An hour spent curled up in the passenger seat hadn't done much to improve the child's mood. Five times Ivan had tried to get her to speak with him, but she had only stared out the window in a sullen silence. She was shivering a bit, despite having removed her snow soaked socks. As she looked out the window, she really missed the warmth of her bed. It was gone though, her home and family had burned in flames and taken a small piece of her with it.

"Look.. Talia.. You can't just ignore me. I want to help you." he tried again, looking at her for a moment as he knew there would be no other traffic in the direction they were headed.

"I know.. Just.. I don't know what to think. Everything.." she trailed off and reached up with one hand to wipe her eyes. "It's.. Gone. They're gone.."

"It'll be okay. Where we're going, you're going to be able to honor their memory. They might not be with you now, but they would be proud of what we can help you become." Ivan smiled, turning his eyes back to the road.

"Where are we going?" she decided to ask, turning her head to look over.

"You'll see.. In fact, we're about three minute's away." he was scanning the terrain, wanting to get out of the truck.

The five year old nodded once, seeming appeased by that answer and curled back up in her seat, leaning her face against the cold glass. Her tears from earlier had dried and frozen to her face, and all she could feel was a deep emotional and mental exhaustion. She didn't have the energy to ask more questions, only figuring she would learn more when they got to this mystery location. As he had said, a few minutes later she could see a wall growing larger where it had only been a hazy line a few minutes before.

The walls surrounded a structure she couldn't quite make out. At each of the four corners there was a tower of some sort, likely with a guard of some sort. It was white like the snow covered landscape surrounding it, and would be likely hard to notice from above or far away. She shivered again, wrapping her arms around herself and curling up a bit more to conserve body heat. The below zero temperatures of winter weren't being kept out well by the truck, and she hoped that inside the building would at least be warmer.

He pulled to a stop in front of the walls, a gate barring them from entering. She noticed they had stopped and looked around to see another large man approaching the vehicle. He was armed with a gun, his face mostly covered, and a large fur lined hood around his head.

"Welcome back Petrovich." he greeted, looking past him into the truck, seeing the child curled up in the seat and watching him warily. "Who is this?"

"A new recruit." he responded, noticeably shifting his demeanor to one that was more commanding and serious than she had seen him. "Open the gate."

"Of course, sir." he agreed, stepping away from the truck and signaling to a man she hadn't seen standing there, causing him to open the gate for them. She was looking around more now, curious about where she was. Recruit? What had that meant? Now that they were here she seemed to be more ready to look around rather than just stare off into the distance like she had been. He noticed this and hoped that she would be a quick learner with how curious and observant she seemed to be. As they drove slowly into the compound, she could see smaller buildings, and up ahead a much larger building than anything she had seen before. There were pillars and towers, a bell tower on the far side to call in the hours to the inhabitants of the building, and windows to let in light. The onion domes topped off parts of the building, dark in comparison to some of the brightly colored ones she had seen elsewhere. Likely to blend in with the occasional patches of trees she could barely make out through the slow snow that was starting up again.

He pulled to another stop in front of the building, turning off the truck and then getting out. He walked around to the other side and opened the door, picking her up and carrying her to the large wooden doors. She was put down on the step that wasn't covered in snow, and waited for him to open the doors.

"Keep up Natalia." he said, glancing over his shoulder at her as he walked into the building. Bare feet padded along behind him, and she was still shivering slightly. This building was just barely warmer than her house had been, and noticeably less drafty. She followed him down hallways, taking in every detail with an alertness her father had always said was rare in a child her age. There were no other sounds from the building as far as she could hear, and wondered if anyone but the guards and the two of them were awake. Eventually he led her towards another set of large doors, and knocked twice before walking in. It had large windows to let in light, though it was still only a little after midnight, and candles proved to be the main light source. There was another man sitting behind the desk, seeming to have been told about their arrival and been waiting. His hands were folded atop the desk, and he took in the nervous child and the man who had brought her here.

"I thought I told you this was a scouting assignment Petrovich..."

"I know sir, but things turned out differently than I expected. Her home burnt, and her mother threw her to me. No one else made it out. I offered to bring her here as a place to stay."

"I see.." he turned his head to look towards the child and sighed. "What is your name little one?" he asked.

"Natalia.." she responded, her eyes flicking to Ivan as if asking who this was.

"You can call me Levitsky. No need to start with the official titles quite yet. We tend to go on a last name basis." he gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs, while Ivan went to stand by the chair she was in. He could see she was already searching the area to try and figure out more of what was going on.

"Recruit.. When he said that, what did it mean?" she asked, turning her gaze fully on the man.

"I see he didn't tell you why you're here.. Well, this is a very special program. You seem to be a very special girl. This program only accepts the very best.." he shifted in his seat, sitting up a bit more. "You'll be doing a great service for your country as long as you listen to what we say and behave. Wouldn't you like that?" he asked.

A nod was given by the girl as she had already begun hearing things about how important loyalty to their country was. In the classes she attended they preached about the beauty and grace of dance, and how important it was to promote Soviet culture. In school she rehearsed a pledge every day with the other children, and had already developed a strong sense of pride for her country and what it was supposed to become. "I would like that very much. He said it would also honor my family's memory?"

"Very much so, every parent would be honored to know their child was selected for this. Your dancing is actually what drew us to you in the first place, though the fact your family.. It's a tragedy of course. They should've been able to see you as what you will be." he looked sympathetic for her and she glanced away momentarily, a brief pang of grief shooting through her.

"If it will bring greatness to my country and pride to my family's memory.. I will do what is asked." she figured that was the right thing to say, and also because she wanted to do what seemed right.

"Good girl. As he is awake, Ivan will take you to your room. You'll be sharing a room with the other girls in this program. You'll be more formally introduced to them tomorrow. Madame Kseniya will be coming for all of you in the morning though."

"Thank you." she responded, standing up after a look at Ivan and seeing that she could. She then got up and followed him out of the office, unsure what else to do besides follow him. This was a new environment for her, and she was more than a little intimidated by it. She had never been afraid of the dark before, but walking in silence down the halls made her feel cold for reasons other than the chill left over from the drive here.

He led her down a series of halls again, towards another part of the building, most of the doors being metal instead of wood. She eyed the one they were approaching nervously, barely able to make out any details of the halls in this lighting and wondering where they were in the structure now. He pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, pushing the metal inwards and then gesturing for her to follow again.

As she walked into the room, she saw a few beds with girls of varied ages lying asleep in them. All of them had one arm extended above their heads, but she couldn't quite make out why. Was this just what they did here? He led her over to one of the empty beds under a window, and gestured for her to lay down. Then he grabbed a pair of cuffs from his pocket and moved her arm so he could link it to the metal of the bed frame.

"Wh-What is.." she looked confused as the cuff was secured around her wrist, unsure what to think of the situation. This was far from the gentle singing and loving caress her mother gave her hair as she fell asleep peacefully.

"Don't worry. It's just a precaution, to make sure you're safe."

"But.." she was cut off by a silencing finger and the sound of a girl stirring somewhere else in the room.

"Don't want to wake anyone yet. Goodnight Natalia. I promise, you'll adjust to life here pretty quickly. You seem like a smart girl. I'll see you soon." he smiled lightly at her before turning and leaving the room. None of the other girls stirred, and she wondered how long they had been here.

As she lay there with the metal biting into her flesh, she truly felt the weight of her loss, and the knowledge that nothing would ever be the same. She curled in on herself a bit, keeping her arm extended above her head to prevent the metal from biting too much, and closed her eyes to sleep.