I'll pretend, I tell myself. Pretending is safer than believing.
It's different now, like pushing the stop lever on my camera until nothing except the war can squeeze through the lens.
We should be used to it, Tatiana reasons. There have always been lines separating us from the rest of the world, whether they were satin ribbons or iron rails.
I wish I wasn't an imperial highness or an ex-grand duchess. I'm sick of people doing things to me because of what I am. Girl-in-white-dress. Short-one-with-fringe. Daughter-of-the-tsar. Child-of-the-...
My sisters and I sit together on a pair of suitcases. If we've forgotten anything, it's already too late -- our rooms have all been sealed and photographed. Anyway, Tatiana would say it's bad luck to...