In the Shadows of an Evening

A figure silently slipped through the servant quarters in the pale moonlight. Though it was only early evening, the sun had set long ago in a blazing glory and the sky was a midnight blue in its absence. Despite the utter silence that penetrated the halls in the east wing, the shadow knew there were festivities in another part of the palace which he would soon be a part of.

"Dimitri!"

"Ahhh!" The boy stumbled backwards as the voice shattered his quiet escape. He reached for the closest object at hand and held it in front his shut eyes.

"Are you planning to tickle me to death?"

Dimitri opened his eyes. He was holding a rather large goose feather that he had plucked from an Eurasian ornament. He looked up with large eyes and sheepishly grinned as he placed it back to its original position.

"And where might you be going, young man?"

Though Madame Horzenski, who was the granddaughter of a French cook and insisted upon the title of 'madame,' was a rather fearful woman with large hands and shrewd eyes, Dimitri had no reason to be anxious. He was a favorite of hers and everyone knew it. All the servants complained about young Dimitri's mischievous ways, which would have been well in check if it weren't for Madame's spoiling, but of course, none dare speak about it when they suspected she was near, much less within her wide hearing range.

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you, Madame, but I was on my way to the kitchens to see if Alex needed any help tonight."

"Indeed, you were, eh?"

Dimitri nodded vigorously with a satisfied smile before he realized he was in a trap. The corners of his mouth dropped and he tried to make a run of it down the halls but Madame was swift. She caught him by the neck of his shirt and smiled too pleasantly for her victim's liking. "Seeing as you're going that direction, why don't you head down to the cellar and bring up a full case of cider?"

"The cellar!" Dimitri cried as he felt the lump in his throat rise. Madame nodded before she turned away with a look that told Dimitri that she would be waiting for him.

Dimitri held onto the flickering candle with the conviction that it would allow him to fulfill his duty, that it would keep him courageous and safe, that it would keep him alive as he headed down the rotting steps. The cellar was unimaginably dark. Not even a shadow was cast. Taking a deep breath, Dimitri took an unsteady step down into the abyss. His eyes darted left and right but there was nothing to be seen or could be seen for the matter.

In the unknown, he kicked against something soft and tripped the rest of the way down.

"Doesn't the Czar believe in lights?" Dimitri muttered as he picked himself up and found the candle was not only out but broken in half. He fumbled in the dark only to run into the racks of wine. He tried to find the cider but it was a hopeless cause. The shaft that fell from the lofty doorway only offered a square foot of sight at the most. Resting against the cold wall, Dimitri tried to visualize where the bottles would be but suddenly, the wall behind him shifted and he fell through.

For a moment, he was filled with bewilderment. What had happened? Looking about him, Dimitri, who seemed a bit dimwitted but was in fact a quick learner who refused to admitt it to anyone, especially Alex, saw he had discovered a secret passage in the Catherine Palace. In a flash, he conjoured up the tricks he could play but first, he had to determine the extensiveness of these passages and with all thoughts of cider gone, he lifted the old torch from its place on the wall and pulled a match from his pocket.

No one knew where Dimitri was but everyone in the kitchens declared he was probably up to something or another. As a matter of fact, he was hiding behind the pantry (within the secret passage, of course) listening to their convictions. For the most part, all he heard was "Oh, I would give him a good spanking if he were here," "I better not find any fish guts in my bed tonight," and "Here we go again!" Despite the great noise created by the preparation for the party, Dimitri's ears recognized the agitated voice of the head manservant, Alex.

"Shouldn't we send someone after him?"

"And send them where? On a wild goose chase? If I know Dimitri, and I do, he'll be taking a good long stare at all of those high class snobs out there." Horzenski sniffed. She knew she shouldn't have sent him for anything. It was useless.

Dimitri slipped back into the dark reaches of the passageway. "So, Alex is worried about me, isn't he?"

