Anastasia

I don’t remember much, except that my feet kept moving as if they had a mind of their own. They felt numb but they kept moving me along at a steady pace. The world in front of me swirled around; tilting and moving at odd angles. My head pounded and the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own heart beating. I finally came to a giant sign in the road. My knees shook beneath me and I could barely make out what the sign said because of my blurred vision. I squinted and could finally make out one word: FINLAND. I stumbled over to the sign and began to cry. My nightmare was over; I was finally safe!

Suddenly my head spun and my legs failed me as I fell to the ground. After I took a few deep breaths I picked myself up despite the burning pain and began to walk again. The ground seemed to lurch and move beneath me, but I was so close to freedom now; I had to keep moving. I licked my lips but my whole mouth felt as dry as a desert, and my tongue felt like sandpaper against my lips.

I don’t remember anything that happened after I saw the sign, only that it passed by in a gray haze. It was like walking through the room that was filled the gun smoke, I didn’t know where I was going, only that something was pulling me forward, willing me on towards some goal that I didn’t know about. Something that I wouldn’t know about until I found it. All I know is that after a while I collapsed on something cold and wet before everything faded into blackness.



A woman’s voice was the first thing I heard when I woke up. I felt something warm and comforting pressed against my head, and the shooting pain in my side had been reduced to a dull throbbing. I could feel something soft and warm beneath me, and it felt like blankets covered me, protecting me from all danger. After a while I could make out voices talking, but they were speaking in a different tongue from my own. Ever since I was little I was training in the art of linguistics for my training as future Tsar, so after a few minutes I realized they were speaking Finnish. I concentrated on translating what they were saying.

“Will he be Ok, mamma?” a young girl’s voice asked.

“He should be, but we’ll just have to wait and see,” the woman’s voice replied. The voices stopped talking after this and I quickly fell asleep.



When I woke up again I was able to open my eyes and see the unfamiliar room for the first time. At first I thought I was in a hospital, so I was surprised when I looked around and found myself in a small room. The walls were a light cream color with lace curtains that were pulled back from the window. A rocking chair sat in the corner and a small desk was pushed against the wall to my right. On top of the desk was a small lamp and an untouched glass of water. I let out a small cry as I reached for the water and drank it all in one gulp. As soon as I was done I felt my stomach growl with hunger.

The door suddenly swung open and a girl with long blonde hair appeared in the doorway. Her light green eyes scanned over me and widened in surprise when she realized I was awake.

“Mamma! Mamma! He’s awake!” she yelled, running out of the room. I reached down and gripped the bed sheets in my hands. A moment later a woman with light brown hair and the same green eyes appeared in the doorway. She smiled kindly at me before walking in. She was wearing a white shirt that had a few spots of blood on it and her hair was pulled back in a tight bun to keep it away from her face.

“Glad to see you’re awake, young one. You seem to have been through something awful, can you tell us what happened to you?” she asked, pulling up a seat next to my bedside. I looked over and saw that the girl lingered in the doorway.

“Where am I? How did I get here?” I asked instead.

“My daughter and I found you by the side of the road, so we brought you here and healed your wounds.”

“But how is that possible? I have Haemophilia,” I demanded.

“Yes, I found out when the bleeding would not stop. But my grandmother also had Haemophilia, and my grandfather found a special herb that he mixed together into a medicine that would make the blood clot and stop the bleeding and allow the skin to heal,” she patiently explained. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Everyone told me there was no way to cure Haemophilia, and that only Rasputin could heal me. Was it possible he used these special herbs this woman told me about to heal me when I was near death?

“Who are you?” I asked lastly.

“My name is Kirsti Lahtela,” she said, then gestured to her daughter who was still standing inside the doorframe. “And this is my daughter, Carola.” Carola took a small step back and tried to hide behind the doorframe.

“Now I need some answers; what happened to you?” Kirsti asked. I started to panic. If they knew who I really was they might sell me to those traitors in Russia for money. No doubt it would be a large sum of money once they realized my body was missing. No, I had to keep my true identity a secret, but how would I explain the wounds I’d received, and how I came here? I also needed an alias since I couldn’t use my real name.

