Chapter Text
Sometimes, the multiverse gives more than one surprise: unique and unrepeatable beings, convergent realities, and threats that impact more than one plane of creation. One of these could be also the survival of a land destined to crumble into oblivion that blossoms in its own way to create a series of new stories.
This earth, where heroes existed long before normal and with the limitations of their era, we find a narrative that seems to also reverberate in many other universes, it may be because of its simplicity or just because it is the echo of what will never happen in another place and time.
Different races converge on this 1602. One of them, the elves, has been in constant conflict with humans, but has managed to endure despite everything. There is an animosity towards humans, and likewise, which is always on the verge of unleashing a war in which neither side would have a clear winner.
Katherine Elizabeth Bishop, part of one of the oldest elven royal families, travels on a diplomatic mission to extend her help to the nearby kingdom as a peace offering. She is in a small caravan, sheltered in the central carriage instead of being on a horse, as she originally proposed when she saw that she could not escape responsibility. Her mother Eleanor's words to her were law and there was no room for her to say no. Her desire to be part of her guard was thwarted by every attempt to prove that she could be more than a dignitary like the rest of her ancestors. The mission was important, but also simple, so Katherine was chosen to carry it out instead of her mother; she thought it was time for her daughter to start getting familiar with her future work. She wore a particular long purple dress with gold details, but no weapons because, according to her mother, there was no need for royalty to carry one.
The journey of several days was calm, they had barely entered the human kingdom they would visit when everyone stopped for the first time since they began the journey. It didn't look like anything out of the ordinary: a tree branch. The path was not unknown to the elven travelers, but it was not as transited by the locals, this with the intention of not attracting curious glances and keeping everyone's safety.
A break from travel wouldn't hurt anyone and they were still on the clock to deal with an obstacle like that. Kate wanted to take the opportunity to get out for a few moments, but her companion, an academic from the kingdom whom she knew very little, recommended otherwise; he was prone to overthinking things and worrying too much, but he was close to her mother Eleanor, and he didn't want to give her a reason to end up with another similar task when they returned home. So, resigned, she limited herself to striking up a conversation with one of the guards who approached her window.
“What seems to be the problem?” Katherine asked as if she didn't already know the reason, but she didn't know what else to ask and she was about to sleep from boredom if she didn't do something more than study the papers her mother gave her.
“Just a branch, your majesty.” Answered the guard gently. “It will take us a moment to mo-”
His words stopped immediately when a crash was heard and caused the guard to fall motionless to the ground, but not before his blood splashed on the young woman's face and part of the door. The horses neighed in surprise and the other guards immediately realized what was happening: they had fallen into a trap.
"AMBUSH!" one of the elves shouted as everyone prepared for what was coming.
Everything was happening so fast that there was barely time to recognize the threats coming from between the trees. These were men armed with muskets, although with dubious aim they had the element of surprise on their side and more cover, even so the caravan guards shot arrows towards the place where the bullets came from. One would think that the elves were at a disadvantage, but if they were known for anything it was their marksmanship with the bow.
Some arrows managed to reach their enemies, but for every time they managed to hit a couple of the attackers, an elf fell victim to a bullet. Her numbers were dwindling alarmingly, and Katherine continued to watch in shock from the window as it all happened, at least until a hand pulled her away from the window just in time to avoid a flurry of gunfire in her direction. It was one of the guards, he had a wound on his arm, so he had to draw his sword to defend himself. He commanded Katherine to use the other door of the car and flee from her while the remaining members of the caravan bought her some time.
It took her a little longer than it should to wake up to what was happening around her, she even tried to take her companion with her, but he had received a shot in the head that went through the curtain on his side. With nothing more to do for him and following the advice of her compatriot, Katherine decided to leave. She quickly got off the carriage amidst a multitude of gunshots and watching as the remaining elves repelled the attack as best as they could. Her injured guard told her to keep her head down and to go into the forest to lose the attackers. It was the only thing he could tell her in those circumstances and the best plan at the time.
