Okie dokie everyone, here we are with chapter twenty-six. This is a Russia chapter and it will cover the Siege of Trabzon. We're getting to the end of act two now and I hope you guys are enjoying this story. I'm not sure if I've definitively mentioned this yet or not, but this story will be forty chapters long.
The Legacy of The Romans.
Act II.
The Russo-Ottoman War.
Chapter XXVI.
Relics of The Byzantine Empire.
Yelizaveta and I joined General Mikhailovich and Yasamin Mirza Shahi al-Bahmani on a ridge as our troops gathered around Trabzon. Georgia had been recovered, Erivan had fallen, and the Ottoman Army was crushed in battle, now, it was time to make our final push to end this war. Our Army of the Ukraine will occupy Crimea, the Polish Armia z Besarabia will crush Moldavia, and our two armies will leave Trabzon, Tabriz, and Baghdad in ruins. The Russian Imperial Army, hardened by our conquests in Byelorussia and Ruthenia along with our campaign through the Caucasus and the Army of the Caucasus, under the watchful eye of General Feodorov with the blood of Baku on their hands, together, these two armies will march unopposed across the northeastern corner of The Ottoman Empire. Trabzon was my first target, I would take the city and solidify Russia's claim to the Third Rome by taking the relics of the Komnenos dynasty from their final resting place in the former rump-state of Trebizond. The Army of the Caucasus, meanwhile, would begin the Siege of Tabriz, a siege of the former Qara Qoyunlu fortress in difficult terrain is likely to drag out for a long time, therefore, I suspect that, before the siege is over, the Russian Imperial Army will join them. Finally, the two armies, united, will march on Baghdad and take the great city which had once been the center of Islamic civilization under the Abbasid dynasty. Should the Turks wish to defy sense and keep fighting at this point, I am prepared for the possibility that I will have to march my armies as far away as Damascus and perhaps into Anatolia as well. I am confident that Sultana Helena will see reason long before that though, provided she stays in power as I intend her to.
Fuses were lit and anticipation builds. Flames burn down, down, down the fuse into the cannon itself. A single moment of silence, both impossibly short and agonizingly long before thunderous blasts of cannons fire bring the battle to life. The cannonballs were almost impossible to track as they flew through the sky and impacted the walls with a devastating explosion and a bone-shaking blast, but each and every one of them hit. Once again, we were in the midst of siege warfare, but the Siege of Trabzon would not be nearly as short as the Siege of Yerevan. In Yerevan, we had Yasamin's inside knowledge on our side and the Turks decided to sacrifice the city in order to give Sultana Helena and her Grand Vizier the chance to escape, now, we would have no such luck.
"Tsarina Anastasia, Tsarevna Yelizaveta," Yasamin greeted warmly with a nod. She was dressed pretty similarly to how I last saw her, wearing black knee high boots, white trousers, and a blue tunic, though this time she was wearing a black headscarf that nicely framed her face. Yasamin was a Shia Muslim and she intended to create a Shia Persian state in southern India, I was supportive of this idea, however, it was quite foreign to Russia. There were plenty of Sunni Islamic populations in Russia, scattered across the steppe, but those were minority populations of lingering Turkic and Mongol horsemen for the most part. Russia was on track to getting somewhat of a Shia population thanks to our conquests of Caucasia which would bring us Baku, but even then, we will have far more Sunni Muslims than Shia Muslims and far more non-Muslims than either of them, this presented me with a problem.
Somewhat paradoxically, to further the interests of the Russian state, I need to support an Islamic state abroad while simultaneously pressuring Russia's Muslims to convert to Orthodox Christianity. This is not born out of something irrational like hatred, this is born out of control and absolutism. The Russian Orthodox Church is heavily under the influence of the Tsardom, therefore, the Church justifies my rule. The steppe is a massive region of Russia that I want to get under control, therefore, in order to help me do so, I want to use the Church. The Sunni Turkic minority spread across the steppe does not follow my Church, therefore, in order to further my interests, I need to get these steppe peoples to become Russian Orthodox. Resisting my rule was bad enough, however, another potential threat is that the Ottoman Sultan is also Caliph of Sunni Muslims, all Sunni Muslims, therefore, the Turks may be able to use that religious bond to raise revolts in southern Russia. Settlement and conversion of southern Russia is one of my priorities in peacetime and the Russian Orthodox Church will play a massive role in all that, but, since my concern is with control rather than religion, that does not mean that Muslims cannot prove useful to me.
Muslims, even Sunni ones, in Moscow would be useful to me. My authority is unquestionable in Moscow, it is the heart of modern Russia and the vast majority of the population is Russian and Russian Orthodox, therefore, if I want to bring Muslim administrators into my court, I will do so. War on Muslims is not in the interests of Russia, controlling the steppe and making my government and bureaucracy as strong and centralized as possible is in Russia's interests. An ally in India would also be beneficial to me. A new Bahmanid Sultanate with ties to Russia would not only give us a link to the Indian Ocean trade network which is otherwise so distant and so out of reach for my state and, perhaps more importantly, it would deny my enemies a section of India. The colonial powers of Portugal, England, and the Netherlands clearly wish to divide up the coast of India amongst themselves and they would be able to do it long before Russia has any hope of reaching India naturally, therefore, having a local ally with Russian backing can serve to deny portions of the coast and interior from my potential enemies in Europe. Therefore, I am both supporting the Bahmanid Sultanate and pursue my conversion of southern Russia.
"Hello Yasamin, General Mikhailovich." I greeted in reply while Yelizaveta shot the Persian with a warm smile and gave the general a reserved nod. The general, dressed in a green uniform and now wearing a rather bushy black mustache with a shaved beard, reciprocated the Tsarevna's nod before turning to me. Mikhailovich was a strange case. He seemed very willing to question me and seemed bothered by the fact that I was even on the battlefield, however, on the other hand, Mikhailovich did agree to help me become a better general and was not willing to actually oppose me. The general was clearly opinionated, perhaps more than he should have been. To be honest, from the outside looking in, I would have assumed that Perevernykruchenko would be the one to oppose me most. After all, the man was an unashamed Cossack, wearing his beard all the way out and leading literal hordes of wild horsemen across the Crimean steppe, however, Perevernykruchenko was oddly enough the most friendly of the generals. The Cossack had taken to the Muscovite nobility well. I suppose that made sense, after all, a good percentage of the Muscovite nobility are Dvoryans, a class of Russian nobles who are supposed to be military men, however, things hardly worked out that way. The Russian nobles had classes and nominal roles, but, in reality, that vast majority of them were sheltered, privileged, and incompetent, I preferred to work with people who actually have the talent necessary to serve me. Perevernykruchenko is one of those people and, given how well he meshes with the nobles, perhaps this isn't an unpopular stance after all. In any case, Mikhailovich was a bit of an outcast for his positions but he is serving Russia well and he has a lot to teach me.
"I must say, I was a bit skeptical to be joined by another woman, an outsider from Persia no less, but she seems to know what she is doing. Though I question if our state resources are going to the right place with her. After all, we have plenty of our own new regions to invest in." Mikhailovich objected. In some ways, he did have a point. Between my new White Square, my ambitions for southern Russia, and the new regions I was adding to the Tsardom of Russia at an unprecedented rate, I could definitely see how some people might think I am stretching Russian resources to their limit. The reality is that we are working with an excellent surplus courtesy of the vast value we recovered from The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the last war and, as part of my absolutist agenda, I intend to produce a tax system that is both ruthless and efficient. I already made sure that the nobles, Dvoryans and Boyars alike, are being taxed heavily with the excuse of war against the Turks. My next move will be to free the tax collectors of the nobility altogether. I want tax collecting done by bureaucrats and I do not want a single noble getting the chance to take a cut of my state's product for themselves. The final stage is one that will overlap with a number of my other absolutist intentions. That is the establishment of a secret police force, a versatile and terrifying force with one of their duties being to ensure my taxes are properly collected.
