The Lives Of The Romanovs

The Forbidden Child

Maria

A week has gone by since the Great War ended. Papa made a speech to the public about this victory and how he wishes to help them in the Spanish Flu pandemic. Money has been put in for more medical supplies and surgical masks for everyone to wear. Olga and Tatiana have decided to keep their nursing jobs at the military hospitals and have promoted people to start wearing masks in stores and at large gatherings. As for Nastya and I, we have decided to start a charity together for those who were hurt financially during the war. We were still figuring it out and how exactly we would distribute money and how much, but it would do well for Russia.

Papa, Mama, my siblings, and I sat at lunch. There was salad with cucumber-dill sandwiches for each of us. Very popular over in Great Britain. Papa sat reading a letter with a stressed look on his face.
"Papa, whatever is the matter? Is that a letter from Kaiser Wilhelm?" I asked him.
He looked up at me and shook his head. "No, not him. It's from your cousin, Vladimir."
"Oh? Which cousin is that?"
Olga leaned over to me. "Our cousin, Vladimir Paley. He's Uncle Paul's son." I furrowed my eyebrows. I was never close to Uncle Paul. All I know is that he's Dmitri's father and he abandoned him when he was a young boy. Uncle Paul married a commoner woman and moved to France.
"I didn't realize he had a son besides Dmitri."
Papa moaned and sipped his tea. "'Apparently, he's saved three of his comrades from gunfire during battle. He's in the hospital because he was shot in the shoulder blade. Vladimir says, and I quote: "I know you must strongly dislike me because of my different upbringing and my father's bad deed of marrying someone beneath him. But, your majesty, I would love to meet you before I return to France. Yours truly, Vladimir Paley."' Papa gave a stern look at Mama. She groaned and spun her spoon around in her tea.
"I have also heard the Vladimir is quite the revolutionary. He has openly spoken out against antisemitism and how the rich need to help the poor more often."
Anastasia shrugged. "What's wrong with that? People should be helping each other more often."
"I agree." I nodded. "So Papa, what will you do? I believe you should come let him stay. He's technically family."
"I am going to have to agree with Mashka on that one. If he is a bully, we can ask him to leave and not come back." Olga agreed. Papa sat for a minute, thinking about it. He's strongly against morganatic marriage, like most royals. I personally thought it was so very romantic that some people are willing to sacrifice everything to be with someone they love. Like Uncle Misha and his wife, Natalia. I had never met her and everyone in the family hated her. But where did we have room to judge her at all?

"I shall tell him that he may come stay with us here at Alexander Palace, but only if Dmitri agrees to come along too." Papa stretched by tilting his head to each side. "I should request Igor as well. We haven't seen him in such a long while."
Mama smiled. "Oh, I'd love to see him again. Alexei, I'm sure you want to see cousin Igor, don't you?"
Alexei grinned and nodded quickly. "Yes, I have the best times with both Dmitri and Igor. Papa, please invite the three of them here!"
"Well alright, I see no harm in it. I mean, Vladimir is a war hero after all."
"I don't understand though," I interrupted. "Didn't Uncle Paul move back to Russia in 1914? Why is Vladimir retuning to France?"
Mama shrugged. "Because even though he loves Russia, his home is France. He's an adult so he may do as he pleases."
"Is he handsome?" I mumbled, hoping Papa and Mama wouldn't hear me. But they did, and they both shot stern looks at me. Tatiana joined my parents in their stern looks but my other three siblings quietly snickered at my comment.
"Well, cousin Dmitri isn't a poor looking boy. Maria Pavlovna is a beautiful young woman too. I think that gives you your answer, Mashka." Olga smirked and took another bite of her sandwich.
"Olishka and Mashka, stop." Mama barked at us. That made the room fall into silence.

Anastasia and I sat in our bedroom that afternoon discussing the charity situation. We had written down some ideas and we were planning on writing a letter to Prime Minister Golitsyn. He would have more experience in helping the Russian people.
"We could start off by calculating how we can give a relief fund do those effected by the war. But first, we should do a deed to show how the 'Little Pair Charity' can help people." I sighed.
Anastasia nodded in agreement. "Why don't we help set up different soup kitchens around St. Petersburg?"
"Yes, that's a nice idea. We could also help provide clothes for those who couldn't buy any during the war. The little five-year-old children from 1914 are now nine and probably can't fit into those old clothes."
"You make a valid point, Maria. Oh, perhaps we should also seek help from Olenka. She would know how to help." Anastasia groaned and threw her head back in annoyance. I stared at our sheet of ideas but I couldn't think of how to help the Russian people at all.
"I suppose we could always take a break, but we have some ideas."
"Mashka, you do know what it means now that the war is over?" Anastasia propped herself back up and raised her eyebrows at me. I shook my head in confusion. She rolled her eyes. "Papa and Mama are going to push for us to start looking for men to marry. Do you remember what it was like for Olga and Tatiana before the war? How we had so many different princes here at the palace and how we traveled to Romania?"
I chuckled. "Well, how could I forget? Prince Carol looks like a mouse and wouldn't stop flirting with me. There was absolutely zero chance of Olga marrying him. But there is a chance of a match between Alexei and Princess Ileana. Oh, she was an adorable little thing last time we saw her."
"Yes, her and Alexei had great fun with each other." Anastasia grinned. "Well, Alexei has Ileana then. That's one down, four to go. Tatiana has Dmitri Pavlovich so that just leaves three. Olga thinks she really has a chance to marry Mitya, but we'll leaving crushing her dream to Papa. You can marry cousin Dickie in England and I'll marry...someone."
I made a disgusted face at her. "Oh Nastya, I do not wish to marry Dickie Mountbatten. We were just children when we last met. I'm sure there's another woman who he has actually swept off her feet."
"Why? You don't want to be Lady Maria Mountbatten?" Nastya laughed. I picked up the pen from off the table and chucked it at her. It only his her in the shoulder so she continued to laugh.
"You're such an idiot, Nastenka."
"Maybe but at least I'm not a suitor for Dickie Mountbatten."
"Ah don't jinx it." I smirked. "You two aren't that far apart."
"That's fair. But I think you have taken an interest in Vladimir Paley instead."
I scoffed. "No Nastya, I have not taken an interest in him. I was just curious about who he was."
"Alright then, we can make a bet. When Vladimir comes here to Alexander Palace, you have to promise you won't flirt with him. If I win, I want a foot massage for an hour long." Anastasia smirked. I smirked back at her and chuckled.
"Fine. But if I win, then I want you to tell me who you have a crush on."
"That's it?"
"Yes?"
Anastasia spit on her hand and held it out to me. "Deal."
"Nastya, that's so gross!" I shrieked at her. She wiped her hand on her dress. I calmed myself down and tried to get that image out of my head. "Anyway,  you have a deal."