The sound of footsteps, the chatter of inhabitants, the dreary faces lurking throughout the city...Bucharest was indeed a dreary city as of late, the Soviet occupation had bought them all down, the citizens having felt just the same as their country.
Natalia's eyes took in the pitiful sight, slowly smirking at them before sinking back into her seat, her hands folded in her lap as she flashed a wicked smile at the nervous driver. His breathing resounding through the cabin, forgetting his manners as fear over took him, fear of this venomous woman. He struggled to keep his eyes to the road, peering back through his mirror every few seconds, his eyes taking in her thin form, hovering over the gun on her side. He hoped they would reach her destination soon, as he could hardly stand being in her presence any longer.
She cleared her throat from behind, her eyes narrowing as she turned to the driver, commanding him to stop; he nodded, screeching to a stop at the corner on it, awaiting soldiers signaling his parking space. They yanked open the door, shaking the small vehicle as they did so, another soldier grunting harshly at him to open the trunk. His shaking hands undid the lock, the soldier grunting yet again, perhaps a greeting of sorts? He didn't know, nor care.
When all was said and done, Natalia stood upon the curb, soldiers surrounding her on every side. With a blunt thank you and a curt wave, she turned on her heel and began traveling up the long drive way to an old brick building, heavy gates forced open in front of her.
On every corner of the grounds on which the building stood, there was one or two soldiers, chattering in rapid Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian, their faces twisted into several expressions, most were of cheer, happiness, and pride, differing extremely so from the Romanian driver. They began to silence themselves as she headed down the narrow hallways, her steps seeming to mute everyone she neared.
Natalia was escorted down the hall, her escort keeping a hand on her soldier despite her glares, their strides in time; they walked slowly towards the library, the escort muttering on about having to watch over a young lady such as herself being a pleasure to him. She ignored him, her eyes drifting to the side, taking in portraits of great Romanian leaders, her eyes lingering on a picture of a boy with short brown hair and red tinted eyes, he seemed to be smiling, like he knew something no one else did. She diverted her eyes, not wanting to be caught staring as she was pulled into the library.
The library was a small, cozy room, the old fashion furniture sitting comfortably around the room, the smell of leather and a small fire filling the air. The whole room radiated warmth, from the leather bound books on the table, the candles lit throughout, the worn sofa and chair, all of it was homey, drawing, addicting in a way.
Her feet carried her farther into the room, ignoring her own thoughts and escort as she wandered deeper and deeper into the library.
Her eyes traveled over the books, scanning the titles casually, as if this was her local library, like she was supposed to be here. In her mind, she supposed she was supposed to be here, Ivan had sent for her anyway. She returned to the books, catching a flash of red in her vision. She ignored it, telling herself she was just seeing things, and went back to her search, a small chuckle filling the air near her. Pausing, she looked to the top of the shelf, her eyes meeting the typical gap that occurred when books weren't snug into the shelf, and yet, through that she saw nothing. She returned to her search, scanning quietly yet again before hearing yet another chuckle... She whipped around, glaring at the bookshelf behind her, bringing her eyes to the gap. All she could see that was out of the ordinary were two ribbons..., tugging them down, a hat came along, creating a bemused expression upon her face as she pulled it through the gap, pale hands on the other side desperately grabbing for it.
She turned her head up with a smirk, holding the hat as if it was a piece of trash as she marched along to the other side of the bookcase, only to be met with a figure swearing lightly as he glared through the gap.
She took in the sight of him, brown hair down just barely going beneath his ears, what she supposed was a broken tooth shining brightly, and two red eyes, contrasting brightly with his green uniform.
Cocking an eyebrow and tapping her foot right beside him, she let his hat fall out of her fingers slowly, her smirk growing when it plopped on his head and he released an indignant noise.
Romania certainly was an interesting creature...
Author's notes:
Hi there, I'm sorry for not updating for a while, but I really wanted to rewrite the first chapter, because the first one was very….Horrible, just horrid, it was quick and written on an urge.