A secret police will be an excellent tool for an absolutist state. This particular experiment has been one that Russia has committed in the past with the oprichnina, an organization that is still nominally supposed to be my secret police. Some are, of course, however, for the most part, just like the nobles, power has made the oprichniks lazy and greedy in the last century. Now the oprichniks are essentially the nobles occupying the lands that once belonged to the Grand Republic of Novgorod, a state that was once a major rival for the Grand Principality of Muscovy. I could start fresh with a new oprichnina or perhaps even just a revitalized one and that idea has indeed crossed my mind, however, I am also considering starting fresh entirely. I still wasn't sure though, perhaps a solution would present itself once the war against the Turks was over, for now, I was busy focusing on that. Within the war, I was focused on the present Siege of Trabzon. The Siege began well, but that beginning only gave an opportunity for my very own general to feel confident enough to question the administration of the state. Now, I knew how Mikhailovich was, but it was one thing for a general to question me militarily, but for a general to question me on running the state? That was above his station. I was the Tsarina of Russia and he was a general, it was his job to lead the troops and it was my job to lead the nation. My job allows me to cross over into leading troops if it is in the best interests of Russia, his job does not allow for that much flexibility. Mikhailovich must learn his place.
"I can assure you, general, that I am more than aware of the resources of my state. Yelizaveta is more than aware of the resources of the state as well because she is my protege and heiress. Yasamin comes from a long line of Persian administrators and, going back just a century, her ancestors were mighty Sultans in southern India. So, by my estimations, you're the least qualified one here when it comes to administration. I respect you as a general and I wish to learn from you, the least you could do in return is respect me as an administrator." I countered and General Mikhailovich huffed before turning away. The general did not apologize or back down from his comments, but he did not argue further, so I suppose that was somewhat of a victory. It seems that General Mikhailovich can be quite petty when he wants to be. I suppose that I should have expected that, given that my first exposure to him was seeing him bickering with General Feodorov. Though given that Feodorov was bickering with Perevernykruchenko by the end of that very meeting, perhaps the problem is with Simeon rather than either Dmitri or Vladimir. Perhaps it is better now that Simeon is off leading the Army of the Caucasus out to the east rather than joined with another general like he was with Perevernykruchenko in the Ukraine. It is clear that all of my generals are arrogant and self-centered, however, so long as they do not overstep their boundaries again, I will tolerate it. After all, I do not want to go into my later wars against Sweden with inexperienced generals. In the meantime, perhaps I should find some commanders with potential and give them the chance to prove themselves as generals against the Hordes...that could prove interesting.
General Mikhailovich had his own ideas but I hope this warning will be enough to keep him from questioning me, after all, I don't want to lose a good general who could prove to be a great teacher just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut and his opinions to himself. I am certain that I am on the right path - I have created a powerful ally and a useful buffer state in the form of The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and my time with Krystyna Wlodzislawa ensures that the relationship will soon become permanent - as well as giving me a powerful weapon with which to spread Russian influence. Meanwhile, I have also gained the accomplished daughter of Portugal's ambassador to Transylvania in the form of Terezia, who now, as my regent in Moscow, is doing far more than she could ever hope to accomplish as a diplomat from the Kingdom of Portugal to a landlocked, distant country that really has nothing to do with Portuguese politics. The best Terezia could have hoped for is organizing a marriage between some Portuguese Prince and a Transylvanian heiress, now, she has broad powers over Russia and she is using them well. Now, all I plan to do is add Yasamin to the mix. She will use Russia to gather her forces and her government, helping Russia in the meantime, and, once she is ready, she will establish an allied state in a place where Russia has no busy interfering in. I am ensuring that the resources of my state are being used to spread our influence and our borders as far and as wide as possible, sure spreading influence to places like Naples and Hyderabad are not necessarily what one thinks of as potential targets for Russia, but I am making them targets for Russian influence. I have broadened Russia's horizons far, far beyond what any Tsar has before me and a simple-minded general like Mikhailovich cannot see that because he does not have the divine right to rule. Mikhailovich does not understand how to rule because he is fundamentally not meant to rule.
I am meant to rule, Yelizaveta is meant to rule, and, despite our religious differences, I feel that Yasamin is indeed meant to rule over much of southern India. I am eager to see how a Shia absolutist state under a female ruler takes shape. It certainly seems like quite an undertaking, but if anyone can handle it, I am confident that Yasamin can do it. She has likely spent her whole life preparing for this. Learning, watching, waiting, and reach out, and now, she has found her patron.
I sat on the cot in our tent already in my nightgown as I averted my eyes. Yelizaveta had just come in and shut the tent, now she was changing - my own flesh and blood little sister was stripping in front of me and I could barely control myself - I couldn't help but feel like a monster. I suppose that I should have expected this, every ruler has their particular bit of sin. Some Kings are greedy, gluttonous drunkards who drown in excess and allow incompetent nobles to march away with the reigns of the state, some rulers will fill their palaces with bastards and lay the foundation for a succession crisis after their own rule, other rulers, including a select group of my own ancestors, suffer bloodlust - they are so filled with anger and hatred that they revel in torture, in pillaging, and in murder. Meanwhile, I wanted to take my own sister in every sense of the word. Of course, this already came after Liz and I saddled poor Sophie with producing our own heirs as a selfish consequence of our homosexuality. Sofiya is straight, that much is clear, but it is also clear that she never expected to be the only one giving birth in this family.
So this was the result of my absolutism. I could have the finest palace in all of Europe in the heart of a shining new district of Moscow, I could have puppet states spreading my influence far beyond my borders, and I could assemble a court of the finest men and women from around the world within the walls of that palace, but I couldn't have the one person I actually wanted. I had Krystyna at one point, but even then, that relationship was never what I truly wanted. I loved Krystyna, I did, but only when our relationship was at its peak did I manage to get Yelizaveta out of my head and, even then, the second that Lady Krystyna was gone, horrible thoughts about my own little sister flooded back into my head. Not to mention that the relationship between Krystyna and I was cursed from the start. The whole reason she was there in Moscow for me to fall in love with was because I took her to Moscow to train her to become a loyal King of Poland for the Tsardom of Russia. Even if she made me completely forget about those damned incestuous feelings, she would eventually have to leave and, at that point, we would only be able to meet occasionally, briefly, and rarely, if ever, alone. Then, of course, there was the fact that as Tsarina of Russia I was concerned with furthering the interests of Russia, that meant that I had to subjugate Poland and any other state she created as much as possible, bringing those states into Russia in all but name, needless to say, that was not in the best interests of Krystyna if she was to be King of Poland, Grand Duchess of Lithuania, and whatever other titles she may create in her journeys.
A relationship with Krystyna would be so difficult. Who else was there? There was Yasamin, who was definitely beautiful and who I think would be rather eager to enter a relationship with me if given the chance, but she wasn't really my type. Beautiful? Yes, attractive? Yes, what I wanted? No. Not to mention that the issues present with Krystyna were also present with Yasamin and perhaps even worse. Yasamin approached me with the express purpose of creating her Bahmanid Sultanate while I approached Krystyna myself, capitalizing on her situation and her talents. Yasamin was going to go as soon as she was ready and there was no chance she would stay even if I was willing to ask her to, then, she would go to her capital in southern India, a place far further from Moscow than Warsaw was. Yasamin was out and rather convincingly so. I suppose Terezia was possible, but that just felt wrong. She wasn't my type either, though, admittedly, she was closer to what I wanted than Yasamin was. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt Yelizaveta by taking Terezia away from her when I didn't really want the Hungarian woman to begin with and would only be taking her to escape my feelings for Liz. I couldn't be with Krystyna, I couldn't be with Yasamin, I couldn't be with Terezia, but Yelizaveta was right there. Her long and beautiful legs were endless as I followed the up from her bare feet, across her flawless calves to her healthy knees, up across her delicious thighs to the hem of that off-white nightgown that was teasing me so. I saw the little sleep dress just barely covering up her tight figure and I saw her tempting breasts kept away from me by only a few feet of distance and a pair of easily discarded garments. I could practically see myself marking Liz as mine when I scanned her smooth pale neck, just waiting to be bit by her own big sister's teeth. Finally, I meant those identical blue eyes. The same eyes that I wore, the eyes that meant that we were, undeniably, sisters. She flashed me an open mouthed grin before coming over to the cot and laying down next to me, only drowning me in more temptation.
