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Chapter 20
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2024-10-29 19:42:56~ANASTASIA~
Sitting on a horse-drawn sled with Trotsky, I could feel the freezing wind riffle through the layers of my coat. I took a gulp of whiskey from a flask handed over to me by the General. The heat from the drink burned away the coldness in my empty stomach. Lyra didn't come with me since they had a protocol for outsiders. I guessed they figured that it was for safety reason.
Beside us were a dozen hunters riding on their high horses and sleds pulled by Siberian Huskies. Several motor-skis led the way. We got out of the mountain castle and back towards the Cossack camp. Trotsky wanted to familiarize me with the lives of his army—to get both the hunters and the Cossacks to trust me, I had to be a part of them.
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~VALERINA~As a child, I had always wondered why nature had been so kind to such gruesome beings—those cold-blooded creatures, who slaughtered our families and enslaved our siblings just to satisfy their hedonistic existence.But now walking behind me in a haunting silence was this golden princess, who seemed far from grisly than I had once imagined. I tried in vain to harness my straying mind, but there were still parts of me that felt wild and untamed at the thought of us being alone together. It was getting harder to ignore the ever-royally presence of the great Anastasia Romanov and her piercing golden stare that seemed to burn like a brilliant sun.Irresistible was her weapon. Yes, she was i
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 22
AnastasiaIn the momentum of my desperate need, all my thoughts stopped. I wanted her. I wanted her right there in the middle of the frozen wood.How I couldn't seem to stay away from the huntress was beyond me. Now I was obsessed with her blushed swollen lips, the way her mouth fitted mine like it only belonged to me. Valerina, the fierce assassin, was now submitting to my passion. Her warm body pressed back into my chest, and I held her tighter, letting my curious tongue delve deeper to make hers mine.I stroked her firm slender body. The heat of desire filled up my whole being and my need to imprint myself on her delicate skin burned me like wildfire. I savored the blissful feeling of owning the hun
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 23
All the tensions that mounted me from the visit to the camp made me unbearably tired. I was actually relieved to be back at the castle. It looked now as if it had been a lifetime ago since I left my palace in Moscow. How the Royal Council had been holding up in my absence all this time became my concern. I had not the slightest clue as to what they were doing, nor had I been thinking about the possibility that they would come looking for me.Would they seek my sister out to guide the nation during their diplomatic crisis? Since the time I dissolved the Vampire Assembly back in Beliy Dom, we hadn't reached any solution aside from my letter to the Kaiser. I wondered if Alex already heard the news of my abduction. Would she return to Kremlin, away from her paradise of serenity, to rescue me? I sure did not have high hope that she would find me any time soon, but a part of me knew my older s
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 24
All around the field, distant sounds of marching men and the clattering noises rung in my ears. We passed the uniformed Cossacks running around the base. Shouted orders came from commanders followed by the boom of cannons. The ground trembled slightly under the impact.I was told it was target practice for the new arsenal. The cannonballs were stuffed with explosives and metal spikes. Once they fired, the cannonballs caused mass destruction. They had selected an area in the woods where humongous oak trees stood. The cannons facing the targets shot some of them down with accuracy and immense force. Then it came a time where the Hunters and the Cossack soldiers conducted an operation practice in the forest. The attack was under the command of their Generals back at the camp.Gradually, I began to understand the rules of their game. Trotsk
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 25
~ALEXANDRA~I followed the generals through the maze of streets, leading to the Kremlin Palace's Red Porch. What a contrast to the gilded opulence of the old Kremlin. The great city of Moscow had become a rubbish heap of history. Rats and crows now roamed the filthy alleys. I remembered churches and parks, which today were falling apart and worn down with age. Deserted and dilapidated palaces reminded me of the ill fate that had befallen my own family.Was this how I wanted my home to be? I was born into the richest royal house in the world, but now all I had was ashes of the past.The red-eyed soldiers stood at attention along the path to the Cathedral of the Dormition. It was where my anointing and c
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 26
