Full Circle - Day 10

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Day 10

Alexandria, with tears streaming down her face, stood and walked over to her sister. Viola, who had been standing there silently, eyes pleading with Victoria to leave the past in the past, stepped back now. Wiping tears from her own eyes, she walked back over to where Ivan sat, his head in his hands. Memories of the past slowly tearing him apart.
“There’s just so much you don’t know, “ Alexandria whispered to her, staring deep into her eyes. “So much you really don’t want to know.”
Victoria shook her head. “Maybe, but I need to know, Alex. I need to know.”
“But at what cost?” Alexandria asked wearily. “Why is this so important to you now?”
Victoria shrugged. “I don’t know really. Something that Grandmother said, mostly.” She paused. “Grandmother is sick… I think it’s just the flu, she thinks she’s dying.” For a moment, she laughed through her tears, remembering how they had spent hours debating the state of her condition, which even the doctor had said was nothing more than an overly aggressive cold. “Anyway, she said she didn’t want to leave me thinking that I’m all alone in the world when she’s gone. She said I had to come back to Windsor and face the past. She said something about the real truth.” A sad smile crossed her face as she reached up to wipe her nose with her hand. “Guess Grandmother’s icy heart is finally thawing out.”
Alexandria managed to smile. She understood her grandmother’s message, but she wasn’t so sure that it was really a good idea.
And as if reading her thoughts, Victoria reached out and took her sister’s hands in her own. “Please, Alex… I really need to know. Why did Father kill Camille? Why did she have to die?”
“I…” Alexandria turned and looked to her parents now. Were they really going to do this? Were they really ready to tell Victoria the truth?
Ivan nodded. He was tired. Tired of trying to keep the truth buried. He was tired of having to fight his own monsters from the past. He stood and pushed his hands deep into his pockets now. Walking over to the huge bay window that was the expanse of the entire wall, he stood silently looking out. After several long, silent moments, he sighed. It was snowing again. A fresh blanket of snow now covered everything. It was all so breathtakingly beautiful. It had been such a very long time since he had even allowed himself a luxury so simple as watching the snow fall. In his quest to rule the world and create the perfect life for himself and his family, he had forgotten how to even enjoy the simple, beautiful things in life.
“Where do I start?” he asked, really more to himself than to anyone else in the room.
“Daddy,” Victoria paused, startled by her own use of the word. He had always insisted that his children referred to Viola and himself as Mother and Father. Using the term daddy, in his own opinion, was common and a definite sign of weakness. But somehow now saying it, felt right to her. “I just really need to know the truth that Grandmother referred to.”
Ivan smiled sadly. But no one saw. He never took his focus off of the softly falling snow. “The truth,” he said, as if trying the words on for size. “The truth is, Victoria, I didn’t kill Camille… you did.”
Be sure to look for the continuation of this story in about 3 days.