EXECUTIONER'S SONG. ❪ Steve Rogers ❫ ✓

two

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As usual, an instructor entered the room to unlock the handcuffs and wake them up. Today, the girls were going to be taken to a room modeled after a typical American classroom. The girls were always indoctrinated and brainwashed through films they were forced to watch and learn by heart. The films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs served a double purpose, as they showed the behavior a woman should show to not raise any suspicions. The videos were full of subliminal messages including Instill, Fear, and Pain.

Darcy watched the film intently, whispering each line under her breath. Her eyes were focused on each moving image and frame, noticing small details like how the bird had been red in the previous frame but was now green as Snow White passed by.

A word flashed by quickly during the film. Instill.

Darcy sat still, breathing evenly even as a different instructor walked through the rows, examining each girl.

The Evil Queen was on the screen now. Darcy liked her because she was misunderstood and had lost so much.

Another word flashed by quickly once more. Fear.

No, she didn't fear the Evil Queen. She hadn't noticed she stopped whispering the words to the film. Her heart began to race and she didn't like it. She forced herself to focus on the film and caught up to the lines.

The last word flashed by. Pain.

An electric shock was sent to each girl through the desks they were sitting at. Some girls whimpered, but Darcy was not one of them. She was the best out of all of them.

The Magic Mirror was shown now. Darcy liked mirrors because she thought she was beautiful. She wasn't allowed to simply examine her beauty unless they were in the dance room, but that was enough.

The cycle repeated and the first words flashed by. Instill.

They spent the rest of the film watching and getting electrocuted. Darcy was used to this sort of treatment, and she enjoyed it.

The next training session was in the dance room. Instructor H taught ballet, but Madame J often sat in. Madame J was the harshest instructor who played favorites. It was another reason why the other girls despised Darcy, and she knew it too. She glistened under Madame J's presence and adored the compliments handed her way whenever she did something right - and she was always right.

"You will start with an Allégro around this room until I say stop."

The girls did as commanded. Darcy was a graceful ballerina, but Katerina was a better one. It irked Darcy. She wished Instructor V had put Katerina in the ring with her instead of Clarice. She knew she would have been able to kill Katerina. Where Katerina excelled on the dance floor, Darcy was exquisite on the battlefield.

"Very good, Katerina."

Darcy's eye twitched. She wanted to push the girl in front of her and yank her by her tight bun before slicing her throat with the bobby-pins placed in their hair for rehearsal.

Even through her murderous thoughts, Darcy kept up with Katerina who was always at the front of the line for ballet. In a real play, she would be the star, and Darcy would be the understudy. The thought fueled her anger. Not many girls made it to graduation and she hoped Katerina was one of those girls.

"Stop. Katerina, Grand Jeté."

The girls moved away from her and watched Katerina prepare herself. She threw one leg into the air and pushed off the floor with the other, jumping into the air in order to land again on the first leg. However, her ankle had buckled slightly. It was not enough to send her tumbling as Darcy hoped would happen, but it was enough to catch the attention of Instructor H and Madame J.

"Back of the line, Katerina," Instructor H commanded. "Darcy."

Darcy moved to the middle of the dance floor. She copied Katerina's moves, excluding the buckled ankle at the end. She landed on her first leg softly.

Madame J hummed. "En Pointe."

A dancer had to support their entire body weight on their feet, which were fully extended. En Pointe was usually done while wearing pointe shoes that allowed structural reinforcement to distribute the weight of the body into the entire foot, rather than the toes alone. Without structural reinforcement, it would be too painful for the dancer to perform the move. It took years for ballet dancers to master this technique and required extreme training and dedication, but the Red Room beat that into every girl. If they couldn't learn, then they would die.

Darcy hopped up onto her toes, staying still and high for as long as she could, and if Madame J was in the room with her, then she would stay there for forever. Darcy wasn't invincible. She could feel the pain on her toes, but she had to hide the pain. It had been minutes of which she was certain could turn into an hour, but Madame J seemed to feel generous that day.

"Very good, Darcy. Next," said Madame J.