Katherine tried to reply that she couldn't do such a thing while the others were fighting, but she saw another of her people fall after another shot, and she had to find the strength in herself to just nod with her head. The elf who helped her began to guide her to the other side of the forest, the one that was safe, because it was inclined and guided to a part where there was no clear path, just more trees. Both began to run there, but not before the anonymous guard gave the young woman a bow and arrows belonging to one of the fallen. If that was the last time they would see each other he would give her a fighting chance. The young elf accepted the weapon without a word and slung the quiver on her back.
There were only a couple of elves left standing in the caravan, covering themselves from the gunfire with the remains of the caravan and willing to fight back while the enemies reloaded. Meanwhile, Katherine and her guardian headed into the forest below.
The two began running through the trees, the sounds of the fight fading as they went deeper, until at one point they could no longer hear them. None felt comfort from that, because it only meant one thing: their companions were dead and now they were next.
They didn't know where they were and the only thing they could do was run in the opposite direction of the chaos. The enormous amount of trees and the difficulty of the terrain gave them hope that horses were not viable to be used there and that lessened their chances of being found faster.
“No, your majesty. We are in human territory and that is why we will never be safe.” The guard said grimly while taking time to put a tourniquet under his wound.
“Weren't they supposed to escort us to Queen Hela's castle once we reached the borders?” Katherine asked, spotting the path they came down, looking for someone following them.
“We are in a neutral zone. Three days from the border. Few know about the mission. That way there would be no problems.” The guard said with a grunt after squeezing a piece of cloth that would stop the bleeding.
“So what was that back there?” It wasn't an accusation on her part, just a sincere question fueled by frustration and fear.
“Someone didn't want us to arrive, or more precisely, for you not to arrive.”
Katherine wanted to explain to him that it wasn’t like that, because otherwise, she would be guilty of the deaths of her people. Just for being born under her family title. Still, she didn't plan to argue about it because they didn't have time for it.
Even if she didn't see them, it was almost certain that those who ambushed them were already looking for them.
They walked a little further until they reached a clearing in the forest. She was still with an arrow leaning against the bow and the guard clinging to his sword when they both heard a crunching sound ahead. They prepared for anything, but the foliage did not allow them to see in front. They kept hearing something approaching and when it was inevitable that they would encounter it they could only wait for the attack. What was their surprise when they saw that it was a deer that looked at them curiously for a few moments before it fled for its own safety.
The encounter gave them a much-needed respite, which was soon interrupted by a noise that reminded Katherine of the hell she had escaped from moments before. The echo of the shot remained alive as she watched her protector fall, the bullet having hit his throat, causing him to let go of his weapon and try in vain to contain the blood escaping too quickly from his body.
Katherine could only get closer and look into his eyes while she too thought about stopping the blood with her hands, promising him that everything would be okay, but this only lasted a few seconds before the elf's gaze became empty and he focused on the nothingness.
She looked at her hands, now soaked in blood, wondering what to do now that she was alone there. She didn't have much time to think about it because in the middle of the silence after the shot she heard an order clearly given to the men who followed them: catch her.
Her bow was on the ground and all she had to do was pick it up and use it. The arrow that was already in her hand was soon placed and pointed in the direction of at least a dozen people approaching her in a clearing.
Her brief training never included breathing targets and she hesitated on more than one occasion to let go of the string, any moral doubts she had or respect for life that she maintained in her value system came into conflict, but just as quickly as her guardians fell Katherine came to a resolution: she had to survive.
The first arrow crossed the field in an instant and lodged in the chest of a man in the center, causing him to fall immediately. A second arrow ended up in the stomach of another, not killing him, but eliminating the threat. The men had their orders and either out of fear of whoever was leading them or because of some strange devotion to their duty they did not fire their muskets in retaliation, but rather hastened the charge.
A third one succumbed to a shot to the chest. Another had to take refuge after receiving one arrow to the right shoulder. The others dispersed among the trees to avoid the shots of the young woman, who began to run in the opposite direction while she fired from time to time to maintain distance.
The most impulsive of the attackers tried to surprise her by flanking her left, but Katherine managed to hit the man's face with an arrow and died instantly ending up a few meters from where she was. She was finally able to see one of the attackers up close. There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary beyond the clothes that covered him from head to toe, guarding his identity behind a deep red, but the most significant thing was a strange symbol on his chest; that of a hand marked with white paint.
