HESTIA ━ marvel

0.1 | THE MAXIMOFF FAMILY

FOR MANY MONTHS, Sokovia was a place of peace. There were no bombings, and the buildings were still standing. The country had previously had a rough history, but it was on the way to everywhere special. It was not necessarily the safest place on Earth, but to Sokovians, it was all they would ever want. Even though it might not have been much, the people of Sokovia learnt to cherish what they had, which included their family and friends. Life was hard there, not being the richest place in the world, but people learnt to just get on with it. After all, other places had it worse. For most parts, most people you came across were friendly.

In an apartment block not far from the centre of the city, lived a family of five. The Maximoff family. Anastasiya Maximoff was born and raised in Sokovia, along side her older sister Wanda, and Wanda's older twin, Pietro. The three were inseparable, and even though they weren't the most fortunate, they were happy. They had each other, and that's all they needed to get through the hard times.

A little girl, roughly around the age of six, was accompanied by her older siblings as they walked home from school. Besides her siblings being a few years older, they were like best friends. Anastasiya Maximoff was what you would say, plucky, and despite her young age she was extremely intelligent. The girl was not unlike her siblings, sharing Wanda's thick long hair and Pietro's piercing blue eyes. As many would say, she was extremely pretty.

"принцесса! How was your day?" Pietro called across to his younger sister, as he spotted her running over to him and Wanda. The twins collected her from school a lot, but they didn't mind it. "Wanda! Pietro!" Anastasiya said, a massive grin on her face, whilst engulfing the two in a hug. "It was pretty boring," the girl said, "but it's okay, because now I can play with you!" Pietro smiled at his younger sister, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the school gates, Wanda by his side.

It was a short walk home, but they enjoyed it - just a few minutes to themselves before they got home, chatting to each other happily. After a few minutes, they turned down their street and began climbing the stairs to their apartment. Anastasiya's worn black shoes could be heard scraping along the concrete floor as she chased her siblings up the stairs.

"Come on Pietro! Super speed!" the girl giggled, her face slightly flushed.

"What about me?" Wanda exclaimed, faking a look of mock hurt on her face.

"You too, Wanda!" Pietro said, as he grabbed both of his sisters' hands, pulling them up the stairs with him. When they got to the top, they all burst into laughter. Anastasiya walked over to the wooden door to their apartment, and pushed it open. The smell of food was wafting in the hallways, with the television on in the living room. Their parents were sat on the couch, and they got over to greet their children as they walked in.

"Wanda, Pietro, Anastasiya!" their father called, as he pulled them all in for a hug, their mother following in pursuit. The family of five sat down on the couch together and started talking about their day. Even though it was not their first language, the family usually spoke in English.

"It boring, but my teacher said I'm doing really good at school!" Anastasiya remarked, her face lighting up with excitement. The twins looked over at her proudly, and so did her parents.

"Really? Well done, Ana. We're really proud of you," her mother said to her, a soft smile on her face as she laid her eyes on her youngest daughter. "Now run along. Dinner will be ready soon, go and play together nicely until then," she added.

The three siblings were about to run down the hall to their shared bedroom, but before they could, a deafening crash could be heard, and the building around them began to shake.

"What's happening?" Wanda shouted, pulling her brother and sister close to her, her parents trapped on the other side of the room. Suddenly, a shell hit their building, creating a hole in the floor, and Wanda, Pietro and Anastasiya screamed as their parents fell through the floor.

Pietro pulled his two younger sisters into their room as the second shell hit, dragging them under the bed which was surrounded by bricks from the building in which they lived.

All three were sobbing from the loss of their parents, but they had to be strong. But right now, they were trapped under one of the beds, frozen completely still, with a shell inches from their faces. Anastasiya could just make out the words "Stark Industries," written on the side of it.