End of 19th century
The railway station in Vienna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A train is announcing it's arrival whit a whistle. There are many people on the platform. Some waiting for their train, others waiting for their loved ones. A young lady waits there as well. In hair and dress, she resembles any middle-class girl. Dressed modestly, with a simple black bag, the only extravagant detail is the hat with quail feathers. While she waits, a bearded figure in a black coat is standing near the gate, paying close attention to her every move.
As the passengers get out, a thin young man gets out dressed in a casual suit. The girl notices the passenger and waves. Seeing this, he joyfully runs towards her and they embrace. Upon close inspection, we see that they have identical facial features. Same wide pearly smile, same nose and lips and the same dual-color eyes.
"I'm so happy to finally see you again?" says Serbia. "Me too. Thank you for making the time to meet me. I rarely get free days, you know" the girl replies. "Of course, I found the time. Whenever you are free, call me and I'll be there on the next train" Serbia says.
Her female companion looks around. "Where is Runt? I miss him" she asks disappointed. "Oh, he says he's avoiding Austria but I think he just doesn't like trains. All those people with their big feet. It makes him nervous" she says as they leave the station. The figure in black follows them making sure that he is in an ear-shot of them.
Next scene: The two identical individuals walk the city streets making the passers-by gawk at them in wonder.
"Are you hungry? I'm taking you to this nice secluded place I know. My treat" the girl says.
"Sounds great. We should celebrate our first outing together" Serbia adds happy.
"Actually, we are celebrating much more than that" the female smiles mysteriously. "Austria and Hungary had a discussion and decided that all the servants at the palace should from now on represent nationalities and not regions. They are really keen on this whole national awakening trend."
"I know, felt it on my own skin" Serbia says bitter. "And then what happened?"
The girl smiles. "Well, all the regions with a Serb majority got together and...There was a showdown, showmanship of skills, intelligence, agility etc...And now" she raises her chin slightly and tilts her head "Now there is only me." Serbia looks at her and taps her on the shoulder proud.
"You are looking at the sole representative of Serbs in Austro-Hungary" the representative continues (from now known as SAH).
"Can't say I'm surprised" Serbia says in a congratulatory manner.
"It was pretty epic actually. I'm so sad you didn't see it" SAH says. "The feeling is mutual" Serbia sighs. As we watch them slowly walking from behind, we see the men in black still sneaking around.
"So what's new? How is everything in the kingdom" the girl asks. "Oh, good, good. There are still a lot of things that need to be done, you know. But, I think there's progress. For example, I don't have as much experts as I would like. I urged the people from rural areas to send more of their children to school and they did. The ambitious even come to big cities to continue their education. It's a little bit unfair to them because they are looked down on and...and sometimes don't have a place to sleep… But there are kind people who help out, and you can always sleep at the cemetery and benches."
"Oh my God, is it that bad? That's not right! You should take better care of our people. Abolish corruption, house the students, give better working conditions and..." SAH criticizes astounded.
"Hey, it's not easy alright! I'm trying my best but there is just so much I can do with the resources I have. Half of our people are still under Ottoman rule. You can't erase that slave-on-your-own-land mentality in a week, despite being the owner of that very same land. It will take at least another generation to change the way people see the world" Serbia raises her voice mad.
SAH frowns but stays quiet.
Serbia continues calmer: "You'd think that chasing away the invaders is the hard part. I realize now that is just a prologue. For true progress you need a stable environment. And for a stable environment you need people that are not constantly looking over their shoulders if someone will attack or not."
"So let me see if I understand. Stable environment means peace, right? Does that mean you will leave the still-occupied half to suffer?"
"No...after I free them, I need a stable environment for progress. And time, lots and lots of time. You know how our people are. If you demand too much too quickly, things might end badly for you."
The girl laughs. "You have a point there. You'll get there, when you're ready. In the meantime, I think I might have some educated young people to help you get on your feet" her counterpart replies.
"Terrific! I'll find them a nice cushy job right away" Serbia says excited.
Next scene: At the place extremely similar to a kafana, the girls have enjoyed a meal and now asked the musicians to come to their table and play their favorite songs. As the instruments (tamburica) play and everyone joins in on the singing, SAH whispers into Serbia's ear: "Don't look and pretend I'm telling you a joke. That guy in black has been following us all day." Serbia laughs loudly and nods.
"That must be Austria's spy. You need to know this but you didn't hear it from me. He hates your guts. Everything about us from the beginning to the 18th century has been erased from history books. You can't even imagine the filthy lies he tells other empires about you. Be very careful when dealing with him. He is not your friend" SAH says and starts clapping and singing loudly. Serbia joins her, but in reality her heart is in her heels.
"Don't worry. I'll always be here for you" SAH continues putting Serbia's head on her shoulder. Serbia genuinely smiles and sheds a tear. The festive atmosphere continues.