The Tsar's Wife

Midnight Russia

Olive couldn't sleep. Her brain seemed to be picking every little thing it could at the moment to dwell on, and that included bad things as well as good. She had tried counting sheep, as she had heard Miss Peregrine instructing the restless children when she wanted them to fall asleep, but it was pointless. She wondered if this was why Alexei never slept, because his mind was running at the max, but she doubted it. She was laying on her back, staring open wide eyed at the painted ceiling above her. She turned the dim candle beside her so it would cast its ghoulish glow onto the old fashioned pocket watch sitting on her nightstand,  and let out a huff of frustration when it read a quarter after midnight.

She had retired with the rest of the Romanovs at ten sharp, as they always did every night. Her and Alexei had spent almost three hours in the garden, talking about some little things in their lives as well as big things, such as the wedding or their future marriage. Olive loved having those moments to look back on, like a mental photograph. She had a photo of Alexei as a child on her dresser, given to her by Maria who had even went through the trouble of framing it. Maria had whispered that Alexei had a photo of her on his nightstand that Anastasia had snapped without her knowing.

Olive finally gave a huff, and sat up from her bed, pushing the covers off. She couldn't sleep, why stay in bed? She slipped a robe over her thin nightgown, just in case she ran into someone in the hallway, though the only one who would be up was Alexei or Nicholas, but she doubted either of them roamed the halls at night and more than likely sat in their rooms. She opened her door, then quietly mad her way down the dark hall, hearing nothing but a few maids bustling quietly around. She was heading for the balcony, where she had made her quiet escapes from the grand palace walls.

When she opened the doors of the balcony,  which she had some trouble unlocking into the dim light, and stopped when she saw another figure standing at the edge of the balcony. She couldn't decipher who the figure was in the moonlight, but when the figure turned around, she smiled. "Alexei, what are you doing out here?" Olive asked, shutting the balcony doors behind her as she quietly walked toward Alexei, even though the were outside and she didn't have a chance of waking anyone up. Alexei was standing by the edge of the balcony, facing her with a smile." I was going to ask you the same thing." He said, chuckling as she went to lean against the stone with him.

"I couldn't sleep." Olive said, wishing her robe were a bit thicker since it Midnight Russia was excruciatingly cold. Alexei nodded, and Olive knew he understood what she was feeling. "I never sleep that much. I come out here often. " Alexei said, and Olive noted that he was still fully clothed, and hadn't even changed yet. Alexei gave her a strange look, like a cloud passing over a moon, and Olive wasn't sure exactly how to read it. "Your hair..." he said, and he looked a bit shocked. Olive felt confused, why in the world was he mentioning her hair? "What about it?" She asked, squinting her eyes in confusion. Alexei shook his head, smiling.

"Its down. I have never seen you with your hair down." He said, and Olive blushed at the way he was speaking with a warm smile. "Its messy." She said with a rueful smile, brushing her hand over it. Her endless tossing and turning as well as her lack of brushing it had led to it being a tangled mess Tatiana would likely hate her for when she had to brush it out the next day. Alexei shook his head, reaching out to touch the end of her firey red hair. "Its beautiful. " He lamented, and Olive felt her face heat as she chuckled at him. He found the smallest things about her amazing, and she felt the same.

"Your eyes are too." Olive said, looking up at him. She didn't feel very embarrassed to say it, because his eyes did look beautiful in that moment, the moonlight making them a hazy baby blue, while they shone with happiness and love. Alexei's cheeks tinged with light crimson, which was something Olive hadn't really seen from him often. "They're blue. Its a common color." Alexei said, smiling. Olive shook her head, squinting her eyes as she studied his own. "Yours are like a Danish blue... your sisters have them too." Olive said, remembering how well the girls warm eyes went with their beautiful smiles.

Alexei nodded, bringing Olive close to him as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "We get it from Father. He traveled to another country, and several people in the court said his eyes were a 'stunning danish blue that sparkled with the light'. We got his best feature." Alexei said, grabbing her hand. Olive looked down at their intertwined hands, then back up at Alexei. "You know, if we ever did have a child, I'd want it to have your eyes, boy or girl."Olive said, and swallowed heavily after she said it. It was quite embarrassing mentioning them having children, especially when it was just out of the blue like she had put it.

Alexei smiled, holding her a bit tighter. "I'd like that too, with your hair." He said, nodding as if he were thinking it through completely. Olive smiled with him, playing with the metal button of his breast pocket with her free hand. "I'm glad I met you." Olive said softly, and Alexei smoothed her hair down as she rose up to look at him. "I am too, you've caused me a lot of happiness. " Alexei said softly, smiling warmly like she had seen his mother do before. She leaned up, which was a bit hard since he had a great advantage in height on her, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips as she took her hands off the button and around him.

The kiss said so many unspoken words. It told Alexei how much really loved him, which she didn't voice as often as he did but she knew he was sure she did. It told Alexei how scared Olive was of losing him again whether it be to the war, hemophilia, or something she might do in the future. It also told Olive the same things, he didn't want to let her go either, he loved her too much.

I tried to find a good picture of Alexei's eyes, but I couldn't find a good one of them at all. All the ones I found were of a colored black and white photo and his eyes would either look brown, or a very unnatural shade of blue, though his were a beautifully unnatural shade. Nicholas had really pretty eyes, as did all the Grand Duchesses, Olga and Maria especially. I'm not exactly sure what color Alexandra's eyes were, I think they were blue too but they have been brown.. well all the children had Nicholas's eyes. The picture at the top is of Alexei through his life, and he was so adorable when he was little, and absolutely handsome when he grew up. And I haven't thanked readers in a while, so I'm going to do that.  Thank you. Kymatismos for voting and comments, I actually enjoy the comments more than the votes if that is believable lol, and for your knowledge of the Romanovs. And thanks. ltyytl for your votes and comments too, you both have been so very supportive and I'm very thankful.  Thanks for reading guys, I appreciate anyone else who reads this, sorry if I didn't mention you.