Germany, 1883-1884

CHRISTMAS CAME AND WENT with the utmost pomp and ceremony; it was by far the most festive Christmas Day Alix had ever spent with her family since her mother's passing.

Her sisters and herself were showered with expensive gifts, ranging from pearl bracelets given to them by Grandmama to Ella receiving a string of shimmering diamond jewelry straight from Russia. Though Sergei had to return home shortly after their engagement, he certainly made sure that his fiancée would only get the finest things in life, something none of the Hesse princesses were particularly accustomed to; luxuries were a treat to them, not an everyday lifestyle.

The patients in all the hospitals they visited monthly across the duchy certainly didn't get any luxuries, that was why each Christmas, the princesses would bring bouquets to their bedsides and chat with the hospital staff, a tradition that had started with the girls' mother. "Life is meant for work," she would say in her sober black dress and a lone Cross hanging from her neck, "our duty is to serve our people, as God intended."

In her prayers at night, Alix often thought about her mother's words, how God had chosen them to be royals in order to fulfill His Will. At times, it frightened her, feeling the weight of this 'divine duty' she had supposedly been blessed with; she didn't mind the hospital visits and the charity work, but the duty to marry that she will inevitably be faced with... It sometimes made her question if she was even fit for this role.

Her sister Victoria had easily embraced her duties as eldest daughter of the grand duke, taking on the responsibilities their mother had left behind. She managed all of the grand duchesses philanthropic endeavors: the Frauverein, a foundation Grand Duchess Alice had created to train nurses during times of war, as well as the patronage of several orphanages and homes for women in Hesse. It seemed a lot to put on the shoulders of a twenty year-old, but the princess never complained.

However, now that both she and Ella were to be wed and leave their beloved home, it would now be Irene's turn to take charge of the late grand duchess' affairs until it would fall on Alix, unless a new Grand Duchess of Hesse was made, though this could only happen once Ernie found a bride— or if the Grand Duke of Hesse remarried.

Seeing how attached and devoted he was to Madame de Kolemine though, it surprisingly didn't shock Alix as much as she'd anticipated when Grand Duke Louis announced his intention to marry the divorced, Russian lady once they reached spring in the New Year. What did shock the Hesse family was the timing of this announcement— it was only a few days before Victoria's wedding.

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ALIX HELD HER BREATH AS THE CARRIAGE came to a stop right at the foot of the Neues Palais' entrance, where she stood in her favorite mauve lace tea gown, holding onto Ernie's sweaty hand. Behind them, she could hear Prince Louis anxiously whispering about to his brothers Alexander and Henry, but Alix's papa remained stoic in silence. As the carriage door opened and a diminutive, somber figure alighted from it, they immediately felt the weight of her presence.

The Sun had set herself upon them, her blinding rays already making them feel the heat of her power.

Pushing herself upright with her cane in one hand while holding onto Ella's arm with the other, the Queen walked with the same purpose and strength she'd always shown during her lifetime as a monarch. Irene stood shyly behind her, having disembarked last from the carriage, while Ella beamed with delight at her grandmama. Visits from the Queen were rare, it was usually you who came to visit her at one of her royal palaces.

One she got close enough, Alix let go of Ernie's hand to embrace her dear grandmama with open arms, raising her head to rest her chin on the Queen's broad shoulder. "Welcome, grandmama!"

In the background, the Battenberg brothers raised their eyebrows at the princess' blatant lack of protocol, opting for a very informal hug than the required curtsy, but it did not seem to bother the Queen as she smilingly embraced the child back, marveling at how prettily she had put herself together and expressing her satisfaction regarding the upcoming wedding.

She noticeably made no immediate mention of the most recent death in the royal British family; Prince Leopold's funeral had been held earlier this month after he had passed from a terrible accident in March, forcing Victoria and Louis to postpone their nuptials until after the funeral in April. Though the wedding guests had been advised to wear grey, brown and purple clothing as they were colors of half-mourning out of respect for the deceased prince, the Queen always wore black, even at occasions that were supposed to be light and joyous like a marriage.

Regardless, and much to everyone's relief, the Queen seemed to get on pretty well with the groom's family, despite them being considered 'illegitimate' royalty. She and her devoted companion Princess Beatrice, her youngest daughter and the Hesse princesses' favorite aunt, wound up spending a lot of time chatting with the Battenbergs in the days leading up to the wedding, much to Princess Victoria's relief.

However, there was still some anxiety surrounding the Queen meeting Grand Duke Sergei for the first time, as he had also been invited to attend the wedding.

