2

"My lady? Can you hear me?"

That sweet voice, oozing tenderness, was the first thing that Katyusha heard as her eyes fluttered open, after being close for a time that she couldn't fathom.

The reflection of her visage in a mirror was kind of revealing, almost as if she needed to look at herself in the eyes to understand who and where she was. As if a part of her had needed to convince herself in a way that dispelled each lingering doubt.

Shyly, she raised her hand to caress the elegant light blue dress, on the pleats of the skirt and the almost absent neckline, mirror of a puberty that had barely started; then she brought it to her cheeks, where a trace of makeup gave a beautiful touch to underline their shape.

Then, Katyusha's eyes wandered first on the surroundings, in the form of an opulent and luxurious bedroom with plenty of stuccoes, frescos and rich furniture, and then on the other figure reflected in the mirror, that stood above and behind her, in the shape of a motherly and kindly-looking maid with a brush in her hand.

"Nonna. What happened?"

"You feel asleep while I was brushing your hair." said the maid before resuming her work, making the brush pass smoothly through her thick and golden hair. "There is nothing to do, you are still the small girl I have known for so long. Even when you were younger you kept falling asleep when I brushed your hair."

"R-really?" answered Katyusha, blushing.

"Don't you remember? You always said that it was like having your hair brushed by an angel. And every time your words filled me with joy. For someone like me, who grew up poor, there can be no greater joy than being at your service."

"Is that so...?"

Only then Nonna noticed that Katyusha's eyes were not quite filled with the usual light, as it routinely happened every morning, with every instance of that simple and magical ritual.

"What happens, my lady? You look thoughtful to me."

"I don't know. Everything is so strange. I almost feel like I just... dreamed."

"You were asleep, after all."

"No. It was something different. It looked so... real."

"And what were you dreaming about?"

"I was... in a faraway place. With a lot of snow. And the sea. There were many people around me. They called me... Commander."

"Commander?"

"I liked to be called that. It made me feel important."

"But you are important already, my lady. Did you forget about it?"

"Not in that sense. It was something different."

"If I may, you need not to take refuge in a world of dreams to have that kind of satisfaction."

"I'm telling you, it was not like this. I trusted them, just like they trusted me. In this palace I have no companions or friends, just servants."

Hearing these words Nonna looked contrite, stopping her brushing for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Katyusha quickly said.

"Nothing to it." she answered, her smile returning to her face. "I cannot say I fully understand what you feel, but I believe I get an idea."

"I hate this palace, Nonna." said Katyusha, looking out of the window, trying to reach through her mind beyond what her eyes could see. "And I hate this life. There is a world out there, and I wonder if I will ever be able to look at it."

"One day, you will. One day, a young and kind lord will come here asking for your hand, and make you his queen. Who knows, maybe he'll come from a faraway place. And then you will be able to see what is out of that window with your own eyes."

"Or maybe, I'll just trade one gilded cage for another."

As she finished brushing, Nonna gently applied a touch of powder to enhance their shine, before making a bow with an elegant blue ribbon.

"You are no little bird, my lady. You are an eagle. And I shall eagerly await the day when I will be able to see you fly."

Katyusha felt her heart race as she heard these words, and just for a moment she almost managed to see herself as a majestic white eagle, free to fly at leisure, with no ties nor obligations.

In a way or another, Nonna always succeeded in raising her spirits; she was at her side since her previous nanny had passed several years before, and since then, even if neither of the two would have admitted to it in public, they had become something more than the average noble mistress and her loyal maid.

A gentle knock on the door suddenly brought them down to earth once more.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness." said a small, calm voice from the other side.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, and a maid, little more than a kid, gave a respectful bow before entering.

"Your Highness, His Imperial Majesty asked for you."

"Thank you, Nina. I'll come at once."

"Just doing my duty."

Taking another deep breath, Katyusha turned away from the mirror, and Nonna, after retrieving them from a closet, came to her with a pair of elegant milky white shoes.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?" she huffed, as the maid kneeled before her, putting them on with such gentleness that one couldn't feel any rubbing between the shoe and the skin. "I can put them on myself."

"Then what sense would my presence here make?" replied Nonna, with a barely hidden wing. "One day you shall have no more need of me. But as of now, I beseech you, let me savor any moment that I can pass together with you."

Katyusha remained stunned for an instant, and in the end, she decided not to speak further.

Accompanied by her maid as a second shadow, Katyusha left her chambers, losing herself in the maze of rooms, hallways and salons of her family's lavish palace, a temple dedicated to the opulence, the might and the greatness of one of Europe's most revered and powerful dynasties.

As she walked, each and every person they met stood respectfully aside; men and women, nobles and servants, locals and foreigners, everyone was very careful to make a deep bow, making her feel almost uncomfortable with such exaggerated shows of submission.

Pretending as if nothing was wrong, Katyusha quickly made its way through the distance that separated her from the heart of the palace, stopping before a pair of solemn ivory-white doors, closed and guarded by two soldiers in full dress, that did not bow just because it would have been a dereliction of their duty as sentinels.

"I apologize, Your Highness, the audience is going on longer than predicted. His Imperial Majesty shall receive you as soon as it's over."

"He calls for me, and then he keeps me waiting?" huffed an upset Katyusha.

"Since when are you so eager to meet with our father?" said a sweet and calm voice, yet at the same time very feminine and full of spunk.

Katyusha's gaze turned left, just in time to see a beautiful young woman, dressed in an elegant red dress trimmed in gold, with an elaborate skirt and the shoulders white as snow left bare, walk over to her.

Her hair, as yellow as her own, shone like the purest gold, and in her green eyes one could almost gaze upon the infinite forests of the Urals.

As she took her in, Nonna respectfully bowed and turned her eyes down, and in that instant Katyusha for a moment had the feeling that the dream she had just woken up from had started anew.

"Clara." said automatically.

The young woman went up to her, towering over her petite form with her tall and graceful figure, before jokingly throwing a weak punch at her head, softened by the hair as well as the silk glove around her hand.

"Clara? What now, do you no longer know the name of your own sister?"

That instant of bewilderment disappeared as suddenly as it had come, but it left behind an unusual confusion in Katyusha's mind.

"O..." she stammered. "Olga?"

"Olishka, Olishka." she replied with a smile, and caressing the tip of her nose. "Did you forget? For you I am just Olishka."

At last the confusion disappeared totally, leaving room for pleasant memories that only the presence of a loving older sister could generate.

"Sorry, Olishka."

"Good day, Your Highness." said Nonna. "I trust you recovered from your voyage."

"Pretty much. I am not accustomed to that many hours at sea or in a coach, even though our motherland is by itself so big."

"So, then, how was Rome? And Vienna? And Prussia?" asked Katyusha, curious.

"Calm down. One thing at a time. Have patience and I'll tell you everything. Perhaps this afternoon, with a nice cup of tea."

Katyusha felt as light as a feather remembering her childhood, when her sister, already nearing her majority, used to caress her head in the same way; in those moments, even though she felt unsure if she should feel happy about it or not, Olishka in her eyes ceased to be just a sister, and became something more, someone closer to a true mother.

All of a sudden, the heavy doors opened, and a nobleman with a dress appropriate for somebody at least a governor in rank passed in between the two young girls, clumsily bent in two with such a deep bow that it was almost ridiculous.

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty, my Tsar, thank you from the bottom of my heart." he kept saying as he walked backwards.

Even before he disappeared, the steward struck the ground thrice with his staff to announce the next guests.

"Their Imperial Highnesses, the Grand Duchess Olga, and the Grand Duchess Ekaterina!"