My little sister's arms wrapped around my waist and her long bare legs rubbed against mine. My arms were practically automatic as they came up and wrapped themselves around Yelizaveta. I felt desire twisting me to my very core, I felt myself start to shake as my body demanded more and more of what I simply could not have, and I felt my teeth chatter as I was reminded of that kiss Yelizaveta and I shared - the one we never should have had. That kiss should have meant the last bit of inappropriate action we ever shared, the end of our feelings as I pursued Krystyna and she pursued Terezia, but now...now that kiss was just a reminder of what was so very close. All I would have to do is lean my head in and we would be kissing again. The distance was impossibly short but it was made impossibly long by the fact that kissing her would mean an undeniable incestuous action provoked by a sinful, unholy desire. I locked eyes with Yelizaveta and saw the same battle going on in her. the same battle between her sexual desire and her position as my sister.
I couldn't bare the see my little sister like that and I knew that I was doing absolutely the wrong thing - I knew that my actions would send us down a road that would destroy our relationship as sisters and either leave us forever apart or leave us consumed by our own sinful desire - I made a decision I never would have made if I wasn't downright delirious with desire. Wordlessly, I repositioned my legs and positioned my left thigh between Yelizaveta's legs. Her face lit up with a silent question and I simply nodded in reply. I watched as she bit her lip and her body started moving. A moment later I felt damp, radiant heat against my thigh. I then felt the source of that unrestricted desire begin rubbing itself against my thigh. Yes, that is right, it isn't us, it is our bodies, I could be distant, I could pretend this wasn't a conscious and mutual decision. The question is...did I want to think of this that way?
As I watched my little sister, the most beautiful woman I have ever see, completely and utterly in a sexual act, I didn't want to be distant. I kept one arm around Yelizaveta but I slid the other hand below the blanket around us and into the darkness where unspeakable events her occurring. Yelizaveta's core was riding my thigh on its way to climax and I found its twin between my legs. For the first time since this war began I felt my own fingers touching myself and I instantly felt the moist tightness overcome with desire. Within moments I was in lock-step with Yelizaveta as blue eyes looked into blue eyes. Sister looked into sister as we both realized what was about to happen. I saw a drop of blood on Liz's lips as she bit down as hard as she could to silence herself and I knew that I had to do something else to silence her screams of pleasure before she either hurt herself or unwittingly announced our sin to the entire camp. My lips crashed against hers as my desire exploded against my hand and hers against my leg. I heard her muffled scream fill my mouth and I knew she was feeling the same thing. The scream subsided and her eyes fluttered shut as she shook with pleasure in the aftershocks of orgasm. I lost a moment somewhere in there when my body was overcome with stimulus and my eyes watered over. I released my tears and I released my sister's lips as we both drifted off to effortless sleep. We both knew that we sinned and that we would have to talk about eventually, but neither of us cared. We were absolutely on cloud nine and, that night, the two of us slept better on a cot than we ever had on a real bed. Such a perfect rest from such an imperfect action.
I woke up with my arms around an angel.
So much of her flawless ivory skin was exposed as the light from outside filled the tent. My eyes trailed up from her gentle, light feet across her long, feminine legs. I blushed as my eyes came across the hem of her nightgown and I remembered last night's sin. We did not necessarily have sex, but we came as close as possible to that line without undeniably breaking it...I don't care what it's called, I shouldn't know what my sister's most intimate areas feel like against my body. I shook those thoughts away as my eyes threatened to fill with tears. Her nightgown hung off her right hip, falling against her figure as it sloped inwards for her miniature yet healthy waist before sloping back outwards for her chest. I did not dare look at her breasts because I know that doing so would only lead me to a sinful reprise of last night's events. My eyes devoured her neck once again as I thought about how easily I could bite her neck now and announce to the world that she was mine - and I couldn't help but think of the mess such an event would cause. I would be pulled off the throne with Yelizaveta behind me and, if she was lucky, Sofiya would be left with a throne that she never wanted, if she were unlucky, Sophie too would be dragged down for a sin she had nothing to do with...how would Sophie ever even look at us again if she found out what her two sisters did to each other?
My eyes were drawn to her lips next, the lips which I kissed so sinfully last night just before my sister and I were consumed by mutual orgasm. There was a little dark red scar left over on the otherwise evenly pink surface of her bottom lip left over from last night when she tried to stifle herself, but, if anything, that scar only made her lips more desirable. I suppose it was a bit of a mark of my work, it is there because of the effect I had on her last night when we were...dry humping I guess? And the reason it isn't worse than it is because I kissed her. That scar told the story of exactly what I did to her but only I would know...and I found that both terrifying and incredibly pleasing. I was a woman of two halves right now, I was part Tsarina of Russia and loving sister and I was part incestuous freak...the worst part is, despite a perfectly happy relationship with Terezia, now Yelizaveta is undeniably an incestuous freak as well. Tears flowed from my eyes but I did not dare sob - sobbing would only wake Liz up and make the two of us confront our actions - instead, I just looked at those lips again and saw them arranged in a blissful smile. How could the same event leave her smiling in heavenly delight while I cry in hellish sin?
Then, something changed and my eyes darted up to meet that pair of blue eyes. I watched as Liz realized I was crying and her expression immediately changed to a concerned frown. With one hand, she reached up and wiped away half my tears before tucking my hair behind my ear, next, she leaned in and kissed my other tears away one by one. I knew that I should have recoiled or cried more as we were once again on a path towards further unspeakable acts, but I couldn't. I was too weak to deny how good it felt and how comforting it was...how comforting Yelizaveta was.
"Why are you crying my love?" she whispered softly. I looked at her questioningly.
"How could you possibly call me that? I'm your sister..." I objected but I doubted it would do any good. I have stated that it is wrong and that it is sinful countless times but it has not stopped us. Realistically, we knew a night after what happened in Minsk that continuing to sleep together did nothing to temper this desire, in fact, it had the opposite effect - the desire grew and grew and grew - yet, here we were, still sharing the same cot in the same tent despite the fact that we obviously could provide another tent for Yelizaveta. I barely even argued against bringing Liz here, luring her far away from her healthy relationship with her girlfriend and into my arms. All of that came to a climax last night just as the two of us did. Lady Krystyna couldn't kill these feelings, Terezia couldn't kill these feelings, and we barely even tried. Now, I wondered if they could every go away. Would I ever forget how quickly I drove myself to climax just by being in intimate contact with Yelizaveta? Would Liz ever forget how my skin felt against her most sacred place? Would the two of us ever stop yearning for more? This had to end now, going any further would only lead us down a self-destructive path, hell, it was probably already far too late, but we had to do something. There was no way we could just go on living with these feelings. We had to bury them so deep they'll never be able to hurt us again.
"Nastya..." Liz begged me to listen with that lovely diminutive of my name that I always loved hearing coming from her lips. Despite my better judgement, I succumbed ans I listened. I suppose a not-so-secret part of me wanted nothing more than to see this relationship go all the way and beyond, but that part of me had no business in this world and certainly not anywhere near my little sister "I love you, I always have. You're my favorite sister, you're my confidant, and, whether you want to admit it or not, after last night, you're my lover too. I know it's sinful, I know we'll have to keep it a secret from everyone, even Sofiya and mom, and I know we'll lose everything if we're ever caught, but I'm willing to take that risk for you. You're the smartest, most beautiful, most intelligent person I know and I am absolutely head over heels in love with you and I don't care in the slightest that you're my older sister. We could be twins and I wouldn't give a damn. I love you and I want to be with you. That night in Minsk made me more sure of my sexuality than any book or servant girl ever could. That night was magical, last night was magical, and I can't wait to spend many, many more magical nights with you. Russia is yours, Caucasia is yours, now just say the word and I'll be yours. And don't you dare deny yourself Anastasia because I know you want me and I know that you always get what you want!"
"...What about Terezia?" I meekly objected. More and more of me wanted to just agree and kiss Yelizaveta until my lips fell off, but I knew that I couldn't. I had the most beautiful woman in the world in my arms asking me to be with her and I can't even get over the fact that we're sisters.
