The Last Romanov (Under Editing)

An Odd Pairing

          

Anastasia never would've thought that those two men would walk into a room together.

They were complete opposites, Virtanen and Zelenko. Both were fairly old, she guessed, and both of them had a little bit of army in them. Other than that, though, they had very little in common. One made a living sidestepping problems, the other made a living making those problems disappear. One shook hands with his fingers crossed behind his back, the other didn't even bother offering his hand, half the time. One pretended to be a quiet man, while the other had no reservations about showing his true colors.

And yet, both of them were standing in that room to see her.

"Your grace, I was saddened to hear of the incident at the fortress, the other night," Virtanen said, bowing slightly. "I can assure you, the people of Finland will be praying for your speedy recovery."

Somehow, I doubt that. Anastasia, though, swallowed that down and, instead, responded with the same courtesy. "Thank you, ambassador." She adjusted her position and tried not to wince. "Forgive me, but... aren't you supposed to be in Finland? I wasn't aware that you were still in Moscow."

"I was sent back the moment the news reached Helsinki," Virtanen said.

Man, did that lie come out fast: it seemed like he'd had that in mind, already. Knowing full well that his story wouldn't make much sense.

"I'm flattered to know that the government of Finland cares for me so," Anastasia said stiffly.

"Of course, they do," Grandmere said, patting Anastasia gently on the hand. "They may not recognize the Romanovs as their proper rulers, anymore, but they recognize the legitimacy of your hand, here."

Anastasia didn't know what she was trying to say, but she was pretty sure she was wrong. The Finns didn't respect her: they hated her. Just like the people in her own damned country.

"Now, I understand that one of the suspects is a Finn," Virtanen continued.

Anastasia went on high alert. "How do you know that?"

"I told him," Zelenko said. "I thought that having some support from the Finnish government would be helpful in finding the men that broke the traitors out of prison."

She wasn't exactly happy about it, but... well, she supposed it was best to respect his opinion. She didn't have much information about this, having been stuck in the hospital for what felt like a lifetime.

That being said: Virtanen shouldn't have heard about that before she had. That she wouldn't forgive very easily.

She relaxed a little. "Do you have any ideas on who it could be?"

"Based on the descriptions I've heard, their ringleader is most likely a man by the name of Arttüri Häyhä," Virtanen said. "He's a nationalist, has quite the record from the civil war. He has a knack for getting into places he shouldn't be, learning things he shouldn't be able to learn. After the war, he turned his attention to being a thorn in the side of... everybody. It wouldn't surprise me if he's decided to have some fun over here in Russia."

Anastasia nodded in understanding. She tried to remember if any of the people that night had said that name. But... all she could remember was feeling that bullet rip through her, that moment of paralyzing fear as all the memories from Yekaterinburg came back...

She forced those thoughts out of her head before they had the chance to consume her, again. She wasn't going to do that to herself. She wasn't going down that path, again.