Pov Tatiana
The day has finally come. It's been 2 weeks since the party and father kept his promise. He truly did bring me the best teachers in Russ to teach me. You can say what you want about him but at least he keeps his promises, which is more than the average politician does...he was truly unlike a 'good' politician. Perhaps this difference was what led to his downfall... Enough! Concentrate, Tatiana!
"Princess, are you ready to begin your studies?" asked one of the educators before me. Five tutors from various branches of study. Father truly did give me the best.
Not knowing what each man taught, I asked, "Before we begin, may I inquire where each of you specialise?"
"My name if Roman, I am a professor of exact sciences," introduced the one that stood in the center, before presenting his colleague to his right, "Anatoly here will teach you history and geography, while Ivan will be your etiquette teacher," he continued, referring to the man on his left, then the drunkard, "Grigori will be your theology educator while Vladimir will educate you on politics once you are old enough".
I need a moment to think. Vladimir Lenin and Grigori Rasputin. These men weren't even supposed to be here! Just what are you doing you damned devil!
"Is everything all right, your highness?"
"Everything is fine, please continue."
"If you are ready, let us begin with a test suitable for your age. While we don't typically have tests on politics this early, Vladimir insisted anyways."
Great, Lenin wants to give me an exam, what's next, Plato teaching me philosophy? Scratch that. Better not give ideas to Being X.
"Please follow us to the examination," requested professor Roman as he motioned for Anatoly to go and straighten the drunk.
Nodding my head I began to follow him, eyes still on Rasputin. Hopefully he doesn't make any moves on my mother. I really don't want to think about that song anymore.
Taking a seat before the remaining tutors, I requested for them to begin.
—--
It was obvious I would do well on knowledge based subjects set for a five year old, there was nothing to say about it. Being tested on religion was somewhat more of a pain, but it wasn't anything special.
Etiquette was a disaster, it was obvious how poorly I did, yet the teacher complimented me instead. Perhaps he was afraid of upsetting my father.
And for Politics, Lenin wanted me to recite my answers orally.
Lenin sat down in front of me, the other teachers stayed at the sides of the table.
"What does the word politic mean to the princess? It is alright if you do not know, it is a very difficult subject after all."
Lenin must have been put into this world by Being X, it would explain his apathy. But who else did being X bring? Hitler? Stalin? Genghis Khan?
Was he going to start a Communist uprising this time as well? Why hadn't he already? Could I convince him otherwise?
"You don't have to try very hard if you don't know the answer"
"Politics is the science of the governance and organisation of societies and states."
He was definitely taken aback by my answer, "Pardon me for asking , but where did you learn this definition?"
"Nowhere."
Taking it personally, Lenin asked,
"What are the structures of a country?"
I smiled slightly, he must be trying to vy for superiority to be asking me about communist philosophical theory, too bad I've studied up on this in my first life.
"Infrastructure and superstructure, the former is the material basis that governs society and the latter is the legal, political and ideological system born of the methods of production."
Lenin seemed to get even angrier at my reply, "You can't possibly have thought of it yourself, who taught you?"
I watched as the Roman tried to calm Lenin down. Unfortunately with his pride crushed, he upped the ante, "What are taxes and why are they important?"
"Taxes are the funds paid by individuals or groups in a state to the governing body while living under the protection of the state, they are important because they are the main source of funding for a state, allowing it to maintain an army, police, basic service systems, etc."
Lenin was redder than the USSR flag at the time. It was a hilarious sight.
"Then why has the Russ Empire failed to take care of its citizens despite collecting taxes?"
"Because the state still needs to fund the army, police, bureaucratic activities and other actions of the state, the reason we can't expand our services is to our economic deficiency in every way due to our failure to adapt to the liberal revolution making us not have a large enough or effective enough revenue to expand the structure of the state"
Reaching his limit, Lenin slammed his fist on the table, "Even though this should have been the basics of politics, a five year old girl should not know this, if it is some kind of joke it is in very bad taste. Who taught you?"
Trying to calm him down, Roman appealed, "Relax, we are as surprised as you are, for a 5 year old to have these results is quite bizarre. It is true that the royal family has been blessed with a genius like her."
"It's definitely a pity she's a woman, such a genius would be good for us" Rasputin interjected.
While they were arguing with each other I disconnected from reality.
How dramatic, my first life was as a normal person in a highly developed meritocracy. In the second, as a highly qualified person in a highly meritocratic country yet destined to die in war. Finally, a so-called genius in a traditionalist country that will fall to disaster. I'm starting to see a trend that I don't like at all.
