JUNE 1918

ERIK

I had actually been productive as of late; it seemed as though the lessons with Lara had created a routine that I could follow. She was progressing beautifully, though in all honesty, I didn't believe she had told her parents that she was receiving lessons. Nevertheless, Gustave was in for a surprise when he got home.

I had been absentmindedly working on some sketches when a news report triggered me into listening more intently to the radio: "Breaking news from Russia - the Romanov family has been assassinated. A Bolshevik squad invaded the palace, then shot and killed Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Tsarina Alexandra in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Their five children were also victims of the attack - The Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna, as well as their youngest child and only son, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich."

The reporter listed out all the reasons why that might have happened and how the people of Russia were responding to the development. I couldn't help but feel a pang of pain as he listed off the names of the children. I knew none of them personally but I did remember their grandfather quite well from my time in Russia. He was very curious and asked questions about every little aspect of the tricks I performed. I had been brought on by the Tsar at the time to be a magician to keep the children entertained when I was needed. Though my time in Russia was brief, the family did pay me well.

On the topic of Russia, the man who had dragged me away from it walked into the room at that moment; Nadir had come in and I hadn't even noticed. He sat down across the table from me and began looking over my sketches while I tried to listen to the reporter as he continued the story.

"Erik, who are the-"

"Be quiet," I told him. The reporter was saying that he was receiving new information and I hadn't wanted to miss a single word.

"For those of you who are just joining us now, the royal family of Russia have been brutally assassinated. The people of Russia are seeking to form a new government without the use of the old regime. It seems that the violence of the past few years will not end for Russia. I am receiving word that there has been a raid on the palace where the family once resided. Among the many luxuries found in the palace it seems that a peculiar looking music box belonging to the youngest daughter Anastasia has been discovered."

Nador looked absolutely stunned, to say the least. "The Romanovs are dead? All of them?"

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. It's like the world is flipping on its head." It took me a moment to process everything the reporter had said but then I realized something. "I made that music box, you know."

"What music box?" He was clearly confused. I suppose he hadn't paid much attention to the reporter after the reporter's initial statement.

"The one that was found in the palace. I made it for the grandmother at some point when I was there. I remember it." The image of that project was clear as day: The gold and green exterior, the figure of the Tsar and Tsarina dancing inside. It was certainly some of my better work. "She had commissioned me to make it. I suppose it was meant to be a gift for her granddaughter at some point. I even wrote the melody for it."

Nadir couldn't help but sigh, but the smile on his face with the mix of shock was quite amusing. "My god, Erik, is there anything you haven't done?"

"Firstly, I'm glad that I can still surprise you. Secondly, there is quite a list of things I haven't done, but you won't let me do them because you, my dear friend, are boring."

"I prefer the words 'concerned for your well being,' thank you very much," he replied with such a matter of fact tone it was almost irritable. "Honestly, though, I think you will continue to surprise me even when we are old and grey."

"What do you mean when? We are old and grey, Daroga." I simply had to laugh as I smoothed down my hairpiece. I couldn't help myself when I realized that my hair could be perfect for as long as I wanted: "Well, you're ahead of me with the grey aspect."

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, clearly resenting my comment, which made it all the more fun for me. "I came here to enjoy a peaceful afternoon. Why am I being attacked?"

"As always, because I have fun doing it. Honestly Daroga, you are in the wrong house if you want peace." As if on cue, Sasha began barking at something she saw outside the living room window; I admired her perfect timing. "Now, is there something you needed? I am quite busy at the moment."

"I came up to ask if you wanted something to eat. It's two-thirty and I imagine lunch is not something you did today."

I looked at the clock and was actually surprised to see the time. I had gotten lost in my work again, obviously. "No, actually it wasn't. I would appreciate something now that you mention it."

He chuckled at me, obviously entertained by my foolishness. "You are so irresponsible it hurts me sometimes. You know that, right?"

"But you stay anyway. So who is the real fool here?" I replied with a cocky grin on my face. I had often wondered why Nadir had stayed with me for this long. I never exactly give him a reason to stay.

