May 2, 1918
"A letter! Maria sent us a letter!" Anastasia runs into Alexei's bedroom in the early morning of the 2nd May.
It's been over two weeks since Maria, Nicholas and Alexandra left Tobolsk for their new prison. Alexei was too weak to be moved, so the rest of his sisters stayed. Their nanny Anna stayed as well as their teacher Pierre, Dr. Botkin and the chef Ivan. Only Theo, Ophelia, the soldier Ivan and Kobylinsky's soldiers left together with the former czar and czarina. These two weeks have been a real burden for them all. Alexei moved into his sister's bedroom and took over Maria's. During the nights, their weeping and utter sorrow and fear can be heard uncontrollably from their room. They don't show any sign of weakness during the day, but as the sun goes to rest and the darkness surrounds the city, the four children can no longer hold back their emotions.
Ella has been crying too, worried about what will happen to her lost friends. She finds consolation with Milo who shares the same pulsating pain and worry. They've tried as best as they can to cheer up the children with card games, dancing in the ballroom, playing music, singing and playing with the dogs. And it helps while the sunlight is shining at them, but as they realise that their fifth voice in their songs, fifth smile on their photos and fifth sound of footsteps over the parquet floor in the ballroom, their own smiles dim away. The days are grey and quiet, and the Romanovs spend most of their days praying, sleeping or reading. Milo and Ella have too lost the most of their energy, as well as everyone else inside of the Governor's House.
When Anastasia closes the door behind her to the bedroom, she sits down on her bed with her sisters and brother there as well. Olga carries Alexei over to Maria's bed next to Anastasia's and sits down with him. Milo and Ella are there too, just as excited - and nervous - about Maria's letter. Tatiana and Ella take a seat on the floor, sitting on warm pillows, while Milo stands up and rests his weight against the wall. This is the first sign of them being alive since Nicholas, Alexandra and Maria left, and the spirit inside of the house quickly changes from fear to hope.
"Open it." Alexei quietly stutters from the bed.
Everyone looks at the envelope in Anastasia's hand as she slowly opens it. She takes a deep breath before reading it with her Russian accent.
"Dear sisters and brother,
Mama, Papa and I hopefully believed that we would be taken to Moscow for a trial. We were all thinking that justice would come and we would finally be released. But we were wrong. When we stepped outside, it was still colder than back home so I figured we were still in Siberia. Bolsheviks were waiting for us at the station, much tougher and meaner than the ones we've met before. Apparently, they're called Ural bolsheviks and are more radical than the other ones.
The cars took us to a big white house on a slope, wider than the Governor's House but not as high. A high fence made out of wood, much higher than the fence in Tobolsk, is surrounding the house. Standing in the yard or on the first floor, it's impossible to see the world outside. The windows are also painted with white paint to prevent us from seeing the view or calling for help. It pains me to not see the world beyond the fence. On the first floor there is a kitchen and an office, but I'm not sure how many rooms there are on that floor. We only have one functional bathroom to share on the second floor. The guards' room is on the same floor as ours. We don't have any camp beds, pillows, wash bowls, bed linen or table linen. I'm sleeping on a provisional bed that the soldiers bought for us downtown, but I miss my own bed in Tobolsk. Bring as much as you can if you come, because we have nothing here. We barely have enough water, but the small amount we have is very fresh and good, almost like the water back in Tsarskoe Selo. I was taking a bath before and the water was light blue!
Our new commandant, a man named Yurovsky, told us that the house is called Ipatiev House, but they call it "The house of special purpose." The city is called Yekaterinburg, and if Tobolsk never felt like a prison to you, Yekaterinburg will.
It's a comfort to have Theo and Ophelia here. They're the only ones in the house, except for Mama and Papa, that I can trust. The other soldiers are so very mean, but I try to keep my head high. Mother isn't feeling too well. Her headaches have gotten worse and she barely walks. Father works out a lot, but I can tell he's stressed as well.
Oh how I miss you all. I hope we'll see each other again very soon. May the Lord have mercy on our souls.
PS: Many of the soldiers are very good looking.
Maria."
Olga smiles as she reads the last sentence over her sister's shoulder. She is, just like Maria, a romantic. Although, her little sister is far more open with it than she is.
