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Dimitri

"Your Majesty?"

I looked up from the reports I'd been studying. Hans Gerard, the commander in chief of the Russovian army was standing outside the partially open door of my study.

"Come in, Hans."

He came in and stood before me, saluting me as he did so. I acknowledged it with a nod.

"Your Highness, the latest reports on the situation in Globola has come in," he said, bowing his head.

"Well?" I prompted, hoping for good news.

"The three infiltrators are dead, Your Grace. The operation was a success."

I nodded, relieved to hear that the twenty-four hour siege had come to an end.

"How many losses?" I asked cautiously.

Hans hesitated. "Nine dead, two gravely injured, Sire."

I resisted an urge to swear out loud. Nine of my soldiers were dead while battling the three militants who'd sneaked into the village of Globola.

The border problems had increased this month. It was as if our unfriendly neighbor country, Yavana, was trying its best to see how far I could be pushed. It didn't help that a militant group calling itself itself traasa has been gaining momentum steadily in Russovia, despite our best efforts to quell it. These days, militants were being sent from the country of Yavana into Russovia to strengthen traasa.

"So far we've been taking a softer approach with Yavana," I said, standing up and walking over to the window. "Step up the defense at the borders. Contact our spies in that country. Promise them rewards: cash, land, anything they want if they can provide reliable information about Yavana's plans. As for traasa - alert all police station and advice them to increase surveillance for suspicious activities. Track down their base camps and raid them. We need to nip it in the bud before it becomes a disease that could affect the whole country."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hans said with another salute.

On the way out, he stopped as if he'd just remembered something. Turning to face me, he said, "Congratulations, Your Grace."

I arched an eyebrow.

"On the announcement of the betrothal," he clarified.

The betrothal.

Yesterday, my mother had revealed that my father and King Ibrahim Mazur of Loha had signed a pact nearly fourteen years ago. According to it, I was betrothed to the princess of Loha, Rose Mazur.

My mother leaned back on the sofa, eyes fixed on my face.

Waiting to see my reaction.

Perhaps even excepting anger and refusal from my side.

But there was none.

"Okay," I nodded, my face carefully schooled to a neutral mask. Concealing one's emotions was one of the first lessons my father had drummed into me.

'Emotions are for the weak,' he would say. 'You must be strong, Dimka. A leader must always be strong and never betray the tiniest hint of his emotions.'

While my mother had tried to tell me time and again that expressing your feelings didn't make you weak, I was glad to have learnt that lesson from my father.

For, sometimes you could end up hurting others when you're caught up with your own emotions.

If mama knew what I was feeling at the moment, she'd only get hurt.

But I had no way out of this. I had to agree for two reasons: One, to honor the agreement signed by my father and two, for the benefit of my country.

I had to consent for the betrothal.

It was my duty.

To be honest, marriage was the last thing on my mind. It would only inconvenience me, especially in the midst of these problems from Yavana and traasa. I had no time for a wife. I was in no a position to put in the effort needed to sustain a marriage.

Was it fair to drag a woman into this mess?

But my hands were tied.

I had to honor my father.

I would've preferred to keep the matter silent, away from the public eye. But my mother had no qualms in announcing my betrothal. She saw it as a cause for celebration and I did not have the heart to stop her.

Perhaps I'd not yet accepted my fate. I had not yet accepted that I would be married soon, to a stranger.

That wasn't strictly true, though.

I had met Rose Mazur before.

I'd been in awe of the fiery little girl I'd met in the Ozeras party years ago. But I couldn't bring myself to accept that I would soon be marrying her.

It was too much to process and I had no time to do so.

"Thank you." I told Hans, my tone hopefully warning him from pursuing the matter.

Understanding my unspoken command, Hans left quietly.

The double doors of my study had not even slid shut before they were thrown open in gusto.

"You're coming with me." Ivan, my best friend, announced as he strode into the room.

While barging in wasn't unusual for Ivan, there was something uncharacteristically serious about him at the moment. "I'm sorry?"

"You're coming with me," Ivan repeated strictly. "We're going on a drive."

"Where to?" I asked warily, not getting up from my chair.

Ivan was known to go to the extremes with his plans for my 'relaxation'. The last time he'd insisted on taking me on a drive, a notorious strip club that had been his destination. While I'd managed to prevent his diabolical plan from unfolding, I still shudder to think of what would have happened if I'd not found out about it in advance. The royal convoy in front of a strip club would never go unnoticed.

