Anastasia Novelization

A Song Someone Sings

Shaking and frightened I strike out with my fists but they're stopped by stronger hands. I hear a familiar voice trying to calm me. I open my eyes to a concerned Dimitry. I surprise him by stopping my fight and wrapping him in a hug. To my surprise he returns the favor but there's comfort to it. He cradles my head to his chest for a moment, letting me force back my tears. "Anya what happened? What did they do to you?"

I pull away from him remembering the danger we're all in now. "We need to get out..."

"Anya..."

"They're going to the palace..."

"Anya..."

"They know what we're doing..."

"Anya..." He shakes me slightly. "I know. Vlad got out the back as they were going in." He met me at the station and then we saw you being dragged down the sidewalk. We thought for sure that you were a goner... You must be an even better actress than I thought if you were able to talk your way out of that."

"It's not that..." I say.

"Then what is it?"

I look out to the street not trusting the ears of anyone anymore. "It's a long story."

"We're going to meet Vlad to discuss what our next move is. Tell me on the way." He wraps an arm around my shoulder and then we go deeper into the ally to travel behind the buildings, in the shadows.

I tell him now. Everything since I'd reached St. Petersburg. How I'd nearly died on the street from starving and how Gleb had taken me in and gotten me a job. All about the day with the car backfire and the conversation with him today. By the end of my story I had calmed down but we were approaching a group of rowdy men sitting around a barrel fire. I hold onto him a little tighter as we start to walk by. One man steps into our path calling on Dimitry.

"Come on Dimitry. I don't like these people." I latch onto his hand and pull away but a man sitting had insulted both of us already and now there was no pulling him back. One makes a snide remark about me being his Tsarina and that makes me let go of Dimitry. I turn right into the presence of another man gone with drink. I turn the other way and find we've been cornered. Someone shoves Dimitry back and then one reaches for my skirts. I take a hard step back. Dimitry shoves that man away from me but then he's punched across the face causing him to stagger a few steps to the left. Someone yanks my left upper arm so I'm face to face with a bigger man I try to pull away but he just pulls me closer.

"Don't touch her!" Dimitry yells. I turn my head and see that he's preoccupied with two men holding him back.

"If she's too much trouble for you Dimitry. I'd be glad to take her off your hands." He leans in as if he's going to kiss me. This gives Dimitry the flame needed to throw off his two assailants. I'd been in a situation similar to this before, a knee to the crotch and a claw across the face worked last time. Following the same steps i'd done before is enough to shake his grasp from me. I grab a hot stick from the fire and poke at him. The metal is hot but the other end glows red. This scares my assailant off. Turning I see that Dimitri has taken on his two guys successfully injuring one and scaring off the other. The last one yells that we're both crazy and as I start to approach him with my flaming metal he turns and flees. I start to run after him nobody calls me crazy and gets away... Dimitry catches me though. Finally realizing how hot the metal is I drop it to the frozen ground.

Dimitri helps me to the makeshift bench the men had been sitting on and goes away for a moment. He reappears with a handful of snow which he packs onto the palm of my hand. It's cold for sure but it numbs the burning. "Thanks." I say relaxing back finally.

"How... Where..." He looks confused but also very impressed at the same time. "Where did you learn... whatever that was." He finally sits down next to me when he gets the question out. I give him a smug grin.