Natalia

Scene One

"Grandmama, why do you have to go?" the seven-year-old girl asked. Tears streamed down the redhead's face. Her hair was halfway tied-up in a pink bow while the rest curled around her delicate face. A loose nightgown hung on her shoulders.
"I've stayed here too long." The old woman let out an airy laugh and caressed her young granddaughter's hair.
"Take me to Paris with you then!" Suddenly tears were replaced with a smile, and she darted out of bed to go get packed.
The Grand Duchess' room was rather large. Her bed had a baby blue canopy over it, and was made out of carved oak. On both sides of the bed, were matching wood side tables adorned with pictures of her family and jewelry. The carvings depicted roses and waves. The young girl had a chaise at the end of her bed. There the Grand Duchess and her grandmama would often sit and read together. In the far corner, beside her doll house, was a old rocking horse. When she was stuck inside and lacking a playmate, she would spend her time braiding and rebraiding it's tarnished, yarn hair. The walls were half white, half carved wood. Paintings of her ancestors and horses decorated the walls.
The Dowager Empress, Maria, smiled wistfully. She knew leaving would be hard, so she bought her granddaughter a reminder of their bond. A golden music box intricately carved with a double-headed eagle, bears, and horses. Inside was a figure with Tsar Alian and Tsarina Melina dancing to a sweet, harmonious lullaby.
Maria opened the music box, "Come sit down Natalia." The little girl was memorized by the tune.
"Our lullaby..." Natalia said softly climbing back into bed.
Maria's voice was deep and soothing and was able to temporarily cure Natalia's sadness. "Far away. Long ago. Glowing dim as an ember. Things my heart use to know. Things it yearns to remember."
"And a song someone sings long ago. Once upon a December." The sweet child joined in.
Maria smiled although it didn't quite reach her eyes, "Remember, whenever you play our lullaby think of an old woman who loves you very, very much." As the Dowager Empress went to go she turned one last time towards her granddaughter, "If you ever come to visit I promise we'll meet at the Pont Alexander III Bridge"
Not even the moonlight shining through the tall, Cathedral-like windows could fill the empty space left in the Grand Duchess' room.
[BC]10 years later:
"Where are we going, Father?"
"We, the Shoskotav men, are going to go start a revolution, Alexei, my boy."
The palace kept the nobles safe and sound from the winter storm outside, but it also disillusioned them to the growing storm inside the people. No matter how large the windows are they couldn't see the sparks of rebellion beginning to ignite. The Terem palace was the Czars' main residence out of their many other homes. The exterior was red, yellow, and orange making the building look
vivid and picturesque. The building had 5 stories. The top story was smaller then the rest, and was reserved for Boyar Durma meetings. Adjacent to the palace was many churches.
Light from several chandeliers bounced off the gold walls and decorations. On the ceiling, there was a beautiful moral in the shape of a six-spoke star. It was painted geometrically. With flowers and circles rotating around the room. The floor was a glossy dark wood with a red carpet running down the middle. At the front of the room was the thrones. The largest was for the Tsar, then the Tsarina, and finally the heir. Beside it was a heavy oak door.
Yelena Romanov was spinning across the ballroom in the arms of a handsome, young, and undoubtedly rich nobleman. Olga and Maria were both dancing gracefully with brooding soldiers. Natalia could be found in her father's arms purposely trying to avoid dancing with any more bachelors. The Grand Duchess had no intention of marrying the man with the biggest sum of money. She wanted to find the one, and in her opinion; she'll know her soulmate when she dances with them. So far none of the young men have fit the bill. Tsarina Melina and the youngest Romanov, Vindiktor, were in their respective thrones. Vindiktor wasn't strong enough nor confident enough to dance, and his mother didn't dare to leave him by himself.
