White Demon

White Demon. Published by STARY PTE Ltd. 2021. www.starywriting.com ©All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher: STARY PTE Ltd. Singapore. www.starywriting.com © Eze' Igwe King 2021. © STARY PTE Ltd. Singapore. ************************************** PROLOGUE:- - THIS STORY IS ENTIRELY FICTIONAL - Once upon a time, the year is 1918. And in the middle of the falling Russian Royalty, WHITE DEMON recounts a tale of the last five nights and four days of the last Russian Royal Family the - SERAKOFFS. A certain Grand Duchess finds love, and her name is ZEA SERAKOFF. Zea is the last daughter of Tsar RASPUTINZIL SERAKOFF, the Russian Emperor, and his wife MADAM ROVNAXANDER the Empress. Grand Duchess Zea is the 4th Duchess among other of her Royal siblings. Her eldest sister is Grand Duchess GAL SERAKOFF, who is about twenty-five years old and the eldest of them all. And there is her sister Grand Duchess TASIA SERAKOFF, who is twenty-three. And there is also Grand Duchess ANA SERAKOFF, who is twenty-one; And now, Grand Duchess Zea, who is nineteen years of age. Aha, there is also their youngest brother, Tsarevich ALEX SERAKOFF, the heir apparent to the throne. Alex is thirteen. And the story begins from here... CHAPTER 1:- MAIDEN CLARA, a personal handmaiden to the Grand Duchess Zea, barges into the Duchess' court unannounced with a lamp in her hand. “Your Highness, Your Highness,” she says. “Her Majesty wants to see you right away, Your Highness.” But Zea is lost in oblivion, sitting on a small tea table at the end of her court. The Duchess' court is furnished in 18th Century Russian style, with Beautiful drapes that drape from wall to wall. Her bed is made of fine Arabian wood and gold, and expensive silver and gold ornaments grace the walls of the Duchess' room. Duchess Zea is staring into her favorite mirror, a 17th Century mirror given to her by her Grandmother EMPRESS MARIA. Zea loves her mirror, and whenever she is looking at her mirror, she is always lost in her thoughts, no one knows why that is. Some say she has this ‘imaginary friend’, while some say Zea is possessed by some evil spirit because she is always with her mirror when she is alone, staring blandly into it. Sometimes she will talk, laugh, and do crazy things with her mirror, playing with her imaginary friend. So she didn’t hear Maiden Clara calling onto her in her strong Russian dialect. Maiden Clara raises her voice for Zea to hear, and Zea turns and looks at Maiden Clara. Zea is a very beautiful Duchess, some say she is the most beautiful young lady in the land. She is so beautiful that she is referred to as: 'The Beauty of Russia'. “Hello Maiden Clara, what’s all the fuss about,” Duchess Zea says. She tells Maiden Clara in Russian, but her Russian is somewhat refined. “Her Majesty wants to see you, Your Highness, can we go now please,” Maiden Clara says yet again. “Okay let’s go,” Zea says. She keeps her mirror on the tabletop and walks across the court to meet with Maiden Clara at the doorway, and they both make their way across the garland courts of the palace. There are soldiers everywhere inside and around the halls of the palace. Duchess Zea has never seen such panic in the palace as many more soldiers with rifles race across the palace floors, running helter-skelter across the palace halls. As they walk across the halls to the Tsars' Royal Chamber, Zea could hear cannon shells being shot from afar off. Getting close to an arc window, Zea looks across the lands; there is fire, smoke, and chaos, outside, beyond, and in the countryside. Zea could see this afar off from the large court window. “What’s happening?” Zea asks. Maiden Clara, who is walking ahead, pacing the floors faster than normal wasn't interested to answer her question. Zea races almost to catch up with Maiden Clara, who is almost at the Tsar’s court doors. Maiden Clara, holds the doorknob of the Tsar’s Court, a ten-foot brass door with golden doorknobs, she looks at Zea with somewhat glassy eyes. “There is a war going on Your Highness, but be calm, everyone is inside, go in now Your Highness,” Maiden Clara says. She opens the brass doors, and Zea enters the Tsar’s court alone, Maiden Clara is not allowed into the Tsar’s court uninvited. The Tsar’s court is the personal living area of the Tsar and his wife The Empress, Her Royal Majesty, the Tsarina of Russia: EMPRESS MADAM ROVNAXANDER, the wife and Tsarina to TSAR RASPUNTINZIL. The Tsar’s court has a roof of about fifteen feet high. The roof is graciously colored with drawings from Byzantine painting designs, and there are lots of gold and silver wares across the court. And at the four ends of the court, stood personal palace 'Guardians' to the Tsar. These Guardians are also knights that can die for the Tsar if the time arises, but they don’t move, they just stand there like a piece of stone. At the center of the