"Tell us one more story before you leave!" cried Sasha, her little pigtails bouncing as she rocked her seat in her eagerness.
"Story, story!" the other children of the class echoed.
Nadia laughed. "I don't think your parents would like it if we began our last day with stories instead of lessons."
"But we don't want the lessons," whined Oleg, who hadn't stopped fidgeting with his pockets since he'd walked into class. "We want the stories. We'll learn the lessons better if we hear the stories first."
"Oh, really?" Nadia teased, raising an eyebrow. "That's not what the marks on your last assignment told me."
"Please?" several voices begged intermittently. "We'll learn extra hard!"
Nadia had to laugh again, reveling in their eagerness. "Give me one half hour on your sums, and then we'll see."
This was the usual method Nadia employed to get her students through the day. Having only six children in her class, she actually found it easier to teach them in a more personable fashion than any of the larger schools farther west probably would have liked. But that was how she liked it––fewer people to meddle with her teaching.
After the arithmetic had been struggled through (which took slightly longer than usual, though she was pleased to see the progress they were making, especially Maria, who found it particularly difficult), she gave them what they wanted on the promise that they would work on their reading afterwards. "We will, we will!" they all assured her.
"Very well," Nadia consented, and so she began:
"Once upon a time, there was a young maiden who was so beautiful she was called Starshine. She lived in a faraway kingdom with her godfather, who was one of the king's palace guards. One day, the king sent out an edict to the whole kingdom: 'Bring all the young maidens of the land to my palace for special treatments, so that I may choose one of them as my queen.' So Starshine was brought to the palace among the many other young women, and they were given beauty treatments for a whole year. Finally, the king brought all the maidens forward to see whom he should choose to be his queen. And, though there were many beautiful maidens there, he chose Starshine because her face was like the sun and her hair glistened with starlight."
The children crowded close about her, attending with rapturous delight, their eyes wide with wonder. It always warmed her heart to see how much they enjoyed her stories, even if their parents called her silly for telling them.
"And so, the beautiful Starshine became queen of the whole land," Nadia continued, "and the king favored her most highly. One day, her godfather discovered a plot to kill the king, and informed Starshine, who warned the king just in time, and the evildoers were hanged before they reached the king; and Starshine's favor in the king's eyes continued to grow. But––" Here she paused for dramatic effect, "––the king had also a wicked advisor who despised the godfather because he would not pay him respect, for he knew this advisor was an evil man who sought to destroy his entire family."
A collective gasp rose from her captivated audience.
"And so," Nadia went on, leaning in and putting on a malicious expression, "this wicked advisor concocted an evil scheme to kill Starshine's whole family and hang her godfather before all the kingdom. He brought a proposal before the king and said to him, 'Your majesty, there is a certain group of people who intend to do you great evil! They do not listen to your laws or honor you as their king! If it pleases you, let an edict be sent out that we may rally our forces and destroy them all.' And the king agreed and signed the edict into law.
"When Starshine's godfather heard of this, he and all their family wept for a whole day. When Starshine heard of it, she sent her attendant to ask what had happened to cause such grief, and her godfather reported to her all about the king's edict. He said to her, 'If you go before the king and ask him to spare us, perhaps he will listen to you.' But Starshine was afraid, because there was a law that no one could appear before the king without his permission, or else they would be put to death. So she told her godfather, 'I cannot go before the king uninvited! He might kill me!' But her godfather told her, 'That is possible, but you will certainly die, along with me and all the rest of our family, if you do not go. Perhaps it was your destiny to become queen of our land for this reason: you were put in a place to save your people. If you do not do this, help will most certainly come from another place, but it will be too late for us.' So Starshine mustered all her courage and went to speak to the king."
She paused again, leaving the children waiting with baited breath to see what would befall the beautiful queen and her godfather.
"Queen Starshine put on her most beautiful robes," said Nadia, "and wore her finest crown. Then she went to the royal throne room, where the king sat on his golden throne, and curtsied low before him. Even though she was trembling with fear inside, she stood straight and still, with her head held high. The king stared at her in great surprise, for he had not sent for anyone that day. And…" She glanced around at the pale, eager faces, drawing out the suspense. "… he… was… pleased to see her and smiled and asked, 'What may I do for you, my queen?'"
All the children relaxed in unison, relieved that the beautiful Starshine had been received favorably.
