The Last Romanov (Under Editing)

The Figurehead

Sasha just kind of sat there in silence for a few seconds, staring at the woman that had become the heart and soul of that revolution. He remembered seeing him back when that whole incident right outside the hospital happened, when she'd stood up from among the crowd and ordered the people to fight. That defiant act had inspired hundreds of thousands of people, that day. It had inspired him a little bit, even. She'd seemed to be every bit like her husband had been: strong, stubborn, more than a little ambitious.

Now, though? She just looked... tired. So, so tired. Her eyelids were drooping, her clothes dragging down a frail body. The eyes that had once held the revolution now seemed dead. It hadn't been that long since that incident in the square, when those soldiers opened fire on civilians, but she already seemed like she'd aged by twenty, thirty years.

Was this even the same woman he'd seen, before?

"Sasha Kozlov: Nadezhda Krupskaya," Artturi introduced them. "Your roommate, for the foreseeable future."

"No more than a few months," Kominski said. "I'm not sure that anyone at this church has the energy to continue to deal with... all of this."

"Pleasure," Nadezhda said quietly, shaking his hand. "And don't worry, Father: I wouldn't dream of staying here any longer than you'll have me." She looked down at Sasha's leg, frowning. "What did you do to your knee? It looks awful."

"Yes," Father Kominski muttered. "What did you do to your leg? Please enlighten us."

"He got shot," Arttüri said. "And before you ask a question you already know the answer to, yes: we are bringing another fugitive to you. And I know you'll feel bad if you don't accept, so we'll just go ahead and skip that part about Christian goodness and such."

Kominski glared at Arttüri for a few seconds, then began to go back up the stairs, muttering something under his breath.

"What are the odds that they're going to find us down here?" Sasha asked Arttüri before he could follow Kominski up the stairs.

"Not very good, I think," Arttüri said.

Sasha gave him a look.

"And yes: I probably am being a little optimistic about this," Arttüri said. "I don't much like being pessimistic: it makes me sad."

He went up the stairs before Sasha could ask him any more questions, leaving him with Nadezhda.

"Come on," she said. "Let's take care of that leg."

Sasha followed her, a tad hesitant.

"D-do you know how to do that?" Sasha asked as he limped behind her.

"Perhaps not as well as an actual doctor, but... I'd think that having some sort of care would be better than no care," Nadezhda said as she led him to a set of cots by the wall. "Sit down; let me have a look."

He obeyed, rolling up his pant leg with a wince.

Nadezhda winced when she saw it, too. "How have you been able to walk on this leg this whole time?"

"That bad?" Sasha asked.

"It's a bullet wound," she said bluntly. "Of course, it's bad."

Sasha didn't say anything to that: she had a point, after all.

"You think you can do anything about that knee?" Sasha asked, shifting in his seat as she continued to inspect that knee of his.

"I... wish I could answer that in a positive way," Nadezhda said honestly. "Like I said: I'm not a doctor. I'd like to think that I know enough to keep it from getting infected, though." She got up and walked over to her cot, where a canvas bag that looked older than Sasha sat. When she started digging through it, he saw that it was filled with all sorts of medical supplies. But mostly bandages. "Do you think doing stitches is like sewing?"

Well, that wasn't unnerving.

"No," Sasha said as Nadezhda, to his horror, pulled out a pair of bandages and what looked like a sewing kit. "No. Nonononononononono-"

She gave him a look. "You've been in prison for sedition, and you're afraid of a needle?"

"It's not the needle I'm afraid of," Sasha said quickly. "It's what that needle might do if it hits the wrong spot. I mean, you aren't even a doctor, and I haven't even had a sip of anything that might make this bearable-"

"Will you sit still for this if I go and get you a nip of something?" Nadezhda asked.

"I'm... guessing that I'm going to need a little more than a nip of anything that's down here," Sasha said. "He's just got sacramental wine down here, right?"

"I didn't say I was going to take things from Father's stash: we've taken enough from him, already," Nadezhda said as she pulled a bottle of vodka out from the bag. "Should I pour some of it on your knee, or do you intend on just drinking this?"

Sasha frowned. "Why would I want to pour it on my knee?"

Nadezhda sighed, looking down at the bottle with a sad look on her face. "Vladimir took me to... one of those films at the fair. You know: the ones in the tents that you pay a couple of kopeks for? The one we saw was about some sort of farmer... I think they call them cowboys in America. They poured alcohol on a bullet wound he had." She smiled sadly. "I still can't believe I got him away from his business that long. My Vladimir... he was always so busy."

Sasha winced, and it wasn't because of the knee. This woman really had lost quite a bit to this, hadn't she?

She handed him the bottle of vodka.

He gladly took it and began swigging while Nadezhda got the needle ready. "How much do you think this is going to hurt?"

"I... don't know," she said. "Considering the way you hurt your knee, though, I'd imagine you'll barely feel it."

She got the needle ready, bringing it right to his injury. "Ready?"

He took three more swigs of vodka and prayed that he wouldn't throw it back up on her. "Ready."

She took a deep breath. "Well, here it goes."

Sasha couldn't remember the last time he'd prayed so much for another human being in his life.

----------------------------------------------------

Hello, everybody, and happy Wednesday! I hope the week has been treating you well, so far.

Now, I don't have any housekeeping items, so we'll get right to the dedication. This one's going out to one of the newest members of the "The Last Romanov" family, KrazyKenzie ! Thank you for your support, mate :D

As always, be sure to vote and comment, and we'll see you next week with another exciting chapter of "The Last Romanov" :D