White Demon

>> Chapter 2 <<

It is morning.

The morning Sun rays smite the Duchess pleasantly on the face through the open windows.

"Your Highness," Maiden Clara calls out.

She stands a foot away from the bed, with some white sheets in her hand.

After sneaking back into the palace, Zea slept in her fur coat last night, and her mirror is still tucked into her waist girdle.

Zea opens her eyes.

"I checked you up last night," Maiden Clara says to a waking Zea. "But I'm sure you sneaked out into the woods once again."

Zea, now awake, looks around in surprise.

"Where is Omiji?" she asks Maiden Clara.

"The guard boy," Maiden Clara asks.

"Yes, the guard...boy," Zea replies.

"He is right outside the door," Maiden Clara answers.

Zea stands briskly from her bed.

She rushes out of the bed and runs to the court door.

She swings the door open, and she looks left and looks right down the hallway.

She didn't see Omiji at the door.

No guards were in the hallway leading to the other Duchess' courts.

Zea closes the door, and walks back into her court, she is looking rather very sad.

Maiden Clara is astonished about the sudden Duchess' curiosity over the guard boy.

"What's the matter, Your Highness?" Maiden Clara says.

"You said he was at the door, but I didn't see him there," Zea says.

"I thought I saw him this morning by the door," Maiden Clara replies.

"Can you go and find out what happened to him," Zea insists.

"But your bath Your Highness, you haven't had your bathe yet," Maiden Clara says. "I will find out what happened to him as soon as you go for your breakfast."

Maiden Clara reassures the Duchess, but the Duchess still wears this worried countenance.

She keeps an eye on the doorway, peeking now and then at the doorway.

"It's time to bathe now Your Highness," Maiden Clara says.

She assists Zea to undress and tidy up her things, then she leads her to the bathroom.

Hot steam covers the bathroom, and Zea walks into the bath to have her morning bathing.

*********************

Breakfast this morning is a bit scanty than usual.

In the mornings there's always a full turkey, a well-dressed lamb, lots of cakes and ice cream (which was very hard to make at these times, and very expensive too).

At these times, ice cream is only eaten by the upper class, which is the social class above the bourgeoisie or middle class.

The Duchess loves ice cream, so she normally has many flavors, about as many as she can eat or taste.

But this morning, there is no lamb, no turkey, no fruits set up on the Royal table for the Duchess.

There is just a bowl of oats, a sandwich, and an Apple.

There is Ice cream, a vanilla and banana flavor, and the Duchess' favorite, coconut milk Ice cream.

The coconut milk ice cream is brought from the merchants that come from Constantinople.

This is all the Duchess is having for breakfast this morning.

Though it is quite as much as she can eat, she likes tasting all the foods, like taking a bite from a full turkey, and a scoop of ice cream from the several bowls.

The Sun rays blisteringly draw laser lines across the hall from the top arch windows.

The Royal dining hall seems like a thousand square feet.

The dining stands at the center of the large hall.

It so much looks like keeping a table in the middle of a sports field!

The Royal dining table has twelve chairs.

Five to each side, and one at each end.

The two at each end have on their headrest, a special signet of Royalty upon the chairs.

This is to show that it is only meant to be sat by a higher royalty like an Emperor, a King, an Empress, or a Queen.

The Princes, Princesses, Dukes, and Duchesses all seat at any of the ten other chairs by each side, no matter your country, or continent, that is, in case of a Royal dinner.

This morning, Duchess Zea sits at the Duchess' seat that is next left to the Emperor's seat, she sits alone.

Breakfasts are usually eaten alone unless someone else joins up and the Duchess can have a partner to talk to while at the breakfast table.

But dinner time is a must for every member of the Family in the palace, especially when the Emperor is in the palace.

But without the Emperor at dinner time, it will be the Duchesses, the Tsarevich, and the Empress that will have dinner together.

This morning, the Duchess sits alone.

She stares at the breakfast table, her plate of egg sandwiches, a bowl of oats, some ice cream, and an Apple.