As Dimitri walked between the walls of the great palace, he thought of Alex whom he had always believed despised him. But then, all thoughts of Alex were driven from his head as he heard voices. He was coming upon another room and, gently creeping up to the 'door,' he placed his head against the wood. He could hear the excited voice of a girl, though muffled by the distance and objects between them. Gently, he pushed the wood door and peered into the elegant room. His eyes widen in alarm as he took in the furbished pink room. He was sure this was the bedroom of the two younger Duchesses!

"What do you think, Sonia? The blue ribbon or the yellow one?"

Peering behind the door, Dimitri could see the scene being played out against the rich furnishings of the room. Sonia was facing a girl with auburn curls. Sonia, Sonia... He knew her to be at least several years older than he, with dark eyes and hair. He fancied being in love with her sometimes but it was only because she was much prettier than the middle aged woman he was always surrounded by. She called him her "sweet, little boy," which Dimitri figured was more brotherly than anything else. But then, being a boy of eight, he just shrugged his shoulders and bowed down to her and said, "I did not bow down to you, I bowed dow down to all the suffering of humanity."

Suffice to say, Sonia, though very nice but not very bright, did not understand Dimitri's reference to Dostoevesky. To her, Dimitri was just queer. Her simpleness and overall well treatment by the princesses prevented her from seeing the bitterness which Dimitri had grown up with. Though far from starting a revolt or anything of the like, Dimitri had early on believed he deserved better and quenched more satisfaction in his life.

Looking at the girl, he easily discerned it was the youngest daughter of the Czar. Dimitri had heard she was an imp but he doubted it. Why would a royal behave in such a way? He hadn't seen this one much; he rather liked paying attention to the two eldest. They were elegant and proper, at least to a certain degree. As he looked at her, he observed how animated she was and the way her eyes lit up. Sonia was still fussing over the ribbon and had picked up the blue one.

"Oh, the yellow one is much better!" Dimitri's eyes opened wide as he realized he spoke aloud. Before he knew whether he was heard or not, he closed the door as silently as he could and sprinted down the passageway.

Dimitri didn't know how he managed to be here so long without being caught, but he had done it. Sitting under the long table filled with exotic and expensive foods, Dimitri watched as men and woman passed by in their foreign clothing, with their "fine titles and glittering jewels."

Then he saw her. Her majesty, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Dimitri grinned as she saw the yellow ribbon in her hair. She was dancing with her father and as Dimitri pondered on his own dancing ability, he suddenly realized that he had a pair of blue eyes looking at him. Ocean blue, royal eyes.

Dimitri swallowed and backed himself deeper under the table. Oh, was he going to be in trouble! Her small feet, covered by silk slippers sown with rubies, passed by him and she saw that she had grabbed an apple. Dimitri looked at her with wide eyes. A small, secret smile seem to flit across her face as she executed a spin behinf her father's back and threw the apple toward him.

Dimitri, in a natural reaction to the fruit being thrown his way, reached out and grabbed it...just as Madame Horzenski was putting out a fresh patch of French pastries. The cook started at the appearence of the boy but her countenance quickly turned sour. Without a second thought, Dimitri scurried back under the table to emerge on the other side of the table. Pushing between some alarm dukes, countesses, and what-nots, Dimitri slipped behind a velvet curtain to disappear from the scene.

Thinking it was best not to return to the kitchens nor his room where Madame would probably be waiting for him, Dimitri wandered around through the passages for awhile. Finally giving in to the inevitable, Dimitri decided he better head back and get some sleep. He slipped into the hallway of the servant's quarter where silence penetrated the dark corners. As he creep across the floor, he thought of the duchess with her blue, blue eyes. There was something about that girl... and Dimitri thought of a quote from Dostoevsky: "What you need is fresh air, fresh air...more than anything!" She was like fresh air...

As Dimitri passed by a tired old door, he hesitated. He didn't need to count to know it was the sixth door, Alex's door. Slipping in quietly, he discerned that Alex was still in the kitchens, cleaning up, as usual. It almost seem natural for him to pull the apple from its inner reaches and place it on Alex's bed.

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