more casual way gives us a bond. It reminds us we are just people, like everyone else. If only everyone outside our family would see that. Humility.
My heart sinks at the news. “It means, my dear one, that our lives are about to change drastically.” I know what this means for our country and our family, so I am scared too, but I do everything in my power so that she doesn’t see it. She is too young and doesn’t understand the ramifications of this news.
When the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated several weeks ago, Father talked of imminent war. He was certain, insisting their assassination opened Pandora’s box and it would be years before it closed again. I tried to convince myself it would not come to what he said, but I knew deep down in my heart he was right. Papa is always right about these things. And if one just steps back to look at the chaos in the world right now, they will see it too. Countries are pitted against each other, trying to gain more power. Leaders are fighting against their own families. Revolutions and poverty have struck more countries than Russia. How will we all ever survive?
I try my best to not let Ana see my worry. I put my arm around her and say, “You must run along and be with your parents. They need their children with them, and I must go home. My parents need me to be home, knowing I am safe as well.”
“But, Rina?” she asks in protest. “I’m scared, Rina. Please do not leave.”
“Do as I say, please. I must return to my family as well. We should be with our families at a time like this. Now run along.”
She scowls at me. “But you’re my family!” she cries. I love her to pieces, but she can be so stubborn. As my father would say, there’s a Romanov for you. I know she doesn’t understand the gravity of what has happened, and I realize I have to be more hardhanded with her.
“Ana, you know what I mean. Now do as you’re told,” I say sternly.
She pouts and turns to leave. At least she listened this time. I call for my coat, hat, and gloves and ask to be taken home. I’m afraid of what I may find when I get there, but I know it is the safest place for me.
On the carriage ride home, there is chaos in the streets—more so than normal—so I am sure word has gotten out about the war. People are shouting and chanting, while others are throwing things and fighting in the streets. The Russian Imperial Guard is trying to police the situation, but it is absolute pandemonium.
I close my eyes and try to remove myself from it all when something hits the side of the carriage. I open my eyes and find two men trying to stop the carriage. One man tries to reach inside but then I hear gunfire. The man releases the carriage, and it suddenly speeds up, and we are taken away toward safety. Did the driver kill that man? I look out the back to see if I can tell, but we sped away so fast, all I see is a mob of people who have gathered round. My heart is racing, and when the carriage pulls up to my home, I expel a breath of relief. I try to regain my composure. You are home safe. Now be brave your family.
I rush into the house and remove my coat, hat, and gloves and give them to Leonid. “Where is Mama and Papa?” I ask him in a rush.
“They are in the drawing room. They received news—”
“I know,” I say as I run off to find them. Just as Leonid said, my parents, along with my older brother, Mikhail, and my grandmother, are in the drawing room talking of the war. “Yekaterina! You are finally home,” my mother exclaims. “I was beginning to worry for you, my child.”
“Yes, Mama, I am safe at home. There are more important things to worry about than me.” I decide not to tell them about what happened on the way home. If I did, they would lock me in a cage, and I wouldn’t get to go anywhere. I turn toward my father and say sadly, “I heard the horrible news, Papa.” I rest my hand on his arm. “Is it true?”
He looks over at me,