We will do what we must when it comes to it. My rage sent a rumble through me and a pain surged through my womb. I knew in that moment that something wicked was on its way, something that could not be stopped. My birthing pains did not end and Olusola was born before supper the next day. I pushed what Taiwo had told me aside to make way for my new joy. Our son was warm and light as a cloud in my arms.
His eyes were such a striking ebony that they looked like black suns caught in glass. When Taiwo went with the men to celebrate, I spent hours breathing my son in. The sweet smell of his skin made me soon forget my agony. It brought my awareness back to the foul ship. The command meant we captives were due for rations and a sloshing of sea water on the upper decks. The promise of sunlight and food above was scarcely worth the journey. Every step I took demanded great effort and sent pain lancing through my body. I had taken, I heard a crewman warn another, more lashes than a wench could bear.
The pails of seawater that they tossed on us were always a brutal shock against my wounds. On the deck, our overseers served our paltry rations in wooden bowls. I lifted a small piece of bread to my mouth. When I was certain that no eye was upon me, I let the bread pass over my lips and fall to the floor. In a matter of time, I would starve myself back to the ancestor realm.
Whispering gallery - Wikipedia
Who was this girl in possession of my secrets? Telltale incisions across her cheek. She was beautiful with fine features and large brown eyes that somehow still had life behind them. She could not have been more than fifteen years old. My eyes stopped at her ankle where three small cowrie shells dangled on a thin cord. It was clear to me how they had missed the eye of the slave hunters. They must be enchanted, the mark of a witch. If you are a witch then why have you not used your sorcery to free us? This is the curse of Aole. The more I remembered, the more I needed to forget. My name is Aja, what is yours?
To starve yourself and leave the others is a selfish death, a bad death still.
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Besides, there is nothing I can do, least of all for myself. Look, I am weak and you are right, I do want to die. Why have you come to bother me out of all the others?
Whispering gallery
Please, Aja, do not disturb me again. What morbid pleasure do you get from torturing me? If I could, I would have wrung my hands around her throat for filling her mouth with my nightmare. Down, down past my ache, a greater part of me trusted her. It was the part desperate for any grain of salvation she could help me find. I felt the weight of her own agony. A plea for mercy.
I felt a jolt at the mention of that name, Olokun. Many tales had been told of the Owner of the Oceans, the Father Mother Water whose Kingdom sits at the bottom of the sea. Her waters nourished just as sure as they drowned, and within her dwelled the mysteries of the universe, as deep as her hallowed black depths. A petition granted by this powerful deity was bountiful, yes, but it always came at a price. The same spirit that held your child in your womb, and nourished you in your village, will give you what you ask.
But changing a fate such as yours is work. It will require something great. For seven days and seven nights I recited every single one of them with all of my grieving heart. When finally I opened my mouth to call her by name, I felt it. A deep, wide presence filled me inside, and immediately I knew what it was. A flashing current charged over my head and down the soles of my feet, swallowing and pulling me down with it, where I did not know. I drew in a deep breath, shut my eyes, and submitted.
The cries of the ship fell silent. Time seemed to have stopped. I felt as if I was traveling into a dream, only it was more real than anything I had felt since I arrived.
With each passing instant I was sinking … deeper and deeper into a watery darkness. My prayers had been heard. They had broken the veil. In the underworld I was weightless and smooth as a stone, fluid like the sea itself. I breathed as it breathed, at the rhythm of its cool black current. A wide column of light streamed in as if a great white bolt of sun had reached all the way to the navel of the sea.
The illumination revealed a world of wonder. Glorious life-forms flitted around me, a breathtaking mosaic of sharp reds, yellows and blues. Among them were peculiar threads, glowing with a golden blue hue, of seemingly unending length. A great flurry of teal and silver fishes sprang up before me and then transformed into the image of a beautiful man-woman. I gasped in awe, unable to utter sound.
Olokun was as beautiful as she was fearsome. Lightning crackled in her eyes and her face held the luster of pearls and gold. I stood before her and tried to take courage.
Echoes of thunder, beneath the waves
I could not afford to be frightened. Olokun only glared back at me, through me. What a hideous sight I must have been. Swollen body, covered in the filth of the ship, months of torture distorting my once beautiful dark brown face. I opened my mouth and breathed out a trail of silver bubbles. Olokun laughed and the ocean rumbled. Use your heart to speak what your voice cannot. Why have you come? I have come to petition you for a change of fate.
I need grace from Iku Oro. Not just for myself and the others on the ship. As our celebration fires burned down to a thin trickle of smoke, the evil that the diviners warned of had descended upon us. Take the baby and hide yourself! These were the last words my husband said to me. He tucked Olusola into my arms before running into the battle.
I knew that I would never see him again, like I would never see my mother or father. I ran so fast, moving like light into the forest. Swift behind were men barking in strange languages, their weapons exploding. His perfect sleeping face still held traces of red from the sacred camwood Father used to scrub blessings over him.
