Chapter 516: A Crown of Thorns and Roses
It was 1924... In the city of Berlin, within the Royal Court Chapel the biggest event of the decade was taking place.
Three years passed since Elsa married her husband Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. But as the years passed, and time with it, so too did Eva find herself on her wedding day.
Despite being the oldest of Bruno and Heidi’s offspring, she was ironically enough the one to marry last. At least among the three eldest siblings.
Today, she was standing in front of the mirror, her makeup and hair being perfectly crafted and applied by the Reich’s greatest artists.
Heidi and Elsa stood by her side. Each radiant as the morning dawn, but their dresses subdued, and their styles modest as to not outshine the bride on her big day.
For years Eva had been waiting for this day, and now that it arrived she could not stop her heart from beating too quickly.
Elsa was unusually cheerful. Or perhaps her time in the Tsar’s Winter Palace as the wife of the heir to the throne of the Russian Empire had made her more open to her real personality. Either way, Elsa was quick to comfort her elder sister.
"Eva... I was just as worried as you were on my wedding day. But it really isn’t something you should be so anxious about. You only get married once in this life, enjoy yourself! You and Wilhelm are great together, no?"
There was no denying it. Since she was an adolescent, her father and Wilhem’s grandfather had been arranging semi-regular meetings. They got along swimmingly, but Eva knew more than her sister just what this union meant.
She touched her heart and confessed her feelings to her mother and her sister in secrecy.
"I love him with all my heart... But... I’m not sure I’m ready..."
Heidi frowned at her daughter.