A/N: I think it's about time I update this one :) I want to thank levells and Bey-beyfan! Do you think every family is perfect? No, it's not since most families have secrets to hide behind smiling faces. The Murins were no exception. What will Tala discover within the mansion? Find out on the latest instalment of Welcome Home (after 2000 years of no updates, lol). Okay worse sales pitch ever, lol.

Feel free to leave reviews or PM me on what you want to see in the future :D

Note: Простите means 'Sorry', pronounced as: Prastite. I can be wrong but I did some Googling, lol. Not the most effective way but yeah... lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Tala is adopted into a loving home, starting a new life but he had to his friends behind. It's not quite often blessings come in disguises but in this case, it's more than a blessing; it's a gift.

Chapter 11: Natalie

Walking through the door, I sighed aloud. Rubbing the back of my neck, today was awful. Chemistry class was horrible; to think all girls wanted to sit by me was... ugh. For the life of me I couldn't concentrate on the damn assignment! Every so often someone would comment on my hair! Plopping onto a couch, my fingers ran through my hair. My hairstyle slightly changed; it was quite different from what I had years ago. No longer did my hair appear to have 'horns'. They're slightly trimmed down and with the miracle of gel, now they're slightly spiky. The two strands which dangled in front of my face remained there; I didn't want to completely change into somebody I'm not. Fiddling with the strands, my mind took me away from school and into this life I was thrown into.

Every so often when I sat by myself in a quiet room, my thoughts took me back to the day I entered this family. The Murins were so perfect. How could they be a perfect family? Achieving the level of perfection never existed so why do the Murins defy this concept? Tapping a finger on the arm rest, my mind went to work. I didn't want to start snooping around but if I were to know my family, I at least should know their history. It didn't need to be told that the Murins have an extensive history with the Russian military. Who knows that maybe the Murins once served under the Tsar.

Pushing out of the chair, I made my way quietly out of the room, having a moment to myself thinking where to begin. Photo albums were usually the first place to look. I know there were some photo albums stored in the living room and maybe, just maybe, the attic.

"Okay, let's do this."

Arriving in the living room, luck was on my side; the room was empty. Making my way to the wooden bookshelves, I began looking for photo albums. Okay, so nothing on this shelf said anything about a photo album. I sighed. Pulling out a random book, the book next to it fell out, plopping onto the carpet.

"What's this?" Picking up the book I read the spine, "Russian Geography. Wow, how I'm not excited..."

What I didn't expect was when I was about to place the book back, a piece of paper slipped out. A clue! Picking it up, it was an envelope. Opening it up, it was a combination code.

That's odd. I don't remember seeing a safe anywhere here. Time to snoop some more.

Tucking away the piece of paper, I made sure the books returned to their rightful position. Slipping out of the room, I made my way to—

"TAAAAALAAAAAAAA!"

Calina slammed into me from behind. Sliding down the hallway on my stomach, I groaned. Ow.

"What's Tala up to?" Calina said brightly, bouncing on my back like a bouncy castle. In addition to her energetic outbursts, Calina was loud.

Ow, again. Calina wasn't going to get off my back until I responded. "I'm going to do my homework,"

"Oh!" Quickly scrambling off him, Calina apologized. "Простите!"

Calina quickly dashed down the hallway and out of sight. Pushing himself up, I groaned dusting myself. Standing up, I heard the sound of the piano keys being played down the hall. Good, it was time for Calina's piano lessons. Now to focus on the mission. Walking the opposite direction, I made my way to the other study room; this study room belonged to Gregori. I entered it once or twice but only when Gregori summoned me. Going in there by myself was a new adventure, if you could call it that way. Looking over my shoulder, nobody was behind me. Staying still, I made sure no footsteps headed my way. Perfect. Nobody was around. The last thing I want to happen was for a butler or maid to discover me 'snooping' around in the Master's study room. Indeed, it would be awkward to explain.

Slowly and as quietly as possible, I unlocked the door. Sticking my head in, Gregori was nowhere to be found. Good. Closing the door behind me with a soft click, my eyes had to adjust to the amount of light which entered the room. Adjacent to me were three large glass windows and behind that, a white balcony adorned with several flower pots. No flowers bloomed in the frigid cold with snow spilling over its pots. Shaking my head, I remembered I wasn't here to admire flower pots. I came here to find a safe. Where it may be was still a mystery still to be solved.

