You met him when you were very young. Your parents sent you to a boarding school for gentlewomen. Studying was really boring. But you often saw guys who came from a boarding school that wasn't that far away. At first, you snorted at the girls who went to those guys, but then you started doing it yourself. And that's how you met him. Alexander has become a great comfort to you in these cold boarding school walls. Not a single day has passed without your meetings. Your heart was fluttering like a bird in a cage.

But Alexander's teachers and parents found out about his absences and where he had been all this time. And the director ordered Benckendorf to be sent to the Semenovsky regiment. It sounded like a sentence to you then. Of course you couldn't run away with him or do anything. The farewell was long and unbearable. He promised to come back, and you promised to wait.

You've been waiting. Time passed. Your parents have already found a fiance for you- a rich, influential man whom you certainly don't love, but you have to live with him. One day, your fiance took you to a ball. Those were boring events for you. But this time there was something different. Your fiance was dancing with another girl again, as if to remind you that your marriage means nothing to both of you. And you sat somewhere far away from everyone. Lately, apathy has been visiting you more and more often. Maybe it was the weather that influenced you, or maybe it was the fact that you were increasingly remembering the past, including Benckendorf. Your gaze involuntarily swept across the room again. And your gaze landed on one person. He looked familiar. And his gaze also fell on you for a second. He's dancing with some girl, and looking at his features, his heart starts beating faster. This is Alexander. You don't really remember what happened next, but you were already in the hallway, where there was no one but the two of you. Benkendorf is examining you.

"You've changed a lot."

Alexander says, looking at you.