☆» All Queen Visaena Hightower wanted, was to protect her children. Being married off at a young age to a man three times her senior changed her. She was a sweet and kind girl in her youth, but every little experience forced her to toughen up. She...
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Visaena was lying in her bed, the moonlight just beginning to filter through the heavy curtains. Her sleep was restless, filled with fragmented dreams that tugged at the edges of her consciousness. Suddenly, she felt a gentle tug on her arm and heard a soft, urgent whisper.
"Mother, wake up," Eliana's voice called, pulling Visaena from the depths of her slumber.
Visaena blinked her eyes open, adjusting to the dim light in the room. She saw Elia standing by her bed, her eyes wide with a distant, almost trance-like look. This wasn't unusual; Eliana often had dreams that left her in a similar state.
"Eliana, what is it?" Visaena asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Rhaella's voice was a whisper, almost as if she was afraid the very words would bring the visions to life.
"An eye patch... death surrounds him. The metal arm... it's the call of death." Visaena's heart skipped a beat. She had learned to take her daughter's prophecies seriously. Eliana's visions, though cryptic, often held deep truths and warnings. She reached out, taking her daughter's hand in her own.
"Tell me more, sweetling," Visaena urged gently.
"What did you see?" Eliana's brow furrowed as she tried to grasp the fleeting images from her dream.
"The man with the eye patch... he falls, there's blood. And the metal arm... it strikes, cold and relentless."
Visaena felt a chill run down her spine. The description was eerily similar to the vision she had been seeing in her own dreams. A man with a metal arm, causing death and chaos. She had hoped it was just her mind playing tricks on her but hearing it from Rhaella confirmed her fears.
"Eliana, did you see anything else? A face?" Visaena asked, trying to piece together the puzzle.
Eliana shook her head slowly. "No, just shadows. But the feeling was strong like a storm approaching."
Visaena pulled her daughter into a comforting embrace, her mind racing with possibilities.
"Fury... Fury falls." That was all Visaena needed to confirm her suspicions. A man with an eye patch, who else but her dear friend Nick Fury. As softly and quickly as she could, Visaena brought her daughter back to her bedroom, swiftly entering her youngest son's room.
"Lucerys, you must stay here with your sister, keep her safe until Ser Criston gets here." She knew she sounded like a mad woman to her son, but all normality went out the window at that moment. Quickly hugging her son goodbye, the queen left her home. As soon as she stepped foot outside, she blasted herself into the air, wasting no time. She fired through the air, tracking Fury's mind with her tracing powers.
As she got closer, she saw Steve on a rooftop, facing a dark figure, with the metal arm she and Eliana had continuously seen. She descended next to Steve, just as he hurled his shield toward the figure who was trying to escape from the rooftops. The shield flew through the air, spinning with lethal accuracy. But instead of striking its target, it was caught mid-flight. The metal arm extended with blinding speed, its fingers closing around the vibranium with an iron grip.
Steve skidded to a halt, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Visaena immediately loaded up an energy blast, holding her hand in front of her aiming for the dark figure, though she didn't shoot.
The figure stood there, holding the shield effortlessly. The cold, emotionless mask concealed his face, but his eyes—those eyes—seemed to bore into Steve's soul. There was something hauntingly familiar about them.
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. Then, with a powerful motion, the figure flung the shield back at Steve. Steve reacted just in time, catching the shield but feeling the force behind the throw vibrate through his body. The man stared at Visaena for a split second, but for what felt like an eternity, then disappeared from the rooftop jumping off the edge. Steve sprinted to the edge, trying to catch the man, while Visaena stood frozen, she didn't know why but felt recognition flood her.
"Mother." She heard, snapping her out of her trance. She looked to her left seeing Jace, before running after Steve to the rooftop's edge. Jace followed behind her, the three looking out at the streets below, wondering just how he could have escaped from them.
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Steve, Natasha, Visaena, Rhaenys, and Jacaerys stood in tense silence, watching through the glass as doctors operated on Nick Fury. The room was filled with the low hum of medical equipment and the urgent whispers of the medical team.
"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha's voice broke through the tension, her tone laced with desperation.
Steve shook his head slightly. "I don't know."
Rhaenys, clenched her fists, her face a mask of worry. She was the closest person Fury had. Jace stood beside her and remained stoic, his emotions unreadable. Visaena still had yet to know why he came to earth.
"Tell me about the shooter," Natasha pressed. Visaena moved closer to her friend, delicately rubbing her back.
Steve's expression hardened. "He's fast and strong. Had a metal arm." Visaena's mind couldn't stray from the mysterious man. Maria Hill joined them, her face grim. This was hard for all of them, but especially her. Fury was like her father.
"Ballistics?" Natasha asked, her eyes not straying from the director.
"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable," Maria replied.
Natasha nodded. "Soviet-made."
"Yeah," Maria confirmed, just as they all watched in horror as Fury's condition worsened. The doctor's commands were sharp and urgent, as he flatlined.
Natasha's voice trembled as she pleaded, "Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me."
Visaena, watching Fury's life slip away, felt a cold dread settle in her stomach. She knew Rhaenys was struggling to hold back her emotions. Jace's face remained impassive, though his eyes flickered with intensity. The doctors continued their desperate attempts to revive Fury, but the heart monitor remained flatlined. Steve turned away, unable to watch any longer.
"Time of death, 1:03 a.m.," the doctor confirmed. Rhaenys turned, swiftly entering the space where Nick Fury lay dead. Visaena knew the princess would be grieving more than them all. She had known him the longest, and they were the closest. Visaena couldn't handle the anguish flowing around her so she left the hospital, ignoring the calls of her name. Jace followed his mother, still yet to talk to her.