He clearly didn't like my joke as much as I did, as he took on a very serious tone before saying, "Be downstairs in ten minutes or I am eating your serving."

I nodded my head to indicate that I understood and he seemed to be satisfied with that. He began to make his way downstairs to prepare what I could only assume would be a simple sandwich. My mind, though, was still fresh with the memory of the music box. I walked over to my piano and played the first few notes of that simple melody I had put inside. I was surprised at how clear the memory was, so I quickly grabbed a blank piece of paper and wrote it down before I could forget.

Once it was on paper, I went down to enjoy lunch without fear of it leaving me. I couldn't help but hum the song as I left my study. My mind wandered away from the music box and I couldn't help but remember who it had once belonged to. The thought of the whole family being gone in an instant was such a terrifying image. It made me hope and pray that nothing else would go wrong in my own little part of this world that was slowly falling into chaos.

~~~~~

GUSTAVE

It seemed the exhaustion was beginning to get to me as I yawned in the middle of my work. These long hours were getting brutal; we were up before the crack of dawn each day and often didn't get to bed until midnight. I had been trying my hardest to stay focused on the project but my brain couldn't help but wander. Almost instantly my mind brought up Lara; her image floated through my head like a cloud. I had been keeping correspondence with her through the mail but there was only so much emotion that could be conveyed on paper. I pulled out the locket from under my uniform jacket and just looked at her for a while.

"Je retournerai toujours," I whispered to myself, focusing on the promises I had made at the train station. That day now felt like a lifetime ago; they all said this would be over soon, though presently, there seemed to be no sign of that.

"Hey, can I get your opinion on something?" William had come up behind me and startled me out of my daydream. He was holding a piece of paper that looked so delicate that if it was folded one more time, it would break in half.

When I turned around to face him I couldn't hide my laughter. To be quite honest, he looked like a lost puppy. That expression on his face immediately knew what he was working on. "Let's see this draft of your letter to Jane."

He pulled the paper away from me defensively, clearly annoyed that I had figured out his question before he had to formally ask it. "How'd you know it was going to be about that?"

"Because I know that look on your face. Now hand it over."

"You can make all the excuses you want, but I am still chalking it up to secret telepathic powers," he said very matter-of-factly as he handed me what must have been his eighth draft. That poor girl Jane must be driving herself mad waiting for him to send her something.

Dear Jane,

I hope you have been taking care of yourself. I know it has been a long time but I want you to know that I haven't forgotten about you. I am truly sorry for how long it has been since I left; I didn't mean for it to take this long to write a letter to you. I'm just not very good with words. I have been driving myself crazy trying to find the right words to tell you how much I actually miss you.

I miss the way your hair bounces in your ponytail while you walk. I miss the way your nose scrunches up when you are focused. I miss the way you get excited over the little things in life. I miss the way we could lean on one another as we sat together at lunch. I miss the feeling of how your hand fits in mine. I miss the way you had to get up on your tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. But most of all, I miss the way we talked. There was never a dull moment when we were together. We never seemed to run out of things to talk about. You and I can debate about almost anything and still act like nothing happened once the next topic is brought up. The best conversations though are the ones where we didn't have to talk at all. Those hours where we didn't have to say a word; we could simply be in the same room together and five minutes could feel like a lifetime.

I cannot wait to be back with you and find so many other reasons why I missed you. I promise I will be back as soon as possible. When I do, I will introduce you properly to my parents and I will meet yours. I know how nervous you are to tell them about me. But you really shouldn't. If I can somehow manage to impress you (I still don't know how I do that), I should be able to impress them. Please don't worry too much love; I didn't forget about you. How could I ever forget such perfection?

With all my love,

Your William

"Will, this sounds perfect," I told him as I handed back the fragile piece of paper. "Though I suggest copying it down on a stronger paper before sending it. That thing looks like it might break in half."

He still seemed to be apprehensive about his work. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am extremely confident that she will love it." I attempted to reassure him but my words didn't appear to be sinking in. He was hopeless when it came to these things, and I knew he was going to have to come to the realization on his own. So instead I returned to my work, but realized then that I had forgotten something when I was gathering my written work this morning. "Well, if you are just going to sit there and stew over it you may as well be useful. Could you please go and get me my journal from the bunker?"

He chuckled at me, clearly finding my forgetfulness amusing. "You can't be serious. You - the one of us who would pack his schoolbag two days in advance at the end of summer vacation - actually forgot something. It's official, the apocalypse has begun."

I smacked him on the shoulder in retaliation, though in all honesty, forgetting something was abnormal behaviour for me. "Could you please just go get it? I am in the middle of running some numbers here and I need my notes."

