Saving the Romanov family #14

ГА РФ, ф. 683 оп. 1 д. 125 л. 14

Murmansk, July 1918

Woke up one morning to discover an insignia of Anastasia's regiment, the 148th Caspian Infantry, on my shoulder sleeve. Anastasia took my jacket while I was asleep and sewed it on. It bothered her that we have no insignias, so she made me a soldier of her regiment, affectionately calling me her darling Caspian. The actual regiment was disbanded after the revolution. Still, I won't disappoint her.

We've split into two groups. Aragorn believes he can rescue the other Romanov relatives in Petrograd, but he needed Master Chief and Geralt to go with him. It was a risky operation which I reluctantly agreed to. They were joined by Sergei Mikhailovich, Vladimir Paley, Ioann Konstantinovich and his brother Konstantin. Ioann's brother Igor stayed with the convoy because of his fragile health. After the convoy reached the outskirts of Arkhangelsk, the rescue party headed off to Petrograd, into the lion's den.

I warned the refugees about the deadly influenza pandemic before we entered Arkhangelsk. The city was bustling with Allied and White Army troops. We left our vehicles behind when we reached the port, using them to barter for passage across the White Sea. After crossing the sea by boat, we got on a train to Murmansk, finally getting there at dusk. The train station was guarded by the Finnish Legion, a Royal Navy unit composed of communist volunteers. It was only because I was in British Army uniform that they didn't detain Nicholas and Alexandra.

The admiral of the British North Russia Squadron has good relations with the Murmansk Soviet and he preferred to keep the peace by refusing to help the Romanov family. His priority was to defend Murmansk from the German-backed White Guard, hence the Finnish Legion. He gave his word that they won't harm the Romanov family, but I'll be keeping an eye on them. There has also been no word from the king, thus we're stranded in Murmansk unless we can find a ship that will take us abroad. With potential hostiles in the town and my companions away, I supplied Igor with ammunition for his rifle and gave Olga my M1911 pistol. I told her to be careful with it. Hopefully she won't need to use it.

Once the refugees had settled into temporary accommodations, Igor took the first watch while Tatiana and I went to have a look around. She's elated to see the sea again, something she'd missed so much in captivity. Alexandra and Alexei's health have improved both physically and mentally since leaving Ekaterinburg. Tatiana fears I may have burdened her family with a debt they can never fully repay. I'm just glad she's happy. On the way back to our lodgings, I lifted Tatiana off her feet and carried her the rest of the way. She's never looked at me with a blush before. I would've locked eyes with her too if only I didn't have to watch the road. Her life was in my hands.