XIX - Visit Me Someday

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The Litchfield family celebrated James' miraculous recovery late into the night, welcoming the two Zamoksvan siblings to join them; so much so they demanded they cancel their reservations at the inn and stay the night with them. "The pair of you were such a large part in my recovery. It's the very least we can do to pay you back," James explained to the pair. Of course, Maxim and Inessa gladly obliged. Eleanor prepared a large dinner for the six of them, a meal that could perhaps rival the large feasts back in Zamoksva. Charlie and Collen grinned from ear to ear the entire night, overjoyed to see their father well again. Despite all of the cheer around them, Maxim and Inessa couldn't help but feel a bit homesick.

The yearning truly settled within the two Zamoksvans as they readied themselves for bed. Inessa stayed silent as she threw on the nightgown Eleanor had lent her. She flopped back on the bed in the guest room, staring up at the ceiling blankly. Maxim watched her with a curious eye as he put on one of Charlie's nightshirts. "Do you remember the last tournament held in Zamoksva?" she asked, earning a nod from her brother, "The Eighteenth Annual Tournament, hosted in honor of Mother and Father's marriage. Mother fought everyone that came through and conquered them all, and Father was right by her side, healing her between battles," Inessa recalled.

"And then, once it was all over and done with, and Mother won the tournament, the four of us celebrated together. Nobody else was there, just us. We locked ourselves up in the throne room and Mother demanded one of the guards to bring up part of the feast they were serving to all the attendees downstairs," Inessa laughed, Maxim chuckling along with her, "she told us what it was like fighting in the tournament, down to the very last detail. We laughed and we joked, and in that moment, it felt like we were, well... we were just like everybody else. Mother and Father weren't the Tsarina and her faithful husband. We weren't the Tsarevich or the Tsarevna. We weren't the backbone of a kingdom, we were a family, just like any other," Inessa rambled, "sorry. I didn't mean to get like that all of a sudden."

"No need to be sorry," Maxim told his sister, shaking his head. He finished the last button on his nightshirt, falling down onto the mattress on his stomach. The Tsarevich propped himself up on his elbows, watching his sister for a few moments before he spoke up again. "Tonight reminded you of that, didn't it?" he questioned, Inessa nodding along reluctantly. Maxim smirked, reaching out and ruffling his sister's hair. "Don't worry, it reminded me of being back home, too. It's odd, I thought that I wouldn't miss anything about Zamoksva if I went off on an adventure, but now that I am, there's nothing I want more than to go back home. Of course, I don't want to go back unless everything is the exact same way we left it, which it's not," Maxim said with a disheartened sigh, "I miss Mother."

"I do, too. But that's why we're out here on our adventure, isn't it? To find her and bring her home. To make everything just like it was before we left," Inessa said with a weak smile, shining some light on the situation, "tomorrow, we'll get up and set off for Porthtrunnel, and from there we'll set sail for Havre Leon. One step closer to bringing Mother back home. But now's not the time to be worrying about that; it's late and we have plenty of traveling to do. We should go to sleep fairly soon. Oh, I almost forgot! Where's Thorn at? We'll need to find a little place for him to sleep as well. He seems to like little nooks and crannies, I wonder if this drawer would be to his liking," Inessa wondered aloud.

"He's stayed outside since Charlie and I returned from the woods," Maxim said, brushing her rambling aside with a wave of his hand, "I checked up on him earlier, he found a little crack under the front porch and he claimed to like it. You're never going to believe it, but we don't loathe each other - not entirely, at least. As much as I hate to say it, sending us out together proved to be a great bonding experience," he added, earning a little laugh from Inessa, "don't worry about Thorn, he'll be fine for the night. For now, let's head to bed."

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