Torn

-|PROLOGUE|-

Welcome readers, to the story of Katia Campbell. Now, surprisingly enough, this story starts before our main character is even born. Even before anyone even knew that she would be born. Well, no one really knew she would be born at all. That's right, our main character was an accident. Have you got a problem with that? No? Good. Now, listen...

2000

Lincoln Campbell was just barely 20 years old. A young medical student taking a gap year in Russia. Excited to see new places and meet new people. One of those people just happened to be a strikingly beautiful woman.

Her name was Vaya, short for Krasivaya, meaning beautiful. And she lived up to the name too. She had the most beautiful dark green eyes and long brown hair. Wherever she went, sunshine and happiness followed. Anyone would fall for her. Lincoln was lucky that he was the one who caught her eye. 

They met at a park. Lincoln talked about his dreams of being a doctor, and Vaya would talk about her dreams of being a dancer. They immediately fell for each other. Lincoln spent the whole year with Vaya and with every day, they fell more and more in love.

One day, Lincoln learns that he has something called the inhuman gene and is forced to leave his old life behind. Dreams of being a doctor had gone down the drain as he had to abandon all normalcy in his life.

Vaya was even more heartbroken than Lincoln. For, she was not given any explanation as to why he left. And to make matters more difficult, she was with child. Yes, you guessed it. This, dear reader, is where our beloved protagonist comes into play...

Vaya knows that she cannot afford to take care of a child on her own. You see, being a dancer doesn't always pay the bills. And it most certainly won't pay for school, one more stomach to fill, and more clothes. So, she was left with the only possible option that every new mother dreads.

2001

The child is born. As Vaya holds the baby girl in her arms she sees that she has inherited Vaya's forest green eyes. The child's gaze is small and innocent. Dark as night, but pure as day. Pure. That is what she will name the child. Vaya scribbles the name Katia, the Slavic word for pure, on a small piece of paper. She takes one more look at little Katia, who is smiling innocently back at her. The child has her father's smile. Then it dawns on her. She scribbles Campbell onto the piece of paper. She deserves to have her father's last name, not Vaya's. Not a name that would leave a child alone, but a name that represents love, and happiness, at least in Vaya's eyes.

Vaya walks to the nearest orphanage. She can't stand to show her face so she puts the child down in a basket and leaves. Neither of them knew it yet, but this would be the beginning of a very hard life for sweet little Katia.

The orphanage was not a good one. The children were malnourished and some of the older children were beaten. Katia was only a baby, but she was treated like an old dog that nobody wanted to take care of.

2002

The orphanage had been shut down due to financial problems. Most of the children were transferred, but some didn't have anywhere to go. Little Katia was one of those children. She was dumped in an alleyway to starve. As you can probably tell, this is quite problematic for a one-year-old who couldn't fend for herself.

After a week or so, something changed. This could have either been the luckiest or most unlucky day of Katia's life, depending on how you look at it.

It was a cold rainy night. Natalia had finished yet another assassination for the Red Room and walked out without so much as a bruise or bloodstain. She climbed out of a window and jumped down a floor. She landed on her feet. She didn't bother trying to shield herself from the rain. Suddenly, she heard cries. Cries of a small child. She saw a little baby laying alone in the rain.

"Где твоя мама?"

Where is your mother?

She said to herself. The child's cries faded as she probably realized that maybe someone would help her. Natalia knelt down. She took the child in her arms. She could always take the baby back with her. No. She thought. Bringing the child to the Red Room would be horrible...But still, it would be better than death of the cold or starvation. Natalia hunched over to protect the child from the freezing rain. She sighed and said to herself,

"Мадам Би не обрадуется."

Madame B will not be pleased.