The orchestra stopped playing when a scream erupted across the room. The soldier Maria was dancing with was covered in blood and had a gun in his hands. Maria was on the floor, and a bullet was lodged in her heart. Suddenly, the only thing Natalia could hear was the beating of her own heart. The yelling of the guards, the wail of an anguished mother, and the door being busted open all sounded distant and fuzzy like she was in a room filled with white noise. Pearls, diamonds, and a rainbow of torn fabric covered the floor. Tsar Alian grabbed his daughter's hand and pushed her towards the halls while he went back to get the rest of his family. She ran as fast as she could and only had one objective in mind: get her music box. Even as the sound of gunshots surrounded her, Natalia couldn't stop running. After she retrieved her music box, she tried to escape through the servant's chambers. The idea of rebellion spread fast through the servants and the majority of them were not keen on helping the Grand Duchess. A Bolshevik soldier was waiting for her. She was shot in the back, and as she collapsed her head collided with the ground. The music box scattered on to the street waiting for any vagabond to barter with it for bread.
Natalia wasn't the only person to lose their father that night. Alexei's father came home that night as pale as fresh snow, and as distant as warmth in the middle of winter. He was a man high up in the Bolshevik Army, and was the one chosen to eliminate the royal family. Drowning in his own guilt, he would later die a few years later leaving the family's reputation ruined. James' father was a servant, and when he tried to fight off the Bolsheviks, he was killed. James waited several days for his father in their tiny shack before he got the news he was killed.
After the soldiers were done rummaging, they opened the palace to the public allowing them to take what they want. Natalia walked the streets amnesiac and dazed until an elderly nun took her to St. Xenia's hospital.
"Call her Natasha, dress up her wounds, and give her a hat" a head nurse ordered.
When the young girl awoke, the only thing she could see was bright, white light. Not the kind of white that makes you feel safe and warm, the kind that burns your skin and leaves a void in the atmosphere. Rain battered the window overhead. Twenty-eight other girls were in the room with her, and they were all victims of the Bolsheviks' war. The majority of them weren't supporters or deniers. They were too busy trying to survive. Even without alliances, all twenty-eight women were caught in the cross hairs. Jokingly, they called their part of the hospital the "Red Room" because they have all been victims of the Red Army's crusade.
After Natasha was released, she had nowhere to go nor any memories. The only thing she had was the shell of what she had once been. She was determined to survive no matter the cost. Natasha traveled the countryside going to city to city to work. Jobs never lasted long, so she worked when she could. Other times, she would take what needed and slept in the woods. It was there, in the dark solitude, she would keep up her hope. In her dreams, Natasha could see a light at the end of a tunnel. A bridge in Paris is all she knew. Someone was waiting there for her. Her family she would whisper to herself. They say when you say your hope aloud at night the moon turns them into stars. In Natasha's case, she lit of the bright sky with her hope of a family to call her own.
St. Petersburg was a cold city. Centuries ago the city's warmth came from the people, but now it was an ice box. A large river ran through the city. In one part was the rainbow of government buildings, spiraling churches, and places. All colors on Earth could be found in the bright place. The majority of St.Petersburg was the slums with smaller churches, brick buildings, and hungry people. Here the culture slowly dwindled down to one of just survival. In the grey, bleak part of the city, Natasha was able to find work as a sweep cleaner in the city of St. Petersburg.
On a street corner where she worked, a truck backfired. Natasha's heart started to beat out of her chest and her legs grew weak. She could hear, see, and feel nothing except for the strong hand that has creeped up her stomach and grabbed ahold of her heart. Natasha was on her knees and wide eyed and heaving.
"Comrade it was just a truck backfiring. The days of neighbor against neighbor are over. We are safe now." The soldier helped her up and gently pushed Natasha's red hair out of her eyes. "You're shaking. There is a tea shop a block from here, let me take you."
The Bolshevik soldier was tall and muscular, but he never made Natasha feel intimidated. He had an air of reassurance and warmth surrounding him.
"No, I'm fine really. Thank you. I really need this job." Natasha smiled softly and looked down. She immediately started to sweep again.
The redheaded soldier walked past her, but glanced back longingly. "I'm General Alexei. I patrol these streets often with my men. If you need anything let me know." Alexei smiled one more time and then continued on to the town square.