Sergei arrived a few days after the Queen, his arrival being announced as the Hesse family were having breakfast with the Queen, Princess Beatrice and Prince Louis and Alexander in the palace's dining room. While Ella remained excited that her grandmama would finally meet her fiancé, Alix could see that the rest of the dinner party remained a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but the Queen would have to meet the Russian grand duke sooner or later, as Ella's own wedding was scheduled in only two months from now.

As soon as she finished her cup of coffee, Alix watched as her grandmama slowly rose up from her seat and beckoned Ella to her side along with Beatrice as they solemnly exited the dining room to greet Sergei in the drawing room. Once the Queen was finally gone though, Alix couldn't help but to nervously glance around the room, with Irene and Ernie glancing their father's way— if things with Sergei went well, there would be nothing to distract the Queen from potentially finding out about their big secret...

Still, the entire wedding party were kept busy as the date drew closer and the guests continued to arrive in order to celebrate the happy couple; the Prince of Wales and his little clan of children kept the party lively, as Alix always knew her Uncle Bertie to be quite 'un homme de fêtes', loudly laughing and drinking with her own papa, while his wife the Princess of Wales was a little quieter, but just as flashy as her husband with her elaborate fashion sense.

Her exquisite fashion taste (and possession of funds to afford the finest gowns, hats and gloves) extended to her two daughters as well; the Wales princesses, Louise, Victoria and Maud, were alike in the bright blue colored eyes they shared and the slender featured they'd inherited from their beautiful Danish-born mother, but the similarities ended there. While Louise, the eldest, and Maud were quieter like their mother, their sister 'Toria' tended to be more lively like her father, though equally as serious as her sisters.

It was her seriousness and ability to navigate any social setting that drew Alix to her cousin Toria. Together, they would escape the sometimes overwhelmingly crowded wedding festivities, as all of Alix's seven maternal aunts and uncles had been invited along with their respective spouses and their many children, to play alone in the princess' room. In a safeness of her room though, it took everything in her will for Alix not to reveal her father's secret to her cousin, but even her strong will couldn't keep the secret from being contained for long— the Queen finally uncovered it just a day shy of the wedding ceremony.

The burden came on Ella to announce the dreaded news, despite the Queen's meeting with Grand Duke Sergei having gone incredibly well, her grandmama even gifting the grand duke with some new cuff links, which he made sure to wear during his stay. Ernie was there when it happened, and as he described later described it to his little sister Alix, 'it was like Hell unfurled itself in the drawing room'.

It was safe to say that Grandmama was less than please, she chastised Grand Duke Louis for wanting to remarry 'so soon' after his late wife's passing, but more importantly (and appallingly), for having his private secret marriage on the same day as his daughter's. The Hesse patriarch reiterated his love for Alexandrine de Kolemine and how lonely he'd been since Grand Duchess Alice's death, but the Queen would hear none of it.

And so, the next day, as Princess Victoria walked down the isle of the chapel next to the Neues Palais, her gaze lovingly transfixed on her adoring husband standing at the altar in full British naval attire with every medal he'd ever received proudly on display, Alix saw how disappointed her grandmama looked about the whole affair.

A few of the wedding guests were also missing, particularly the imperial Prussian family (the same one whose heir was Alix's awful cousin Willy), who were absolutely scandalized by the Grand Duke of Hesse's morganatic marriage and had promptly left Darmstadt as to voice their displeasure. Even Alix herself, though she loved her father dearly, couldn't help but the swallow down her bitter feelings, as her papa inevitably dampened her sister's wedding day.

After the ceremony (and the second secret ceremony that came immediately after), the Queen wasted no time in taking action against the whole ordeal, ordering the usually laid-back Prince of Wales to send Madame de Kolemine away and to have Grand Duke Louis annul his second marriage, which he eventually did not long after the day of the ceremony.

Afterwards, Grandmama departed from Hesse, bringing Ella and her father along with her to Windsor— "No doubt to talk some sense into Papa," Irene whispered to Alix as they said their goodbyes— but also to prepare Ella for her own upcoming nuptials and the new life she was about to enter in Russia. Once their train left Darmstadt Station, Alix finally let out the breath she'd been holding ever since the Queen's arrival.

They had survived Victoria's eventful wedding, but now they would have to go through a grander, much more foreign marriage ceremony in the heart of 'enemy territory'— where the imperial Russian family would greet Ella and her family and make her one of their own; an imperial grand duchess of the Romanov dynasty.

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