Perhaps it was a mistake to have them treat me as a genius? Surely they would not execute me out of shock. They'll probably take it as one of those things that happens every millennium, a child genius that will go down in history as a curiosity.
Would it be a stretch to be a symbol for the feminist movement? I could do so much from my position. To reinvent the image of women being lesser than men...
Wait, why am I thinking about this? Focus Tatiana, you have to prove you're a genius so you can escape Russ when the civil war starts!
But where am I going to run to? Both the Empire and the Republic are destined for war. And I definitely don't want to be in the Allied Kingdom when the Empire tries to invade.
Ildoa? If Mussolini was one of the experiments Being X brought, then the country was doomed to fall to facism.
The Unified States? No. They've yet to become stable. I don't want to deal with being at the epicenter of the Great depression.
Was there really even a country I could flee to? It seemed that every great power was in danger.
Perhaps I could stop communism. No. That was unlikely, I don't have the time or power. I have no choice but to flee. I'll run to the ends of the world to survive if I have to.
Just as I resolved myself, the teachers had stopped arguing as well.
"Your highness, it seems to be unproductive to teach you at the standard level. We would like to test you further. Be will bring the required equipment on another day. Please have a pleasant rest of the day. We will be informing your father of the situation."
"I see, thank you for your time." I said, bowing again.
While father had reminded me it wasn't necessary, I found bowing to be a matter of respect and decency. Whether others see it as a sign of weakness or kindness was not my problem.
POV Professor of exact sciences Roman
There was no doubt about it, the Princess was a genius. The tests would have been hard for even those above the age of eight, yet she breezed through them.
"How are we supposed to explain to the Tsar that we failed in our mission to have Tatiana give up on her studies?"
Although no longer as mad, Vladimir scowled, "Don't look at me, my test should have been impossible for a child."
Grigori interjected, "That just means she's a genius blessed by God. One that could lead Russ to a new golden era."
"Don't you dare go there, geniuses exist without the need for the intervention of a so-called god." replied Vladimir with apathy, "Besides, I don't think she will have time to grow, the Russ monarchy is destined to fall due to economic instability, we are in the same conditions that led to the liberal revolution in Francois"
Anatoly interjected at this point, "Nietzsche has done you great harm Vladimir. How are the citizens going to rebel without any weapons?"
Vladimir smiled for a moment, "When it happens, I expect an apology."
"Keep a cool head damn it, we're going to be in front of the Tsar. Would you prefer to have some useless people teach the Princess instead because we don't know how to behave?"
Vladimir shook his head, "No no, not at all, I want to see the development of an anomaly like her."
"Did you just call the princess an anomaly?"
Taking his hands out of his pockets and pulling out a cigarette Vladimir walked away without answering me.
"Did you just-"
"Yes! She is an Anomaly! Plain and simple. No five year old girl can read at a level well enough to understand those topics, especially not when she self studies!"
"I see what's going on. Are you worried she'll outshine you as the prodigy of our time?"
"That's precisely it."
"Well, stop being so obvious. And the rest of you, make yourselves presentable. we're going to talk to the Tsar."
Ensuring all five of us looked presentable, I opened the door to have an audience.
Kneeling before the Tsar, we waited for him to stop speaking to the Tsarina.
"I hope this means you were successful? I don't wish to stifle her talent, but it's for her sake."
What a predicament.
"She passed the exam with a perfect score."
The silence was crushing, what few seconds felt like hours.
"My love, please leave us. As for the lot of you, take a seat. It seems we have much to discuss."
Watching as the Tsarina left, we took our seats.
The Tsar began to drink tea, "She passed the exam that you guaranteed was impossible for a child. Is that what you are saying?"
Vladimir rudely interrupted, "Indeed, your daughter seems to be the first Romanov with brains in her head!"
The Tsar glared at him, "Vladimir, being rude will lead you astray and believe me, you don't want that."
Vladimir ignored him and continued speaking, "Your daughter is smart. And she craves knowledge. If you wish to stop her, I recommend overwhelming her with even more tutors. From every field. Cause her to give up."
The Tsar raised an eyebrow at the proposal, "And the rest of you? What do you think?"
It was an extreme idea, but it should work. She either gives in, or she'll be the smartest child in all of the world, "It sounds like a plan worthy of consideration."
