The Flaming Tsar and the Magicborn

The Bloody Coronation

It was now 1896, and the entire country of Russia was preparing to watch the coronation of its new czar. Given the fact that Nicholas had been ruling Russia for almost two years, he and the council had been trying to set a date for the coronation for several months.

Unfortunately, this was also the date where the seven wolf packs and the Snoweagle clan planned to attack the people.

Magorious Hoffelbax met with Hans Fruar and Aramaeus Zempanga in his office. He had learned that the czar was officially being crowned in a local church and planned a series of balls and meetings with the people. He felt that it was his duty to ruin everything for the czar.

"You seem to be in a bright mood today, Magorious," Aramaeus remarked upon seeing his appearance. "Are you planning something big?"

"Nothing but ruining everything for Nicholas," said Magorious angrily. "The nerve of that man!"

"Well, he was willing to pull out the stops in keeping us away from his ward, but not Alexander," said Hans. "And the boy insulted you, did he not?"

"He did," said Magorious. "That boy threatened to have us not only executed, but slain for our fur if he were the czar. It's insulting to our intelligence."

"Oh, he'll learn his lesson about that," Aramaeus said with a sneer on his face. "We made him, believe it or not, and we can unmake him just as easily, just you wait and see."

"Are the other wolf packs here?" Magorious said to Hans.

"All are present and accounted for," said Hans. "Let it be known that the reign of Czar Nicholas II will get off to a rather bloody start."

"And don't we know it," Aramaeus said as the three wicked creatures laughed. They had no idea that there was one man living in Russia who had the power to put an end to all their plans.

*-*-*-*

At the same time, Leo was in Hadassah's dressing room, trying to convince her to get dressed once again. The small child refused to budge, not even when a maid brought in the child's clothes. Hadassah sat on a stool with her tiny arms crossed, glaring at her father.

"Now, Hadassah," said Leo, "you really need to get dressed."

"No dresses!" Hadassah snapped. "I want pants!"

"Not this time, little one," said Leo as he fetched an ornate black and gold dress from the maid. "This is an important occasion, and important occasions call for important clothes, which you must wear."

"No fair!" Hadassah snapped.

"It's not fair now, but you have to make a good impression on the people, and you can't do that if you're wearing anything other than a dress," Leo said as Alexandra came into the room.

"Any luck?" she said to him.

"Hadassah wants to wear pants to the coronation, and I'm explaining to her why it's not a good idea for her to wear pants," Leo said as Hadassah glared at him. "Perhaps you can reason with her."

"She's as stubborn as a black bear," Alexandra said as she slipped the dress over Hadassah's head. "Plus, Russians are notorious for being cold and stubborn. Hadassah is no different from them, but you and I are not Russians."

"Indeed we are not, for we are English," Leo said as Hadassah, now dressed, continued to glare at him. "But it's not where we came from that's the problem; it's where we're going that I'm having trouble with. How do we know if everything is going to go right for Nicholas? For all we know, the Snoweagles and the Wolf Packs could be looking to start trouble for us. They're not happy that Nicholas, not Alexander, is ruling over Russia, as it were, and they're going to make trouble for us because of it."