"You want me to go all the way across the compound to go get the journal that you forgot?" He made a whole show about it only to follow up by saying, "I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Thank you. You're the best," I said when he finally agreed to go get it.

"What would you do without me?" he asked as he ran off.

"I really don't know," I said to myself as I turned back to my sheets of numbers and design specifications.

William had only been gone five minutes when alarms started going off. Panic arose in my gut and for some instinctive reason I grabbed my gun out of its holster on my belt. I'd never used it before but I was required to carry it around in case of emergency.

"German attack in the bunkers. Please stay where you are." The voice of my commanding officer blared through the workroom as if he had a microphone. I ran to the door and I had nearly made it out when I was grabbed by my collar by one of the officers.

"Stay here. Foot soldiers are handling things. Don't be a hero, kid." He threw me backwards only for me to get right back up and bolt out the door before anyone could stop me.

William was there.

William was there.

William was there.

Those three words played on a loop each time my foot met the ground as I ran. At some point my gun had been removed from its holster and was now tightly gripped in my hand. As I was running down one of the corridors, a German soldier appeared at the other end of the hall. His gun was raised and he was ready to shoot. I raised mine as well and within a split second, a shot was fired and he was on the ground, though the shot hadn't come from me. I looked behind to see another officer standing with his gun raised. I didn't have time to thank him for essentially saving my life, though. I had other places I needed to be.

When I finally got to our bunker, I scanned the room furiously.

Where is he?

Where is he?

Where is he?

I heard a groan from in between one of the beds and made a mad dash towards it. Nothing could have ever prepared me for what I saw there. There was William, laying on the ground with a pool of blood by his side and a red stain that was expanding on his jacket. I dropped to my knees and pulled him onto my lap, then immediately started pressing my hands to the center of that red spot.

"It's okay Will, you are going to be alright." I couldn't tell if I was trying to comfort him or myself. Within seconds of having my hand on him, it was soaked with blood; it was coming out so fast. All I knew how to do was keep pressure on it.

"Gustave?"

I looked to his face to see that he had opened his eyes and was moving his head side to side, in search of me. "It's me. I'm right here. We're going to get you some help."

I was about to try and get him to talk to me when I heard footsteps coming closer. The source of them, I quickly discovered, was a German soldier. If I let him get any closer, he would hurt Will even more. 

BANG

My vision went red and the next thing I knew the soldier was on the ground and my gun felt warm in my hand. Had I shot him? I looked around to see if there was anyone else who could have fired the shot. I was terrified to find that Will and I were alone. That meant I had killed someone. The gun fell from my hand with a clang on the floor, horror the only emotion I felt running through my body. It was only when Will repeated my name that I was even able to remember where I was.

"Gustave, don't you fret." He said; it seemed as if he knew what was going to happen. I suppose some people just knew when their time was coming. However, I sat there in denial. Help had to be on the way; he was going to be okay.

"You will live William, dear God above." I tried to reassure him but he remained so peaceful as he laid there in my arms. My fist was still balled with a section of his coat as I tried to keep as much pressure as possible on his wound. "William, you're gonna be alright, just look at me. We're going to get you home soon and you can see your parents. Your mom and dad will be so happy to see you, you'll get to meet Lizzie. You get to see Jane again and tell her all the beautiful things you wrote in your letter. And you can help me propose to Lara like we talked about all the time, right? Who's going to be my best man if you're not there?"

The tears I had been holding at bay demanded to be released. I leaned over him, looking at his face; he was so calm. His breathing hadn't become laboured and he just laid there. I thought I almost saw him smile. His eyes opened again and he saw me crying.

"I'm sorry...you're going to be great. Don't cry. I'll be okay. Just hold my hand and let it be." He slowly raised his hand to the one that was holding down the pressure on his and lifted it off. I frantically shook my head in refusal but I didn't have the strength to force it back down. He gripped my hand and I squeezed a little tighter to let him know I was still there. "I'll tell your mom that you and Uncle Erik say hello."

His grip loosened, his eyes looked blankly at the ceiling, the rise and fall of his chest came to a stop. I couldn't accept it though; that's not how this was supposed to work. He couldn't just not be there anymore. I tried shaking him, hoping he was just asleep. When that didn't work I tried talking to him instead, praying he would respond.

"Papa and I would appreciate that, but not yet. Okay, you're going to make it. We can both tell her much later. I still need my best friend. You're not allowed to leave me."

Still nothing. No response. This wasn't right. He was supposed to wake up and say something; he had to say something. He had to crack a joke or say something sarcastic. William couldn't just be gone. I kept squeezing his hand. He had to respond eventually. 

"Come on Will, wake up. This isn't funny anymore. You really had me going there but the joke is over now. You've gotten good at pretending to be asleep. I remember when we were kids you used to try and trick me all the time and end up scaring the life out of me. Come on now, this prank isn't fun anymore Will." Tears were pouring down my face as I kept telling him over and over that it was time to wake up. It wasn't until the medics finally arrived and I was peeled away from him that reality hit me like a truck.

William wasn't going to wake up.