She didn't stop to think much about it and continued her escape.
Her lack of knowledge of the region was reflected in a few moments because after continuing running she reached a cliff that led to a river too far away to jump. She thought about going around it, but one of the men following her arrived right behind, barely giving her time to react. The arrow managed to come out to lodge in the attacker's chest, but after him a couple more arrived and did not take a risk like the first. A sword hit the bow out of her hands before Katherine could charge it and she felt the hit of something metallic on her face that knocked her down and left her unconscious.
In her drowsy state, she woke up at times and slept at others, all with a fog covering her eyes. She only listened to half-hearted conversations that gave her no explanation of what happened and left her increasingly confused. She woke up later with a severe headache after a few hours and she found herself unable to move, they had tied her hands and feet, but how did she move? She was on what appeared to be a wagon surrounded by similarly dressed men with the same symbol on her chest.
She tried to check her surroundings but was soon stopped by a voice next to her.
“Wow, look who finally woke up.” He didn't sound friendly at all, and she could hear the mockery in his tone. "I was hoping the blow would keep you asleep until we got to where we're going, but it doesn't matter, that can be easily fixed, but I don't think I'll measure my strength again after what you did to my comrades." That's when she felt the edge of a sword carefully sliding across her cheek warning her of what was to come.
The day could only get worse.
Katherine thought about what to do now, but her options were gone, she could only wait to get to where they were taking her and pray that her end would be quick.
In the midst of her mental storm her transportation stopped. She did not believe that they arrived so soon, and her heart almost stopped thinking about the possible explanations for everything that could happen.
“Is that a branch?” one of the numerous men asked irritated after seeing what was preventing them from moving forward. She couldn't take advantage of the distraction and run away, especially since the same man from before was still watching her.
Three of them approached the obstacle, certainly expecting something at the start, but none of them saw anything out of the ordinary. They began to move the enormous branch together, but before they could move it a few centimeters, the ground beneath them rose a little and an explosion came from under it, sending those on top flying.
Everyone else immediately took cover and before they knew what had happened a shot was heard, but it came from the rear, next to it the grunts and moans of some men were heard followed by them falling to the ground after some dry noise. Katherine couldn't see what was happening, but she heard a burst of gunfire from her captors in different directions to counter the attack. It seemed to be in vain, because she kept hearing the men fall and their frantic screams demanding to know what was happening and who was causing it.
Even whoever was holding her asked the same thing. The response came in the form of a knife plunging into his chest. He fell dead immediately and Katherine, following the trajectory of the thrown weapon, was finally able to see the origin of everything.
It wasn't a group. It was just one person.
There were four captors left in front of the cart and they seemed to have run out of bullets and decided not to waste time reloading once they spotted their attacker, so they drew their swords. The person was covered with a cloak, it just stood still while the others decided what to do. There was a long silence in which everything seemed to be decided without saying a word.
Two of them rushed against the figure who quickly raised the cloak, underneath the barrels of two pistols could be seen, which were fired in unison. Now there were only two left. The pistols fell to the ground and the figure unsheathed two knives.
Although it seemed like it was giving them a chance, what Katherine saw was very different than expected. The figure fought both captors without hesitation, attacking and defending at the same time, without giving them a real opportunity to counterattack. It seemed almost like a dance how the mysterious person performed in the battle, who, although short in stature, was giving Katherine's captors the fight of their lives.
In retrospect, it made sense. This figure didn't seem to have any backup and single-handedly managed to take down a small group of thugs, so it was only a matter of time before this ended in its favor.
At one point in the fight, the hooded figure incapacitated one of the attackers and made a maneuver against the other in which, using his body, turned around to rest on his shoulders, at the same time trapping one of the arms of the captor between its legs, keeping him from fighting back. Without waiting, one of the knives plunged into the man's throat.
The other recovered and tried to help his companion. Seeing this, the figure turned around on its axis, dropping and taking with it the man trapped, causing his body to collide with the last attacker. The figure, on the other hand, landed with customary grace, and as its latest opponent stood up the person flaunted its skills by spinning the weapons in their hands.
