Title: Just a rumor and a conman.
Rating: T
Summary: Ivan was once a guard for the czar and his family and was quite content with how things were. Czar Nicholas II trusted him greatly and his children loved him very much, especially Anastasia. However after the revolution he nearly goes insane until he learns that Anastasia might still be alive. With only the rumors buzzing around St. Petersburg and a former palace kitchen boy as his only leads, will he be able to find the grand dutchess and finally be able to atone for his crimes.
Pairings: Just the historical ones and the ones dictated by the movie.
Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia or Anastasia in any way shape or form. I only own the idea for this fic.
Ivan walked the ornate halls of the Alexander palace, on his way to officially meet his new boss, Czar Nicholas II and his family. Granted he had caught a glimpse of them during the days festivities (they had been celebrating the first birthday of Alexei Romanov) but since he had been out of the country and very busy for quite a long time now, they were only just getting formally introduced to one another.
Knocking lightly on the door, Ivan waited patiently until he was told to enter. He did as instructed, closing the door behind him and facing the man he knew to be his Czar.
"Who are you?" the other man asked, not rudely but more as an automatic question.
"My name is Ivan Braginsky, but you may have heard of me as Rossiyskaya Federatsiya from your predesser." the sandy blonde replied, smiling like he usually was and giving only signs of rural innocence.
The Czar smiled and took the other's gloved hand in both of his own.
"Ah, yes. I had been hoping to officially make your acquaintance. Allow me to introduce you to everyone, this would be my wife Alexandra."
The woman he was gesturing to smiled and stood before speaking.
"It's very nice to meet you Ivan." she said kindly.
"As it is you *Arch Dutchess." the lavender eyed man replied just as kindly, giving a bow as he spoke.
Joining her husband on the other side of Ivan she stood quietly as Nicholas continued.
"From oldest to youngest these are my daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia." He gestured to the line of girls who curtsied as their names were called before finishing with, "and of course since you were here today you know this is Alexei." referring to the infant his wife had been holding since Ivan had come into the room.
"*Da, I remember Alexei. It's nice to meet you *Grand dutchess'." Russia said brightly.
All of the girls smiled, but it was only Olga who spoke.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Ivan."
Ivan just smiled when the door opened again, revealing a man that immediatly made the sandy blonde's smile fade away and brought the rather cheery atmosphere that was there only moments ago to a standstill, leaving nothing but tension in it's wake. Lavander eyes narrowed and Alexandra spoke.
"There's no reason to be alarmed. Ivan, this is Grigori Rasputin. He is my personal advisor."
As she spoke the man walked through the door, making the girls disperse to various parts of the room to avoid being near him and the youngest, Anastasia, hiding behind Ivan. The Eurasian country remained silent, so the other man decided to speak.
"Hello, Ivan. It's a pleasure to meet the new guard." Rasputin said, a touch of contempt in his voice.
Ivan's eyes narrowed, but he still remained silent, so the other continued.
"What's the matter, you don't trust me?" the way he said it made him seem very self-assured about something.
"It's hard too." Ivan replied blandly, but still dark enough to make his distrust known.
"I see, that's unfortunate."
"Only for you, trusting you isn't my job."
"All right, that's enough. Just keep a civil tongue in your heads and you won't have to see any more of each other than is necessary." Czar Nicholas broke in.
Ivan was still, keeping his glare on Rasputin as the other simply bowed and asked the Arch Dutchess for a moment of her time before stepping out. Alexandra handed Alexei to her husband before following after the other, closing the door behind her. After a few more tense moments, the room's occupants relaxed and Ivan noticed for the first time that Anastasia had been behind him the whole time.
"... Hello, Grand Dutchess. Where you there that whole time?"
Anastasia nodded and Ivan smiled gently.
"Forgive me Grand Dutchess, you must have been frightened."
Nicholas laughed before speaking himself.
"He scares all. You're not alone Ivan, I don't trust him either. But never mind him, going back to the previous topic I'm looking forward to working with you and want you to know that I definitely consider you a part of the family, and apparently Anastasia does too."
At first Ivan didn't know how to reply. Him, considered part of the family? That had never happened before and he had worked closely to everyone in power since his birth as a nation. Still, the decision seemed to be supported by the girls as they smiled warmly at him and Anastasia clung to his coat, giving it a light tug to get him to look down at her before raising her arms like she wanted to be held.
Not entirely sure if he could he looked back at the Czar in confusion. Nicholas laughed and nodded, clearly indicating that it was all right. With the confusion cleared up Ivan looked back down at the red head and hesitated before picking her up, being careful to ensure that he was holding her well enough that she would not be dropped. Anastasia smiled brightly at him before patting his head cutely.
"Ivan! Ivan!" she exclaimed, seeming to enjoy repeating his name over and over, making her older sisters and father laugh and Ivan uncomfortable.
"Yes, my name is Ivan, Grand Dutchess. Is it really that entertaining to say, though?" Russia inquired uncomfortably.
Anastasia nodded, and Ivan just tried to smile despite feeling weird about the youngest Grand Dutchess becoming so fond of him so fast.
"You think Ivan will- what!?" Alexandra cried in alarm.
"I know this must be hard for you hear Arch Dutchess, but I just don't trust him. If he continues to work for you and your family, I fear he will betray you." Rasputin repeated himself.
"He would not! He has worked for the Romanov family longer than any of us have been alive and I have full confidence that Ivan would never do such a thing!"
"Arch dutchess, please hear me-"
"That will do, Rasputin! You are dismissed now." the second sentence she spoke much more calmly, her former dignity returning to her as she continued to take deep calming breaths.
Rasputin scowled, but voiced his compliance anyway, giving a bow before walking out himself. The Arch Dutchess took a deep breath to calm her nerves before returning to her family just in time to see Anastasia (who Ivan was still holding) take Russia's hat off his head and put it on her own head. Ivan just seemed uncomfortable, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in response while everyone else just laughed at the youngest daughter's antics. Alexandra laughed herself before closing the distance between herself and Ivan and placing the sandy blonde's hat back on his head.
"She seems to have a fondness for you, Ivan."Alexandra said sweetly.
Ivan just smiled confusedly before giving a reply.
"If truth be told, I'm not really sure what to make of that Arch Dutchess."
Alexandra laughed lightly before giving a reply.
"It's really quite simple. You're a part of the family even if you work for us, so of course we all trust you. Anastasia taking a liking to you is definitely a good thing."
"In that case, I'm quite happy you think of me that way. I hope I don't do anything to make you believe your trust has been misplaced."
A.Q.: Ok, I was going to wait until my other crossover was finished before posting this one, but considering the amount of crossovers for these series has tripled since the last time I checked and started writing this, I figured I should post what I have now to avoid anyone stealing my idea. Let me know what you think of the prologue and I'll give you more if the reaction is positive enough. See you guys later.