Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the marvel universe except for Emma and any other new characters I come up with. This does not strictly follow the timeline and plot of AOU so don't read if you don't like it. Otherwise, enjoy the story?:)

Chapter One

She awakens with a loud gasp, her dark eyes blinking furiously in the dark. She does not know what time it is but she guesses it must be early morning.

The dim lighting in addition to the dull windowless grey walls of the room make it hard for any form of sunlight to enter it but having lived here for five years already, Emma Ezekiel is used to the darkness and she relishes in it. She does not like to be seen and the darkness shrouds her from view. She likes it this way.

Stretching lazily, Emma makes a move to stand up and her messy dark hair falls in tangled knots behind her as she does so but she doesn't care about it, deeming her hair as a lost cause. After all, she has more pressing issues to worry about.

She grabs her pocket knife from underneath her pillow and stuffs it into the side of her left boot. She never went anywhere without it since her escape and she never intends to. However, just as Emma was about to walk towards her door, she is thrown to the floor due to the tremendous vibration all around her.

Is it an earthquake? She wonders but shakes off that theory immediately as she fumbles to stand up through the shaking motion. Sokovia has never had a earthquake before for as long as anyone could remember and Emma is pretty sure that it isn't happening today. No, this must be the work of something else. She didn't know what, but she was going to find out.

Rushing out of her cave of sorts at the edge of the city, Emma immediately notices the source of the vibration. It was coming from the abandoned castle in the middle of the woods. She turns her head and notices that only the forest and the boundary of the city seem to be affected by the vibration. It is odd that no one is running or screaming for their lives and it seems as though she is the only one who noticed it.

Furrowing her brow in confusion, she edges deeper into the forest. The castle has been thought to be haunted for years but Emma has never been a true believer of such tales. Determined to find out what lies within the castle, she walks on through the vibration.

However after merely walking a few steps, the vibrating ground ceases movement and the trees and bushes remain extremely still. It is as though nothing had happened and it seemed like Emma had made up the entire thing.

"Strange," muses Emma, undeterred as she skips along the forest towards the castle.

She hums a melodic tune and enjoys the peace and tranquility bestowed upon her. In spite of her seemingly carefree attitude, her heightened senses are still wary and watchful of any possible threat.

Because of this, she was able to narrowly miss being knocked over by a sudden gust of wind, or so she thought. Turning around and eyeing her surroundings carefully, Emma's ears listen out for the sound of something speedy again.

Just as she predicted, a flash of whirlwind heads towards her again but this time she is prepared because she merely reacts by placing both her palms out. Though her actions might not have been much, the impact of it was great.

It seems as though time has stopped because merely centimeters away from her hands is the frozen figure of a man about her age in mid air.

He has light coloured grey blue eyes and blonde hair so light that it seems silver or white. Emma also notices that he has a well toned physique and chiseled features, making him incredibly good looking and she is intrigued by him. His piercing blue eyes gaze into hers, searchingly and she almost blushes under the heat of his stare.

He is so beautiful, she thinks. And yet so deadly.

She schools her face into a calm and collected facade before she moves a step back as though the close proximity burned her.

Taking a deep breath in, she looks at the silver haired man in the eyes.

"I'm going to let you go now and I'm not going to hurt you but can you at the very least not attack me after I let you go?" asks Emma warily in English, enunciating every syllable slowly.

The man scrutinizes her face for a while before he gives an almost imperceivable nod of his head, agreeing to Emma's words. Slightly relieved, she takes a moment to search his face for any sign of threat but when she only catches emotions of distrust and curiosity in his facial expression, she lets her hands fall limply to her sides just as the silver haired man falls to the ground with a 'thump'.

As soon as he gets up to his feet, he is gone from her sight, leaving behind a greatly disappointed Emma in his place. She had hoped to talk to him seeing as he is gifted like she is but now that he is gone, she knows she'll never get a chance like that ever again.

Or so she thinks.

However, she is grateful that at he is a man of his word and did not attack her because deep down in her heart, she knows that if this was any other person, letting them go would have been the stupidest mistake she had ever made. But she has never been one for a normal circumstance, has she.

Heaving a loud sigh, Emma trudges on up the hills of the woods with thoughts of the speedy man's piercing grey blue eyes etched onto her mind.

The longer she walked, the darker the sky became but Emma only saw it as a challenge instead of a problem and she was never one to shy away from challenges. The weather got colder as well but her enhanced senses enabled her to survive harsh conditions much better than normal humans so she was able to push on for the last lap as the castle was merely five hundred meters away from where she was. Her enhanced vision gave her the ability to see further distances as well and she noticed the machinery surrounding the castle from where she was immediately.

From the looks of the machinery, she knows that they are deadly war weapons meant to guard the castle. This makes her hesitate momentarily in her endeavor and that is all the time the scarlet witch needs to make her move from a hidden part of the forest.

At the request of her twin brother, Wanda waves her hands and sends a light red mist towards Emma without her notice and the moment it reaches her, Emma's eyes glow red before she slumps down to the ground, unconscious.

Pietro appears beside Emma and lifts her in his arms, ready to take off but Wanda approaches him slowly.

"Why do you care so much about this girl?" asks Wanda apprehensively in Slovak.

Pietro looks up from the brunette in his arms and smiles gently at his twin.

"She is innocent, not like us. I-I...do not wish for Strucker to lay his hands on her and if she ventured into the castle, Hydra will surely find her," answers Pietro in a low voice.

He does not know why he cares about this girl when he does not even know her name. But something about her softens his heart and he does not wish for any harm to befall upon her.

Wanda sighs but nods her head at Pietro's vague explanation. He smiles at her and kisses the top of her head gently before taking a few steps away from his sister.

"I will be quick," he assures.

Wanda smiles but it does not reach her eyes. "Be safe," she whispers softly as he runs off in a flash, her heart missing the presence of her twin already.

The girl will remember today to be nothing but a vivid dream and that is what the twins, Pietro in particular, believe to be the best option she has.

In the cave next to the woods, Pietro carefully lays Emma down on her makeshift bed, pity clouding his eyes at the poor conditions she is living in. He moves to tuck her in and she stirs as he shifts the blanket over her but otherwise does not awaken. A deep emotion swells up in him at the sight of her innocent face sleeping and he can't keep the loud sigh for escaping his mouth, knowing that she will probably not remember him.

He gently traces the side of her face with his hands before he leans in and presses a soft kiss to her forehead.

As soon as his lips touch her forehead, he is gone, leaving no trace of his presence ever being there except for the wide smile Emma has on her face in her sleep.

Author's note:

Hey guys, I'm back after a long hiatus from my stories but I couldn't resist posting this because I had major Pietro feels after watching AOU and I was so damn sad when he 'died'. Yes I refuse to believe in his death cause I mean marvel always has a way of bringing characters back to life so we'll see.

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this! Please favourite/follow/review or drop me a message. It would mean the world to me