The Romanov family had been ruling over imperial Russia for decades now, the year was 1916 and the palace was getting ready for a spectacular event. The empress was coming to see her grandchildren, she had great news of bringing her two youngest to Paris with her- Anastasia and Alexei. Anastasia was the youngest, she was 8 years old and had quite the most curious personality. Alexei was 11, handsome, responsible and a very good older brother to the young duchess. The two of them shared a giant room on the east wing of the palace, each of them having personal servants with plenty of quarters and secret passageways. It was the morning of the grand party- the city was celebrating the glorious reign of czar Nicholas. For the most part, the people of Russia loved the Romanovs, but of course their was some civil unrest. Nonetheless the children had to be dressed to see their grandmother. The palace had many servants of all ages and frequently paired the children with personal servants of a similar age. Anastasia had Dimitri, the kid couldn't take his eyes off the duchess-they might end up wedded one day. But probably the most precarious servant was Bartol, the boy who took care of prince Alexei. That boy was so loyal to the prince, he even sometimes watched as he slept at night through the crack of the door the servants used to run in and out.
That morning, Bartol was assisting the young prince in washing up and getting dressed for the event. At 11 years old, Alexei was already quite grown- he was tall and had astonishingly big hands and feet for his age. In fact, occasionally in the middle of dressing the prince, the servants get asked to massage his hands and big feet. Alexei enjoyed the loyal affection his servant boy shows him when he massages them. Truth be told Alexei didn't know the servant by name- he had plenty of servants and got them confused from time to time. Especially the kid servants might have been hard to tell apart- they were all pretty frail with brown eyes and dusty brown hair, but he did recognize the special attention from this one in particular. And Bartol looked forward to it. He put on the first layer and gave a quick hand and arm massage to the prince before he put on the jacket. He admired the prince's big blue eyes and red hair. Then he did the pants and sat at his feet. Alexei plopped his soft feet into the lap of the servant, pretending not to have a slight grin. Bartol took his time during this part, making sure he felt each soft toe individually. There was even a little tuft of ginger hair that began to grow on the tops, even dared of dreaming to kiss them one day. That's how much love Bartol had for them and for the prince in general. He gradually let go of the royal feet and dressed them in a black sock that left a few inches of that soft pale skin exposed. "That's enough, servant boy" Alexei dismissed him, not knowing his name from another servant boy. He stood up, defining the dynamic between the two. "Thank you, your highness" Bartol replied and left the prince a pair of party slippers to wear for the evening. They were brown leather with a thin wool lining- they had been worn so often they had stretched and didn't fit as tightly along his foot as they use to, something Bartol noticed. He sometimes watched the prince hang his heel off the back of the shoe. He bowed and exited through the servant quarters.
The grand event at the palace was in full swing when the empress Marie arrived. She was there to commemorate her son Czar Nicholas and to keep a close eye on her grandchildren, for there were rumors of protests in the streets. She looked to see Anastasia dancing with her father, "oh papa!" She laughed with joy as he swung her around. Alexei was close by with his other siblings. "Hello, darlings" the empress called out to them. The two young Romanovs ran up to their grandmother with hugs and kisses. "I have a surprise for the both of you!" She produced a silk bag for Alexei and a velvet box for Anastasia. Alexei poured out it's contents into his hand- a gold necklace with emeralds. Anastasia was next to open hers, "for me...is it a jewelry box!?" The 8 year old beamed. "Read what yours says" she told the prince. He read the cursive writing embellished on the necklace. "Together..in Paris? Oh really?" He hugged his grandmother. They learned that the two of them were headed to Paris to escape the civil unrest for a while. "Look at this" Marie took the necklace and cranked it inside the box she gave to Anastasia. It opened and played their special lullaby. The three of them would be connected forever.
But unfortunately, they would never be all together in Paris, for a dark shadow had been casted upon the Romanov family. Rioting and protesting had broken out around the palace gates and in the streets. The people were demanding the demise of the Romanov rule. A group of protesters had caused massive civil unrest terror started to spread. Pretty soon, the army of Bolsheviks got involved and violence was apparent. The leader of this corrupt group of bolsheviks grimly announced the death of all Romanovs and they will not rest until every last royal is finished. Later that night, riots broke out- fires were being started around the palace and the public destroyed the gates that protected it. The royal family boarded themselves in the best they could but it couldn't hold up long. The Bolsheviks stormed the palace and sieged the throne. Czar Nicholas tried best he could to rush his family to safety. "Hurry children!" He yelled back for Alexei and Anastasia who was being watched by the empress. The family ran towards the basement , but as they ran- soldiers busted through a window and started open fire. The empress thought quick and grabbed the child next to her-ducking into a nearby closet. She covered the child's mouth to keep them quiet and realized it was Alexei. Her heart broke as they watched the precious Anastasia being gunned down through the slight crack in the door. The soldiers moved on and the two remaining Romanovs made a run for it. Alexei felt his heart pounding as hard as his feet pounded the floor as he ran down the hallway towards his room, his slippers too loose to go out in the snow- he would have to change them. He hoped that the soldiers had lost them in the mix of all the killing and rioting. He hid in his room with the empress for a moment until they heard more sounds of soldiers crashing the palace. That's when Bartol popped his head from behind the secret door in the wall otherwise known as his quarters. He helped the two royals gather for a moment as bolsheviks approached them. "Hurry come this way! Out the servants quarters" he rushed them out of the room. But, as Alexei was stepping into the secret hallway, the slipper on his right foot stayed behind. He whirled around to Bartol. "My slipper!" They looked down at his shoeless foot for a moment and lock eyes. He was going outside in the snow and wind. "Go go!" Bartol pushed him in and closed the door in time before more angry bolsheviks stormed in. "Where are they boy?" A soldier demanded as Bartol began throwing shards of glass and wood at them. The soldier gave the boy a swift gun butt to the head, knocking him unconscious and leaving him laying next to the prince's lost slipper.
