The Imperial Revenge

Chapter 7

November 11, 1918

It was already snowing and absolutely freezing in Tomsk. We all raced to prepare for the winter. Everyone chopped wood, went to look for meat from different farms and markets, and went to find vegetables. But that was the problem. Everyone was hungry. From what I heard, everyone in the bigger cities were starving to death and dying from disease. There was a major shortage of everything. And according to the newspaper, the Tsar had been killed but the rest of the Romanov family was moved into exile. Which made me very angry. How could they tell such a vile lie?

On a positive note, it seemed we were days away from the Great War being over. The thought of our economy and government being rebuilt was wonderful. Perhaps I'd be able to get on a train and go to Denmark or take a ship to England? My relatives would be thrilled to see me. Until then, I was here. Timofey taught me how to work my own crutches.

I sat on the sofa reading "Anna Karenina". It was a personal favorite of my sisters. I remembered when Anastasia, Olga, and Maria acted out a scene from the play for the family and officers. We laughed and cheered it had been so adorable! Anastasia was quite the actress and would've been great in silent films!
"That book is very girly, Alexei. You should be reading a man's book?" Ilya said and sat down next to me.
"And you should be worrying about yourself. Haven't you read Anna Karenina? It's a marvelous play."
"You know, I have not. It simply seems very girly. Do you want a smoke?" Ilya asked, holding a cigarette in his hand. I took it from him and put it between my lips. He then lit it for me. I continued reading as everyone hustled throughout the house. Ilya's sister sat the sofa with the two of us.

"Ilya?" She asked in a sassy tone.
"Yes?"
"As much as I love seeing you, when are you leaving? You certainly can't live here forever."
"Of course not. We're going to wait until  Summer 1919. And then, we'll move to St. Petersburg or Petrograd. Whatever they call the city these days, we're going to move there. We shall continue the crime there."
I started laughing and took a long huff of my cigarette. Ilya made a digested look at me. "What's so funny, Savenkov? You better not be laughing at me."
"Man, would it kill you to simply have a regular job? The only serious thing about your life is the prison time you'll receive if your arrested." His sister and I started laughing. Ilya rolled his eyes and stormed off. I went back to reading.
"You're handsome." His sisters grinned.
"Oh, thank you." I replied.
"No, I mean it. Most men don't look like you. Brown-hair, light blue-eyes, and such porcelain skin. You'll be handsome when you become a man."
"I appreciate it. Let's hope I live long enough to become a man."

More time went by. A large blizzard had started and we rushed to start a fire at the fireplace. But even that simply wasn't enough warmth for the house. Dinner was the bigger problem. There was a steak we could make but would probably only feed three people. We had several sacks of potatoes and we could boil some of those. This Winter was difficult and would only become more difficult from there.

The front door burst open and Ilya's brother-in-law came in with a giant smile on his face. He kicked his shoes off and hung up his coat. He ran over to Ilya's sister and hugged her tightly.
"Dear, what's going on?" She asked
"May I have everyone's attention! Everyone, the war is over! The Germans surrendered! We've won! We actually won!" He yelled. I started squealing and clapping. Everyone was hugging each other and screaming with joy. Ilya stood up in a chair with a bottle of vodka.
"Everyone! Let's get drunk!" He screamed. People in the room cheered and started retrieving glasses. I watched everyone's happiness. The Great War was over. That was relieving, of course, but what about the war here in Russia? The war between the Reds and Whites was still outrageous. The Whites had control over Tomsk and there hadn't been a lot of war here. Hopefully, this was a new start for a better life.