Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 33 - Guilt

Maria had insisted that Keira was to stay put, and not overexcite herself with a tour of the newly renovated tower, much to the blonde's dismay. Of course, Maria knew of her restlessness, so she left her alone for a moment, only to return with some colored pencils and a blank notebook.

"Now, the child can keep herself occupied while I have to work." Maria teased with a small smile, leaning against the doorway as Keira gratefully accepted the gifts.

"Oh, ha ha." Keira said humorlessly, rolling her eyes at the brunette. "Do you know how long it'll take for Tasha to get here?" Damn, she really sounded like an impatient child. Maybe Maria had a point.

"I don't know, she had some business to attend to after the hearing, but knowing Natasha, she'll probably be here before you can spell her name." Maria couldn't help but admire the overprotectiveness that the redhead had for the blonde, but she expected it to become even worse now when Keira was back. Having your best friend kidnapped wasn't an easy thing to get over, and especially not for someone like Natasha. She had already lost so much in her life.

"Sounds like Tasha alright." Keira chuckled, settling down, cross-legged, on the floor and placing the paper in front of her. The pencil case proved to be more difficult to open than expected, her fingers just fumbled over the zipper, never really getting ahold of it.

"Let me."

Keira looked up from her fruitless attempts to open the case and sighed in defeat. Without uttering another word, she just held it out for Maria to grab.

Maria grabbed the case with gentle hands and slid the zipper open before handing it back to the blonde. "It'll take some time for your body to recover, after all, it's been asleep for almost a month, so just give it time, alright? Don't get too frustrated if everything doesn't work the way it used to right away." She said softly, watching as Keira picked out a lead pencil and leaned down over the paper.

"Pfft, I have the patience of an angel. I'd never get frustrated, especially not with myself." Keira quipped, noticing how her hands shook slightly, the line on the paper not being as straight as she wanted it. In frustration, she bit down on her tongue, concentrating with all her might on the next line. It needed to be perfect.

Maria just shook her head in pity, not saying anything. She knew that Keira would only get more frustrated if she pressed the matter, so it was better to just keep her mouth shut. "Well, if you need anything, just shout at the camera and someone will bring you what you need. Make sure to rest, and if you don't, I'll hear about it." She reprimanded lightly, earning a small smile from the blonde on the floor before disappearing through the door.

Keira watched as the wall slid shut again and sighed deeply. Don't get too frustrated? She couldn't even open a bloody pencil case, how was that supposed to not frustrate her? Anyone would be frustrated with that. Her control would hopefully return soon enough, but she had no idea of what lasting damage had been done by HYDRA or the Widow Bites. But one thing was certain, she didn't blame Natasha in the slightest.

Natasha had only done what she had asked, and if her body had to suffer the consequences, it was a price she was willing to pay.

She kept on drawing, and although none of the lines were as straight as she would've liked them to, she had to admit that they were, at least, acceptable. It wasn't her best work, but oh well. Slowly but surely, the dark, misty forest slowly came to life in front of her eyes.

In order to build up the mist effect, she kept smudging the white with the pad of her index finger, and within seconds, her finger was a blend of white and dark green. "Not too bad, considering you've been in a coma for the last couple of weeks." She said to herself, observing her art.