On the 16th of August 1922, three year old Katya Volkov disappeared off the face of the earth. Her father John Shelby and her family searched for years but never found her.
They are shocked when they suddenly appear in a room, being told that she i...
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TWO MONTHS LATER
BUDAPEST
A BALLAD HUMMED ACROSS THE ROOM, THE RECORD SCRATCHING SLIGHTLY AS IT WENT. Katya breathed in deeply from where she stood in the middle of the room, closing her eyes she focused to the music, letting it seep into her mind, she hummed along to it quietly.
"What's she doing?" Finn asked Ada who sent him a dry look.
"Finn watch the fucking thing and see."
She started to dance, steps light and airy as she manoeuvred gracefully around the room, twirling elegantly. All girls in the red room were taught ballet. And over the years Katya had learned to love the controlling art. Learned to embrace her controlled life.
"She's beautiful John." Polly whispered to her nephew tears in her eyes as they all watched the screen. A somber feeling in the air at the girl they had lost.
John closed his eyes breathing deeply, he needed a moment to take everything in. His daughter. His life. He hadn't tried hard enough to find her, and she had suffered for it.
Bruce Wayne gazed over sympathetically. He knew what it was like to lose a child. The gut wrenching, downward spiral leaving nothing but pain. He was lucky to get Jason back. He looked away from them his heart clenching. Not all families were so lucky.
She did a graceful Jeté landing softly, her face concentrated. Her hair which was in a ponytail swinging slightly as she did so. It had been two months since she had left the red room and been on the run she missed the regime of knowing what she would do everyday, she didn't know what she was supposed to do with her days now. She didn't know who she was. What she was supposed to do. She had never felt restless before but now her days seemed full of it. A small part of her felt guilt for feeling like that, she knew she should feel lucky for getting out when so many other girls died but she felt numb.
Damian swallowed thickly, he knew what that was like. He missed the mindlessness of following orders, of knowing what his future was. But he wouldn't go back to the league. Never again. He looked over at Jason to find him watching him already, an understanding passing between them.
Katya was like them, and while the others later on may not accept it. They would. They knew what it took to survive in a place like that. They knew what you became.
As the time had passed the resentment and bitterness had built up, leaving an angry shell of the little girl she had once been. Of the life she could have lived.
As the song continued she did some port de bras effortlessly before efficiently moving onto some pirouettes. Spinning around fast yet graceful. As she finished she let herself breathe, the music relaxing her.
