-December 23/Late afternoon-

Dimitri sighed heavily as he gazed at the Winter Palace in the distance through his window in his tiny apartment, his jacket, bowtie mindlessly thrown into his bed, leaving him in his shirt, and pants, and his only possession of his shared gift, the turtledove.

He looked miserable, his hair mussed up, eyes slightly red. He struggled to sleep last night after he came here once he was dumped outside the Palace, but the nightmare has stripped all energy out of him, and he only drank sips of water, nibbled on the last loaf of bread here and there, sitting on the one chair in his tiny apartment.

He grimaced slightly as he remembered the nightmare all too well, his mind still reeling over it. Instead of Rasputin killing Aurora, he was going to kill Anya...There was fighting with demons, he figured, and he would never forget Anya's screams when that black blast of lightning flashed forward at her...He couldn't get through, and there was her eyes staring at him, asking that damn question..."Why didn't you save me, Dimitri?"...The blood, her final scream of life, waking up in a cold sweat...

He had thoughts that his life would end one way or another; growing old and dying with Anya at his side or dying alone in this tiny apartment or on the streets without Anya. But he knew that Anya would be further heartbroken if she finds out that he did suicide on himself, and refrained from that dreadful situation, not wanting to hurt her anymore even if he hurt her already by voluntarily being taken away and never to enter the palace to work or see her once again...

He fingered his turtledove lightly, remembering the expression of awe and adoration when he showed Anya the other half...She truly looked like a angel with it on...He lightly smiled as he remembered her comment about having kids.. He often daydreamed about that part, having a son with those brilliant blue eyes and his dark brown hair or having a daughter with bright red hair and hazel eyes. Of course, there are other genes in the mix as well.. He wouldn't mind seeing his mother's dimples within his son...

He hadn't spoken to Anya about how he would want to name his daughter after his mother, but he was sure Anya wouldn't mind that for it's a family name anyhow...Yet it's all gone now...No family, no friends, and no Anya...

Dimitri groaned lightly as he then heard the rhythm of the piping music again. This is the 11th piper today! He knew Christmas is close, but shouldn't they go somewhere else than here? He sighed deeply as he rested his arm upon the window, noting that the Christmas lights has turned on in the Palace as the sun is lowering into the horizon in the distance.

About by now, he would have done batches of sweet pumpkin pie or helped out with feeding the temporary bird residents, and between chores, he would have visited Anya by secret passage, holding her in his arms and giving her tender kisses while whispering sweet nothings...

He ignored the noise of his neighbors who's clearly sputtering about to make dinner, warming up by their small furnaces, chatting about their days of work, and for once in a long time, Dimitri felt alone, lost in what he used to have, wishing to be with Anya.

Numb to everything, Dimitri didn't acknowledge the knock at his door or the footsteps that walked into the apartment, he startled out in surprise when a voice spoke, "And I thought my daughter looked terrible today.".

Dimitri whipped his head around, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Tsar Nicholas in his apartment, standing right there before him! He dropped to his knees, "Your Majesty! I stayed away, I swear!", bowing his head, afraid for his life now.

Nicholas spoke softly, "I know. Look at me, boy.". Dimitri slowly looked up and faced Nicholas, fear and respect in his eyes, speaking nothing as social rules impended that high-class people should be given the room even when it belongs to a lower-class citizen.

Nicholas nodded softly, "No need to bow before me, my boy.. Dimitri, is it?", and Dimitri gulped quietly as he got up from his spot on the floor, "Yes, sir. That's my name.".

Nicholas somberly sighed, "I must apologize for last night. My temper has gotten the best of me.". Dimitri blinked in surprise, "You don't have to do that, your majesty...It was my fault in the first place...I only wanted to give Anya, er, Anastasia the best night she'd ever have...She only wished to dance...".

Nicholas smiled softly, "Mother told me of what you intended to do, not much per second, but I am here to hear your story.". Dimitri widened his eyes in bewilderment, "What, my story? Anya would have told you herself, I mean, this place, what about your reputation, etc.?".

Nicholas then frowned, sagging slightly as if his shoulders has been burdened, "She never did...She's so angry and depressed and...I am afraid to say that she has been starving herself today.". Dimitri gasped loudly, "What?! No, she couldn't have! She can't do that, she will hurt herself! Please, tell me that she's okay!".

