The morning light entered through the windows as a new day dawned. A child woke up with a headache, sweat running down his forehead.
"It seems like I woke up earlier than usual today. But then again, that was quite the dream."
As Alexander muttered to himself, he heard a sound coming from the door. It opened. "Oh, good morning, Your Highness. I didn't expect you to already be awake."
"Good morning," Alexander replied while yawning, still thinking about the strange dream.
After getting dressed, Alexander was back in the classroom again, "listening" to his teacher, Vasily.
"December 26th… What date is it today again?" Alexander thought to himself. Raising his hand, Vasily noticed and granted him permission to talk.
"What is it that you want to ask, Your Highness?"
"I'm curious as to what the current date is."
"That would be October 12th, 1825, according to the official calendar."
Intrigued by his teacher's choice of words, Alexander asked again.
"And what do you mean when you said official?"
"By official, I meant the calendar that the government and the rest of the country uses. There is also another calendar, called the Gregorian calendar, which was invented in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Though it is the most widely used calendar across Europe and more accurate than the current calendar used by the empire, the Julian Calendar is still the official one."
"And how is the Gregorian calendar more accurate?"
Vasily, happy that Alexander was so invested in the lesson regardless of whether it pertained to the topic he was talking about previously, continued his explanation.
"The Gregorian calendar changed the leap year rule by omitting a leap year in three out of every four centuries. A year is not a leap year unless it is divisible by 100 AND also divisible by 400. That is why it's more accurate."
"If it's better than the Julian calendar, then why are we not using it?"
"Well, simply put, the Eastern Orthodox church wants to stay distinct from the Catholic and Protestant churches. Not to mention, changing the calendar to the Gregorian one will take a while and will disrupt bureaucratic procedures for almost little to no benefit."
"I see... Thank you for the explanation, sir."
"No need to thank me. It is my duty to teach the young prince. Now, I have noticed that you seem to be staring at the map hung on the wall for quite a while. Are you perhaps interested in learning more about it?"
"I can?" Alexander asked excitedly. Ever since he first set eyes on the map, he couldn't get rid of the sense of familiarity. It was as if he had seen these borders many times, and he wanted to learn anything related to it.
"Well, yes. According to the curriculum, you would start being taught history and many other subjects in a year, once you turn eight years old. Before then, you were to refine your reading and writing skills so that you could properly learn. But given that you have good reading comprehension, write well, and are capable of proper communication for your age, you have the qualifications to move on to other more advanced subjects."
Hearing his words, Alexander was pleased, thinking that he could finally learn something that interested him.
"But... only if you pass the test I will assign to you. The task is to write an essay about the founding of the Russian Empire. You can make it as long or short as you want, and you have until the end of the week to write it. If it satisfies me, your education will be moved forward. And if it doesn't, you have to properly pay attention in class. Is it a deal?"
"Deal."
For a normal seven-year-old, writing an essay on the founding of one of the largest empires in human history is a monumental task. But Alexander felt, oddly enough, confident. The kind of confidence one feels after dedicating their life to a single craft, and then someone asking them to make use of said craft.
***
Alexander was sitting at a large dinner table with the rest of his family, eating one of the countless delicious foods on it. He listened to a conversation between his parents.
"How was your day?"
"Same as usual. I instilled more discipline into the soldiers in the barracks," Nicholas replied, as he looked at the servants he had also instilled some discipline into. The servants, as if reminded of what they had been put through, continued their tasks, wishing to complete them as soon as possible.
"Alex."
Alexander, feeling a bit scared, stopped eating and answered his father. "Yes, father." Nicholas asks. "How are your studies? Is Vasily teaching you well?" Alexander responds swiftly, less he annoy his father. "It's going well, and I have no complaints about my teacher."
"I heard he gave you a test to write an essay on the founding of the Russian empire. And if you pass, you'll be allowed to study more advanced subjects a year earlier. Is that correct?" Alexander nodded in response. Frowning, Nicholas told him, "Yes or no." swallowed hard and responded, "Yes, Father."
Smiling, Nicholas continued. "I'm impressed. Continue at the pace that you are learning." Then, he glanced at Maria. Her body shaking, looking down to avoid eye contact with her father.
"I expect no less from you, Maria. You will also be starting your education once you turn six. Be sure to learn from Alex, as he is a good example." Alexander, hearing the indirect praise, was surprised, not knowing what to make of it. And with those words, Nicholas started leaving.
Alexandra, His wife, surprised at his early departure questions. "You are leaving already?"
"I have matters to attend to, or else if I'm gone for too long, the men may forget the discipline instilled upon them." With those words, the door closed shut, leaving nothing but silence. One could feel the relief of almost everyone in the room when he left.
