Anastasia Romanov

by Svetlana Ivanova

  "We have crafted a plan," Krasnoff said to lessen the tension. "Her older sister's coronation is coming in three days. The Hunters will prepare to launch an attack during the parade. There is a great tension between the Russian Empire and the German Empire. We will make everyone think that the Kaiser is the one behind it. Once the older Grand Duchess is gone, Anastasia will inherit the throne, and then..."

  "Then you will use her to unite the forces," I finished his sentence.

  "Exactly," he said. "When we get rid of her sister, the power will fall into her hand. Therefore, Valerina, you will persuade her to take us into her government."

  The world seemed to stop moving. What I was hearing sent chills through my bones. I had never felt such an intense conflict in my life. I was indeed a bait in this whole theme. What would Anastasia think of this if she knew the truth?

  "How could killing her sister make Anastasia feel obligated to help us?" I said.

  "She won’t know that it was us," Arkady spoke. "I have put her into hibernation and she would remain in this state until we need her again."

  "When everything settles again, we will wake her up. And that is when your role comes into play, daughter," Trotsky said. "The mind would accept anything the heart desires. Anastasia loves you. She would do whatever you ask of her, and we will use her authority to bring the New Orders down."

  I was in a profound shock. When I looked at my sister, her expression was as expressive as a brick wall. No one seemed to be against this cruel plan. Of course, we, the Hunters, had been trained to use every means possible to free the people. Now I understood what my godfather meant about sacrifices. He knew I was in love with Anastasia, and yet he would use me to bend her will while they set out to destroy her family.

  "Vale," my godfather spoke again. "I wish there was another way to end this but the future of our humanity is in your hand. You must remember that."

  WHEN I REACHED THE hospital wing again, it was already late at night. There were several hunters guarding the hallway. White curtains hung around the room to provide the place some sort of solitude. The coppery scent and the smell of medicines were strong in the still night air. An older sophisticated nurse and two tough-looking female hunters greeted me. I was ushered into the inner chamber, where I was told Anastasia had been kept.

  I parted one of the curtains that enclosed the only bed in the room and found her. She looked like a sleeping angel in a painting. Her pale white skin could almost blend in with the white sheet, but her lips were always like two petals of red rose. My heart felt like it had fallen down a bottomless mineshaft as I walked over to her bed.

  "Anastasia," I whispered her name. The beeping sound from the monitor that measured her heartbeat was the only sound in the room. I watched her sleeping face for a moment before reaching my hand out, slowly touching her cheek. Her skin was cold and soft. My fingers carded through her golden blonde hair. She was beautiful and innocent this way. It was still hard to believe she wasn't human.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered and bent over to kiss her crimson lips. In my inner most heart, though I scarcely admitted it to myself, Anastasia had become the center of my life. But now with the burden of the responsibility being handed down to me, I felt like I was betraying her.

  So wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't hear the sound of footsteps until I looked up and saw Lyra there.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked. I straightened myself and stepped back from the sleeping princess.

  "You shouldn't stay here so late," I said.

  "I'm fine," she said and came to sit on the other side of the bed. "I don't want Anastasia to be alone."

  For a moment, we just gazed at the blonde angel in silence.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered softly, not sure if the girl could hear me or not.

  "Anastasia loves you," Lyra said suddenly. I looked at her again but her eyes didn't meet mine.

  "What?" I said.

  "She told me that herself," she said. "It has been so since the time you captured her from Ostankino."

  "I thought she hated me because of that," I said. Lyra sensed how I felt.

  "To understand that, you would have to turn the world upside down. It seemed you didn’t just capture her body but also her heart," she said. Then a smile came to her lips, though not with her eyes.

  "What if I ruined it all when we love like fools, and all we have will be lost in the end?" I said as a drop of tear rolled down on my cheek. Lyra looked at me, but she couldn't grasp the meaning of my words. I turned on my heels and walked away.

