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Interlude

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Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar)

To: Tatiana, by the Grace of God Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod; Tsarina of Kazan, Tsarina of Astrakhan, Tsarina of Poland, Tsarina of Siberia, Tsarina of Tauric Chersonesus, Tsarina of Georgia; Lady of Pskov, and Grand Princess of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Finland; Princess of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Bielostok, Karelia, Tver, Yugor, Perm, Vyatka, Bogar and others; Sovereign and Grand Princess of Nizhni Novgorod, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Jaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav, and Ruler of all the Severian country; Sovereign and Lady of Iveria, Kartalinia, the Kabardian lands and Armenian province: hereditary Sovereign and Possessor of the Circassian and Mountain Princes and of others; Sovereign of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, and Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth . . . 


X X X


My Dearest Tatiana,

Oh, my darling girl. Words cannot express the sorrow and pride in my heart. When I received the news about your poor parents, sister, and brother, I confess that my own breath nearly stopped. I wept for three days, unable to rise from my bed for the thought of my poor, poor Nicky.

And yet, within the storm of my grief, there remained a kernel of hope and pride in my heart. For the very messenger who delivered the sad news of your parents’ murder informed me that you had been saved! You, Maria, and Anastasia yet live by the miracle of God’s grace and the bravery of our Russian patriots. I have been told that you have been crowned with a helm of war, and that even now you shoulder these burdens for which you were never prepared.

Darling, shall I come to you? The Hun surrounds us here in the Crimea, but I am certain I can find a way if you need me. I have nothing but faith and pride in you, my dear one, but you must know that this role you have so bravely stepped into is an extraordinarily difficult one.

What I shall write to you now brings me great pain, but you need to know it. My son, your beloved papa, knew he would one day become Tsar. He was raised with the knowledge from birth. My husband and I—indeed, our entire household!—did our best to prepare him, to train him for the burden of leadership. We had great hopes, but ultimately, we failed. We failed Nicky, and we failed Russia.

For my son was not prepared for the life he was fated to lead. He was not strong enough, decisive enough. He was too concerned with minute affairs and too focused on the intense love he bore for his family. Your papa was the very best of fathers, I cannot deny that. But the traits that served him so well in fatherhood were ultimately his downfall as a ruler.

My dear, you must understand, my heart has been shattered, and to write this to you, so bluntly, so cruelly . . . it takes the shattered pieces and burns them to ash. But it must be written, for you must know. You must understand, as your father did not, that if you wish to survive . . . the crown must come before all else. You shall marry, and may it praise God bear healthy heirs, but you must cleave to the throne of Russia before all others. Your first obligation has to be there. Your father loved your mother above even his own life. He was blinded to anything but her happiness, and that blindness ultimately killed them both.

You must be strong, my Tatiana. You must be stronger than poor Nicky, than your poor sickly mother. You are an intelligent girl, and you will need every bit of that wit to see you through to the days ahead. Choose wise advisors and listen to them, but you must never, ever forget who you are and what you have now become.

With the greatest love, I remain your loyal subject,

Maria Feodorovna

Dowager Empress of Russia


P.S. Please pass to your rescuers and, especially, their commander, my personal gratitude for the safety of yourself and your sisters.




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