Book 2: What We Had After the Beginning

Chapter 1: Change

Natalia's POV

The bruises are a dark purple now and are still a bit sore. The cuts are red and still sting a bit but are no longer swollen. They'll eventually fade, until all that's left is the memory. But that may not last for very long anyway. Things are going to change soon, I can just tell. The next morning Ivan came to fetch me and told me to meet him in his office. It was quiet when I was getting ready. The basement was quiet, so was the washroom. I'm now on my way to Ivan's office and I haven't seen nor heard any of the other officers. The entire building is silent, one might think it was empty. Knocking on Ivan's door, I hear him call me in. When I open it, I find Ivan sitting at his desk looking through a pile of papers.

"Come in Natalia. Sit." He waves me in, not looking up from the stack of papers. I take a seat and notice that Ivan's looking through all of the girls files. "I have a few things I would like to discuss with you."

Ivan begins, setting aside the files and looking up at me. He looks less tense, tired but still calm and put together.

"The KGB will be relocating us. We will be closer to Moscow but still a distance away." Ivan watches me with bright eyes. He's proud of me, I'm his trophy. His success story. "You know, you aren't the first Black Widow."

Pulling my eyebrows together, I give Ivan my full attention. He sits back in his seat with a grin, clasping his hands together over his stomach.

"The Red Room has been around for decades. There were only a handful of Black Widows over the years but eventually the program was abandoned." Ivan speaks with such fondness and sincerity, that it makes me want to scoff. I don't thrust him. Not that I don't believe him, I just don't trust him. "When I heard about the program, I knew I had to find the next Black Widow. I knew she would do wonderful things for her country."

Ivan gives me a gentle smile and leans forward. "I'm glad I found her. The KGB will be very involved now that we have our Widow."

Ivan then stands up and grabs the stack of files from the desk. Walking over to the filing cabinet against the wall, he opens it and places the files inside.

"We will be leaving early tomorrow morning. You may go." He dismisses me without a second glance. Getting to my feet, I step out of the room to find Anton and Dominik waiting for me. They take me downstairs to the dining hall for breakfast.

As I eat, a sudden thought hits me. They have their Black Widow, does that mean the Soldier will be leaving? What if he's already gone? I don't think the General and his men are here anymore. Did he leave with them? The sound of footsteps entering the room forces me out of my thoughts and I nearly sigh in relief. Sadovsky and Nikolay enter the room followed by the Soldier. He has a few bruises on his face but other than that, he doesn't look all that bad. They all stand at the front of the room, waiting for me to finish eating.

Just because the Soldier's here now, doesn't mean he won't be leaving. I don't want to admit that I need him but he's the only one that's keeping me sane around here.

When I'm finally done, they all lead me out of the room and up the stairs to the 2nd floor. Madam Oksana's waiting outside of the room for me patiently, with her hands behind her back. She opens the door for me and I enter the room. The Soldier and the officers stay outside as she shuts the door behind her. Madam Oksana doesn't speak as she walks over to a small box that's sitting on top of a table. She finally pulls out a cassette and places it into a cassette player that's next to the box. The tune is unfamiliar. The song being played is primarily made by brass instruments, I can guess. After I get my shoes on, I stand beside Madam Oksana and just listen, focusing on the melody. She has her eyes closed and she's gently swaying from side to side. I imagine how I would dance to a piece like this and start shifting from one leg to the other, eager to move along with the music. Finally the song ends, but Madam Oksana makes not move to do anything. She just stands there and listens to the song again. Walking to the middle of the room, I start to dance. I make up my own choreography and eventually get lost in it. The song repeats over and over again but I make no move to stop. Each time, I come up with different moves until I'm not even sure how many times the song has repeated. All I can hear and feel is the music. My eyes are closed, I don't need to see. When the song ends for another time, it doesn't start over again. Opening my eyes, I find Madam Oksana studying me with her hands behind her back.