The Escape of Tsarevich Alexei
**PROLOGUE**
At midnight, in the Ipatiev House, a merchant's house located in Yekaterinburg, the Romanov family was asleep when they were suddenly awoken. They were told to put on their clothes because they were going to be moved to a safer location due to the chaos that was tearing at the fabric of peace in Yekaterinburg. Alexei, the youngest of the family, got up from the bed and donned on a dark green Russian militayr uniform. His sisters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia put on their gowns and clutched pillows to their chests.
The family was then ordered to go down to the cellar to wait for the truck that was meant to transport them to safety to arrive. Three chairs were brought into the basement in order for Alexei and his parents, Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna to sit. Anxiously waiting, Alexei hugged his father to reduce his nervousness.
After they entered, Yakov Yurovsky entered the cellar with several armed men.
"By order of the Soviet, Czar Nicholas II, you and your family shall be sentenced to death and shot right now for your crimes agains Russia." Yakov announced as he gave a sharp look to the Czar.
Not believing what Yakov just said, Czar stood up to question Yakov's announcement, only to be shot in response by Yakov himself. The action elicited screams of terror from the Romanov sisters as they witnessed their father's brutal demise. Alexandra was shot nex, then the OTMA sisters, and finally, Alexei.
As the murders were carried out, Alexei laid down on the wooden floor and struggled towards his lifeless mother, Czarina Alexandra, who was beautiful, even in death. Yakov approached the young Tsarevich and fired two bullets into his left ear and left him to die.
Alexei was in great pain, until Dmitri, one of the servants, entered the Ipatiev house after buying some food, only to find the Romanovs dead, save one. Dmitri heard breathing and moaning from Alexei and took the boy out of the cellar and ran as fast as he could from the house, hoping that the Bolsheviks would not detect him.
As soon as he knew that he was far enough from the Communist soldiers' line of sight, Dmitri grabbed a potion from his pocket. It was a crystal bottle filled with a glowing white liquid. The potion was kept secret from the Imperial family for a long time, their deaths being the only time to reveal it.
As Dmitri poured the potion into Alexei's mouth, he fervently prayed for Alex to continue to live. His prayers were answered as Alexei's wounds closed up instantly, leaving Dmitri with only the blood to wipe clean from the young Tsarevich.
As he carried the bloodied, pale, and unconscious Tsarevich into a troika carriage, Dmitri drove the carriage through the snowy wilderness of Yekaterinburg, headed for a nearby train station that led to St. Petersburg.
"W...what happened...?" Alexei stammered after regaining consciousness.
He found himself in the middle of the road, en route to St. Petersburg.
"Your highness, you have awakened!" Dmitri said, gladdened by Alexei's coming to.
"Where am I...?" Alexei asked. He continued, "Where are we going...?"
"We're going to St. Petersburg..." Dmitri replied. He continued, "I have a friend from the Americas who will keep you safe from the Bolsheviks..."
"Who is he...?" Alexei inquired.
"Paul Jefferson." Dmitri started his answer. He continued his reply, "He'll provide a ship that will sail to New York from St. Petersburg. But first, we have to get there."
As the sun finally rose, Alexei felt very sleepy, since he was awoke the whole night, witnessing his family's death. Thinking about the incident, it brought a sad face, even a tear into his eye. As the horses were tired galloping across the snowy lands of Russia, Dmitri decided to stop by an abandoned log cabin nearby so he can feed the horses and see if Alexei still had wounds or if he was hungry.
Dmitri took Alexei from the carriage and brought him inside the log cabin. It appeared that no one owned the place.
'God does provide...' Dmitri thought.
"Am I going to stay here?" Alexei asked.
"Yes." Dmitri answered. He continued, "We're going to travel again by night so the Communists will not see us. The trainstation is heavily guarded, so we must rest first, especially you... I will have to find a way to hide your identity."
Dmitri made the young Tsarevich sit down on a chair and proceeded to make some hot soup to keep them both warm.
"I don't know if I'll be able to eat..." Alexei said. He continued, "It's hard to think that I will be living the rest of my life without my family..."
"Come on..." Dmitri responded. He said, "Didn't Czar Nicholas say that you were a brave young man? I hope I can make your papa proud by proving that you can live your life without family."
"I can't do that!" Alexei cried out. He continued, "I have lived 12 years of my life with them! What are you going to do if I bleed?"
