#arranged witching au

[aurumacadicus]

You can find more of this au under my 'arranged witching au' tag!

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Steve sucked in a deep breath, then let it back out slowly, shifting on his feet so that he didn't tap his fingers nervously along his shield. It would feel too much like showing weakness. He desperately didn't want to be seen as weak by anyone here, but especially the Starks.

"Remind me why we needed to come while they were having a Meeting," he muttered under his breath, knowing Natasha's spelled ears would catch it.

She shifted up beside him, eyes sharp and calculating as they watched more and more witches filter into the entrance hall. She glanced around the vestibule they'd been told to wait in, gaze catching on a silencing spell--good. The Starks must have realized they'd need time to confer as the rest of the witching families became aware of their presence and came to witness a return of favor. "It's the best way to spread the word that danger is coming to us," she reminded him firmly. "We don't have time to go estate to estate. Besides, rich people are gossips--the smaller families will hear about the danger whether they want to or not."

Steve took another deep breath and closed his eyes. "Please do not call our hosts gossips in their own home." I don't trust the silence spell, he didn't say, but Natasha would understand it.

Natasha nodded slowly. "They probably have a different word for it," she answered, then looked down at the ring on his finger. Watching him put it on before he'd gotten into the carriage had been hard. She'd never seen Steve shake before, and she still couldn't tell if it was from nerves or actual, real fear. She looked back up at him, frowning. "What did Stark say when he saw it?"

Steve let a breath out in a hiss, tongue pressing to the roof of his mouth as he reminded himself not to say too much. "He... isn't a man who shows his cards," he said carefully. Howard had mostly just stared at him, stony, and his wife had been the one to direct Clint toward the barn so the horses could rest while the rest of their traveling contingent had been urged through the reception room into the breakfast room. He finally pulled one hand away from the shield to slip his hand into his pocket, thumb smoothing over the slick-finished wooden box.

The Rogers coven had once been a well-established clan with lands of their own, but that had been back in The Old Country, as his mother had told it. They had a gemstone they called their own as well, a deep blue sapphire cut into a simple square cushion. It was nothing like the Stark coven's elaborate gemstone, but it was simple. Dependable.

It was his mother's, and part of him ached with the knowledge he would have to give it away. But it was only right that he give it to his future spouse. That was part of marriage. Reciprocation.

"They're bringing him down," Natasha whispered, jabbing her fingers into his back, and mercifully decided not to do it directly into his kidneys.

Steve jerked his head up, stepping to the edge of the vestibule so he could step out to meet the Starks in the middle of the entrance hall when directed by the butler standing just outside. There was something that seemed so needlessly dramatic about it all, especially as Steve took in all of the eyes turned toward where the Starks would arrive from (he didn't know why anyone needed an entrance hall, but he especially didn't understand why it had to be two stories, even if every available square inch of viewing space was taken up by curious onlookers). But then, he'd arrived during a Grand Meeting partially to force the Starks' hands, because they wouldn't be able to turn him away with an audience. So maybe he understood the dramatics, at least a little.

Howard Stark led his wife Maria into the middle of the floor by the arm, and then he turned, swanning one hand toward something. Another man, Steve realized belatedly--his son, obviously. Anthony Stark walked with all the suave surety of his station, never a single wasted movement, calm and steady with each step. He dipped his head in a short bow toward his parents, then turned, clasping his hands behind his back.

Steve swallowed thickly, fingers clenching around his shield to make sure he didn't drop it, hands suddenly feeling clammy. He allowed himself another centering inhale-exhale, then turned his head as the Stark butler turned and motioned him out.

"Mr. Rogers," the man murmured as he stepped out into the light of the entrance hall. "Rest assured, Mr. Stark is just as scared as you are." Steve's shoulders relaxed minutely. He didn't even care if it was true; just believing it would help him make sure to put his best foot forward.

It would help if Tony wasn't so fucking attractive, though, he thought, fingers clenching the shield tighter.

[aurumacadicus]

For your arranged witching au, why is Tony and Jan's power the reason for them being hidden away? So they don't get abducted or something?

It only happens during Grand Meetings, when local family covens come together to discuss politics/gossip. It also only really happens with witches that everyone considers who are young and 'exceedingly powerful,' especially if their family is hosting. The Starks are hosting the Meeting that Steve crashes, and Tony is, perhaps, one of the most powerful witches anyone has seen in several generations. Because he's young (early to mid-twenties), he's considered almost a danger to the Grand Meeting itself, because he could easily lose control of his massive power and accidentally curse everyone attending.

