The orange sunrise over my closed eyelids wakes me before my alarm does. I keep them closed and let the rest of my body wake first. I reach my arms above my head, point my toes, and squeeze every muscle I have. The relief is quickly followed by pings of soreness across my arms and legs. Ayo refused to let up me on my yesterday; not meeting up to her training standards has its consequences.
Opening my eyes, I sit up, scooting off my mattress and letting my feet hang off the loft floor over the rest of my cabin. I can feel the sun's warmth on my face through the open window; Wakandan sunrises are unmatchable. The amount of peace I've found since being here over the past 7 months has really helped me, mentally. Ayo's training hasn't only been physical, but mental as well. Meditation has become a daily part of my routine; and coming from where I do, routine is needed.
During the take down of the Red Room, most of the widows were cleansed of their programming with a synthetic gas antidote; but I was one that wasn't near when it hit. And, with nobody at the control center anymore, I have to try to maintain my chemical programming every minute of the day. Learning to simply trust others has been a task; and Ayo showed mercy when her and the Dora Milaje found me, homeless and desperate in the back alleys of Moscow. She recognized me as a Widow and knew my history. Maybe it was the "don't bite the hand that feeds you instinct", but trusting Ayo became easy.
Dragging my heavy feet down the short stairs, I quickly change clothes, braid the rat's nest, and head toward the border. I'm not the first outsider to be nurtured by the Wakandans. Bucky Barnes was here, once upon a time. When he was brought here by T'Challa, Shuri created a way to scrub his HYDRA brainwashing that served him to be the Winter Soldier. While Shuri tried the same algorithmic method on me, mine and Bucky's brain altering were different. But as determined as she is, Shuri works on new methods to attempt to help me every day; but it's been a few weeks since she's had anything new for me to try.
3 miles from my cabin, I see Aneka waiting for me. She smiles and waves to me. I return a smirk and she calls out, "You have it in for you today."
"Why?" I ask, wearily.
"Okoye is here today. She wanted to take part in some new tasks for your training." My stomach drops; not sure if I'll make it out alive today. With a sigh I joke, "If she wants to spar, I might just run away. I don't know if I can level with that." Aneka giggles as we enter through the barrier and into the downtown streets of Wakanda.
YOU ARE READING
The Red Widow
ActionLost after the take down of the Red Room, Ksana Krasnaya, a 24 year old Black Widow assassin, struggles to survive in the streets of Russia, resulting in theft and crime to stay alive. When she's found by two members of Wakanda's Dora Milaje whilst...
