Alone in her chamber, Catherine caressed the milky ermine lining of her coronation robe. Peter was dead; she was finally free of the loathing which had poisoned her peace since her marriage.
She drifted in the afterglow of her latest lover’s attentions, lingering in a reverie of past and future – childhood memories merging with dreams of enlightenment, empire, power and progress.
Copyright – Sandra Crook
In the autumn evening chill, old Ivan, toiling homeward, pulled his threadbare cloak closer and paused in a forest clearing. He’d seen ermines there, in that old stump.
Time to prepare his winter traps. Those pelts would buy his freedom.
*****
I’m venturing into historical fiction this week for my contribution to Friday Fictioneers, a weekly writing challenge, hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields, where authors compose 100 word stories in response to a photo prompt.
I’ve wandered through many fascinating pages in my research for this story, and I’ve added a couple of little gems here. Please look at this tiny Huffington Post video. You’ll want to watch it again and again. If you’re interested in Catherine the Great, you might like to read about her here, and if you’d like to know about the role of the humble ermine in heraldry, here is where you’ll find more.
Onto the page 
Fantasy and reality mixed well.
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Thank you, Dawn. Getting the balance right is the challenge.
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Thinking of a threadbare clock in this weather made me shiver. Had a King Arthur feel to it for me.
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I’m glad you got a shiver. I think Ivan would have shivered quite a bit. Thank you for reading.
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You’ve cracked the historical genre here. Well done.
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Thank you for such supportive feedback, Patrick. I think the danger with doing historical stories is how easy it is to get sidetracked reading all the fascinating material you find.
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It is very good and makes me want to know more.
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Thank you, Joy. I hope you found some time to look at the links I included. I found lots of interesting things about this era in Russia.
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Margaret, you’ve really done a great job with the historical fiction angle! I’m a fan of the genre, when done well, and this really pulled me in. Nice job!
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I’m so happy about that. I did struggle with it – there was so much material available, and such interesting things. She was a fascinating woman, I think; but I suspect she had a rather large ego. Thanks for your encouragement.
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For some it’s the height of luxury, for others the means to scraping out a living in the cold. Nice story!
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Exactly. I’m happy you saw the connection. Catherine and her ilk seem to have been so out of touch with the lives of the ordinary population, not to mention the serfs.
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Nice contrast there, well done.
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Thank you, Sandra. I think the contrasts at that time, and in that part of the world, were immense.
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You’ve captured it well. I felt I was Catherine in her chamber! That ermine is very cute.
Lily
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Isn’t that the funniest video! I couldn’t resist putting it in. I’m happy my story transported you to Catherine’s chamber; that’s high praise – thank you.
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What a fascinating and compelling read, Margaret. You were able to incorporate so much history here in this short space. I definitely want to learn more about Catherine the Great. The picture of all those people working on the robe was really something. The little video of the ermine was too cute. It saddens me that they were killed for their coats for something so lavish. The “threadbare cloak’ of Ivan’s was a nice detail.
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Such lovely feedback! Thank you, Amy. I wanted to use a less cliched adjective, but in the end gave up thinking about it and went with threadbare. The history behind the story is fascinating, and distracted me for hours while I was writing, and that video really got to me, too.
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I like threadbare. I didn’t find it cliched. It is such a fascinating history. I can see why it distracted you. 🙂
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Dear Margaret,
You’re a woman after my own heart this week. I loved your story and your links.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Lovely comments! Thank you. I think you’ve inspired me.
Cheers,
Marg
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Catherine was a remarkable woman but this story of the fictional trapper, Ivan, was beautifully done.
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Thank you for your lovely comment. I struggled to fit in enough details to give him a meaningful part in the story, so I’m happy to read your response.
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Love the historical take on the prompt. Wonderful!
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Thank you so much – I’m glad you liked it. Juggling fact with fiction is quite a challenge in 100 words. Rochelle does it masterfully.
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Oh yes.. somewhere the ermine has to come from.. the story of Catherine and Peter is one of the stronger.. and of course being our neighbor country at that time it mingles with the Swedish history..
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I wondered what you’d think of my story, Bjorn. Russians have featured in one or two of your stories, if I’mnot mistaken. Thanks for your nice comment.
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From ‘Alone in her chamber’ I knew I was going to love it – and it didn’t disappoint.
Almost fantasy (and Angela Crater territory) rather than reality – but then the truth about Catherine is pretty extreme.
I love the jump between the two scenes and the way you reveal the connection.
Interesting discussion about cliché – I think sometimes the obvious word sets up a resonance in the reader’s mind and is therefore the apt choice. Threadbare is also a story-telling, slightly archaic word – it helps place the action.
Now I feel I’ve written almost 100 words myself! Good stuff basically.
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Thank you for your ‘100 words’. I really appreciate such thoughtful commentary. The jump between the two characters and scenes was quite tricky – I had so much more in my mind to link them, but of course it’s impossible to include everything in the 100 words. I’m delighted that it worked. I’m interested in your views on words like ‘threadbare’ – setting up resonances and placing the action is what it’s all about, so I’m encouraged by your comments. I’m so glad you liked my story.
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Nice snippet of history! Well done.
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Thank you. It’s fascinating history.
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Good mix of history and fiction to take us to the scenes, Marg. I also enjoyed the links. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne. I enjoyed researching this one.
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