AN: Not too long, and kind of a filler while I try to figure out what the hell to do to wrap the story up. lol. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Chapter 40
Maria spent a fair amount of time bathing. She had to get chunks of vampire out of her hair and scrub it from beneath her fingernails. The memory of what had happened less than an hour was still fresh in her mind. Mikhail, the poor bastard, had died protecting her. It was his job, sure, but that didn't make it any easier for her to digest. By now, he'd been wrapped and stored. His family would be notified soon and then he would be transported for burial.
Maria would make sure his family would be taken care of properly. They deserved more than empty platitudes. In many ways, she felt like she'd lost a brother. While werewolves, shifters, and other weres were close-minded enough that they kept to their own species, thropes weren't the same. They shared a past, no matter the species, and they weren't entirely common. The fact that Maria had managed to find four to be her personal guard astounded her. Then again, three of them were related.
Mikhail Gregorvich was the cousin of two of her other guards, Alexi and Andrei, who were brothers. If she recalled correctly, Mikhail lived with his mother, who struggled to make ends meet. He had a little sister who, if she could remember, was only in secondary school. They lived in a poor side of town and barely kept their heads above water. It was Andrei and Alexi who suggested him for her personal guard because he was like them. Maria immediately agreed, and now regretted that decision.
Still, she had every intention of making things right. Well, she would make them more palatable. There was no way for her to bring him back.
Eventually, Maria exited the shower. She dried herself off and dressed. When she was marginally presentable, she made her way to the garage. It was on the other side of the building and where they had taken Mikhail. He wasn't in the house, but he wasn't left to the elements.
When she reached the garage, Maria wasn't surprised to see Andrei and Alexi lingering nearby. Her eyes fell to the body in the center of the room. A table had been brought in to lay the cloth-covered corpse on. Andrei and Alexi saw her and Andrei, who'd been sitting, rose to his feet. Alexi pushed himself away from the wall. They both stood straight, held their arms tight to their side, and bowed stiffly. She offered them a nod and they relaxed just a bit.
Maria approached the body. Her brows furrowed as she stared down at the mass. She pitied him and his family.
"His mother lives in the city, yes?" she asked in a somber tone.
"Yes, Empress." Andrei muttered brokenly.
"When the snow stops, we will all go and visit her."
They gave her a nod.
"You're relieved of your duties until further notice."
Alexi perked. Concern was etched across his face. "But we can-"
She held up her hand and he was instantly silenced. "Mourn your family. You don't have to worry about me."
They were hesitant to agree, but eventually did. When they had, Maria gave them both another small nod and left them. She didn't want the pair of them to worry about working when they'd just lost their cousin.
As Maria returned to the palace, she once more thought back to the fight. It had been chaos, but out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn one or two vampires had run away. She couldn't say whether or not they made it, but she hoped one of them did. Then they could tell the others what happened when they foolishly attacked the crown.
Lost in her thoughts, it wasn't until someone called out that she was brought back into reality. Maria looked up and saw Pam sauntering toward her bedecked in her typical fashion with her equally familiar makeup. She was dressed in one of her soft pink, 1950s Avon saleswoman outfits, but the glint in her purple/blue eyes was always too wicked for the outfit to subdue.
"Eric told me what happened." She said when she came to a stop. Pam placed her hands on her hips and gave Maria a once over. "Twice in two days. That happen often?"
"It's not uncommon." She replied. "Get rid of the people who've called the shots for a long time and strip them of their means, they tend to get pissy."
Her full lips quirked into a tiny smirk. "You're accent's stronger."
Maria's brows tugged together curiously. Not only was that a random thing to say, but she didn't agree. As far as she knew, she spoke English as well as she had before. Then again, maybe not. Until they arrived for the meeting, Maria hadn't spoken English in years. It made sense that her accent might have regained a footing.
"It's cute." Pam said.
The confusion faded in favor of a light scowl, which made Pam chuckle.
After a moment, Maria said, "Perhaps the two of you should take the first flight home." Pam seemed surprised by the statement. "Things are too complicated now, and since Eric has no desire to build here, there isn't much point."
Maria watched as Pam's perfectly-done brows began to gather in the center of her forehead. At first, she couldn't decide if the blonde was curious or annoyed. Until she saw the flash. Annoyed.
"The two of you are like a pair of goddamn children." Pam said. Maria's brows rose in unison. "How 'bout ya stop and actually sit down and talk, hm? Before I rip the two of you apart."
"I've tried that. It didn't work."
Pam glared. "Try again. You know how stubborn he is."
Maria cocked a brow. "I don't cow down to people -never have, never will. If he wants to act like a child, then he's welcomed to."