Once the empress got them outside of the palace, she had to make a decision on how to get them to the train as unnoticed as possible. The passageway had lead them to the pond that ran through the gardens behind the palace. There was a low bridge that hung over the water- if they crossed it , surely a solider would notice them. "Grandmama!" The young prince cried. He was scared and cold as he hastily stepped into the snow with his shoeless foot. "Keep up with me, darling" she reassured him. All she had to do was quickly get him across the frozen pond to the other side without being seen, once they reached a train she could protect him from the icy wind. The dashed under the bridge holding hands. The prince could feel his toes becoming damp as he hurried through the deep snow. He wondered how thin the ice he was running over was. But as they crossed under the bridge, Alexei heard a faint yell from behind him. He turned around slightly and saw a dark hooded figure leaping from the bridge towards him. "Yaaaaaeeee ahhhh!!!" The man landed on his legs sending them crashing face down in the snow. "Ahhh!" He lost hold of his grandmothers hand and landed behind her. Alexei frozen with fear spun over to his back trying to slide out from the weight of his attacker. One of the bolsheviks had found them escaping!
He came face to face with a terrifying man who had a bushy black beard and a mouthful of rotting teeth that grimaced as he was barely able to grab ahold of his ankle. He gripped onto the shoeless foot with the left hand and held a sharp blade in the other. Alexei squirmed around as hard he could and reach back for the empress who desperately tried to pull him back by the arms. The evil soldier laughed maniacally as he tried stabbing the boy amongst the thrashing, but being on his stomach limited his ability to attack so he tossed his weapon aside and used his second hand to hold the boy tighter. The boys toes felt cold and squishy between the man's rough, scratchy fingers. The bolshevik became passionate to end the boy with his bare hands, he reveled in the fact the boy was already missing a shoe, it added to the adrenaline. "Let me go, please!" Alexei begged but the man violently thrashed him about on the ice, tugging his precious ankle hard. His black sock was completely soaked through from being dragged in the snow and his toes were trailing chunks of ice through the man's beard. "You will die with your family, boy!" He boomed, not noticing the small cracks forming in the ice around them. "You can't escape me now, child!" Scraping his ankle along the jagged ice hard one last time with a laugh. The man soon started to feel icy water fill his robe. He trembled with fear as began to sink into the pond taking one hand off the princes ankle. The prince used this chance as leverage to yank himself free of the man's grip. He felt water splash his leg as the man plunged deeper in. "Get off of me...oh please let go" he cried as the man started to dig his nails into the skin of his ankle. Alexei managed to twist his ankle loose from his rough hand but not before the man was able to hook one of his long nails through the fabric of the thin black sock. He screamed and tugged his foot free as the sock was peeled right off in a flash, leaving his barefoot exposed to the wintery fates. Even amidst the drowning the evil man was in aw of the princes beautiful foot. It was so pale it was almost translucent..he swung for it again but the prince scurried away from the growing hole in the ice, hopping. The man wailed in his failure and began to drown. Bobbing up and down and grasping for air but it's no use, the empress looked behind her and watched as he faded away into the icy currents.
Once on the street, the empress managed to find the train to Paris. The prince hopping on his good leg, trying to keep off his snow drenched foot. They run straight into a huge crowd of people, all rushing for a train. The empress looked behind her and saw her grandson lagging behind. She tried to reach back for him but he just continued getting lost in the sea of people. Citizens recognized the empress and threw her immediately on a boarding train to safety. She went to reach for Alexei but he was too far behind. "Alexei!" She reached a hand out to him but his poor cold bare foot was slowing him down and he couldn't run at top speed. "Take my hand!" She reached for him as best as she could. No one seemed to notice the boy falling behind. "Don't let go!" He cried holding onto her fingers for a split second before the train sped off and he slipped from her grip. He screamed and hit the ground hard, nearly avoided the tracks beside him. His head banged against the wooden tracks, knocking him unconscious. The empress screamed and cried for someone to help him but no one seemed to notice the poor boy, laying there unconscious and barefoot. The last remaining royal prince...
Ok that was part one! I would love some fan art! I would love to talk to someone about a personal Anastasia drawing. As you can tell I'm obsessedwith the ice scene. This story is going to be inspired by Cinderella with the servant and the prince being reunited by the slipper he left behind at the Romanovsiege