A.N: Here is the inciting chapter that'll set things for OTMA into motion. If you are interested in more, check out my profile for updates and news on my works! Enjoy.
March 15, 1912
(Maria Nikolaevna Romanova's POV)
I hummed the melody of Ode to Joy by the infamous Mozart, as I painted another peaceful scene of a young woman in a canoe. I stroked, blotted, and swished my brush on the blank canvas. To create something that was a vivid, pretty thing. Like our lives.
Like a smooth river though Paradise, life went wonderfully for all my immediate family, especially for us girls. Mama sometimes complained about headaches, but I had never seen her unhappy or moody so often. Even my eldest sister, Olishka, who had a tendency to snap at us, seemed very happy. For all of us to be happy would be best.
We would all part ways as we grew up, and the thought made me a little sad. I would miss my sisters once they followed their different aspirations. I imagined Olishka could be a good teacher or scientist. And I often imagined Tatya as a head nurse, the queen of a hospital? And Nastya? She might make a wonderful actress or comedian frolicking in the bustling hub of New York City.
I looked out the window for a few moments, gazing at the birds flying outside. Those adorable bundles of colored feathers, flying outside in the sun! They made me think much about how we would grow up. We were still in the nest, but we would fly someday.
And like the birds and all other animals of creation, I would find love. The thought made me blush or giggle a bit. I had never felt such strange feelings or thought such things before. The thought of a handsome young man of good station dancing or spending time with me brought me this feeling…
And I could hardly put it into words.
Whatever it was, it felt right.
It was quite a while until its arrival, but the day of finding my true love was something I looked forward to with eagerness! Perhaps as a Duchess of Russia living abroad, I could find a handsome, dashing nobleman or Grand Duke of Russia? My Prince Charming? No, I knew that everyone had made mistakes. But having their love and support would satisfy this lone heart of mine-
Something tapped gently on the back of my head. The sudden touch made me flinch, dropping my paintbrush. A mistaken mark splatters on the once pristine wooden floor. A noisy clattering of my brush on the floor as it soiled the surface.
"Hello? Is someone home?" the voice of my youngest sister asks in a nasal tone.
The sheer awkwardness of her tone crept into me with the energy of funny. My shock melted under the funniness of it all, and out came a laugh. The kind of laugh that projected across the hall.
And I looked back, seeing Nastya make her best, wrinkly imitation of some old lady's face. And I was gone. My laughter brought me short of breath, as I squinted my already watering big blue eyes.
Somehow, she kept a still face with her gentle smile even as I laughed.
Certainly, she was a natural at giving laughter without catching the laughing bug!
"Mashka? You can stop laughing now, I hear someone coming!"
I widened my eyes wide open! My laughter died down with haste, sputtering into a sigh. Perhaps Mama heard us, judging by the familiar pit-pat of the footsteps.
And my hunch was right.
"Sorry to barge in, my little girlies, but please be quiet. Mama needs her nap," Mama said, her tone almost singsong…
"Yes, Mama," we both said.
Just as quickly as she arrived, she left, returning to her quarters somewhere nearby. We giggled.
"Aw, Nastya, what would I do without you?"
"Possibly become terribly bored."
"Rightly so. And what would you do without me?"
"I… I don't know. Once I grow up and have to marry some nobleman or even some common man, I feel that I'll just live a boring life in the nest."
"Tell me more."
"I'll be bored, trapped in some dull life as some housewife, and not able to do what I enjoy."
Could I have dismissed her heartfelt confessions? No, they were true and sincere. I had to console my baby sister.
"Not at all, Nastya. In fact, I overheard Papa say to Olishka to simply find the right man for her. One that values his love as a whole, and what she does."
My youngest sister sat on a nearby chair in front of our cluttered study desk. She fidgets with a stray lock of her strawberry blonde, almost bronze hair in the spotlight of the sun. Thinking of what would be, and what to say about it.
"You are right, maybe I'm just pondering too much."
"I believe that you will find the right love, baby sister," I replied, my tone soft like Mama's hugs.
And Nastya looked into my eyes with those almost longing cornflower blue eyes. They seemed to burn with confined energy. For she was not only the youngest of us, as she was meant to become something bigger than herself.
"Hopefully. Maybe we should walk outside?"
I glanced out of our bedroom window, seeing a clear, blue sky with scattered clouds among the shining sun. An ideal afternoon.
"Yes, sister!"
Before the old, wooden grandfather clock had elapsed in a minute, we had already gone to the front door. Everything was all part of a dash though our last few years as young girls on the cusp of womanhood, something we felt we were not yet prepared for. Each moment joking or running around the Espe Manorhouse was worth more than gold to us. For every merry thing we did as girls would never return again.
We entered the cozy parlor, where two small, red-cushioned couches rested on the floor amongst lilac blue wallpaper. A painting of Catherine the Great hung high above the right couch.
Descending down the stairs to the parlor floor, we caught sight of our two older sisters entering the room. At once, we stepped downwards with more haste.
"Tatya, Olishka, we will go outside to enjoy the day. Would you two like to join us?" Nastya asked.
They both looked at us, and then glanced at each other.
"Yes, but allow me to tell Papa first," Tatiana replied, then smiling at us.
(Line Break)
We decided to go to the shooting range that laid just behind the nearby grove of trees. We trod upon the same old path that wound through it. I liked to hear and watch the squirrels and birds move about. Everything was so full of life. Every place seemed to have something living. Something really moved me about nature, a vast beauty that God had created. Everything seemed to be living and caring for the other, going together in harmony.
