Alright, so I haven't gotten much feedback yet on this, but I'll keep posting. I've got a few more chapters prewritten, and I know this part is boring, but I promise it'll pick up soon.

EDIT: Alright, so originally, this was posted under the musical category for Anastasia, but I wasn't getting feedback for it and I'm vain and insecure. So I'm gonna keep it here for now and maybe eventually I'll move it back over once that section gains a little popularity? Just a warning though, this will have elements from both the movie and the Broadway musical, so just keep that in mind.


In spite of Dmitry's warnings, Anastasia snuck out multiple times in the following months. Most times she just wandered around, and somehow, she managed to find Dmitry almost every time. Occasionally Dmitry wondered if she hadn't put a tracker on him somehow. Of course, not only was that impractical, but he'd also searched every inch of his body and his clothes and found nothing. He was forced to conclude that she was just very good at finding trouble.

With that realization came a kind of protectiveness for her. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it yet, as he wasn't sure why he felt so responsible for her. It wasn't like she was his sister or anything, though she did manage to annoy him without fail every time they did meet.

Sometimes it was on purpose, like the time she slowly snuck pebbles in his pockets until his pants were so heavy they were practically falling off him. In hindsight, he did have to admit it had been a clever trick. Sometimes it wasn't on purpose, though. She could act so entitled and snobbish sometimes. He knew it wasn't her fault, being that she was raised in a palace where everyone but her parents would bend to her every whim. The problem was that on the streets, especially when no one knew who she really was, she couldn't very well demand that people do her bidding and that made her furious.

He'd never forget the time they ran into Maksim and Yuri again. This time they did not accept his excuses so easily, and the pair had had to endure a few minutes of teasing. Dmitry knew, having practically lived with them for almost a year now, that what they had said was mild and that they were merely having fun. There had been no malice behind their words. But Anastasia took everything they said seriously, and after a few minutes she grew bold in her anger. She'd planted her feet, stood up straight with her hands on her hips, and demanded that they leave her alone and move out of her way. Naturally to two older boys laughed, and Dmitry forced out a few laughs as well, trying not to show them how anxious he was. After that he'd managed to drag Anastasia back the other way, though she fought him every step.

"What was that for?" he'd demanded once they were away from the boys. "You really must be crazy, that's the only explanation I can think of."

"I'm not crazy," she'd snapped at him. "I just think they ought to have shown a little more respect is all."

"Well what did you want them to do? Bow to you? Kiss your shoes?"

It had been a joke, but Anastasia answered seriously. "Yes!" she cried. "Kissing my shoes is going a bit far and you know it, Dmitry. But they should have bowed."

"They don't know who you are, Nastya," Dmitry tried to explain, putting emphasis on the nickname. She was often guilty of forgetting this fact.

"Well fine, then they didn't have to bow. But they shouldn't have been so cruel, and they should have moved when I told them to." She'd stormed off down the street after that, and though he'd followed her, she didn't speak to him for the rest of the day.


One day, about a year after they met, Anastasia announced that there would be a parade in a few weeks. She wasn't entirely sure what it was for, but she didn't think that mattered much. What mattered to her was that she'd have to sit in a carriage for hours with her sisters and had to be on her best behavior or else. The thought alone was torturous.

"I'm sure it can't be so bad," Dmitry laughed, skipping another rock across the pond's surface. "It's not like you have to do anything. You just have to sit there and look nice."

"Exactly," Anastasia said, throwing a rock as hard as she could. "I don't want to just sit there. That's so boring."

"So can't you tell your parents you don't want to do it?"

Anastasia barked a laugh. "As if. Apparently, it's one of my duties to sit and be stared at like an animal in a zoo." She tossed another rock into the pond, huffing when it simply splashed into the water and sank. "If I had my way, we'd at least be walking. But Mama says it's simply not possible."

"Well she probably knows better than you," Dmitry pointed out, then held his breath. He was guilty of occasionally speaking before thinking, and it usually ended one of two ways. Anastasia would either get mad and stomp off, or she would laugh. Today he was lucky.

"I know that," she smiled. "I just wish it was different, that's all."

"Well the parade sounds dumb anyway," Dmitry said, tossing another rock and smiling when it skipped four times- a new record for him. "You should sneak away and find me." Anastasia turned to him.

"You won't watch?" she asked, confusion clouding her features. She knew he didn't have much of an opinion on royalty, but she'd thought she'd at least be able to catch a glimpse of him. In fact, she was hoping she would, as it would give her something to look forward to. But Dmitry simply shrugged.

"Like you said, it sounds boring." He didn't seem to notice her disappointment at all, even as she fell uncharacteristically quiet. He walked her back to the palace as he usually did, seemingly unaware that her feelings had been hurt.


Anastasia had a handful of opportunities to sneak out of the palace in the following weeks, but declined to take advantage of any of them. She simply didn't feel like seeing Dmitry for a while after she told him about the parade, and it wasn't as if he'd ever know she chose not to meet him. She'd go see him when she got a chance to after the parade, she told herself.

The day of the parade arrived, and Anastasia reluctantly followed her parents and sisters to the carriages. She would be riding with her sisters in one, while her mother, father, and Alexei were in another. She allowed herself to be loaded into the carriage next to Maria and fussed over for a few seconds, before she rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the servant's back.

The parade seemed to last hours. Maybe it did. At first it had been a little exciting, being so close to the crowds of people. Even Anastasia had to admit that. But after a while it became monotonous.

Mama had said they all had to keep their composure, though, so she sat as straight as she could though she longed to lean against the side of the carriage. It was so hot out that day, and they were all dressed in the heaviest gowns possible. It seemed like bad planning to Anastasia, whose back had begun to ache between the weight of the gown and sitting so straight. Eventually she found that by staring at the back of Olga's head, who was seated in front of her, she could maintain the appearance of gazing at the crowd while letting her mind drift.

"Anastasia!"

A voice snapped her back to the present all of a sudden, her head automatically turning at the sound of her name. She was struck but how close they were to the palace again; had they really travelled that far while she daydreamed? The voice called again, and again, and finally she was able to locate the source.

Dmitry was jogging through the crowd waving to her, wearing the goofiest grin she'd ever seen. Her eyes widened at the sight, and she had to fight hard not to smile back at him.

'You don't know him,' she reminded herself. 'No one knows you've met him before. He's just another person in a crowd.'

There was a collective gasp on the side of the road, and Anastasia watched with horror and delight as Dmitry managed to dodge between the guards lining the street. By this point the rest of her sisters had noticed him too, and Anastasia's serene expression nearly slipped when she saw how cross Tatiana looked. She did smirk the tiniest bit as Dmitry ran closer to the carriage and Tatiana looked impossibly angrier. Dmitry, seeing this, reached his hand up toward her, though he was still ten feet away. Then, he sunk into the most awkward bow she had ever seen, never taking his eyes off her.

Anastasia couldn't help it. She was grinning at him, and he back at her. Beside her, Maria giggled lightly and Tatiana shushed them. The carriage continued moving, bringing them past where Dmitry stood. Anastasia knew better than to look back at him, no matter how much she wanted to. She wasn't too bothered by it. She would see him later.