In the winter castle on the coast of the western sea, there was the usual hustle and bustle for that time of year. Another big ball was to be held; this time, it was a celebration in honor of spring. The coast of the western sea, otherwise warm and sunny, finally yielded to the gusts of winter from the northern regions, so that everything was white as far as the eye could see. It was not exactly ideal for the celebration of spring. Still, Emperor Vatroslav and his imperial family believed that precisely because of this, the people should be reminded of the beauty and exuberance of spring. After all, the spring ball was held every year at this time, and the emperor did not allow the whims of capricious nature to spoil his plans.

Especially for the celebration, the emperor ordered the most beautiful flowers and the freshest fruits from the south to be brought. He wanted everything to shine and be divinely beautiful. His wife, empress Kaliya, in her time one of the most beautiful women in the empire, indulgently smiled and discreetly changed the emperor’s orders here and there. She thought that her beloved husband, although talented in state affairs, was not very gifted when it came to organizing celebrations. But that’s why she was there. The only bright spot in her rather boring royal life were celebrations, so it is understandable that she also wanted everything to look ravishing. Of course, her concept of beauty was very different from the emperor’s, but it seems that this was exactly what made the two of them love each other so much.

The only one in the entire empire who was not looking forward to the spring ball was their son, Tsarevitch Vladislav. Why, no one knew, but the fact was that he was now in a black phase, so he was bothered by everything that was frivolous and luxurious. He had his chambers painted black and dragged the furniture from the attic of the winter castle, already decayed and worm-eaten. His parents worriedly asked him why he hadn’t brought something newer to the room, because after all, a worm-eaten armchair was more dangerous than some, God forbid, assassin. It was enough to throw yourself on it just a little bit harder, and you could break an arm or a leg or, even worse, your neck.

At that, the Tsarevitch told them that he did not intend to sit in it anyway and dragged himself to a tatami mat in the corner by the fireplace.

The emperor then declared that he was beginning to regret he was not immortal, so that one day he would have to leave the empire to such a … son (his exact words are best not to cite, because even emperors, despite being emperors, have quite an extensive vocabulary).

Tsarevitch started to hum a death march, which indescribably angered his parents, so they left, leaving the door open.

Vladislav seriously considered whether to paint the white keys on his piano black, but then he concluded that he would not be able to distinguish the notes on the keyboard, so he gave up.

And so, in the twilight of his room, he thought about the meaninglessness of life. The sounds of the orchestra rehearsing a waltz reached him, so he stopped his ears in contempt. He hated people. When he became emperor, he would ban all balls and build a special castle, just for himself, on top of a cliff, from where he could jump when he secured an heir. And maybe even earlier; he hated waiting.

What particularly annoyed him was that he would have to lead the first waltz at the spring ball. He began to play some sad melody on the piano with all his might to drown out the sounds of the orchestra. A few years ago, he had entertained the idea of becoming the most famous pianist in the whole empire, but gave up when he realized he had talent. Emperors, in his opinion, should occupy themselves exclusively with things for which they had no talent at all. Like, for example, his father, who was now engaged in decorating the ballroom.

Another thing he dreaded was the girl he had to waltz with in two weeks. In the past, when he was still young and inexperienced, he liked to carefully choose his partners for dances and then dance into the garden or onto the terrace, mostly somewhere away from people, and test his seduction skills on them. But, soon, he saw that they would fall into his arms even if he had behaved like an ordinary piece of wood, so he gave up on all that in disappointment. There were only a few things left to happen in his life, and that was to be crowned, to be married to a scarecrow of noble origin, to produce an heir, and to perform his spectacular jump from the cliff.

Of all that, he was most eager about the latter.

He stopped thinking and turned to the servant who had entered and was now patiently waiting for the Tsarevitch to notice him.

“Speak, servant!” he said, trying to give his voice that familiar, contemptuous imperial note. He attributed the fact that he sounded like a crow to a cold that had been bothering him for several days.

The servant coughed and said:

“His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Vatroslav II, your father, has ordered you to go down to the cabinet of his Imperial Highness for a very important conversation.”

“He said it in those exact words?” Vladislav asked, with doubt.

“Well, it sounded more like–go tell that waste of space to come down within five minutes or else,” said the servant timidly.

“Ah, it’s more serious than I thought. Well, tell his Imperial Majesty that I’ll come down as soon as I’m properly dressed. And then come back to help me with it.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

After a couple of minutes, Vladislav came down and stood before the earnest faces of his parents. His father scowled.

“We have called you to speak on the occasion of a very important event which we hope will take place soon.”

“It’s not that boring ball, is it?” Vladislav asked worriedly.

“No, something much more important,” his mother said with a smile.

The emperor continued. “Tomorrow, your cousin, Princess Lydia, with whom you will lead the first waltz at the ball, will arrive at our court.”

“Wonderful!” Vladislav muttered desperately.

“And to whom we’ll get you hitched,” added his mother happily, to which the emperor looked at her in astonishment. “That is, to whom we shall bind you in holy matrimony,” the empress quickly corrected herself.

Vladislav, who was just then drinking his orange juice, forgot to swallow out of astonishment, which resulted in an indescribable coughing fit and a spray of liquid that splashed his parents.

“Beg your pardon?” he managed to say when he could breathe again.

“Exactly what you just heard. We intend to marry you to Lydia,” the emperor said firmly.

“But don’t I have the right to choose my own wife? You chose mother, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but fate chose her as my wife, and for you, the soothsayer was drunk at birth, and later, God rest his soul, he died. That’s why mother and I decided to help fate a little, and to spare you the effort of searching.”

“And what if I don’t like Lydia, what then?”

“We sincerely hope you will like her, but if you don’t, we’ll find you another one. Just try not to choose too much, because even our patience has its limit.” Having said that, the emperor pointed to the door.

Leaving, Vladislav turned and said:

“You won’t get rid of me that easily!”

Thus ended, all in all, an awkward interview, which resulted in the emperor being completely distracted for the rest of the day, and the empress spending the whole afternoon with a cabbage leaf tied around her forehead.

During that time, Vladislav was desperately trying to think of a way to escape this hopeless situation.

Coming soon!