed to open them completely, shielding her eyes from the harsh light with her hand. Disoriented, she snapped her head to her left, immediately regretting it when her head sluggishly caught up, warning her of dizziness.
Rolling her head back to her front, she groaned as her laden hand came up rub her forehead, snapping her eyes closed. "Not the smartest thing you've done, Skye." She chastised herself.
"Your Highness?" A woman hesitantly spoke at the foot of whatever soft bed she was laying on.
Highness? She wondered, curiously. Is she talking to me? Slowly opening her eyes, she found a Caucasian short stature woman dressed in an outfit from the 1940's, bent at the waist to look at her from afar. Okay. I guess so. Skye deduced, dropping her arm to the bed.
"I am glad you have awaken." The woman said, relieved. She straightened but staying put. As Skye took in her surroundings, she realized she was in some sort of private room with a curtain to block out the rest of the world. "Meta, go get King Odin. He will want to be updated." The woman commanded who Skye assumed was her assistant. "Princess?"
Skye snapped her head to the nurse, raising her eyebrows at the use of name. "What did you just say?"
The woman looked ashamed. "My apologizes. That is your title."
"I didn't know I was one. No need to apologize. I'm a little disoriented." She explained. "Where am I exactly?"
"The Healing Room in Asgard." She informed her.
Skye froze. A million and one thoughts simultaneously ran through her mind. Where the hell were Coulson and the team, but mostly Coulson? The second being whether she'd meet Thor or not. Third being, she really wanted to get her hands on some of their technology. Like, really wanted.
"Asgard?" Skye questioned.
The nurse nodded. "Asgard." She confirmed.
"Are you kidding me?"
Skye smiled. She's gone from being an orphan who practically caused an entire village and one and a half S.H.I.E.L.D. teams' massacre, to being a foster kid, to Rising Tide hacker, to S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant and part of an extended family. Now, she was an apparent daughter of the Asgardian king.
Just wait until Coulson finds out. He's going to be so pissed. She mused, widening her eyes. Oh my god! What did the 'Healing Room' people do to me? She panicked, which the heart monitor next to her bed alerted the nurse of her distress.
"Princess, please! You need to calm down. You haven't fully recovered from your injuries." The nurse pleaded, glancing at the monitor, still not moving.
Her heart raced. "How do you expect me to calm down when I have no clue what happened from the time I lost consciousness to now?" She snapped. "And I want my AC!" Skye demanded. "And my team." She added in a softer voice. "But mostly AC."
"What's the meaning of this?" A stern deep male voice interrupted Skye's demands. Her eyes widened, chest heaving from her panic; the nurse turned on her heels and snapped an arm diagonally around her chest and slightly bowed.
"Your Majesty, she is panicking because–" the nurse started to report.
"Because I know I'm in Asgard but I don't know anyone here. Kinda scary waking up in a world that's unrecognizable." Skye interjected, taking in deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
"Attend to her now." The man commanded, motioning for the nurse to do her job. The nurse obliged, quickly checking the monitor and IV bags. She placed her hand on Skye's left forearm, closing her eyes and concentrating.
"Well, that's drastic with a...side of creepy."
Skye watched the nurse with curiosity before turning to the man before them. His elegant attire – a black leather – was protected by some of shiny gold and tarnish brown (not exactly sure how to describe it. Please correct me. I want to make the story as realistic – description-wise) armor with a red cape flowing down his back. His shoulder length white hair and full beard were just as pristine as his outfit. In his hand was a three-prong staff of some sort. One could definitely tell he obsessed over his appearance for sure, especially with the golden eye patch.
A few minutes after the nurse placed her hand around Skye's forearm, she snapped her eyes open and turned to regard the king. "Her injuries are mostly healed. Because of her Midgardian side, it will take a little longer for her to recover." Her caretaker informed the man.
The man acknowledged the report. "I need to speak with her alone."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The nurse folded her hands in front of her – much like AC – and left.
Skye stared at him, gauging his aura. Deciding he wasn't going to hurt her, she relaxed. "You must be my father." She pointed at him.
