Lesson Number Zero // ironwidow AU

Prologue

Hello, cruel world.

My name is Natalia Alianovna Romanova. Or... it used to be. Here in the States, I'm mostly known as Natasha Romanoff, Natalie Rushman, or simply the Black Widow. But that's all lost in my past. Now I'm inmate number 12478. Yes, you didn't read it in a wrong way. While I'm writing this letter, I'm sitting in my cell. It's cold, but I got used to it. Really, you don't have to be worried about my health, they give me really good care here. I'm here for five years now and I wasn't ill even for one time. Incredible, isn't it?

Okay, but I'd like to tell you a story. At first, I thought that it's gonna be hidden in my records forever. But now? Hell, no. I'd like to spread it to the world. I'd like to tell you very long, heartbreaking story about the man I loved. And I still love him, even he's dead for years now. Actually, it was my fault. But that's not what I wanted to tell you firstly. This letter wasn't meant to  be your property. It should stay between four walls of some publishing company that contacted me... sorry, that was me. I contacted them. I wanted you all to know what happens if you fall crazy in love. Yeah, I fell in love with the man who taught me everything about literature. He knew literally every single letter of any classical book you'd hand him. He was incredible. So you can't be surprised if I tell you that we met on high school. No, we weren't classmates. We were actually meant to stay away from each other. But it just grew up. He was my professor. His name was Tony Stark, he was almost fifty years old and I was eighteen. Crazy, isn't it? 

I'm almost thirty now. I'm ready to die here. Without him, I'm nothing. I should be mad on that guy, he left me in the darkness of the way he always used to lighten up with his smile, with his knowing words, with his whole existence. But now he's gone. And me too. My soul left me when he died. I'm not myself anymore, there's just a... leftover of me. And this letter is complete bullshit. You know, it's almost 3.45 PM and I fell more dead than usual. I'm going to sleep now. Forgot everything I said here and wait for my book to come out. Thanks. Sleep tight. 

With love from prison,

Nat xx