"I'm sorry, you know how your father is. Continue to eat so you can grow big. I will go have a word with your father for a moment," their mother said, as she followed after Nicholas. The sound of a door closing shut was heard again.
"That was scary," said Alexander, recalling the fear he felt from his father. "Yeah..." Maria replied, with a solemn expression. Seeing her reaction Alexander wanted to comfort her but didn't know how. All he could do was hope that his little sister would be fine.
"Must you be so harsh on them?" Alexandra, the mother of two children and wife of Nicholas, stated.
"What did I do?"
Hearing his question Alexandra sighed, wondering if her husband is purposefully acting clueless. "You scared your children half to death. Must you act so cold?"
"Compared to how I was raised, this is lenient. I was in the military from the age of four and a general at the age of 12. Discipline is the way, even if it seems harsh."
"And you think making your children scared of their father is discipline? What kind of child is supposed to be scared of their parent? She was afraid of looking her own father in the eyes..." Sighing, Nicholas replied. "It is necessary. I turned out fine, didn't I?" Alexandra doesn't know what to say after hearing that, so she just shares her worry. "Just... I don't want them to be scared of their father, or even worse, to hate you. I know you well, and if you keep this up forever you will regret it."
Hearing his wife's concern, Nicholas didn't know what to say, so he just answered, "I'll try." A smile spread across her face as she replied, "That's enough."
-One Week Later-
"....Thus, the Russian empire was proclaimed on November 2nd, 1721." Vasily said out loud, as he finished reading the essay written by Alexander. "Truly splendid. This work is beyond his years, the young prince is a genius." The task of writing the essay on the founding of the Russian empire wasn't simply about writing down the information from books. It was about writing it in a coherent and presentable way. And Alexander had done just that. The essay he wrote was more like the work of someone who had written countless essays before---truly masterful. No one would even begin to guess that it was written by a six-year-old. "Maybe his education can be sped up even more than I thought, hmm..."
Alexander was lying on his bed after a bath, still wondering about the dream he had a week ago. The contents of the dream were constantly on his mind.
"A rebellion on December 26th, 1825... that's almost a month from now. It cannot be telling the future, right? It did say that one of the reasons for the rebellion were because Konstantin renounced his right of inheritance. Maybe I should ask father about it. There is no way that's true, though."
Alexander was standing in front of his father, gathering his courage to ask a question.
"Father, there is something I've been meaning to ask." Nicholas, intrigued, as this was the first time Alexander had approached him to ask something. "But... did Uncle Konstantin renounce his right of inheritance?"
After his question, there was palpable tension in the air. A needle falling would have been as loud as a glass shattering. Wondering if he asked something wrong, Alexander addressed his father. "Father?" Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Alexander, Nicholas responded. But what he said next surprised him. "Where did you learn about it?" Now Alexander was surprised, nervous, and shocked, trying to process the answer given to him.
'The dream... Is it true? Like a prophecy? But wait, what do I tell father? That I had a prophetic dream where there will be a rebellion in a month due to confusion regarding the succession? Would he even believe that? Do I lie?'
Alexander's mind was racing with many thoughts, and after a couple of seconds, he came up with the best excuse he could muster.
"I just heard the servants talking about it while moving through the hallway." A blatant lie, and Alexander knew it. This news was known only to a select few, and Alexander could only hope his father wouldn't look too deeply into it.
'Only me, my brother Alexander I, and Konstantin know of the matter. Did one of them tell him and he lied to not get his uncle in trouble?'
With that thought, Nicholas replied contemplatively, "I see..." Alexander, half-believing the dream's contents to be true and half-not, came up with a plan. Just in case.
"I just thought it was a bit concerning that Konstantin's renunciation wasn't widespread. If Tsar Alexander I were to die, it would cause a lot of confusion, potentially giving an opportunity to people with unruly thoughts."
"Are you implying that there will be a rebellion?"
"It's possible. Which is why I suggest deploying soldiers near St. Petersburg and having Uncle Konstantin publicly announce his renunciation." Nicholas, hearing his son's points, questioned, "Even so, what gives you confidence that Tsar Alexander I is going to die soon, and that the rebellion will happen in St. Petersburg?"
"As you know, Uncle's health has been deteriorating recently. And regarding my confidence that the rebellion will occur in St. Petersburg, it's the capital. That's where the most power is concentrated, so taking control of it would obviously be the best." Amazed by his son's deduction and cunning, Nicholas couldn't help but be impressed. "Alright, I'll see to it that troops get deployed near St. Petersburg and that Konstantin publicly announces his resignation."
Hearing this, for the first time, Alexander managed a smile in front of his father. 'Seems like this went better than I expected. Now the coup should be prevented. After all, it's better to be safe than sorry.'