Morning light came through the curtains. Lydia lay in her bed, wide awake. She couldn't sleep all night. Her body was tired, but her mind kept racing with thoughts.
She acted brave yesterday. She acted strong. But deep down, she was scared. Very scared. She had said yes to marrying the Grand Duke - a man everyone feared.
What if she made a bad choice? What if he was worse than what people said about him?
The door opened. Galina walked in, and Lydia's worried thoughts stopped for a moment.
"Still in bed?" Galina asked, opening the curtains wider.
Lydia squinted at the bright light. "I couldn't sleep."
Galina sat on the edge of the bed. Her face showed worry. "Sweetheart, the Grand Duke is a cruel person. Everyone knows this." She took Lydia's hands. "Please think again about your choice. Who knows what might happen when you marry him. He might hurt you..." Her voice got quieter. "Worse, he might ki—"
"Don't worry, Galina," Lydia cut her off with a fake smile. "Everything will be okay."
It was a lie. Lydia wasn't okay at all. But she didn't want to talk about her fears.
---
At breakfast, no one talked. They all kept looking at Lydia with worried eyes. When she looked back at them, they quickly looked away. The only sound was forks and knives against plates.
Pyotr spoke first. "Is it true, Lydia, that you are marrying the Grand Duke?" His voice showed both wonder and worry. "That means you'll become a Grand Duchess. You might be Queen one day. Isn't that right?"
Before Lydia could answer, Mikhail jumped in. "But isn't the Grand Duke scary? My friends at school say he's like the devil."
Across the table, Anya made signals with her hands for him to stop talking.
"Mikhail, enough," Elena said softly but firmly.
Everyone was quiet again. Alexander, sitting at the head of the table, wasn't eating. He just sat there, sighing. He had nothing to say.
Finally, he stood up. "I'm going to the church to check if things are ready for the wedding," he said flatly. He looked at Lydia. "Finish your food and meet me outside. We'll go together."
---
In the palace, Ivan sat by the window in his room. He watched clouds move across the sky. The quiet morning was very different from his troubled thoughts.
Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," he called.
Boris, the head guard, walked in, standing straight and tall. "Your Highness."
"Did you find her?" Ivan asked right away. "The girl who saved me?"
Boris looked confused. "Your Highness, I went to a cottage with a middle-aged couple. There was no girl there."
"I'm sure I heard a girl's voice," Ivan said, turning back to the window. "And I saw her. She had blonde hair."
Boris paused. "I'm going back to the cottage soon. The Czar wants me to give the couple a reward. I'll ask about the girl when I'm there."
---
The carriage moved along the street. Alexander and Lydia sat across from each other, not talking. As they passed the church, Lydia looked confused.
"Uncle, I thought we were going to the church," she said, looking out the window. "Where are we going?"
"To the palace," Alexander said, looking straight ahead.
"Why?"
"We're going to ask the Czar to stop this crazy marriage." His voice got louder. "Can you believe what they asked for your dowry? Three ships! Who asks for that?" He leaned forward. "If you tell the Czar you don't want this, he might listen. Then we can forget all this and have your real marriage to Count Viktor tomorrow."
"No!" Lydia said sharply. "I will marry the Grand Duke. I don't care if he's a devil or a monster. If marrying him means I don't have to marry Viktor, then I will." She knocked on the roof of the carriage. "Stop here, please!"
Alexander grabbed her wrist. "Keep going," he called to the driver.
Lydia pulled her hand away hard. "Stop dreaming, Uncle. I'm marrying the Grand Duke tomorrow. No matter what you do, that's what will happen." Her eyes narrowed. "And if you try to stop me or lock me up, you could lose your head for not following a royal order."
Without waiting for him to answer, she pushed the carriage door open and jumped out. "I'm going for a walk," she said, turning her back on her uncle's shocked face.
---
Night came. After dinner and a bath, Lydia sat on her bed in her nightgown. Her wet hair hung down her back. She was tired from the day, but she knew sleep would be hard to find again.
A soft knock came at the door. "Come in," she called.
Elena walked in and closed the door quietly. Her face showed worry. "I wanted to check on you before bed," she said, sitting next to Lydia. "I'm scared for you. Are you sure you're making the right choice?"
"I'm fine," Lydia lied, not looking at Elena.
Elena shook her head. "I know you're not telling the truth. Your choice is too extreme—"
"Would you rather I marry Count Viktor?" Lydia cut her off, anger in her voice.
"No, no, that's not what I meant," Elena said quickly.
"Then what do you mean? What should I do?" Lydia asked. "This is my only choice. You should understand me."
"I do understand you... But I'm worried you're making the wrong choice," Elena said.
"Wrong choice?" Lydia's voice got louder. "Elena, Viktor talked about me like I was a prize to win. He even insulted my parents. If you can't understand me, then leave. I'm marrying the Grand Duke tomorrow. That's final. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I need to rest. Goodnight, Elena."
Elena's face fell. She looked hurt and worried. She got up quietly and left the room, closing the door softly.
Alone again, Lydia lay back on her bed. She stared at the ceiling. She thought about tomorrow—the wedding, the Grand Duke, and her unknown future.
Then, she thought about the injured stranger she had helped. She felt sad. If she married the Grand Duke tomorrow, they would go to Svetlania. She might never see the stranger again.
That night, as she finally began to fall asleep, Lydia found herself hoping to see him just one more time before her life changed forever.