Chapter 3 - Letters

WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE HOUSE I WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN, still replaying the events with Peter in my mind. I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Not hearing dad coming in.

"Kyria," I heard him say my name.

I paused and turned to see him with his arms crossed. Please don't tell me....

"What were you doing on the news?" he asked, his voice calm but laced with concern. "I saw the pictures with you and Peter."

And there it is.

I hesitated for a moment but decided to just come clean. "I found out his secret got exposed and I needed to see if he was okay and we got bombarded by the reporters."

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Just be careful. The least thing we need is the media going after you too."

"Dad," I muttered, frustration building in my chest. "I'm not stupid."

"I'm just reminding you, sweetie, You're already in the crossfire. If the media starts digging into your life, they might find out things we can't control."

"Like what?" I questioned. "That I'm the daughter of the Scarlet Witch that she left behind?!"

Dad winced at my words, and I saw a shadow of pain flicker in his eyes. For a moment, the room fell silent. "Kyria, you don't understand," he said, his voice softer now, almost like he was trying to find the right words. "It's not just about who you are... it's about what people might do with that information. Your mom..her past... it's complicated. And what happened in Westview... if they find out about you, about her, about the fact that you're her daughter... you'll be a target."

I felt a lump form in my throat, the sting of his words sharper than I expected.I knew the stories about Westview, about her creating a fake world and living a fantasy. I knew that she had let grief of the death of not only her family but the death of her lover Vision consume her.

I crossed my arms, desperately trying to hold myself together. I could feel my chest tightening, the knot of emotions threatening to overwhelm me.

"I know, Dad," I said, my voice faltering despite my best efforts.

◇◇◇◇

After talking to dad, I went up to my room and sprawled out onto my bed, looking up at the ceiling.

My room is what I considered my safe haven where the craziness of the world couldn't reach me. The room was filled with my personality and the things that made me feel..well..home.

I closed my eyes, letting the song that was playing on my phone wrap around me like a blanket but it wasn't enough to keep the thoughts away. They keep drifting back to Wanda.

My real mother.

I didn't know much about her, only that she had a one-night stand that led to her getting pregnant with me, and my biological father wanted nothing to do with me. After that, Wanda gave me to Clint. Dad always said it was to protect me, but as I grew older, that explanation started to turn. Protect me from what?

Sitting up on the edge of the bed, I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling my eyes glow. They always glow whenever I get angry or stressed. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to calm down before opening them and felt my eyes go back to normal before glancing over at my bookshelf.

I got up and walked slowly over to my bookshelf, my fingers brushing against the spines of the books as I passed. But it wasn't a book I was looking for. I came across a small wooden rustic box and pulled it before I brought the box back over to my bed, sat it down and leaned back against the headboard, and opened it revealing the letters from Wanda that dad gave me on my eleventh birthday when I first learned the truth.

I opened the one with dad's name written neatly in ink on the envelope.

Dear Clint,

It means I've made the hardest decision of my life. I wish there were words to convey how deeply I've struggled with this choice, but no words could ever be enough.

By now, you've probably seen my little girl.

You've always been there for me, through every trial and every heartache. You've been a friend, a confidant, and a protector. I trust you more than anyone else in this world. That's why I'm asking you to take care of her, to give her the life that I can't.

I'm afraid, Clint. I'm afraid that I won't be enough for her, that I won't be able to shield her from the world's darkness, especially since the event with Ultron.

I'm afraid that she'll grow up with questions that I can't answer. But I know that with you, she'll have a chance. You'll give her what I can't: safety, love, and a future.

Please tell her about me when she's old enough, at least eleven or thirteen. Tell her that I loved her more than anything, that every decision I made was for her well-being. Tell her that I hoped for her to be happy, to be free from the burdens that weighed so heavily on me.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of this. For leaving you with this responsibility, for not being able to be the mother I wanted to be. I'm sorry for the pain this will cause.

But above all, I'm grateful. Grateful that she will have you. You're the closest thing I have to family, and I know you'll be everything she needs.

Thank you, Clint. Thank you for being my friend, for being her guardian.

Please take care of her.

I have faith in you.

Wanda

I closed my eyes for a second then moved onto the other letter that was addressed to me labeled under: To my daughter.

My beautiful Daughter,

By the time you read this, you'll probably have so many questions. Questions I can never answer in person, but I hope my words will give you the clarity you deserve.

There are truths about your past that have been kept from you, not out of malice, but to protect you. I hope you can understand that now. My name is Wanda Maximoff.

But what you don't know is that I'm your birth mother.

From the moment I knew you existed, my life changed. I wish I could have kept you close, raised you, and watched you grow. But the truth is, I couldn't give you the life you deserved. I couldn't keep you safe from the shadows of my past. So, I make a difficult decision of my life: I gave you to Clint. Not because I didn't love you, but because I loved you more than anything in this world and wanted to keep you safe.

The world I live in—our world—is full of dangers, and I couldn't allow those enemies to find you otherwise I would never have forgiven myself.

Clint has been a true father to you, loving you as his own. I knew he would protect you and guide you, just as he has always done for me.

But there is something else you must know about yourself—something that may already be stirring inside you. You have a gift, a power, one that comes from me. You may have felt it already or have already discovered it.

I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person to tell you this, but the time will come when we can meet, and I can help guide you. For now, know that you are not alone

I wish I could be there to guide you through this, to help you understand and embrace the incredible potential within you. But until we meet, I ask that you be wary. Magic is a gift, but it comes with challenges and can come with a price

I love you,

Your mother

I stared down at the letter, re-reading it.

She was my mother, flesh and all, at at the same time I'm having a hard time connecting the dots.

"Why, Mom?" I whispered to the empty room, wishing for answers, for something to make sense.

She had made the ultimate sacrifice for my safety..giving me up to Clint..but what about everything else? What about her choices?

Why didn't she come back for me?

Does she even remember me anymore?