The Winter's Servant {Stucky AU} COMPLETED

~Chapter Ten~

Steven winced as Rumlow dropped a plate into the scalding water that filled the kitchen sink, sending drops of hot water flying onto his bare neck, burning the skin.

"Hey! " He cried out. There wasn't a day that went by in which Rumlow harassed him in some way.

Rumlow merely smirked as he walked back out of the kitchen, but not after hollering, "Work faster next time! "

Steven gritted his teeth together as he scrubbed at a plate with a rag. He didn't normally do the dishes, whereas that was a duty for the kitchen staff, but he didn't have much to do without James around, so he made himself busy by helping where he could.

Wanda stood beside him, drying the dishes that he washed and placing them neatly on the counter. She gave him a melancholy smile. "You always defend other people, yet not yourself. "

Steven sighed as he gently wiped the rag around an elegant wine glass. "I know. " He handed the glass to Wanda.

They were both silent for a few minutes, before Steven quipped, "You don't exactly defend yourself, either. I've seen Rumlow bully you. "

Wanda's warm brown eyes saddened. She gave a slight nod of her head, agreeing with his statement, but continued to dry.

"How did you end up in slavery?" Steven suddenly asked. He regretted the words instantly. "If. . . If you don't mind my asking. "

The woman shook her head. Her voice was low and had tints of sadness embedded in it as she said, "My parents died few years ago, leaving my twin brother and I as orphans. "

"I'm sorry, " Steven offered. "I didn't know you had a brother. "

She nodded as Steven handed Her another goblet to dry. "He. . . He was executed nine months ago. Before I came here. . ." A single tear leaked out of her eye. "They accused me of witchcraft and wanted to burn me. Pietro - my brother- fought for me. So they killed him instead. "

Steven had stopped washing dishes and was staring at her. "Wanda, I'm. . . I'm truly sorry. That's so awful. "

Wanda continued with her story. "After that I only had two options, turn myself in for crimes I've never committed, or live under the radar as a slave. " Her voice began to shake. "Two men got me into the slave program in exchange for giving me enough money to purchase my brother a small tombstone. "

Steven reached down to the bottom of the sink with his hand, the hot water irritating his sensitive skin, letting the water vanish.

He was at a loss for words. Wanda's life had been awful. Steven shook his head as he spoke. "You make my life look easy. I can take Rumlow picking on me every once in a while. "

She gave him a small smile before changing the subject, her expression growing serious. "Do you think there will be another War, Steven? "

The servant sighed. His father had died serving in the first War, when Russia nearly fell after the murder of the Romanov family. Instead, Russia was split into two territories, the one that James's family ruled and one ruled by the Romanov princess's daughter, Natalia.

Steven firmly believed that if Russia went through another war, the Royal family wouldn't live through it.

"I hope not. " He replied wholeheartedly.

Wanda nodded, agreeing. They spoke no more of the the threats that other countries threw at theirs, or the fact that soon, the kingdom could fall apart at the seams.

~

James woke up aggravated. It was cold in his room.

He pulled the duvet further up around his shoulders as he looked out the window. It was still dark out.

The Prince heaved a sighed. He hated being away from his palace. Everything at this one seemed. . . Wrong.

Natalia was hospitable enough, but he remained uncomfortable in her presence. There were too many memories from their past relationship that lingered, giving the Winter Palace an awkward atmosphere.

It wasn't a lie that he'd once cared for the queen intensely. Her fierce independence was something to behold, and it had always drawn James in.

But she wasn't Steven.

He'd tried to convince himself to love her, he'd told himself that they were meant to be, and that one day they might even be married.

James almost chuckled at the thought now. If there was a single woman in the world who spat at the thought if marriage and was completely content on her own, it was Natalia.

Their relationship had faltered when he'd found himself caring more and more for his servant.

He would lay with Natalia at night and wish that it was Steven's wide, angelic eyes peering up at him rather than her intimidating green ones. He would long for Steven's lips to be pressing against his as he made love her to her.

Eventually, Natalia noticed that James's heart was no lingering sync with hers, if it ever was at all, and called off the relationship.

At first James had been hurt, but rather sooner than later he realize that he'd secretly wanted the relationship to end as well. He was free to gaze upon his servant for as long as he wanted, to dream about him, and to long for him.

James let out a sigh as he burrowed his head in his pillow, ruffling his hair. He missed his Steven desperately.

His thoughts went down rabbit trails, thinking about the servant's small hands and how they felt locked in his much bigger ones. He envisioned the pink lips that Steven had, how they complement his snowy complexion perfectly.

The Prince let out a frustrated groan as he sat up.

He didn't know if he could handle this.

Why did his father have to be so cruel and send him here?

He sat up from the bed, bringing the heavy duvet with him.

Walking over to the mahogany desk that sat in the corner of the spacious guest room, he sat down in front of it, pulling the duvet over his shoulders like a cape.

He almost laughed as he recalled how he used to wear the bed sheets the same way as an imaginative child, pretending that he was a knight.

Holding the blanket up with one hand and rummaging through the desk drawers with another, he searched for a pencil and a sheet of paper.

Once he found what he desired, he placed the paper on the desk and began to write Steven a letter.

Heyyy. So some little tidbits here, the story takes place right before WWII. I did change a few things, the Russian monarchy fell before the second War and was replaced by the Soviet Union. As you can see, I altered that for the story, and divided Russia into two kingdoms - Natasha's and Bucky's. I will be altering a few more details as the story goes along, but if I screw anything up that I shouldn't have, feel free to point it out to me!