~~~~~

ERIK

Nadir and I had actually been enjoying a somewhat peaceful afternoon. We were in the middle of having lunch when, all of a sudden, we were interrupted by someone pounding at the door. Nadir and I both looked at each other in complete and utter confusion, wondering who it could be. When it persisted I instinctually went to answer it, realizing that eventually the person on the other side might break down my door if necessary. I thought I heard Nadir call my name but I could barely hear anything over the combined noise of the door and Sasha barking at it.

I opened the door to find Maddie and her whole family on the other side. Charles was holding Lizzie so I could only imagine it was Maddie who had been wailing on the door. I saw Charles and noticed that he was as pale as a ghost, looking like he could drop at any moment, whereas his wife was bright red with anger. There were dark circles under her eyes, but regardless, she was filled with rage. Before I could even get a word out to ask what on earth had happened, Maddie began yelling at me: "You promised me!"

My confusion must have been apparent but I couldn't let Charles stand out there any longer. So at risk of my own life, I ignored Maddie for a moment. I was about to ask him to give Lizzie to me so that he could come in and sit down, but Nadir beat me to it: "Charles, get in here and sit down. I'm getting you some water."

He looked like he was about to protest but as soon as Nadir had taken Lizzie out of his arms, he practically keeled over. I put my arm around him to keep him from falling as I lead him over to the couch in the living room. Maddie was in tow, but she hadn't said a word since I had opened the door. She seemed to be waiting until she had my complete attention.

Once Charles was seated and taken care of, I was able to turn my attention back to Maddie. "What in god's name is going on?" I asked.

I hadn't noticed it before but she was clutching a piece of paper with a grip that looked like it could snap a log in half. Without hesitation, she threw it at me and repeated what she had said earlier: "You. Promised. Me."

I quickly scanned through the letter, finding that it was from the military base where the boys were stationed. When I got to the end, though, I had to reread it to make sure I had gotten it right the first time. I heard Nadir gasp next to me as he read the letter as well. That couldn't be right. This was the unthinkable situation. There must have been a mistake. I tried to walk over to Maddie in order to hug her, but she shoved me away hard. She had one arm out, keeping me at a distance, and the other one was hugging her waist tightly. 

"Maddie I'm so so-"

"Shut up."