"What about Terezia?" Liz replied with a surprising coldness, I widened my eyes as she explained "Anastasia...Terezia doesn't hold a candle to you. It shattered my heart when I saw you and Krystyna so happy together and I tried to love Terezia, I really did. She's sweet, she's intelligent, and she's so hard-working. I respect her, I enjoy her company, and I think she is an excellent friend, but I cannot even compare her to you. Every kiss she and I had paled in comparison to that goodbye kiss you and I shared. Your kiss dwarfs everything I've experienced. That kiss with the servant girl made me realize I was a lesbian and I could forget about it completely after that kiss we shared last night. If I could go back in time and act with the knowledge that I have now, I would never have kissed that servant girl - I want that night in Minsk to be when I realized my sexuality and I want that kiss at Kolomenskoye to be my first kiss. So no, Terezia is not an issue. She and I never even made love despite the fact that she clearly wanted to. Just say the word and I'll forget everything about Terezia by the end of the week."
"What happened to the shy little girl who had her nose stuffed in a book?" I asked her, completely shocked and mesmerized by all that she was telling me. Somehow, I felt guilty that I had sex with Krystyna all those times. I felt like I cheated on Yelizaveta...how is it possible that I had sex with a woman that I loved and now I couldn't help but think that doing so was cheating on my little sister? What is wrong with me?
"I learned from you Anastasia. You're the perfect monarch. You're smart, you're cunning, and you have assembled a group of powerful people all around you. You won't tolerate anyone questioning you as you demonstrated with General Mikhailovich yesterday and, like I said, you always get what you want. You wanted Byelorussia and the Ukraine, so you took it all, you wanted Crimea and Caucasia so we're taking it, you wanted The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth so Lady Krystyna is leading their armies for you. You always get what you want and you want me. So, before you spend the rest of our lives mumbling some nonsense about sin when you essentially control our Church, I'm going to take what I want. The sooner you stop fighting this the sooner we both can be happy." I stared into Yelizaveta's eyes and saw complete and utter devotion. I was her world. I was the one who told her it was okay to be a lesbian, I was the one who let her come along with me to wars and finally see the world from beyond the sheltered walls of Kolomenskoye and the Kremlin, and, as horrible as it is to say, I am basically the one to take her virginity even if it wasn't exactly blatant, unapologetic sex. She wasn't in love with me in spite of being of her sister, she was in love with me because I was her sister. It was so wrong, it was so perverted, but, unfortunately for the both of us, it was so real.
"W...we can't..." I coughed out as I was overcome with tears. I didn't have any argument to fight her with anymore, everything I offered was either irrelevant or she didn't care about it anyway. There was no way to fight the fact that we were freaks and I couldn't help but cry and feel helpless. Yelizaveta was right and wrong about me getting anything I wanted. I could have land and she made it very clear that I could have her, but what I wanted at this point was a return to a normal life and, after all that has happened between Liz and I, there was no way that we were going to have that anymore.
"Fine, keep lying to yourself." Yelizaveta got out of the cot with a huff and threw her nightgown away, she angrily and quickly got dressed before turning back to me "Just know that once you're done coming up with excuses and you're ready to be happy again, I'll be there waiting for you, even if you decide to tear through every woman between here and Yekaterinburg before finally settling on the one you really love. I love you Anastasia." Yelizaveta announced before marching out of the tent. I wept alone and in silence as I wondered how I could be the one in the wrong here? I never imagined that I could feel like such a vile, disgusting person for refusing an incestuous relationship, yet here I was, wallowing in pity because my sister and I wanted to be with each other so bad but I couldn't get over the fact that it seemed so impossible and so forbidden.
I found General Mikhailovich sat on a rock reading from a book about the last days of The Byzantine Empire. I was admittedly more concerned about what was going on with Yelizaveta, but I had to admit, I was somewhat interested in seeing the general in a slightly different light. It was hard to maintain a professional relationship with the man when all I knew about him was that he was a very experienced general and that his political positions left him rather ostracized. Perhaps getting to know him would improve our professional relationship and make him look at my political side in a more positive light. Yesterday, I shut him down after questioning my administration, but there is a big difference between silencing someone and actually changing their views.
"General," I greeted as I sat down backwards on a log by the extinguished campfire to face him. This particular area was a circular grouping of tents belonging to our generals, commanders, and other high ranking staff. The tent that Liz and I shared was at the end of the circle while Yasamin's tent, a later addition, was somewhat disconnected and located next to her carriage. The rest of our troops were spread out throughout the area surrounding Trabzon. The two camps adjacent to this one contained Muscovite infantry, ready to rush in here in a moment's notice should the situation call for it. Trabzon was the Turkish name for the place, but I think I preferred to call it Trebizond, the name of the Byzantine fortress and the source of the Turkish name. I am sure that Sultana Helena and the Turks would refer to this place as Trabzon all they like, but after The Battle of Tskhumi and The Siege of Yerevan, I didn't really care what Sultana Helena thought about the fringes of her Empire. I knew that it would all be stripped away piece by piece.
"Tsarina Anastasia." He nodded, his voice was respectful and maybe a touch apologetic, not that the general would ever actually voice an apology for his behavior yesterday. I figured that it was a pride thing - he knew he was in the wrong but he had too much pride to actually voice that - and I just rolled my eyes at that childish antic. The absolutist within me wanted to be mad at the general for showing pride, but I figured that breaking him and forcing him to grovel before me wasn't exactly going to make the general inclined to open up to me.
"I didn't take you for a historian general, keen to learn about my ancestors?" I teased, letting him know that I wasn't harboring a grudge over what happened last night. I was an absolutist ruler and I claimed the divine right of Kings, but I didn't want to embrace the whole megalomaniac routine some absolutists portrayed. I thought that it would only alienate useful people who could become bureaucrats and puppets, not to mention that I thought the whole routine reeked of insanity. No, I preferred to show my authority when necessary and be myself when I could afford to do so. I gave Dmitri a stern warning yesterday and he seemed to be taking it, even if he wasn't actually going so far as to admit it, there was no need to bring the hammer down on him again. Perhaps once I put my plan to have generals build experience against the Hordes I could put such a plan into action, but for now, I wasn't going to punish one of my top generals for what is, essentially, a minor disagreement over running my country. Even if he did go way beyond his station in questioning me.
"Your ancestors?" he asked, seemingly somewhat more relieved that this conversation was much more casual and mirthful than the last one we shared. He did seem to be a bit amused by me casually addressing the Byzantine Emperors as my ancestors, though, it was a valid point, I was indeed descended from many of the final Byzantine Emperors and, considering the practice of royal marriages and the rather limited number of royals, I'm sure going back I have some somewhat distant links to many of the earlier, more famous dynasties who reigned in Constantinople.
"Yes, The House Rurikovich had an extensive history marrying with Princesses from the Palaiologos and Komnenos dynasties." I explained. The Komnenos reigned in Constantinople first but, through their rump state based right here in Trebizond, the Komnenos actually managed to reign for somewhat longer than the Palaiologos in Constantinople who fell to the Turks in 1453. Though soon enough, Trebizond too fell, absorbed into The Ottoman Empire as nothing but Trabzon, an old fortress protecting Anatolia from any assaults from Georgia or any other Caucasian power. Eventually, the final Byzantine state left was the Principality of Theodoro and, not too long ago, it fell too, with a certain Helena of Gothia being the most notable survivor. The fall of Constantinople, the fall of Trebizond, and the fall of Theodoro only strengthened Russia's claim to the Third Rome. We were the continuation of the Orthodox superpower to the east of Europe. The fact that we were by far the largest and strongest of the few remaining sovereign Orthodox states certainly did not hurt my case either.
"Ah yes...though I didn't think you royals would be so quick to think of your extended family. After all, you'll quickly find any potential husbands sharing many of the same ancestors." Mikhailovich replied, I took away two things from his comment. The first of which was that he expected me to get married - this was good, I wasn't going to, obviously, but the excuse of remaining unmarried to guarantee my own power as an absolutist monarch would only work so long as no one got the idea that I was homosexual. Once the nobles realized that I wasn't straight, they would demand that I get married to a foreign Prince, likely one of their choosing that they thought they could control, and if I refused, they would probably attempt to remove me off the throne with a religious justification. No, my sexuality was going to remain a secret, especially as Yelizaveta has seemingly fully embraced these incestuous feelings. Speaking of incest, it seems that Mikhailovich is dismissing royalty as incestuous altogether, though at very least he wasn't feeling quite as bold as he was yesterday.