ValerinaBack at the castle, I sat in a corner of the hospital wing, waiting. Twilight had already faded. The nurses started lighting the torches and placing candles in the lamps to dispel the darkness. But the gloom still lingered like shadows on the walls. The silence taunted me even more as the hours dragged on.Trotsky had ordered men to transport us back to the castle with our aircraft. Anastasia was severely wounded and unconscious ever since. At the moment, Arkady was doing his best to save her. The man was an excellent physician, just as his nephew was an excellent inventor, but I still felt anxious and disoriented by what had happened.I would have been dead if Anastasia hadn't saved me. She h
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 27
Trotsky and Krasnoff along with the other important members of the Circle were gathering in the Phoenix Hall. Our spies had been doing reconnaissance in Kremlin and delivered enough needed reports from their espionage.In two-day time, it was going to be Anastasia's older sister's coronation. The two generals had convened our brothers and sisters to discuss the plan. Now we were crafting the biggest Machiavellian operation that had never been carried out before by our movement.The mission would be in motion before sunrise. The Hunters would attack during the royal parade. If somehow the first attempt failed, we would activate the second plan and finish the job inside the cathedral where Alexandra Romanov would be crowned. However, there was this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away. My unfettered heart was
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 28
Stardust dashed through one of the secret routes in the dark forest. My heels jerked on the mount constantly but it wasn't long before I heard the sounds of feet stomping over leaves and saw flashing movements flitting through the trees.My adrenaline-induced heart pumped faster as my eyes spotted several vampires appearing from behind. They moved unobtrusively like shadows and swiftly like panthers. I kept a firm grip on Anastasia and the reins while my other hand quickly unclasped the holster to pull out the loaded pistol.Turning myself slightly on the sprinting horse, I fired a few bullets in my attempt to stop those glowing red eyes that were following us, but my bullets missed the targets completely. I gritted my teeth in frustration. It wasn't easy to shoot one of the fastest predators on earth. I realized I must not waste the am
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The nature of sorrow often fades over time, but once in a while it remains lodged below the surface of things, a stubborn thorn under a fingertip, making itself felt every time you brush against it.The years galloped past, flowing onward like the waters of a river, disappearing never to return, on this day, it had been three or maybe five years. I did not keep track of time anymore. But the beauty of the bright spring sunshine, rejoiced with blossoms and the song of birds, brought nostalgia to my heart.I brushed another paint stroke against the canvas. Purple was my favorite color, but now I had grown to love red. Red was vibrant and strong. Red was the color of blood and life.In the garden under the spring sun, the portrait was taking shape, a beautiful shape of a woman I loved and
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 41
I sat holding Valerina against my chest. Her face, white as the snow that had frozen my heart, no longer showed any sign of life. The sounds of exploding bombs reverberated all over the city, but all I felt was the coldness that seeped through every pore of my body. The coldness that would last longer than any winter in the world."Valerina," I whispered her name over and over as if it would wake her up and bring her back from this endless sleep.I knew she wouldn't hear it anymore. The hollowness in my chest spread like a black hole. The words were lost forever. We stayed in the same bed, but it felt as if we were a world apart.Another bomb struck the ground, shaking the building. Dust fell from the ceiling like snowflakes then the light went out. I tightened my hold around the lifel
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 40
The sound of planes crashing to the ground and bombs going off in the distance filled the city. Buildings, chapels, and monuments were blown up, crumbling into piles of bricks and cinders. There were war tanks and cars engulfed in flames.We had moved to our underground headquarter. I stood observing the masked soldiers crawling through the streets of Kremlin. The enemy had advanced past the gates into the capital at last."Where are the other soldiers?" I asked one of my generals."They're all dead, Your Highness. The remaining troops are also wounded. The army we have left is now defending our headquarter and the main bases."I realized that we were failing in the battle. They outnumbered us by the thousands. Those rotten undead-Naz
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 39
AnastasiaMoscow lay under a cloudy, blood-red sky. In the distance, the winter sun lanced down its rays. Smokes hung in the air over the wide borders of the capital.The monitor screens transmitted images of the battlefields. Some were still active in fighting and shooting while others already died down with either counterpart retreated. Images flashed from screens to screens. I saw a crow standing on a corpse's chin, pecking hungrily at its eyes. A riderless horse stampeded by, driven mad by the smell of the dead and gas. Broken tanks and vehicles overturned. Torn flags snapped in the breeze.I tried to locate where a certain group of hunters was. Groaning with impatience, I turned to the operators.