He came forward, giving her a small smile as he eased into the chair beside her right side and leaned the staff against the wall behind her. "Yes." He confirmed. Skye released a deep breath she hadn't know was there. Before she could speak, he explained. "My name is Odin, Son of Bor. As you know, I am the king of Asgard, further known as the Allfather…" and answered any questions she posed.
Skye listened intently while her father explained everything from whom he was to the Asgardian history to how she came about, etc. By the time he finished, her mind was practically exhausted, but she still had some remaining questions. "You wanted me this entire time?"
Odin nodded, firmly. "I thought it best at the time to keep you on Midgard with your mother. She was lonely and I believed you would have been safer." He bowed his head in sadness. "I should have known my brother would travel to Midgard to hurt me even further. He knew your Midgardian side is weaker than your Asgardian side; I suspect he used that to his advantage. I have been informed it did not work. You were moved to another part of Midgard and protected by a secret organization – according to Thor."
"Yeah. S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm a part of that same organization, which I'm pretty sure they're going to use all resources they can to find me." Skye said smiling, quite proud of her team and employer. "So you said something about a personal bodyguard on Earth?" At Odin's nod, she continued. "Do I get to choose or is it up to you and my brothers?"
"The men of the family make the decisions unless it deals with decisions that require a woman's input." Odin answered.
Skye frowned, looking down at her hands. "So I don't get to choose."
"Do you have one in mind?" Odin studied her expressions, noting the instant brightness in her eyes. "I take it that you do. He or she will have to be approved by me."
She averted her eyes to her father. "I do; and you can do whatever you need to prepare for protection, but I want my AC." She declared, not budging from her decision.
Odin was curious. "Who is this AC?" He inquired.
"Slide right in."
Skye smiled sweetly. He was her comforter, her defender, her mentor, her…everything. There was nothing that could hold her back from doing the same. Okay, so maybe getting shot twice, but otherwise no.
Her father studied her. "He or she must be important to have you expressing happiness." He commented.
Fiddling with the blanket with her fingers, she didn't answer him quite yet and the king wasn't used to that. Skye could feel tears threatening to fall as she thought about things.
"Frankly, I don't understand it. No single agent is that important."
He was important in every sense of the word: important to Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., to her and the team, to the Avengers (even though they weren't aware of his resurrection), to the world in general, to the future people that would one day cross paths with him. So many people categorized him in his or her important box. He should be seen as an equal to a god or celebrity.
Odin reached out cautiously before tenderly brushing some of her dark brown hair behind her ear. It was unusual for him to show affection publicly unless it was to his now deceased wife, but this was his little girl and frankly at this moment he could care less. She needed him whether she knew it or not. When she startled from his touch, he instantly snatched his hand back like she was fire. "I am sorry, but you looked like you needed comfort."
Skye looked at her father. "It's okay. Just wasn't expecting you to show any form of affection." 'Cause you're a king and kings don't do that in public.
He smirked. "You are my youngest child, my only daughter. Of course, I am going to show some affection; although don't tell your brothers." He whispered, uncharacteristically. "They may get jealous."
Skye couldn't help but to laugh. Who knew Odin Borson had a sense of humor? Soon, she cringed in pain, letting up on the laughing, tightly gripping the blanket, and closing her eyes tightly as she rode out the flash of pain.
"Shall I call the nurse?" Odin questioned, hesitantly reaching out to comfort his daughter.
Vehemently shaking her head, she loosened her grip on the now bunched up blanket and returned her gaze on her father. "I'm good. Side affect of being shot." She answered through gritted teeth. "No worries."
"It's everything I have on me…There's nothing. No records. No trace of them. My life-long search has led to one single document…redacted...by S.H.I.E.L.D."
Her father wasn't convinced but said nothing, reaching out to hold her hand. "You take after me, my child."
Skye flashed a smile as she accepted his warm hand, appreciating that she still had a parent to say that, to talk to. "What was Mom like?" she asked, excitedly.
"I assume the word 'mom' means mother?" Odin inquired. At Skye's nod, he continued. "You look like an exact replica of your mother, but you have a lot of my personality in you. Fearless, stubborn, passionate about your beliefs, among others are just a few traits I passed down to you." He was pleased when her doe eyes seemed to light up like a child on Christmas. "She was a beautiful; a gentle, loving woman who held the world on her shoulders. Su-Wong was your age when she fell pregnant. By the time you were born, your grandparents had already passed away. She was left to raise both you and her six-year-old brother."
