Red Square (the city square's name has not any connections with the short communist rule, but because of the name "Krasnaya" which means either "Red" or "Beautiful" during a military parade. As the Winter Palace was still under renovation, the official ceremonies in Tsarist Russia were held in Moscow Kremlin, which was also the Tsar's official residence, but Dmitri II continued to live in his own mansion, Constantine Palace of Saint-Petersburg, along with his wife and his son.
CHAPTER 9: THE AUGUST, 11 CRISIS
MOSCOW, AUGUST, 11 1938
Dmitri II, Tsar of All the Russias, was sitting in his personnal office in Moscow Kremlin, browsing some official and confidential files before going to this historical reunion. Ambassadors of all countries formerly under Russian rule (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Don-Kuban Union, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkestan, Transamur) were standing at the Red Square, waiting for the audience of the Tsar, who will reassure Russia's neighbours about Russian claims, maintaining that Russia will never assert claims about independant countries...Officially.
Purishkevich wanted to go to the meeting himself, but Dmitri II, using the few powers he held as Head of State and figurehead of Holy Russia and Purishkevist regime, refused to let him make that, claiming that the ambassadors attending there would rather heard the words of the Tsar of All the Russias than whose of an agressive Vojd. Purishkevich reluctantly agreed, knowing the popularity of the Tsar, who was still too independant for him.
Someone knocked to the door, awakening the headaches that assaulted Dmitri since a few days. Despite of the pain, Dmitri ordered:
-Come in!
Tatiana, his personal secretary, entered the office. She was young, tall, kind, zealous, intelligent and very seductive, despite her big glasses. Until July, he tried several times to seduce the Tsar, in order to be her mistress. But, despite the desire and the affection he had for his red-haired secretary, Dmitri refused to do so, knowing that Tatiana had been engaged by Purishkevich for this goal: the Vojd knew the problems that the Tsar was facing with his Tsaritsa. Fearing black mail, Dmitri II reluctantly forgot his drives.
-The Romanian files, Your Imperial Highness.
-What is it? Yusupov's agents in this country entered in contact with these fascists...The Steel Guard, isn't that?
-Iron Guard, Your Highness. The point is that the Romanian government banned this organization. But our agent in Bucarest is hoping that the Iron Guard leaders who avoided incarceration could be united under the program of the clerical leader, Miron Cristea. He's waiting for orders.
-Tell him to do what he thinks the better for Mother Russia!
Dmitri smiled and slumped onto his chair.
-You know that you could be executed for these informations, Tatiana?
-Come to me.
-That why I prefer your Imperial presence to the Vojd...
-Come to me.
-...Your Highness? Is everything alright?
Dmitri was turning pale, dribbling and feeling difficulties to take his breath. His headaches were becoming worse, like if his brain was squeezed by bits of glass.
-Come to me.
-Do you want me to call a doctor?
-I...I...Know this voice...
-Come to me.
Dmitri tried to stand up, barely resting on his chair's arms, but the only result was him falling on the floor. The terrifying screams of Tatiana soon became very far as Dmitri was falling in deep darkness.
He finally landed on a snowy ground, outside a huge palace. Charasteristic of Saint-Petersburg: Yusupov palace. Standing up, his eyes quickly noticed a terrible presence between two trees. Despite twenty years, he was still wearing this strange mix between a cassock and a peasent gown. But, with these deep blue eyes and this great dark beard, it was Him. It was impossible, but it was Him.
-RASPUTIN!
-How are you, my tiny little Tsar?
-Who are you? Where am I?
-I'm the man you killed, in the place where you used a gun for the first and las time of your life.
Dmitri, completely frightened, tried to hit the Mad Monk, but his hand only passed through the phantomatic apparition.
-Listen to me, little Tsar. You, Purishkevich and Yusupov think that you came to the supreme leadership by your own will...But it's false. From the Afterlife, I made everything to help you.
-You...You're not Rasputin! You're not a ghost! You're a hallucination!
-Listen my voice. Was it the voice that you despised, the voice this poor foolish Nikolai listened with attention, the voice that was ordering the doctors to not give more aspirin to the Tsesarevich: I was maybe the only one who knew that aspirin was worse for his hemophiliac rotten blood!...Yes, it's me, I'm Grigori Rasputin, the Red Monk...
-You're a demon! We three knew that, but the Tsar refused to do so!
-A demon? No, I'm just a man who was knowing the secrets of the Afterlife, a smart man who knew that death was not an ending, neither a curse...In fact, you helped me...
-To do what?
-Then I died, shortly after drinking to death the water of the Neva, I saw several parallel worlds. A world where the Mongols continued to dominate Russia, another one where another dynasty than the Romanov came to the throne, where the Teutonic Order beated Alexandr Nevsky...I understood that our existence was not so important, and I decided to get revenge of this rotten pro-German autocracy who was destroying my fatherland...I triggered from my tomb the Civil War: I was knowing that if the Reds won, a new tyrant, worse than Hitler and Purishkevich, would walk this earth and make Russia establish a terror reign in Europe and Asia...But it didn't work, and even if almost your whole stupid family was executed, Russia became a weak democracy...I possessed a gunman and I killed Kerensky, in order to help your rise...
-You're lying...
-No, and I will show you how I can help Russia to regain her prestige...
Rasputin touched the forehead of Dmitri, who screamed then he reintegrated his body, surroundered by the frightened guards and Tatiana...But SOMEONE ELSE was controlling his body. The Tsar was now prisoner of his own body, unable to speak or to move. Another will make him stand up, reassuring the guards, telling Tatiana to led him to the conference. Someone else, using his voice, told the secretary:
-And what about the problems of Cossack persecution against our agents?
-Uh? General Vlassov said that a military intervention was not preferable.
-Vlassov is completely stupid and I'm the Tsar of All the Russias! Then this wasting conference will be finished, I will personally declare war to these bastards who are rebelling against us!
Dmitri thought: WHAT I'M SAYING?!...I mean: WHAT IS HE SAYING?
-If you said so, Your Highness...
-Don't worry, sweety. And after this boring stuff, you will come in my office. Alone. I got some special files to show you.
Rasputin-controlled Dmitri Pavlovich winked and came out of the Kremlin. Without shaking the hands of the embassadors, who were all coming from governments with good relationships with Russia, he climbed to his personal platform and simply said:
-Gentlemen, I'm happy to tell you that I'm not only the Tsar of All the Russias, but I'm also Grand-Duke of Finland and Lithuania, king of Poland and Voivod of Bessarabia. Thus, all your governments are obviously illegal and they should be crushed and executed. And be happy that I'm not ordering my police to arrest you as rebels. Have a nice day, good bye.
The Polish embassador quited the place without a word, but the Finnish one shouted:
-THE FINNS WILL NEVER SURRENDER! I SWEAR IT!
This possession continued until Dmitri II Romanov went to sleep in his personal bunker under the Kremlin (as Saint-Petersburg was bombed by Finnish ships), after declaring war to five countries, beginning an extraconjugal relationship with his secretary and make believe to the whole world and his country he was completely mad.
In his dreams, before disappearing, Rasputin said:
-I sweared to bring Russia again to her past glory. As I'm not anymore of this world, I will make everything to do so, even destroying the entire world. Including your poor soul. Now, fear every time that you will suffer headaches, because it will mean that the Red Monk is coming...