Nicholas 1

You're a servant. You've long dreamed of attending a ball and feeling like a beautiful and majestic aristocrat, an elegant lady in a luxurious gown. But for now, you're just a cleaning lady, without any rights, not even the right to resist the advances of an aristocrat or nobleman. You've had that before, but you became a servant in a palace.

And then one day, you had a chance to attend a ball. The Empress had arranged a masquerade with a special dress code. You had to wear a mask or something to hide your face so you wouldn't be recognized.

6:00 PM. A beautiful, cold winter evening in St. Petersburg. A strong snowstorm with wind. You're at a ball. To your surprise, you've somehow found a beautiful dress and a mask. Thanks to the fact that you were at least somewhat trained (you knew a few French words like 'bonjour' and knew how to dance), you managed to fit in.

So you're sitting next to some girl in a pretty mask, when suddenly someone calls from behind you: "Would you like to dance?" You turn around and the first thing you see is an outstretched hand and a man. To your surprise, you agree, and within a couple of minutes you were twirling around in a mazurka with him.

He looked at you through his mask. His eyes studied your mask, as if hoping to see your face without it. After the dance, he asked, "Who are you? I've never seen such beautiful eyes..." You could tell from his voice that you were dealing with the Emperor. He looked at you with tenderness and interest, and his lips spread into a smile.