They find themselves in the presence of tourists today, visiting just as they are to catch a glimpse of the walls paneled with amber. Russia isn't fond of crowds, of being in the presence of too many at once—but they had decided long ago to visit, and neither of them desired to change their plans at present.
"I still remember it," he speaks softly to his companion, lowering slightly to bend over and whisper into his ear. "The original one you gave me. Peter had been quite enamored by it."
The smaller companion gives a snort in turn. "It was Friedrich Wilhelm's idea to gift it, you know. All that effort at Sophia's insistence, only to have it brought away to your lands instead."
"Do you regret giving it away?"
A pause, a moment of contemplation. "No. I only regret that it's gone."
Russia falls quiet as he contemplates on what to speak next. He considers calling his companion by his name—but Prussia has dissolved, and East Germany is no more. Russia stews in names, in memory, before deciding to direct his attention back to the room instead.
"They did well in reconstructing it."
"But you know this isn't exact, right? That this isn't really how it used to be?"
"… it is what we have, however. And as long as it serves its memory..."
And what about me? What about my memory?, are the unspoken questions of his companion. But there is little consolation that can be done for what isn't expressed, and the time for such sentiments has long passed now; so instead they stand together quietly in this room, in this amber chamber of memories.
The Amber Room was intended for the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, but it was gifted to Peter the Great by Frederick William I to secure an alliance against Sweden. The room was moved to the Winter Palace, then to the Catherine Palace upon the order of Tsarina Elizaveta Petrovna later on. Unfortunately the room was looted in World War II and shipped to Königsberg before being dismantled, and the palace it had been placed in has long been destroyed. The Amber Room currently present in Catherine Palace is a reconstruction.
