Unexpected Box

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/5uZki9l.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">She had expected her connection to Russia to be over. She knew almost no one there, and those she did know didn't know where she'd gone. There was no extended family, only casual friends from school who she'd left behind. As painful as it was to leave everyone behind, it had seemed better to do so. Better to leave the whole of her life behind and start fresh, without the painful scars and constant reminders as to what had happened.

So when a box arrived at her dorm, it was completely unexpected.

The box, as it turned out, was her parents. It had a whole bunch of their personal things, things that had no monetary value but likely had some sentimental value. A stack of family photos. What appeared to be a family tree from her father's side. A mix of medals her parents had. A note was even included on top, explaining that a trust had been set up from the sale of the house.

It was painful going through them, but she was happy to have it. It meant she had more than the single photo on her desk to remember her family by, and she sorted through it bit by bit, tucking away things throughout the room.

It wasn't until she found an unopened letter that she paused, flipping it over. It was a letter from her mother, which wasn't all that surprising, but the fact that it was a letter to Pasha Mikhaylichenko-Molotov was. Even more surprisingly, it was sealed - sealed, stamped, and yet never sent.

She had to know.

She peeled open the envelope, retrieving the letter within.

—-

The second time Anastasia stopped in front of Pasha's bar, it was early afternoon, and she was not covered in blood and gore. She was almost calm, although it was the strange sort of calm that meant she wasn't really calm, she just hadn't cracked yet. Like the calm before a storm, or the eye of a hurricane. She knocked once, firmly, and waited.

Had he known?
</div>[/thoth] @"Horus" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0R1LetM.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">Anastasia was generally very good at hiding her expressions. But even so, she was doing a poor job of it. Too much had happened, and this... this was unexpected. This had hurt her in a way much different from being attacked by a stranger. This was... well, it felt like a betrayal, even if it wasn't Pasha's betrayal.

She had the letter in her hand, tucked back in her envelope although it wasn't resealed, and she stepped inside for only a moment before she shoved it back up at him.

"You should read this. It was for you." And it was. It had his name on it and everything, although it had clearly been opened.

She wasn't looking at him. She didn't think he was capable.
</div>[/thoth] @"Horus" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0R1LetM.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">Anastasia had always considered herself to be in control. She was good at hiding her feelings, good at keeping her face blank. Even so, it was cracking. What composure she had was slowly seeping out, her face pale as she refused to meet Pasha's eyes.

She moved over to the chair, sitting down carefully. She didn't even know what to say. What could she say? The letter hadn't been sent. If the letter was true... well, then he hadn't known. He had no idea. But it still felt like he should have known, and it was like a knife to her gut.

She let her eyes wander across the bar, but never to Pasha - and very quickly let herself lapse into silence.
</div>[/thoth] @"Horus" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0R1LetM.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">It was easier to think of things technically. She didn't want to think about the emotional details. She wanted to think about things in technical terms, the way one would while writing a formal report about things. No emotions. No attachments.

"A box was delivered to my dorm room. The things they'd packed up - I didn't pack much when I came. I left things behind of my parents." The house was no doubt empty and sold. There was nothing left of her old life back in Russia anymore, save for old friends she felt she could relate to. How could they understand, after what had happened? How could they understand, after what she knew?

She sunk almost immediately back into silence.
</div>[/thoth] @"horus" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​

<table><tbody><tr><td><div style="padding:15px;"><div><div><div style="border:8px solid #ffffff;width:125px;height:125px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;float:left;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0R1LetM.png" style="height:125px;"></div></div><div style="text-align:justify;">That was, no doubt, the closest thing to an admission of truth she would get. He hadn't denied it. He'd never said he'd slept with her mother, but he hadn't say no. And that... well, wasn't that the truth? It was obvious enough from the letter that her father knew, and her mind swirled around it. It was too much of a revelation. Too much all at once. She still hadn't accepted that her parents were gone, and now this?

"This is why I have powers, isn't it?" Both of her parents were ordinary humans. She'd wondered if maybe one of them had been hiding a power, but this made it clear enough. Her powers were from her biological father. She was some sort of... half-winter human.
</div>[/thoth] @"Horus" </div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>​