"It's okay, calm down..." Dmitri murmured reassuringly. He said, "The soup is almost ready. You have God. Isn't He enough for a protector?"
"Lord have mercy..." Alexei murmured as he made a Russian Orthodox cross sign upon himself.
"All right your Highness, the food is ready." Dmitri said as he served food on the table.
"I didn't know you can cook well..." Alexei said as he ate.
"I am the palace chef!" Dmitri stated. He said, "I cook for you and the Romanovs!"
"Oh..." Alexei responded. He continued, "You were the one who baked the cake."
"Yes..." Dmitri said.
Alexei gave the empty soup bowl to Dmitri as he finished eating. He was then given a glass of water. After he drank its contents down, Alexei returned the cup for Dmitri to wash.
"Just stay here, all right?" Dmitri said. He continued, "You're going to be okay... We'll leave once the sun is down."
He then went outside to wash the dishes using snow, which melted into water.
Alexei laid down on a bed. It was rather hard and dusty, much to his discomfort. Everything had changed for him. Yesterday, he was sleeping in a cosy and warm bed, and now he slept in a back-breaker. His peace was broken as he felt excruciating pain in his leg.
"Dmitri!" Alexei cried out. He shouted, "I think I am bleeding!"
As soon as he heard the word "bleeding" Dmitri immediately ran inside the cabin, only to find a growing puddle of blood in the bed. He was panicking as he did not know what to do.
"Alexei!" Dmitri cried out.
He searched for anything in the cabin to suppress the bleeding temporarily. He found some cloth stored inside a cabinet. Taking the cloth out, he tied it around Alexei's bleeding leg wound. The cloth served as a tourniquet to suppress the hemorrhage.
Alexei was silent for a while.
Dmitri: "Are you alright, your highness?"
"Are you all right, your highness?" Dmitri asked.
"I don't know..." Alexei replied. He continued, "It hurts..."
"You are going to be fine..." Dmitri murmured calmly. He continued, "Don't worry. Just rest for now, and I'll wake you up when it's dark."
Alexei nodded in response. He then tried to get some rest in preparation for the long journey.
After several hours, the sun had finally set as Dmitri watched the sky through the window gradually become darker. He approached the sleeping Tsarevich and gently shook him.
"Your highness, it's time to wake up." Dmitri said to him as he woke the young boy. He then said, "We are leaving."
Alexei got up, rubbing his eyes.
"All right, here's the plan..." Dmitri started. He continued, "I do not want you to look obviously like Tsarevich Alexei."
"I am Tsarevich Alexei..." Alexei responded.
"Not for now, okay?" Dmitri said. He then asked, "Do you want to be shot again?"
"No..." Alexei replied.
"Then you better listen." Dmitri said. He continued, "I am going to dress you in a soldier's outfit. There is a set which I have found a while ago while you were asleep. Better dress up... And this time, I'm going to call you by a different name. You are going to be my son. Your name's going to be Alexander Vasilovich."
"Okay..." Alexei said as he got up from the bed and donned on the soldier outfit Dmitri had obtained.
Dmitri put some freshly baked bread, which he had made himself, into a knapsack, enough for a day or two. After that, he opened the door and placed the supplies in a troika carriage. Dmitri then carried the Tsarevich onto the carriage. Dmitri sat in the front seat and began driving the carriage towards the train station.
"It's so cold..." Alexei said as he shivered.
Dmitri stopped the carriage and wrapped another bear pelt around Alexei.
"Thanks..." Alexei said as he felt warmer.
Dmitri got back in the carriage and continued the travel. As they arrived at the train stop, he stopped the carriage finally and brought Alexei and the supplies down. A Communist soldier spotted them.
"Who are you and who is this kid?" The Communist soldier asked.
"I am Vasil Petrovich, and this is my son, Alexander Vasilovich." Dmitri responded.
"What's your business regarding the train?" The Communist soldier asked.
"I and my son are going to St. Petersburg in order to live a better life..." Dmitri replied. He continued, "It's so cold here in Yekaterinburg and the resources are scarce!"
"Soon, that place will be owned by the Soviet!" The Communist soldier declared.
"Okay then..." Dmitri responded. He then said, "Well, have a good night!"
Dmitri then saw the train approaching the station. As the train stopped, he and Alexei went inside and sat in one of the seats after several Communist soldiers and civilians have exited the train. One of the soldiers wondered why Vasil's (Dmitri) son was walking in a limping manner.
