"So how was your cousin?" asked James, sitting back in the couch. He and Zelda had moved to the old lounge, where they knew there were no cameras. Zelda was pacing in front of the couch while James just sat, arms crossed, looking up at her.

Zelda chuckled. "She was fine… but seeing as I haven't breathed a word to her in two years, my reception was not very warm."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "What did she do?"

"She started beating my face with marigolds—she knows I'm allergic to them."

That made James laugh, which made Zelda want to both smile and cry. Somehow, she managed to add, "She's all right though. After her initial anger, she said she was glad to see me," with a straight face.

James nodded thoughtfully. "Well that's good. Did you… visit your parents as well?"

"No," sighed she, "although I wish I could've. My parents are always being watched by HYDRA. If I were to go to them, they would know. I couldn't check on them…" She stopped there, knowing that they were probably alive because she had betrayed James.

Betrayed. It was such an awful word. Probably because it was true.

He seemed to read her thoughts—the shadows on his face grew darker. "You know I'm not mad about what you did, right?"

Zelda blinked and stared at him.

"I'm angry about the way you did it."

Hearing that, she sighed. "I know. But what was I supposed to do?"

"Ask."

"I would never ask that of you."

"Forcing it on me was worse. I would've done it for you. I don't know what Pierce threatened to do to you, but I would've spared you from it. You didn't even think about that, though, did you? You didn't trust me—you didn't think I cared about you enough."

The hurt behind James's voice made Zelda flinch. It wasn't that she didn't love him—that was certainly not the case—it was that she did. She soon spoke this aloud. "James, I didn't do it because I didn't trust you. I just didn't want to ask you at all. If it was anything else Pierce threatened me with, I would've rather he done it to me. But I couldn't…"

She trailed off into silence, putting her head in her hand. "It's been two years he's been using the same threat, almost always put in the same way," she mumbled. "This isn't my choice. It's my enslavement. And I'm never going to be able to escape."

James leaned forward a little, though he mainly seemed curious. "What did he threaten you with?"

For a moment, Zelda was quiet. She didn't know if this would be a good thing to tell him… she didn't want to burden him with her problems. Then again, if Pierce ever threatened her again and James didn't know why she had to comply with his orders, that could lead to another mess. So she answered, "The death of my family. My parents, my cousin… everyone else I care about. For all I know, they're keeping tabs on Rory, for God's sake."

"Rory?"

"Maybe even Robbie. I don't know… I wouldn't put it past them." Zelda intentionally kept out who Rory was. She figured that might not go down well, even if they'd never technically been dating and even if she hadn't seen him in two years.

Now he frowned and leaned back. "So… they've been threatening your parents after all? I'd thought they just moved after you started working here…"

"They moved because I stared working here," groaned Zelda, flopping to the ground. She looked at the floor and added, "HYDRA moved them far enough away that I wouldn't try and save them, talk to them, even see them. They were my incentive to remain here… until recently."

James sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be like that."

"What?"

"I wasn't supposed to keep you tethered to this organization. I wanted to inspire you to get out."

Zelda smiled ruefully and glanced up at him. At least his blue eyes weren't angry—just a tad exasperated. "You know I wouldn't go without you."

"Maybe not. But still, there's that chance."

She laughed softly. "You know Pierce will track us down before we could get twenty miles out. I only managed to get to Salt Lake City because I left on a weekend, and my trip was spontaneous and very short. I was only there for a full day; then I came back. But this would be different, James. It wouldn't work out, and I wouldn't want you to get in trouble if we were to fail."

He sighed, but had nothing to say, because he knew she was right. They wouldn't be able to go anywhere because HYDRA was everywhere. After another moment, Zelda said, "I wish I could get you out of here… You've been here for far too long."

James shrugged, but was still silent. After a moment, however, he said, "I'm not the only person HYDRA's experimented on. I wish we could all get out…"

"What?" gasped Zelda. She'd never dared to dream that there were more people in the same position as herself and James.

He nodded. "There are more. I've heard of a couple—Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. They're twins; I've never met them. I've briefly met Evanesca… she went by Esca. But she somehow managed to escape. Not that HYDRA was angry—I heard they were disappointed about how her serum went. She is no soldier, but a healer. She has a marvelous gift to heal people. I haven't seen her in ten years."

Zelda was transfixed by those words. She couldn't believe there were more of them… it was almost too horrible to be true, yet it was also intriguing. She wondered what those people were like. But it was the girl named Esca who held her attention. "You said Esca managed to escape."

James chuckled, then said, "Only because HYDRA didn't care enough to go after her. They wanted a soldier and got a nurse. So they let her go."

Zelda sighed and ran a hand through her hair. If only their circumstances were the same as Esca's…

After a brief silence, James then said, "Zelda… how did you even get here in the first place? How did they threaten you?"

She blinked once and sighed. She would rather not remember, but she wanted him to trust her again. Because of that, Zelda sighed and answered, "I didn't mean for it to happen. I… used to work for SHIELD. Do you know what that is?"

James shook his head, confused.

"It's an organization bent on creating peace—"

"Isn't that what HYDRA does?"

Zelda gaped at him, thinking that perhaps he was playing a cruel joke. But then she saw the true questioning on his face, and she gravely shook her head. "No, James… HYDRA is an organization bent on creating chaos. They want to control the world by holding a gun to everyone's head and calling it freedom. That's how they want to protect people—by threatening them. That's what they're doing to me.