This enraged the man and he headed without much thought against the figure, who blocked him with one knife while cutting his arm with the other. Again, the man put aside any strategy and began to launch very easy-to-read attacks. These were evaded without any problem and were rewarded with precise cuts on the man's body, who after receiving a gash on his back finally fell to his knees and dropped his weapon. The figure wasted no time and ended the fight with a double slash to the throat.
Katherine was ready to thank her good luck, she tried to complement the figure for what had happened, but instead of that, other words came out of her mouth:
"Watch out!"
There was one more person left, one with a gun pointed at her supposed savior. There was little time to think about and even less time to act, but fortunately she was only tied so as not to move much. It also helped that this last captor positioned himself very close to where she was. So Katherine lunged at the other person and managed to deflect the shot. She tussled a little, but being tied up she couldn't do much on the ground and the elf received a blow to her face with the butt of the gun.
The rest was a blur, but Katherine made an attempt to remain conscious. She saw the figure run towards where they were, kicking the gun away from the person's hands. Then hitting him in the face repeatedly.
Why didn't she stab him like the others?
They were battling, speaking in a language she didn't understand and at one point she swore that once the figure she rescued won the fight it used a kind of red powder against the captor.
Katherine's eyes felt heavy and she couldn't keep them open anymore. Before losing consciousness again she thought she saw the figure's hood reveal a mane of blonde hair in a braid belonging to a woman who seemed to say something derogatory in the language from before.
The awakening was abrupt. Katherine took several quick breaths as her brain was forced to work too fast to make sense of it all. Her sense of survival was still at a peak so the first thing she did was look for her bow near her. She found nothing, but realized that the surface was no longer earthy nor was it wooden, but soft to the touch, like… cloth?
Adjusting her view, she found that there was a roof above her, and she was covered with a blanket. At least she was still wearing her dress underneath it. That was one less thing to worry about. Also, there was no longer blood on her skin, but the dress was still dirty. Now the most important question remained: where was she?
With a grunt she stood up from what looked and felt like a bed. Her face began to hurt, and she couldn't help but curse in Elvish at this and the headache that soon came too.
“That didn't sound like a thank you.”
A voice coming from her left, near the window, made itself known. She had blonde hair in a slightly familiar braid, a white blouse with a green corset over it, black pants and boots, plus several belts where it was clear that she kept her weapons. The same feeling as before prevented Katherine from responding with any questions. In its place, she took the first object she found, a candlestick with an unlit candle, and threw it at the person. It was headed straight for her face, but with her unoccupied hand the woman caught it without difficulty.
"Oh! That was a good throw.” Her accent was quite heavy, and she made it clear that this was not her native language, but she hoped that the elf could understand her given where they were. “I'm not surprised you use the bow so well.”
The candlestick was then gently taken down and placed on the window frame. Even though she didn't present an immediate threat, Katherine didn't want to get careless, and she continued looking for something else to attack with, finding a sheathed knife not far from where the candlestick was.
The woman at the window only made a frustrated snort through her nose, accompanied by a bit of smoke from the tobacco she was smoking from her pipe, but she made no effort to get up to stop the elf from taking the gun and pointing it in her direction. Not before letting the sheath fall unceremoniously to the floor.
“I hope you don't lose sight of where that is.” The woman pointed with her pipe almost as a scolding.
Katherine seemed to feel confident enough to begin questioning her:
"Where am I?"
"It's good that you know English. Although I think that was pretty obvious from the only thing you yelled to me in the forest.” The woman said without a care. Also inhaling from her pipe.
“You didn't answer my question.” Katherine clarified without lowering her gun.
The woman only exhaled the smoke that she momentarily contained, forming a ring with it. She smiled as if she was doing a trick to entertain her company but seeing that the elf's gaze still showed hostility and that she did not plan to put down the weapon, the woman felt a little forced to respond.
"All right. We are in an inn.” The blonde clarified as she tapped the remains of her pipe on the window, not caring where they landed. "You are safe. You are no longer tied up nor am I trying to keep you here. I brought both of you to keep you safe.”
"Both?"
The woman at the window made another motion with her pipe, so that the elf directed her gaze to her right. Which she did with a bit of hesitation. There she saw that the room she was in did not have just one bed; there was another one to her right and it wasn’t empty. In it there was someone still sleeping, another woman, wearing a particular red uniform that Katherine recognized.
