Blood Lust (Vampire!Steve Rogers AU) 18+

7

She was bored.

She'd been walking around the mansion like a ghost for the last week. Lack of sleep making her irritable, and with barely anything to entertain her. The nightmares about being dragged to alter had begun the second night, and hadn't shown any signs of dispersing. It was even rare to see Steve - he had his own business to deal with, sometimes in the city (from what Kate had told her) or he would be in his study shut away.

The only signs of life were the servants who had now made themselves known, but even then they were getting on with chores.

The day was bright, the sunlight peeking through the canopy of forest trees that shielded the mansion and gardens from it. No wonder the gardens were all but dead. There were weeds everywhere and on impulse, she began to pull them up to make the flower beds look more tidy.

Stupid weeds.

Stupid weddings.

For every weed she pulled up, it was something to compensate what her family had put her through and all but sentenced her to. Steve had certainly been right on saying that the stages of grief would set in - and they well and truly had.

"Evangeline..."

She yanked another weed from the dirt and looked back, seeing Steve standing on the stony pathway, hands in his trouser pockets and watching her. "Why are you pulling up my flowers?"

Looking back, she blinked and then looked at him again. "This garden is full of weeds, not flowers. I'm making it look more presentable". Wiping the dirt from her hands, she then got to her feet.

He approached her, a look of amusement on his face. "Eva...the exterior of the house is charmed, just like I told you. What you see as weeds? Are actually flowers in full bloom...so while I appreciate your concern for gardening - you're technically killing my flowers".

She looked down at the pile of weeds on the ground and felt her shoulders lax. Defeat setting in. "Someone could have told me this before..."

"You weren't to know. It's ok - other people would've done the same".

"But there aren't other people here. The only ones are all like you. They can see this garden for what it really is". She sighed, "I'm going to spend the rest of my life in this house, I want to see something beautiful outside of it".

"I already see that".

Eva looked at him. "I meant the gardens".

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think I could help you out there, so you could see what we do? Without having to turn you".

"How".

"I have a friend, the one who placed the charm on the outside of this place. She could help you too".

Eva frowned at this. "Sounds like witchcraft".

He smirked. "Because it is - what else did you expect it to be?"

At this point she really didn't know. But the idea of being able to see what Steve could appealed to her. It was better than ruining his flower beds after all.

"Would the spell wear off?" She asked, wondering whether it would wear off over a certain amount of time, but he shook his head.

"Only if you wanted her to remove it, but otherwise it would be permanent- if that's what you want that is?"

"I want it". She replied a little too eagerly. "I want to see what you do..."

He pondered for a moment, Eva wondering whether he was considering going back on his offer, but then he just nodded. "I'll send for her today - you can meet with her, then make the decision for yourself".

The gravel crunched under his steps as he walked away, and back to the house.

"Thank you". Eva called rather pathetically to him. He didn't respond, but she knew that he had heard her. Perhaps he was annoyed about the weeds - well, flowers. Looking at the pile on the ground she sighed and decided to take a walk around the rest of the gardens that were apparently thriving with life.

A couple of servants were out, pulling dead rotten apples from a tree. In their eyes they were perfectly ripe. She tried to picture the gardens in all their splendour, green bushes, flowers in a rainbow of colour in bloom, the fountain filled with crystal clear water.

The excitement rose. It was the first outlook of optimism she'd had since her arrival.

Making her way back indoors, Kate was waiting for her patiently. "Steve asked me to get you - his visitor will be arriving to meet you soon. I guess he's already told you who and what she is?"

"Very briefly. A witch".

Kate smiled. "She is more than just a witch. She's a scarlet witch".

Eva blinked. "Wait...I thought the Scarlet Witches were killed long ago. They were so powerful that witch hunters wanted them out of existence?"

"True, but let's just say one slipped through the net. Wanda inherited her powers from her".

"So, you're telling me that Steve is friends with one of the most powerful witches to walk the Earth?"

"The most powerful". Came his voice from the study doorway. "You shouldn't be feared by her, she's a good friend and useful when we need her help. You'll like her".

He beckoned her to him with his finger. "She'll be here soon, come and sit with me Eva". Her feet found themselves walking to him and he guided her into his study. "Let me know when she's here". He said to Kate about Wanda and then closed the door.