"And Starshine said to the king, 'Your majesty, if it pleases you, I would like to prepare a dinner for you and your advisor tonight.' And the king said, 'Oh, that would be wonderful! We shall both attend.' So Starshine prepared a dinner and the king and the wicked advisor both attended it. Starshine was very nervous to ask for the king to save her family, especially when that wicked advisor was present, so she said, 'If it pleases my lord the king, I would like to invite you and your advisor to dine with me again tomorrow night.' And the king said, 'That would be wonderful. We shall certainly come.'
"The next day, the wicked advisor saw Starshine's godfather at his post, and he showed neither fear nor respect to him, and the advisor became so angry he decided to ask the king to hang him the next morning, and even built the gallows to do it!" Outraged indignation from the listeners. "But that night," she continued, holding up one finger, "the king suddenly remembered that he had never thanked Starshine's godfather, the guard who had saved his life from assassination, and had the advisor brought to him and asked him, 'What do you think should be done for the man the king delights in?'" Several children guessed at once where this was going, and Nadia noted a few sly grins that crept over their faces. She went on, "The advisor thought to himself, 'Who else could the king want to honor but me?' So he answered, 'Have the man wear one of the king's royal robes and ride on the king's royal horse and be led through the city by one of the king's noblemen, and have the nobleman shout, "This is what the king does for those he delights to honor!"' And the king said, 'That is a wonderful idea! Do all you have said for the guard who saved my life, and you shall be the one to lead him through the city.'"
Now genuine laughter broke out at the wicked advisor's expense as even the slower ones grasped the meaning of the situation. Once it had quieted, she resumed, "The advisor had to obey, so he did all he was asked, and at the end of the day, he hastened away in shame to prepare for the dinner Starshine had invited him to.
"That night, when they were all seated at the table, Starshine mustered all her courage and asked, 'May I beg a request from my lord the king?' 'Of course,' said the king. 'Even up to half my kingdom I will grant you.' Then Starshine said, 'This, then, is my petition––spare me my life, and the lives of my family, for we have been sold to a wicked evildoer who will put us all to death!' The king was enraged and cried, 'Who could have done such a thing?' 'It is your wicked advisor!' Starshine replied. When the king heard this, he was enraged, and when he discovered that the evil advisor had built a gallows just for Starshine's godfather, he was furious and commanded that this same advisor should himself be hanged on it. And so all of Queen Starshine's family were rescued, and her godfather was appointed to be the king's advisor, and they all lived happily ever after."
An outburst of happy applause concluded the tale, to which Nadia politely bowed. "Now, we've got a lot of reading to work on," she told them, getting out their books. "So if you don't want to have to read it all over your next vacation, we'd better get started."
The rest of the day passed smoothly enough; yet, in spite of the fact that their vacation had arrived, the children's spirits were none too high. Nadia had only been teaching for three terms, but this was her last; the school administration had said her service wasn't needed here any longer, though Nadia suspected that, among other reasons, they just couldn't afford the extra teacher. There were six teary goodbyes (and more than a few shed on Nadia's part) that day as each of them hugged her and wished her good luck. She assured them there would likely be a job for her at the post office in one of the bigger towns to the west, but that she would always remember the wonderful time they'd had together.
"We'll always remember you, Miss Antonov!" Sasha promised passionately.
"And we'll never forget your wonderful stories!" cried Maria.
Last to leave was little Anton, who hugged her close. "My papa once told me a story like the one you told us today," he whispered in her ear. "He says he remembers it from when he was a little boy. I'm glad I got to hear it from you too."
Nadia squeezed him tightly. "I'm glad I got to tell it to you before I left."
It was with fond tenderness that Nadia packed up the schoolroom, swept it clean, and finally left for home. As much as she had come to love this tiny village, it did not have much to offer an unmarried woman her age. She was grateful to be living with her brother and his family, and especially that her brother held such a high position in the government. It was largely for that reason she'd been able to go to school to become a teacher in the first place. She didn't hold back her emotions for the children she taught wherever she'd gone, but she always knew that none of it would last forever, and could only make the effort to send them on to better, more hopeful futures.
She walked her usual route to get home, and was surprised to find an unknown truck parked in front of their house, and even more astonished to see it crammed full of their furniture. She saw Anya's powder-blue luggage trunk sitting on the ground beside it, and caught sight of her own mattress peering out of the back. Anya was standing on the porch, looking worried.
Nadia approached, very confused. "Anya, what's going on?"
Anya came out to her, taking her hands in hers. "Your brother's home. He got back half an hour ago."
Nadia's stomach dropped. "How—why? Was he granted leave?"
"I don't think so," Anya murmured, lowering her voice. "Something's wrong; he's not himself. I wish you'd say something to him."
