Wicked Deceptions - Amy Cecil Page 0,2
realize she is right. We are kindred spirits. She has a special place in my heart, and she always will.
I am Princess Yekaterina Alexandrovna of Russia, and Tsar Nicholas II is my uncle. Anastasia is his youngest daughter and my best friend.
To say our family is privileged is an understatement. When you are part of the imperial family of Russia, all of life’s luxuries are yours. I have so many dresses. I attend the finest ballets and am served the most decadent meals. It is very easy to take this life for granted, and I try very hard to remember that our luxuries are a privilege and they could be gone in a blink of an eye.
While the imperial family benefits from these things, the people of Russia do not. Many have lost everything because Russia has suffered from one revolution to the next for the last ten years. The Russian Empire encompasses many regions, like Poland and Finland. There are many diverse nationalities making up the population. Because of this diversity, these groups want regional autonomy, and thus, Russia has suffered great political conflict over the years.
Our people are starving and homeless, left to fend for themselves in the bitter cold. It makes my heart hurt to think of people in such dire circumstances, circumstances I would not wish upon my worst enemy. My mother constantly reminds me not to take what we have for granted. She tries very hard to teach me humility. She told me once that most of our people will never have what we have: warm clothes, comfortable beds, and abundance of food, not to mention parties and pretty dresses. It makes me so sad. Every day, I wish for things to change for the people of Russia.
Father talks of war and how it always brings change. Unfortunately, my father believes a war will make things worse for our people. I find this hard to understand because it is my understanding that Russia has the largest army in the world. When I mentioned this to my father, he retorts that although our army is large, our poor roads and railways make the deployment of soldiers difficult and, in some cases, almost impossible.
Russia is in a state of unrest. Many of our industrial workforce have been on strike at one point or another, halting production of many necessities. The decline in industry and the lack of food has caused strife among the Russian people, and they blame my uncle, Tsar Nicholas II. If they only knew him. He is kind and loving and only wants what’s best for his people. I realize they do not understand. They do not see that even though he lives behind the palace walls, he suffers the same way they do. They will never know how much he cares for them or how he hurts when they hurt. They will never know how he and my aunt suffer from Alexi’s illness. My uncle is burdened beyond anything I could imagine.
“Yekaterina!” my cousin calls to me again, and I am taken out of my thoughts.
“Ana, I’m coming,” I reply, still a little distracted from my thoughts. Her sisters are always off on their own, and her brother is so sick, sometimes I feel I am all she has. But even though I am nineteen and she is only thirteen, I thoroughly enjoy spending time with her. I make a point to visit and play with her at least once a week, but Father tells me my visits will be ending soon. It is not safe for me to be out on the streets, no matter what time of day it is. Angst and turmoil surround us, and he feels I am safer at home. The very fact I am a member of the imperial family makes me target to the many who resent my uncle.
When I enter the parlor, she cries, “Yekaterina! What took you so long?”
I walk to her and give her a hug. “I’m sorry, Ana. What is wrong?”
“Mama and Papa are crying. They have received horrible news today, and it frightens me.”
I kneel in front of her. “What has happened?” I ask.
“Papa says we are at war with Germany.” Tears well in her eyes, and she says, “What does this mean, Rina? Is my papa going away? Are we all going to die?” Anastasia has always shortened my name to Rina, and thus, I call her Ana. Everything in our lives is so proper, changing our names in a