The Duchess turns her plate from side to side.

She is not much interested in her food.

Thoughts of Omiji, and the events of last night cloud her thinking.

It seems like the Duchess has fallen in love.

But she's never been in love before.

So how can she tell what love feels like?

Suddenly the large dining hall door swings open, it is Maiden Clara, she walks in with some urgency in her footsteps.

The Duchess sits up as she sees Maiden Clara enter.

Zea beams with some brightness of joy in anticipation that Maiden Clara has some good news concerning Omiji.

Maiden Clara approaches the Duchess, she bends over and whispers a few words for a moment into the Duchess' ear.

The Duchess begins to cry.

"Why, why," she yells out loudly.

Maiden Clara is embarrassed by Zea's outbursts, in the middle of such a large dining hall.

The Duchess leans over, puts her face upon the table, and begins to sob hysterically.

Maiden Clara tries as much as she can to calm her down.

"Sorry my dear, I will see to It, that the captain of the guards brings him back okay," Maiden Clara says.

"Stop crying now, my dear."

Maiden Clara pats Zea on the back gently to reassure her, but the Duchess looks up, her eyes red with tears.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by, he was sent for, I don't quite get it," Zea says.

"I don't know as well, but that was what the captain of the guards told me this morning when I went to ask," Maiden Clara says.

"He was sent for, those were his words, I went to the captain of the guards and he reassured me that he will be part of the guards that will be returned for their shift here tonight in the palace, but he's not quite sure, you just need to be patient okay my dear."

Maiden Clara reassures the Duchess.

But the Duchess still cries.

"Why, why, why, why was he sent for, why, sent to do what" Zea retorts.

As she is yet wailing, the dining doors swing open again, and in comes a group of chefs and house maidens with diverse sorts of food.

They go around the table and set up the table with different dishes, the other seats around the table are placed properly.

"What's happening," Zea asks.

"The Emperor is coming to join you for breakfast, Your Highness," one of the house maidens says.

"Daddy is coming," Zea asks.

Her face brightens up, as she hears that the Emperor is coming for breakfast.

"Yes, Your Highness," the house maiden answers, she bows her head as she speaks to the Duchess.

"Can I take the food you're eating away, we have set the table for a better buffet, Your Highness," the house maiden says.

The Duchess looks around the breakfast table, the table is now having enough laid-out dishes as it should be, with more food on the table.

"Why did you not set it up like this before," the Duchess asks the house maidens running about the table.

Maiden Clara interrupts, "just be gentle dear, the supplies have been cut off, there's a war going on right over at the creek where supplies get to the palace, so there's a food rationing."

"The supply coming to the palace has been cut off for many days now," another house maiden says.

"Ahh, yes I saw...." Zea says in a brief but keeps silent.

"You saw what," Maiden Clara asks.

"Never mind," Zea replies.

"So how come all the food is being served up right now, and not earlier," Zea asks the house maiden yet again.

"I, I, I think..." the house maiden stammers.

Maiden Clara interrupts once again, "well, I believe it is because the rest of the Royal Family is coming out for breakfast now I suppose,"

"So do you want to continue with the sandwich dear?" a maiden says to Zea.

The maiden gestures and points to the sandwich the Duchess has been tossing to and fro.

"Yes, I'm still eating it," the Duchess says.

She takes a bite from the sandwich.

"Leave her alone now, she's fine, you can go now," Maiden Clara tells the house maidens.

The house maidens and the chefs go to stand at the corner of the dining hall to wait for any further orders.

Maiden Clara then leans over to the Duchess' ear and whispers into her ear again.

She can perceive that the Duchess' countenance is sad because of Omiji's absence since the morning.

"As for Omiji, I will make sure he is sent back to you, okay dear," Maiden Clara says.

She pats the Duchess on the shoulder and squeezes it lightly.

The Duchess looks up at Maiden Clara and smiles.

