Parasite *•.¸♡ 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙠'𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 ♡¸.•*

Waking the Winter Soldier

Ariana turns to the mirrors and uses her right hand to hold onto the barre as she brings her left leg back with her left hand. Soon, the leg is over her head shaped like a crescent. She hasn't done this in a while and it feels good to get back to it. Letting her leg gracefully stretch down, she repeats it with her other.

Tony Stark is striding down the hall to find Steve Rogers. He knows that he is in the training room, most likely beating one of his punching bags senseless. He looks like a man on a mission. His mission, however, is interrupted when he sees the room just before the training room left slightly ajar, soft piano music floating into the hall. Cocking his head, he slowly approaches the room. No one was usually in this room. In fact, he had never seen anyone use it before; not that he had really been looking, but surely it was something he had taken note of in the corner of his brain.

He stops in front of the white door that had blurred white glass. Peeking through the small sliver, what he sees surprises him. In the room is the young girl he had been forced to take in. Her small body is floating around the room, swaying perfectly to every note that plays on the speaker. Her form is strong and her movements are gentle and graceful. For the first time, he sees her face fully relaxed. It is as if she's in a different world, perhaps floating along with the clouds.

He stares at her movements, each perfectly planned as if she had done it a thousand times before. The girl easily transfixes him. How can one move with such precision and grace? It's as if she doesn't even have to try. The song begins to pick up its pace. Faster and faster the girl's movements become. Her movements, however, do not become anything less than perfectly graceful and delicate. As the song reaches its loudest and fastest part, she begins to spin. Spinning around and around like a beautifully gentle tornado quietly and destructionlessly passing by, the girl closes her eyes and lets a smile grace her lips.

Ariana feels at peace for once. Oh, how she longs to hear the praises from Madame, but she knows that there's nothing but silence awaiting her. Her pain begins to slip away as she spins. Her mind feels free and a smile spreads on her face. She feels as though she could burst. She never noticed how much she missed dancing until this very point. She promises herself that she will never let it slip from her again as she leaps into the air, gracefully landing with a spin.

Tony had never seen anyone dance like this. She possesses a talent. An incredible talent. Why keep it hidden though? Well of course she would hide this. Stark cannot picture this little girl being okay with anyone watching her dance. She is much too shy. He decides to keep his knowledge of the talent she greatly possesses a secret not wanting to cause her any embarrassment. As the girl finishes her dance, he is left breathless and for once, the Tony Stark is speechless.

Ariana glides over to the bench to put her sneakers back on. She smiles as she turns off the radio sitting next to the bench. She doesn't notice the figure back away from the slightly opened door. She takes in a breath and stands, ready to head back to the kitchen and grab a glass of water.

After supper is finished and put away, after Ariana cleans up the mess, the team watches another movie. This time, Ariana is able to stay awake for the whole movie. She sits next to Wanda who is holding a bucket of popcorn for Ariana and Natasha to share with her. Once the movie is finished the three-person couch is left and the rest of the team follows, ready to head to their beds.

Ariana pulls on a fresh silky nightgown. Thankfully, she wouldn't need to wear it anywhere other than the safety of her bedroom as it is a short-sleeved dress. Crawling into the marshmallow-like bed, she lets herself drift off into a peaceful sleep.

The peaceful sleep is interrupted as memories begin to seep in like a dark poison trickling its way into her mind. It feels too real for Ariana. The memories are too clear. They play out in her mind like a movie. But instead of a happy story with a cool protagonist, it is just her and a horrible part of her life.

"How much?" a tall man asks gesturing towards the small eight-year-old.

"That depends... How much are you willing to give?" the old man says with a grin. The tall man with dark hair and eyes examines the little girl's exposed body. He takes in the few scars she bears and the few bruises that lace her body. Calculating in his head, he stares at the girl who is looking down at the ground, tears in her eyes.

"Three hundred is good price no?" the black-haired man asks with a thick Russian accent.

"Maybe you can get three-fifty for me?" the old man bargains.

The tall man frowns and looks over the young girl's body again, "not worth, too broken. Three twenty most. Do we have deal?"

The man contemplates his response and shrugs, "I guess three twenty will do."

"She speak Russian, no?" the tall guy asks glancing at her with a bored expression.

"Yes, she knows the basics, you'll need to teach her a lot though I didn't have much time with her," he informs him. The tall man nods and directs a creepy smile her way. The urge to run takes over her, but before she is able to move a body is against her back and a cloth is brought to her face. Her world fades before her.

Now, a twelve-year-old is on an expensive bed. She is in a large glass tower. Her small body on the large bed is comparative to that of an ant on a leaf. She stares out to the England cityscape, her eyes blank and devoid of hope. She almost doesn't notice the door swing open behind her. She turns to look at the seven men who have entered the room. She recognizes three of them as the sons of her new owner, Thomas Duke. The other four are new, but they stare at her with the same hunger as the three brothers. A tear drops onto the bed as her stomach churns. She cowers to the side of the bed, trembling. This only makes the men more ravenous. She closes her eyes as the bed begins to shake, the men climbing onto the bed.

An arm grabs her and pulls her to the center. She cries and closes her eyes tighter. She can feel their bare skin rubbing against her which makes her stomach twist. She feels as though she is going to hurl. Opening her eyes was a mistake. She is now able to see the men leering at her. She writhes against them which only makes their grip firmer. She begins to cry out as she feels one of them enter her. She screams and cries making the men laugh at her pathetic attempt to yell for help. Soon the cries turn to ones of pain. No longer is she trying to call for help, for she knows no one will come to help her; no one ever does. Pain sears through her gut and she screams louder and louder.

Ariana awakens and hushes her screams. Her heart is thundering. It felt too real. She hears her door open and she wipes the tears from her eyes. Despite her wish to keep crying and to panic, she keeps calm as a man with a metal arm rushes into her room. It's dark and she can barely see until the man turns on the lamp sitting on the nightstand next to her.

She is terrified. She woke him up.

She woke the Winter Soldier.

He's going to be furious.