My heart pounded, tok tok tok , louder than any drum. And then a thought came to me so fiercely that it split me in two and sent my soul out of my body. The despicable thing, I must do it. It is the only way. I prayed that he would remember me as his good mother, not the beast of a woman that I would become in the next moment. Never will I forget his warm breath gasping into my chest. It shall burn there eternally. The more he cried and the closer the men drew, the harder I pressed. The moment my precious boy went slack in my arms, I felt their whip tear across my back and I was seized.
Please, change his fate and bless him in his next life. The only atrocity lies in your necessity to kill. You will dwell as a guide for the other souls to come, those who also must cross my great water. Will you accept this? They are threads on which a soul takes its predestined journey. Through my Kingdom, these souls have come to follow the trail of their destiny. Will it rise to the ancestor realm? There was another splash and then silence. Steve stood up and headed toward the end of the pier. He was walking faster then usual, eager to meet the girl. He got there before she did.
Nothing to do but wait. His phone vibrated and he took it out of his pocket. A girl, younger then him by the looks of her, stood in front of him. Her hair was a dark dark brown and it fell in waves to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a pale green. Her skin was tanned in a way that reminded him of a surfer. She seemed completely dry despite having been in the water.
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But that isn't what surprised Steve. What really surprised him was the way she was dressed. SHe was wearing white cotton, drawstring shorts, and a black t-shirt. She was barefoot and shivering. Steve fixed up the couch with a spare blanket and a pillow from his bed.
He had not formally invited the girl to spend the night, but he had no intention of sending her back out into the frigid December air. She was showering now. Steve had given her a pair of his sweatpants though he was sure they would be entirely too large on her and an old, faded, t-shirt.
It was the best he could do on such short notice. She had been in the shower for about twenty minutes. The first thing Steve had done when she went in was hide his shield and uniform. He had done his best to keep his identity a secret so far and he had no intention of sharing it with a stranger. He had just finished making up the couch when the water stopped. Steve headed into the kitchen to make a cup of tea for his guest. His apartment, which had been given to him by S. D shortly after he had woken up from the ice, was not big by any means.
He had a main living area slash kitchen. The short hallway led to a bedroom with a bathroom connected to it. It wasn't nearly as luxurious as anything Tony Stark would have provided for him, but it gave Steve the peace he so desperately need these days. As Steve finished preparing the tea, he heard the door to his bedroom open. He couldn't help but smile as he went to set the two mugs down on the coffee table.
He sat in the old arm chair and waited. It didn't take long for Elizabeth to emerge from his bedroom. She was practically swimming in his clothes. She had had to roll the waist on the sweatpants numerous times and the t-shirt came down to the middle of her thigh. Despite that, she looked better. She had her hair pulled up into a messy bun and she wasn't shivering anymore. She smiled and sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up so they were crossed.
She picked up the mug closest to her and took a long slip, closing her eyes and savoring the warmth. She swallowed and looked at him. Just mom parents, and my grandmother before she passed. She was ninety two. Died peacefully in her sleep. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again. She broke the silence. He wasn't quite sure of the answer himself. He didn't know a single thing about her besides her name and the fact that her grandmother had passed away. But there was something about her. He wanted to help her.
Maybe it was just in Captain America's nature to help those in need. He wasn't sure how to answer so he settled for "Because you needed it. She bit her lip. I'll ask I question and after you answer it, you ask one. If you don't I get to ask another and vice versa Sound fair? Liz nervously tugged at her hair with the hand that wasn't holding the mug. LA, born and raised. She rolled her eyes.
My parents, well, lets just say that they didn't exactly support me as much as they should have. I haven't spoken to them since I left. That was five years ago. I dropped the last name when I left.
"The Face Beneath The Waves" lyrics
But Steve had gotten her age from that answer as well. She was twenty three. Steve contemplated his next question carefully before asking it. Eventually curiosity got the better of him. I'm not answering that one. Steve picked up both mugs and stood.
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We'll talk in the morning. Liz woke up to the smell of bacon. She groaned and rolled over to look at the clock on Steve's bedside table. She had, had the intention of waking up early and slipping out before Steve woke up. Guess that plan was out the window. Liz looked around the room and groaned again. She sat up and stretched, then quickly made the bed for Steve. If he was nice enough to let her have the room, the least she could do was make the bed for him.
whispers beneath the waves
She quietly headed down the hall and to the kitchen area. Steve was standing at the stove, wearing grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt. He was speaking to someone on the phone. She didn't have much experience with guys, and the experiences she did have weren't good. Three boyfriends in high school, all asses. That is until he found out the truth. She couldn't blame him though. She would have left too. Steve set two plates on the table and gestured for Liz to sit down. Something else she learned about Steve, he was an amazing cook. If you needed a place to stay for a few day, or weeks, or as long as you need too.
I understand," She pushed her food around on her plate. On one condition though. I know where I want this story to go and I am really excited for this. I have written some other fanfics for other things on different accounts, but I have never done one for the Avengers. Sorry if this seems rushed, but I need their relationship to develop so I can get to the plot. I'm excited for this.