Maiden Clara wipes Zea's face with a white towel tucked to her waist, then as if on cue, in walks the 'Emperor's Guardians Train'.

The Emperor's guardians train is the Emperor's entourage of bodyguards that go wherever the Emperor goes.

Firstly before the Emperor enters any court, hall, or room, it will be announced: "the Emperor approaches," in Russian.

As Maiden Clara yet spoke, in walks the Emperor's entourage.

The Emperor's entourage is made up of a band of knights, guards, and trumpeters.

The guards and trumpeters walk first into the dining hall, they stand in two columns by the doorway.

The entourage announces the in-coming of the Emperor:

"The Emperor approaches," they yawp in unison, in Russian.

And then there is a blast of trumpets.

Then in walks into the dining hall, a troupe of knights, about thirty knights in all, then the Emperor walks in.

EMPEROR RASPUTINZIL is a tall handsome man, about in his middle ages.

He is a well-groomed man, with a well-kept handlebar mustache that graces his well-groomed face.

The Emperor walks in, he is dressed in full army regalia of bluecoat and lots of medals, and rank signets.

"Daddy," Duchess Zea screams as she sees the Emperor.

She jumps to her feet and runs across the dining table to go meet with her dad, the Emperor.

"My little Angel," the Emperor exclaims.

The Emperor hands over his sword and other armor he wears to his armor-bearer standing beside him, the armor-bearer takes his sword and armor and exits.

The Emperor waits as his daughter would jump into his arms as she always does, and within two shakes of a lamb's tail, Zea leaps into her dad's embrace.

The Emperor spins her around in a manner to show affection.

"I missed you so much, my Angel," the Emperor says.

The Emperor lowers the Duchess to her feet, still holding her at her back.

"Where have you been daddy, I missed you," Zea says.

The Emperor ignores Zea's commentaries for a moment, he looks behind him, at the Emperor's guardian train.

The entourage is standing on two different column files facing each other by the doorway, they form a corridor by the giant dining doors.

"You can leave us now," the Emperor tells his knights and entourage.

The head knight bows to the Emperor and he exits, walking out of the hall, he is followed by each knight.

They probably exit by their ranks, because their manner of exit seems somewhat choreographic, it is done with such military precision, and all the knights and entourage exit the hall.

The last two knights to leave the hall shut the giant dining doors.

"Sit down my daughter," the Emperor says to Zea.

He waves her to sit by the Emperor's corner of the dining table.

The Emperor pulls out a chair that is one of the Princes or Princesses' chairs by the side of the Emperor's seat.

The closest seat to the Emperor's end of the head table is the one the Emperor pulls out for the Duchess to sit, but the seat where Zea sat earlier is adjacent.

The Duchess sits on the seat her dad pulls out for her, and the Emperor then sits too on his Emperor Signet seat at the head table.

The maidens rush forward and tend to the Emperor, Zea too is attended to.

The food she was playing with previously, the sandwich, the ice cream, the oats, and all, were all taken away.

And a new set of dishes and cutlery are set before the Emperor and the Duchess.

"What have you been up to," the Emperor asks the Duchess.

"What is happening dad," they both ask themselves concurrently.

The maidens hasten to dish out the meals into the gold and silverware dishes that have been set before the Emperor and the Duchess.

"There is a war going on my dear," The Emperor answers first.

"The Revolutionary Army, led by General Rotkov, one of my trusted Generals, is fighting the Royal Army to take over Russia," he says.

"Ohhh," Zea exclaims.

"Yes," the Emperor bellows, in a deep voice.

"But they won't succeed, for the Royal army are holding them up at the creek bed, and we are expecting reinforcements soon," the Emperor says.

"Ohh," Zea exclaims once again.

"So what are we to do dad," Zea asks.

There is some sort of worry across her face.

"We will repel the attack, and bring them all to book," the Emperor says.

"But I thought the General is such a gentleman," Zea says.

"He was my trusted General, but now he leads the Revolutionary force," the Emperor answers.

