Maria and Marcell were happily married a year later on June eleventh, nineteen-thirty.

After bringing Marcell home to Sandringham the day Maria had asked to marry him, the family liked him very much.

Even though Maria wanted to have children with Marcell, there was always the worry of having a boy with hemophilia. Although it was at risk, Maria became pregnant a year after her marriage.

On November eighth, nineteen-thirty-one, a boy was born.

Louis-Nikolaevich-Taylor-Romanov.

Maria knew that he would have the disease and braced herself for the time she would discover it but oddly enough, the baby showed no sign of hemophilia a few weeks after his birth. Maria and Marcell confided on doctor Thomas to provide answers.

"It could be possible that the child doesn't have the disease. Maria carries the gene while Marcell does not. I would give it until Louis's first birthday to confirm."

Maria and Marcell were very happy to hear that their son may not have the disease although Maria still felt guilty about Anatolii. It would be something to have two boys with hemophilia but one that could run and jump while the other couldn't made her feel sick inside. Till the baby's first birthday, they would just have to wait.

The wife and husband were very occupied with Louis that other members of the family had filled in as parents to the other children.

Vivianne was now nine, Elena was six, and Anatolii was four. Anastasia and Andrei often played with them in the gardens. They all rode bikes and swam in the ponds together. Every day was a new adventure just waiting to begin. As the children grew, their personalities did too.

Vivianne was very, very kind. She liked to point out things that weren't right. She had her murky blue eyes and dimples. It was always said that she looked just like her mother as a child and had grown to acquire most of her traits.

Elena on the other hand was witty, cunning, and devious, much like Anastasia. Family members said that it was Anastasia's influence that had an impact on the girl. Nevertheless, Elena was still very sweet. She had blonde curls, hazel eyes, and no dimples.

Anatolii had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, looking much like a blonde Alexei as he grew older. He loved to play with his sisters whenever he wasn't in bed. He had a wild imagination and could conquer short stories that would leave people begging for more.

The family called the two older girls 'the big pair', and the boys were 'the little pair'. The Romanov family had done this before with Maria and Anastasia and Maria wanted to continue that tradition with her children.

Louis's first birthday arrived - there was no sign of hemophilia.

The family lived a quaint and happy life at Sandringham. Vasili even got married in nineteen-thirty-one to a girl he had met in town. Nothing bad had happened to anyone since Louis was born.

But that was soon diminished in the spring of nineteen-thirty-four when Oliver became gravely ill. His sickness was feared to have been caused by smoking which he had done since he was young. His daughters were called from London to say goodbye to their father. Oliver died hours later on April twenty-third, nineteen-thirty-one. He was sixty-nine.

The Romanov sisters were exceedingly sad. Oliver had been one of the first people to have shown them undivided kindness and care after the death of the Romanovs and the sisters were indebted to him for that. He had been a second father to the girls when they had first arrived to England twelve years earlier.

Oliver was given a funeral ten days later and was buried next to Fillipp. Anastasia played clair de lune, his favorite piano piece, at the service.

Maria had always brought flowers to her dead son's grave and now she knew she had another person to bring annual flowers for.

-

August 2nd, 1938

In nineteen-thirty-eight, news published in a paper made Anastasia squeal with joy.

"Why are you so happy?" Maria asked as she walked into the saloon, curious why her sister was making so much noise on a Sunday morning.

"Yakov Yurkosy is dead!" Anastasia danced around the room. "I hope that man goes to hell!"

"You shouldn't say that, Nastasia," Maria objected. Anastasia stopped dancing.

"So you say that man should go to heaven and be showered with flowers and love. Mashka, he killed our family. How can you forgive him?"

Maria didn't think about that.

"You let your kindness get the best of you sometimes." Anastasia threw the newspaper down on a table and rushed out of the saloon.

-

September 1st, 1939

The family was listening to the radio on a warm September morning. The children were outside playing while the adults stayed glued to the radio as the prime minister announced the news.

"It's true isn't it?" Anastasia whispered, her face as white as a ghost.

"Yes." Maria answered her sister, her eyes not leaving the radio.

"England is going to war."