This gif doesn't even go with this chapter but just tell me it doesn't give you life😍Cred: dimitrysudayev on Tumblr.

Dimitry wondered what would have happened if Anya never stopped him from going back to St. Petersburg earlier that day.  If he would have gone home and never seen Anya again besides in newspapers thrown out through the Russian streets.  He realized she feared loosing him.  But until this moment he never realized he nearly lost her when he wasn't there.

The two laid fast asleep in the bed at the hotel the Dowager Empress had paid for them to stay in. Anya had mainly stolen the blankets through the night but it just gave Dimitry an excuse to hold onto her. His dream was nice for once. Him and Anya going off and getting married one day- once he had enough money for a ring. The Dowager Empress was already thinking of passing down Alexandra's ring to them for him to propose with.

Anya, however, was not enjoying her dream this night. Everything from that day was rushing through her subconsciousness. She nearly died. She nearly died just like her family had. Right in front of the barrel of a gun.

"Do it! Do it and I'll be with my parents and sisters and little brother again!"

She didn't know what came over her. She was both terrified and yet not scared at all.

"I heard the shots! I heard their screams! I felt their blood hit me!" She yelled.

This was the worst part of remembering. Her nightmares finally fading between her reality.

Her sisters screams. Olga, Tatiana, Maria. Her little brother Alexei unable to even make a sound before being shot dead in front of her. Her sisters shielding each other as bullets pierced their skin, the jewels from their clothing falling to the ground with each loud bang!

She wanted to remember her family. But unfortunately this was her final memory of them.

"Wanna know a secret? I'm going to die soon. We all are." Alexei's voice echoed in her head from her nightmare the first night in Paris.

If I'm going to die. I'll finally be with them.

She wasn't sure if it was delusion or real but she swore she could see the scene playing next to her. The ghostly image of her family holding onto each other as men with guns advanced towards them.

"For the last time. . ." Gleb yelled, "Who are you?!"

Anya clenched her fists, saying a silent prayer in her head that the pain would end quickly before yelling.

"I am the Grand Duchess, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov!"

Bang!

"Anya!"

She shot up in bed, nearly missing Dimitry's head as he looked down at her in worry. She gasped for the breath that had left her lungs. She was breathing. She had a pulse. She wasn't dead.

Her eyes danced wildly around the room. The pale moonlight shone through the window with the bright lights of the city below. The clock on the wall read 4am. She put her hand to her mouth before burying her face against her nightdress, tucking her knees up and sobbing- out of breath once more.

"Wanna know a secret?"

Her little brother's voice still rung in her ears and she cried. Did she wish she had died then?

She felt Dimitry gently wrap his arms around her and she flipped around, clinging to him tightly, her face against his neck and his night shirt clenched within her nimble fingers.

Dimitry whispered calming words into her ear and stroked her hair softly, feeling her wet tears against his neck. He gently rocked the two of them, remembering how his mother would do that in a calming effort when he had a nightmare as a child. He never expected Anya's nightmares to be over- but he couldn't help but wonder what brought on this one after reuniting with her Grandmother.

"You're okay Anya. You're safe. It was only a dream. I'd never let anything happen to you." He repeated these over and over in a hushed voice, feeling her crying lessen to shakey breathing.

"It w-wasn't them." She said, barely above a whisper, "I a-almost died. T-Today."

Dimitry's eyebrows furrowed in confused before gently pulling away to look at her tear stained face. Her bloodshot eyes staring back.

"What do you. . . What do you mean today?" He asked.

She swallowed hard, holding back another sob at the memory.

"Do it! Do it and I'll be with my parents and sisters and little brother again!"

Her eyes landed on the nightstand beside the bed, glazing over in memory.

"He had a gun. I saw him at the ballet. You were gone and Grand Mama had left the room. He walked in. He said he- he had to kill me. To finish what had been started. And the worst part was-"

She looked back at him.

"I had to ask myself, 'was ready to die?' To be with them again? I saw it right before my eyes." She whispered, another tear slipping down her face, "I didn't want to leave my Grand Mama or- or Lily and Vlad, or you." She whispered, "But I heard them. A-And I just heard my father's voice telling me to be strong and- and Alexei telling me he loved me, and my sisters- my sisters' laughter like when we used to play in the garden. And I just remembered- I remembered it all! And I just prayed with everything in me that it would go quick. And I would know if the pain they felt was as bad as I remembered. If I remembered the one bullet that hit me as I pretended to be dead under- under Olga's cold body." She sobbed, "Everything took over me. I wanted to live but there was- was no time to think. It was pointed right at me."

Dimitry's eyes gazed to the purple bruise on her forearm. It was unnoticeable with her gloves on earlier. He knew what a bruise like that would be from. How it looked when someone grabbed someone harsh enough to leave a bruise.

He gently touched her arm, grimacing as she winced.

"Who did this to you?" He asked.

She took a deep breath before uttering the name he already knew, "Gleb."

"I'm gonna kill him." Dimitry muttered, inspecting her arm.

"Don't." She said sternly.

"He almost killed you Anya! I couldn't loose you!"

"And I couldn't deal with loosing you either! If he nearly killed me he could shoot you in a simple second without a second thought!" She yelled, "I couldn't let that happen to you."

She looked down, squeezing her eyes shut to block out the thought of Dimitry lying in a pool of his own blood, "I can't imagine loosing you. You're my family too you know. . ." She whispered.

Dimitri gently tiled her head up to look at him, "If it means that much to you- I won't go kill him. . . Myself. But we will be calling Vlad and Lily in the morning. They will find someone to track him down so he cannot come anywhere near you. I may not be a prince but that is an order." He quickly added as he saw her go to speak, "No protesting against this Anya."

She nodded before hugging him close once more, squeezing him tightly.

"Thank you Dima." She whispered.

"I'll always be there to protect you Anya. No matter what- we're a team. And a pretty good one at that."

She leaned back and grinned at him before grabbing his shirt and pressing her lips to his. To say Dimitry had always dreamt of kissing the young girl from the parade was an understatement. And it was something he cherished more than any diamond the world could bring him as he wrapped his arms around her, his hand resting at her waist as the other tangled in her already messy hair.

"I love you." She mumbled against his lips.

"I love you." He whispered inbetween kisses.

They pulled back breathless and Anya couldn't help he laugh a little.

Always count on Dimitry to make her feel better from nights like this.

"Do you think we can get back to sleep?" Dimitry asked, "I'll be here the whole time. Until you wake up."

"That's quite a favor you early bird." Anya laughed.

"The things I do for you." He said, pressing his nose to her's.

The two laid back down, Anya resting her head against his head and throwing her arm across his torso; legs intwined. Dimitry enjoyed teasing her being like a koala when she slept next to him.

He ran his hands through her hair before he felt her breathing even out.

"Goodnight Anya." He whispered, pressing a kiss to her head and closing his eyes, "Sweet dreams."

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Did I mention I'm a failure because I had been spelling Dimitry's name as it was in the movie when I meant in the musical? I hope you liked!

~ ky❤️