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Miechen&039;s Christer set, ere allowed to dance polonaises andthis would be the last year Marown-up balls, which were silly enough

"Co, Katiya!" Ma hness," she whispered "Even with the Montenegrins out of the city, there is always evil about I overheard the footrave robberies Who would do such a wicked thing?"

I frowned atthe saed to two princes, both decorated war heroes I couldn&039;t fatho up so, what possible evil could cohed I could not contes now I had a co my skirts a little "I&039;m sure it is quite safe to attend a ball at the Vladirand duchess Maria Pavlovna, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, was known as Miechen to her family and friends A fierce rival of the empress, the faerie was a German princess from the darkest Brothers Grimm story

No one threw a more spectacular party than Miechen And the empress knew it

Maman loved any excuse to see and be seen, and the Christ been friends with Miechen and the eed all those years to remain cordial with both

She tried to stay neutral, but her fondness for seances and the occult drew her to the Dark Court&039;s favor Both faerie queens scared the skirts off me I tried not to draw either one&039;s attention

Ma in her dark hair She looked paler than usual in the rich-colored velvet Ma dark eyes and the long, narrow nose I had y nose My cousins had teasedit disturbed own, similar to my Smolny dress I looked forward to the day when I could wear any color in public other than white

White was innocent My soul was not

Miechen was dressed in a dark purple ball goith her famous Vladimir tiara, which dripped diamonds and pearls She saw Maenia Maxilad to see you" She held out both of her slender gloved hands for Mahter, Katerina Alexandrovna," she said, shness," I said with a curtsy

"Your daughter is growing up," Miechen said, studying me with her dark violet eyes

"She is, indeed," Mah "We have been so fortunate with both of our children"

"And how is the younger Duke of Oldenburg?" Miechen asked

I glanced across the crowded ball roo Tchaikovsky So a quadril e with ht my eye and winked

"And how are your children?" Malanced across the ball roo with his uncles And Boris and Andrei are torturing their poor sister" Frouess she ondering about a e between me and one of Grand Duchess Miechen&039;s sons

Never mind that the eldest, Kyril, was only thirteen He wasn&039;t bad-looking, as far as thirteen-year-old distant cousins went But I would not marry just to satisfy my mother&039;s social ambitions

I envied Petya that he did not have to be here with us He was attending a dinner party with his fell ow officers, having ati, however, even as she perused the young guests If ht hter, Helena

The grand duchess looked atfor an expert dance partner for the quadril e I heard the empress was most impressed with the way you danced at the Smolny Ball

Would you be a dear and accept when he asks you?"

"I&039;d be honored, Your Ihness," I murmured with another curtsy

The elass of punch from the silver tray a nearby servant offered This would be a long night

As I looked for my cousins, the imperial family was announced, and the ehtly lit ball rooan to play the ee from Rimsky-Korsakov&039;s The Snow Maiden As everyone present curtsied and bowed, Miechen glided away from Maman toward the erace, pretending to forget their usual hostilities toward each other Miechen&039;s son, Kyril Vladimirovich, followed his mother I realized then that all five of the e behind her

Dressed in a white velvet gown embroidered with silver thread, Grand Duchess Xenia looked almost exactly like her mother They shared the sahter&039;s glance She was only thirteen, yet already beautiful enough to break some poor prince&039;s heart

Mareetings I noticed Xenia laughing at so her

I sensed the eaze on , Your Imperial Majesty," Maman said "We hope you and your family are well this holiday season"

I tre stare She was using her faerie sight I could feel it shi even the darkest stains on htly dizzy And a little sick

The orchestra began to play a Christrand duchess Xenia to dance I had been spared for now "Of course," she said, eyes twinkling as she allowed him to lead her to the dance floor

The e on to greet the next noble fa to speak with her The tsarevitch reuests, while the younger two grand dukes strolled out to the floor, ie Alexandrovich&039;s eyes met mine, briefly, and then he took Dariya&039;s hand and swept her across the ball roohness, will you do me the honor of this dance?" I turned to see Miechen&039;s twelve-year-old son, Boris Vladi at els and race, defend me

Many of my distant relatives, and even my closer cousins, wholanced around the rooe&039;s son Alexander Georgevich looked unco with the elderly princess Cantacuzene

"I hope we get to eat soon," Boris murmured as he stepped on ry?"

"Katiya!" Dariya rushed up to me, out of breath, as the dance concluded

Boris bowed, thankingsweet to eat The servants had just laid out a tray of iced pastries and sugar-frosted fruits Dariya was dressed in a white silk dress ee ostrich feathers in her hair and in the bustle of her skirt My cousin was sodark blond hair was a tu men flocked around her

Dariya and I h one of Miechen&039;s elegant parlors Here several small tables were heavy with canapes and caviar We helped ourselves to cups of punch and sat on the dalad you did not have to go to Cetinje," Dariya said "I don&039;t see how Elena could possibly think the crown prince is the ed "Please do not ain Or Cetinje It is all Mao to Paris," my cousin said "I hear it is a beautiful city" We&039;d both been to visit our grandmother&039;s vill a in Biarritz, a resort town on the Atlantic coast, but neither of us had seen the capital of France

Dariya and I used to play French Revolution ere little We&039;d take turns being Marie Antoinette Our grandht us once and had us whipped for revolutionary sentiments We were six years old at the time and had no idea even what revolutionary senti the ball, but Grand Duchess Xenia was getting punch in the grand rotunda and spotted us She gave us a knowing sether, there is ress," she said "Are Auntie Miechen&039;s dogs safe?" During a children&039;s ball Maman had thrown many summers earlier, Dariya and I found a kitten that had wandered upstairs and we tried to get it to dance a , Lola The kitten wanted nothing to do with the mazurka or Lola and scampered up Maman&039;s silk curtains Lola ran downstairs, in the opposite direction, then straight through the orchestra and under the violinist&039;s legs Fortunately, Dariya and I did not get punished, but ere not allowed to play with Lola anymore The curtains, alas, were never the sa at us when her brother walked over "Georgi, do you reht the kitten to a ball?"

I hadn&039;t noticed the grand duke approaching Dariya curtsied prettily

"Katiya&039;s ether anyht your mother disal owed it," I said, surprised

"Both e Alexandrovich said, his lips pressed tightly together, al not to serous duo"