court is a large bed covered with golden drapes from Arabia and Constantinople. Sitting on the bed are Madam Rovnaxander, Duchess Gal, Duchess Ana, and Duchess Tasia. Duchess Zea walks into the court, she is dressed in adoring clothes flowing down on the floor to about eight feet in length, the excess of her gown trails her steps behind as she walks in majestically into the Tsar's court. “What is happening mother,” Zea asks. “What is going on?” Madam Rovnaxander draws Zea closer to sit with them on the bed. “Be quiet child, there is a war, and some people want to kill us,” Madam Rovnaxander says. “Some people are trying to kill us, Why mother,” Zea says. Duchess Zea is looking rather confused, while Gal, Ana, and Tasia are sobbing quietly, they all hold each other, everyone tucked together like a bunch of flowers. “They don’t like your dad child, but they won’t succeed, No, they won’t,” Madam Rovnaxander says. “So what do we do now mother,” Duchess Gal asks. “Where is Alex and daddy,” Duchess Zea says. “Be quiet now child, your dad and Alex are on the other side of the Palace, they will join us soon,” The Empress says. “Now you, Gal, you stay here with me, Ana and Tasia, Maiden CAROLINE would take you to your rooms, and you Zea, go with Maiden Clara and you all be quiet in your courts, children, everything is under control, we will surely win, okay children?” She speaks eloquently in Russian, though wearing a reassuring but worried smile on her face. “Okay mother,” the girls echo together. The three Duchesses arise from the bed. They walk majestically to the door, the door opens and they exit the Tsar's court one after the other. Right outside the court's door, the Duchesses, Maiden Caroline, Maiden Clara, and another maiden, Maiden ROSELINE, meet with a band of palace guards. “Your Highnesses, we are assigned to guard you anywhere you go from here,” Captain ROSCOE, the chief captain of the Guards says. “Guard GRIFFIN, and Guard ROSTOV, will stand on guard on the doorways of Your Highnesses Duchess Ana and Tasia, and Guard OMIJI, you will stay on guard on the doorway to Duchess Zea's court.” The chief captain in charge of the palace guards retorts to the guards, and the aforementioned palace guards readjust their positions to follow with the appropriate Duchesses assigned to them and their duties. “I don’t need any guard,” Duchess Zea suddenly exclaims. “Please be still your Highness, let us go,” says Maiden Clara. They all walk across the palace floors, and down the hallway to the courts' area. The night sky can be seen from the large arc windows as brazen orange, colored by fire and smoke. Artillery shells can be heard across the land. There is a loud noise coming from outside the palace grounds. The palace ground is a fifteen-foot drop from the palace windows. As they approach the Duchess’ court area, Duchess Ana enters her room, and her Guard, Guard Griffin stands on guard at her door. The same is with Tasia, guarded by Guard Ristov. As Zea approaches her court door, she takes a rather shy but distinct look at Guard Omiji who is standing by the door. Now, Omiji is a very handsome young man. He is Caucasian, quite tall, with short dark hair that swirls across his right eyebrow. He is dressed as a proper palace guard, in full brass amour, a helmet, and a sword, amongst other iron mails, clad all around his body. He has a palace guard crest signet hanging from his neck down to his chest to show that he is a palace guard assigned to the Royal Family. Omiji stares at the floor as Zea looks straight at him. By his duty, he is not permitted to look at the Duchess 'eye-to-eye'. But still, Omiji steals a glance at Zea and their eyes meet, but he quickly takes away his glance, for it is a violation to look straight into the eyes of Royalty unless when demanded. It is also a more serious violation for a guard to enter a Duchess’ court unannounced or without reasonable cause. That guard will be put to death if so happens. Inside her court, it was obvious Zea was scared. She sits at her tea table, and she brings out her favorite mirror. “What’s the matter Zee?” a voice that sounds more like the tweet of a bird is heard from inside the mirror. “I’m scared,” Zea answers, speaking into her mirror. The tiny tweety voice is that of BIRDIE. Birdie is an imaginary friend to the Duchess. Birdie is an imaginary sidekick, it can only be seen by Zea in her mirror perching on her shoulder. If someone else looks into the mirror when Zea is holding it up, the person won’t see Birdie, only Zea could see or hear Birdie In the mirror image. Birdie is a “Синица”. The Синица is a rare small yellow Russian winter bird. “Are we going to die?” Zea asks Birdie in the mirror. “It is quite an uncertain Zee, but something good awaits you,” Birdie says. The sound of cannon is heard so loudly that the court walls quake. “Aaaaah,” Zea screams. immediately, the