The Grand Dutchess Anastasia

Journey to the Past

The orphan girl of 18 waved goodbye as she was thrown out of the gates. She had just been given directions to her new job in a fish factory, but she wanted something different.

She made her way towards the fork in the road, mocking the orphanage's caretaker along the way. "Be grateful Anya. I am grateful. Greateful to get away!"

She looked to the street sign, covered in snow. "Send me a sign.. A hint. Anything!" She exclaimed, plopping down on a frozen over log. She heard a bark, then another, and looked up to see a cute little dog with her scarf in its mouth. "Hey!"

Anya stood up, pulling on the scarf, muttering things like "Give me that" and "Drop it!" before the dog pulled on it a little too hard, resulting in Anya's face meeting the snow.

The orphan girl sat up, deep in thought. She fiddled with her necklace, looking down. "Whoever gave me this necklace must have loved me." The dog continued to pull on her scarf, dragging her towards St. Petersburg. "Great. A  dog wants me to go to St. Petersburg." She snapped out of her thoughts, realizing. "Okay.. I can take a hint." The girl dressed in rags stood, taking her scarf back from her little friend, turning right- the exact opposite way from her new job.

After the revolution, Saint Petersburg had become miserable. The only thing getting those people through the day was their gossip. The king of cons was walking down the street, looking for his friend, when he heard a group of ladies say something that gave him an idea.

"Have you heard? The Grand Dutchess might be alive!"

"Oh, don't pay any attention to that. It's probably just a rumor."

"Oh come on, have a little faith! I heard the Dowager Empress is offering 50 million rubles for her return."

Dimitri couldn't hear anything after that. He was planning, no, plotting. He continued to walk the street, finally finding his old friend and partner, the former count, Vlad. "Vlad, you wouldn't believe what I just heard." The conman said.

"Boy, I have connections, I'm sure I already know what you're going to say." Vlad felt bad for his friend. He knew he had blamed himself for the princess' death, and this rumor only brought up old feelings.

"If you've heard the rumors, then you'll know how perfect this con is." The pair walked towards the old palace. "It'll be the biggest con in history! Just think, Vlad, 50 million rubles, and a way to get out of this shit hole!" Dimitri had been wanting nothing but to get out of Russia for some time, now.

"I know, but-" The old man started.

"You'll get to see your Lily again." The man of 20 cut him off. All Vlad did was smile at this. They continued up to the room they had claimed in the old palace. Dimitri picked up a small, golden and green box. He had never figured out how to open it, but he knew it was his princess'. "Just think Vlad. No more travel papers, no more stolen goods, just three tickets out of here. One for you, one for me and one for Anastasia! I mean, once her royal highness sees this trinket, she'll think we have the real deal! All we need is the girl."

Knowingly, Vladimir nodded his head toward his enthousiastic friend. "I've already gotten us the theatre."

Anya had stayed with a nice family for a night, and had made her way to Saint Petersburg. She walked confidently up to the man in the travel booth. "One ticket to Paris please."

"Exit visa." The man said.

"Exit visa?"

"No exit visa, no ticket!" The man slammed the booth window in her face. Anya stepped back, corssing her arms. "Rude." she mumbled under her breathe.

An old woman made her way towards Anya, whispering to her. "See Dimitri. He can help."

Anya looked down at the woman, and asked in a hushed tone, "Where can I find him?"

The woman answered, "In the old palace. But you didn't hear it from me!" She ushered the young woman to go.

A/N:
This one is shorter than the last one, but the last one had a lot more to it. :)