And with that, she stepped around the blonde and headed down the hall. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she wanted to put space between them.
"He killed Sookie for you, y'know." Pam called out when Maria was perhaps ten yards away.
The phrase caused her to pause. She turned to see Pam staring at her blankly. The same thing sprang to mind as it had when Eric told her.
"Bullshit." She said.
Pam offered her hand. In Maria's mind, she practically heard the blonde say, see for yourself. Use your freaky mind powers.
Maria weighed her options. On the one hand, she would finally be able to see Sookie die. Even after so many years, the thought was an attractive one. Hell, through Pam, Maria didn't have to worry about the feelings that would have made her stomach turn with Eric. On the other…
Maria paused. On the other hand, she didn't want to prove him right, and it was that thought that made her hesitate. Maybe she was being childish?
She was a bit apprehensive as she approached Pam, but she eventually closed the distance between them. She had put another pair of gloves on and tugged off one of them before she wrapped her hand around Pam's.
After an initial touch, it took a small level of concentration for her to glean anything else. She was grateful for it because if she'd been hit with someone's entire life every time she touched their skin, Maria would never remove her gloves. She probably would have lost her mind a long time ago, too.
Maria did her best to draw the memories away from Pam, to siphon them out of her like drinking something through a straw. It took a fair minute until, gradually, images of the past began to flash into her mind. They made no sense at first, and she didn't expect them to. She'd have to think back on them later.
When Maria let go, Pam gave her an expectant look. It was in that moment that she realized the blonde was waiting for her to confirm what she'd said. Pam didn't realize or didn't care that Maria had to make her way through six years of events.
"I need to get some rest." She finally said. "I have to tell a mother her son was murdered tomorrow."
And with that, Maria turned and left the hall. Pam didn't stop her and she was grateful for it. When she had a minute to herself, she'd go through everything, but not right now.
By the following afternoon, the snow hadn't stopped, but it had slowed enough that driving wasn't a problem. As a result, Maria and her personal guard left the Wooden Palace and drove into the city to speak with Mikhail's family. Maria was dreading it because she knew it would be emotional and she didn't do well with emotions.
And she'd been right. When they found the broken down apartment complex where the Gregorvich family resided, the pit in her chest grew. Mikhail's mother lived in one of those complexes that was little more than four grey buildings. They were generally ten or so floors high, pale, ugly grey concrete, and set out in the middle of a desolate landscape that looked just as dreary. They were low-income housing developments, and looked it.
Pasha had warned her that they shouldn't proceed, though why he wasted the breath, she couldn't say. He was well aware that she, as well as the three of them, were more than capable of fighting off any muggers lingering within the shadows.
Andrei and Alexi led the way to their Aunt's apartment. It was on the fifth floor of one of the horrible buildings. They had to take the stairs because the elevator was broken. The hallways and stairwells had no windows, and most of the lights were broken. They were cast in darkness the whole trip. Once or twice, they had to side-step a homeless-like person sleeping in a doorway and avoid suspicious damp spots on the concrete. Given the overwhelming stench of piss, it wasn't hard to figure out what the spots were.
When they finally reached the fifth floor, Alexi knocked and the door opened after he declared who they were. A short woman, small and slight in build, was happy to see her nephews and surprised to see Maria. The shock quickly turned to embarrassment as they were led into the apartment that couldn't have been more than seven-hundred square feet. With the addition of three men who were as big as a linebacker each, Maria, and Mikhail's little sister, seven-hundred square feet felt like a closet.
Mrs. Gregorvich made multiple apologies and turned red with shame as Maria was offered a seat on the couch. She politely refused, not because she was disgusted, but because she wanted Mrs. Gregorvich and her daughter to be the ones who sat. The shame began to dissipate when the somber tone seeped in, and vanished entirely when she suddenly noticed that her little boy wasn't with them.
Maria confirmed her fears and, as anyone would expect, the older woman broke down into tears. She clung to her daughter who was slower to cry. Mikhail's little sister just seemed shocked, too stunned to do much of anything. She looked to be eleven, twelve years old, so Maria knew she understood, she just didn't seem able at the moment.
She let the older woman cry and wail for a moment before she spoke.
"I want you to know that everything will be taken care of." She felt compelled to say. Mrs. Gregorvich looked up at her with tear-stained cheeks and eyes so red and filled with tears that it looked painful. "You'll be taken care of, too."
That was all she could think to say. Mrs. Gregorvich nodded weakly, which Maria expected. She stood, and her guards mobilized. Before she left, she told Andrei and Alexi to stay with their aunt. She told them that she would be sending someone by later. They nodded. Maria and Pasha soon left.