I tried taking a step towards her again but she pushed me away even harder. "Please le-"

"I said shut up! Not another step, not another word." With that she dropped her arm and walked right up to me and began beating my chest with balled fists. I still couldn't believe what had happened to the point where I was too numb to feel the pain I should have felt. She then took a brief break from wailing on me to continue her yelling: "You promised! You promised he would come home! You promised me! You said you were never wrong and I believed you! Now look at what's happened, you liar! My baby boy is gone!"

She went to continue beating my ribs but I grabbed her wrists. As much as I knew I deserved it, this wasn't Maddie. As I held on, she finally broke down and dropped to her knees with me not far behind. She had unballed her fists so I released her hands and they simply fell to her lap. Her curls fell over her face like a curtain as she cried, and through her sobs, I barely heard her whisper, "You said you would never lie to me."

"Madeleine, I never wanted to lie to you. That is the last thing on this earth that I ever want to do."

"But you did! You lied about something that you had to be right about." She looked up then so I could see her face; it was pink and blotchy from crying and her eyes had gone red.

"Madeleine, I...I'm so sorry," I said as my head dropped in shame. She was right. Who was I to tell her that they would come home? I was no fortune teller, and if I was, I was pretty terrible at it. I had no right to give her that kind of assurance.

There was a long pause of silence between us all. Nobody quite knew what to say until Maddie finally spoke up in the midst of her irregular breathing: "I just want my baby back." 

It was at that moment that Charles' walls crumbled. My only guess was that he had been holding things together for the sake of his wife, but hearing her say that made the whole mess way too real. He broke down crying as well, and immediately, Nadir was there and had his arm around Charles' shoulder to comfort him.

I couldn't stand the silence. Someone had to let them know that they were not alone in grieving for their son. I cautiously went to try again to hug her and this time she let me. I was even allowed to stroke her hair as I said,  "I know, Maddie. We all want him back."

"Now Elizabeth will grow up without ever knowing her big brother," she croaked out amongst her tears. I couldn't help but look over her shoulder at the small girl sitting on the sofa who had no idea what was going on. It nearly brought more tears to my own eyes thinking of how she would never know the kindness and love of her older brother. She would probably never fully understand this day and the gravity of it until she was much older.

Maddie eventually lifted her head from my chest and looked at me. She had to take a moment to steady her breathing before she could speak: "But you're not to blame, it's this god-forsaken war. England took my baby from me."

The room went silent, but it looked like Maddie still had more to say. I could see how hard it was for her to keep her composure. I offered her my handkerchief so that she could clean her face and continue: "I'm sorry, Erik. I didn't mean what I said."

"I deserved it. You're right. I lied to you about everything. I honestly probably deserved another punch or two." I had begun to feel the pain in my chest but I couldn't tell if it was because of her punches or because I too felt like I had lost a son.

It was at that moment that I heard Charles speak for the first time this whole afternoon. His voice was hoarse and dry like he had just tried to swallow a mouthful of sand: "No you don't, Erik. You couldn't have possibly known. None of us could have known. If we had, none of us would have let him go."

"I should have been more careful with my words. I shouldn't have done that to you. You'd think I would have learned by now to watch what I say." Though Charles' words were touching to hear, they couldn't fill the void of guilt I was feeling.

"You were trying to be optimistic in a time as dark as this. It was a refreshing change." Nadir decided that now would be a good time for that comment for God knows whatever reason. Though it did make Maddie chuckle for a moment, those laughs only turned into more tears. I quickly leaned in to hug her and she rested her head on my chest as she cried some more.

"Not the time for sarcasm, Daroga." I had to chastise him for that; usually I was the only one who made sarcastic comments at inappropriate times.

"That wasn't meant to be sarcastic." He seemed to be trying to remedy his apparent error in wording, so he looked to be scrambling for what to say next. "I know you were trying to be genuine, which in itself is a rarity. It's just that this war is so bizarre, though. No one can really say what will happen for certain, as tragic as that is."

At that, Maddie immediately lifted her head and looked Nadir directly in the eyes. "It's pointless. Use the word that this is meant for it. It is a pointless war," she said.

No matter how right she was, reality had seemed to be having it's way with me once more. "We may see it like that. Our leaders do not," Nadir replied.

