The next morning, Nika uses her new magic credit card to buy supplies. Based on her sleeping conditions and Mikhail’s few possessions, he had clearly fared worse adapting to modern life than his brother. If only maxing out this card would actually affect Joseph. Still, Nika spends her infinite money with glee, reassembling a suitable travel bag since her previous burnt to ash. She manages to coerce the older brother, who has been nervously following her, into a restaurant for breakfast.

“What does all of this have to do with finding your wishes?” He looks toward the wall as the waitress handing them menus stares at his scar. If you didn’t have money in the 21rst century, you could get away with good looks. Mikhail had neither, or at least lacked the confidence to act like his most obvious flaw wasn’t a big deal. After the waitress leaves, Nika tells him about her and Joseph’s plan to search Volgograd.

“Wait, your grandmother’s name was Berennikov?” He interrupts as she repeats as much of the letter as she remembers.

“Yes. Maria Berennikov.” A completely Russian name, compared to the Jacobson Nika was stuck with from her father. The only thing she was stuck with, other than bad memories and half her DNA.

“That was the name of…” He struggles for a moment, and it’s the other Nika who remembers the answer.

“The name of my maid’s daughter.” She says with certainty in her mousy way.

Fate, why did you have to be so cruel? Why couldn’t Maria be another noble’s daughter, that Ivanika had grown up with? Instead, her family’s great connection to the others- guaranteed while they were caught in this fairy tale- was servant status. Ah well.

“Does that help you know where to look?” Perhaps it was at least a useful connection.

“Not particularly.” The mouse continues to speak. “But I think I know what we are looking for- a silver spoon she kept in her pocket.” Aha! She’d had a feeling about magical cutlery.

“And Joseph won’t be able to figure this out?” Nika asks the next most pressing question.

Mikhail shakes his head, “My brother was too prideful to pay our staff much heed. He’ll be looking for any possibility.”

Nika wishes she had her phone to search the internet forsilver spoon collections in Volgograd. She’d lost it in the burning house. However- her hand reaches into her pocket for the credit card- she could always get a new one, now that they had some time for a wireless network employee to talk for hours about discounts and bonuses. She looks over at Mikhail, hiding his face in the menu. Maybe he can stand outside for that.

Indeed, an hour later Nika finally gets across that she wants that phone. Yes, that one. She doesn’t care how many others are on sale if she buys a premium- that one. If it had been the 90’s, she could have walked into an internet cafe and had the answer in five minutes. As it is, she spends another three agreeing to this policy and that as she sets the phone’s features to something usable. Finally, she tries her first search: museums in volgograd. After ten minutes scrolling through various sites, she stops. Fairy tale fate is with them, as a new exhibit proudly presents artifacts from World War Ⅱ. Among bullet casings and cracked rifles, is a very out of place silver spoon.