I fiddle with the keys on my necklace on the way back to my Babushka's house. When we finally arrive, I jump out of the car and Sekret meets me at the trunk. I drag my suitcase out of the car and up to the front door. Babushka pulls the door open and helps me carry my bag into her house. After my bag is inside, my dad kisses me on the forehead.

He says, "I'll see you in a week, alright?" I nod my head in confirmation that I heard and he leaves, closing the door behind him. 

Once I hear his car leave, I walk over to my bag before turning to my grandmother and saying, "Give me a second, alright Babushka?"

"Alright." I lug the case down the hall to my room while my great-grandmother distracts Sekret. I close the door to my room behind me after I carry my case inside. I fall back on the bed and just look at my roof. My room is painted to look like a forest. The roof of my room can move so that I can open up my ceiling to see the sky. When the ceiling is down, it blends into the walls, because when it is down, the part of the ceiling that would normally be the floor to a second story is painted to look like a forest as well. When the ceiling is up, it looks like the sky of a forest in daytime.

I get off my bed and kneel on the floor before taking the chest off of my necklace. I double tap it and it grows. I unlock it before lifting the lid and taking out the key box and the chest that contains all the faberge eggs I found in the attic. I open the key box and take out the key that I need.then I close the key box, lock it, place it back in the main chest, and lock that too before pushing it under my bed. I put the faberge egg chest in a bag with my Romanov books.

I walk down the hall to the living room with the bag and key in hand. I stop right outside the living room. I then take a deep breath to muster my strength and step inside. My great-grandmother is not looking at me at the moment so I go and sit next to her, putting the box next to me. Sekret comes and lays down at my feet, petting her soft fur. When Babushka looks at me, I wordlessly pull the chest onto my lap and unlock it. I lift the lid and her eyes widen in shock, nervousness, and lastly, fear.

Quietly, I speak. "Why do you have these, Babushka? I checked, these belonged to the Russian royal family. So why do you have these faberge eggs?"

She hisses under her breath."Come with me, Calli!" She turns down the hall and I go to follow her, but Sekret whines. I look at my puppy and motion for her to stay where she is. Then I follow my great-grandmother down the hall and into the hall closet between our rooms. Why is she taking me into the closet? Then she reached into the back corner of the large closet and pulls a hidden lever down. The back of the closet slides away and I see darkness behind it. My Babushka walks into the shadows behind the closet and I follow her down a staircase. When we reach the bottom, she pulls a key out of her pocket. It is an old skeleton key.

She fits it into a lock on the iron door and turns the key. Then a panel on the door swings open to reveal a keypad.

She types in four letters. They are O, T, M, and A, in that order. The keypad beeps and slides upward, revealing another keypad. This time she types in my name. There is another beep and the door slides open. We walk inside and I look around in amazement. How did I not know this was here? It is a large, fortified room with metal walls.

There are two sets of bunk beds, a large couch, and a massive bookshelf. There is also at least a dozen large chests pushed up against the walls, and what looks like a well and medium sized garden in the corner. It looks like this is an emergency safe room, or panic room. But why does Babushka have a safe room in her house in the first place? She leads me over to the couch and I sit down facing her. I put the chest between us.

"Where did you find this, Calli?" She asks.

"In the attic, we were cleaning." I pull the faberge egg book out of my bag and flip it to the pages the three eggs are on. "I know where these eggs were from, I know who the belonged to. So how do you have the lost Romanov eggs? What are you hiding from me, Babushka?"

She smiles sadly. "I knew I most likely couldn't hide this secret forever, but I hoped it would stay hidden until we were all safe." Confused, I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off. "You must promise to keep this a secret, Calli. For your own safety and for the rest of our family." I nod my head and she continues. "I was born Anastasia Nikolaevna Ronanova, Calli. I was a member of the Imperial Romanov family."

"But that means. . ."

"Yes Callioneil. Your father is not Nikolas Dimitrievich Arabell. he is Nikolas Dimitrievich Arabell Romanov, rightful Tsarevich and heir to the Russian throne. That makes you Callioneil Nikolaevna Arabella Romanova, a Grand Duchess of Russia and the Tsarevna, your father's heir." I just sit there dumbfounded for a moment.

Then I ask, "How did you escape the killings?"

She kisses my forehead. "I'll tell you before you go back home, but not today, alright? You need to process this all." I nod my head. "But remember, Calli, you are not to tell anyone about this. There are too many people that would still want to harm our family. Especially if they found out that I survived and am still alive." I nod my head to show that I heard, and we go upstairs together. When we reach the top of the stairs, she hands me a key to the safe room that is identical to the one she used before.

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How did you guys like this chapter? I made it extra long to make up for my absence!😘😘

Did any of you honestly see that coming?

Next chapter will be up in a couple of days, maybe Friday.

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.