"Then they are blind!" she exclaimed, leaning her head against my chest again.

"Yes, that would be the right word to describe them." Charles was so quick to agree with his wife, but as he looked up I met his eyes and saw all the pain in them and I understood why he was so fast to respond. He and Maddie shared a look that I imagine was only capable between a husband and wife before Maddie looked back up at me.

The look on her face is one I will never forget. I knew the face so well it was, almost a neutral expression to me now. I knew within seconds of her gasping what had happened.

I wasn't wearing my mask.

I had taken it off to go eat lunch with Nadir when they had come to the house; it was so often more of a nuisance when eating. I must have forgotten to put it back on when I went to answer the door. I quickly thanked God that it was them who was there and not some stranger. I could only imagine the horrified look on someone completely unknown to me; it was an expression that I had seen too many times to count. It was an expression I had hoped to never see on her face. Instinctually I raised my hand to cover it, praying that the incident would not be the end of something I had grown to love after all these years. Though right before my palm reached my cheek, I felt her small hands wrap around my wrist and I froze in place. My heart was racing like a marathon runner as she gently lowered my hand back down to where it had been and held there with her own.

"Erik, I'm sorry. I was so caught up in myself that I didn't realize," With her other hand she reached up to my face and went to touch my face. I naturally recoiled, being all too used to the old trick of a kind touch turning into a painful strike. Realizing that I was uncomfortable, she quickly pulled her hand away. Seeing her disappointment, I realized that I had misjudged her so I picked up her hand and held it to my face. "I guess I'm just so used to...that's not important. I suppose what I am trying to say is that it's nice to finally see you."

"Being without that porcelain thing looks good on you." Charles seemed to be doing alright with my appearance, which I was grateful for. Though I hadn't seen his initial reaction I imagined it was the same as all the others who had seen me over the years.

I was utterly speechless, which was a difficult feat for someone like me. It had been a while since I had been met with so much acceptance. First with Lara and now with Maddie and Charles, it felt unreal. Like at some point I was going to wake up and find that this moment had all been a dream. It wasn't until Maddie wrapped her arms around me that everything fell into place in my reality.

"We're your friends and we love you all the same. It's alright," she said as she squeezed tighter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even realize." I was still so new to this version of the scenario that I fell back on my old response of apologies, but I quickly realized that I didn't have to.

"I tried to tell you but you opened the door before I could," Nadir said with a small laugh. In all honesty, that sounded like something that had already happened to us before which wouldn't have surprised me.

"I appreciate the effort." When I looked back at Nadir, I remembered that Lizzie was still in the room. I wasn't ready to know her reaction to my face just yet so I immediately went to cover my face again.

"No, no, don't do that. You don't need to. She needs to see you too," Maddie chided me, before she went to pick up her daughter and bring her to me, setting her in my lap. Without hesitation she looked at me and then back at her stuffed animal. The joy of that moment was so indescribable that it brought me to tears. The way she began to lean into me as she trusted me to keep her safe. It was moments like these that I thought I would never experience given that I had lost them with Gustave. To go even further, for a long time in my life I thought I would only ever read of an experience like this. I kissed the top of her head in gratitude but I could never truly be able to convey my thanks to her.

Maddie was smiling at me the whole time, but then her look turned into one of curiosity. I knew what that look meant for her and began to remember all of my prepared responses for the questions that I knew were about to come from her. "So you were born like this? Or was there a tragedy of sorts?"

"I was born with it, yes. If you'll recall, I mentioned years ago that my mother and I didn't get along very well. This was why." I made a broad gesture to the deformed part of my face.

"Then she clearly needed to look a little harder. She missed the good heart underneath." I could tell that her maternal instincts were what fueled that response. As a mother herself, it was as though she could not imagine hating her children.

"No doctor has any sort of explanation, though they have theories," I continued, figuring that they were probably going to keep asking anyway so I might as well tell them the whole explanation. "Inbreeding was one, as well as my mother trying to bind her waist while she was pregnant. Trying to keep that perfect body image, I suppose. Someone even suggested alcohol usage during her pregnancy while she grieved my father. Whatever it was, I ended up like this. Life became difficult to say the least."

