Little Ballerina (A WinterWidow Story)

Ch. 14 The Monster who Dreamed

(Play the song now, only if you want too of course)

Rina woke up to sounds of a fight. She jumped off the small cot and ran to the door, even on her tiptoes she could hardly see anything out of the small window. The room reminded her of a cell, from one of those old movies Steve had shown her. She couldn't see anything through the window but the sounds of fighting still remained.

She knew better than to yell, so she only watched as the sounds of the fight got closer. But as soon as it sounded like it was right in front of her the noises stopped. She was about to return to her cot when a flash of red hair and a metal arm caught her eye.

"Mama! Papa! I'm in here!" She cried, banging on the door to get their attention.

The two adults stopped in front of her door but they didn't seem to hear her cries,

"Where could she be?" Natasha asked

James merely shrugged,

"Maybe she's this way" he said pointing down the hall

She hit the door harder, the tears coming faster,

"No, Papa! I'm in here!" She shouted as the two figures continued on down the hall.

She continued to sob as she slid to the floor, the weight of being left behind too much for her to take.

"They left me, they left me" she sobbed

She held her face in her hands, they are never coming back she thought, I'm going to die here. The sobs raked through her body, she was a shaking and crying mess when she heard,

"Ekaterina?"

She thought her head was just messing with her but still, she hoped against hope that someone was looking for her, so she called out,

"Mama?"

She sobbed and bolted upward. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tried to shake the nightmare out of her mind. She got up and grabbed the stone from the floor and marked another tally on the wall. 182 marks. It's been roughly six months since she last saw the ghosts that haunt her dreams. She could only dance with her ghosts for so long before she woke up. Despite the nightmares, she loved sleeping because it was the only place were she felt safe, free of all sorrow and pain. It was where she could see her family and she never wanted to leave. But despite her wishes, she woke up every morning and they were gone and she was alone again.

She imagined that the guards would be coming for her soon like they did everyday so she changed into the workout clothes that were left for her. She was tying the laces of her shoes when they came for her.

It was always two figures in full black combat gear and black face masks. They stood at the door and waited for her to follow them. They lead her down various hallways to the training room where Maxim, who was also dressed in workout clothes was taping his hands before starting to hit the punching bag. This workout room was bigger than the one at Stark Towers, it was more intense looking with the dark walls and no windows.

She immediately began stretching, her legs, then her arms and anything else she needed. She went behind the punching bag to hold it steady for him.

They didn't say anything for a while, the only sound filling the room was of fists hitting leather. Rina couldn't stand it, it never used to be this awkward between them, they used to talk about everything.

"How are you?" She asked softly, not knowing what else to say

Maxim didn't say anything only hit the bag harder. Rina waited, she knew he would crack, if there was one thing she knew about for certain was that he had a temper and broke easily.