  Chapter 28

  Trotsky and Krasnoff along with the other important members of the Circle were gathering in the Phoenix Hall. Our spies had been doing reconnaissance in Kremlin and delivered enough needed reports from their espionage.

  In two-day time, it was going to be Anastasia's older sister's coronation. The two generals had convened our brothers and sisters to discuss the plan. Now we were crafting the biggest Machiavellian operation that had never been carried out before by our movement.

  The mission would be in motion before sunrise. The Hunters would attack during the royal parade. If somehow the first attempt failed, we would activate the second plan and finish the job inside the cathedral where Alexandra Romanov would be crowned. However, there was this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away. My unfettered heart was torn between my credence of justice and my feelings for the younger Romanov.

  How could I be engaged in the act of obliterating her family and still have the decency to look her in the eyes again? Yet I was powerless to stop the inevitable.

  After the meeting, we gathered for the super. I ate lightly as I was sitting there with my mind tormented by the battling thoughts. Then I felt a cold hand on mine and I looked up to find my godfather staring at me gravely.

  "I know this is a difficult time for you, Vale," he said with empathic violet eyes, "but our future is partially in your own hands while the rest will be up to the circumstances that laced together. I want you to remember this, daughter, that whatever happens to you or me, there is never a bloodshed that is not intended for the greater good."

  "I understand," I said in a stoic voice. There was a brief moment of silence between us, then he turned to the others and raised his cup.

  "For the Land of the Firebird!"

  "For the Land of the Firebird!" they echoed chorally with great energy. As soon as I decently could, I excused myself from the table and set off to the hospital wing, a large, quiet, dimly lit space where Anastasia laid like a Sleeping Beauty.

  Once I'd reached it and dismissed the nurses, I let go of my steeliness that had supported me throughout the day and went inside. I expected Lyra to be there as always, but she wasn't. My feet moved towards the heartbreaking sight. Anastasia looked like a distant star in the sky. With a long sigh, I eased myself onto the chair by her bedside.

  She looked a lot paler. Her skin was like white plaster in an abandoned house. How long were they going to keep her in this state? I reached out to stroke her cold cheek with the back of my fingers. As expected, she felt like ice.

  "This is going to be a long deep sleep for you," I said in a voice barely above a whisper, "and when you wake up, everything will change."

  I thought of the deceitful plan I had conspired with my people. This would be a knife that cut us apart forever for nothing destroyed love faster than a betrayal.

  "I called you a monster," I said, ignoring the quiver in my throat, "but it's not you, it's me. I was so plagued with hatred and vengeance that it blinded me from seeing the goodness in you."

  I took her hand in mine and laced her slender fingers with my own. Then I brought them to my lips and kissed them softly, hoping that somehow the warmth would comfort her through this void of nothingness.

  "I don't know what to do, Anastasia," I said helplessly at last. Anastasia could not hear me. She would never know how desperately I needed her. My chest grew tight with sadness. I tried to h
old back the wild anguish that had been inflicting me night and day, but burning tears kept flowing from my eyes like a surging spring. I let myself give in to an uncontrollable sob and buried my face in my arms beside her.

  "I love you, Anastasia," I whispered. "I love you with all my heart. Please, forgive me."

  I WOKE UP IN MY OWN chamber and had no idea what time it was. But the experience told me that attacks usually began at dawn, yet this time we were the target. Before I could rub the sleep off my eyes, a shock hit me as I saw plume of smoke rise from many quarters. The little town below me was aflame. Then a rumbling sound resonated through the castle. The trainings had bestowed me the instinct of an owl and agility of a wildcat, even though I was caught off guard.

  Quickly I retrieved all my necessary weapons and left the room. Along the corridors, people were running and shouting. Everything was in great chaos everywhere. I grabbed a passing huntress by the shoulders to stop her.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  "The vampire troop is here!" she cried back. "The General asked everyone to take arms at the gates immediately. The rest were to help evacuate the townspeople through the secret tunnel."

