Butterflies (Bucky Barnes Daughter)

SIX

1 week ago

 Mila had been training with Viktor for a few days now and she was exhausted. Everyday was something new, ballet, hand to hand combat, marksmanship. Her hands were rough and dry, her feet were swollen and full of blisters.  

 Viktor was impressed by her, he wasn't expecting her to do so well but she is full of surprises. After the fifth day, Viktor gifted Mila with a brand new all white ballet outfit. A white leotard and matching white skirt. It was beautiful and stood out against her red hair and sage eyes. It was a horrifying contrast of her innocence and the sins that had occurred in this building. 

 Mila was beyond excited when she received something that was entirely her own. Everything she had ever gotten had belonged to someone else. She just wished her papa had been there to see it. 

He ran his hands through her hand, tugging at it, trying to pull it into a bun. Viktor was not gentle, not like Yana or her papa. The hair style was hard to get used to at first. It was too tight and pulled at her face, but she got used to it.

 As much as Mila loved the ballet portion of her training, her favourite part was sharp shooting. Her aim was like no other. Never missed, always hit the target. She was told her papa had good aim just like her and maybe, just maybe if she tried hard enough, she would become better than him.

 The day before her papa came back, Mila was brought to another training session. She was told to wear her ballet uniform. Her hands were shaking in excitement. She wanted a break and this was a good way to breathe. When she was brought to the training room, her heart dropped into her stomach. Sweat formed in her palms. There in the middle of the room were two chairs. On each chair was a person with a bag over their head.

 Viktor walked calmly over to Mila. Her heart was pounding, she was digging her nails into her palms to stop from showing any emotion. You hold the pain inside and do not let it show. Is that understood? Mila was terrified of what was about to happen next.

 "Are you ready to make the world love you?" he whispered in her ear. She blinked back the tears that were forming. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head. He was testing her. Wanting to see if she had the guts to kill someone before taking on actual enemies. If she failed this then there would be no point in continuing the training.

 He handed her a hand gun and a knife. Viktor walked over to the far end of the room and turned on the record player. A soft tune echoed throughout the room. Mila began to dance, beautifully. Her timing was perfect and she was unbelievably graceful. As the music started to pick up, she pulled the gun out in front of her. Aiming for the first bagged man. She did a pirouette and ended facing the man. She took a deep breath and fired the gun. 

 Mila had killed someone for the first time, but it wouldn't be her last. A few specks of blood splashed onto her white skirt, a part of her innocence stained. She continued dancing. Viktor was impressed, so far.

 Her feet moved across the floor silently, she was as quiet as a mouse. Her silhouette danced behind her, it almost looked like it was trying to break free from her. But maybe it was just a trick of the light.

 She moved again, in front of the other bagged man. The knife in her left hand was cutting at her. Mila began a jeté, when she landed flawlessly on her feet. The knife had already been lodged into the man's chest. Even from in the air, Mila never missed. More blood escaped and made it's stain on her skirt.

 A loud, slow clap echoed throughout the room. Viktor walked out from the dark and had a smile on his face. Mila wanted to puke. She was 6 years old and had already killed two people. Hardly innocent people but that didn't matter to her. He leaned in and cupped his hand around her cheek. "The whole world will love you Mila, just you wait". Then he left the room. 

***

  Mila was back with her papa and she was happy. She still hadn't told him about the real reason her skirt was red. It was gnawing at her but she didn't say anything in fear that he would be mad at her. He was okay with letting her leave the room now for training and her check ups with the doctor. His heart still beat out of his chest when she left but that feeling would never go away.

 She would come back to their room every night and show him the new ballet move she learned. He was still teaching her Romanian in secret. Most nights he still slept on the floor, but when either Mila or his nightmares got too unbearable, they cuddled up together on the small cot.

 "Măr" he pointed to the tray that held their dinner. Apple

"Măr" she repeated with a slight giggle. Mila picked up the apple and took a bite out of it. She pointed to the piece of chicken that was on the tray. "Pui" she spoke with her mouth full, juices from the apple spilling out. He wiped her face and nodded his head. Chicken

 He stood up and walked over to the cot. His metal hand reached under the pillow and pulled something out. Mila was curious as to what it was. She pulled on her papa's leg as he tried to walk. He picked her up with one hand and rested her on his hip. Even with all of the training she was getting, the food they received kept her on the small side. 

 "I have something for you Mila" he spoke softly. She looked at him with big sage eyes and smiled.

 "Really" she clapped her hands together and laid her head on his shoulder. "What is it?"

 He pulled his metal hand out from behind his back and opened his fist. It was a butterfly sticker, just like the one of Dr. Pavlov's office. This butterfly was purple and had a sparkly body. Mila gasped, she loved it.

 Without even going to reach for the sticker first, she wrapped her little arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck. "Thank you papa, thank you thank you!" she placed a kiss on his cheek and pulled the sticker out from his hand. He put her on the floor and followed her with his eyes. She ran straight over to the cot. Her pale, little fingers ran across the blank wall until they reached the spot above where her head lays when she sleeps. Mila peeled the backing off and placed the sticker on the wall.

 A sad smile appeared on his face. Mila cuddled up into a ball on the bed and ran her finger up and down the sparkly body of the butterfly. He moved towards her and sat on the edge, near her feet. She looked at him and smiled. "Look papa, a fluture!" she rubbed her nose and began to play with the sparkles again. Butterfly

 He started to tickle her feet and she began to laugh. Mila playfully kicked at him trying to get him to stop. He picked her up and twirled her around. They were spinning around the room together. An image popped into his head. A man and a woman, twirling around, holding hands, humming. Another pair spins by them. There is music softly being played. The man twirls the woman out of his arms, she swirls back in and they turn to face a mirror. He looks in the reflection and sees himself.

"Papa?" He froze, staring blankly at a wall. The colour in his eyes had drained. "Papa?" she asked worried. He was barely breathing, Mila was growing nervous. "Papa! What's wrong? Papa?" she began to cry. She was yelling his name, hitting his chest. 

 He finally broke from his trance, a bit shaken up. His heart broke when he saw the tears on Mila's face. "Papa what happened?" she sniffled. He wiped her tear stained face. 

 He wasn't too sure what just happened. It felt like his brain was on fire and then all of a sudden it just stopped. He saw himself in that mirror. A different version of him but he was sure it was him. He had shorter hair and a hat on, he was dancing with some girl.

 "It's okay Mila, I'm okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you". The two of them moved towards the cot. They laid down and Mila snuggled into him, still crying. He stroked her head, playing with her red hair in between his fingers. She was tapping in his chest lightly trying to calm her breathing down. Little did she know that it was actually calming him down. He was terrified over what just happened to him. Mila was pulled tighter into his chest. 

The father and daughter both silently cried themselves to sleep that night.