Nicholas held up a hand, "Easy, my boy, I have gotten Mother to convince Anastasia to drink Mother's homemade tea just before I made the decision to come here and talk with you.". Dimitri exhaled in relief, sitting back in the chair in a sudden thud as his momentarily energy has vanished away, "Thank god...I never wanted her to die or hurt herself...I have enough nightmares of that...".

Nicholas smiled weakly, recognizing the familiar yet strange emotion of fierce passion upon caring about Anastasia in Dimitri, and he has come to realize that he has misjudged Dimitri even before he came into the apartment, and exhaled slowly, remembering his son's words from last night.

Nicholas gingerly gestured to the bed, "Why don't you take a seat here? The chair shall not hurt me.", and Dimitri nodded politely, getting up with the action to pick up the chair, and put it down only two feet away from the bed, bowing his head slightly, "Your majesty.".

Nicholas then sat down on the chair before Dimitri then took his seat on the bed, and Nicholas smiled a bit stronger, "Now, would you care to start from the beginning? I'd like to hear your story, not just about Anastasia, but your past. I'd like to know the real Dimitri whom my daughter loves.".

Dimitri widened his eyes in awe as Nicholas didn't mistake the glimmer of hope in them either, and Dimitri smiled ever so slightly, "Yes, your majesty.", before taking a deep breath and began to tell his story. During Dimitri's reminiscing story, Nicholas began to formulate a plan, realizing that he's going to do something quite drastic yet it's technically a Christmas Miracle.

-December 24 / Late Morning-

In the Winter Palace, in the royal quarters, a knock approached Anastasia's ears, and she called out, "I am not hungry!", ignoring the painful clench of her stomach. Marie's voice breached the room, "I am only telling you that it's time to head to church, Anastasia. Could you please come with me?".

Anastasia sighed heavily, "I don't know, Grandmama.", staggering over to get off her bed, a blanket wrapped around her, and opening the door to reveal a already dressed Marie, "It's hard to get into the mood...", clearly still dressed in her pink sleeping pajamas, looking terrible with her hair tangled up in knots, her eyes somewhat red from overnight crying, her skin looking pale.

Marie gently caressed Anastasia's cheek, "Cheer up, child, there's still time before tonight to pray for a Christmas Miracle. After all, your father has been calm for hours now. Perhaps you'd talk to him. I raised him, I know him to have a heart, and you mustn't forget that he has loved you since your birth.".

Anya blinked at her, "You think he'll listen to me now about Dimitri?". Marie smiled softly, "What has you got to lose, darling? You will know that you've tried, at best.". Anya seemed to think a bit before nodding, "Okay, Grandmama, I will talk to him after church. Maybe church will show him something...".

Marie nodded warmly, "Lovely. Now, let's get you out of those clothes. And I believe I have the outfit.", smiling softly as she made her way to Anastasia's armoire, opening the ornate doors, and looking inside while scouring for the outfit she's thinking about.

"Ah, here we are!", Marie exclaimed softly while pulling out a pure white dress, and a sky blue sash. Anya groaned lightly, "Please don't tell me that he dared to think to introduce a stranger to me when I am protesting about Dimitri!".

Marie shook her head, "No, but you'd be surprised to know that my cousin, Sophie is here, and she got a man herself that she's engaged to. Someone you may be shocked to know about, the infamous Vladimir Vasilovich himself!".

Anya blinked softly in confusion and shock, "But I thought Sophie was in Paris...". Marie chuckled softly, "Let's say that she missed me too much, and she thought to see St. Petersburg once more as that's where Vlad used to live, before they get married on New Year's Eve.".

Anya laughed softly, "I can certainly believe that. But why that kind of formal? It's only church.", gesturing to the white dress, and Marie sighed softly, "Sophie wants to do a rehearsal of all things. But it's her wedding, and she wanted to do it here in the Palace where her family is.".

Anya nodded lightly, "That does makes sense, and I certainly missed her a lot since she left with you when I was only 8.". Marie smiled softly, "There you go. Now, let us clean yourself up! They're expecting us within a hour!".

Anya laughed softly, "Alright, Grandmama, let's do it.", and headed off to the bathroom to refresh herself, and Marie smiled to herself, "That's my Anastasia. She's going to be quite surprised...", hoping that Nicholas has prepared everything by now.