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 38
ValerinaA few weeks later, after the Czarina left Kremlin with the Cossacks, the Alpha and I were asked to detail our assassin soldiers to help defend against the growing recruit-militia of the Kaiser.I refilled the quicksilver bullets into the pistols and cleaned the retractable double blades before strapping them to my body.My work was interrupted by a messenger from Trotsky, bidding me come to the headquarter as quickly as possible. Sensing trouble and worried about it, I had prayed that we did not face any loophole in our plans and everything was in good order. I packed the remaining weapons I thought I might need into the saddlebag and left.I
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Inside the warm tearoom, I sat watching the frost frame the glass windows. Everywhere was under a thick sheet of snow. This winter seemed like it would go on forever, freezing the earth to its core.Avery poured some hot chamomile tea into my cup."Sugar?" she said, but I shook my head."I like it as it is, thanks," I said.She stirred the sweet-scented brew, letting hot steam drift into the air and disappeared. Then she put the silver spoon down and held the cup towards me. I accepted the drink with a smile.Her fingers were as cold as mine when I touched them. Although I already expected to find some changes in her, this still overwhelmed me. Avery didn't seem to notice my surprise
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 36
The Kremlin needed serious defense against the Kaiser's force. We installed multiple bunkers around the borders. The German Emperor had turned his target towards Russia as predicted. His troop had occupied Poland, our primary ally. Now, he was coming for Belarus, the last of our protection. Soon, our enemy would be at our gates in less than three months.That wasn't a lot of time to get ready. The rise of the Japanese Imperial Army left Alex with no choice but to split half of our force. It was rumored that their gigantic automatons were unstoppable, capable of great destruction and carnage on any scale. My sister had come up with an idea using an autobot called the Mole. It was the size of a warehouse, an enormous subterranean robot that burrowed through the ground and mountains with its sharp driller."The Mole is a new invention from
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 35
Outside the window of the Winter Palace hung a pale crescent moon in the sky. We stood by the fireplace in my chamber. The fire burned away, casting its golden light over our faces. Valerina let me undo the laces of her bodice. Her heart pounded like a moth caught in a flame. I had to remind myself that standing before me was a fearsome assassin on the battlefield, someone who could draw enemy's blood without making a sound, but she was also a human, capable of feeling emotions and untamed desires.I brought my lips to hers, hoping to dissipate her nervousness. She let out a soft moan into my mouth."No need to be nervous," I told her between kisses. "It's not like I haven't seen you before, and obviously it's not like we haven't had sex, is it?"Vale pulled back to glare at me. Her de
Anastasia Romanov Chapter 34
After the negotiation was over, and everything was more or less settled down, we all returned to the Kremlin Palace. The two generals were offered a base to assemble their army outside the city. The other parliament representatives, though reluctant to the idea of joining our mortal enemy, finally accepted my sister's decree. They had no choice but to act civilized for the sake of peace.Alex and I wanted a private moment just between us, sisters. We went into our father's office. My sister closed the doors and then she came to give me an unabashed long hug. I was a bit surprised by her sisterly affection. It had been so many decades since we'd ever shown it to each other. I felt like a child again, but in a way, I was still the same baby sister in her eyes.Alexandra had changed a lot, too. The older sister, whom I grew up with, had so
