The Lives Of The Romanovs

The Black Winter

Olga
December 1924

Igor and I had our third child on May 11, 1924. We named him Prince Konstantine Igorovich. However, we called him Kostya. He seemed to have a bit of a darker look to him, much like Igor's brother, Konstantine. Kostya had dark brown-hair and light blue-eyes. And much to our horror, our youngest also carried the bleeding disorder. But on a better note, Kostya's situation was less severe and seemed to heal up easily, much like Lyokha. Oleg and Lyokha we're very curious with their brother and doted on him.

"Jesus, it is really coming down out there." I muttered, looking out the window in my bedroom. Igor was finishing packing his suitcase while his valet finished laying out his freshly ironed coat and black-shoes.

"Frederick, you are excused. Thank you." Igor said to him.

"Very good, your imperial highness. I shall get the valet to pull the car around."

"Very well. Thank you."

"Of course." Frederick muttered. He closed the door behind him. I heard the clicking of the suitcase, and then the hard footsteps. Igor's hands were now on my shoulders and his body was pressed up behind me.

"Are you worried, dear?" Igor whispered.

"Yes, a little bit. I would not want to go out in such conditions. Especially with two toddlers and a six-month old."

"Our chauffeur is a great driver. I believe we can get there safely. Besides, people will have been sweeping the streets all day. Also, we have not seen your family in awhile."

"I know. I know. You are right. I am sure the children are downstairs waiting for us." I turned around and nodded at Igor. Igor gave a weak smile before leaning in and kissing my forehead quickly. He leaned back and chuckled to himself.

"Oleg was so excited last night. He spoke about his undying love for his Dedushka. It reminds me of you when you when we were younger. I remember it clearly. It was 1905 and my brothers and I had visited the palace. At eleven, I had a small crush on Maria and attempted to give her a kiss. But she told me that nice girls don't give soldiers kisses."

I laughed. "Oh! How could I forget that? And you were so happy and prideful that she had mistaken you for a real soldier. You would not shut up about how you were going to be a real soldier once you were an adult."

"Yes, I remember. But I remember that once your father was in the room, you always went to his side. Your Papa always made you happiest."

"Yes...but now you do that for me. You make me happiest." I put my hand on Igor's face. He gave a flirtatious smile and then blushed.

"You see what you do to me? You make me feel like a silly thirteen-year-old boy again."

There was a sharp knock at the door. Frederick opened the door and peaked his head in. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I am sorry for interrupting, but the chauffeur is ready. Nanny Stephanie has put the children into the car already."

I nodded at him. "Thank you, Frederick. We shall be down in a few minutes."

Frederick left the room. Igor gave one more look at me with a cheeky grin. "Shall we?"

Igor and I had our servants take our luggage and we moved into the car. Little Kostya sat in my lap. Oleg and Lyokha sat in between us with Igor at the opposite end of me. Unfortunately, the drive to Tsarkoye Selo was long due to all of the snow and ice on the roads. I made sure to hold my boys close to me as we moved over the roads. The motherly instincts people always talk about are true. I guess I was a little overprotective over my sons.

After more than one-hour, we arrived at the Alexander Palace. Igor and I held our boys' hands as we took them inside and I held Kostya on my hip. Stephanie came and finally took him from me. The doors to the Alexander Palace opened and everyone started moving inside. However, Papa and Mama were not there to greet us. In fact, no one was.

"Excuse me, but where are the Tsar and Tsarina?" I asked the butler as he took my coat and hat from me.

"I am afraid you are the last one of the guests to arrive and could not wait any longer. Prince and Princess Paley have already arrived and are having lunch in the dining hall."

"Oh no! I cannot believe we are late!" I gasped. Once all of our coats and hats were off, we all went over to the dining hall. On our way in, I saw my parents with my sisters and in-laws. Sweet Mashka was sitting next to Papa and Vladimir. She looked over at me and smiled. Once she stood, it became very obvious how far along in the pregnancy she was.

"My goodness! You truly are with child!" I giggled and walked over to her. Maria wrapped her arms tightly around me.

"How are you, Olenka?"

"I am well. I am much better now that I get to see you. I cannot believe we'll get to spend Orthodox Christmas together. We haven't in about six-years."

"I am here now. And I have brought many gifts for everyone's little ones. I am assuming Kostya has been taken upstairs for a nap?"

I nodded at her. "Yes, but you may meet him afterward. How far along are you? I forget."

"Eight-months. We will be back in time to have our child in France."

"Ah, I see. I love speaking, but I am terribly hungry. Let's eat."

Igor and I with our children, sat down at the end of the table. Salad, lamb, and bread was being served. Honestly, having children made anyone hungrier than they had ever been before. Oleg and Lyokha ate their food with no complaints. Unlike many other children, they always are their vegetables and did as they were told.

"It is snowing hard out there. It would not surprise me if we were snowed it." Igor chuckled.

"The groundskeepers and gardeners will be on it in the morning. But yes, it is very bad. This winter is dangerous." Papa sighed.

Anastasia gasped. "Can we go ice skating tomorrow? The ice should be frozen and we can play hockey!"

"Nastya, keep quiet. We shall see." Mama said in a gentle voice. "Besides, Maria and I would not be able to participate in the games."

"Oh yes...that is a little disappointing. I like playing hockey with you all." Maria said in a disappointed tone. Vladimir then picked up her hand hand interlocked fingers with her.

"Then I will not play hockey either. Tomorrow, we will figure out something else to do." Vladimir grinned at her.

"Ew, you both disgust me. You both make me want to vomit." Anastasia gagged.

"You will not feel that way when you fall in love for the first time." Tatiana weakly smiled as she took a bite of lamb. Anastasia sighed and continued to eat her food as well.

I was not sure why, but the rest of the day was rather quiet. Not too much went on and nobody spoke too much. Dmitri and Tatiana seemed to be having a quarrel and barely muttered a work to each other. Vladimir doted on Maria and was willing to do anything for her over this pregnancy. I could just tell how excited they were to become parents. And I was so excited to spend Christmas with my family like this.