They had dressed in simple clothing, Mikhail hiding in plain sight wearing priest robes even though he refused to wear the collar. He couldn’t help himself as he grabbed hold of Anastasia’s hand, pulling her to him and walking arm-in-arm through the city.
They did make a rather strange couple when anyone managed to look them in the eye; an alleged peasant woman making eyes at a priest without his full vestments.
Although the religious fervor was at a peak in the country, strange priestly behavior was par for the course.
The couple approached the steps of the boarding house. The door swung open as if the innkeeper had a sixth sense for their arrival. She greeted them with a smile and ushered them into the sitting room dotted with a few other men and women speaking in hushed tones.
“Do you need a room, dears?” The innkeeper asked them kindly, grabbing hold of Anastasia’s hands.
“No, no,” she was always enamored by the warm, maternal energy of the woman. “We were hoping to —“
Mikhail quietly stepped in and cut her off, “We were just hoping to spend some time outside of the Palace. You know.” His easy grin was so charming that the innkeeper hardly noticed he had cut Anastasia off.
She nodded, “Well, you must eat while you’re here. I’ll fetch something.” She tottered off, humming to herself. Anastasia looked up at Mikhail in confusion, and he looked around to make sure that no one was clued into their conversation.
“It’s probably best to not walk into a public space and start asking for Ruzsky,” he gave her a grim smile. “We should assume your father has as many spies as Ruzsky does out here.”
Anastasia felt herself blush with embarrassment, worried her naïveté was showing through, and making her uncomfortable.
Mikhail, as always, seemed to sense whenever she started to retreat into herself. His hand slid up her back as he gently pushed her towards the center of the room, navigating towards a table where they could both eat and eavesdrop.
As soon as they sat down, Mikhail grinned as he reached across and wrapped Anastasia’s hand in his own.
“I think eating dinner at this boarding house is a bit of a tradition for us, Anya.”
“Do we have traditions?” Anastasia winked at him. “I would think that we haven’t even been together long enough to have traditions.”
“We have each other.”
“Oof,” Anastasia made a mock grimace, “That was a bit cliché.”
“You love it.”
“Do I?”
“I know something you do love —“
Anastasia cut him off with a small cough as she raised her eyebrows at the innkeeper before Mikhail said something that she didn’t want the older woman to overhear.
They dug into their food, both of them starving now that the Tsar had insisted on dictating what food was being sent to Anastasia’s chambers once again.
Eating in relative silence, they both tried to catch glimpses of the conversation around them and appear as open as possible should someone want to strike up a conversation.
Once their plates were empty, the innkeeper came over, refilling their glasses and taking their plates.
“How was everything,solntse?” She said warmly, looking down at Anastasia with a hopeful expression that made her heart clench.
“Don’t bother with us,” she shook her head. “Please. How are you doing? You haven’t let us pay the past few —“
“Do not insult me,” the woman said. “It is an honor to help you, Anastasia, because you are the kind of person who takes that and goes and helps others.” Mikhail turned to Anastasia when the innkeeper said this, a grin spreading over his face that saidtold you.
“Besides,” the innkeeper’s eyebrows went up, creating as close to a salacious expression as she could probably manage, “I can’t imagine what it’s like living with the Tsarina.”
There was a weight to her words that made them both pause that there was something even more unusual to spark the innkeeper’s comment — and there were already unusual stories that circulated about the Tsarina and her religious fervor.
“Yes…,” Anastasia nodded in agreement, hoping that the innkeeper would be encouraged to keep going without realizing that they had no idea what she was talking about.
“Can you believe it?” She laughed, squeaking a little and her eyes going wide. “The Tsarina and one of her priests! Right under the Tsar’s nose!”
