Amulet of Life
Ciara Tate Chapter 1
In the mirror, she stared at the amulet that gave her life. It was a gold circle that held a slithering snake-like creature inside. The amulet was placed on her body after she died at the age of 23. The person who placed it on her thought it would be wonderful to revive her after being dead for 3 years.
Now, she clung to the amulet for dear life as it was the only thing keeping her alive. Her previous death made her shiver as the memory stuck to her like damp, cold air.
She jumped as a man touched her shoulder, “Ciara? Are you okay?”
“I...was just remembering how I got here,” She touched the amulet with a sigh.
“Do you mind explaining that part to me?” He asked.
Ciara turned to look at him instead of the mirror, “Clint. It’s painful.”
He nodded, “I know sweetheart. However, you need to discuss it.”
“I already have...but...I guess you deserve to know too...” She let out a massive sigh and then went on to explain it.
~9 years prior~
Ciara hooked up her 5-year-old daughter to her harness. They were rock climbing at the Grand Canyon. It was Mia, the daughter’s, idea to pick this specific spot to climb since Ciara wanted to give her daughter the freedom to choose. While Ciara was nervous, she brushed it aside to show Mia some “real fun.”
Mia was all smiles when they started up the cliff with their instructor right alongside them. They only had an instructor because he insisted on going with them. In reality, he was one of Ciara’s best friends and just wanted to keep an eye on them.
After about an hour of climbing, Cirara felt a tug at her line as if something had moved it. Then she could feel the line starting to come apart. Immediately, she grabbed at the rock in front of her trying to catch a grip on it so they would not slip and fall.
While terror seized Ciara’s heart, the line snapped and came hurtling down towards them. There was nothing she could do as it brutally whipped her daughter in the face and then yanked them down after it. Ciara’s blue eyes wide with terror as she reached to the side for any hold on the wall. However, the rocky wall shredded her hands as they descended faster.
With the crack of her skill on one of the many rocks scattered below, Ciara was dead. Not to mention her baby girl broken on the impact of the line to her face.
Cirar could still feel the crunch of her skull and pool of warm blood as the light faded to darkness. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at Clint. He pulled her into his arms when she finished telling the story.
“I’ll never let that happen to you again,” He whispered a promise.
She could only nod, wishing that the memory and pain would go away. Ever since she came back to life a pang in her head would come and go as the splitting of her skull haunted her memory. The only good in her life was the understanding boyfriend who sat there holding her in his arms every time her memories came back.
When the dark-haired Asgardian showed up at the tower, Ciara did not know what to expect. He was previously a villain and to see him walking around without chains was bizarre to her. He deserved to be locked up, but at this point, she seemed to care less as she wanted to get rid of her pain or would rather help innocents than focus on who is who.
Ciara was ignoring the conversation until the man described her amulet in perfect detail, “it is gold and green as it holds a serpent in the center that is wrapping itself around a crystal. That crystal is the piece of balance, however, the serpent keeps it hidden. Very few know of its true existence as its powers vary in the...living sense.”
Immediately, Dream came to Ciara’s defense as Ciara backed away from everyone, “You’re not going to get it from her!”
Ciara could tell Steve was frustrated with this notion, “You’re just going to let the whole world die for her?”
“She has already been through enough!” Dream growled.
“There may be a way to keep her alive, Steve. We are not going to murder someone just because the “trickster god” walked in here and told us her amulet is the fix to the world.” Tony tried to reason with him.
Steve looked to the mischevious Asgardian, “How much time did you say we have?”
“What you would consider a week I believe,” He almost seemed to smile.
“There isn’t enough time, Tony,” Steve sighed.
Tony crossed his arms, “get out of here with that negativity. That’s my job.”
And he did it well if Ciara had an opinion on that.
@arrowwolf13 @animeaobsessed
(I just realized that Star Evander was not mentioned in this, but she is there when Loki comes in. However, Ciara is not focused on anyone at that time and it is the only reason that Star is not mentioned. My apologies friend.)