Ostensibly, anyway. Tony isn't quite sure he believes it, but his mother asks this of him, and he loves her, so he puts up with it. Even though he hates it and gets super bored because he can't use his tablet or computer or even his phone because the estate is warded against "outside forces" for the duration of the Meeting.

Jan was actually set to join the junior coven meet-ups after they aged off the kids' table, so to speak, but when she learned that Tony would be hidden away for his own safety and the safety of the other covens, she uh. Blew out the foyer. Which was more power than she'd ever exerted before so technically she has to be sequestered via the rules, but she should also be in her own room. But then she just blew a hole in the wall and spent the rest of the visit in Tony's so like. It's just easier on the structural integrity to just let her and Tony pass the Meeting in each others' companies.

(Historically most sequestered witches studied to hone their powers but both Tony and Jan can basically glance at a spell and do it perfectly so mostly they spend the week whining and complaining to each other and then seeing who can be the most obnoxious.)

[aurumacadicus]

Are Bucky and Nat part of Steve's nomadic clan, like are they friends or were they/are they part of a different clan oooorrrr? Gimme more, gimme deets! (Please)

They are! Most nomadic covens are made up of multiple families/friends, and it's not uncommon for numbers to fluctuate as families move around and find someplace they'd like to settle. The Barnes family actually joined the Sarah and then split off when they found a place to settle, but Bucky was old enough to make his decision and liked traveling. Natasha just shows up one day, saying she's an orphan, and they take her in, and she decides because of that that she's loyal to Sarah and Steve and their family/coven and never leaves, even when there are opportunities to.

At the point where he rocks up to the Grand Meeting, their coven consists of most of the Avengers and the Howling Commandos, so it's got more of a frat vibe, which Tony will at first struggle with (most family covens have stringent rules and traditions they have to follow) and then ultimately thrive in.

[aurumacadicus]

What was the curse on Tony? Is he still a mechanic and that's why he forgot he could spell some binoculars lol?

Witches hate to call anything 'run of the mill' because even things that are normal can become Very Weird. That being said, it was a run of the mill endless sleep curse. Normally they're broken before the kid is even close to turning sixteen, especially with nomadic clans being so fricking good at breaking curses. Someone would come by and ask for a place to stay for a couple months and they'd offer to take curse off as payment. It would be fine.

Or so they'd thought. Maria wakes up from a prophetic nightmare to realize that Tony's curse had been struck with a growing clause--that is, the curse will get stronger as he grows, to the point that it will be tougher to find true love (puppy love up until the age of twelve was usually adequate, for reference), and when he pricks his finger, it could simply kill him instantly. So they call for the closest nomad coven, and Tony is already two years old, so the curse has grown and is sticking to him more than a normal one on a newborn, so it actually takes Sarah a lot of effort to take the curse off, and even then, she can't dissipate it and has to lock it in a jar until he turns sixteen.

Tony hasn't... chosen a path. He would like to be a person who fixes or creates things, but his coven believe he should focus his studies elsewhere. He could do so many things! With the amount of power he has, simply fixing things would be a waste! And his father has a long legacy of making things go boom, so he should follow in his footsteps! (Never mind that he enjoys fixing things, he likes fixing up the old machinery at their country home, and he would like to explore the world someday. But. He is a dutiful son he guesses.) Also! There were actually no physical binoculars (unless you count their hands). You say the spell and make binoculars with your hands and suddenly you can see things far away, so long as you keep your hands up around your eyes. It's just as hilarious to watch as it sounds. Tony didn't forget, he can actually use the spell without the hands up thing, he's just excitable. Also he was sulking pretty hard about having to be locked away while the leaders of the covens met so he's genuinely stunned that anything new and exciting is happening and wants to see it as quickly as possible.

[aurumacadicus]

so excited about your arranged witching au! you're such an incredible writer, i love everything you create. how does steve feel about an arranged marriage?

Thank you!

Steve's feelings are....... complicated. His mother had taken the arrangement as payment but had implied (at least to him) that they almost certainly would never use it. If they did, she hoped it was in the far-flung future, perhaps his great-great-grandchildren. She hadn't even really wanted it, but taking a curse from a baby was no small feat, and it was... the 'going rate' back then, so to speak. It would have been ruder to turn them down, and quite frankly, she needed the boost of the promise to her magic with how well-stuck the curse truly was on Tony.

