#createdtoprotect

👑 (for a royal au)

It was lucky they hadn't been neighbouring kingdoms, Tony decided as he read through the list of charges. Sheltering the foreigne Prince and his two men would have meant war if there had been a shared boarder. Handing back the letter to his mother, Tony sighed softly. They weren't weak, but many kingdoms and countries thought they were a joke and rather helpless. They didn't understand how well trained and how deadly their army truly was. At least they wouldn't need to prove it.

The little group had arrived nearly two weeks before, seeking shelter and sanctuary in their boarders. Maria, as Queen, had welcomed them in her lands and invited them to stay as guests at the palace. And that had been all she said, his father remaining silent behind her, and left it to Tony to interact with and teach them. Only two short private audiances between Maria and the foreigne Prince that Tony hadn't been permitted to attend and no details had been given.

“You will release me, Pirate. I am captain of her Majesty’s royal navy.” The blue eyed sea captain snarled angrily. His arms are bound behind him at the wrist and elbows. Midshipmen forced him on knees, and all he could do was glare.

@created-to-protect

Peggy loved the snow. She always had, ever since she was a little girl. So, when the opportunity arose, absolutely she was going to take an afternoon to drag Steve outside to build a snowman. She was currently bent over, working on rolling out the bottom, when she felt something hit her shoulder. She whirled her head around, just in time for another to hit her. “Oh, you little---.” 

 “Ah ah ah, My Dear Boy, we wouldn’t want anything unfortunate to happen to our sleeping Captain here.” Donovan cajoles, a wicked smirk on his scarred face. He’s amazed at how quickly the Captain had dropped like so much dead weight with the tranquilizer in his neck. The plan had gone practically perfect. Now the man had his firearm aimed point blank at the unconscious superhero’s head as he is loaded on a gurney for transport to an undisclosed location.

@created-to-protect

There is a good chance he lost his trackers in town before he’d even slipped into the forest. He’d gone for the truck stop where there had been plenty of people and cars. Broken into the trunk of a few of the out of state vehicles and left one or two items out. To throw them off the scent. To make them chase a ghost. 

God, he hoped they were going after one of the family cars that had pulled out when he’d made the slip. But even if they hadn’t, even if they had tracked him into the woods, this was his territory. Or at least, it was more his than theirs.

Skidding down an incline to a stream, Tony splashed across it to the other side. If they were using heat sensors to track his movements, the cold water would throw them off his trail for a little while at least. 

But he couldn’t stop, not yet. He needed to find some kind of shelter for the night. He wanted to find a den, or a hallow where he could build one and get a small fire started. He had water bottles with him, but he’d eventually need to find food or he’d be drifting back into town again. He just... he needed to rest, somewhere safe, for the coming night and hopefully things would look a little better in the morning. 

Ignoring his soggy shoes and wet pants, he tromped through the under brush toward an outcropping of rocks. Luck. Now he just needed to check to see if opened to a little cave or shelter, or would at least give an overhang. 

The closer he got, however, the slower his steps fell. The more aware he was of the sounds around him - two squirrels chasing summer love, a rabbit chewing some kind of grass, a sleepy owl rustling in one of the trees. The scent of summer greens reaching for the evening sunlight, the disturbed layer of rotting foliage on the ground, fresh water behind him from the stream. And a lingering scent of wolf from the rocks.