"A new prison..." Tatiana signs and rereads the letter.
"At least we know that they are alive, and we know where they are." Ella tries to cheer them up and smiles.
Milo also seems relieved. He knows that the family was executed together, but you can never be too sure. What if their presence has changed history? What if it means they will survive in the end? Knowing that Maria, Alexandra and Nicholas are alive is a relief, but it reminds him that he eventually will have to tell them that the happiness won't last forever.
"Yekaterinburg... I've never heard of it." Olga says and thinks.
"Neither have I." Tatiana shakes her head.
"Do you think we will be taken there too?" Alexei whispers from his bed.
The girls look at each other, thinking of what to answer their little brother.
"We'll see." Olga finally says.
"Maybe you should send a letter back to her?" Milo suggests and rests his hand on Tatiana's bare shoulder.
"He's right. Mother and father are most likely worried about us." Olga crosses her arms over her chest. "Maria said Mama is sick again, maybe she will feel better once she knows we're okay."
"I'll go and get what we need." Tatiana stands up and walks over to their cabinets.
When Milo and Ella leave to give them some space, they share a loving hug outside of the room. They haven't shown it to the children, but they have too been consumed by stress over their friends, not just Theo and Ophelia, but the Romanovs too.
"Oh my god, what a relief!" Ella says as they break apart.
Her ginger hair has turned thin, sweaty and dirty from the bad food and lack of hygiene. She keeps it up in a bun everyday. Her eyes go from small, thin pupils to big and black holes of joy.
"We should write to Theo and Ophelia." Milo says and nods to the children's bedroom. "If they can send letters so can we. I have to know they're truly okay."
"I agree. I think there are pencils down in the kitchen we can use, come on!"
As they walk away from Tatiana's, Olga's, Anastasia's and Alexei's bedroom towards the kitchen, they walk past the commandant's office. He's talking to someone and they seem upset. Their shootings increase as Milo and Ella get closer. As curious as they both are, they can't stop themselves from eavesdropping. They look at each other and grin before sneaking up to the door and rests their ears against the wood.
"Alexei is too sick to be moved!" Dr. Botkin says and raises his voice.
The commandant sits calmly behind his desk.
"I don't care. Lenin told us to move them all. I'll give you three weeks. If Alexei isn't well then, you will be forced to move even if he's ill."
"Olga Nikolaevna is sick too! You can't do this to them. They just lost their siblings and parents, not to mention their whole worlds because of the revolution. Let them rest and get well before you take them away."
"You're the doctor, so you have the responsibility to heal them. If you can't, that's not my problem. Leave." He says and looks down at his papers in front of him again.
Dr. Botkin storms out, so furious that he doesn't even see Milo and Ella. He walks over to his, Anna's, Gilliard's and Ivan's bedroom and closes the door so loudly the walls vibrate. Milo and Ella quickly sneak away from the hallway into a room nearby.
"We have to go with them." Ella says when the door closes.
"I know." Milo says and puts his hands around his head.
"What if the children leave and we end up staying here? And they will die and maybe Theo and Ophelia will too or we will never see each other again and if we're not together then we can't go home and.."
"Ella, calm down!"
Milo puts his hands on Ella's shoulders, looking into her eyes.
"We will find them. And we will save the family." Milo tries to calm her down by looking into her eyes.
Almost 400 miles away, in "The House Of Special Purpose", Maria is having dinner with her parents. The house is prettier on the inside than the Governor's House, but the painted windows and soldiers standing everywhere reminds them of its purpose. The smell from the sewers outside are so strong it crawls inside to the house only to mix with the smells from the kitchen. The house echoes from the footsteps and talking. Theo and Ophelia are sitting in the guard's room. There are two bedrooms for the servants - the guard's room and one in the basement. They are all filled with bunk beds stacked against the walls.
It looks like a war buncher, and smells like one too.
Ophelia is making the beds while Theo polishes his shoes. Ophelia and Theo are usually not the emotional types of people, but being moved away in such a rush changed them. Both have been crying together with Maria when no one else has been around, and they haven't even tried to hide it. They try to keep themselves busy, but it's hard to shut out the dark thoughts. The other children, Milo and Ella could have been executed by now, for all they know. They spend their days with work - cleaning, guarding, cooking etc. - and they also try to keep Maria busy while they can with games, walks outside and stories from their time. The three of them have grown immaculately close during this new imprisonment, and to the two foreigners it has become clear how much it would pain them if the Romanovs really were killed.
