His Little Ballerina- B. Barnes

Chapter 2: Valeriya

Didn't mean to make you nervous you motherfucker.

~M.I.L.F. $, Fergie

I woke up the next day to see Anya hovering over me.

I instantly jumped up, frightened by her appearance.

"Relax, it's just me." She said softly.

"I can see that now..." I grumbled. I'm not a morning person, so don't expect me to be all cheery in the early hours of the day. It's not gonna happen.

"I needed to tell you something before Nastia and Natalia woke up. They won't believe me, but I know you will."

"Believe what...?" I asked, trying to wake myself up.

"I saw a man with a metal arm last night."

I froze.

There have been stories about a man with a metal arm who works at the Red Room. It's said that he trains with girls and then they disappear. No one has ever seen him, so everyone just labels him as the Red Room's urban legend.

"You know that there's no such thing as the metal armed man." I said.

Anya shook her head. "But I saw him. He has this brown hair that's unkempt and he's tall. He's really tall and muscular. The metal arm looks like silver when the light hits it just right..." She fell back on my bed, almost as if she had fallen in love with the legend. Oh God I hope not...

"Anya, look. You need to stop believing in all these rumors. You're going to get in trouble." I scolded her. I didn't want her getting hurt, or worse. Despite our close age, Anya was like an eight year old sister who just couldn't keep her head out of the clouds.

Anya was walking a tightrope across a dangerous chasm, and I wasn't about to let her fall.

"But I saw him! He is real!" she squealed.

I let out a sigh. "Stop acting like a child and wake up. You could end up dead you idiot. Now shut up and never speak of this to anyone, do you understand?" I hated having to be so mean, but that's usually the only way to get her to stop.

"I understand." and with that, Anya crawled off my bed, retreating back to her own.

I wanted to go back to bed, but I couldn't. Anya was beginning to scare me. If girls actually did go missing when they found this stuff out, would they take Anya too?

I didn't want to lose Anya. She's the closest thing I have to a sister.

I couldn't return to what was left of my dream, so I stayed awake until Madame B. came knocking on our door for us to wake up.

"Get out of bed you insubordinate, useless mongrels!" she yelled, making everyone, even Nastia, get up and rush to get ready for the day's tasks.

What surprised us was that she actually entered the room.

"Valeriya, you are to come with me when you are ready. You have five minutes."

Everyone turned to face me. Nastia shot me a deadly glare. She hated not being the best, but in reality she's number three. She refuses to accept it, and her ego blinds her.

She's one of the girls willing to kill for her spot on the top, even if it means betraying the one person she knows more than anyone, not that she has anyone she trusts or like that anyone knows of.

Nastia didn't stop glaring at me as she changed into her white tank and black shorts, just like the rest of us. Natalia did my hair in a braided ponytail since we don't have any mirrors and we can't do our own hair without messing up.

As soon as she secured my hair with the rubber band, I rushed out of the room, grabbing my bag as I opened the door.

I didn't say goodbye, and now I wished I should have.

Madame B. whisked me away, gripping my arm and dragging me through the halls like I was nothing but a rag doll.

I didn't dare ask where we were going. All the girls stared at me with pity as we walked past their dorms. Their doors were wide open so that they could see me get dragged off for no reason.

I didn't know what I had done, but if it had to do with Anya, I already had a plan to cover it up. I didn't want to risk losing her, even if it meant getting hurt. She was practically my little sister anyways.

"Keep up child." Madame B. snapped, gripping me tighter.

I sped up my walking as she lead me down a hallway I had never seen before. I didn't know this part of the Red Room, and I don't think I wanted to know any more than what I have already seen.

The walls were grimy, and there were guards lining every inch of those filthy bricks. There was a large metal door at the end of the hallway, which we were heading straight for. Madame B. noticed I was shaking.

"Fear is for the weak. You are not weak. You are unbreakable." She said, which didn't make me feel any less afraid. If anything, it made my fear worse.

Madame B. pushed open the large metal doors and revealed an area one would expect from a haunted, abandoned asylum.

Nameless doctors hurried around, scribbling things on papers in their hands.

"Have you ever wondered why we call this place the Red Room?" Madame B. asked.

I turned to face her, staring into her eyes, afraid of what the answer would be. "Do I want to know?" I responded, trying not to show my fear. This place sent shivers down my spine and made me feel as if I would be strapped to a table at any moment and torn apart.

"That depends on what you are willing to know." She replied.

I began shaking, and Madame B. noticed.

"Oh child, you are still so naive. Perhaps in this place...you'll understand." Her hand stroked my hair. I jerked away from her.

"Why am I here?" I sounded like I was begging more than asking.

"Because you will be the new face of Hydra."