"My god. They really thought it was inbreeding?" The shock on Charles' face was almost comical. I could practically see the fears turning as he tried to figure out the mental image.

"That they did. Something along the lines of their father being the same. My paternal grandmother died, and her widower married my maternal grandmother. Then he died and no one had told my parents of their relationship, so one thing led to another." I tried to calm his thoughts so that his brain wouldn't overwork itself but it was to no avail.

"What do you think it was?" Maddie asked me. That question was new, nobody had ever really asked my theory before. It caught me off guard to the point where I had to think about it for a moment.

"I think I must have done or most likely said something to irritate the wrong person and then God just said I wasn't allowed to be happy," I eventually responded, as depressing as it was.

This resulted in some laughter from Maddie as she said, "Erik, you know that isn't true. You weren't even born yet, what could you have done?"

"He's gifted, he would have figured it out," Nadir pointed out, and he was probably right.

"Anyways. Whatever happened happened. I've dealt with it as best I could. That's what I've always done." I sighed, thinking back to all the ways my life could have been different if I had looked normal. I probably never would have left that little town in France and I never would have met my angel. So I suppose I had to take the good with the bad, no matter how unbalanced the scales were. "And we will figure this all out as well. Regardless of what happens, we're a family at this point."

"A really strange, broken-looking family," Maddie called out as she looked around the room at all of us. She couldn't have been more correct. We were a real hodgepodge of an average English family who spent way too much time with a former Daroga of Persia and an ex-opera ghost. Throw in a couple of children and we were a pretty unusual group.

Nadir was probably making the same realizations I was as he laughed before saying: "We make it work quite well, though."

"We undoubtedly put the fun in dysfunctional!" Charles exclaimed, clearly proud of his play on words. We all laughed together at this. It felt good to laugh after all that had happened in a few short moments. A reminder to all of us that William wasn't gone, as long as there was his family to remember him by.

I cautiously leaned forward to kiss Maddie on her forehead. I hadn't wanted to disturb Lizzie with my movements though it seemed unavoidable. Carefully, I made it and whispered to her, "It will be alright, Madeleine. That I can promise you."

~~~~~

A month or so had passed since that terrible day and we were closing in on the middle of November. Lara was at the house and was waiting for me to finish with some dishes so that we could start her lesson for the day. I had had the radio on as background noise when I heard something that made me stop where I was to the point where I dropped a glass back into the sink.

"Just hold tight, folks. Your boys are coming home," the announcer repeated, confirming that what I had heard was true and not another figment of my imagination. My knees buckled in my shocked state and I dropped to the floor. I looked over to the table to see the sealed envelope from the school that held Gustave's highschool diploma in it. They had sent it to me a week or so after he had left. I swore that I would not be the one to open it; he had to do it when he got home. Now he was coming home and we were going to be able to open it together.

A few moments later Sasha came over and began to inspect me to see if I was alright. "Our boy is coming home." I held the dog's face as I said it and kissed her little nose. I pulled her close and hugged her. I must have had the most ridiculous smile on my face as I repeated my statement for good measure: "My boy is coming home!"

Lara burst into the kitchen, obviously having heard me from upstairs in the study. I jumped to my feet and picked her up in a hug. She was sharing this moment of happiness with me as tears of joy streamed down her face. I spun her around a few times before setting her back on the floor. I kissed her on the forehead and she proceeded to wrap her arms around my waist. This was what I had been hoping for since he left, but I couldn't escape the voice in my head that was telling me that I had no right to be enjoying this moment.

Because Gustave was coming back alone.

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Hey guys. Imma just start apologizing now.

I'm sorry,
I'm sorry,
I'm sooooooo sorry.

I know that this chapter hurt and believe me it hurt to write. But regardless I hope you enjoyed it. This level of productivity is something that I have not seen from myself in a while so I'm proud of myself for that. We hope to be back soon with another chapter for you guys. As always please leave your comments here for us, we love to read them.

Stay amazhang
~ Buddy_2002 💙💙💙