#〈 anastasia 〉 v: crimson flower.

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tag drop: anastasia.

[musicalhistory-archived]

( | open starter - avenger | )

i.  december 16 , 1916 . it was a day avenger would never forget . it was the cold , wintery night that grigori rasputin survived her wine being poisoned , survived being shot in the back and the head , only to be thrown into a frozen river where she had drowned . in her dying moments , the russian monk held a heavy weight of resentment towards nicholas romanov , the man she thought of as a friend . he'd done nothing to save her . but here she stood , in her beloved motherland of russia , on the day her life was cut short . avenger held a woven basket of flowers , slowly leaving footprints through the fresh snow as she stepped past headstone by headstone .

ii. when honey-colored eyes scanned over a series of headstones surrounded by gates , rasputin knew it was a family grave . nobody had paid respects to the stones behind the gates in a long time , the avenger being the first visitor since the day the family was laid to rest . when her eyes looked to the sign , she knew it meant one thing in the language of her mother country ; russian .

iii. the romanovs .

iv. just seeing the surname made rasputin's heart sink with a lead weight of guilt . of course , she died with hatred towards what once was the royal family , but their demise was one they did not deserve . death by firing squad ; a violent way to go in her point of view . as she slowly opened the gate , the russian spirit quickly entered the small lot of headstones before closing the gate as if she hadn't been there . glancing to the stones of varying sizes with a solemn face , avenger stepped towards the largest grave that was within the gates , knowing that it belonged to the man she once served . tsar nicholas romanov ii .

v. why was she to be brought forth bearing ancient hatred for this man ? why did rasputin have to die holding that weight of resentment within her heart ? she'd ask herself this every day in chaldea , wishing she had been brought forth in a different class . kneeling in front of the tsar's headstone , the brunette lifted a small handful of the wildflowers , and ever so gently did she place them in the snow by the marble . even though she hated the man , it was better to at least pay her respects than to spit on his grave . the same process happened for the grave of the tsar's wife , alexandra , who remained her beloved friend , even after rasputin had died . and the children's graves were laden with flowers as well , save for one single rose , and an unmarked grave inbetween two small headstones .

vi. at that moment , the russian monk knew what had become of their youngest daughter .

vii.. amber colored eyes knew the grave was unmarked , but in her heart , she knew that it was the grave of seventeen-year old anastasia nikolaevna . seeing that sole unmarked grave inbetween so many others added more weight to her guilt . tears threatened to swell at the sight of anastasia's unmarked headstone . there was no way her stone would be left without flowers , even if there was one last rose within the woven basket . kneeling one last time , rasputin carefully lifted the crimson-petaled blossom out from it's resting place , and gently placed it by the wordless marble slab . it was at that moment that avenger let the tears run free . none of them deserved this fate , even if some of them would someday be summoned to chaldea .

viii. but rasputin knew she was no longer alone as well .