The Last Romanov (Under Editing)

Epilogue: One Year Later

Czarina Maria Feodorovna Dead - Wife of Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya, To Be Coronated, the headlines that day in Helsinki read.

Sasha wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. He supposed he should've felt sad, but frankly, he just felt numb. There went one more member of the gang that had decapitated Anastasia's government. Nadya had died that day, Virtanen had died of a stroke a few months after his return to Finland, God knew what the hell had happened to Arttüri and Arkadiy after they were released from prison: nobody had heard from them since that day. As far as he knew, now, it was just himself and Nadezhda.

"Maria Fiyo... Fiyadaro... isn't that the dowager empress?" Kaisa, the girl Sasha had met on arriving in Finland, asked. She was sweet, didn't pry into his past all that much: all she really cared about was the future, which suited Sasha just fine.

"She was the queen, actually," Sasha said, putting down the paper and looking across the busy square. "Good woman: certainly better than that bitch of a granddaughter."

"You really shouldn't speak ill of the dead, dear," Kaisa chastised. "Anyway: how did the wife of Lenin end up being next in line for the Russian throne? That seems rather odd to me."

Sasha sighed. "Kaisa, have I told you about how I ended up in Finland?"

She shook her head. "No. Why are you suddenly feeling so open about it? Does it have something to do with this Nadezhda character?"

"Yeah," he said. "It's a long story, though: I think it's better saved for home."

"We've got time," Kaisa said. "Come on: it sounds a lot more interesting than watching people."

"Alright," Sasha said. "How much do you remember from when Anastasia invaded Russia with the Czechs?"

***

Nadezhda never thought that the crown of Russia could be so heavy.

As it was placed on her head in the Dormition Cathedral, it was all she could think about. Thank God she didn't have to wear that thing around all day, every day. But, something told her that the weight would never truly go away: it would be hers to bear for the rest of her life.

Can you believe it, Vladimir? She thought to herself as she faced the people gathered at the cathedral as their Czarina for the first time. All of them stood for her and bowed their heads. The soldiers saluted. Your wife is the Czarina of Russia.

My, how things have changed.

"All hail Czarina Nadezhda Krupskaya, defender of Russia," the priest declared.

"Long live the Czarina!" The people in the cathedral said in unison.

Nadezhda stood up a little taller.

A newer, brighter age for Russia had finally arrived.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, guys: here it is. This is the final chapter of "The Last Romanov". We've been through a lot, of ups and downs, but I hope that you guys enjoyed it, in the end.

Now, we just have one more dedication. This one is dedicated to... all of you! Everybody who stuck it out this far, gave me suggestions, voted, commented; you guys gave me the motivation I needed to keep going, even on the toughest of writing days. I really don't think that authors give their readers enough credit on this website, so really: thank you. 

As always, be sure to vote and comment, and I hope to see you guys on another one of my stories.