But she's gone now, and it's just him left to lead their nomadic coven. He has no siblings, no cousins, no aunts or uncles. There is no one else he can ask to take a Stark hand in marriage instead of doing it himself. (He doesn't know if he could have asked, either, knows the guilt of it would have eaten him alive.) He would have liked to find his own spouse. But other nomadic covens are slowly being wiped out, and there are skulls and tentacles being burned in their belongings like a brand, or maybe a warning. He's powerful, but he's alone, and while nomads can be more powerful than a witch in lands not their own, they're not as powerful as a witch on their own lands. They need that sort of power on their side if they want to survive, let alone thrive.

And from what he's heard, Tony Stark is one of the most powerful witches of their generation. So. He's glad for that. He's glad that Tony is powerful and will be helpful for their cause. And he's... hopeful... that there will be something about him that Tony will find agreeable. He wants to make the best of it. He thinks he's a reasonable man, and he's heard that Tony Stark is a man who likes reason. Even if he had nearly thrown up when Bucky had said 'well, there's always divorce once we're finished with Hydra,' and Natasha had flatly replied, 'The Starks don't believe in divorce.'

[aurumacadicus]

Not doing much Halloweenish this year so:

"It's dumb that we have to be hidden away like a dragon's trove," Tony grumbled again, hiding his face in his folded arms.

"Well, when you're as powerful as we are, them's the breaks," Jan replied, holding her hand out to examine her nails. She nudged him with her foot. "Tony, tell me my nails are beautiful."

Tony pulled his gaze up from sulking into his arms, petulantly giving her nails a short once over. "That's a bad shade of purple on you," he said, then buried his face in his arms again.

Jan squawked, offended, and she grabbed the jar of polish to dump over his head in response. Then she noticed movement on the ground below, though, and she twisted to watch it, sharp-eyed and calculating. She'd thought all the covens were present and accounted for. And yet another carriage had pulled up, surrounded by riders on horses. "Who is that?" she asked, sitting up straight.

"Who cares? We won't meet them," Tony grumbled.

Jan held her hands up to her eyes, muttering a quick binocular spell and pointing her gaze at the carriage. As she watched, the door swung open, and one of the footmen helped a woman dressed in auxiliary blacks and red onto the ground. "Oh, she's hot," she murmured. It had to be one of those newer covens they'd heard of, she figured, watching as her red curls bounced with the force of her feet hitting the ground.

Tony lifted his head immediately. "Who is?" He placed his hands on the windowsill and leaned forward, craning his neck to see who she was talking about. "What are you talking about?"

"Use your fucking binocular spell," Jan hissed, only pulling her hand away from her eye to grab him by the collar and yank him back into the room so he wouldn't fall to his death. She looked frantically along the door and sides of the carriage to find some sort of symbol of what coven they were or where they might be from. This would be so much easier if electric devices worked on the grounds.

Tony finally put his hands up and muttered the spell, and their shoulders pressed together as he settled beside her to look. "Damn, she is hot. I wonder if she's single?"

"It would be a miracle. I wouldn't be single if I was that hot," Jan answered. "Besides, you're engaged."

"In theory," Tony said, and then the rest of what she said registered, and he shot her a disgruntled look. "Jan, you are hot."

"Not like her. She looks like men beg her to step on them," Jan sighed, frowning.

"What," Tony began.

"I don't see a coven mark," Jan continued, ignoring him. She aimed her spell at the wheels, along the roof, even at the horses' flanks to see if there were brands she'd recognize. "Maybe they're from a different country! Where do other countries put their coven marks?"

"Same place the country they're visiting has 'em," Tony answered, deciding trying to press her wouldn't be fruitful. "It's a sign of respect. We move our coven marks when we travel abroad, too. The only people who don't have coven marks are Nomads--" He sucked in a shocked breath, choked, and went bone-white, hands falling into his lap.

"Nomads would have to have a reason to crash a coven meeting like this," Jan reasoned, but then she saw who the woman was helping out of the carriage after her, and she felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her head.

The man was tall, broad, with long blond hair brushed back out of his face and a carefully-trimmed beard. He was wearing commandants' blue and white leathers that did nothing to hide his obvious muscles. He turned back to the carriage and pulled out a shield with a star on it, then turned to face forward again, holding it in front of him not in defense, but as if to show it off.

There was a ring on his left hand with a ruby carved into a briolette, a shape that only the Stark coven boasted. There was only one ring with that stone unaccounted for, and it had been given to a nomadic coven in thanks for lifting a curse off of Tony as an infant. They could come and return it for a Stark's hand in marriage at anytime, but the coven had replied 'only when we're in as dire need as you had been; only then will it be fair.'

The nomadic coven had come for Tony. And apparently he'd be falling head-first into danger with his marriage.