  "Where's my sister?" I said.

  "The Alpha's with the General," the girl replied and I let her go. As I ran out of the buildings, an explosion knocked a corner off the castle’s roof. The impact tore the stones apart, causing them to fall like avalanches. For a frozen moment, the thought of Anastasia inside the hospital wing stopped me on my track. I felt as if I was split into two between my duty and my own fear for her safety.

  "Beta!" someone cried out to me. "We need to hurry! They're advancing."

  With an inward sigh, I took off along with the others. Through the smoke and dust, I made out Trotsky and my sister, standing atop the terrace that was carved into the mountain rang. Without delay, I climbed up the stairs leading to the top.

  "General! What...?" I gasped, but then I saw what they were staring at. Before us was our archenemy. They came by the hundreds, all well-equipped, black-coated vampire soldiers.

  My sister spat, "They've caught us on the back foot. It's the royal army."

  "We underestimated the older Grand Duchess," Trotsky said, still maintained an air of calm about him. "Their attack was very well-kept that nothing leaked out."

  "They must have amassed their troops to the east during the night," a female hunter said. Even the General admitted that we were one step behind.

  "What should we do?" another hunter asked.

  "The main thing is to get all the townspeople cleared out," Trotsky said. "We got to hold them off until we've done that. If they take our fortress with our people still inside it, the vampires will kill them all."

  Then he turned to me. "Beta, you lead everyone to the Cossack Camp and inform Krasnoff about the attack."

  "What about you all?" I asked.

  "We'll see you at the camp afterward," he said to reassure me. "Now, go."

  "Yes sir," I said and turned to leave.

  Along the way, my heart was pounding in tandem with my sprinting feet. I ducked as another cannonball smashed into the ramparts. The earth shook with an ear-splitting blast, which followed by a rain of debris from the sky. Some of us were dodging the crumbling masonry.

  There was a great chance of breaching the walls if the vampires kept firing their cannons. Silently I prayed for a miracle that none of the attacks had caused any damage to a certain wing of the castle. The vampires had no idea what had happened to Anastasia. By now, it seemed everyone else was less concerned about her. Had they forgotten about her entirely? Then a thought popped into my head - I had to get Anastasia out of here. It was the only chance.

  Inside the castle, the remaining hunters were evacuating and corralling the people into the secret passage. They tried their best to calm the frightened folks to prevent stamped. I went up to several fellows and instructed them to get children and women out first. I searched the crowd but Lyra wasn't among them. I rushed towards the hospital and that was when I saw the girl darting through another corridor in the same direction.

  "Lyra!" I cried out and went to catch up with her. "You need to leave the castle with the others now!"

  "But Anastasia..."

  "I will get her," I said. "The place is in danger. You must leave!"

  She gave me a desperate look. Her pale face turned towards the hospital's wing and then back at me.

  "Please save her," she said softly. "You're the only one who can."

  Hearing those words, I nodded back before turning to run again. Fortunately, the wing was still intact when I arrived, but I found Arkady there along with five other hunters.

  "Valerina, why are you here?" he asked.

  "I'm coming to take Anastasia with me," I said.

  "We're about to do that," he said. "The General told me to bring her to the Cossack Camp with us."

  "Why don't you wake her up?" I asked. "If something happens along the way, there's a high risk that she would die."

  "She can't be awakened unless I receive further instruction. I'm just following the order," Ark said.

  "Then as the Beta of the Hunters, I ask you to bring her out of her hibernation now," I said with the amount of authority I could muster in my voice. Arkady was stunned. He just stared at me with blinking eyes. I drew my hidden knives from behind my red cape.

  "Do it!" I commanded.

  "But..." Ark gasped. I didn't wait for him to speak and marched forward. The two other hunters twice my size came to stop me, but I continue to stride towards them.

