A/N: Okay, I never thought I'd write an Anastasia fic but after reading some one-shots and seeing the movie again for the first time in more than ten years, this idea came to mind. What if the Communists found out she was alive? Stalin would want her either killed or transformed into a loyal Soviet citizen. This is also my first attempt writing a torture fic. This is gonna be heavy, warning you right now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Anastasia; everything belongs to Don Bluth except my characters and original settings.
14:30 MSK Saturday, 12th December, 1927, Moscow, Russia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Chapter One: The Orders
The Kremlin, a mighty fortress that stood in the heart of Moscow since before Ivan the Terrible took the throne of Russia as its first Tsar in 1547, was a compound of many grand buildings, including St. Basil's Cathedral, the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was surrounded on all sides with tall, thick walls guarded by trained snipers with orders to shoot intruders first and ask questions later. During the days of the Tsars, it was used for coronations and other ceremonies. However, the Tsar and his family generally lived in Petrograd (or Leningrad as it was now known). Now under the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, it served as the Party's headquarters and residence of its highest-ranking officials, notably General Secretary Joseph Stalin.
This particular office in the Kremlin stood in the headquarters of the NKVD; a national police force created by Stalin to keep law and order in the Soviet Union. However, this particular agency's job was to find and weed out citizens, military personnel, and Party members whose loyalty was in question and send them to be reeducated. An imposing man in a green uniform sat behind the desk, having just summoned another man in a similar to his office. That man stood in front of the desk at attention. He was younger than his superior, probably not more than late twenties in age with short blond hair but one look in his steely blue eyes would invalidate any misconception of youth and inexperience one would initially have.
"You sent for me, Comrade Leonov?" Alex Zhidkov inquired in his curt voice.
"Yes, Zhidkov," Mischa Leonov replied, motioning for him to sit and he obliged. Leonov looked him in the eye. "I have a job for you. This one comes straight from Comrade Beria who received these orders from no less a man than our glorious leader. I've chosen you for this assignment, Comrade Zhidkov, because your records speak for themselves." He handed him a sealed envelope. "Read this carefully and destroy it." In slight confusion, the younger man lowered his gaze to the letter, tore the envelope and began to read.
"That's impossible," he stated, looking back at Leonov after he finished reading. "The Romanovs were captured and executed ten years ago!"
"Yes," the older man replied seriously. "But you've been with us long enough to have heard the rumors that two of them survived. That a servant boy saved them… We've been investigating that claim for years and dismissed it as anti-Revolutionary propaganda."
"But does this mean…"
"Yes. She was sighted leaving Leningrad with two men, one of whom is a known con artist pulling many schemes in order to make a quick ruble. His little Anastasia plot would have set him and his accomplice up for life and given him free passage out of the Soviet Union. Probably planned to use the money to get into that capitalist shithole, America." Alex cringed at the name of the USSR's powerful neighbor across the Atlantic.
"They were then seen in Germany boarding a boat to Paris and that is the last we've heard of them."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Our allies in Germany have time to look for Soviet defects when they have enough on their plate trying to keep that sociopath, Hitler and his pseudo-army from taking power? No offense, Comrade, but I think we should worry about him and his growing number of supporters, not some deposed princess and a petty criminal. You watch, if that man takes power in Germany, it'll be a disaster for the whole world. Don't kid yourself, he will eventually take power if not in the upcoming election there then in the next one. I mean, have you listened to the shit that man spews? It's fucking scary!"
"You just worry about the job assigned to you, Comrade!" said Leonov curtly. "Comrade Stalin has faith in the German communists and I trust his judgment, don't you?" He stressed the last two words threateningly.
"Yes."
"If the National Socialists take power there, we'll act accordingly."
"Yes, Comrade," Alex responded, moving the edge of his seat. "Now, you need me to capture her and the criminal. What of Vladimir Vasilovich and the former Dowager Empress?"
Leonov's brow furrowed as he responded, "They're not important, Alex, the Party is only interested in Anastasia Romanova and Dmitri Volkov. Your orders are to bring them to headquarters. We'll take it from there. Now, you're to form a team of four and leave first thing tomorrow. Remember, we want them alive."
"Yes, Comrade." With that, Alex saluted and made his way out of the office.