In the car on the way back to the palace, Maria felt her insides churn. It ached because that woman's love of her son was so strong that it couldn't have bowled Maria over. It probably would have if she stayed much longer.
Tears burned at her eyes. She planned to make sure they were taken care of completely. She wanted them to never have to worry about anything ever again because it was her fault they lost the breadwinner in the family. Before she made the journey, Maria looked over Mikhail's file. As part of his background check, they learned what his family did. His father was dead and his mother worked for minimum wage in a convenience store. Mikhail was who supported them almost exclusively, and now he was gone.
With a sigh, Maria let her head fall back against her seat. She stared up at the ceiling of the car. Her plan for the Gregorvich family was already in place, so her mind drifted to what Pam had shown her. It was hard to sift through everything because it wasn't as though she could recall something as easily as her own memory. They weren't her memories. Instead, it was more like fast forwarding through a however-many-hours-long movie that had been diced up and rearranged for one specific part. It was tricky.
But she managed to while she laid in bed. Her mind had wandered as one's tended to wander just before they fell asleep. Through Pam's eyes, she saw Eric confront Sookie. She saw him thrown her down on a table and scold her. Maria saw him then lift her to her feet, kiss her softly, then snap her neck. The sound of it made Maria's heart race happily. As did the careless way he dropped the fairy to the floor.
And yet, it was the thought of what he said to the fairy witch.
"I do love you," he said, "but I love her more."
It rang out in her ears, echoed like she'd heard it herself. She wanted to believe him, but it was difficult. Either because of her own mistrustful personality, or because Eric was an asshole, Maria just found it hard to trust half of what he says.
Later That Day:
There was a knock on the door. Alexi rose to answer it. His aunt and Sofia were still sitting on the couch in shock even hours later, and Andrei was in the kitchen making something to eat. He was the only one to do it.
He made it across the small space and peeked through the peephole. There was a man in a suit on the other side, a man he knew and recognized as one of the Empress's footmen. He opened it.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"She asked me to bring this." He gave Alexi a thick manila envelope that was puffed out. It was full of something, or many things, and awkwardly-shaped as a result.
Alexi was slow to take it, but did. The footman nodded and promptly left, probably quicker than he'd arrived. Still confused, Alexi closed the door and locked it once more before he returned to the living room.
"Who was it?" His aunt asked.
"The Empress's footman. He brought this."
Alexi offered her the envelope, and she took it with the same confusion he'd harbored. She opened it and reached inside.
A moment later, she withdrew a thick packet of papers and began to thumb through them. They looked like a real estate listing if the photos he caught brief glimpses of was anything to go by.
"What is it?" Alexi asked.
"I'm not sure."
He held out his hand and his aunt gave him the papers. The first bit that was stapled together was a real estate packet with detailed photos of a fancy apartment in Moscow. It was in a luxury complex referred to as Panorama. The apartment itself had four rooms, two of which were bedrooms, and four bathrooms. It was fully furnished, on the eighth floor, and had views of the city. Despite that portion being blacked out, Alexi noticed that the price tag was hidden behind a rather long stretch. It made him think that the cost was six, if not seven digits.
The next group of stapled papers was an automobile leasing agreement for a brand new Honda SUV. It was fully equipped and had a fully-inclusive ten-year warranty. The price was also blacked out.
The final packet of papers was for a private girl's school in the city. It was one of the best schools around and incredibly expensive because of that. According to the paperwork, Sofia was meant to attend as soon as the next semester began and would remain until she graduated. Tuition had been taken care of. All his aunt had to do was sign the papers.
The evidence was clear, but his mind seemed incapable of accepting what he saw. No matter how many times he tried, he just couldn't manage.
An odd sound drew his attention and when he looked up, he saw that his aunt had turned the envelope upside down, spilling two sets of keys onto the coffee table. One belonged to a car, the other to a house. And then everything snapped into place.
A note fluttered out as well, alongside a business card. His aunt lifted the note and read it aloud.
"Your son made the ultimate sacrifice to keep me safe, and I will never be able to repay that, but please allow me to try. Enclosed is the deed to your new home, the paperwork for both a new vehicle, and enrollment for Sofia to attend school. You need only to sign the paperwork to make it official, and don't worry about the taxes. There are none.
"Please accept my deepest condolences and these gifts. Enclosed is also the business card of the company I contacted to host the funeral. They're expecting your call.
Thank you,
M. Romanova"
The room fell into silence. All eyes were focused on the mass of papers and keys.
Back at the palace, Maria pulled out a chair and sat. With Mikhail's family squared away, she had the time and the mental clarity to address another issue. She crossed her legs and prepared herself for the wait, all the while staring at the silver coffin across from her.