“My name is…” I took a moment to rack my memory for a Finnish name. “Fredrik Koskinen.”

“And how did you get such large wounds?” she asked with a concerned look on her face.

“My father, mother and I were traveling to Russia when we were attacked by bandits. They killed my mother and father before they stole all our money and took our horse. They tried to kill me, but I managed to escape,” I easily lied.

“Oh, how terrible!” the girl, Carola, exclaimed from the door. I looked over at her and nodded.

“But I am safe now,” I stated, and Kirsti nodded.

“Yes. Do you have any relatives close by?” she asked. I couldn’t tell her I had relatives without giving away my identity, so I decided to lie.

“No, I have no relatives anywhere.”

The woman bit down on her lip. “Well, then you are welcome to stay here as long as you need.”

“Thank you.” My stomach suddenly growled and Kirsti let out a small laugh.

“I guess I should get you something to eat,” she said before getting up and leaving the room. I expected Carola to follow her, but she remained in the doorway, watching me intently.

“Hello,” I said, giving her a small wave. She must be very shy. She gave me a small wave before running away. A few minutes later Kirsti retuned with a pot of chicken soup, followed by Carola who stopped at the doorway again. After she gave me the soup she left and told me to yell for her if I needed anything.

I took a few sips before looking back at the door to see Carola still standing there. Why was she staring at me?

“Do you need something?” I asked. She shook her head.

“You look familiar,” she said before taking a few steps in the room. I started to panic. Oh no, if she found out who I was my whole façade would fall apart!

“Familiar how?” I asked nervously. She walked over to my bedside and looked intently at me.

“I don’t know. There’s just something familiar about you, like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” she said quietly.

“Maybe I remind you of someone you once knew?” I suggested. She looked at me for a few minutes before nodding.

“Yeah, that must be it,” she mumbled before running out of the room. When she was gone I let out a sigh of relief. If she can recognize me, who else would be able to? I should stay inside and away from people until the news of the death of my family dies down. As I remembered my sister lying there next to me dead, I remembered the promise I made to bring justice to the people who did this to my family. They betrayed their country, their brethren; they rebelled against the very people who worked hard to make Russia what it is today, a great nation.

But I couldn’t give away my identity just yet. Maybe I should wait a few years until the rebels were defeated, then send word to what was left of my family of how I survived. Either way, there was no way I could just sit around and let these evil men get away with what they’d done. They spilled innocent blood for petty reasons.



I opened my eyes and saw my family standing in a row with a line of soldiers in front of them, pointing guns at each one of them. I tried to get to them but it was like I couldn’t move. The guns suddenly fired, and the room filled with smoke. When it cleared I saw my family lying on the cold cement, surrounded by pools of their own blood. I screamed as loud as I could but no one even seemed to realize I was there.

Each man standing had a smug smile carved on his face, the same glint of amusement in his eyes. I screamed as I dropped to my knees and cried.

I felt someone shaking me. My eyes shot open to see Carola’s face above me. She held a small candle in her hand and a worried expression was etched on her face.

“Are you Ok? You were screaming like you were being murdered!” she exclaimed in a soft voice. I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

“Yeah, I…just had a nightmare,” I said, but my heart was still racing, and a sheet of sweat covered my body.

“Was it about your parents?” she asked in a whisper, as if she was afraid to bring up the topic. I nodded as I wrapped my arms around myself. She moved over to the side of the bed and sat down.

“I know what it’s like to lose a parent,” she said quietly.

“Your dad?” I asked, although it was more of a statement than a question. I noticed that I didn’t see Carola’s father around when I walked through the house. She nodded.

“Yes. He died at his job at the Automobile Parts Manufacturing Company. He got his hand caught in one of the machines and…” Carola looked away and squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to keep away the bad memories. When she finally opened them a couple minutes later there were tears in them. “So yes, I know how it feels.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. My family always told me I had a heart for the people; I just liked making them happy any way I could. She turned her green eyes to me.

“I just want you to know that I’ll be here to talk if you ever need someone,” she said, glancing down at the floor as she said it.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. She nodded before getting up with her candle and walking out.