"Well hold on there for a minute - I claim the divine right to rule, yes?" I asked, I suppose this is as close as I'll ever get to asking for advice on these monstrous feelings but I wasn't exactly going to be blatant about what I was asking Mikhailovich, especially because I never figured I would be asking the cold general for relationship advice. He didn't know where I was going with this but the expression on his face betrayed his suspicion, I raised an eyebrow and he wiped that expression off his face. He thought about it for a moment before sighing.
"Yes, my Tsarina, you do indeed claim that divine right." General Mikhailovich answered, being sure to answer the question in the most impersonal way possible, he did not want to say that I had the divine right to rule but, especially after yesterday, he did not dare say anything that would offend me. He was learning his place, a bit later than the other generals did, but I think he was starting to get it. In any case, he did admit it, therefore, I decided to keep pressing, I was going to get some advice from an unlikely source one way or another.
"Therefore, surely there must be a divine quality to my blood?" I pressed, the general hesitated a bit longer this time and I was starting to doubt this strategy. First of all, there was the fact that I knew I didn't really care for Dmitri's opinion either way and I was just looking for someone to take the burden of making a decision away from me just this once, second of all, I recognized that the way I was phrasing these questions, in the context of Mikhailovich trying to make up for questioning me previously, I was pressuring him into giving me an answer that was in favor of incest. More and more of me was ready to stop resisting and just embrace these feelings, but I knew it was wrong and I knew that, even if I did manage to maneuver Mikhailovich into saying that royals should be incestuous, that really doesn't mean anything about my situation. I was just pressuring him into giving what we both know was really the wrong answer and, even then, if he did admit it, he was admitting it in the context of me marrying some distant male relative, probably some sort of German Prince.
"...I suppose you would, yes." Mikhailovich admitted nonetheless. I wondered what the right thing to do now would be. Leaving now before completing this line of questioning would seem suspicious and unnatural, however, continuing it would only lead to the possibility of Dmitri realizing I had engaged in incestuous acts...though given that he didn't know my sexuality...would he truly realize? I mean, he clearly meant I was referring to some foreign Prince who was distantly related to me, he couldn't possibly predict I meant someone as directly related to me as Yelizaveta. Finishing this line of questioning wouldn't give me any real answers after all, but it wouldn't exactly hurt anything either. I would lead Mikhailovich into giving whatever answer he was going to give me and then I would come up with some sort of excuse that I was going to go think about it. At that point, I think I would go talk with Yasamin. I think that I could afford to be a bit more honest with her and I figured I would at least be able to take her advice somewhat seriously.
"By that logic, should I not be with other individuals who have this divine blood? After all, wouldn't anything else dilute the bloodline and produce impure heirs?" I asked the final part of the question, this would get his real answer on incest, even if I knew at this point that his answer didn't really matter and it wasn't going to affect my situation in the slightest. At this point, I wasn't even sure if Yasamin could help me, sure I at least felt comfortable telling her that I was a lesbian and that I wanted to be with someone I couldn't be with, but even then I wasn't giving her the full answer. She probably would have thought I meant an attractive woman or, depending on how much research she put into my court before approaching me, she may have even connected some dots and figured I meant being with Krystyna despite the distance between us. Hell, Yasamin probably would have thought I was referring to her before she would have suspected one of my sisters, after all, given that Yasamin was using her uncle and cousins as heirs rather than getting married, I suspected she was a lesbian. I respected Yasamin's opinion, however, how valuable was her opinion when she didn't know the full context? Yelizaveta and I were the only ones who knew the full context of our love and we were the only ones who could know, therefore, asking anyone else was just going to get answers unknowingly approving an incestuous relationship.
"My Tsarina, if I understand the divine right to rule correctly, wouldn't your claim by the only valid one? I mean, why would God choose multiple dynasties? Unless you only plan to marry within The House Rurikovich, it all seems rather ridiculous." He replied. Now that, was somewhat unexpected. I knew there was a chance he would refuse even if I did pressure him into giving an answer, but he went so far as to dismiss the whole idea of the divine right to rule because, yeah, almost every King in Europe claimed the divine right, but all of us claimed the exclusive divine right, therefore, if we were going to say that blood was divine, the only way that would truly work is to marry close relatives. I suppose Mikhailovich and the Spanish Habsburgs had similar ideas to royal marriages after all, given that the particular branch of the Austrian house was notorious for incest, not that I can judge. Though...did that mean that my own absolutist logic was pointing to a relationship with Yelizaveta? Of course not, we couldn't reproduce even if we wanted to, it wouldn't make sense to use that divine blood argument to justify incest, especially because we knew the reality was inbreeding. A stupid part of my brain was hoping for any justification to embrace Yelizaveta and, well, I suppose an equally stupid part of my brain was hoping for any justification to find a way to avoid these incestuous feelings.
"Well...I suppose you have left me something to think about general. Let me know if something changes with the siege." I figured when I came up with the excuse that I really wouldn't have much to think about, but Dmitri did indeed leave me with a lot on my mind. It is clear as day that it was becoming harder and harder to resist Liz especially as she was willing to ignore how disgusting these feelings are. I needed someone to remind me of just how horrible this is and I think that Liz needed to hear that too, but I had no way of getting someone to tell us that without revealing either my sexuality or the fact that this was incestuous. Those who knew enough about me to know my sexuality were too important to me for me to scare them off with the revelation that I was an incestuous freak and those who didn't know my sexuality were irrelevant to me, I wouldn't respect their opinion. I sighed, I should have been focusing on The Siege of Trebizond, instead, I was wallowing in my own indecision and the horrible feelings I had been nursing for nearly a year now finally confronting me. I had to see Yasamin soon, perhaps the Persian with desires on southern India could give me the answers I needed to hear...or perhaps she could give my incestuous side the final push it needed to devour me and push me towards devouring my own sister. I had no idea what Yasamin would recommend, but I had to know.
I found Yasamin sat on an ornate rug speaking softly in what I assumed was Arabic - Yasamin was a bit of a polyglot it seems, she knew her native Persian, Turkish, Russian, I believe she spoke one of the southern Indian languages, and she at least knows enough Arabic to go through Islamic prayer rituals - she was facing to the southeast. I silently waited for her to finish. I believed in God and, for the most part, my values were derived from the Russian Orthodox Church - though given that the Patriarch of Moscow ultimately answers to me, it is rather easy to agree with that Church, especially since the Church has an important rule with justifying my rule. In any case, I was an Orthodox Christian, however, I wasn't particularly pious myself. I couldn't exactly see myself in Yasamin's shoes, but that didn't mean I was going to disturb her religious issues. If prayer is significant to her experience as a Shia Muslim, then I won't disturb her.
"Tsarina Anastasia," Yasamin greeted.
"Yasamin," I greeted in response before getting to the reason why I am here "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."
"What about?" the Persian asked in response.
"Well, I am absolutely in love and lust with a girl who I shouldn't have anything to do with. I was hoping for some advice." I laid out as much as I felt I could to Yasamin. I made it clear that it was a homosexual relationship and I made it clear that it was taboo beyond that, I was hoping she wouldn't pry much further. I would be willing to explain that the love is forbidden but I wouldn't dare explain why. Yasamin is a cultured woman, she is a Persian with roots to India who grew up with a father who was administering an Armenian city under a Turkmen dynasty, however, one thing that all those cultures had in common was that incest was unacceptable - well cousins were fine in most cases, but siblings was unheard of, everyone could agree that feelings for your own flesh and blood sister were wrong and sinful - even she wouldn't be able to face me if she knew the full truth. Only Yelizaveta and I can ever know about the feelings and about what happened last night, that event that should absolutely never happen again.
