The Imperial Revenge

Chapter 10

August 12, 1920

For the last year, so much more had changed. The Reds were slowly taking over more of Siberia and kicking the Whites out. Which meant that Communism was being more preached. I could careless about politics nowadays but there's no denying my family was done wrong.

Things looked up for me however! I was officially walking, I knew how to ride a horse, I knew how to shave nor have I cut myself once! I was also doing a hundred-push-ups and a hundred-pull-ups per day. It was helping me build muscle. I had one-attack earlier this year in my elbow but that only last for a couple of days. Oh! Ilya's sister and her husband moved out of the house and found their own home. Ilya's mother ended up staying with us as well. They let me work at shoe-store and I cleaned shoes. And sometimes, they'd even let me spend the night at their house. Only me and no one else.

Rodion and I were best friends now. We did nearly everything together. We exercised, read books and plays, and we get drunk together at the pub on Saturdays. He was older than me. Rodion was twenty-years-old and probably more handsome than me but our friendship was strong and we were completely honest with each other. I was working in the shop and cleaning a pair of shoes that morning.

"Good morning, Alexei." Ilya's sister said to me as she entered the store.
"Good morning. I've been cleaning the shoes. Is there anything else you'd like for me to do?"
"Could you count how much money is in the box behind the counter? I'm busy with other things."
"Yes, of course." I nodded at her and went back to cleaning my shoes. I felt her hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her. In her other hand, there was a silver-flask with red ribbon around it. I chuckled and took it from her.
"Happy sixteenth birthday. Here's your gift and there's some whiskey in it. You're a man now."

My job was over at 16:00 and I headed home. The walk itself was my favorite part. It was quiet and brought me peace. Ilya's home was too loud for my liking. The grief I felt for my family was over and now the memories I had with them were simply funny now. I remembered the time I slapped Olga across the face. She didn't get mad and instead gave me a talking to like a parent. And there was another time when Anastasia and I smoked cigarettes together while sitting on the Imperial Standart. My favorite memory was Winter 1916. We had all made snow forts and had several snowball fights. I wasn't allowed to ice skate with my sisters but it was much fun to watch them. Tatiana and Maria liked to put on figure skating shows for us. I loved watching them.

"I'm home!" I shouted as I entered the house. I took off my shoes. It was dark and not a single light was on. "Hello?" I said again and walked down the hall. I went into the kitchen to find a note on the table.

Alexei,
We all went to the bar. Happy birthday. Be home soon

I sighed and set the card back on the table. I picked up the oil lamp and lit it with my lighter. I decided that I wanted a hot bath for my birthday so I put a pot of water on the stove and started to boil it. After about twenty-minutes of it at a boil, I carefully carried it upstairs into the bathroom. There was as tiny metal-tub in there and a toilet. There was no sink. There was a water pump outside that was used to brush our teeth but that was it.
I poured the hot water into the tiny tub. I stripped and waited a few minutes for the water to cool off a little bit. When it was finally the right temperature, I got in. I curled into a ball and sat.
For some reason, I was sad. My sixteenth birthday should've been a big deal. Papa and Mama would've thrown a ball and lots of food would've been served. My sisters would've made me cards and insisted I danced with them at the ball. But I was alone with alcohol for my birthday.
Tears started to flood my eyes. I sighed and started talking to myself. "Happy birthday, your Imperial Highness."