-1Anastasia
Novelized by RedWolfZakuro
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, or the plot, or the setting, or anything else in this.
A/N- Firstly, I would like to thank A Catholic Girl. You have no idea how happy you just made me. I was literally giddy. Thank you! Okay, secondly, this is my favorite scene in the whole movie! Yay! Third, I took out Rasputin so there's a different (lame) reason for the train crash. But it works. So oh well. And, last, I noticed that in the last chapter I used the same words too many times, so I'll try to avoid that in the future. Please, please, please review!
The long passenger train rumbled along in the sparkling winter sunlight. Dimitri was handing the driver their tickets, asking when they would arrive. Vladimir sat in the compartment with Anya, doing a last minute check over the traveling papers. Pooka was asleep next to him, having a dream about chasing a cat and running upside-down. Vlad tickled him with the end of the quill.
Dimitri walked in, carrying the last of their suitcases, as Pooka woke up and growled at the sight of him. Anya, who was gazing out of the window, moved back in her seat as he leaned over her, stowing the bag. He began to sit across from her, but a sharp bark and a series of snarls made him jump back up.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, the mutt gets the window seat." He settled into the seat next to Anya instead. She picked up the little golden necklace, fingering the little leaves that laced the edges. "Stop fiddling with that thing. And sit up strait. Remember: you're a grand duchess."
"How is it you know what grand duchesses do or don't do?" She asked, folding her arms and slumping further into her seat.
He leaned over her. "I make it my business to know."
"Oh."
"Look, Anya, I'm just trying to help, all right?"
She sat up very strait on the edge of her chair. Flirtingly, she asked, "Dimitri? Do you really think I'm royalty?"
"You know I do." He smiled.
She put her face very close to his. "Then stop bossing me around!" She turned back to the window.
Laughing at Dimitri's expression, Vlad said quietly, "She certainly has a mind of her own."
"Yeah. I hate that in a woman."
Anya stuck her tongue out at him, but quickly returned her attention to the window. Vlad pulled a piece of paper out of his coat that read, "Dimitri, three, Anya, twenty-three." He added two more checks to Anya's side.
"Well, I'm going to see what they have in that wonderful dining car," He said, standing up and stretching.
"Hmm… Maybe I'll go with you." As he got up to leave, he glared at Anya. She paid no attention.
Once seated at a small table next to the counter in the last car of the train, Vlad began eating a pastry that smelled delicious. Dimitri refused one, being bent on venting his frustration with Anya.
"You know, I've known her for less than twenty-four hours and already she treats me like I'm some obnoxious-- I don't know."
"You really ought to be nicer to her. We want her to work with us, if we're going to pull this off."
"Now you're on her side?"
"No, I'm just saying if we want her to cooperate it might help if she's not fuming the whole time."
"Vlad, I can't believe you of all people would be agreeing with her."
"Maybe you should just apologize," Vlad tried innocently.
Simmering, Dimitri stood up. "You know what--" At a look from Vlad, he cooled down. "Oh, all right."
"Oh, dear. Did you see that?" Vlad asked Pooka. "Maybe we should just check on them…"
Back in the compartment, Dimitri found Anya reading a book. He sat down opposite her, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot."
She looked up from the book. "Well, I think we did too. But I appreciate your apology."
"Apology? Who said anything about an apology? I was just saying that we--"
"Please, just don't talk anymore, okay? It's only going to upset me." She put the book down on the seat beside her.
"Fine. I'll be quiet. I'll be quiet if you will."
"All right, I'll be quiet." She put her feet up on the bench next to Dimitri.
"Fine."
"Fine." She was so calm.
"Fine," He shot back.
"Fine." Sitting up and putting her feet down, she asked, "You think you're going to miss it?"
"Miss what? You're talking?"
"No. Russia" She said, vaguely motioning at the window.
Dimitri looked down at his fingernails. "Nope."
"But it was your home."
"It was a place I once lived. End of story."
"Then you must plan on making Paris your true home."
What was with her? Why couldn't she let it go? "What is it with you and homes?" He crossed his legs on the opposite seat. Anya stood up.
