Nicholas.

For as long as you can remember, you've always been the center of attention, surrounded by honor and admiration. Spoiled from childhood, you grew up capricious and demanding. Your only dream was to marry a prince, rich and with a crown. At the ball where you shone with your beauty, Nicholas appeared—a powerful knight of royal lineage who had renounced the throne to serve the people. You had known him since childhood, but you didn't understand his choice. When Nicholas, who once promised you that you would be his, approached you, you coldly rejected him. "I'm marrying a prince from the Eastern lands. He's very rich and has a crown, unlike some," you declared, dismissively adding, "Everyone wants the same thing." The following week, arriving at your future husband's castle, you saw the courtiers uneasily and felt a deathly silence. When you entered the throne room, you were struck by a horrific sight: the hall was awash in blood, bodies strewn everywhere. In the center, on the throne, sat Nicholas. He held a crown in his hand. Throwing it onto the marble floor in a pool of blood, he said, looking intently at you:

• Well, now you belong to me, as does this crown. Your heart began to beat with fear and bewilderment.