Introducing Viktoria - Daughter of Vlad and Sophie

_{butterflycystal is doing a new challenge for her group New-royalty once the Disney challenge ends. This time around, instead of children of Disney characters, it’s for children of non-Disney characters. Check out her page and her group! Also, sorry this is so long... I got a little carried away enjoy!}

Introducing Viktoria Vashilovich, daughter of Vladimir and Sophie Vasilovich. _{(‘Vasilovich’ was the last name given to Vlad on the Anastasia Wiki page so it’s the surname I’m going with for the family.)}

Viktoria, the eldest child of three, was born in the summer of 1930; two years after her parents were married. When she was nearing her first birthday Sophie and Vlad discovered she was deaf. They enrolled her in the Royal Institute for the Deaf in Paris as soon as she was eligible for Kindergarten. There she learned French sign language as her main means of communicating along with her normal education. Her parents hired a tutor to help teach them sign language as well so they could communicate easily with their daughter. Viktoria also learned to read lips in both French and Russian – the two languages spoken in her household. Her younger siblings – Edmund and Alya – knew sign language before they learned to speak.

When the Nazi invaded France in 1940 Vlad and Sophie sent Viktoria to live with distant relatives in the English country side. No one there knew sigh language so Viktoria had to resort to writing down everything she wished to say. There she met, Joëlle, a girl about her age who lost her sight due to illness as a toddler. The girls worked hard on discovering a way to communicate without the help of an interpreter reading off what Viktoria wrote. Slowly but surely – with the help of Joëlle family – Viktoria was able to sign words against the blind girl’s palm. All Joëlle had to do in return was answer back verbally so Viktoria could read her lips.

In the fall of 1945, after WWII ended, Viktoria returned home to her family and re-enrolled in the Royal Institute for the Deaf. Now, two year later, at seventeen, she meets Pierre, the older brother of one of her fellow deaf friends, and the two hit it off right away. Like her siblings, while he can hear, he’s also fluent in French sigh language – thanks to his sister. And because of his sister, Pierre won’t let “but I’m deaf” be an excuse for Viktoria not to try new things, like dancing for example. Besides, “just because your deaf doesn’t mean you can’t move.” as he likes to remind her.

Random tidbits:

Viktoria discovered at a young age that she’s a talented artist. She can sit and paint or draw all day, anything from nature, to people and pets, to architecture, or abstract. She also enjoys baking and cooking with her family, they spend every holiday in the kitchen. Her family is big into dancing and attending shows and parties as well. Viktoria, not so much... Sometimes she tags along – or is dragged along – but she doesn’t love it like they do. She can’t hear the music and it’s too hard to keep up with non-sigh language conversations taking place in a large group. She does enjoy watching the ballets though; if nothing else she enjoys the movements. (Especially after Pierre teaches her to dance.)

~

Her name comes from my favorite book series Vampire Academy. _{(One of the main character’s – who’s Russian – has a sister named Viktoria and I love the name and the spelling, plus it’s Russian so I thought it fit perfectly.)} As for her outfits, from left to right: I have one example of something she’d wear to school, her average everyday (summer) dress, a dress she’d wear on a date or a fun night out, and a dress she’d wear to shows or parties. _{(I tried to make them in the 1940s style.)} Also: her wavy hair is her natural hair. She only straightens it when she has the time – it takes forever! - and when she’s going somewhere special.

_{(I have more ideas – and more detailed ideas from the backstory above – for Viktoria’s life. So … you may be seeing more about her in literature form. We’ll see how inspired I’m feeling and if I ever get it written down...)}

Sophie and Vlad belong to Don Bluth. Everyone else belongs to me.

_{Group Participants:
1.Anya and Dimitri- butterflycystal  
2.Astrid and Hicup- CatWoman-cali-onyx  
3.Crysta and Zak- LaSerenity  
4.Thumbelina and Cornelius- kaybugg1  
5.Kayley and Garrett- whitewolfdreamer27  
6.Tizporah and Mosses- Daughterofthehunt10  
7.Amaltha and Lir- Persinette-Rose  
8.Odette and Derek- MilleniumHopeArtist  
9.Chel and Tulio- MasterOf4Elements  
10.Lucille and Raoul- Rai-Knightshade  
11.Maud and Emile- Sapphire-Roz  
12.Irene and Curdie- FairyGirl157  
13.M.K. and Nod- Sonicgirl141  
14.Yum Yum and Tak [Unclaimed]  
15.Akima and Cale- RachbakN  
16.Molly Grue and Schmendrick- Arimus79  
17.Camille and Nemo [Unclaimed]  
18.Marina and Sinbad- DionneJinn  
19.Fiona and Shrek- Chumley12  
20.Anna and the King of Siam- allyvania88  
21.Rosemarie(?) and Miguel- flowerpower71  
22.Tuptim and Chulalongkorn [Unclaimed] 
23.Daria and Rollo l- EverythingReviewer  
24.Cecelia and Louie [Unclaimed]
25.Clara and Hans- bigpinkbow197  
26.Polly and Feathertop [Unclaimed]  
27.Mary and Tom [Unclaimed]  
28.Angel and Omar- MadastheHatter27  
29.Sophie and Vlad- MermaidKisa (me!)  
30.Eep and Guy- xoxserenityxx}