The Sins of Our Fathers

II Pain of the Past

I ran as fast as I could pumping my arms in an attempt to go faster and maybe out run the pain. I'd always known that Dimitri would eventually discover the truth, but even with the preparation my heart ached all the same.

Visions of what had been flashed across my mind: Dimitri kissing me, laughing as we romped through the snow tossing snowballs at each other, and a memory of laying on a tiny cot together curled up in a blanket siping hot chocolate as a fire raged in front of us so close to a meager Christmas tree that a single breath might have set the entire thing ablaze, and it did. My mind seemed to burn until there was nothing left, but a shriveled piece of ash and I was brought back to where I had fallen in the snow with tears frozen on my face.

The memory of Dimitri jerking away from my touch was still fresh in my mind tearing my heart even more. He had never shied away from my touch before, once he had welcomed it, but that was before he realized who I was. In all honesty it was amazing I'd kept it from him this long, I guess my last name hadn't seemed all that important at the time. I sighed and tried to quiet my screaming agony as I got up and pushed on.

The white snow made all the streets appear identical as I found myself wandering aimlessly among the empty streets of St. Petersburg. The sky overhead was darkening, but I no longer cared. There was nowhere for me to go, no one who loved me, so I put one foot in front of the other and walked until I could go no more.

•••

A dark moonless sky swallowed me as I woke up. Freezing snow had engulfed me as I slept covering me like a blanket. Cold snow had melted and had soaked through my clothes, all the way through my bones. Shivering violently I stumbled to the nearest house and fell against the door in an attempt to bring help, as my limbs would no longer move. Bending my knees to my chest I curled into a tiny heat conserving ball and prayed that someone would come.

An eternity later the heavy oak door creaked open and a plump red headed woman poked her head out.
"Oh my lord! Zacariah!" The woman screamed grabbing me roughly by the shoulders. "Oh my lord!" she muttered unable to lift me up the step that led into her home.

"Zachariah where the hell are you?" She yelled again.

Footsteps banged against what sounded like marble as a man's voice carried over to us.

"Coming Mama!"

I heard a gasp as the man took us in. "Zachariah help me lift her." The woman pleaded and I felt myself being lifted up and brought inside. A wave of warm air washed over me as we crossed the threshold; I sighed with contentment.

Already I could feel a warm tingling in my fingers and toes alerting me that they were defrosting. Straining I opened my eyes to look at the angel of mercy who had saved me.

A short woman with a rather round figure stood before me; the sterol typical mother complete with grayish red hair that was secured in a bun and a flawless white apron. The sound of someone clearing their throat echoed through the room and my eyes darted to the man next to the woman and I nearly choked on my own breathe. He was tall and broad shouldered with curly red hair that fell a little past his ears and brown eyes that seemed too large for his face. His features were a bit too young for his face and utterly familiar. The family I had previously thought of as Angels were housing a demon.

Even if I lived to be a thousand and lost almost every single memory I would still be able to remember his face. Every detail was permanently etched into my mind, I remember his innocent cherub like features that had twisted and became something different and terrifying as he stood over my father's lifeless, bloody body and smiled.

I had ran, ran as hard as I could and disappeared off the face of the earth so he wouldn't find me. As far as he was concerned I might as well be dead, but occasionally I would hear whispers of a man looking for Romulus Casimir's daughter and knew he was still out there looking for me. Never once though had he come close to finding me I'd always been one step ahead, at least until today.
His thin lips upturned into a devilish smirk as he stood by his mother who never noticed a thing as he mouthed the words I'd been running from for three years, "I'm coming for you little girl, it's your turn now."