7. Captivity
The house arrest began to wear on the family over time. The children grew bored. They tried to stay busy, performing labor, reading, and writing, but they wanted to be free. The daughters wanted to go back to helping the war effort. In this picture of Alexei and Tatiana at Alexander Palace, one can see a line of Russian soldiers behind them. They too grew intolerant of the situation. The stress of the confinement boiled like a pot of water. What was worse than water was the incoming winter weather, pressing down on them from the north. Life was about to get very cold without some firewood.