@sacrilegiousxsamara | Flashback
“And you were right, as always. Purchasing our own fleet is the only long-term solution to our trade disputes with the North. You were always the cleverer Petrov, weren’t you? I’ll have to speak with Helena. Broker an early termination to the arrangement. Cut our losses.” Rolling his eyes, he exhausts a quiet chuckle. “Yes, yes. You were right, Nat. As usual.” But his words are unheard, by anything other than the four walls of his eldest daughter’s chamber. The Petrov residence bordered the outskirts of Vailpas, offering ample land for the well-to-do family. It was the first, significant home Nikolai built with his hard-earned coin. A testimony to the legacy he created, a legacy that would live beyond his lifetime. But the residence, once boasting of pride and intimidation, was eerily silent. The staff was dismissed, the guards sent to the factories, and their remaining children departed for a local tavern. All that remained was Nikolai, Samara, and the ghost of their daughter.
One week. Exactly one week from the day Samara returned, with blood tainting her porcelain skin. In her arms, the cold body of their eldest daughter. A bright yet strong elf, with her mother’s duplicitous competencies and Nikolai’s aptitude for mechanics. Natalia was meant to light the world on fire, casting a shadow over his successes. Instead, her body was burnt to ash, and spread across a narrow river. But he wills her to live, even in his mind’s eye. And so, he turns to her chambers, using its energy to bring her to life. At least, for his own comfort. But his somber smile falters, the footsteps of his wife filling the silence. “Do not step foot in here.” Nikolai commands, harsh yet prickly. He did not wish for Samara to tarnish what remained. Not when she took what was his, was was to be their legacy.