"I'm not taking you to a strip club," Ivan grumbled, knowing what I was thinking about. "Not this time." He added under his breath.

"Why don't you tell me where we are going?" I asked.

"Nowhere," he said, exasperated by my refusal. "We are just going on a drive. To talk."

I frowned. "Since when do you go out to 'talk'?"

"Since now," he said, crossing his arms and tapping his feet rhythmically.

He seemed to be in a rare stubborn mood so I decided to humor him.

"You need to inform Hans," I told Ivan as we made our way to the entrance of the Palace. "I don't need a cavalcade following me."

Seeing that Ivan was about to argue, I continued, "If you want me to come with you, you need to call off the protection detail."

Ivan frowned. "I'm not risking your life."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's take one of the more inconspicuous cars so that no one will know it's me. But no protection detail."

I could see indecision on Ivan's face, his need to talk to me warring with his need to keep me safe. Finally, he sighed. "Alright. No protection detail only because no one will know it's you in the car."

I smiled and ordered my valet to get my Honda City for us.

Ivan heaved an exaggerated sigh. "There you go again with you Honda obsession."

I shrugged, suppressing a smile.

When the car was brought to us, Ivan insisted on driving. Promising me the wheel for the return journey, Ivan rolled up the windows and started driving slowly. I relaxed back into my seat as we spend past the grounds of the Central Palace, exiting through the southern gates and into the Crescent Bay estate housing the royal family.

"You know," Ivan began, "Your grandfather had the right idea. Build a palace for every family member."

I chuckled. "Right idea? He did it so that he could keep his three wives happy."

"Three palaces for three wives and two for this children," Ivan said as we passed Viktoria's palace. "Five palaces in addition to our Central Palace. If that doesn't say anything about Russovia's wealth, I don't know what does."

"It says about extravagant spending that my grandfather indulged in," I corrected.

Ivan smirked. "Yeah, yeah. But see how fitting the five palaces are for your family?"

"You know mama doesn't like it," I reminded him. "A palace for each of her children does not support her concept of an ideal home."

Each palace had its own grounds, situated at a distance of two miles from other palace. So, we were isolated in our homes, away from the rest of the family. My mother didn't like it but had adjusted to it over time.

The Crescent Bay, the estate where each of the five palaces were situated, stood immediately behind the Central Palace. An aerial view would show the five palaces forming a crescent shape over the central palace, hence the same. All the six palaces stood atop a hill, overlooking the capital city of Magadha.

"You're lucky you lived in the same palace as your family while you were younger," Ivan said as we drove past the estate and into the highway leading to outskirts of the city. "I remember the time when all the palaces were occupied."

"Father used some as guest housing," I remembered. "The Central Palace is the only one that was not changed. It's always been used for administrative purposes."

The Central Palace had been built as an official headquarters, with large halls and meeting rooms. The army base camp was also situated on its grounds. Some parts of the palace were even open to the public.

The five residential palaces were for my family. I had the biggest one, on my mother's insistence. My mother and my sister Viktoria had palaces neighboring mine. My grandmother, Yeva, stayed with my mother. My younger half-brother Ruslan had one and the other palace was for eldest sister Karolina.

Karolina's first husband had expired nearly six years ago. My ten year old nephew, Paul, was their son. After her husband's death, she'd returned to Russovia with Paul. She'd then married my health minister, Amartya. One year old Zoya was his daughter.

Of course, this arrangement of palaces left out my sister Sonya. But she was the Queen of Attica, having married King Aison. While she did grumble about her lack of official residence here in Magadha, she knew she was more than welcome at any of our residences whenever she visited.

"Thinking about your bride to be?" Ivan asked suddenly.

Thinking how far off he was from the mark, I snorted. It was a ridiculous statement.

"Don't snort at me, sir." Ivan admonished me. "It won't be long before she occupies all your thoughts. You'll even forget your friends and family."

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked him warily. "If yes, let me stop you right here."

"You just wait, Mitya." He teased. "It's impossible not to be bowled over by Princess Rose Mazur's beauty. Or her personality. I've heard that she's quite a firecracker."

"Ivan..." I groaned, my thoughts drifting to the seven year old Rose I'd met during Christian's birthday party. "Please stop."

"You're happy with this, aren't you?" Ivan turned serious, going so far as to peer at me in concern.

"Happy isn't the word I'd use," I told him frankly. "You know that. I'm not thrilled at the prospect of marrying a stranger."