"Well, for one thing, it's something that every normal person wants." She walked into his legs but he didn't move. "And for another thing, it's a thing where you just, you know--"
"What?"
"Oh, forget it!" She climbed onto the seat and past him. She then walked into Vlad, who had entered the car. "Oh, thank goodness it's you. Just please remove him from my sight!"
Dimitri made faces behind her back.
"What have you done to her?" Vlad demanded.
"Me? It's her!" Vlad was taking her side!
"Ha!" She stomped out of the compartment, slamming the glass door shut after her. It rattled dangerously.
"Oh, no!" Vlad said, cuddling Pooka. "An unspoken attraction!"
Dimitri gasped. " 'Attraction?' For that skinny little brat--Have you lost your mind?" He also stormed out the door, sliding it closed with such a force it almost shattered.
Confused, Vlad looked at Pooka. "I was only asking a simple question."
"Attraction. Ridiculous!" He stalked off in the opposite direction. How could he think that? What possessed him… That was impossible. It would never happen. I simply won't allow it, he thought.
Later, when the sun was setting, Vlad was doing another check on the papers. He passed a group of people on his way back from the dining car (his fifth trip that day).
"Last month, the traveling papers were blue." Vlad smiled at the bright blue ink on his picture. "But now they are red."
"Wha--?" He shoved past another couple in his hurry back to their compartment.
"How rude!"
Sliding the door closed, he looked at the sleeping Anya. Her coat was draped across her. Looking curiously at Dimitri, he told him, "That's what I hate about this government. Everything's in red."
Dimitri, who was admiring the handiwork on his own paper, looked up, alarmed. "Red?"
"I propose we move to the baggage car. Quickly, before the guards come!"
"I propose we get off this train!" He said, pulling a suitcase down from the rack. Vlad took it and carried it away. He shook Anya gently. "Hey," he said softly. She rolled over and her hand came flying up, smacking him in the nose. "Ow!"
Finally she woke up. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else--oh, it's you. Well, that's okay then." She stood up.
"Come on. We've gotta go."
"Where are we going?"
"I think you broke my nose!" He said rather thickly, avoiding the question.
"Men are such babies," She said, pulling on her coat and picking up her small bag. She followed him toward the engine, noticing that both men seemed rather nervous.
The walked into the next car. Vlad shivered but Dimitri looked around, saying, "Yes. Yes, this will do nicely." Anya heard the falseness in his voice.
"She'll freeze in here," Vlad whispered to him, hugging himself against the cold.
"She can thaw in Paris," Dimitri replied quietly.
"The baggage car?" Both of them looked at her, innocent grins on their faces. "There wouldn't be anything wrong with our papers, now would there, maestro?" She smirked.
"Of course not, Your Grace. It's just that I--I hate to see you forced to mingle with all those commoners." He took her bag and set it on the floor.
They heard a loud bang, then the train lurched. It was gaining speed. "Someone's coming. Quickly, hide!" They knelt down in the shadows, doing their best to stay hidden among the luggage. A man came running through from the engine. Dimitri gasped as he almost tripped over Anya's bag, but the man was so panicked he didn't hear it. He made his way into the first passenger car.
In the first passenger car, the man found the guards. "We have to stop the train!" he gasped breathlessly. "It's going too fast, the engine overheated! There's a broken bridge ahead, and I can't turn onto the other set of tracks. Unbelievably, the breaks and the wheels have frozen."
"We'll help you uncouple the baggage car." said one of the others gruffly.
"We can't! It's attached to the engine. We have to do it here."
"Then at least let us move the luggage in here."
"There's no time. We barely have enough track before the bridge now. Come on!"
"Oh, so we're not hiding from the authorities?"
Dimitri ignored her. Then all at once the train lurched and they were thrown to the ground. A heavy suitcase fell on him, and he tripped over Anya.
"What was that?"
Vlad went to the door, which was now open. "I don't know, but there goes the dining car!"
"Get off of me!" She gasped.
"I'm trying." He wriggled out from beneath the case but their long coats were tangled together.
"Uh, Dimitri," Vlad started in a worried tone.
"What?" he responded impatiently, finally pulling his coat away from Anya's.
"I think someone has flambéed our engine!" Sparks were pouring out of the engine and past the coal, ricocheting around the baggage car that they were now alone in.
