I DON'T OWN ANASTASIA. THIS IS INSPIRED BY GRAND DUCHESS MARIA NIKOLAEVNA ROMANOV AND HER LOVE FOR SOLDIERS. I HAVE NOT TOUCHED THIS STORY IN A FEW YEARS AND AFTER RE READING IT, I HAVE DECIDED THAT THE BEST THING TO DO IS TO HIT THE RESET BUTTON. I AM CLEANING UP MY WRITING, EXPANDING UPON IT, AND CHANGING THE FOCUS FROM AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER TO IVAN SKOROKHODOV: THE GUARD FROM THE IPATIEV HOUSE WHO WAS CAUGHT BEING ROMANTIC WITH MARIA. THERE IS VERY LITTLE BACKGROUND ON HIM AND I DECIDED TO GIVE HIM A BACKSTORY.
April 8, 1914. Ekaterinburg, Russian Empire.
Life is full of choices. Some choices don't really matter a whole awful lot in the grand scheme of thing; whereas some choices can change not only your fate, but the fate of others. For Ivan Skorokhodov, stealing a loaf of bread didn't seem like it could be a life changing thing. It all started one frosty morning. 15 year old Ivan was on the streets of Ekaterinburg, searching for his next meal. If it wasn't for the rags he wore and the dirt on his face, he would have been called a handsome young man. You see, food was not as accessible to him as it was to others; on account of his being an orphan. His father had been a soldier who was killed in the Russo-Japanese war and his mother had died of dysentery 2 years later. As such, Ivan had been orphaned and was left to fend for himself amidst the cold Russian landscape. Since most people didn't really give a damn about street urchins, Ivan and several other orphans would wander the streets, looking for a place to stay. Their meals were whatever they could find, whatever they were given.
On the day that everything changed, Ivan was walking through the marketplace. There were several vendors with goods to sell. Stealing from vendors was a challenge though. Over the years, the vendors had learned to keep a sharp out for thieves; as had local law enforcement. However, the orphans were so hungry and desperate to fill their empty bellies that were willing to take the risk and steal anyway. During a busy morning, Ivan spied a local baker who was selling bread. The bread smelled wonderful and he was sure it tasted even better. Luckily for him, the Baker was discussing the current rates with a customer to notice him eyeing the wares.
"One loaf is 3 roubles." The baker insisted angrily.
"All I have is a few kopecks. Are you going to let my children starve?" The woman asked in tears.
"What do I care for your brats? If you don't have the money, then be gone!" The baker demanded with a wave of his hand. As he sent the weeping mother away, Ivan quickly swiped a loaf of bread. Unfortunately for him, he was seen by the baker in question.
"HEY!" The baker shouted as he raised his fist. "Stop, thief!"
"Nyet!" Ivan cried out as he took off running as the baker gave chase. As he passed by a Cossack, he heard the baker yelling for aid in his apprehension.
"That street urchin stole the bread that I made with my own two hands!" the baker shouted. Immediately, the Cossack galloped after him on his horse. Knowing that he could never outrun a mounted Cossack, Ivan dashed through several alleyways to slow them down. The boy hauled ass until he was sure that he had lost the men. Once he thought he was in the clear, Ivan immediately devoured his prize; savoring the taste of the freshly baked bread.. Once his stomach was filled, Ivan found a doorway that looked a bit comfortable and fell into a content sleep.
Many hours later, Ivan awoke to the sting of kicks to the stomach. He groaned in pain as he felt blood coming out his nose. He looked up to see the Cossack who had been chasing him, looking quite pissed.
"Thieving shit." The Cossack growled as he grabbed Ivan and dragged him out of the alleyway. When they went into the moonlight, there stood the angry baker with his arms crossed and his eyes full of disgust.
"Is this the boy?" The Cossack asked as the baker leaned in and spat on Ivan, hitting him in the face.
"Da, That is him, the thief!" The baker shouted angrily as the Cossack turned to the roughed up young man.
"You must pay the baker for the bread you stole." he demanded as Ivan slowly turned out his pockets.
"I have no money." Ivan replied meekly as the Cossack grunted and pulled him away.
"Then it's prison for you." he growled as he placed the boy under arrest and hauled him off to the town jail.
The next day.
Ivan Skorokhodov spent a miserable night in the town prison and in the morning, was brought before the local judge; a hard man by the name of Khromov who had a reputation for passing down hard sentences on the disadvantaged. Ivan felt great fear as the judge stared him down.
"What is this boy accused of?" The judge asked as the Cossack stepped forward.
"Thievery, your honor." The Cossack who had arrested young Ivan stated. "He stole a loaf of bread from a local baker."
"I trust the baker has identified him." the Judge asked.
"Da, he swore that this boy was the thief." The Cossack answered as the judge looked down at the boy with a nasty sneer.
"Who are your parents?" Judge Khromov asked, as if he gave a damn.
"I'm a orphan, sir." Ivan replied as he knew that there was no one to save him from the gallows that surely awaited him.
"Well, I suppose some mercy should be shown." The judge stated as if he was being forced to attend a boring lecture as opposed to deciding the fate of a hungry boy. "For the crime of thievery, you are hereby conscripted into the imperial army for a period of 17 years. Bring in the next case." As the gavel was pounded, Ivan's heart sank like a rock. Being drafted into the army was basically a death sentence. Men, especially young boys like himself, were lucky if they survived a month, let alone a year. As Ivan was taken to the local barracks to be sent off to basic training, he wept for himself as young Ivan was actually wishing he'd been sent to the gallows. At least his death would have been over quickly.
NEXT TIME, WE GET A GLIMPSE OF ARMY LIFE. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.