"You've met her," Ivan reminded me.

"Yes," I acknowledged. "That was ages ago. We were just kids. I admit, she'd been good company. But, I can't possibly know how she is now."

"Point taken," Ivan said as he drove leisurely on the deserted roads of Crescent Bay estate. "So, what are your plans regarding this betrothal?"

I sighed. "I don't know. It's certainly a good alliance."

"Are you okay marrying a stranger though?"

"I'm not," I admitted. "I'm not comfortable with the idea of entering a deal blindly. But I have to, both for Russovia and to honor my father."

Ivan nodded slowly, letting me gather my thoughts.

"It's not nice to have my choice taken away-" I started but Ivan interrupted me.

"Maybe this arranged marriage thing is a blessing in disguise," he laughed. "You might have remained a bachelor for life if not for this betrothal."

"You're very funny," I said, deadpanned.

"I know I am," Ivan smirked. "You know, you just have to quit over-thinking it.

"You're right," I told him. "But I can't help but wonder if Rose can take up the immense responsibility that comes with being the empress of Russovia. What if we're not compatible at all? How do we spend the rest of our lives together if we even don't like each other?"

"Mitya," Ivan stopped me with a small chuckle. "While your fears may not be unfounded, there's no reason to hit the panic button yet. You'll be spending quite a lot of time in Loha with the princess. Get to know her. I'm sure she will be to your liking. If not, take up another wife."

The last part was meant to be a joke but I couldn't help but grimace. If there was one thing I'd promised myself, it was that I would never, ever take up a second wife. I'd seen what my father's second marriage had done to my mother, to my family. My father's second wife had passed away during child-birth but the doctors had been able to save my half-brother Ruslan. While we never held Ruslan accountable for it, he was a symbol that my father's affections had strayed from my mother. She'd been devastated, left alone by my father and it wasn't something I'd want to inflict on anyone.

Moreover, second marriages were fundamentally wrong. It would never be right, even if it was for the sake of forging alliances. A woman should never be made to feel as if she's second best, living in a constant state of insecurity and be made to feel inferior to her husband's second wife.

"You know I'd never do that, Ivan."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ivan reversed the car and eased it into the road leading back to the Central Palace. "Shall we go and take care of Trishnoy port problem? You do know that the good prime minister has been waiting for you to look into it?"

I nodded. "While I'm away in Loha-" I hesitated. "You keep me updated. Got it?"

"Yes, sir, yes!"

"You're not to take matters into your own hands."

"Chill," Ivan said with a grin. "You're going to Loha next month. There's plenty of time to work out the details."

"I'm coming back the moment I find out you took some irrational decision," I warned him.

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Relax, man. You just concentrate on Rose."


Third person POV

Gregory was nervous. Today was the day he would officially join Traasa. He'd worked hard to achieve it. It was his dream. Finally he was doing something worthwhile with his life.

The meeting was held deep within the jungles of Russovia. Only the chosen ones knew the destination. It was a very carefully guarded secret, one that had the power to destroy all of them.

Gregory felt a sense of pride as he stood in line with the other traasa recruits in a forest clearing. The recruits of this season stood in ranks, straight backed and proud, awaiting instruction from the leaders.

There were three leaders in traasa, three who were nothing short of gods in the eyes of Gregory.

The leaders stood on a large rock, surveying the newbies with a keen eye.

All three leaders wore the sacred scarlet robes with masks covering their faces.

The one standing in the middle stepped forward.

"Welcome, initiates," he said in a booming voice that startled Gregory. "You all are here by the grace of god and your hard work. You are here to fulfill your duty to your country. You are here to noble work. Avasha kakudha!"

In unison, all the recruits and the other two elders raised their right arm in front of them and said in unison "Avasha kakudha!"

"Each of you have to prove your merit to us," the leader continued. "Only then will you be eligible for the supreme sacrifice asked of you. Only then can you serve the country! Free this country from the clutches of aristocracy."

Gregory felt an overwhelming need to prove himself right then. This is what he'd always wanted.

"No life is more important than our cause," said the leader. "Are you all prepared to sacrifice your life?"

All the initiates cheered with great enthusiasm.

Oh yes, Gregory was ready. Ready to destroy anyone and anything that stood in the way of freeing Russovia.


AN: So, Dimitri has been introduced and so has the threat to his country. While nothing really happens in this chapter, my long time readers may note that the dialogues have been completely altered. Brace yourself for more drastic changes :p

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