court door swings open, and Omiji peeks inside, though this is a violation, to enter the Duchess’ room by a guard unannounced, but in defense, a guard or guards can enter to save the Duchess if need be. Zea turns to see Omiji at the door, she turns back around sobbing. “Go away,” Zea yells at him. “Yes, Your Highness,” Omiji retorts. He exits the court and shuts the door. “I told them I don’t need a guard,” Duchess Zea says to herself. Restlessly, she stands from the tea table and walks briskly towards the door. "I will tell that guard not to come in here anymore, no matter what happens, and it's an order," she says as she walks briskly to the court doorway. She stomps towards the door, and as she approaches the door, a foot or two from the doorway, a cannon shell resounds again and there’s a loud quake with debris falling from the ceiling. Duchess Zea screams yet again, and the court door bursts open a second time, and Omiji enters with a barge. The court door swings open and hits Zea on the forehead, and she falls backward and passes out. “Oh, my Grandeur,” Omiji exclaims in Russian as she sees Zea on the court floor. “What have I done?” Zea lies lifeless on the ground, with her mirror in her hand. Omiji goes behind the Duchess, takes the mirror from her hand, and he places it on the tea tabletop. He then places his hands below her arm and carries her up to the bed. Now, this is a violation punishable by fifty cane strokes on the bareback, that is, to touch a Duchess without cause of defending her life. It was even a more grievous offense, for a guard not to come to the Duchess' rescue when she screams for help. If anything were to happen to the Duchess at that moment when she screams, and the guard close-by did not respond, that guard will be put to death. So Omiji was quite in a dilemma, but he carries the Duchess up and lays her on the bed. "Oh my gosh," Omiji exclaims again. He runs helter-skelter in the Duchess' court. He rushes to a water bowl on a bowl stand by the window. He grabs a towel, dabs the towel in the bowl of water, and squeezes it hurriedly. He races back to the bed to touch the damp cold towel on the Duchess' forehead. Omiji touches her forehead gently, and he looks at the Duchess, he then blushes in a moment, for the Duchess appears to be so beautiful before his eyes. Her skin is so white and so supple that the Duchess' beauty can only be compared to that of the Mona Lisa. 'The Beauty of Russia' as she is fondly referred to in the palace and throughout the land, was true and not a legend. Omiji is staring right at Zea, and he is held spellbound by the Duchess' beauty. He looks at her with so much affection in his eyes that he touches her forehead slowly once again, suddenly the Duchess opens her eyes. As the Duchess opens her eyes, she sees in a blur, probably by her recovery from the concussion or so, but in her vision, Omiji appears to be a ‘Knight in Shiny armor', to her at that moment, he looks so much like a ‘Prince Charming'. Zea looks at Omiji with surprise for a moment as she opens her eyes. The bump erased her memory for a moment because she looks as though she has never seen him before. “How old are you?” she says. Omiji, still shocked that the Duchess is awake, and he is leaning over her, for this could be a death sentence, all the Duchess needs to do now is to call for help, and Omiji will be hurled away and be put to death. One scream from the Duchess, and Omiji he will be taken to the gallows! But she didn’t scream, rather she became interested in Omiji at first-close-sight, or as so it seems. But all she did was ask how old he is. "Erm, I am, am...Nineteen,” Omiji stammers. He hurls himself backward and scurries out of the bed in a hurry. He quickly stands at attention at the edge of the bed. “I am sorry Your highness, you screamed, I came in, the door hit your forehead, and you collapsed, I put you on the bed, and I took care of you,” Omiji quickly retorts briskly. He takes a stance in military-style by the bed as he speaks. Zea ignores his words and his military bravado, still feeling dizzy, she sits up and holds the towel to her forehead. “Where is my mirror?” she asks. “I kept it on the tabletop, Your highness,” Omiji replies. He is still standing at attention. Zea steps down from the bed and walks to the window, picking up her mirror as she passes the tea table. At the window, the Duchess looks far into the orange and red night with her mirror in hand, and all she can see in the distance is a fire across the red lands. Fire burns, and cannon-shell-sparks, squirt upwards to the skies as seen far at the orange horizons. A loud mixed noise echoes from the distance, and a loud chaotic noise trails the palace grounds. It is obvious that everywhere is not at peace. “What exactly is going on?” Zea asks. She leans out on the window seal, overlooking the grounds below. “Please stay away from