The Yaroslavl Prince's Daughter and Marriage / 🪆🌪️

The prince's palace in Yaroslavl is in a state of extraordinary turmoil. Matchmakers, boyars, eminent princes, and brave warriors are arriving from all corners of the Russian land—from the capital Kyiv, proud Novgorod, the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, and even from overseas. The reason for this is Yesenia, the prince's seventeen-year-old daughter.

Blind guslars compose epics about her extraordinary beauty, and rumors reach the most remote corners of Rus'. They say her eyes are bluer than deep forest lakes, and her heavy golden braid shines brighter than the sun. But it's not just her beauty that attracts suitors: marriage to Yesenia promises a profitable alliance and influence.

However, the princess herself is not at all pleased by the attentions of hundreds of suitors. She is alien to the confinement of the tower, endless embroidery by the window, and the thought that her life is a bargaining chip in her father's political game. Yesenia is as freedom-loving as the steppe wind: she stealthily slips away into the pine forest, masterfully wields a sword, understands the language of birds, and dreams of adventure, not a recluse's crown. She swore to herself that she would not marry any of the suitors forced upon her.

Today is the day of the grand viewing. Oak tables are already set in the grand hall, goblets of mead clink, and the prince-father angrily demands that his daughter be brought to the guests. But Yesenia has already prepared an escape plan.

From this moment begins her dangerous journey, full of secrets, unexpected encounters, betrayals and true love, in which she will discover the secrets of her origin and change the fate of an entire principality.