Chapter Text
Yekaterinburg, July 18, 1918, 3:00 am
Rain pattered against the window. The girl groggily opened her eyes, her bones ached and she was breathing heavily… with every remnant of strength left in her, she propelled her body up from her bed and groaned at the pain… her heart slammed against her throat and every breath felt like fire… she looked at the bandages on her wrists before asking herself "Who am I… where am I…? I… I can't remember anything…" She felt like a child… so lost and helpless with no answers…
The door creaked open as tall, dark shadows filed into the room. The nurses loomed over the already terrified girl while whispering overhead before one of them spoke up.
"Anya, my dear… you must eat something." At that very moment, the girl's stomach began to grumble. One of the nurses brought a steaming bowl of soup close to the young girl before bringing the soup close to her mouth, and Anya gratefully slurped it down…
(*)
"Anya… is… is that my name?" she wondered to herself before asking, her voice barely above a whisper "Why have I been brought here? Who am I? Where… am I?"
The nurse's face was drained of colour "You are in a hospital… we don't know what happened to you but… you were found on the side of a road… and you were brought here… you have many injuries that need tending to…"
"Anya… is my name Anya?"
"You're unsure? You don't remember?"
Cautiously, Anya lowered her eyes "I… I don't know anything before coming here…"
The woman's face was sympathetic and spoke slowly and carefully "We have been calling you Anya… Your past… is a mystery to us, my dear…"
"Who are you?" The young woman asked before the nurse left the room and closed the door.
"I am a nurse here, my name is Katya. Now, rest, my dear. Your injuries need time to heal. You're safe here, for now…" And with that, she slowly and gently closed the door.
"For now…" the words echoed in Anya's head and unsettled her somehow. She was alone in the dark… and she did not like the feeling… she tossed and turned in bed before her eyelids began to grow heavy and she let slumber loom over her…
Yekaterinburg, July 17, 1918, 11:30 pm
"Go! Run!" The man whispered into the Grand Duchess' ear, she was still alive… God truly meant for her to live… he did not know which girl it was but he knew she was meant to survive… the girl let out a low groan of pain before he shushed her and quickly, he glanced around to see if anyone was watching before he gave a light push as she stumbled forward. He watched as the grand duchess faded into darkness.
"All loaded! Keep the truck moving!" the truck lurched forward and they drove towards their destination…
St. Petersburg, July 18, 1918, 3:30 am
Hypnos was unable to overcome Yuri as he stared at the falling snow out from the window… remembering the events of the previous night… what had he done? If they found out… a shiver ran down his spine at the thought. Suddenly, he heard a door creak open and he swiftly turned his head before feeling his shoulders sag with relief as he realized it was his son… letting out a breath he never knew he had held…
"Father…" Gleb begun, breaking the silence between the two "What… happened?"
"Nothing, my son…" he quickly fibbed, gently ruffling his dark hair "Go back to bed…"
The boy nodded as he went back into his room, shocked by the sudden affection of his father… after all, it was quite rare of him… Gleb sighed to himself, wondering what caused that sudden affection, not wanting to question him any further to ruin the moment… he felt as if his father was never proud of him… was he ever proud of him? Reluctantly, he climbed back into bed and closed his eyes… trying to silence those questions brewing in his head as he slept…