"My father was reduced to a mere administrator under a foreign dynasty ruling over a city far, far away from where he wanted to be." Yasamin began and I didn't know quite how this story could possibly be related to my predicament, nevertheless, I quietly listened, hoping to find answers even if I wasn't quite sure how Yasamin was going to give me those answers "He knew of our Bahmanid past but to him it was nothing more than a nostalgic interest. He collected some turquoise art and paintings from southern India and even married a Kannada Muslim woman as his third wife - my mother - but to him, it was all a dream. Now I'm here with you, getting the mighty Tsardom of Russia to support my cause. The Bahmanid Sultanate went from a nostalgic dream to an almost tangible probability in a single generation. Nothing is impossible Anastasia, certainly not love. Between your beauty and your brains, you can have any woman in the world, homosexual or otherwise. Fret not over rules because you have the power to change any rule in the Tsardom of Russia, even religious rules. I promise you that I won't have it that easy if I choose to pursue a woman in my eventual Sultanate. Don't hold yourself back, take her and don't look back."
"I wish it were that easy..." I hesitated. Yasamin did have a point in that it certainly wasn't impossible, if anything, it was all too possible, it was downright probable. She also had a point that I had it relatively easy, I was already established as Tsarina of Russia and I had the capability of using the Church and the laws to subtly tweak Russia's position on homosexuality, first by trimming those laws from the law book, next by toning down the condemnation in Churches, and, slowly but surely turning public opinion from hatred to apathy to ambivalence to tolerance. I have no doubt that this process would take decades if not centuries, but I have the power to put it motion, something which Yasamin wouldn't be able to do even if she was able to establish a degree of absolutist rule in southern India. I was fortunate in many ways and I demonstrated that when I was able to be with Krystyna without any problems, but there is a big difference between a homosexual relationship and an incestuous homosexual relationship.
"Has the woman who decided to declare war on The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Ottoman Empire within a year of each other and somehow managed to pull it off suddenly decided to worry about what is and what is not easy? Look, if you care enough about this woman that she is still in your head despite the fact that you think being with her is impossible, that means you really do want and, from how little I know you, I know you can and will take whatever it is you want." I looked up at Yasamin as she said virtually the same thing that Yelizaveta told me this morning. I take what I want. I took Byelorussia and the Ukraine, I took Krystyna, and now I'm taking the fight to The Ottoman Empire itself, I have the land and I had Krystyna, I can have more too. I can have Yelizaveta and everyone I've asked so far has told me to pursue it, but none of them know the whole truth.
I looked into Yasamin's deep brown eyes and thought about it for a moment, the Persian - well Indo-Persian as it turns out - woman clearly admired and respected me. She also made it quite clear, several times, that she needs my help because she needs a base of operations to gather her government and prepare resources for establishing a Sultanate - raising an army is the least of her concerns, she doesn't just care for conquering bits of southern India, she cares about keeping them and making them her own, she needs to ensure her state can actually last before throwing herself into it and turning this Sultanate into a reality - I didn't exactly want to tell her the truth, I didn't want to see that admiration and respect wash away because of the dark and terrible truth of what I really am, but she is in debt to me. I can tell Yasamin and she won't be able to run away or call me a freak, not to mention that as a foreigner and a Muslim, the nobles of Moscow wouldn't exactly believe her even if she did decide to reveal my secret. I could tell her.
"...It's not me, is it?" Yasamin asked, a slight blush on her brownish cheeks. I winced, I was deep in thought and I was starring into her eyes a mere moment after telling her that I was in love with somebody I shouldn't be with. Through in the fact that I could feel myself smiling - likely a result of the relief I felt from when I realized the possibility of having someone to talk to about this - and yeah, I could see how she could misinterpret this.
"What? No! No..." I shot her down and hoped it didn't seem too mean, but perhaps it was because she released a somewhat disappointed noise. I thought about addressing it but I figured it would only lead to more awkwardness, after all, with the comments of my beauty and my smarts, I had a pretty good idea that Yasamin was attracted to me, given that the feeling wasn't mutual, I would rather not dwell on it too much. I took a deep breath before I decided to reveal my deepest, darkest secret to a woman I hadn't even meant that long age, though I suppose it was better that way, less pain if she considers it disgusting. Anyway, I was done stalling, I needed help "It...It's Yelizaveta."
"So?" Yasamin replied, anticlimactically. My eyes widened a bit at just how instant and nonchalant the dismissal of incest was. Yasamin didn't even seem all that shocked despite the fact that she knew damn well that Yelizaveta and I were sisters. I was shocked - why isn't she disgusted? Why isn't she at least thinking about it? Why was she so instant to drop the whole thing as if it were nothing? I couldn't believe it. Yasamin, seeing the expression on my face, opted to explain herself "It's not like the two of you are going to produce inbred heirs. You're a pair of beautiful woman and, to be honest, thinking back, it's pretty obvious that you two are attracted to each other. All the glances and stares, sharing the tent, no to mention the fact that she even dresses like you. If I had a sister that looked like either of you, I would want to pursue an incestuous relationship too. Go for it."
"The fact that we're related doesn't bother you?" I asked her, I couldn't believe that not only was Yasamin not disgusted in me, but she was telling me to pursue these feelings and even went so far as to say that she would do the same thing in my shoes. How was I supposed to avoid my feelings for Yelizaveta when Yasamin was literally telling me to go ahead and pursue these feelings when she knew the full context? Even General Mikhailovich, who didn't know the full context and seemed to not even agree with the divine right of Kings, managed to twist the idea of divine blood into saying that royals should, according to our own logic, engage in direct family incest? I'm sure that Mikhailovich did not intend for me to be incestuous, he was using that argument to shoot down the divine right, but considering that I was struggling with incestuous feelings, he certainly didn't help. Yelizaveta wanted it, I wanted it, and Yasamin was telling me to pursue it. At this point, I couldn't help but wonder...would it really be all that bad if Liz and I were together?
"Is it weird? Yes, yes it is. However, that being said, you two are obviously in love and I see no reason why you shouldn't be together despite the fact that you two happen to be sisters. No one needs to know and I promise you that I will not reveal your secret. I know that we have not known each other long, but because you are willing to help me and because you are willing to trust me with this, I consider you a dear friend and a cherished ally. Thank you Anastasia." Yasamin smiled warmly. I thought back on the admiration that Yelizaveta had for me, the fact that even Mikhailovich was being respectful of me as of late, and now Yasamin's praise of me. I always wanted to be the great absolutist monarch of Russia, an individual who could crush entire Kingdoms with ease, someone whose name carried weight as far away as Paris and London, now, it seemed like I was finally making some progress. The people around me were realizing my accomplishments. I cut The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in half and, with Krystyna soon to be on the throne, I will create a permanent relationship between Russia and Poland, I invaded The Ottoman Empire and crushed one of their armies, the banes of Europe, in battle at Tskhumi, and now, my armies were practically unopposed as we laid siege to the great fortifications of Trebizond and Tabriz. The Russian Imperial Army surrounds Trebizond, the final relic of The Byzantine Empire ready to reclaim anything and everything that will solidify our claim as the Third Rome, meanwhile, the Army of the Caucasus has begun the Siege of Tabriz, prepared to take the city which once served as a capital to powerful states such as the mighty Ilkhanate and the Qara Qoyunlu Turkmen who now reign over Persia. Neither city would become part of The Tsardom of Russia, not yet anyway, but we will gladly loot them to pieces and take their wealth to my new Moscow, adorning my refurbished capital with evidence of our great victories over The Ottomans in The Russo-Ottoman War, likely the first of many conflicts for the glory of Russia.
"Thank you Yasamin, I...I think I have to talk to Yelizaveta about this." I sincerely thanked her before rising up with a clear goal in my mind. The Turks were at my mercy and I was loving it, I was absolutely on top of the world and I was only being held back because I was unwilling to act on these feelings for Yelizaveta. I cannot deny that the kiss we shared was better than any kiss I had with Krystyna, I cannot deny that what happened last night was better than outright sex with Krystyna, I cannot deny that I have incestuous feelings anymore. I am the Tsarina of Russia, I am the one who will civilize the great steppes of southern Russia, I am the one whose name will bring fear into the hearts of the greatest and bravest Ottoman generals, I am the one who will turn a large but backwater Russia into a superpower that Europe will never be able to ignore again. I am Anastasia Aleksandrovna Rurikovich and I am in love with my sister. I have held myself back too long and I have too often lied to myself that these feelings would go away, but they have not and they will not, but I will not suffer because of these feelings. No matter what happens or where these feelings lead, I will take this journey with Yelizaveta.