Dimitri ran to Vlad's side. He climbed out, throwing his coat back at Anya. "Something's not right. Wait here. I'll check it out.
"Will he be all right?" She asked, watching stumble across the bouncing bed of coals.
"He'll be fine," Vlad assured her.
Dimitri climbed into the engine. "Anybody here?" He looked at the thermometer, but it exploded and more flames licked at the wood of the floor.
Anya looked at the surroundings. "We're going way too fast!"
Then Dimitri dropped right in front of her face. "Nobody's driving this train! We're gonna have to jump!"
"Did you say jump?" she yelled over the roar of the engine. He ran to the side and slid the door open. Frigid air poured in. They both leaned over the edge, looking at the deep valley rushing past. "After you!"
"Fine. Then we'll uncouple the car." He went back to the door near the engine. He sat on the chains connecting the cars. "Come on! I need a wrench, an ax, anything!"
"Here!" Vlad handed him a hammer out of a box of tools. Anya, too searched the suitcases for something that might be useful. Pooka barked, directing her attention to a box marked "explosives." She smiled, and pulled one out.
Dimitri tried to pry the links apart, but the head of the hammer broke off. "Come on. There's gotta be something in there better than this!" Anya came to the door and handed him the lit stick of dynamite.
"That'll work," he said, rather dazed by it. He wedged it in between two of the links. "Go, go, go!"
They barred themselves behind luggage again. Vlad covered his ears and Anya hid her head under her arms. Even Dimitri flinched as it exploded, demolishing the front end of the hold, but effectively separating the two cars.
"What do they teach you in those orphanages?"
Anya hmphed. Did he really think she was that stupid?
"The brakes are out!" Vlad yelled.
"Turn harder!" said Dimitri, finishing beating the small fires. The wheel came off of the brakes.
Looking at that, he tried to smile. "Don't worry. We have plenty of track. We'll just coast to a stop!" The train jolted again as they went around a bend in the tracks. They got up, brushing themselves off, and gasped. The bridge was gone. Simply not there. No track. No stop.
"You were saying?" Anya asked, but she clung to his arm.
He moved toward the back of the car, shouting, "I've got an idea, Vlad. Give me a hand with this." He moved a chain close to the door, then lowered himself outside. Anya crawled to the opening on all fours, and saw that he had braced himself with one hand free. "Hand me the chain!" Anya began to drop the chain to him. "Not you."
Anya looked behind her, where Vlad had just fallen into an open box and was struggling to get back up. "Vlad's busy at the moment." He hesitated, then took it from her. He looped it around the bottom of the train car, pulling it as tight as he could.
Then the brakes on the front wheels came loose. They bounced under the train, and almost hit him. He tried to pull himself farther up and back in, but couldn't find anything to grab. His supporting hand slipped.
"No, no!"
He felt a small hand grasp his, and pull him back up. He recovered his footing and handholds. He looked up and found his face inches from Anya's. She was looking at him, panting slightly from the effort of hoisting him back up. He gazed back, into her eyes…
A sharp bang behind them startled them out of the trance and they looked around, eyes wide. The broken train pieces had knocked a tree over and were crumpled in a heap on the tracks.
Anya sighed, pulling Dimitri all the way into the car. "And to think that could have been you."
"If we live through this, remind me to thank you." He looked at her.
They knelt down and began to heave the rest of the chain outside. "Here goes nothing! Brace yourselves!" They chain slid to its full length, then caught on the tracks. It pulled up the tracks, dragging wood and metal behind them. For the third time, they were thrown to the floor.
The car moved off the tracks and slid sideways, but slowed considerably. They all moved to the doorway, carrying four suitcases and Pooka amongst them.
"Well, this is our stop!" Anya shouted. They jumped into the speeding snow.
Anya curled up, afraid to move as she heard the engine and baggage cars go over the cliff. Finally she stood, to see Vlad and Dimitri also recovering.
Dimitri looked skeptically at Vlad. "I hate trains. Remind me never to get on the train again."
"Wasn't I also supposed to remind you to thank me?" Anya asked.
"Hmph." Unspoken attraction indeed.