Skye's lit expression fell into a heart-sinking one. I had a six-year-old human uncle. He was innocent; he'd given up his life without even understanding that it was to save me. Why does everyone die around me? Does this mean the team and Coulson are going to die too? I can't stand by and watch them die, especially Coulson. It'll kill me.
"Maybe, I can help."
Skye closed her eyes, reached up and brushed her ear like she felt a gentle breeze of air tickling the feather-like hairs on her skin. It sounded like Coulson was whispering in her ear, like he was right beside her, ghost touching her arm as his hand traveled up her left arm.
She felt an overwhelming calmness, the burning fire her nerves created instantly doused with just the barest touch from him, even if that meant through invisibility. Slipping her right hand from her father's, she reached to her left arm following his invisible path. It was like he was saying I'm here. It made her smile; even, distance couldn't separate them.
Her father furrowed his brow as he watched her hand travel up her other arm as if chasing a ghost. "My child, what are you doing?"
Skye suddenly snapped out of whatever kept her attention, averting her eyes to her father's. "Do we have some kind of psychic connection to a certain person, someone that we are completely in love with or have a mutual loyalty to each other?"
Odin had to think about that. He hadn't heard about something like in years. It was rare, very rare. "It has happened in the past, but you are the first in several thousand years that is experiencing something like that. If one Asgardian is so in tuned with someone – whether that be another Asgardian or another race – then it is quite possible."
"That explains why I can practically feel him." Skye commented, off-handedly as she looked down.
"Who is this he?" Odin asked, half-curious, half-protectively.
"I told you that it's AC." Skye repeated.
Odin narrowed his eyes. "Should he be cause of concern? Do I need to enlist your brothers to deal with him?"
Skye scoffed. "Yeah, like that needs to happen again." She said under her breath.
"What was that?" Odin questioned.
"One of your sons has already dealt with him." Skye told him. "Loki killed him, yet your medical staff brought him back to life and inadvertently into my life. So no, my brothers don't need to deal with him."
Odin's eyes widened. "The Midgardian?" He realized.
Skye looked at him, curiously. "Come again?"
"Son of Coul. He is the one your older brother requested be healed." Odin explained. "You are connected with him?" He yelled, bolting out of his chair, smacking the tiny golden instrument tray on the floor, causing Skye to be startled. "You should be connected with an Asgardian, not a Midgardian."
"But didn't you just say…" Skye pointed, trying to understand how her father lost his temper so fast.
"He could explode at any second."
"Yes, I did." He whipped back around to look at her. "If it was an Asgardian, then I would have no probably accepting your interest. He will be unable to protect you if Kaju decides to pursue you. Your AC is vulnerable, just like your mo–" the Asgardian king cut off, flooding with painful emotions. Heavily breathing, he couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't want his daughter to go through the same thing he'd gone through twenty-five years ago. Heartache for the one he loved, murdered so easily.
Skye was persistent. "Just like who?" She rolled her head, trying to drag out whatever demons he'd kept locked up all of these years. "Like Mom?"
Odin slouched, looking down to the floor. In a saddened and quite tone, he answered her. "Yes, just like your mother."
Like her father, she displayed the same heartache. Lifting her teary filled eyes, she regarded him. "He's the one I want to be with. AC's trained in combat, May and Ward are too. I won't go unprotected." She tried to reason with him.
"I will not lose you like I lost your mother." He was adamant. "You are my youngest, my only daughter."
"They won't let anything happen to me, especially now that I've been hurt already." She assured. "And besides, now that I know I'm half-Asgardian, that's one thing Kaju doesn't know that I know. What powers do I have?"
Odin smiled; disbelieving how easy Skye could switch tracks. "What makes you think you have powers?"
"Both of my brothers do, so I thought I would, too." Skye pointed out.
"If she had powers or something…we never witnessed it.
"When you are well enough, I will delve further into your abilities." Odin promised. "I have to go."
"So I do have powers!" She called as he left. "Yes!" She raised her fist in the air in excitement. "Oh, AC. You are in a load of trouble."
As usual...TBC ;)