Looking around the room, I had no clue where to begin! Certainly the safe was not behind a portrait, was it? Y'know, like in movies? Ah what the heck! Storming to a Murin portrait, I carefully pushed it aside. Nope, no hidden safe here. Okay, maybe this wasn't the best approach to finding the safe. Turning around, my eyes were locked onto the tall bookshelves across the room. Looking up and down, the top of the shelf touched the ceiling! There has to be over five-hundred books here! It was a strange feeling but something pulled me toward the bookshelves. As expected, the books were about European history and the militia. Everything from the conquest of William the Conquer to Napoleon was on the shelves. Not to mention several volumes about World War I and World War II.

"Where can that blasted thing be?" I asked myself. Surely, no answer was about to manifest before me so might as well start looking for answers. Suddenly an idea struck me, "Maybe... Maybe it's something hidden in plain sight."

Taking a step forward, my knee came into contact with the cupboard. I heard the cupboard creak. Bending down, I opened the cupboard and bingo! There was a safe! Pulling out the piece of paper from my pocket, I quickly input the combinations. With one final spin, a distinctive click echoed. Quite pleased with myself, I opened the safe to find—

"A photo?"

I did not expect this. Reaching in, grabbing the Polaroid, my hand slightly trembled. Was this one of the Murin's dark secrets? To think, I was holding something dear to them and it seemed as if in any moment, the Polaroid could crumble into dust. I gently breathed; this was no time to be freaking out. Now face to face with the Polaroid, I immediately recognized Inessa. In her arms was a baby girl.

"She's beautiful..."

"I know, isn't she?"

Startled, I turned around locking eyes with Inessa. At a loss for words, I wasn't sure what to do! Here I held their treasure and there she was standing there, smiling at me!

"Mom!" I began. "I-I can explain! I—"

"Say no more," Inessa approached me and pulled me up. "Flip it,"

Flipping over the Polaroid, my eyes widened. My lips became dry. "The... The name..."

"That's right; her name's Tala."

My body froze. My heart rammed against my chest and blood drained from my face. Inessa lost her smile. Turning to Inessa, she lost the shine from her eyes as her blue eyes pooled with tears. Pulling the Polaroid out from my grasp, she released a sigh.

"This was my first child," she began. "We named her Natalie but we called her Tala for short. She was a beautiful baby, born in December when the first snow touched,"

"Mom..."

Inessa stroked her thumb over the glossy photo, "Natalie was only 18 months old when she died... in my arms."

"I..." Now I feel horrible. I blamed myself for going on this stupid treasure hunt! Look at my mother, who always had a smile on her face now crying, remembering repressed memories of her first born! Words spilled out of my mouth, "Mom... I... I'm sorry."

Lost within her mind, Inessa continued, "At the time, Gregori and I tried many years for a child but with no results, we began to lose faith. I found out one day I had conceived; it was probably the happiest day of my life."

"I see."

"Things were much different back in those days; the house you see here was non-existent back in the day. We lived together in a house far away from here by the river... We were poor, Tala. We barely fed ourselves but when Natalie was born, Gregori decided to join the army. He thought it was the best way to provide for Natalie and I."

"..."

"Because we lived so far away, life was a struggle. It took two hours just to get into the city. When Natalie fell sick, I was crushed. Gregori was away and I had very little money. My only chance at the time was to take Natalie into the city. Every moment, I prayed for the Gods to help us... At least, save her and kill me off..."

At a loss for words, I couldn't possibly imagine what was going through Inessa's mind at the time. Each moment passed was excruciating. Putting a hand against my beating heart, I felt as if my heart was shackled by iron chains. A rush of emotions surged through me like fire; the pain was so great, I released a grunt.

Inessa approached the window, pressing her hand onto the clear glass. "By the time I reached the city, Natalie barely breathed. At the hospital, my heart felt as if it was ripped out of my chest. The line up was unimaginable; to see the amount of people suffering... I was told the hospital was understaffed."

"..."

"When it was our turn, my... my..." Inessa choked.

My legs moved on their own, making me approach my mother and hugged her. Burying my face in her back, I felt my mother's body tremble as sobs echoed louder. Unsure of what to do, all I could do was comfort my mother. Again, I made someone else cry.

Inessa tried keeping it together but as hard as she tried, she crumbled. "Na... Natalie was dead... Tala died... She died in my arms..."

Falling on her knees, Inessa's sobs echoed around unheard by the rest of the world except for Tala, her son. With every fallen tear, Inessa's memories slipped through her fingers one by one; she was once told once a life was lost, nothing could bring them back. Nothing. But yet, she was also told with each new life she gained, she was to honour and cherish them without prejudice. Honour the ones who fell to their unfortunate untimely deaths. Treasure what you have now and never let go. Never let go of what was most important to you, right here, right now.