WeWriWa—In the Poppy Red Salon

Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. I’ve been sharing from my alternative history, And Aleksey Lived, which is scheduled to be released on 17 July, if all goes according to plan. This week’s snippet comes right after last week’s, when soon-to-be Empress Arkadiya followed her future sister-in-law Tatyana into the Poppy Red Salon after lunch.

Arkadiya tried not to look too much at the paintings of Tatyana’s parents, which had certainly been brought here by the palace’s new mistress instead of left over from a previous owner.  Other obviously new additions were watercolors of Tatyana, her sisters, and their brother, along with small framed photographs of their family before the catastrophe.

Tatyana motioned to a white and gold satin settee. “Please have a seat, Arkadiya Mikhaylovna.  The fashion magazines and books are right there, with bookmarks in the wedding sections.  I wish I weren’t featured so much in these books and magazines.  Other society ladies should be considered for best-dressed, not someone everyone already knows about.  It feels like cheating to always mention me.”

“Oh, but you’re always so well-dressed, and so beautiful,” Arkadiya said.