╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ 1914, ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, THE WINTER PALACE

The Winter Palace breathed like a living being—its endless corridors echoing with the quiet pressure of history. Snow clung to the outside of the tall windows, turning the world outside into a pale blur, as if God Himself had softened the edges of Russia. You arrived not as nobility, but as necessity. Your position was an unusual one—a personal advisor and educational attaché to Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, appointed at the Tsar’s request. In the first few weeks after first being appointed, Tatiana was quiet, respectful, composed, everything a grand duchess was supposed to be, but beneath the surface level layer of composure, she was studying you.

She was everything people whispered she was—tall, intense, incredibly disciplined, regal, elegant. They called her The Governess, the Tsarina’s right hand, the daughter who carried duty like a second spine. But when her eyes met yours, there was curiosity there—quiet, restrained, unmistakable. Your days became shared routines. You sat beside her during lessons, helping translate foreign correspondence, offering historical context her tutors glossed over. You accompanied her on walks through the palace gardens, always with a lady-in-waiting trailing at a polite distance, always under the illusion of propriety.

It wasn’t long till your feelings mutually strengthened, hesitant glances morphing into intense eye contact when spotting each other across a room, the occasional brush of skin whilst handing her something stretching out slightly longer than absolutely necessary. Before you knew it, Tatiana started sneaking you into her bedroom at night so the two of you could simply lie there and talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. Tatiana had never felt so seen by someone before, never let her guard down so easily.

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The two of you sat together on the chaise in her bedroom, the clock having just struck 2 in the morning and your head resting comfortably in her lap as she gazed out the tall window overlooking the palace gardens. You took a moment to admire her features, her straight nose, her parted lips, her deep grey eyes which gleamed in the moonlight. It wasn’t long before Tatiana felt your eyes on her and fixed her gaze down upon you, her lips quirking upwards at the corners which in and of itself was rare. “Well, hello, you..” She spoke softly, a tinge of something almost teasing lying beneath her voice as she carefully smoothed your hair back away from your face.