10 Years Time

Chapter Two

10 years had passed. 10 long years.

Today was the day though. The day that Princess Y/N Maria Stark finally returned to her home of Alberia.

Was she excited? Sure... But she was more nervous than anything. Seeing people she hadn't actually physically seen in 10 years doesn't tend to have a calming effect.

The only people she had seen those years besides the other princesses, maidens, ladies, and teachers at the academy, was her father, Pepper, and Morgan about 4x every year. Only for holidays and for her birthday. Morgan stopped coming the last 3 years. Pepper blamed it on her being a teenager who was becoming stubborn like her father who tried to deny it, but they all knew the truth.

The academy hadn't been as bad as she pictured. Strict? Very much so, but she made friends with princesses from other kingdoms and countries. Forming allies as well as girlfriends that would hear out her problems and troubles when they arose. Just like she would for them. They all became rather close for sure.

Plus, there were some strategies taught at the school that she never thought would be considered for a princess. But boy was she glad they were. It would definitely drop some jaws if she ever needed to use those specific skills.

As she could feel them getting closer to the castle, Y/N grasped at the pendant she held close to her heart no matter how many times Lady Sif told her to put it away since it wasn't 'traditional jewelry for a royal'.

The crazy thing was that no matter how much anger she had formed toward the man who gifted it to her, she still found comfort and ease in it. Just like the day she left.

The day she left.

That was a day that she would never forget. Nor the night before.

Her first kiss with her first and only crush. Then leaving to only have him break his promise and not be there to say goodbye.

The day it happened she put excuses in her head for him.

He had something come up. There was a family emergency. He lost track of time. Someone was keeping him from coming. He had to have a valid reason... Right?

But as she had years to process, and no letters ever came from him in all that time, she pushed those excuses aside and became infuriated with the boy she considered her best friend. The love of her life in truth.

Now? Now he was just a boy who broke her heart, and broke his promises to her. Nothing more than a small, cowardly, tease of a boy.

But still...

She found herself still wearing the necklace, and still grasping onto it as if it were her life raft to coming back home.

So maybe she did have some forgiveness in her heart for him... But she didn't know that yet. She chose to be hurt by it and had yet to truly moved on.

Getting pushed out of her thoughts by the driver of the carriage yelling holt, she turned out the window seeing her old home. Her kingdom.

A smile crept on her face thinking of all the memories she had here, and how she almost forgot how much she loved the view of the castle that held them. But that was when she was 14. Now she was a young lady of 24 years. Things would be viewed very differently.

"Your majesty?" she heard the footman ask.

"Yes."

"We have arrived. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I ever plan to be." she chuckled moving to get a better position on exiting the tight carriage.

The door opened and as soon as she stepped out, she was greeted with a few familiar faces of Natasha, Wanda, Sam, Clint, and of course her Father and Pepper. No Steve or Bucky, and no Morgan.