"I used to work for SHIELD, and I loved it there. I had the support of my friends, family, and my boss, Nick Fury. I worked there for two years, and I suppose I was very good at what I did, because Nick started bragging about me. When Pierce got wind of what I could do, he waited for the day when I would visit my parents and got to them before I could. Then he held a knife to my mother's neck and told me I would either join HYDRA or lose my family.

"Naturally, there was no choice for me. I love my family more than almost anything else. I had to be HYDRA. And since then, seeing as the threat worked, Pierce has kept an eye on them, knowing that as long as he held a leash on my family, he could keep a leash on me."

She sighed and traced one of the rug's patterns with her fingertips. Then she smirked hopelessly and added, "And Pierce knows I will do whatever he asks. That's why he's such a meretricious bastard."

James's face became stormy. "As if I didn't hate him enough already."

"The same goes for me," chuckled Zelda, but her eyes were dark. A question popped into her head suddenly, but she pushed it aside. She knew it would not be appropriate to ask—so she remained quiet.

But James could see through her like glass; so he was the one to say, "Something is bothering you."

"Yes," she answered, but she did not specify.

"You're doing it again," he sighed, moving down to sit on the ground next to her. "You're being reclusive again."

"Sorry," she laughed. "I don't mean to be. It's not something I should ask."

James, however, smirked lightly. "You're wondering how I got into this mess, aren't you? Or, if you already know—which I expect you do—you're wondering what's happened since I've been in HYDRA."

She blinked and shrugged. "Just a little," she whispered, seeing as she was ashamed to admit her curiosity.

Noting this, he smiled. "It's fine, Zelda. I asked you—now it's my turn."

"Are you sure?" she asked, glancing at him warily. "I don't want to bring anything back up that you'd rather not talk about…"

He shook his head. "It doesn't bother me as much anymore—none of it does. You know how much you've helped me, Zelda? You probably don't… I guess it's time that I tell you.

"To be honest, I don't remember much of my earliest days in HYDRA. I remember being awoken in the 1960s for the first time. I had to… carry out a mission… but before that, I was subject to high-level training. I didn't remember how to shoot a gun, where I was, or what my purpose was. I didn't even remember my own name. I don't recall who was in charge of HYDRA at that time, but I became their assassin under his lead. Once I finished my first mission, I was iced again.

"I was awoken five more times after that. Each time, I was subject to rehashing my training, rehashing the trials, and then set to a mission. It was all robotic for me. I didn't know I was missing anything. I grew to detest the similarity of my life, and I had always despised the trials, as I knew that HDYRA was simply doing it for their own purposes… but I didn't realize I had nothing.

"It was only this year—what year is it, anyway?—when I met you, that I discovered what was being taken from me. A life, a purpose. I was alive, but I wasn't. I was awake, but I wasn't. You woke me up, Zelda. You've made me feel better than I ever remember feeling. I feel normal when I'm with you, and as I've told you, I've grown to love you for it. You've given me more than anyone else ever has or could… and I'd like to thank you for that."

Zelda sighed softly hearing this. "I wish I could do more," she murmured. "I wish I could help you escape."

"We've covered this," he replied, offering a hopeless half-smile. "Neither of us would make it out twenty miles now."

"I know," she replied, still looking at the ground. "It's unfortunate, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement," grumbled James, but there was a hopeless smile on his face.

"You don't know the half of it," she sighed. "Ellis offered to hide us if ever we make it to Salt Lake City. It's painful, knowing that we have the means yet not the opportunity…" She trailed off here, not quite sure what else to say.

Both of them were quiet for a moment until she added hastily, "That is, if you would want to go."

James's gaze swerved back to her incredulously. "Of course I would. Why would you think otherwise?"

She shrugged. "In case you didn't want to go with me."

He sighed and commanded, "Zelda, look at me." When she did, he stared straight into her eyes and resumed. "I am not angry with you. In fact, I forgive you for what happened. I just want you to trust me. Until you do, I will not be able to trust you completely. There is nothing you need to hide from me, protect me from. If something is coming our way, I would rather know about it so we might face it together. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied thickly, her throat tight.

"Are you sure you do?"

She nodded and looked at him head-on. "Yes, James, I do. I promise I won't make this mistake again."

After a moment, he smiled. "I'm glad," he replied, though it was quiet. Then it was silent again as they sat, contemplating what had just been said and established. It was James who broke the silence—with a crooked grin, he said, "By the way, when are we going to finish Star Wars? You've kept me waiting long enough."

Surprised at the suddenness of this request, Zelda laughed. "I would offer to marathon the rest with you this Friday evening, but I can't because there's this stupid conference this weekend… the annual office party is next Friday, and Pierce has made it explicitly clear he wants me to attend… Maybe next Saturday?"

James nodded. "Next Saturday sounds fine with me."

"Are you really ready for this marathon? We have five movies left, you know. It's a serious commitment."

"You've kept me waiting for three weeks. By the time I watch them, it'll have been five. Does that answer your question?"

She laughed again. "I believe it does." With that, she rose and asked, "Do you want to train or anything?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "Not really. But I think it's time I start teaching you Russian."

Zelda grinned, as thrilled by the prospect now as she had been when he'd first suggested it, and sat back down. Although he might not trust her like before, at least she'd fixed most of the mess she'd made.

Yay! Another chapter! I'm still thinking about 7 left... I believe there will be about 20 total, including from James's POV.

You know the drill... Don't forget to review with your thoughts! I love your feedback!