The Empress was sat in the palace gardens awaiting the visit of the Baroness Irina Grigoryevna and her daughter Violet Natalya Alexandra for their planned afternoon tea. Her morning had been quite eventful so far, with her daughter bursting into their bedroom without notice.
The curtains of the Tsar and Tsarina's canopy bed were ripped open just as dawn broke, revealing an already fully washed and clothed Grand Duchess.
"Pyotr, wake up. Our daughter has something to tell us." The Empress told her husband groggily.
"Mother. Father. I want to build a University, with a large library where anyone may study regardless of their station." Yekaterina declared passionately.
"Allright, who are you and what have you done to my daugher?" The Emperor had replied, having never seen his daughter so engaged or politically interested.
"Oh, and I want to invite the nomads to the ball."
And with that their daughter had disappeared, run off to some unknown location for presumably the rest of the day. The Tsarina did not know what had caused the shift in her daughter's personality, but she could not help but suspect that it had something to do with the mysterious courtier that the girl had spoken of with such interest.
After not much longer the two women the Empress was waiting for arrived, both dressed lovely, but the younger sporting a rather dark black eye, which had been the subject of their conversation so far.
"You really must let my doctor have a look at that, Violet... To think you saved that baby from a runaway horse." The Tsarina said in admiration for the young girl's courage, of course having no idea that the cause of the injury was something that painted the dark haired girl in a much worse light.
"Oh, it was a maternal instinct, Your Imperial Highness." Violet replied with a sweet smile, trying to appear humble and kindhearted despite her bold lie.
"I am so sorry my daughter can not join us, but she seems to have disappeared again." The Empress spoke after sipping her tea.
"Again?" The Baroness asked.
"Yes, she was gone all day yesterday and did not return until dawn."
The Baroness could not help the thought that entered her mind, that Beatrice had also been gone all day and not returned until dawn. However unbelievable the notion of the two being together seemed, Irina could not deny that there was a chance of it and this irritated and angered her immensely.
"Well, it must be marvelous to have that kind of stamina." The Baroness replied, trying not to let her worries show.
"Perhaps you could help solve a mystery for me. Do you happen to know the Countess Valeriya Zamolodchikova? Apparently, she's staying with a cousin, but nobody seems to know who." The Empress spoke, hoping the other woman could help her find this mysterious courtier.
"Valeriya?" Irina spoke, almost through gritted teeth.
The woman knew well that Beatrice's mother's name had been Valerie and that the Russian equivalent to that was Valeriya. She also recalled her late husband mentioning the child's wet nurse Natasha Zamolodchikova, and she would not put it past the deceitful child to have created a persona from mixing the two.
"Yes, do you know her? How wonderful! I was beginning to think she was a ghost." The Empress spoke with a laugh, the other women forcing themselves to laugh aswell.
"No, I'm afraid she's been around for years. Yes, and, um, staying with us as a matter of fact. Isn't that right, darling?" Irina directed towards her daughter.
"Uhm, yes, o-of course. Our cousin." Violet told the Tsarina with a smile, still very clearly unaware of whom they were speaking of.
"Whom you like to call Cinderella." Her mother leaned over to clarify.
The young girl stood up abruptly in anger, throwing a complete temper tantrum as she flung her dress in all directions and screamed loudly, before composing herself once more and returning to the table as if nothing had happened.
"Good heavens, child. Are you allright?" The Empress asked in both confusion and worry, having never seen such a display and especially not in public.
"There was a bee." The young girl replied demurely, her mother forcing a laugh which quickly turned uncomfortable as the Tsarina did not find it funny in the slightest. The visit ended not much later with the Baroness and her daughter returning to the manor with renewed anger.
YOU ARE READING
Ever After ✔~ trixya
Fanfiction"Her name was Beatrice Mattel. And this, was her glass slipper. Perhaps you will allow me to set the record straight?" The Grand Duchess says as she picks a beautiful shoe out of the silver box. "Then it's true? The story?" The writer enquires. "Yes...
