Awakening Quake
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Chapter One

Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Very Beautiful Prison

Skye paced her room. Or rather her prison cell.

Oh, it was a very lovely prison cell. Spacious, with gorgeous antique furniture. But it was just a gilded cage.

Technically, she had the run of the castle, but she rarely left her room. She preferred her own company to Ward's. Though, she knew he was getting frustrated by her reluctance to leave her room and she could feel his patience running out, so she knew she would have to start thinking up another plan soon.

She'd been here for a week and she was no closer to escaping than she had been when she first woke up on the plane.

She ran her fingers over the gorgeous bracelet on her wrist; otherwise known as a very elegant shackle. It was the bracelet that kept her a helpless prisoner of Doom's castle.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Skye," Doom said after a moment, holding out his hand. "Grant has told me so much about you."

Skye resisted the urge to shudder and forced herself to shake his hand. Grant? So Doom and Ward were on a first name basis?

"I hope you enjoy your time in Latveria," Doom continued smoothly, "And you'll find anything that you could possibly need at your disposal."

Skye nodded coolly, already plotting her escape. She was on a plane and while she was normally immune to her powers, she didn't think she could survive falling out of the sky. However, once they were on the ground, she would strike.

"One thing," Doom said with an amused smile, obviously guessing her thoughts, "Grant here informed me of your talent and I decided to take precautions. That bracelet on your wrist is made with a special non-conductive metal and it will prevent you from creating any vibrations."

Skye stared at him in horror and instinctively tried to summon her powers, but to her dismay she realized that she couldn't. She saw Ward's smirking at her and hatred bubbled up in her, but she pushed it down for now, because she could hear Natasha's voice in her head reminding her not to react with defiance.

Instead she forced a smile. "I look forward to your hospitality." While silently vowing to somehow find a way out of this predicament.

That had been a week and she was no closure to finding a way out than she had been then. All she had been able to do was stall for time, but she knew that couldn't last forever.

She sighed, thinking about Steve and how worried he must be about her. She knew that he would never stop searching for her, but she wasn't confident about him finding her and even if he did… How could he save her? If the Avengers stormed Latveria, it would create an International incident. Ward had chosen his ally wisely.

The only thing that was bothering her was why had Doom gone along with it? What was in it for him? Skye hadn't seen her host since their arrival at his castle and she wondered where he was and what he was up to.

Later that night, Ana showed up in Skye's room looking flustered.

"Miss Skye, I have been instructed to please dress you for dinner." She said apologetically. "The Master has requested your presences."

Skye sighed, well that answered the question of when Doom would make an appearance. She considered refusing, but the look on Ana's face suggested that that would not be a great idea.

"Ok." Skye said after a moment. She could hear Natasha in her mind, reminding her that sometimes you have to adapt to the situation and play along. This was apparently one of those times.

Ana smiled, obviously relieved. "I will get a dress for you," she said, disappearing into the closet.

On arrival in Latveria, Skye had been greeted with a closet full of clothes, all in her size. She'd worn very little of it, as most of it was much grander than she needed to stay in her room by herself.

Ana pulled out a formal blue gown. "This is lovely," the maid said.

"Isn't it a little formal?" Skye asked.

"The Master prefers his guests to dress for dinner." Ana told her.

Skye filed that information away, but then Doom did live in a full-out castle in his own country, so why was she really surprised that he demanded formality?

Skye allowed Ana to help her dress and to do her hair and make-up and a short while later, she was ready to go downstairs. At least, she was physically ready. Mentally, she wasn't sure she was up to the challenge, but she just focused on the lessons that Natasha had given her.

As soon as she left her room, her resolve was tested, because Ward was standing there waiting for her, with his hand out-stretched. He was wearing a tuxedo and he was smiling at her as if nothing bad had ever happened between them.

Skye watched him for a second, this was the first time they'd been alone in months. On the plane, she'd been so focused on Doom's presence and what it meant for her that she was barely aware of Ward and then she'd spent the last week avoiding him, but now it was just the two of him and she was very aware of his presence.

For a moment, it all came rushing back as he smiled at her. The devastating attraction that she'd once felt for him, the connection that she'd thought they shared, the way she'd loved him… But at the same time, it felt like someone else's life. She looked at Ward and realized that she was truly over him.

His betrayal still stung, but it didn't devastate her the way he once had, and there was no longer that jolt of attraction that had always previously occurred when she was in his presence. Even in San Juan, as angry as she was with him and with herself, she'd still felt a pull towards him. But not anymore. Oh, she was still aware that he was devastating handsome, but there was nothing personal about it. Not anymore.

"You look beautiful, Skye." He told her, shaking her out of our thoughts.

"Thank you." She said and, forcing herself not to shudder, she placed her hand in his. Again, there was nothing. For the first time, she didn't feel anything when he touched her, except maybe revulsion. But his touch no longer had a physical affect on her, there was no longer that sizzle of attraction that had always been there in the past, even after she'd learned who he was.

Somehow it made what she had to do easier. For the first time, Skye thought that she might be able to take Natasha's advice and play along with Ward, at least to a point, because her emotions were no longer engaged. She could pretend that this was just another mission.

Ward seemed surprised, but his smile widened. "I knew you just needed time," he told her and she could see him studying her, obviously taking in every detail. The look in his eyes gave her the creeps, but she forced herself to stay calm.

"It's been a crazy few months," She said non-committedly.

"I hate how things went down in San Juan," Ward told her, "I know I put you in a rough position and I'm sorry. I was trying to help you. I know I went about it the wrong way, but I just wanted you to reach your full potential."

"We both did things we regret," Skye told him truthfully. Her regret was that she'd only shot to injure. She should have killed him then and there, but… She hadn't been ready. She'd still been holding on to the past, to the memories of a man who had never existed.

"I know." Ward told her. "And I forgive you. We'll put the past behind us Skye and we'll start over and this is the best and safest place for us to do that, Skye. No one can hurt us here."

Skye repressed a shudder at his words and the reminded that, at least, for the moment she was trapped in a foreign country with no foreseeable means of escape and the only thing familiar, was Ward.

"We should go downstairs," Ward said after a minute, "We don't want to keep our host waiting."

"No," Skye said, fighting to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "We wouldn't want that."