Background Information

Olga and Pasha's children:

Nicholas, 13

Oxana, 10

Tatiana and Mitya's children:

Alexander, 13

Anatoly, 11

Maria and Jules' children:

Luc, 12

Lara, 12

Charles, 10

Joseph, 8

Zoya, 6

Anna, 4

Denis, 2

Anastasia and Dimitri's children:

Kira, 13

Inessa, 9

Nikita, 6

Alexei and Rachel's children:

Alena, 5

Michael, 3

Zoya's children:

Nicholas, 21

Alexandra 'Sasha', 17

Matthew, 3

Anastasia was relaxing at home when she heard the knock on the door. Peeking through the peep hole, she saw the red hair and knew exactly who her visitor was. "Zoya!" she exclaimed, flinging the door open. A moment later, her cousin was in her arms. "I thought you'd perished in the Revolution!"

"Grandmother and I were the only ones who survived," Zoya replied. "This is my son, Matthew."

Anastasia had seen that her cousin was holding a young boy of about two or three. "Please, come in and tell me everything."

Zoya and Matthew entered the living room and sat down on the sofa. Anastasia poured two mugs of steaming coffee and brought them into the living room, where she handed one to Zoya. "Nicolai was killed in battle, and our house burned down with Mother inside it a couple of days later," Zoya began.

"How dreadful!" Anastasia gasped.

"Grandmother and I escaped to Paris in a troika, and I went to work as a ballerina to support us," Zoya continued. "We lived in a tiny apartment and had barely enough to eat. Then I met Clayton Andrews. He was an American soldier stationed in Paris. We fell in love, but then he had to go back to the United States. Not too long after that, Grandmother fell ill and died. I'd just about given up and accepted my dismal fate when one day, Clayton and I bumped into one another again. We married soon afterwards and fled to New York."

"We were very happy for ten years. We had a son, Nicholas, and a daughter, Alexandra. Then the stock market crashed. Clayton was so shocked and heartbroken that he had a heart attack and died right after that. The children and I were left totally penniless, and I had to go to work as a dancer at a burlesque so that we wouldn't starve. One night I was at work when the apartment caught on fire with the children inside it. They barely made it out in time. After that, I went to work for a woman named Axelle who owned a boutique."

"One year, I went with her to Paris to purchase clothing for the boutique and met Simon Hirsch. I didn't know it at the time, but he was a very wealthy cloth merchant. He returned to New York with us and helped me set up my own boutique."

"My boutique was very successful, and several years after it opened, I found out that I was pregnant with Matthew. I was really upset about it as I hadn't planned on having any more children, but Simon was happy to become a biological father. Now I'm really happy we had Matthew. I couldn't imagine my life without him."

"He was only a couple of years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Simon joined the army and was killed in Europe a few weeks ago. After that happened, I decided that New York just holds too many painful memories for me, so I wanted to join you all here in Paris. I'd heard of your miraculous resurrection and have wanted very badly to see you again since then, and now's my chance."

"As we've all been wondering whatever became of you, especially Maria." Zoya and Maria had been born only two weeks apart and had always been especially close. "Oh! I have to call the others and tell them you're here."

All Anastasia's siblings and her parents still lived in Paris. Pasha, Mitya, Jules, Dimitri, and Alexei were all away fighting the Nazis, leaving their wives and children to carry on without them. Alexei no longer suffered from hemophilia and so was able to fight alongside his adopted countrymen.

"Oh, how I long to see my darling Mashka again!" Zoya cried. "The others too, of course, but you know how my Mashka has always had a special place in my heart."

"You'll see them all again very soon," Anastasia promised. "Your son is adorable!"

"Thank you."

"And where are your other children?"

"Nicky's flying bombers in England, and Sasha's in boarding school in New York. She's planning to attend college in Palm Beach in Florida after she graduates."

"That's great!"

"And how are your own children?"

"Fine. They're in school now. Kira's thirteen, Inessa's nine, and Nikita's six. He's so proud of himself now that he's lost his first tooth."

"I remember going through that with Nicky and Sasha," Zoya chuckled.

Maria was first to arrive. She and Zoya both shrieked with joy as they tumbled into one another's arms. "I thought I'd lost you forever!" Zoya exclaimed.

"And I, you," Maria replied. "On that dreadful night in the basement of the Ipatiev House, my very last thought was of you. How I hoped you'd survived and escaped! Then after we all returned, I thought of you often and hoped to hear word of you, but I never did."

Nicholas and Alexandra arrived next. "Uncle Nicky! Aunt Alix!" Zoya cried as she flung herself into their arms.

"It's so good to see you again, dear," said Alexandra. As she held her distant cousin by marriage, the years seemed to melt away and they were once again in the Alexandra Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

Olga and Tatiana showed up together shortly afterwards. "We're all here now," said Tatiana. "We'd all love to hear your story, and in return, we'll tell you ours."

"Very well," Zoya replied.