It had been two days in Tsarskoye Selo. We had visited many other places. But my mind was still there inside the Catherine Palace. The Amber Room and the pictures of the last ruling members of the Romanov family. I wanted to know more about them—How they died and if they had any successors alive till now. So, I decided to visit Tsentralnaya Rayonnaya Biblioteka, a library in the beautiful, snow-covered town of Tsarskoye Selo. I wanted to know more about the royal family. And the old way to do that was to read history—Even though I hated it.

I sat inside the library with some books on the assassination of the Romanov family. Many historians believe that it wasn't an execution, it was a murder that was done under the blindfold of spreading communism. After the first world war, Russia's economy started to fall and it was on the verge of collapsing. The peasants were very unsatisfied with the tsar and decided to do a protest in St. Petersburg. That day the tsar, emperor Nicolas, wasn't there and the army shot fire on the people protesting. Hundred and fifty people died that day. It enraged the masses and this led to the rise of communism in Russia.

Everyone was after the royal family's blood because communism and monarchy couldn't exist together. One of them had to die. The white Russians that believed in monarchy decided to protect the tsar and his family and they were continuously moved to various places in Siberia. But one day, they were asked to come down to the basement. They were told that trucks had come to take them and that they'd have to move again.

But when they reached the basement, they realised that they had called them there to kill them. Men with guns stood before the entire family and shot them dead. They were then carried inside the trucks to be dumped at a safe place where nobody would ever find the bodies.

Many years later, one of the archaeological investigation teams found the exact location where the bodies were dumped. But they only found four of them, there were supposed to be six. Two of the bodies were missing. One was prince Alexei and another was princess Anastasia. Nobody knows where they went, if they were dumped separately or if they were alive and living elsewhere. It might be one of the greatest mysteries in history.

So, this was the story of the last Romanovs. There might have been two survivors. Prince Alexei Nikolaevich was the last Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. He was the only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. He was born with haemophilia, which was treated by the faith healer Grigori Rasputin.

Haemophilia,"

Why do I feel like I had known this before? Did someone else narrate this tale to me? Why don't I remember anything! It's frustrating when you feel like you know something but you can't remember it. I read various theories that historians had predicted. It was closing time and the librarian reminded me that I had to leave. I kept the books back at their places and bowed before her.

I walked back home, thinking by myself. This story is beginning to fascinate me. But it's scary to think that I might be linked to someone who lived a century ago. I walked to our hotel room, Lord Akagi and Aleksei were smoking and playing cards. All demigods smoke! Except for students. I walked towards them and sat beside them, "You want a smoke too?" Aleksei asked.

"No thanks, I have a uterus." I know that didn't make any sense to him; as if I were expecting some intellectual response. I was only there to meet Lord Akagi. Then, I smiled and turned to Lord Akagi.
"Lord Akagi, why can't I use my magic?" That was it—I was going to take this matter seriously.
"You're slowly learning how to control it. So, it's going to play with you a bit." Wow, talk about toys that can kill you. Heck, this is my Sila—I play with it, not vice versa!

"Till when will I be able to use it normally?" I asked.
"When you are good a controlling it"
"That seems like a pain."
"It's a part of your syllabus—To learn how to control your sila." Aleksei walked back inside the hotel by then.

I was in no mood of remembering school. I had skipped school for two days now. Before Lord Akagi realised that, I changed the topic—"Why is Evgeni after you? And what is that lab they were talking about?"
"Forget about that." What? Melissa seems to know about it and if she knows it then I will too, "I won't forget about it." I declared a war against him!

He looked into my eyes and dropped his cigarette. I was ready to remove my ring but he grabbed my face and brought it close to his face. I turned red—A kiss? Well, this turned unexpectedly very romantic—Not that I don't like it. Hate me, Melissa! He looked into my eyes and I looked back into his eyes.

"Lict, I feel something on my neck." He said. Wait—Lict? Lict stood behind him with a fork on Lord Akagi's neck.
"It's just your imagination, my lord" Lict smiled.
"You're not planning on doing it, are you? Music is not violent."
"Ever heard metal, my lord?"

"I won't do anything to her. I'm not a paedophile, unlike someone."
Lict blushed and kept the spoon aside, "Shut up!"
"Well, kids have their own charms." Melissa was there too. Lord Akagi was still looking into my eyes. He just doesn't know when to stop! "Vierne" He called out my name.

"Look into my eyes and tell me what you can see?"
How romantic. I ignored both Lict and Melissa and looked into his eyes. I won't lie, I got terrified. There was someone inside his eyes, looking at me and it wasn't me. I shrieked and pushed him away. Just what was he?! This wasn't even a Sila anymore—It was like a monster.

"What happened, Milady?!" Lict asked.
"I saw someone inside his eyes" Lict looked at Lord Akagi.
"You are right," Akagi said "There is someone inside my eyes,"
"Who is it?" Lict asked. Lord Akagi looked at Melissa and she smiled.

"We are so different, Vierne," He said, "You are the daughter of an earl, you were born into riches and fell into rags but I was born in rags and raised to riches. It just depends on your Sila and how you use it."
"What are you saying? Isn't your sila just speed?" Lict said.
"Do you know how my Sila works?"
"Does it make you ten times faster than average people?" Lict guessed.

"It doesn't make me ten times faster; it makes the world around me ten times slower for me" I did not see that coming, "Just imagine," He continued, "Everyone is doing everything at their pace but to you, everything is ten times slower. You'll go mad as days pass if you don't learn to tame your Sila,"

"You seem to have gone through something very harsh," I don't know why but I just sensed it. And his eyes told me that I was correct.
"I was an experiment and that dungeon is my birthplace."
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this.

"The lab?"
"The lab is the name of a secret dungeon under the ice of Siberia."
"What did they do to you there?" Lict asked.
"Compared me."
"To whom?"
"Another demigod."

Who are mortals to compare the powers of two demigods?! This was beginning to get on my nerves, "Who was the other one?" I asked.
"Evgeni. They proved it—He's better than me,"
"Why though? Why would they compare you?"

"Because I was stillborn. Mom died right after giving birth to me. What you see in my eyes is a repercussion of that. I can't see from this eye, I can only see from my right eyes, the other one is damaged."

Demigods can heal themselves so that meant—"Is it damaged since birth?"
He looked away, "No, some people happened,"

-To be continued

Akagi Scheckzalier (12)
Dear Ms Lady Demigod