Like the hundreds of strokes that made a painting.
Not long after our outdoors stroll, we came across the firing field. Wooden frames with small, hanging steel plates rose above the grass. Near us, a small wooden cabin stood. Within it, we knew there was a locked chest that only Papa could open, for he had the only key. Also, it had been custom made by a locksmith that Papa knew for years.
"Wait here, I will go fetch the rifles."
And so he did. It was not long before we were aiming our small round hunting rifles at the plates far ahead…
Olishka, ever more the brightest of us, held out her hand to feel the gentle breezes before firing her rifle. With a loud bang, her round bolted across the fifty meters towards its target. We all heard a loud clang.
"DId you hit the center this time?" Nastya asked.
"Maybe. I tried to account for wind currents."
"Well, I think I can hit mine at the center more often!"
"Oh, really?"
Tatiana and I voiced our assent. It would be fun to see who had more good shots.
"You can do it, Olishka!" Tatya said, patting Olishka on the shoulder.
"Go, Nastya!" I shouted.
Papa smiled as he sat on a small boulder nearby, as he sipped from a small canteen he had brought along. He had trained us with guns. The thought of killing someone made us feel uneasy, however…
Another bang blasted me out from my brief train of thought, and I looked away from Papa, seeing Olga and Nastya aiming their rifles side by side.
"I thought you missed by a meter, little sister."
"Oh, shush!"
I giggled, earning me an unimpressed look from my youngest sister.
This would be a fun match between the two better shots out of all of us…
Three firing rounds of the contest passed.
They all felt almost forever, as I sat on a flat rock, watching Nastya closely with much interest for the entire time! It had been a close match!
Papa called time for the little contest. Needless to say, Olishka still won, despite Nastya trailing behind by three misses! Again, my youngest sister feigned displeasure… or maybe she held some slight displeasure. She sat, head facing down, upon a nearby rock. She glanced up at my oldest sister, pouting with those widened Romanovs blue eyes.
Olishka groaned. "Aw, Nastya. The scores were already placed! But you will improve your aim someday, I am certain of that!"
"Thanks, big sister," she said, getting up off the rock as she sighed.
Papa, who had watched us from afar, approached us from the rock. His hunting boots clomped on the hardened dirt path along the firing range. The gentle gusts blew by us. And only then did I realize that we had spent a few hours outside.
The sun had moved in the sky.
"Let's go home, your mother must be a bit worried."
We all followed him home, going over the same dirt path we had travelled a thousand times or so. Again, I admired the natural scenery, enjoying the fresh air. We all walked together as sisters, heading home.
We returned inside the parlor of our home not long afterward.
"Change your dresses, and relax. You all have improved in your sharpshooting. You as well, shvibzik."
Before he returned to his quarters to wake Mama, he gave a soft pat on Nastya's shoulder. And off he went. This left the four of us young ladies to our own.
"So we will take a nap?" I asked, yawning.
"Of course," Tatya said.
(Line Break)
I awoke to the tapping of something on my shoulder, and I groaned softly as I sat up from the covers. I rubbed my eyes, and opened them to see Nastya again. Just the usual.
"Welcome back, Mashka."
I scoffed. "Thanks for the welcome… Is dinner ready?"
"Yes!"
At once, I kicked off the bedcovers, realizing how hungry I was. Without another idle moment, we raced through the hallways and rooms to the small, cozy dining hall. It was a small, red painted room with an old hardwood floor. Only a single electric chandelier hung from the ceiling, glistening a silvery hue. Not much was gold within our home, as Papa had detested imitating the snobbish aristocrats of his homeland. One that he had parted from for many years. But even he could not refuse the beckoning call of family, no?
We stepped inside, seeing the few house servants place portions of food upon our table. There, sitting on the two larger chairs illuminated by the sunset, were Mama and Papa.
Mama, despite her blond hair graying a tad bit, seemed refreshed and as content as ever. Papa, with his brownish stubble, rested his strong arms around Mama's shoulders.
The humming of familiar hymns from the local Lutheran and Orthodox churches we had visited every one or two weeks, all praising the same God. The sounds of Mama and Papa humming assure me and calm my frazzled nerves from my rude awakening.
"Thanks to Nastya, but I can let her frolicking go," I thought.
Once our two older sisters came inside the dining room and sat down, Mama spoke.
"Our little girls… Your Papa has something to tell you."
"What is it, Mama?" Tatya asked.
Mama glanced at Papa.
"Your Uncle Michael and Uncle George have spoken with your grandfather to allow us to visit Russia for two weeks."
At once, all of us young ladies gasped. Surely this had to be a mistake? Our Papa had always been silent of Grandpapa, Tsar Alexander III of Russia! Or had things softened between my Papa and his father?
"Yes, it has been confirmed in a letter from my father. We will visit the Alexander Palace and Livadia Palace, one for each week of our stay. Also, I hear that some of our relatives will be present from Great Britain," Papa said, smiling.
"Will I get to meet my cousins and make plenty of new friends?" Anastasia blurted, then grinning wide.
"Will we be under supervision and guard?" Tatya asked, giving Papa a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, and yes. Do not worry, all of you. Everything has been arranged in advance for the family reunion, including for the Danish king to send us to the Copenhagen Port."
This would be very exciting of all six of us! Perhaps I could find some good company there?