RAISON D'ÊTRE ( bucky barnes ) 一 under editing

PROLOGUE

RAISON D'ÊTRE
PROLOGUE

1968 一 WASHINGTON, D.C.
CHAINED WRISTS, BRUISED SKIN, and a kidnapping was definitely not how Rome expected her day to end. At all. She had hoped she'd end it with a simple dinner, possibly in front of the television, then go to sleep. Nothing too out of the ordinary, just a very simple night. She wanted normal, nothing more. It shouldn't be too much to ask, right? Since she was a child, sweet and innocent wide-eyed, she wanted to have a normal life 一 someone to call her own and love, children she can smother with hugs and kisses, a home that always felt warm and welcoming. But alas, she can't have any of those things. Those things, those very simple and mundane things, are resigned only for the normal, which she is clearly not. Magic flows through her veins, keeping her young and beautiful for years and years and years. She'd been alive long enough to see dozens of empires rise and fall, see kings and queens born and die.

Rome had never wanted this life, but it hadn't been her choice. Her aunt had started it all, turning her own children into immortal creatures 一 even more bloodthirsty and dangerous than before. Then it had been her mother, cursing her and linking her life to that of her cousins. As long as Aline and Maggie Ashford were alive and immortal, Rome would not be able to age and live the life she's always wanted. She shouldn't have to bear these consequences, it wasn't her fault. She hoped that after her and Aline had gone their separate ways, she could try to live as normal a life as she could.

The blonde was having a rather nice time in her home. Groceries had just been put away in their proper places and she'd turned on the television, just something as a background noise. She remembered leaning forward in fascination at the black and white screen, still surprised at the inventions humans created, when her front door had been slammed open. People dressed in thick black clothing barged into her living room, each of them holding guns. In the very few moments it had taken her to realize what exactly was going on, someone had slammed her head against the coffee table and her hands were restrained behind her back. She tried breaking through them, muttering spell after spell, but the chains didn't break. Instead, she was left with the feeling as if something was being sucked straight out of her system.

Now, hours later, she sat in a windowless room, hands still chained behind her. They hadn't bothered to blindfold her, so she could see the little details of the room. She was sitting at a metal table, but she was still able to see the little scuffs along her legs when she'd been dragged from her home and into the car. Two guards stood by the door, arms crossed behind them and a gun at their sides. Behind the table, sitting across from her, was a suited man. He seemed to like watching her shuffle and fidget uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze, grinning to himself. In his hand and leaning against the edge of the table, was a manila folder.

No one had answered her questions about why she was here or who they were, but her first assumption was that it had something to do with Aline. As much as she loved her younger cousin, she couldn't help the suspicious feeling growing in the pit of her stomach 一 it had been Aline's problems that resulted in all this madness, after all. Yes, she loves the brunette with all her heart, they're family, but she had always been so reckless. But the suspicion had instantly died when she saw that they were fighting with guns and steel, rather than magic or claws or fangs.

The man across from her finally moved, uncrossing his legs and opening the file. "Andromeda Eira Kingsmill," he said, scanning over one of the many documents inside. "Born in nineteen-forty-one, orphaned at age five, and decided to move to Indiana alone about three years ago. You should be twenty-seven, Miss Kingsmill, am I correct?"

Rome gave him a curt nod. Despite the fact that he was reading straight from a file, filled with documents she'd forged and faked with the obvious skill that she'd done this before, the man didn't seem to believe her story. She could tell from the condescending way he spoke, and made her blood boil. Who the hell was this guy?