Myah and her friends came back to the St. Petersburg palace to find another messenger in the court. This one had a cloak and carried a banner of red. Myah had not been Czarina that long, but she nevertheless knew whose banner this was. She had stayed underneath the towers that bore it for a short time. But in that short time, an attempt had been made on her life. And so the lady of the banner, the Countess Kristina, had been exiled to Siberia. And now here was a messenger bearing her colors. When the man saw Myah, he dismounted and bowed, holding forward a folded paper with Kristina's seal. The fact that the Countess was using the symbols of her power was seemingly protest against her exile. And the letter was even more:
Your Imperial Majesty,
I, Countess Kristina of Surgut, desire your eye and ear as I tell my story. I write from Siberia, as you know, where it is colder than any other place I have been before. It may be that I will die here if I stay in this poor house during the coming winter. I know that you are a good Empress, and do not like to see your people suffer, even when they are guilty. I am not, however, guilty of the scheme that was taking place under my own roof. I never visit the servants very much, so I could not hear their whispered meetings. I do not taste each glass before they go to my guests, and therefore could not die from any poison that the plotters had put in. Your Majesty, my crime is not treason, but ignorance. And I do not think ignorance is worthy of being exiled to a barren, icy death trap. I beseech you, as Lord Zakhar did, to pardon me, and let me return to Russia as a loyal subject once more.
Signed,
The Countess Kristina
Myah's face was unreadable for a while. Then she looked up, and her eyes were blazing: "How dare Kristina say these things, trying to manipulate me into releasing her!" She tossed the letter into the air, and it was caught by Gracina, who opened it and read. Myah looked around from her seat on her horse. "I am not convinced that Kristina is innocent. She will stay in Siberia." But as she turned Winter around and started towards the stables, she spoke more quietly to those of hers gathered around: "See to it that Countess Kristina gets better lodging. Give her one of the old royal hunting lodges." And the Royals smiled.
This is a picture of Countess Kristina of Surgut, exiled when a plot made by her servants to kill the Czarina was discovered.
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Royals Through Time 3: The Russians
Historical FictionMyah is the Czarina of Russia, and she has a few problems. First is her advisors, nagging left and right. Second is the banishment of one of her close friends to Siberia for treason. Third is that the heir to her throne has gone missing. But Myah al...