"Apparently, Maria sent a letter to Tobolsk." Ophelia says and sits down on one of the newly made beds. "I hope it reached them."
"Do you think they will come here too?" Theo asks and looks up.
"I hope so. We have a better chance of saving the family and getting home if we're all together."
Theo nods and agrees.
"Milo thinks this will be their last home. It's a very gloomy place to die in." Theo signs.
"Hopefully they won't." Ophelia whispers.
"I don't think we told you this but... Milo doesn't think we can save them all."
"What do you mean?"
"He doesn't think that we can stop the execution, but maybe save those who survive. If we take all of them, it will definitely be noticeable. And it's Alix and Nicky they truly want, it's easier to take the kids and get away with it."
"Hold on, you mean sacrifice?" She stands up in front of him. "We can't leave them there, especially not if they're still alive when we have the chance."
"Of course not, but he thinks we should prioritize the children."
Ophelia looks at Theo with disgust. They're talking about who to save and not to save from murder here. Shouldn't the plan be to at least try to save them all?
"We have to tell them as soon as possible." Ophelia says after a while.
"I agree." Theo signs.
They take each other's hands before Ophelia sits down on his knees. They hug each other for several minutes. no words are needed, their thoughts are transported between them through their breaths and skin. Ophelia feels a tear run down her cheek and sits up.
"We should get something to eat, it's getting late. Follow me."
Ophelia, Theo and Ivan sit in the quiet and empty kitchen. The menu today consists of the cold soup okroshka and water that smells like it has been under the sun for weeks. Okroshka is a very simple meal. Take some raw vegetables, boiled meat, eggs and potatoes and put it in a bowl of cold water and voila! It's rather popular during the summer, and it could perhaps be very tasty. But the lack of fresh ingredients is not giving the soup it's true taste. Sometimes they even have to eat rotten vegetables. It works, but their stomachs are protesting.
Theo has to fight in order to swallow it and he almost throws up each time. Ivan just laughs at him.
"I can tell you haven't fought in the war." Ivan giggles and eats more of his soup.
"What do you mean?" Theo asks, slightly offended.
"I mean, when I was at the eastern front we ate things far worse than this. You would have died before the Germans got the chance to. The food was rotten at least once a week, all you could do was to pray to not get sick."
Ophelia spits out her okroshka as she laughs at Theo's offended face. He looks as if someone took the ice cream from a child. Ivan laughs as well when Theo just sits and looks confused.
"Mm yeah, laugh all you want."
"Come on Theo, it's funny!"
"Ha ha."
"Ivan, I didn't know you fought in the war." Ophelia says when their laughters have died. "What was it like?"
"Well, not for long. I was there for a few months in 1916, but I got shot and was sent back home. After that I got an offer from the bolsheviks to work here."
Ivan puts down his empty plate. Theo puts down his too, but it barely looks like he ate anything at all. "The war is terrible, I hope it will come to an end soon. We spent day in and day out in the trenches. We ate, slept, lived and died there. Sometimes a body could just fall down by your feet and there was nothing you could do about it.
But the worst days were when the rain came. Not only because the smell from the bodies traveled easier, but because the mud grew up to our knees and it was cold, I shall tell you. I'm lucky I still have all of my toes left, many others had to amputate body parts because of the cold. I never thought I would return back home from that hell. When I got shot, I was almost glad about it, because in either way I would be taken away from the front, alive or dead."
"And you still support them? Even though you've seen what their politics does?" Theo asks curiously.
"Support and support, I don't agree with them. But their children shouldn't suffer from their parents' mistakes."
"I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that, Ivan." Ophelia says with a heavy heart.
"It's okay. I just hope it will end soon."
And it will. In just a few months, the war will be over. But if the people inside of The House Of Special Purpose will live long enough to see it is yet to be known.
(Picture: The royal children on their ship The Shtandart before the revolution. From the left: Olga, Alexei, Maria, Tatiana and Anastasia.)