Chasing Shadows ;; Steve Rogers

prologue.

Red Room - 1995

Yelena had asked her to be her partner for the free time spar. Anastasiya was grateful she had asked. She was not as advanced as the other girls, and she knew they liked to beat her more voraciously because of it. It was easy to beat her, and it made them look good to Madam B. But Yelena was nice to her. She always tried to teach Ana the moves she had learned in her advanced classes. Ana hadn't progressed to those classes yet. But Ana had gone on a mission with Yelena and Natasha in America, and she had become quite close with the older girls. They had become like sisters.

"Kick your leg higher, Ana," Yelena coached. "You will fall the way you are doing it."

"My leg doesn't go that high, Yelena," Ana complained. It was instant that Yelena's eyes darted up to the cameras. Even in free time, they were always watching. Failing was bad enough. Complaining would make the punishment worse. "Show me again, please."

"Like this," Yelena demonstrated the move.

Ana copied it, trying to get her leg higher. She was excited when she got it on the second try. "Did you see that, Yelena? I did it!"

"That was great, Ana!" Yelena said.

The door opened and Madam B walked in. The girls all lined up quickly, standing as straight as possible as the matron walked by. Ana kept her eyes on the ground when Madam B stopped in front of her. "Your form is terrible, Anastasiya," Madam B criticized. Of course she had been watching. "You will never graduate if you don't improve."

Ana gulped in fear as the others stared at the ground in the same fear. She knew what not graduating meant. They all did. "I will do better, Madam B," she said, her voice shaking.

The matron huffed. "Somehow I doubt it," she said. "Anastasiya has been nothing but a disappointment especially with all the work we've put into her. No, I think you need extra individual training, girl. Follow Dimitri."

Ana and Yelena's eyes both filled with fear as they exchanged a look. Individual training with Dimitri was never a good thing.

"I'm waiting," Madam B said. Ana knew she had no choice. She looked at the ground again as she followed Dimitri out of the training room.

• • •

Her entire body ached as she laid on her mattress. Dimitri's lessons were less about lessons and more about being beaten to the brink of death. It was a 'lesson' she was all too familiar with. She had been sent to her room without supper when Dimitri thought she had enough. He hadn't hit her face, but every other part of her was bruised. She wasn't sure how she was going to be able to train tomorrow. Madam B would probably send her back to Dimitri again.

"Ana," Natasha whispered as she snuck into her room.

"Natasha, you shouldn't be here," Ana whispered back. "Madam B will punish you if you're caught."

"I made sure I wasn't seen. Look what I brought you," Natasha said. The red head girl was older than Yelena and Ana, who was the youngest of the three. Natasha took on a big sister role for them, trying to care for them as much as she could. Ana looked up and saw a dinner roll in Natasha's hand.

"You could get in trouble if they find out you're sneaking out food," Ana said.

"Don't worry about me, Ana," Natasha said. "Here, sit up and eat it or you'll get sick."

She helped Ana into a sitting position and handed her the dinner roll. Ana ate it hungrily. She hadn't had anything since breakfast, and her body was weak from the 'lesson'. "Thank you, Nat," Ana said with her mouth full. "You're the best sister ever."