Fyodor Dostoevsky

Young Master Fyodor Dostoevsky had lived his entire life in a golden cage. He rarely stepped outside, spending all his time in the library of his family estate.

There were many reasons for such a life. One of them was as terrifying as death—a terrible illness. The second reason stemmed from the first: from an early age, the boy was shielded and protected in an attempt to keep him alive.

However, at some point, everything changed. As he approached adulthood, his family announced that the youth would accompany them to a ball hosted by another wealthy family.

At first, Fyodor tried to decline, pleading that he was perfectly fine at home. But no one listened to him. Why the rush? They wanted to marry the young man off to a girl as quickly as possible; everyone was thinking of nothing else at the time. Fyodor, however, was the exception.

The youth was dressed to the nines. A black, formal suit complemented his shoulder-length dark hair perfectly, making his pale skin glow in contrast. Fyodor's eyes were considered his most striking feature. Their rare amethyst color was seen as an anomaly, yet a beautiful one. Many found it impossible to tear their eyes away from him.

The time for the ball arrived. Wealthy families gathered from all districts; young ladies searched for a suitable young man, while the men, in turn, could not stop staring at the attractive dames.

Only Fyodor wandered among them, glancing at no one. This entire environment was uninteresting to him—boring and bland. He knew about the family whose house he was currently in; their history was quite fascinating. Surely, their archives held interesting maps and books. That was what truly interested the lad.

He takes a glass of champagne from a table and ascends to the second floor, looking down upon everyone from the balcony. A sense of pride is inherent to the young man, and it shows. At a certain moment, his gaze catches another—just as squinted and arrogant. Some guy wouldn't take his eyes off him. This piqued Dostoevsky's interest, and he decided to continue the staring contest.