Collaboration with @silmarilz1701
Svetlana knew how to play the game. She'd been caught in the political drama of Stalin's inner circle since birth. The only child of one of Stalin's closest friends, she grew up in the limelight, scrutinized by frie...
Very Important Authors' Note: Good and bad news regarding this fic, but TLDR: we're ready to finish publishing...with a catch.
But first, sad news lol. My (Silmarilz1701's) health just isn't getting better enough for me to commit to finishing my last 8 or so chapters of our remaining unpublished content. We were hoping it would get there, but it just isn't right now for various reasons.
Good news is, AdamantiumDragonfly and I have come up with a system of uploading that we think should work. She's got hers all done, and I have most of mine done, so we're going to be resuming regular updating. Any time there is a Sveta chapter that is unwritten, we'll be including a detailed summary of what would've been the events at the end of the previous chapter (the only exception being this one, where we'll start with a summary as well). That way the story remains consistent and you aren't given only like a paragraph of summary where usually you'd get narrative.
And all of this is in the hopes that at some point over the next couple years, my health situation WILL improve enough that we can go back and fill in the missing moments with actual narrative, not detailed summary from our outlines.
Hope this is a good compromise. I know a lot of people were waiting patiently and I'm sorry this is the best we can do.
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IN ME YOU SEE THEM
The sunlight hurt her eyes when Sveta stepped out of the barracks after days in that dark cell. Almost immediately, a wind blew fierce across her exposed cheeks. Though the blue skies with their white clouds like soft pillows looked inviting, the pain of the breeze distracted her.
Who knew freedom could hurt so much?
Was it freedom really, though? Could someone call stepping between shadows to hide from the darkest of evils freedom? Beria had set her up to take the fall for that assassination. Somewhere, somehow, he had to be behind it.
As Sveta stood moved up the stairs of her barracks, she listened to the rhythmic pounding of her American leather boots on wood. Even without the wind, being in those walls chilled her to the bone. There was nowhere to hide, no crevice where Beria would not be able to find her.
Anger surged through her as her hand gripped the metal doorknob to her room and swung the door open. She didn't really know what it was fury bubbling up inside her like a fire. It should've been hurt, should've been pain at the sight of the empty bed where Zhanna's effects used to sit.
While they had let Sveta rot in a cell, Zhanna had fought to get her out. While they had let Sveta rot in a cell, Zhanna had accepted a promotion. While they had let Sveta rot in a cell, Zhanna had decided it necessary to tell Corporal Liebgott, of all people, about the NKVD and their connections to the Gestapo.
Summary: Sveta gets out from her imprisonment cleared of charges but not cleared of the condemnation of public opinion. After all, the charge was dismissed on lack of evidence, not because anyone in the brass truly believed Sveta was innocent. Aside from the medics, the rumor mill has ensured that the enlisted treat Sveta with wary distrust. Nixon's no help, who's also dealing with mounting PTSD-fueled alcoholism. But the most important result of this framing attempt is Sveta's anger with Zhanna. Sveta remembers all the moments she put herself in danger to keep Zhanna safe, to keep her out of Beria's grip, and finds herself betrayed by this woman, this friend, in her moment of greatest panic. She's also deeply hurt that Zhanna is in the enlisted's and officers' good graces while Sveta is now on the outs. That leads us to...