the windows Your highness,” Omiji retorts. Zea walks away from the window and sits at her table, her back to Omiji who is still standing behind her like a sycamore tree. "Can someone please explain to me what's happening!?" Zea screams. She appears to be of a disturbed countenance and very edgy at the moment. "There's a war your highness, the rebel General, GENERAL ROTKOV, wants to remove the Royal family and install a Republic," Omiji says. "Republic, Republic," that is all they say." "General Rotkov, a Republic, I thought the General was a good man," Zea says. "He danced with me on the New Year's Eve ball, quite a gentleman he is.” She stares into her mirror and Birdie makes a wink at Zea when she talks about the General and the dance at the Royal Ball. "Yes but now there's war," Omiji cuts in. "He wants to kill the Royal family, and install a Republic, there's nothing gentle about that, your highness." His words bring the Duchess back to reality. "Please can you stop standing behind me and come before me so I can see who I'm talking to," Zea yells again. Her voice gives away a sense of grating. "Yes, Your highness," Omiji answers. He makes three brisk steps backward and swings like a hinged door, he faces and stands before the Duchess, this he does in precise military style. "Please sit down," Zea says. She waves Omiji to sit on a chair across the tea table. "Yes, Your Highness," Omiji answers. He sits, though he appears stiff and nervous as he sits. "Relax okay, you're with me now," Zea says. She pours Omiji a glass of juice on the table. "Here you go, have a drink," she says. She offers Omiji the drink. Omiji reluctantly takes the cup slowly and begins to sip as he keeps his gaze on the Duchess. "My name is Zea, and I am Nineteen years of age, I just turned nineteen anyway," Zea says. She stretches her hand, for Omiji to shake her hand. Omiji drops the glass slowly and holds the Duchess' hand lightly. Her hand felt so soft like the daisies of the fields. Omiji holds the Duchess with both of his hands. Their both eyes meet, as they stare into each other's eyes affectionately, not saying a word for a moment. Another cannon shell rattles the walls, and they both dock as debris fall from the ceiling into the room. "Can you tell me more about what's going on?" Zea asks. She withdraws her hand slowly from Omiji's grip. "Are we going to win the war, are we going to die?" she asks. She looks at Omiji with some worry written all over her look. "Win we shall Your Highness," Omiji says, reassuring her in a confident tone. "Don't worry I'm here to protect you, Your Highness." Omiji gesticulates by standing up briskly in a military stance, placing his hand on his sword, ready for a sword duel. The Duchess appears uninterested in his antics, she stands and walks to the window. "If you want to impress me, then come take me into those woods," the Duchess says. "I want to have a closer look at what's happening out there." She walks to the window with a smirk on her lips. Zea looks at Omiji briskly and points into the night to a small patch of woods in the foreground outside the palace walls. “I usually go out there into the woods,” Zea says. "I beg your pardon, Your Highness,” Omiji says, with a sharp tone of shock in his voice. "You heard me," Zea reaffirms. She still holds a daring look at Omiji. "But that's preposterous," he says. "That will be lunacy, Your Highness." He approaches the Duchess at the window and tries to pull her by the arm gently away from the window, while he docks by the window lintel to hide away from view. "Please come out of the window Your Highness, you could get shot from a distance," Omiji says, one hand on his sword, the other hand pulling the Duchess away by the arm, away from the window. "No," the Duchess says, she pulls her arm away from Omiji's grip. "I've been there in the woods several times, I have a way out, and I know my way around," Zea says reluctantly. She breaks away from Omiji, she quickly goes to her coat hanger and grabs her fur coat. Omiji looks on in bewilderment like the Duchess is putting up an act and he is her audience. The Duchess moves around the court systematically, picking things up. She tucks her mirror in a girdle tied around her waist, and she wears her fur coat. "What in heavens name are you doing, Your Highness," Omiji asks in astonishment. Zea ignores Omiji and approaches the window lintel. She takes a look down the window to the palace grounds for a moment, and in a second, she quickly jumps out of the window. "Shivering smokes," Omiji exclaims. He watches in confusion as the Duchess jumps out of the window. He comes close to the window lintel and looks down in astonishment. He sees the Duchess climbing down the window. "Your Highness, have you gone mad," Omiji gasps in fear, surprise, and confusion, all at once. The Duchess is already about a few feet out of the court