The Lives Of The Romanovs

The Train Ride

Tatiana

Not many of the other Romanov members were going to take part in the holiday to Biarritz, France. Besides my parents, their children and grandchildren, and in-laws; nobody else seemed to really be going. We recently learned that the German royals and Austrian royals did not receive invitations to the holiday. It caused a little bit of gossip, rightfully so. But it was for the best. I cannot imagine how awkward it would be if they came along.

It has been too long since we were on Papa's imperial train. We have not needed to take a ride on it since 1916, which was more than a decade ago. All of the children seemed to love it and could not stop staring at the window. They counted the farm animals they saw and waved at nearly every person. Igor and Olga took the opportunity to take a nap. Anastasia and Vladimir went to drink tea together. Papa and mama were speaking with imperial officers while relaxing. Dmitri also went to take a nap, and I wanted to as well, but I could not fall back asleep. I still with the children and their nannies as we all start out the windows.

"I see a cow! Mama, look!" Baby Irina gasped pointed out the window. "It is adorable! Can we buy a cow?"

"Oh, child. You already have a cat and a pony. Anything else would mean you were spoiled."

"Yeah, Baby Irina!" Lyokha laughed and stuck his tongue out at her. Baby Irina rolled her eyes at him.

"Boys are awful, especially ones named Lyokha!"

I put my hand on Baby Irina's shoulder. "Now children, behave yourselves. If you are not kind to each other, then I have no choice but to make all of you take a nap. Do you wish for that to happen?"

"No." The children said in unison.

"Then be kind." I nodded. There were more moments of silence. We had only been one hour into the train ride, but I felt that we were all already so bored. The only things to do with sleep, knit, or read. And the children are going to complain toward the end. The young boys were all sharing a room and the girls are all sharing another. it was going to feel rather crowded on the train. We were not going to arrive to France for another three-days.

"I wish Paul was able to come with us. Perhaps we could buy a gift from Biarritz and send it back to him." Kostya weakly smiled.

"Oh, my dear nephew. That is an excellent idea. I do not see why we couldn't go shopping."

"There is already a hotel for royals in Biarritz. Why did Queen Mary feel a need to have a castle secretly constructed?" Oleg asked.

"Because it was a gift to her husband."

"Yes, I know. But I still do not understand. They spent so much money on a castle they will only use once a year. That seems like such a waste. When I become Tsar, I would never make such foolish decisions."

Baby Irina scoffed. "That means you should sell Livadia Palace. We only use that one here, you idiot."

"Irina Dmitriaevna! I just said to be kind to your cousins. Stop being rude."

"I am sorry, Mama."

I heard loud footsteps coming down the hall. Papa was walking in his boots with a wide smile on his face. He came up to us and kissed my cheek. He then bent down and took Nicholas from Stephanie's arms. He placed the little one on his hip.

"Have we seen any neat animals?" Papa asked the children. Baby Irina gasped and turned around.

"Yes! A lot of cows and horses!"

Papa chuckled. "You truly do look like your father. You have his spirit and his large brown-eyes. Well, if you like the cows, we should buy you one."

"See, Mama!" She exclaimed. "At least Dedushka loves me!"

"Papa, you should not tell her that. She will become terribly spoiled. And she is already spoiled by her Papa."

"I am her Dedushka. It is my job to spoil her and go against her parent's wishes." Papa laughed. I laughed and rolled my eyes with him. " I thought I should let you all know that by at least tomorrow afternoon, we should be in Belarus. And by the end of tomorrow night, perhaps Germany. It just depends on any stops we may have along the way. But we are moving at a very fast pace, so I am hoping we get to Biarritz quickly."

"We should stop and take photos tomorrow! It will be nice to look back at after the Summer." Baby Irina smiled.

"Very well, then. You children should go to your rooms and play with your toys. You will get lightheaded if you stand for too long."

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Lyokha laughed. All of the children giggled and took off. Papa handed Nicholas back to Stephanie so the nannies could follow the children. Papa and I exchanged looks as we started walking together.

"You should take a nap, dear Tatya."

"It is alright. If I take a nap now, then I shall not be able to sleep later tonight."

"Then you should join your Mama with the officers. Or Anastasia and Vladimir with their tea time."

I smiled. "Black tea sounds nice. Perhaps I will join them. But Papa, could we stop in the south of Germany to take photos? That is a nice area."

"Unfortunately, it is not so much anymore. With the financial crisis and the rise of the Nazi party, there could be much tension."

"But the Nazis cannot be so awful. Their leader, oh what was his name...I cannot remember. But he said at one point that he would like to bring Kaiser Wilhelm back to Germany. Which would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"I still care for Willy deeply, but we see where is loyalties lie. It is best he stays in The Netherlands. And as for the Nazis party, who knows what shall happen in the future with them. Let us worry about Russia."

"I agree. Alright, I will join my sister and brother-in-law. Thank you, dear Papa." I leaned down to kiss his cheek. I walked away from him and went on with my day.

The rest of the day was decently easy on the train. For dinner, there was a Turkey, borscht, Olivier, and bread. The children would stop speaking about their love for the train and how they were going to draw pictures of the train and the fields. Later on in the night, we all played a game of hide-and-seek. Though, there were not many places to hide. It was rather disappointing. After that, we said our prayers and retired to our beds.

I laid in bed and read my book. Dmitri was still changing into his pajamas and rambling on about random subjects.

"This train is crowded. It is making me very frustrated." Dmitri groaned.

"Then perhaps you should jump off." I muttered to myself. However, he must have heard it. Dmitri scoffed at me and crawled into the bed.

"That was such a witty remark. You clearly have been spending too much time with cousin Anastasia. Tatiana, do not do anything to embarrass me in France. I must look good."

"You always look good, my dear. And standing next to me, you look even better."

Dmitri snickered. "You know how to make me laugh, Tanya. Goodnight."

He turned the lights off, which meant I had to stop reading. I put the book on the nightstand. I laid back in the bed. No matter how much I tried, I could not fall asleep. So many thoughts ran through my mind. How was Anton doing? Was he happy? Was Rebecca with child yet? He seemed to be the only thing on my mind anymore. But wherever he was, I hoped he was happy. And I hoped God would allow us to meet again someday.