Yelizaveta had ignored me all day and I had only managed to run into her that night when she finally entered our tent. My little sister was clearly still angry and didn't even acknowledge me as she angrily changed out of her military uniform and into her nightgown. My scorned sister laid down as far away from me as the cot would allow and faced away from me. I had hurt her and I had hurt myself. These feelings are wrong, they are monstrous, and they are disgusting, but we have them and trying to fight that will only lead to more pain and more suffering. I almost let my resistance destroy everything that Liz and I have built together since she came out to me, the relationship I have established with my brilliant little sister as she has grown from a shy and bookish girl into now, an almost seventeen year old confident and powerful heiress who has observed me create an absolutist state and take an ever-increasing role in leading our armies. Now, it was time to pay her back for showing me my sexuality, for allowing me to enjoy all those nights we slept together while I tried to lie to myself and say that it was wrong and it was torturous, and for being willing to wait for me when I was being so foolish and so stubborn. I was almost disgusted with myself because of how quickly and how completely I was willing to jump into this relationship with my own flesh and blood, but I didn't care anymore. Seeing Liz so angry and so alone on this cot was the final straw I needed to finally open my eyes and see the love I and been waiting for all along. Krystyna was never going to make me forget about Yelizaveta, Yasamin was never going to make me forget about Yelizaveta, but Yelizaveta can certainly make me forget about my reservations.
I scooted over to Liz and I wrapped my around around her waist and rested my head in her neck. I swept her hair away and kissed her neck before coming up to bite her ear. I felt Liz tense up below me as she transitioned from anger to confusion to realization and finally to elation. I had done wrong and I had lied to the both of us, but I was done lying and I was done running, it was time to embrace the woman I should have been with ever since that night in Minsk which ignited everything. Two Tsarinas of Russia, together at last, just like our names will forever be united together in the name of The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace, the new home of the Russian court and the center of my new Moscow. Perhaps it is fitting that our relationship finally comes together as Andrea and Camillo, my architects from Italy, put my palace together brick by brick...and perhaps it would be fitting if both culminated at the same time. I almost felt Liz smile as I stopped biting her ear and instead unleashed a hot exhale into it before finally telling her the good news.
"What are you doing all the way over there, my love? Is it not time to stop putting distance between us? I think it is about time we both finally embrace who we are and be together?" I whispered into her ear, I wasn't particularly romantic, I didn't think anyone growing up in a sheltered royal life can be particularly good at this sort of thing, but I was definitely going to try for Yelizaveta. I had made a lot of mistakes and I had a lot to make up for. Yelizaveta turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck in a way that felt so natural, so right before kissing me feverishly. Her kisses battered my face but I accepted each and every one of them. Finally, she came at my lips and we engaged in a protracted display of love and lusted. Our tongues wrapped together and we moaned into each other's mouths. This was incest, that much was clear, but could it really be sin? How could something that felt so right be wrong?
"What finally made you realize?" Yelizaveta asked with a smile on her face as she panted to finally catch her breath. I could have said a number of things. I could have said that it was Mikhailovich turning my own logic against me, I could have said that it was Yasamin convincing me that it wasn't all that bad anyway, but really, it all boiled down to the absolutely irresistible object of my affections. As I watched this beautiful woman become so happy, as I felt her in my arms, and as I realized that, going forward, I could kiss her, touch her, be with her whenever I wanted, I knew that, in the end, it was all because of her. My beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful little sister who I held in my arms when I was just three years old, the girl who would one day be my heiress and the mighty rule of Russia, but before all that, she will be the girl who will be everything for me - she will be my lover, my confidant, and my sister - she was perfect and she was mine, all mine. It felt so liberating to finally be in this position. I felt like the weight of the world was off of my shoulders and that together, we could accomplish anything. I loved Krystyna, I really did, but Liz was the woman who I was always meant to be with.
"You did." I said with complete and utter sincerity. We enjoyed each other that night before drifting off into effortless sleep. There was only one bridge left to cross but Yelizaveta was understanding when I told her that I wanted our first real time having sex to be in the walls of our new palace rather than on some cot on the fringes of Anatolia. For all we knew, we were sleeping over the graves of some of our Komnenos ancestors who reigned over Trebizond. No, our special kind of love deserves a special place, and I can think of no place more special than the magnificent palace that will carry our names.
I was absolutely blissful the next morning as Yelizaveta and I fully threw ourselves at the siege. There were blushing cheeks, fleeting moments of holding hands, and even a few stolen kisses, but we kept everyone far too busy to notice. The artillery crews were working with a downright religious passion as they fired volley after volley into the walls and bastions of Trebizond. It was almost like my troops wanted to blast the now Ottoman town into the form it held as a medieval Byzantine state, though I wasn't quite sure if cannons were quite the way to do that. If they were just working to break the walls and win the siege, however, then they were doing a fantastic job. There was no way that Trebizond was going to survive the summer of 1623 at this rate.
Wave after wave of Russian infantry marched around the city, showing the defenders just how outnumbered they were and how hopeless their situation was. No help was coming, we had already annihilated the Anadolu Ordusu at Tskhumi and Yerevan, any other Ottoman Army would have to abandon their post and there is no way they would do that with how precarious the Turkish position truly is in many of the regions they hold. This war was finally going to beat the Turks and turn the tide for Europe, however, I had to be careful. I didn't want the Turks to be able to be able to expand any further into Hungary or anywhere else in Europe, however, I didn't want the Europeans to carve them up either. I wanted as much Turkish land for myself as possible. Perhaps one day, centuries from now, Konstantiniyye can be in Russian hands and once again known as Tsargrad, the name granted to it by the people of the Kievan Rus, it was absolutely insane to think about it, but, after all I've done and will do in my reign, who really knows? All I know is that, if I have any hope of that ever happening, I need to ensure that The Ottomans, after this war, remain weaker than Russia but stronger than anyone else in Europe. Only I may conquer them.
Well, I will give an exception to Lady Krystyna, to a degree anyway. I wish to see her push her claims to the maximum extent. Now that The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is my ally and, in many ways, a subject, I want to see them become a wealthy and prosperous Kingdom, I want to see them grow large, and I want to see their armies pursuing the ambitions of a brave and talented woman who I loved, but did not love enough. I know now that I can only be happy with Yelizaveta, but I want her to be happy too, if not with me, then maybe she can achieve happiness by becoming the most powerful ruler in Catholic Europe. She can lead a revitalized Poland stretching from the Baltic in Prussia to the Black Sea in Besarabia, she can press her claim to Bohemia to recreate an independent Czech Kingdom to rival the Habsburgs for power over the German lands, she can use her ties to the Bathory and Transylvania to transform the mountainous fringe Principality into a revitalized Kingdom of Hungary reigning over the entire Pannonian basin, and she can reunite the Hungarian and Neapolitan thrones by going on an ambitious adventure against the Spanish Habsburgs and bringing valuable Italian land into her Empire. She will do great things and, once she dies, four independent regional powers will emerge with one powerful Russia to rise above them all. She will go great things in eastern Europe and it is all beginning now, just across the Black Sea, as she leads the Polish Armia z Besarabia across Moldavia and into The Ottoman Empire proper. Jan the Prussian may still sit on the Polish throne, but it is clear as day to anyone that real power and real influence rests with Krystyna, the true King of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, The Kingdom of Bohemia, The Kingdom of Hungary, and The Kingdom of Naples. I will bring four Kingdoms into the Russian sphere of influence thanks to Lady Krystyna alone and, with Yasamin, I will bring a potentially very powerful and very large south Indian Sultanate into the fold, offering economic opportunities in the distant future and a barricade against my enemies in the short term. The Bahmanid Sultanate will serve to reserve parts of India for Russian influence until we're ready to reach the subcontinent. Now I shall actively pursue this policy, inviting ambitious foreigners, both men and women, to my new Moscow to great a great court to match my great palace, perhaps these foreigners will include potential German Princes and foreign nobles. Soon enough, I will be able to surround and strangle my enemies. It is no secret that The Kingdom of Sweden has ambitions on The Lands of The Livonian Order in the Baltic, now, with The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, I have the Baltic surrounded. From Pskov the Russians can attack from the east and the Poles and Lithuanians can attack from the south. As for Sweden itself, I already have aspirations for taking Vyborg to earn a port on the Baltic and will then be able to invade across Karelia into the Finnish woods, it will be difficult, but it will be possible, especially if we can engage in a two front war. The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway has long been a rival of Sweden and they have battled over dominating the Baltic and for leading the Protestant states of Germany. This is a tension I can capitalize on.
