The Tsar's Wife

Stories

Olive was still quarantined in bed the next few days, but her temperature had gone down tremendously and she didn't pass out or fade into unconsciousness anymore. Tatiana of course still insisted she help her with getting dressed and changing, which Olive still needed some slight maintenance with since she still got horribly dizzy whenever she stood up or coughed too hard. Alexandra would come in and read her children's books while she held her hand and rubbed it soothingly, while Anastasia listened on the other side of the bed while she sewed or wrote a letter. Alexei came in occasionally whenever he had a spare moment away from Nicholas's office, but he couldn't even pass the end of the bedframe  because Alexandra insisted that they should take all the care they needed to.

Olive knew he shouldn't even be around her at all, much less in the same room, so she didn't complain once. Whenever Alexei was younger, his nose started bleeding from a cold while he was away at the war front and his entire head had to be suspended in bandages. Olive was quite sure no one wanted to put Alexei through almost dying once again, there was always the chance he wouldn't make it the next time he had a hemophiliac attack. Alexei would quietly listen to the children stories he had probably heard a thousand times before whilst to Olive they were all extremely new. The books of course, were Russian children's tales, so she hadn't heard them before, however some were from Alexandra's childhood and were German.

Tatiana would always listen in while she folded some of Olive's dresses, even though a maid or servant was quite able to do the task. Olive would catch her hiding a smile through a sheet to her bed at some parts, or Maria- who came in a lot during the day, but wasn't in the room as much as the rest of the family-  sigh happily if the story was a romantic one. Olive found that Little Red Riding Hood and Puss n Boots, were Russian folk takes that she was familiar with. It felt silly for an adult to be reading her small children's books, but they helped her feel a lot better and she got to spend some more time with Alexandra. Alexandra's voice was soft and soothing, and she had the same calming affect as Tatiana or Maria, and it made her focus a bit more on the story instead of the pounding and fever overtaking her body.

Today, Alexandra was reading the story Vasilisa The Beautiful, which was an old Russian fairy tale. Maria was sitting at the end of the bed, playing with the lace trim of one of the many pillows on Olive's bed while Anastasia sat with her knees resting on the floor and her arms crossed on the bed, her head resting atop of them. Anastasia had a blank, bored expression on her face as she tapped her fingernails along the wooden frame of Olive's bed. "In a far off Tsardom, there lived a girl that was so lovely she was known as Vasilisa the Beautiful. " Alexandra started, and Maria's face flashed with recognition as she heard the first line spoke, and a smile soon crossed it as well. "When Vasilisa was eight years old, her mother became sick, and there was no cure for her." Alexandra continued,  and Maria's smile faded.

"This part always makes me sad, it reminds me of cousin Elisabeth." Maria said with a little pout, and Alexandra's calm face faltered for a second to be replaced with a grim look. Olive remembered their cousin Elisabeth, she had died of typhoid fever whenever the Romanovs and Alexandra's brother Ernst traveled  to Poland in 1903. Alexei wasn't even born yet, and Anastasia was a small toddler at the time. Little Elisabeth fell ill one day, and was dead two days later, and no one expected the small eight year old to die whenever they traveled to Poland. The small girl's mother didn't even know she was dead until three days after it occurred, when the telegram finally reached her, and she was devastated when she realized she hadn't even got to say goodbye to her daughter. Tatiana had told her that story once, and Olive had almost cried at how tragic the poor girls death was, and how young she was.

Alexandra gave an audible swallow, and her grim demeanor passed as she flipped briskly to the next page. "Just before she died, she called Vasilisa to her bedside and told her: "My dearest Vasilisa, do not weep for me, but listen carefully to my words. I am leaving you this little wooden doll, in which my mother left me; you must never show it to anyone." Alexandra said, the calming nature that had flooded out of Olive had flooded right back like a smooth flowing river. Maria had moved up onto the bed beside Anastasia, and was smiling a bit sadly at the story. Olive hated to admit she had a curious feeling inside like that of a child's, and she wondered why the doll couldn't be shown. " "Always carry it wherever you go, it will help you whenever you are in trouble and comfort you when you have no one to turn to. When you need help, take it somewhere quiet and give it something to eat and it will tell you what to do."

The story was interesting, and Olive felt a bit childish for enjoying them so much. Anastasia however, apparently didn't feel the same way as she was asleep on the foot of her bed, snoring lightly as Maria wrapped strands of her hair around a finger. "Blinking back her tears, Vasilisa took the little wooden doll, received her mother's blessing, and kissed her one last time. Vasilisa was heartbroken when her mother died. She missed her terribly and would spend many lonely night's crying fir her beloved mother, and when she would awake in the morning to discover her mother was no longer with her, she would feel even worse." Alexandra said, turning the page. "She was so sad, she did not think of the little wooden doll for a long time afterwards. One evening when she was thinking of her mother, she put her hand in her pocket and suddenly felt the little wooden doll and remembered her mother's words."

Olive was actually quite interested in the story, and even though Maria had seemed to have heard it a hundred tines before, it must have been a favorite of hers, judging by the smile on her face. "She took some food to her room and fed the doll. As soon as the doll began to eat, its eyes began to shine as if it were human and it came to life. Vasilisa was shocked for a moment but the doll smiled up at her and said" Don't be frightened, Vasilisa do not be sad,for the morning is wiser than the evening. Lie down and sleep,  and tomorrow you will feel much better." Alexandra continued, and Maria smiled. Olive liked these story quite a bit, and was still very intrigued. "Vasilisa felt all her sadness slipping away from her and she fell asleep. After that,  anytime Vasilisa felt sad, she would turn to the doll and then would feel much better soon after." Alexandra said, glancing up at the clock then bookmarking the book with a small piece of silk adorned with the crest of the Tsars.

"And we should stop there tonight, dinner is in an hour." Alexandra observed, glancing up st the clock as Maria sighed and nudged Anastasia awake. Olive felt a bit disappointed they were all leaving,  but they always left around this time. Alexei hadn't visited her today, but Olive knew better than to take it to heart. He was busy with Nicholas at the moment,  and was skipping meals even to get all his work done for the day, so Olive couldn't complain. He would be Tsar very soon, and she didn't want him to be unprepared for ruling the country just so she could force him to sit in her room by the door and listen to the same tales he had known since he was little.

Maria stood up from the bed, a tired and grumpy Anastasia trailing behind her as she walked towards the door. She stopped as she waited for her mother to kiss Olive goodbye on the forehead, and follow her to the door. The three waved their goodbyes,  and left. Before they shut the door, Olive could hear Maria ask, "Do you think Alexei and Olive will have their own story in a book?" Maria aked, and Olive chuckled, shaking her head at the hopeless romantic. Alexandra's laugh sounded from the other side of the door,and Olive could imagine her face as she tried to cover her chortles.

"I don't doubt it, sweet Mashka."

I updated!!! Oh my Lord!!! In sorry I haven't updated as much guys, school started up and I have a lot of stuff to figure out and I also have a few days of evening school because I spilled tea all.over the bus and didn't tell the bus driver (oops). I'm a little busy, but I'll try to get stuff done. The photo above is of Alexandra reading to Tatiana as an infant, which I think was suitable for this chapter, and I mentioned their cousin Elisabeth who died, and I'll insert a photo of them.

That's Olga, Elisabeth, and Tatiana in 1900, three years before Elisabeth died. She was Alexandra's brother's daughter Ernst Ludwig, and died from catching Typhoid Fever while on vacation with her family. The story, will be continued because it is twelve pages and I'm trying to translate it from Russian to English and it takes a long time. Thanks for reading guys!!! I appreciate it so very much!!!