The Romanov Diary

Chapter forty one

July 27, 1918

"What's on the schedule today?" Anastasia asks.

The six teenagers slept terribly on the hard mattresses. It was warm and smelly inside of the room, and the beds creaked as you moved around. They all have blue rings under their eyes, messy hair and pale skin. Even though their sleep was interrupted by the terrible environment, they still slept better than they did out in the woods. And they're all very grateful for the little things they get.

When they'd all woken up, they left the hotel to find a place where they could eat breakfast. A small park, far away from the attention and hectic crowds on the square, caught their interest. They brought the food which they bought in Perm and took a seat on the green grass.

"Eat, maybe buy some more food and clothes and then take you and your brother to the harbour and get you on the ship." Theo says, mouth full of eggs and bread.

"We still haven't decided who the tickets are for." Alexei raises his hand and says.

"Yes, we have." Ella says and pats Alexei on his back. "You and your sister will leave for New York tonight, we'll stay here."

"But... we can't leave you here alone." Anastasia raises her voice, both scared and angry over leaving her friends, and her homeland.

"We only have two tickets. We didn't save the two of you just to leave you here." Ophelia smiles and looks at Anastasia.

"What if we went elsewhere? We don't have to go to America." Alexei suggests, but Milo unfortunately has to extinguish the boy's hopes.

"Europe is too dangerous for you right now. The war is still raging and the Russian court and government have too many contacts with the rest of the continent. And remember what we said? You two will become more famous because of this, and everyone in Europe will keep their eyes out for you."

"But what if you can't get home? To your own time?" Anastasia asks worriedly.

"We'll figure it out." Ophelia says comfortingly.

But as they look and seem relatively calm, the four friends are secretly all worried about their future. The diary didn't work. They saved two of the Romanovs. But they're still stuck in Russia, over a hundred years back in time. They've all mentally prepared themselves for the fact that they might have to live the rest of their lives here. Get jobs. Work. Maybe find partners. Have children.

And then die.

Their families and friends back in England will never know what happened to them. They will just become another unsolved case among many others.

"Well..." Theo stands up. "The ship doesn't leave until the afternoon and if you look around you'll find yourselves in a beautiful city with loads to see. So why don't we spend our last few hours together exploring instead of sulking here?"

"YES!" Anastasia stands up too. "You are, after all, in the city which me and Alexei were born in. It would be a pity if we didn't get to show you Petrograd before we separate."

"That sounds good to me." Ella smiles.

Milo sighs and stands up as well. "Fine, but we'll have to hurry."

They finish up their meal, pack their bags and start to walk. Anastasia and Alexei lead the way, proudly and happily, as they blend in with other tourists, visitors, workers and teenagers on the streets.

In the early afternoon they stroll down the north of Petrograd, looking for more clothing for Alexei and Anastasia. They will do everything to make sure that the last children of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II will live the rest of their lives in safety.