20. Golden

Bad Dreams

This was bad. Very bad.

"Goodnight, Dimitri," he heard her whisper. It was so bad, in fact, that now that her voice reminded him of the sweet laughter of angels rather than the grating whine of metal on metal it had been when they met.

He murmured something barely intelligible and quickly rolled over on his side on the floor, his back to her and the suitcases that created the confines of his makeshift bed.

Anya continued to converse in hushed tones with Vlad. Dimitri squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to remember how she had looked late that afternoon when she emerged on the deck of the Tasha. The soft light of the dying sun had turned the wispy tendrils of hair around her hairline a shimmering golden color. Her eyes had sparkled in greeting; her usually wry smile was shy. And he had stared, dumbfounded, as if she had been some unearthly goddess descended from the clouds.

Anya was witty, smart, funny. And now, unbearably desirable.

But this was a con. All three of them were walking the razor's edge, and he was in too deep now to give it all up for a girl he sincerely wished he didn't care about - there was no point in denying it now - and who he hoped didn't give a damn about him.

And for the first time in years, he prayed.

Prayed that she'd forget him when this was over. Even though he knew with his entire being he would never, never forget her.

She was quiet now. Vlad was snoring.

Dimitri finally relaxed and let the nightmares come.

A/N: I am seriously considering undertaking an entire rewrite of the Anastasia movie, minus Rasputin and other needless scenes. I want to add a sense of realism to the story. I would continue the story past Anya and Dimitri's wedding night, of course, and dig in to their struggles and triumphs as a newly married couple, possibly borrowing some themes from these drabbles. So if I don't update for a while, that's what I'll be doing. I'll be uploading them a chapter at a time if I decide to do it, so add me to your author alerts if you're intrigued...