The Danes and Norwegians campaigned into Germany first but were repelled by the Catholic forces, now, as Sweden champions the Protestant cause, the Danes are even considering entering the war on the Catholic side to contain Sweden. The Danes and the Swedes both want Catholic power to decrease, but they don't want the other to gain power in the vacuum, much like my view on the Turks. Considering that the war against The Ottomans was going well and that victory was almost certain, it is just about time to begin plotting for my next major war against Sweden. An alliance between The Tsardom of Russia, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway would strangle Sweden and allow for Russia to easily take the Baltic. I was ready to embark on that war, but first, I had to finish this war and that meant that I had to finally crush the defenses of Trebizond.
"Good news my Tsarina!" General Mikhailovich reported, notably surprisingly chipper. I doubted that this had anything to do with the chat we had yesterday, I figured that he was just pleased about how well the siege was progressing. My guess turned out to be correct once Dmitri began speaking "The Russian Navy has defeated the Ottoman Navy at The Battle of Theodoro. A small fleet of Portuguese ships are heading here to bombard the fortress from the coast while our ships are spreading throughout the Black Sea to establish control over the waters. We are on the verge of total victory."
"My sister was wise to declare war on The Ottoman Empire now, wouldn't you say, general?" Yelizaveta asked with a smirk on her face and admiration in her voice. My sister was evidently still holding a grudge over Dmitri doubting my administrative capabilities, now, my sister and lover, was here to defend my honor and brag about just how wonderful the woman she could have whenever she wanted was. I was glad to see my little sister beginning to come out of her shell and I was even happier to see all the admiration that she had for me. It felt like an incredible release to finally be able to express my love for Liz and I couldn't wait for our palace to finally come together so Liz and I could consummate our relationship in the sheets of our new bed. She was a fantastic woman and, despite the incest, I was glad that we were together. I felt happier today than I have ever since Krystyna left and Liz and I haven't even fully been together yet.
"Perhaps she is." Dmitri reluctantly admitted as the Siege of Trebizond entered its final stage. The ancient Byzantine fortress was absolutely surrounded and, within a week, the Portuguese ships arrived and, from the coast, their guns battered the fortress one last time. They were surrounded by land and now they were being pelted by sea. With all of this going against them, it was no surprise when the Turkish flags were lowered from the fortress and white flags were raised: Trebizond has surrendered, however, that was not entirely perfect. It was now getting close to the end of the summer of 1623 and soon it would be winter. Given that we were going to be crossing rough and harsh terrain across Anatolia, Kurdistan, and into Tabriz in greater Azerbaijan, I did not want to drag my army though mountains and hills only for us to get trapped somewhere halfway between here and Tabriz in the winter. Not to mention the fact that, while the Army of the Caucasus was being supplied through a relatively simple and easy route from the occupied city of Baku, we would be stretching our supply lines while we crossed from Trebizond to Tabriz. I saw what attrition did to Sultana Helena's army and, with winters getting longer and harsher, I felt there was no reason why we couldn't be cautious when victory was already practically predetermined. The Army of the Caucasus will ensure that the fortified city on the Turkish frontier does not get the chance to rest.
The Russian Imperial Army was slowly but surely reinforced and trained throughout the winter as 1623 faded away and 1624 began. I was now twenty years old and Yelizaveta was seventeen. My little sister was blossoming into the future ruler of Russia before my very eyes. She paid attention to everything I did, watching with complete focus, utter admiration, and barely restrained lust. Speaking of lust, we had managed to keep ourselves in control and not violate our promise to save ourselves until we could do it in the palace devoted to us, despite now sharing a proper bed within the administrative building of Trebizond. Though I suppose the fact that we were engaging in borderline acts similar to those we experienced in the tent meant that our desires and our lust was curbed ever so slightly. Nevertheless, I quickly found that being in an incestuous relationship did not bother me nearly as much as I thought it would. Perhaps Yasamin had a point, given that we weren't going to reproduce, were we really harming anyone after all? I suppose not, in fact, it was certainly pleasing the two of us. Yelizaveta was the happiest I have seen her in years and she promised me that I was much happier too...I had to admit, she was probably right. I was in love and in a relationship, the war was going great for Russia, and we managed to recover a number of Byzantine relics left over from the Komnenos dynasty.
Paintings, embellished items, crosses and relics from churches, and even a few dress crowns were recovered and loaded onto a wagon bound for Moscow as the Russian Imperial Army prepared to embark on our spring march to Tabriz, only a year after the war had began and yet total victory seemed so close and so certain. We were truly the heirs of Rome, no other civilization could be this blessed.
"You too look wonderful together." Yasamin remarked with a giggle as she saw Yelizaveta and I donned in our green military uniforms for the first time since taking Trebizond. My hair in a single long braid beneath the imposing tricorne and her hair loose and free, beautifully framing her pale face and wondrous blue eyes. We truly were a matching set and the two of us couldn't be happier about it. Sure we were siblings and sure that meant that our relationship had to be even more secret than even a regular homosexual one because of how taboo and forbidden it was, but there was no denying it was love. Liz and I both realized that continuing to fight these feelings would only lead to suffering and make it harder for me to by Tsarina and her to be my Tsarevna, instead, we had to embrace it and allow our romance to synergize our political relationship rather than allowing our suppression of romance from stifling our political relationship. I only wish I realized that before denying our feelings for months and dragging Krystyna and Terezia into this. Krystyna already has a broken heart because of the distance our plans created and Terezia will inevitably get one once Liz breaks it off. It will hurt them dearly. I regretted all that, but at least now, we could ensure that no one else gets hurt.
"Thank you." I smiled in response as Liz gave Yasamin a hug, I followed a moment later "You know, you and your guards can take your carriage and journey back to Moscow with the treasure wagon, no need to remain on the battlefield with us."
"I appreciate it Tsarina but it won't be necessary. I want to be with the two of you during this war, these experiences will only make me into a better ruler and military leader for when the time comes to establish my Sultanate." Yasamin responded with sound logic. She would have to lead great armies in India against countries with massive populations to conscript soldiers from. She would be up against legions upon legions of infantry, cavalry in the hands of horsemen from as far away as Persia and central Asia, and the fearsome elephant, a staple of Indian warfare. She would indeed have to prepare for these challenges.
"Very well then." I replied before turning to the troops, General Mikhailovich quietly standing by, ready to carry out whatever order I issued "Soldiers! Today, we march to Tabriz to reunite with your brothers in the Army of the Caucasus! March forth to take Tabriz, to sack the great city of Baghdad, and to end not only this war, but Ottoman supremacy! Soldiers! We march to victory!"
"To victory!" my soldiers called out as the order was goal was clear. When Tabriz and Baghdad fall, the war will be over, the way this war is going, Sultana Helena must realize that she may be forced off the throne if the war is allowed to drag on long enough for Damascus, Anatolia, and even the lands surrounding Constantinople itself to be threatened. Sultana Helena will beg for peace, Krystyna in the northwest and I in the northeast will ensure that.
Alright guys, wow, this turned into an unexpectedly long chapter but, with what I accomplished here, I think we are ready for a run of shorter chapters in the 7-9 thousand word range. I will try and not produce any 10,000 word plus behemoth chapters for the next few uploads, give you guys the chance to rest your burned out eye sockets. That is, unless, I stumble onto some magic and end up turning a 7 thousand word chapter into one twice as long by accident.
Ciao! Peace out!