Ice Princess

28

"Your father and I are really I,pressed with how well you've come along and in such a short time with the mastery of living magic." The garden Persephone tended was glorious and relaxing. Melinoe marveled in its beauty. She could see where she got her delicate features from. "You get your smarts from me and the magic from your father. Speaking of which he should be here any minute now."

"Queen Persephone, I ...."

"I know this is all new for you and it will take time, but I hoped that one day you will call us mother and father." The woman held one of Melinoe's hands as the other placed a bloom in her hair. "You were always so beautiful." Causing Melinoe to blush. "Ah, husband." She smiled at Hades. It was clear how much love was in her eyes. How Melinoe longed for someone to look at her that way as well.

"Melinoe, let's take a walk, you and I." He told her. She walked beside him with a respectable distance between them. "One of your abilities and duties is to commune with ghosts. You can summon them at will and make them do what you wish. You can force them to cross over or remain where they are indefinitely. You used to both love and hate the spirits of children. While you understood their sadness and not wanting to go to a peaceful ends, you treated them very kind and motherly."

"But how do I do all that and do I need to be here to do it?"

"No, you don't," he chuckled. "Let's try, shall we. It will become easier the more you do it, I promise. Now who do you know that is dead?"

"Mother Superior, Mary Eloise Smith."

"Now think about everything you know about that person." He told her. A mist started to form in front of her, slowly but surely taking the form of the nun.

"What on earth? YOU! You demon, I knew it. Hellspawn!" The nun yelled.

"Now, she can't hurt you. Especially in the underworld, she has no power. Now tell her to do something." Hades had to talk over the nun shouting and screaming.

"Oh, he silent." Melinoe told her. The nun's lips kept moving but there was no sound.

"Was that hard?"

"Not really."

"Now try something else."

"All the harm that you gave to children while you were alive shall happen to you in three fold. Only then will you find peace in the afterlife."

"Well, that was just and kind of you. I would have given her something more terrifying and for a longer period of time. But very good for your first try." The ghost was dismissed to her punishment. "Let's do a few more to ensure you got it."

Melinoe went through all the priests and nuns that had wronged her. It did get easier and easier, the more she did it. But it did take up the complete time the moon was full. When she returned to Kamar Taj, she reported to Wong what had happened, seeing her dead in her feet, he told her to rest. Melinoe slept a full day but felt better than she had in a long, long time.

"But this is necromancy." Wong stated.

"I'm not raising the dead, just putting them to rest. If anything, I'm keeping them from harming the living."

"I don't like it."

"I will only use when I have to. Promise." She told him. And tonight would be one of those nights.

"Steve Rogers."

"Where am I?"

"This is Kamar Taj."

"You're a sorceress?"

"Not exactly. I'm worried about your friend, Bucky Barnes. He hasn't been acting like himself."

"How so?" Immediately she had his attention. She gave him the crib sheet version of events.

"I know I may have done things to upset him. I apologized, but he didn't accept it. No matter what I do, I can't seem to do right by him. Even if he doesn't care for me, I want to make sure he's ok. He'll listen to you."

"And if I refuse."

"That's your choice, but I'm asking for your help and I don't really do that. I could compel you to do it, but I choose not to, the choice is yours. If you want to go back to your eternal rest, I'll need to find another way. I have a feeling he doesn't want to see me."

"Why is that?"

"Because, he'll be wonderful to me, caring one minute, then throw me to the floor and treat me like I was nothing the next second. I don't care if he cares for me, but I care enough about him as a human being to ensure he's alright."

"Why me?"

"He always talked about you, he respected you out of everyone he ever knew, he wants to be good like you. Bucky also said he really wished we had met because you would have liked me. I figured that meant something, that I was was at least a decent human being and did the best I could with this life. But it is ok, you can go. Forget, I said anything." Melinoe collapsed onto a chair in her room and covered her face. "Go, be at peace."

Only the ghost of Steve Rogers couldn't let it go. The fact she could have ordered him but instead gave him a choice spoke volumes about who she was. And she was looking out for Bucky's welfare even if she didn't care for her in the slightest. If one way didn't work, she was going to try another, but he was pretty sure what she did wasn't easy to begin with. And how she acted, she was exhausted, didn't think she was good enough for him but still willing to do something to ensure Bucky's happiness. Steve did like her. Bucky was going to doubt his sanity when Steve appeared before him.
_______

Bucky came home to his brownstone. It was a beautiful house, but he rarely spent time there. It was too big for him and for the most part, he was lonely. Everything was always kept neat, he had a maid service come in and clean like clockwork. Most of the food he ordered out because he couldn't cook. What he didn't expect was to see Steve Rogers sitting in his kitchen when he came home.

"Hey, Bucky." He said with a half smile on his face. "How are you doing?"

"What? How?"

"Yeah, she said you'd be confused."

"Who?"

"Cute, little woman. Green eyes, hazelnut colored hair. Said her name was Melinoe, which is a really weird name by the way."

"Oh, her. What did she want?"

"Actually, she's worried about you and your mental health."

"Gee, I wonder why?" He grumbled.

"Well, with how you are acting, yes. And I can see why. What's going on Bucky?"