GHOST STORIES, mcu

003! follow instruction

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TRZY
follow instruction
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Aleksandra knew there was something wrong. Despite what Ivan says, she wasn't completely oblivious to what goes on around her. Now, she didn't know what exactly had changed, but her caretaker had been distracted the past week. At first she just assumed he was still angry about her great escape, but the incident was never mentioned after she was let out of the confines of her room.

So she tried her best to make him happy, well, as happy as Ivan could be. She immersed herself in her studies, listened attentively to her caretakers stories of the good the Motherland had done, and how she would continue that legacy. She didn't speak at dinner, didn't ask questions, didn't step a toe out of line. It was like a big game of soldiers, she would tell herself.

On the eighth day since the incident, Aleksandra immediately noticed a change in the air. Ivan was distracted, his shoulders tense and body stiff. He was wearing clothes she had never seen before, a nice three piece suit that Aleksandra didn't know they couldn't afford. There was no studying today, no tests on the Soviets history or what gun was best for long range or which knife was best for throwing or carving. It was unsettling, her daily routine had crumbled before her eyes and she didn't know what to do. Too afraid to talk and invoke Ivan's rage, and too afraid to sit and do nothing and be seen and lazy.

She watched as Ivan fixed his hair for what seemed to be the eighth time in the past minute. How he meticulously picked and prodded at his suit with shaky hands, removing any imperfections. Aleksandra tilted her head, never having seen Ivan act so . . . nervous. It took her a while to place the feeling openly displayed on his face, she had never seen him look anything but calm and composed, angry sometimes, when she didn't do what she was told, but never nervous.

Ivan told her nerves were a sign of fear, did that mean he was afraid? That couldn't be right, Ivan doesn't get scared, fear was for the weak and Ivan was most certainly not weak. They were meant to instil fear, not be subjected to it.

She had to be wrong, she was still only a child so maybe she read his body language incorrectly. But she was good at reading Ivan's moods, a pinched brow meant he was dissatisfied with her behaviour, when he pursed his lips it meant she made a mistake in assembling a weapon, if he readjusted his stance it meant he was angry and trying to hold himself back, and when he did nothing it meant she had done something right. But shaky hands and tense shoulders weren't in her mental lists of Ivan's moods, maybe this was happy, or excitement maybe. Because there was absolutely no way Ivan was scared, the mere idea made her want to apologise for even thinking that of him.

She hadn't realised she had zoned out, her face down to the floor as it scrunched up in deep thought. She was brought out of it by two firm hands on her shoulders, and she looked up quickly to meet Ivan's gaze, making sure her back was straight and shoulders pushed back.

"A very important man is coming today." Ivan spoke, looking more serious than Aleksandra had ever seen. She nodded once, ignoring the questions dancing on her tongue. Questions always annoyed Ivan, and due to his strange behaviour Aleksandra didn't want to do anything to invoke his rage.

"You will show him respect, you will not ask questions, you will do anything he says, you will speak only when spoken to and you will show him all that I have taught you." He instructed, and Aleksandra nodded obediently. Of course she wanted to know who this man was, why he was so important, but if Ivan said to keep her mouth shut then that is exactly what she would do. "Go, practice your ammunition identification, it was sloppy yesterday, it cannot be sloppy today."