The train started to head to St. Petersburg, the city of Imperial Russia, which was to belong to the Soviet soon after they fully reclaimed it from the remaining supporters of Tsarist Russia.
Alexei had an uneasy inside the moving train, but soon got used to it as the train moved several miles away from the station.
"Are you all right, your high- Alexander?" Dmitri asked, having caught himself in time before he could blow their cover.
"I don't know..." Alexei replied. He continued, "I feel uncomfortable..."
"It's okay..." Dmitri murmured soothingly. He continued, "Daddy's here."
Alexei looked to see a sight that brought him dread, a group of Bolsheviks sitting in the farthest back. Among them was none other than Yakov Yurovsky and his men, responsible for the heartless murder of Alexei's family.
Dmitri made a gesture to Alexei to be extremely quiet.
After 3 hours had passed, the train finally made a stop at St. Petersburg. Dmitri waited for Yakov and his men to get off the train before he could bring Alexei out. When he thought that everything was clear, Dmitri took Alexei's hand and carried the knapsack on his back. They then exited the train and made their way towards the bustling city, heading to the house that belonged to Dmitri's American friend, Paul Jefferson.
As they walked through the snowy and bustling streets of St. Petersburg, Dmitri held Alexei close to him, as a father would his child, preventing him from being touched by any form of harm or malice. As he saw a two-digit number written on the wall of a brick house, Dmitri headed straight there with Alexei and knocked on the door of that house.
"Ah, hello Dmitri." A man by the name of Paul Jefferson said as he answered the door. He then turned to Alexei and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Alexei Nikolaevich, the Tsarevich of Russia." Alexei introduced himself.
"Please don't speak too loud...!" Dmitri said to Alexei in a hushed. He stated, "The Bolsheviks will hear us!"
"Come on in and make yourself at home..." Paul Jefferson said to the two as he took them inside and brewed some English breakfast tea. He said, "So, you want the ship? It's docked in the pier, you can't miss it. It's going to sail by dawn."
"Indeed." Dmitri responded. He then asked, "And about the house?"
"Ah yes, it's ready." Paul replied. He then said, "I am coming with you and the boy."
The three drank some tea and told stories until the time for them to leave Russia had come. Dmitri carried Alexei and placed him inside Paul's car. Paul got into the driver's seat, and Dmitri sat beside the young Tsarevich. They drove towards the harbour, parking near the ship. After they got out of the car, Dmitri, Alexei, and Paul boarded the ship destined for New York City. The ship's anchor was withdrawn, releasing the ship from the docks, beginning its journey through the harsh seas.
In the middle of the journey across the ocean, the ship was caught in a storm.
In the sleeping quarters, Alexei was having a nightmare. He found himself in a peaceful garden, where he was beckoned by his sisters to play. He immediately agreed, which prompted him to get up out of bed and walk towards the deck from the raging storm. In the dream, Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra tell Alexei to jump down into the pool.
A thunderclap woke Dmitri, who realised that Alexei was no longer in bed. He went outside to find Alexei about to jump into the sea. Dmitri quickly caught the boy and carried him away from what would have been his untimely demise. Dmitri brought Alexei back to bed and tucked him in with a blanket.
5 months later...
The ship finally arrived in New York. Alexei, Dmitri, and Paul got off the ship and headed towards the house where Alexei was to be living his life from then on via taxicab. After several hours, the party arrived in the residental area where the house was located. Paul gave Dmitri the keys and bade him and Alexei goodbye, hoping they would have a nice stay.
"Thank you so much for everything, Paul..." Dmitri said.
"No problem and take care, Alexei." Paul responded before he returned to his own apartment in Manhattan.
"So..." Alexei started. He asked, "We're going to live her?"
"Yes, for the rest of our lives." Dmitri responds. He continued, "And whatever happens, I am always here for you..."
He gave Alexei a kiss on his forehead.
"By the way, since we are in America..." Dmitri started. He then continued, "If you want to make some friends... You have to change your name once more. Don't want to stir up the Americans with the news of the handsome Tsarevich surviving the murder and he's here. Your name's going to be Alexander Carson, and you'll use this name forever. Understand?"
"Okay..." Alexei replied.
Dmitri unlocked the door to their new home with the keys he was given. He carried the knapsack, laden with some bread and Alexei's personal belongings and memorabilia of the Romanovs.
As Alexei followed Dmitri inside the house, he looked back to see a woman with ginger blond hair who was hanging some laundry in the sun to dry.
-End-