Lullaby of a Hero

Not As Planned

Anna was bored out of her mind. In the forest, there were countless things to keep one's interest, if only they chose to look. Hunting one's own food, patrolling her own territory, observing the animals and birds, singing, maintaining her home...

That last one made her stop. She grew angry, about the man named Endeavour, who came in, invaded, attacked her as she protected Ochako, and then set her and her home on fire... before becoming sad that all her memories were reduced to ruins because of him. All her happy dinners, just her and Mat'...

However, before she could think about it any more, there was a knock at her door. Entering, a small girl entered. She was slender as she was short, with blond hair and big, fairy-like wings. The blonde wore a European maid outfit, and bowed in respect. After that, she moved forward and placed the tray on a nearby table. "Here you go, Mistress. This should satisfy you until dinner. Make sure to let us know what you like and what you don't so we can tailor to your preferences in the future."

Before she could ask the girl to stay, she bowed and left, presumably to do other duties.

Turning to the tray, Anna found that it contained a variety of snacks, from fruit, stuff she never really had in the Red Forest, to baked goods and sweets, things she didn't really like. Anna much preferred the small skewers of meat, and some of the hardy vegetables. They reminded her of Anya, and home in the Forest, before it was all burnt down, and so it reminded her of happy memories.

In a few hours, eventually it was time for her first dinner... and it was nothing like she expected. Usually, as Saiko explained, they ate at a long table, especially if they had company, but not when it was just the two of them. Instead, they sat at a large round table with a device in the center that could allow them to rotate it, in order to share food.

It turns out that Anna shared an appetite with her biological mother, as the appetizer course alone would be on par with an entire meal for Anya and herself, but even then she would still remain hungry.

"How was life in Russia?" Saiko asked, wanting to know more about her daughter.

"It was cold. Hard. But fulfilling, and thrilling. Never a dull moment. My Mat'... I'm sorry, Anya did everything she could to take care of me. Taught me Russian, Reading, hunting, attunement to one's environment... and how to survive."

"What was she like?" Saiko asked, a bit quieter.

"Kind. Warm. Always there. We only had each other... but... she wasn't always there..." She started to tear up.

Her birth mother did not respond, which was a silent invitation to say more, and so she did. "She protected me when I made a mistake. She took a charging los'... sorry, elk, and... She died singing my favorite lullaby, to try to comfort me."

"She sounds like a... brave woman."
"She was." As they ate, Anna finally took off her mask, after exposing the most heartfelt moments to her, and placed it onto a side table. Saiko was finally able to see her face... and it was a spitting image of her own, albeit, a bit more defined. Her time in Russia had influenced her looks, but it was clear there was still a tiny bit of scarring, although it would fade over time. Burn scarring.

"What happened to you?"

Anna paused, before explaining, "There was a man, a slovoch..." She spat the russian word bitterly. "He broke in, tried to force my malen'kiy tsvetok away when she was still injured. He then lit me on fire, and burnt my home down."

Saiko almost sounded relieved: "So, even if you were to go back... you have nowhere?"
"No... I could rebuild. But it wouldn't be the same." Anna responded, picking up a glass and viewing the contents, and taking a sip.