Maria and Alexander were glad to have Stephanje back in their lives, physically. He was always a great help to them, a comfort. Having him during easter made them feel as they'd always had, happy and special to have their cousin with them. Whilst Stephanje was the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was still "their" Stephanje. He always would be.
Throughout the week Stephanje helped Maria look after the children, he kept the children pre- occupied while Maria and Alexander took moments to be with each other, and he entertained them all during the evening with his story- telling. Stephanje was, by far, a most excellant story- teller. The best the Imperial family knew, to be honest, in fact. Even as a Patriarch, his imagination was wild and equal to that of a child's. It was something Alexander loved about his cousin. The way he was able to use his imagination, even when they were growing up together, yet never have it destroyed by ideas and concepts of "duty", and "behaving properly". When Alexander looked at Nikolas he saw the exact same thing happening to him too. The poor boy had a future already laid out ahead of him, he needed to learn, from now, what that meant, he had no imagination. The boy was fascinated by the stories, and was capable to doing so himself, but he rarely did. It wasn't "proper" of a Tsarevitch who would one day grow up to be the Tsar of Russia.
Maria fell more and more in love with Stephanje. He would always be her Stephanje. He'd stolen her heart the first time they danced on the floor at her father's Palace. However, he had her heart in a way Alexander didn't. Alexander was her husband, he would be loved for being her husband and father of her children. Stephanje, however, was her crush. She would love him and adore him as something like a treasure. A treasure she, and only she knew about and would keep to herself.
As Easter Sunday approached the Patriarch was packed and left from them again. He returned to Moscow and immediately sent a letter telling of his journey and how he had arrived. By monday Stephanje was back at Anichkov Palace and enjoying the time he had to relax. He now had time to spend with the family, without worrying about ecclesiastical issues. However, there was one other event that he now had to look forward to. It was the same event that Alexander had been caught up organising since his father's passing. Russia was still without a crowned Tsar. Alexander was next in line. Thus, he had been caught up preparing for the event, making sure all issues were addressed.
Alexander had now reached the stage of the planning process where he could go no further. Now it was time to put the rest onto the Church, and by extension, the Patriarch. Knowing his cousin, and having seen the influence the previous Patriarch had on him, Alexander decided to do everything the way Stephanje would want, indeed, expect. This didn't bother Alexander at all. Tradition was something to be followed, particularly by the Imperial family, whose traditions had been set long ago. Alexander approached his cousing informally on the issue. The Patriarch was not at all bothered. He sat down and begun to finalise the planning immediately and had all the paperwork to Alexander the following day.
After the forty day period following Easter, Anichkov Palace came alive. The guards changed ceremoniously, the Imperial Standard was hoisted to full- flight upon the Palaces flag- pole, and a crowd begun to gather. The elderly knew the signs. The adolescents couldn't believe what they were going to experiance, and the young were fascinated. At the Winter Palace similar events took place. At the Kremlin Palace the events took place also. It was only on a glorious Wednesday morning at eight- thirty in the morning, in Moscow, at the Katherine Palace, when the guards and Imperial trumpeteers drew the attention of almost all the Muscovites. An Imperial attendant, upon a stallion, rode towards the gates of the Palace and stopped ten metres short. The gates were closed but looked as if they'd burst because of all the citizens pressing against them.
"Muscovites, Citizens, Russians! The Imperial standard flies. In two weeks the Coronation of the new Tsar, Alexander II will take place at the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin. Long Live Russia, Long Live the Tsar!"
With that the horse spun around and rode back towards the Palace. The citizens were all in a buzz. The excitement grew. A Tsar was to be coronated. Along with this Tsar, however, Russias gem, the treasure they all loved, Maria, was to be their new Tsarina.
c. John Apotsis 2008
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