“What is she doing here?” Elizabeth asked too loud.
“I guess there's no point in asking you to turn down the volume. Hey, no-“ the blonde demanded to the elf when she saw that she changed targets and pointed the knife at where the other unconscious woman was. “Don't worry, she can't hurt you, and I don't think she wanted to hurt you in the first place. She has a few hours left for the antidote to take effect, so point that at me again. Not that you can do anything while lying down, but…” she murmured the last part of her, not caring that she could be heard.
"Who are you? Why do you bring me here?”
“I think I already told you: to keep you safe. Frankly, I didn't expect to find you. I was just going for Sonya. My idea was to eliminate the other members of the Hand who were with her and rescue her. I guess I should have asked why they would be there in the first place, but I didn't care, you know? Then you stopped me from getting shot and I just couldn't leave you there. Me and my foolish good heart. Although, it was interesting to explain why I arrived with two unconscious women to ask for a room.” She seemed to explain everything as if it were a simple accident or something even more coincidental. “Hey, but you're fine now. You look healthy. You can continue your way soon.”
Katherine blinked in disbelief at the last thing she heard, and it was what made her lower the weapon. Causing the woman who explained everything to her to pretend to breathe a sigh of relief.
"What…?"
“That as soon as you can stand up you can leave. I won't pay for another night here. When Sonya gets up, she and I will go on our way and you go yours.” She added along with a wink.
“You really don't know why I was there or what happened?”
“No and I'm not interested. I already made the Hand angry by stealing one of their best assets and I don't want to know why an elf was at their mercy."
“B-but…”
“Come on, don't start with that. I don't care how pretty you are or how lost you are. I can't get involved. My sisters need me.”
Katherine brushed aside the comment and the small tug it caused in her stomach, as there were more important things she needed to do.
"You do not understand. If what you say is true. I must get to the Queen quickly.”
“Oh, are you royalty? I should have known that that dress wasn't from a peasant. Still, I'm afraid I can't help you. I can give you directions and lend you my hood, if that helps. The knife, I’m afraid you'll have to give back.”
"Please I need help. My people and your people too.”
“I come from far north of here. You are the first elf I have met. This is not my concern.”
“What about your sisters?”
"What are you talking about?"
“I don't know you and I understand that you don't want to get involved.” Katherine explaine, and to try to reason with the woman she took the knife by its edge using her other hand and handed it to her, which the other immediately accepted. "I don't know all the details, but a war between kingdoms would make it difficult for you to find your sisters and I think that the help of an entire country would help you in more ways than one."
The woman at the foot of the bed thought a little about what she was told, exchanging glances between the weapon and the elf, and at one point she turned to look at the other woman in the room, who was still sleeping. She sighed lightly and walked over to where the knife sheath was, picking it up and sheathing the weapon.
“So, you're that kind of royalty, huh?” The woman said a little mockingly. "Interesting. Very good. I'll help you. You will need a change of clothes, in fact, you both do. Eh…."
Katherine understood that they would have to share names if they expected this to start working, so she gave her hers.
“Katherine Elizabeth BIshop.”
"Too long. Kate Bishop, I’m Yelena Belova.” She fastened the weapon into her belt, vowing not to leave it within the reach of anyone other than herself.
So she also went for her another knife, the one on Sonya's side.
“I have to go to the town, and you will have to keep an eye on her.”
"Hey, I don't-"
“Don't worry, she will continue like this for a while longer, and it's better that there are no weapons nearby. Just in case." Yelena went to the door wearing a smile that did not leave the elf calm and added: “Rest a little more and if you order food, ask for something cheap.”
After that, Yelena walked out the door, leaving Katherine behind with a million questions and a feeling of insecurity that could have been much worse if she followed her initial plan.
The elf collapsed back onto the bed, worried about what would happen now that she was in unknown territory, next to someone who was part of the group that eliminated her compatriots and tried to capture her, and depending on a dangerous woman who almost left her behind. For the moment, she just closed her eyes and imagined herself back home, safe, and without her hands covered in blood.