#but he's there to figure her out *not* find anastasia though that's his ruse bc ofc he knows where anya is since he's sheltering the entire

[noblehcart]

“ they said he crawled out of his own grave.”

@lordofthestrix

he had been asked what he made of the rumors. the survival of the romanovs. glimpses of a dead tsar and his children throughout europe and other parts. rumors and whispers coming from the Koptyaki forest about a resurrection thanks to god....or something worse.

something dark that would hunt down the executioners for their crimes. his sin and his comfort in all of this was that his father was one of the executioners. the romanovs were dead and his father soon followed after in the grave thanks to a pistol he always kept at his side. he knew the facts. the romanovs were dead. some by his father's own hand. he knew he didn't believe in god, an afterlife or resurrections. even if he did believe or fear such a thing then there was no retribution to be sought with him.

it ended with his father though he tried to continue in a path he thought might bring his father some pride. though sometimes the idea made his stomach roil till he swallowed the nausea down to carry on with his work. work that now brought his past outside the gates to the Ipatiev house and his father's actions to the forefront.

they said he crawled out of his own grave. were the words of the french noble with diplomatic immunity. a very important guest he was told to be careful with. listen closely to and monitor for hints of espionage. the last thing their country needed was a spy or an international incident. or for him to continue lingering around the area distracting his secretary who kept continuing to look in their direction concernedly. he wondered if the concern was for him or the french lord.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." was the short curt response, tone clipped to allow for no further debate or idea that it could be just that. possible. "as you know our country announced their deaths just a few years ago. the dead don't come back to life. bullets and bayonets never fail. tragic as that may be to some, but the tyranny over russia has ended with the tsar's death. for that we can be grateful."