As she spoke, the sound of raised voices came from inside the house. A few moments later, the door burst open and a very angry youth stormed out, carrying a bag under his arm. A tall, deep-chested man came out just behind him, carrying a heavy, black trunk. In spite of the rather ominous circumstances, it had been a few years since Nadia had last seen him; he looked almost just the same as he had when he'd left, though there were more lines on his face than she remembered. Waiting until he'd put down the trunk, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Dmitri!"
"Nadia," he gasped, giving her a hasty kiss on the forehead. "Anya told me you had just finished the school term?"
"Yes," she replied. "This was my last. The school can't afford a separate beginner class anymore; they're merging them with the next level up. I'll have to find a new job—"
"Oh, that's all right," said Dmitri quickly, far more pleased with this news than she'd expected. "Then we can leave at once."
"Leave?" Nadia echoed. "Where are we going? What happened?"
"Don't bother asking," snapped the youth, throwing what he was carrying into the back of the truck. "I tried, but he won't tell me anything."
"Be patient, Mikhail," Anya chided him. "Your father will explain in due time."
Nadia waited expectantly for Dmitri to get Anya's trunk into the truck. "My job has changed," he grunted, moving things around. "I've been moved elsewhere, so we'll be out of town for a while."
The air in Nadia's lungs seemed to freeze. "What do you mean?"
"I'll explain everything later," Dmitri called, hurrying back into the house. "We have a train to catch. We can't be late."
"Where are we going?" she repeated more earnestly, following him into the house.
"Komsomolsk," he replied, bundling up an armful of sheets and quilts. "We need to get to the station. We're going to be traveling for a while."
Nadia felt her pulse quicken. The unannounced return followed by such an abrupt departure could only have one explanation: the archaic word for it would have been treason. Understanding locking into place, she began gathering up bundles of their clothes set by the door, bringing them out to the truck. At the door, she stopped as Dmitri reentered, holding his gaze. "And we'll be safe?" she asked quietly.
Her brother stared back, the light of fear flickering in his eyes. "That's what we'll have to find out." Crossing the threshold again, he added over his shoulder, "Which is why we must leave at once."
Biting her lip, Nadia noticed another bundle of clothes left by the bedroom door; judging by their soiled condition, she determined that they were what Dmitri was wearing when he'd arrived. She picked up the heavy coat that lay on the top. It was filthy, covered in ashes and stained with something that might be blood. But the uniform underneath it was not Dmitri's army uniform, but a prison jumpsuit.
Shivering, she looked up and saw Anya standing in the doorway, staring fearfully at the clothes in her hands. Nodding solemnly, Nadia rolled the coat and the other clothes into a bundle, then flung it into the fireplace. It took a minute for the flames to catch; by the time they had everything they needed loaded into the truck, it was burning high, releasing a a strange, rather moldy smell.
"Come, Uncle Jan," Anya called cheerfully enough. From out of the next room came an older man with white hair––Anya's uncle, who lived with them. He moved rather slowly and hesitantly, looking rather confused; in his hands was a black carpetbag. "You'll need this." Anya brought him a scarf, wrapping it about his neck. "It'll be chilly out."
Glancing at her hands, Nadia saw that they were covered in some black, tar-like substance; she assumed it must be from the clothes she had just burned. Hastening outside, she rubbed her hands with snow to clean them off, then wiped them dry on her coat. Turning back again, she was just in time to see Anya helping her uncle get his bag into the truck and calling, "Ready," towards the house.
Dmitri came out last of all, closing and locking the door. "We won't be stopping until we get to the station," he announced, hurrying them all to the truck. "I brought a little bit of food, so we won't go hungry until nightfall, but any relief breaks will have to wait."
Mounting the step, Nadia cast one last look back at the little house. The smoke going up from the chimney was black and oily-looking, rising into the sky almost sluggishly. Tearing her eyes away at last, she slid into the front seat beside her brother, Anya helping Jan into the back beside Mikhail, who glared sullenly out the window. Anya held her uncle's hand, brightly explaining how nice their trip would be with no one to disturb them and how fortunate it was that they were all staying together. Jan's expression was rather blank, but his entire frame was rigid. As the engine roared to life, his grip on Anya's hand tightened.
Rather aggressively, Dmitri threw the truck into gear and got moving. The truck lumbered out onto the road, skidding a little on the ice as Dmitri tried to speed up too fast. Nadia watched their little house growing smaller in the rearview mirror until they rounded a bend and it was out of sight.
"Things are going to be different for a while," Dmitri assured everyone. "It will take some getting used to, but it will all be all right." From the corner of her eye, Nadia saw his lips moving as he muttered to himself something like, "I'll make sure of it."