"Let's do that then," replied the Tsar, "Every 8 hours of intensive study every day! Perhaps she'll drop out on the fourth day."
—--
She aced the university test. Unbelievable.
Hearing the offer for vodka, I sighed deeply, "Please."
Filling the glass, Grigori sat down next to me, "She needs to be the heiress. She's kept up with the program for an entire year. Her grasp over both Albish and Deutsch is unbelievable. Even the Tsar struggles sometimes."
Taking a long swig of vodka I sank further into my chair, "You always say she's a saint and she's blessed, but she almost looks like a demon."
Evidently taking issue with my words, Grigori stood up, "Don't be foolish! She's a blessing from God himself! Don't you dare liken her to a demon!"
"Yes, yes, calm down! It was just a silly thought! Besides, the one who is having the hardest time is Vladimir, he is still in denial. He refuses to believe that she has surpassed him."
Rasputin drank straight from the bottle, "I would be too, he was the boy genius who was going to transform Russ and he just lost his job in months. It's quite the shame, he was a great promoter of the liberal revolution. He wanted to industrialize Russ, saying that it was the next step that our Nation will have to take."
"I wonder how he plans to do that," I said as I thought about Vladimir's ideals. Perhaps he was a republican! That's why he got so mad. If Tatiana was the heiress, perhaps he wouldn't have been so bitter.
Pov Tatiana
It was a shame I had to miss Viktor's party. But with my intensive study schedule, there just wasn't any choice. I had to make a sacrifice.
But now, I have the next three months free. My tutors decided that it was probably time for me to take a break, wanting me to socialise and relax. Something that couldn't come at a better time.
My father couldn't be happier to let me spend my holiday in Kieva, obviously glad that I had good relations with Viktor. A smart decision, if the Tsart was to continue into the future, solving this three century long grudge was practically a requirement.
"It's been a long time, Your highness," greeted Viktor, as he held his hand out to help me alight from the Royal Train Carriage.
"It's good to see you again," I said as I accepted his hand, getting off the locomotive.
Soon after, my royal entourage followed, Forty Royal guards, armed with the best the Tsart could offer. Which was unfortunately not as impressive as it sounded. Even the Infantry of my past life's Kampfgruppen had better equipment.
Still looking at the impractical yet entertaining show of power, I followed Viktor up the back of the car. As we drove off, I noticed the Royal guard trailing behind, mounted on horseback. Hopefully the summer wind was as pleasant for me as it was for them.
"As you obviously know, Kieva and Russ haven't had the best relationship," said Viktor, "However, reconciliation isn't impossible. Especially when we can build bridges by getting along."
I knew where this was going, he would ask for a political engagement, hoping to convince father to remove the many restrictions the Kievites were subjected to.
"What can I do for you", I asked, understanding that this is politics, the exchange of favours was the main axis of political stability... and corruption…
Viktor still seemed too calm talking to me, as if we had known each other all our lives, how strange.
"I think the best thing you could do would be to convince the Tsar to remove the ban on the Kievan language," there it was, the request, a big one too.
The Russ Empire claims to want to unite all Slavs. Yet the reality was different, Moskva imposed itself on the rest of the Slavic countries and started a forced transition, crushing the cultures of all under it. Something that Kieva resisted with all its might, trying to protect their language due to its cultural significance.
The Ukrainian Language had been made illegal, yet it was prohibited only in name. Everybody used it, a language that was taught from father to son for generations and not even the staunchest policemen dared to arrest people for speaking it in the street. Though it was another thing to use it in public institutions.
It is true that while removing the illegality of the language would probably be the fastest way to build bridges, it was also the most difficult to achieve. Despite everything, I have no power over the Tsar, "That's not something I can easily do".
He laughed loudly at that moment "You always achieve the impossible, doing it again won't be a problem."
Is he referring to my study regime? I don't know, he seemed very convinced, "If it serves you, I will give you my word that I will do everything possible and perhaps even the impossible to try and remove the legislation".
"It serves me" he said, just before the moment the car stopped. Being a gentleman, Viktor got out of the car first to open the door for me.
"There was no need," I replied, even though it was a basic political and polite gesture, I saw it as unnecessary.
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't help a woman out of the car?"
I laughed silently, in my first life that would have been a very controversial comment.
"You are truly a gentleman, Viktor."
Comment if u like! Thx to Dualwing creator of Shackled to a Corpse for helping me review and edit the chapter.
Also i appreciate any critics and recommendations for the story!