window, climbing down the walls. Omiji has no clue but to jump out the window as well. He begins to climb down as fast as he can in pursuit of bringing the Duchess back inside. Zea begins to climb down very quickly, it's obvious she has done this several times in the past. Cannon shells can be heard from a distance, but the Duchess still climbs down as fast as she can, and within moments, she is at the palace grounds. Two guards meet with the Duchess at the grounds. "Who goes there!" they yawp. But seeing it is the Duchess, they salute her. "Your Highness," they say. They usually see her passing this way at night in the past. The Duchess tosses two bags of gold coins which she pulls out of her robe pockets at the guards, and they reluctantly catch them. This she usually does anytime she wants to sneak away from the palace. "Your Highness, you can't go out tonight, it is unsafe out there," one of the guards says. "I will be right back," the Duchess says. "And besides, I have a guard tagging along behind me." This she says, as she scornfully looks behind, she sees Omiji struggling down the walls, but the guards don't see him. The palace wall in its height is a ten-foot stone wall with towers and battlements towering to the East and the West, and on all sides as much as the eyes can see from different angles, with tower watchers high above the battlements. There is a gash in the palace fence where some pieces of stone had given way, probably to the elements of rain, wind, and snow. The Duchess quickly dashes to this gash in the wall. The gash is wide enough to pass through a skinny bit, so the Duchess, within a twinkle, slithered her way through the gash and disappeared into the night woods. "Stop her, stop her," Omiji screams as he scuffles, climbing down the wall. Shouting at the top of his voice, he jumps down about the remaining feet of the palace wall. He limps as he runs toward the two guards. In anger, he approaches the guards on the grounds whom the Duchess had given the two bags of gold coins. "Why did you let her leave," Omiji retorts at the two guards. "Ermm..." the guards stammer. Omiji roughly and quickly brushes past them, he tries to squeeze himself through the gash on the wall from where the Duchess had passed, but his armor won't let him pass through. "I'm dead," he yells, He runs towards the palace gates. There is an army at the gates, and they won't let him pass. "Wait, halt," one of the soldiers shouts in Russian. "Where are you going?" Omiji, in fear of speaking the truth which is: "the Duchess is out there," rather lies to the soldiers at the gate. "I'm on a message errand from the Empress, let me pass," he says. He shows them his crest signet, to prove he is a palace guard. "You're from what regiment," a second soldier asks. Omiji, getting impatient now, frets as cannon shells ring out and the palace gates shake and quake in unison. Omiji is looking rather scared now, for if anything happens to Zea, he will be executed and killed, and his family could be executed too. Omiji has a very old mother, he lost his dad a few years ago in the first war of the Revolution, and his father was in the army regiment as well. "Do let me pass this moment, I besiege thee," Omiji retorts. "Ahhh, you besiege, you say, to hell with your besiege, we won't let you pass," the soldier replies. Omiji, now upset, reaches for his sword to begin a duel with the palace gate guards, then the lieutenant in charge of the palace gates hears noise and approaches. "Woah, woah, woah, what's going on here," he says. "This palace guard wants to leave the palace, and we have orders from the Chief Captain, that no one comes in, or goes out," the soldiers reply to the lieutenant. "Who are you," the lieutenant asks Omiji. "I am a palace guard, and I have an errand for the Empress, I need to pass," Omiji says. "What message do you have?" the lieutenant asks. A series of shells is heard again up close and the grounds shake. "Don't you see there's a war going on out there," the lieutenant tells him. "I have my orders," Omiji says undaunted. The lieutenant takes a second look at Omiji for a moment, and for not too much ado, he lets him pass. "Let him pass," he says. "It's his problem, not ours." He commands his men to open the gates. Omiji salutes the Lieutenant with a soldier's stance, and the ten-foot brass and iron gates are opened, immediately Omiji races out the gates like a racehorse, and the gates are closed immediately behind him. He looks left and looks right at the vast forest woods that lies before him. In confusion, he runs right, the direction he believes the Duchess went. Now, there is a full moon in the sky, and it is not so difficult to see through the night, for the night is bright and clear. The Moonlight is shining bright, and the woods are easy to see through and meander. Now, Omiji makes it into the woods, in search of the Duchess.