Anya tossed and turned in her sleep. She heard the screams and the gunfire. She smelled the indistinguishable copper droplets of red.
She awoke with a scream and Bucky came running.
He wordlessly pulled her into his arms and said softly, "You're safe now, Anya."
Anya's face scrunched in thought as memory upon memory began stirring.
She stood abruptly, accidentally knocking Bucky back as she rifled through a small bag. She pulled out a small stack of papers and a music box she'd gotten at an auction.
Anya sat next to Bucky and pointed to a picture of a young Anastasia. "James. Does this girl look like me?"
Bucky looked at the girl, then at Anya. "They do look similar. Anya, what are you saying?"
The longer Anya stared at the pictures, the more real they became. They were no longer just figments of a horrible nightmare, but as real as though she was finally seeing them for the first time.
"Anya?"
Anya met his eyes. "My name is Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov."
"You're... You're the lost princess?"
She nodded. "Yes. And I'm all alone in a world seeking to destroy a familial line."
Bucky cupped her face in his hands. "You're not alone, Anastasia. Not anymore."
Anastasia's eyes met his and a smile slowly formed on her face. "Would you stay with me? In case the nightmares continue?"
He nodded. "Always, doll."
---
Meanwhile, across the sea, a Bolshevik general received word that one Romanov had possibly survived, that she had purchased a ticket to New York and had yet to return.
Immediately he purchased a ticket to investigate the rumor for himself.
Because if Anastasia Romanov was alive, he had a duty to fulfill. Pull the trigger and snuff out the Romanov line. Forever.
YOU ARE READING
Rumors and Ghosts
AcciónMiraculously, the youngest daughter survives a brutal massacre. The only one to make it out alive. But it's at the cost of her memory. For years, she works odd jobs, trying to get to Paris, though she's not sure why the city is so important to her...