As the Emperor speaks, the dining doors open yet again, and in walks the Empress, Madam Rovnaxander, she walks in with a young boy, his name is Alex.

Behind the Empress walks in the three other Duchesses, Zea's sisters, Duchess Gal, Duchess Ana, and Duchess Tasia.

Behind them are maidens, the Duchesses' maidens, and the maidens that make up the Empress' train, about ten maidens in all.

"There you are,", Madam Rovnaxander exclaims.

She sees the Emperor and walks toward the Emperor in gallant strides dignifying Royalty.

The Emperor stands to his feet as the Empress approaches the table.

"Darling," the Emperor says.

A maiden takes Alex from the Empress and takes him to his seat.

The Empress and the Emperor embrace, and they kiss from cheek to cheek.

"I missed you, darling," the Emperor says yet again.

"I missed you too dear," the Empress replies.

"Go sit on your seat now dear," the Emperor says, he gestures and waves his hand in the direction of the head seat of the Empress at the end of the table.

"No, I'm not sitting that far this morning," the Empress says.

She sarcastically waves off her dissatisfaction, not to sit far at almost fifty meters away, sitting away from family.

The Empress rather pulls out a seat adjacent to where Zea is sitting left to the Emperor, she sits graciously, as the Emperor sits after her.

"Good morning mum," Zea says to her mum.

Zea didn't stand to her feet when the family joined the table, she is sitting, about to eat some dessert.

The maidens usher the Duchesses to their seats, and a maiden attends to Alex.

The family is now seated at the table.

The Emperor is seated on the Emperor's seat.

Zea is seated right to the Emperor, and the Empress is sitting adjacent to the Zea.

Duchess Gal is seated to Zea's right.

Alex is being attended to by a maiden, and Alex is seated left to the Empress.

Duchess Ana is seating close to Alex to attend to him too.

Tasia is seating adjacent to Ana, right to Gal.

This is how the family sat at breakfast this very morning.

A little noise ensues, Zea and Gal make chatter, and Alex refuses to eat.

The Empress cautions Alex to eat the food fed to him by the maiden.

All other minor noise ensues across the table as the children eat and chatter.

Then the Emperor taps his glass several times with cutlery, making a clanging sound, bringing everyone's attention to himself.

Silence falls on the table as everyone looks at the Emperor.

"Let us pray," the Emperor says.

He bows his head to pray.

Everyone at the table bows their heads and they all hold hands.

The maidens standing across the hall, or doing anything else, stop what they are doing abruptly, and bow their heads as well, as the Emperor begins to pray.

"Thank you Lord for the food we are about to eat," the Emperor prays. "We give you thanks as we eat, and it gives us nourishment, in Jesus Name we pray."

And everyone chorus together an "amen!"

The maidens standing by the side don't waste any further time tending to the Royal Family sitting at breakfast.

The Emperor and Zea were already at their meals when the rest of the family joined in.

The Empress and her two daughters, Gal and Tasia are the first to be attended to at the table.

A little dash of vegetables is all they eat.

The Empress and her daughters are vegetarians, they eat nothing meat or even fish.

The Empress believes it is unfair to kill an animal and eat it, and so do her two daughters Duchesses Gal and Duchess Tasia.

But Ana is like Zea when it comes to feeding habits.

She always takes a bite or a taste of everything set up for her on the table during breakfast.

It can be said that Ana is the closest of the Duchesses to Zea.

Probably because they were regarded as the "young pair" of the Duchesses, that is to say, 'the two younger Duchesses', as they are often referred to in the palace.

They both are quite close in different things than Zea is to Duchess Gal or Duchess Tasia.

Zea and Anna are quite different from Gal and Tasia, who both are "melancholic" in nature, always keeping to themselves.

Duchesses Ana and Zea's sister-sister relationship is quite more prominent than the rest.

Maybe this is because they both are closer in age and they shared that 'sanguine nature, so by these, they both found each other as 'good sister-friends.

