Chapter 2
The sensation was cold and I felt lonely as I sunk towards the bottom of the lake...
Would my jacket be ruined? I hope not.... Mat' wouldn't like that...
My vision was starting to dim as my lungs screamed for air, and try as I might I just couldn't reach the surface. I closed my eyes and gave up before everything went black.
"...." I slowly open my eyes as something warm embraces me, then everything disappears.
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"Hm...?" My eyes slowly crack open and bright light streams in.
My head throbs and I feel a bit cold, even with my jacket on. I struggle to sit up and lean on my hands, which start to turn frigid being pressed against ice. I'm sitting in the middle of the frozen pond, and the sun is rising slowly. Had that all been a dream, I wonder? I felt weak now, but something inside me felt... Stronger.
My head lulled to one side, where I could make out the fishing holes. To my left I knew my house was. Standing up slowly I dust off my coat before before starting to walk back home, one button less. Making my way through the woods, it felt like they'd changed somehow. The snow rested on them a bit differently from last night, and the path was more overgrown with trees. Can storms do that?
I feel a slight draft and look down, to find my coat seemed a bit shorter than before. Pulling it down, I trudge through the snow a bit longer to find my cottage. No, a cottage. The cottage I approached, the one I was so certain was mine, was slightly different looking, a bit more rundown. No smoke came from the chimney like it used to, and the path up to it was less kept. Approaching the door, I give it a good thump, to which snow falls from the roof. Slowly, I hear someone coming to answer it.
To my surprised, a beautiful woman answers the door, carrying a small baby in her arms. I can hear a man's voice inside. The woman's eyes visible widen when she sees me, before murmuring inside, "Troveskey, tale the baby for a minute..." The man appears at the door before taking the baby and returning inside.
"Now tell me... Who are you? No... What are you?"
"Um... Sorry to bother you, but do you happen to know where my house is around here? I thought it was here, but it isn't. There's a girl and family living there?" I ask her quietly.
"G-get out you upir!!!" She shouts angrily.
"Upir? I'm not!" I say.
She seems to get more agitated, and get husband comes to the door.
"Everything alright Anastasiya?" He asks her, putting a protective hand around her shoulders.
"Wait.... Sister? Wh-what? Why are you so old?"
"What is he talking about Amastasiya?" He glares at me.
"It's fine, really Trovoskey...." She says quietly, before turning away. The man gives me one last glare before slamming the door.
I stand there in shock. Why had sister gotten so old? It was just last night that I left...
I start to get dizzy thinking about it... No, I shouldn't think about if now. This must all be a dream..
I stumble away from the house as I try to collect my thoughts, but I can't... My sister was all grown up, married, and had moved on without me. Feeling myself start to shake, I walk through the snow for hours on end.. the cold doesn't really bother me that much. Before long I come upon a village, where people walk around, all unaware of my situation. Would they be interested to hear? Probably not, they all seemed greedy in some way or another.
One of the men notice me, before giving me a wide smile and motioning for me to come near. His cheeks are bright red, probably from alcohol.
"Hey boy, want some vodka?" He slurred, pushing a bottle towards me.
Perhaps that's what I needed right now, to drown my sorrows and get likes into a peaceful bliss. I take a sip as he continues.
"Vodka is the heart of Russia boy. Like oil, it makes this country go around!"
••••••••••••••••••
That was two days before the czar came to find me.
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Much sadness, such alcohol.
Best up will be Italy, who is anything but what he seems.
Be sure to give me critiques on this story, I really appreciate it!