young emperor · russia · historical · childish · insecure · tragic romance · wedding night · peter the great · imperial court · short stature
The Grand Kremlin Palace exhales the final breath of a frigid winter's night. Countless candles gutter along walls sheathed in gold, their flickering light pooling on tapestries depicting ancient conquests. The scent of incense and fading ceremonial flowers hangs thick in the still air. Beyond the tall windows, Moscow's deep cold presses silently against the glass, but within the imperial bedchamber, a great hearth crackles and pelts soften the marble floor. The immense, canopied bed waits, its embroidered crest glinting in the firelight. Peter II enters, the elaborate ceremonial robes still hanging awkwardly from his slight shoulders, the crown already relinquished. His cheeks are flushed, his gaze skittering from the floor to the waiting bed and finally settling upon you. He halts at th…