Chapter 1.5 - Nicholas, The Tsar
“Kidney Failure, that's what they said”
Alexander III was dying, he had failed to part with any meaningful training for his son, and now his days were numbered, on October 21st, Fiancé to Nicholas, Princess Alix, would meet with the Tsar to receive his blessing, and he would be in full dress uniform to grant it. This exhausted him, and on November 1st, he would pass on from this world. Leaving his Son, Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov, as Tsar of All Russia. Doubts circled in his head, he had no training, all he had done was run the construction of a railway. He wasn’t meant to be Tsar, he was only 26, but in the end this was the case.
Nikolai II Aleksandrovich Romanov, was Tsar of All Russia, and despite feeling somewhat unprepared for the role, he was grateful for his experience on the Railroad. But the doubts wouldn’t let him rest, His Family arrived on November 13th, and on November 18th, Alexander III, The Late Tsar of All Russia, The Peacemaker, was laid to rest. That night, Nicholas couldn't sleep, the past two weeks had taken a toll, he felt as if he wasn’t fit for the role. As he paced the halls in silence, trying to reconcile his doubts in his skill to what he felt had to be done, he passed by his Grandfather’s portrait, stopped to look at it, and left for the church.
The Sun had fallen nearly six hours ago, and yet Nicholas was going to church, to pray. He sought to end the doubts in his mind, but prayer alone would not settle them, but it would put him on the path to confidence. Rising from his prayer, he would later write down in his journal the next morning “I am the Tsar of All Russia, and so it is my duty to lead, God gave me this duty, and so i shall carry it out with all the might i can muster”.
The next few days passed by like a blur, but Sergei would wind up knocking on Nicholas’ office door, “Your Imperial Majesty, may we talk for a moment”. Sergei sat down, and launched into a speech “Your Imperial Majesty, your father was a fierce lion, with a strong will, he built this nation into an autocracy, he built a court of supporters of such an autocracy, these men, these supporters are sly devils, yet your father tamed them, he tamed the lion’s den that was his court. And forgive me, but i shall be blunt, you do not have such a will, the mere sight of your gaze, your disapproval won’t make these devils stop whatever they are conversing about with someone else. To you, his court is a den of vipers, filled with snakes, you may not be a lion, but you can be a fox, and that is the snake’s worst fear, to face someone equal in skill”
Sergei got up from his seat and left without another word, and Nicholas was left to ponder this, and he would, even in his sleep. As he slept, pictures, portraits of Grandfather and Father would appear before his eyes, with a pulsating glow emanating from behind them, the Former, the Liberator, a beacon for a reformed Russia, and the latter, the peacemaker, an icon for a renewed Russian autocracy. Nicholas couldn’t pick between the two, yet in this dream he felt he must. He couldn’t however, and so he was punished by his own mind by being welcomed back to reality, he was awake, and he would stay awake for the rest of the day.
Because of this, Nicholas leapt to his feet and tried to meet with his Brother-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who was set to depart that morning, The Grand duke was groggy, it was only 5 in the morning after all. “Alex, I'm only 26, and I'm Tsar of all Russia, how am I, just… What is going to happen to me and all of Russia?” To which Alexander, despite his groggy state replied "You are God's Chosen Tsar of Russia, His Hand will guide you, as he had done with all past Tsars but look back at your father and grandfather, God can strike Tsars down as well, so be careful, and do know History will guide you just as much as God."
Tsar Nicholas and his soon to be wife, Alexandra Feodorovna on their wedding day
A few more days past, and soon it was November 26th, Nicholas' Wedding day, which he had moved up by several months. It was a quaint wedding for a Ruling Monarch, not some big event, likely due to its expedited nature. The Tsar would marry Princess Alix, a German Princess, who would take on the Russian Name, Alexandra Feodorovna. Some of the more powerful Royals were there, Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales, the Rest of Nicholas' Family and Alexandra's Family, and on invite of Nicholas himself, Kaiser Wilhem II, a cousin of Nicholas, who brought along his children.
That Night, having married Alix, Now Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, he thought of the future, coming to a simple conclusion. Nicholas stepped out onto a balcony, the sun had set many hours prior and he would mutter to himself "As Alexander said, I am God's Chosen Tsar, his hand guides my Actions, as he did so with my Father, and my Grandfather, But he was wrong in one regard, God struck down my Father, but it was by the People's hand that my Grandfather was struck down, not god, and it was not through my Grandfathers actions that brought him down, no, it was his failure to protect himself. This Country needs a change in course, Russia wasn't ready for it, but they will be now, even if it kicks and screams, i will not have god strike me down, nor will i have the people, angered by inaction or radical action, do it for him. I must protect Russia, and to do that i must survive, and so change must begin."
The Tsar would remain on the balcony for little over a half hour, looking out to the lifeless city, its denizens in blissful slumber, unaware of the fact that Russia’s soul was in limbo. Sergei would meet with him during that time. “Sergei, my father said to trust you, and so I shall, you are not only a friend or a mentor, you are to be an ally. As you said earlier, it's a den of snakes, but would a snake wish to face off against the Eagle, in public, The Fox, in private, and his agent the…” Nicholas looked at Sergei deciding which animal Sergei would be, with himself being the Fox and Eagle “... and his agent, the owl, all at once. I don’t the snakes would.”
Sergei paused before speaking “Nicholas, if I may, the court will be harder to tame if you go against it, and i can see it in your eyes that you plan to, we need more allies beside you and me”
“You can?, let us hope it is because you have known me for so long, but anyways, let me reassure you, more will come in due time, and Russia will change.” Nicholas then went back to bed, but before he could, his old friend got a final word in, "We must tread carefully, Nicholas," and the two departed from the balcony, but as he left, Sergei stopped, and suddenly stood taller, confidence was in the air that night, and both the Tsar and his ally, the owl, could feel it.