nayala

[nayala]

[BEAST OF HYDRA: PROLOGUE]

Summary: In the year 1945, you met the man that changed the course of your life forever. In a world in which you only know cold and blood, filled with loneliness and pain, he is the only warmth remaining constant in your life.

Pairing: James Bucky Barnes x OFC!Reader.

Trigger Warning: Parental abandonment and human trafficking.

Madrid, Spain. 1937.

I have always been a very observant child, today, I knew my mother was happy. She couldn't stop going back and forth around the room, taking out of the closets our best dresses and shoes, which weren't many. This morning, as soon as we got up, she made me take a bath from head to toe, after that, she helped me put cream on my body, my skin was soft and shiny, I was happy because the times I used to put it on secretly she would get mad at me and leave me without dinner as a punishment, but I couldn't help it, I always saw how mom and the rest of the girls in the house put it on their skin and the clients complimented how good it looked on them, I always wanted to be like my mother, she is beautiful, the most sought after, even by men who come from outside. And I always wanted that, to be noticed and praised as much as she was, so maybe my mother would also notice me and tell me that she loved me.

"Mommy, where are we going today?" My voice came out excited, my palms were sweating with excitement, my mother approached with a bottle of oil, which she left on the dressing table, and knelt down in front of me.

"Today we are going to meet two nice men who are interested in you." My eyes widened in surprise and I showed her my most sincere smile. She smiled back at me, though she looked nervous and a little uncomfortable. "They're going to take you to a very, very prestigious academy full of kids as smart as you."

"Really?" I watched as she nodded, then, she took the bottle from the dressing table and poured the liquid into her hands, running it through my hair and enhancing my curls with her fingers, once she finished putting some bows in my hair, she got up to take the freshly ironed dress from the hanger and leave it on the bed, her body turned her back to me and I took the opportunity to get off the chair and stand up. "Mommy, do I take off my clothes now?".

"Yes honey, we need to get out before it gets any later." I started to take off the simple dress I had been wearing all day, I looked out the window for a second, the sun had already set and the clouds were starting to cover the moon. My mother came over and helped me pull the dress off over my head, as well as the rest of the underwear that was dirty. She took a new, clean pair from the closet, once that was on, she slipped a white cotton nightgown over my head, and finally my new dress; brown, like the chestnuts we eat in the fall, she brought my church shoes over to me and helped me put them on, rolling up the white lace socks and smoothing the edge of the skirt that came up to my calves. "You look perfect, as you should."

I smiled happily and spun around, watching the skirt lift up, I felt like a princess, like the ones I read about in my fairy tale books. I waited seated until my mother finished dressing, it was only about ten minutes, but for me it seemed like an eternity, and once she put on her hat and tied the laces of her high heels, she took the coats from the coat rack and we went out the door of our room.

We went downstairs carefully, on the way we met Elvira going upstairs with a soldier to her room, she said goodbye to us and when we arrived downstairs, Maria was waiting for us, she was one of my mother's closest friends and the one who gave me the story books for Christmas. She raised an eyebrown to my mother, and she sighed.

"Are you sure about this?" Maria's voice sounded stern, judgmental. My mother looked at her without a word and nodded. After that, we walked out of the house, and for an instant, I turned around and saw Maria looking at me sadly, seconds before my mother closed the door and the cold of the night froze my body.

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We walked for a while until we reached the main square of the city, after a couple of minutes waiting, a black, luxurious car approached, with the emblem of a weird octopus on the front. My mother hurriedly got up from the bench we were sitting on and fixed her clothes to look presentable, I got up with her and grabbed her hand while with the other I fixed my hat. Two men got out of the car, both dressed in suits, wearing heavy coats and matching gloves, we approached little by little until we reached the middle of the square, one of them, the shorter one, smiled strangely when he met my gaze, at that moment, I squeezed my mother's hand and averted my eyes to the ground.

"Is she ready?" The man from before asked my mother, he spoke with a very thick accent, and then my mother let go of my hand and ran it down my back, moving my body forward.

"Yes, she is a very healthy and well-behaved girl, she won't give you any trouble." My mother's arm pushed harder, and my body thrust forward, I almost tripped over my feet, but I pulled myself together and stood up straight in place, facing the two men. "Go with them, honey." The other man, a little taller than the previous one, put one knee on the ground and took off the hat he was wearing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss, I'm Doctor Abraham Erskine." His voice also had a strange accent, but compared to the other one, he sounded calm and friendly. I looked at him, then at my mother, then at him again, I nervously walked towards him and he took my outstretched hand as he stood up, the gentleman smiled at me and motioned for me to stand next to him.

I watched as the other man nodded and my mother smiled, from behind us, another man came up and handed my mother a briefcase with a paper envelope on top.

"As promised, your money and a clean record."

My mother took the briefcase to her chest and put the envelope in her purse, she sighed and I saw a weight lift from her shoulders, she looked up and watched me for a long time, her eyes showed the relief she felt.

"Mommy, will you come visit me?". I felt the cold night wind caress my cheeks, red from the low temperature.

"Sure, honey, but you have to promise me one thing, you have to behave very well, be a good girl and obey, always."

I nodded and waved goodbye to her, smiling, the men around me turned away, walking to the car parked on the street, I turned my head, and watched my mother's back plunge into the darkness of the night.

She did not say goodbye to me.

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The driver opened the door for us and we got into the car, it was very spacious, with seats on both sides, I sat down and closed my legs, putting my hands on top.

"As I said before, my name is Abraham Erskine." He reintroduced himself, then pointed to his companion. "This gentleman is Doctor Arnim Zola, we work together on a very important project."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, child, we expect great things from you, and we will make out of you a very special girl."

I looked at the two men curiously and nodded enthusiastically, looking out the window as the moon followed us into the night.