Ana is the immediate elder Grand Duchess to Zea, she is a few years older than Zea, as Zea is the last of the Grand Duchesses.

But Zea holds that respect for Ana as her elder sister, and Ana has that confidence in Zea that she will be the one that will always push the limits in the family.

This is probably because she sees how stubborn Zea can be at times in getting what she wants from mum or dad, the Empress, and the Emperor.

After the maidens attend to the 'vegetarians', all the maidens gather up behind Duchess Ana to ask what she would like to have.

Ana always enjoys the attention as a Grand Duchess, and being non-vegan, she cherished the attention given to her during meal times.

Ana cast a nonchalant expression as the maidens standing and holding different wares of food, meat, fish, turkey, and ice cream, try to get her attention and permission for the meal to dish into her plate.

"I will have a piece of turkey," Duchess Ana says.

A maiden cuts a good piece of turkey from the silverware on the table, she places the plate properly in front of the Duchess.

A few more maidens serve the Duchess as she gestures by hand what she wants, this continues while the Empress and the Emperor get into a conversation.

The Empress looks away from Ana and the maidens, this she does to take away the attention from the ever-attention-seeking Duchess Ana.

"How are you feeling darling," the Empress asks the Emperor.

"I have been at the battle scene dear," the Emperor answers the Empress. "It looks bad, but I don't want us to panic."

"We can go to Bavaria," the Empress says.

This she says in a low voice, not to attract others' attention.

"The Duke of Bavaria is my relative, he will keep us safe," the Empress says to the Emperor.

She looks at him persuasively.

From the tone of her voice, it can be sensed that the Empress is afraid.

"We will not run away," the Emperor retorts.

He bellows, raising his voice, and the chatter across the hall comes to a shimmering hush as the Emperor raises his voice.

The Emperor smiles and nods his head in affirmation to everyone, this he does in courtesy to relax everyone who just got tensed by his bellow.

"We will not run away," the Emperor says to the Empress with a lesser lower tone that comes almost as a whisper.

"I have friends in the Western-European Empires," the Emperor says. " I have sent in for reinforcements, they're bringing in more reinforcements."

"Then what is keeping them," the Empress says.

She tries not to raise her voice, though she feels like raising her voice.

"We are about to be overrun, we couldn't sleep last night, the cannons were almost on our walls," the Empress says.

She leans closer to the Emperor, to talk more discreetly, not to attract attention, but the Emperor is busy biting into a fat turkey drum stick.

"I will take the children and go to my cousins in Bavaria," the Empress continues to say to the Emperor. "Since you can't do anything further to protect us here in the palace, but a bunch of guards!"

She keeps a stern look at the Emperor.

The Emperor seems adamant about what the Empress is saying, he savors his fingers, satisfied with the dish on his plate.

"More wine," The Emperor bellows yet again.

He raises his golden cup for the maidens to fill with wine.

The maidens rush to the Emperor's request for more wine, and one of the maidens pours some wine into his cup.

The Emperor gulps down the wine as the Empress looks on with a dissatisfied countenance.

The Emperor burps.

"Don't you dare think of taking my children away to anywhere, do you hear me," The Emperor says to the Empress in a whisper.

He gently, and quietly drops the cup on the table.

"We will win this war, reinforcements are coming from Western Europe," the Emperor says, he looks sternly at the Empress.

The Empress withdraws her look, and bows her face, she hasn't touched her vegetables, she hasn't eaten for days.

As they yet spoke, the high dining doors swing open once more, and in walks the captain of the guard - Captain Roscoe.

"Your Majesty!" he yawps, he walks briskly to the table.

He takes a soldier's stance several feet away from the table.

Everyone's attention gears to Captain Roscoe that just barged in.

"What is it now Captain," the Emperor says.

"Your attention is needed, Your Majesty, at the Defence Meeting sire," Captain Roscoe says. "All the Generals are waiting, and the Captains of the fleets."

Everyone's attention gears to the Emperor.

The Emperor looks at the faces of his family, for the first time he sees the fear in their eyes.