  My assassin's instinct took over. I must act now or lose the chance of saving Anastasia from all this.

  With practiced grace, I landed a kick into one of the hunters' gut. The other one swung his fist at me, but I wounded him with a slash of my blade to his thigh. The man cried and dropped to the floor. Three more came at me. I plunged myself into a battle. Holding my daggers upside down, I charged forward at the nearest two and skidded on my knees, sliding across the marble floor. The blades nicked the men's legs as I skidded past them. Both screamed and fell. Arkady watched me in disbelief.

  The last one, who I had kicked earlier, raised his crossbow and aimed it at me. Outside, I could still hear the faint explosions. The fighting was still going on at the gate.

  "Stop it, Beta, or I'll shoot!" he threatened. I froze in a crouching position. My eyes stared intently at the hunter. His hands were shaking. His finger lingered over the trigger. I held my breath. He thought he had gotten me, but in a lightning speed, I threw my knife at the spot just under his armpit. The blade only grazed him, yet it was enough to avert his aim. The arrow shot out, but it struck the wall.

  I ran towards the wide-eyed Arkady and grasped him by the collar with a knife positioning under his throat.

  "Do it!" I cried fiercely.

  "Beta, have you gone mad?" he said in a panicking voice. "Don't you know you are sabotaging our plan. It's not yet time for her to..."

  "I don't care anymore!" I yelled back.

  "This is an act of treason, I'm telling you, Beta—" he said, "the highest form of crime that could get you executed!"

  Unable to listen to another word he said, I pushed the man to the ground and went to where Anastasia was. She was sleeping undisturbed all this time.

  I looked at the vampire princess for a moment and then raised my blade to my palm. I closed my hand around it and made a slash.

  "Valerina, don't!"

  A sharp sting followed by crimson blood, running hot through the cracks of my fingers. I put my bleeding hand up to her lips. For a moment there, no one made a move while I was feeding Anastasia.

  "Please, wake up," I said. All my emotions that were banished during the fight came back. Tears began rolling from my eyes as I watched her.

  "Get her away quickly!" I heard Arkady's voice ordering the injured hunters. Time was running out, yet Anastasia was still sleeping. I looked over my shoulder and saw two hunters came towards me. I thought
to myself that this was it. I had failed.

  Suddenly I felt cold hard fingers grabbing my hand. I turned back with a gasp and realized that Anastasia, whose eyes still hadn't opened yet, was biting into my bleeding hand. The hunters stepped back as they were witnessing the princess's awakening. I watched those cheeks blushed with life again, like a rose blooming in winter. Slowly, those eyes, golden and deep, fluttered open.

  In a split second, she gazed at me. Our eyes met, and with a relief, those timeless golden orbs recognized me.

  "Anastasia," I breathed.

  "Vale," she managed a croak. I tried to help her get up. She looked disoriented and her chest was heaving violently.

  "Beta, get away from her! She's dangerous," Arkady warned. The other hunters were surrounding us with their weapons drawn, all loaded and ready.

  "Stand back!" someone cried. I turned to see my sister at the doorway. For a moment, everyone froze. They looked at each other and then lowered their weapons as ordered by the Alpha.

  "Sister," I whispered.

  "Let them go," she told the others. I didn't know what her intention was, but I took the opportunity to help Anastasia out of bed. She was still weak. My blood had revived her, but it was far from enough to strengthen her. However, I admired her courage and her will to fight the urge to feed. I knew the hunger was clawing at her from the inside. I draped Anastasia's arm around me and walked her out.

  When we reached the door, my sister stopped me.

  "Get to your horse as fast as you can," she said. "The vampires have broken through our gate. Soon they will be here. You must leave through the forest. The vampires might follow you, but they wouldn't get pass the Phoenix Shield. "

  "What about you?" I asked. She merely drew her machete. The blade gleamed like moonlight. In her other hand was a silver pistol loaded with special bullets.