Though he tried to hold up a smile by cheering everyone up, and by other gimmicks he employs not to stir up a panic, he can still see that their confidence has gone beyond his regular smiles.

There is a war raging, and the children have not seen war before, the Emperor can tell that it is a grievous and dire situation for his family to behold.

Or should he harken to the Empress' advice to move the family to Bavaria?

The Emperor bows his head for a moment.

Then he lifts his face and speaks to the Empress.

"You and the children will move to Bavaria in three days," the Emperor says.

"Reinforcements are coming in three days, it will be a tough and bloody war. I may not want you or the children to be in the palace when we make the counter assault against Rotkov."

Everyone on the table hears him, the maidens, and Captain Roscoe too.

"Thanks, darling," the Empress says.

He smiles and holds the Empress's hands tightly, across the table.

The Empress looks into the Emperor's eyes affectionately.

Her eyes are glassy, but she fights back tears, tears of joy maybe, that the Emperor has yet agreed to her idea of an escape, or maybe the tears were just of the love that they have not shared for a while since the war began.

The Emperor's eyes are full of love also for his wife as well, as he was about to lean forward to kiss her on the hand, Captain Roscoe's voice rings out once again.

"The meeting sire," Captain Roscoe says.

He speaks out loudly, still maintaining a soldier's stance.

The Emperor stands abruptly.

The Empress stands too, she holds her husband, and hugs him tightly, the rest of the children all get up from their seats, they all walk up to the Emperor and Empress, and they all have a group hug.

"Please be safe," the Empress says.

She looks at the Emperor affectionately, with tears in her eyes as she is surrounded by the children.

"I will be," the Emperor says.

He breaks away from the family group hug and walks up to Captain Roscoe.

Captain Roscoe salutes, and swings around militarily, he and the Emperor make their way out of the hall, but Zea runs after the Emperor.

"Daddy," she says.

She runs to the Emperor.

The Emperor turns around and sees Zea running towards him.

"What's the matter, Zea, what now," the Emperor says.

Zea hugs her dad, and her face is just by his shoulder, she doesn't say anything, and the rest of the family and the maidens look on.

Zea continues her clutch on the Emperor's shoulder, as everyone continues to look on.

"I have to go now Zea," the Emperor says, he pushes Zea away gently.

Zea looks at Captain Roscoe, and says "is this the captain of the guards?"

"Yes, he is," the Emperor answers.

The Emperor wonders the reason for the question.

"I want the guard that was removed from the courts to be returned please," Zea says to Captain Roscoe.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, a guard, a palace guard," Captain Roscoe says, seeming rather bewildered.

"Yes. His name is Omiji," Zea says.

"Must it be that particular guard?" the Emperor asks, seeming embarrassed by Zea's outspokenness.

The Emperor is seeming a bit embarrassed, because the attention of everyone was now geared towards him, Zea, and Captain Roscoe.

"Yes," she says.

Zea looks straight at the Emperor with much keenness in her voice and countenance.

"Okay, okay, he will be brought back to the palace okay," the Emperor says in the affirmative.

This he says, in a bid to escape Zea's persistence.

"All palace guards of last night should be returned permanently to the palace," the Emperor says to Captain Roscoe.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Captain Roscoe answers.

"Are you happy now," the Emperor says to Zea.

"Can I go now?"

The Emperor makes his way out.

"When will he be brought back," Zea asks yet again.

A wind of giggle and chuckles erupt amidst the maidens and the Duchesses, as Zea persists.

"Immediately sweetheart, they will be brought back immediately," the Emperor says reassuringly to Zea.

This, the Emperor says because he believes the reason why Zea demands the palace guards is for the sake of fear for their safety, but he didn't know that Zea demands Omiji, not for the sake of fear, but the sake of Love.

The Emperor makes his way once again towards the high doors, he parts from Zea.

The Emperor and Captain Roscoe march out of the hall, and Zea watches them as they leave.

The family and the maidens watch as well.