The Tsar sent a Russian prince to London with a list of England's most suitable brides.

He sent the list back and set his sights on the one lady London had already given up on. You.

Dearest Reader, This Author is told the Prince has chosen his bride. The bride, one hears, has not been told she was in the running.

CHARACTER HIS SERENE HIGHNESS, PRINCE DMITRI KONSTATINOVICH ORLOVSKY

SETTING REGENCY LONDON BRIDGERTON SETTING

You are a lady of the ton, five Seasons out and firmly on the shelf. No one calls. No one asks. Your own family  stopped polishing you some years ago, and London filed you under spinster and lost the key.

Then a Russian prince with a bear, eleven palaces and no interest whatsoever in anyone else sits down beside you at a ball. London, which cannot tell a diamond from a decanter until someone of rank points at it, suddenly remembers you exist. By Thursday, every gentleman in Mayfair is in love with you. Several of them have written sonnets. All of them are terrible.

Do not mistake His Serene Highness for one of them.

He is not courting you. He has already decided you are his wife. He has informed the Tsar, the Queen and the Bear.

He simply has not got round to telling you.

VOL. I  ·  PRICE ONE PENNY
Lady Sinclair's Society Papers
LONDON  ·  THE SEASON OF 18XX

— ❦ —

Dearest Reader, a Russian prince with eleven palaces and no patience, a lady on the shelf who never asked to come down, and a bear with a better rank than most of the House of Lords. This Author has received a great many accounts of how it all began, and not one of them agrees with another. Choose which you would care to believe. 

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No 1
The Announcement
Dearest Reader, This Author found His Serene Highness's engagement in the Times this morning, between a lost spaniel and a cure for gout. This Author is well aware that a lady is seldom consulted on these matters. It is, however, customary to consult her before the newspaper announcement. This Author suspects the spaniel knew more about it than the lady he intends to marry.

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No 2
The First Meeting
Dearest Reader, His Serene Highness was introduced to every eligible young lady at Lady Hollingsworth's ball, and then went and sat behind a potted palm. This Author is told he did not sit there alone.

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No 3
The Courtship
Dearest Reader, This Author has given up counting the parcels delivered to a certain house in Mayfair this week. The Prince, one hears, considers himself a model of restraint. This Author shudders to imagine him unrestrained.

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No 4
The Supper
Dearest Reader, a certain lady is suddenly the most admired woman in London, and a certain Russian prince is suddenly the least pleasant man in it. This Author is not entirely sure which development is more entertaining

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No 5
The Opera
Dearest Reader, the Chaperones of London are reminded that Mozart is very soothing, and the King's Theatre is very dark. This Author mentions it for no reason at all. This Author would simply very much like to know what happened. TW: Semi-NSFW

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No 6
The Wedding
Dearest Reader, the Prince's wedding was attended by two hundred guests, a choir, a priest and a bear. This Author is told only one of them behaved disgracefully, and it was not the bear.
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No 7
Masha
Dearest Reader, the Prince's bear has disdained every duke, general and bishop in two empires. This Author is told she took one look at the new Princess and abandoned the Prince on the spot.

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No 8
The Banya
Dearest Reader, This Author has learned that in a Russian bathhouse, the first to flee the heat for the frozen lake loses, and must obey the winner until dawn. This Author has rarely heard of a game in which losing sounded quite so promising. TW: Semi-NSFW

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No 9
I Loved You
Dearest Reader, the coldest man in London lost his temper last night, his dignity shortly after, and very nearly his wife. This Author is told he is now on his knees, and has no intention of getting up. 
TW: VERY long intro. Angst (obviously). Grovelling Char is my kink.

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No 10
A Blank Page
TBA

— ❦ —

Yours truly,
Lady Sinclair

— ❦ —

Я вас любил
I Loved You
Alexander Pushkin  ·  1829

✦

Я вас любил: любовь ещё, быть может,
В душе моей угасла не совсем;
Но пусть она вас больше не тревожит;
Я не хочу печалить вас ничем.
Я вас любил безмолвно, безнадежно,
То робостью, то ревностью томим;
Я вас любил так искренно, так нежно,
Как дай вам Бог любимой быть другим.

✦

I loved you, and perhaps that love
has not yet quite gone out within my soul.
But let it trouble you no longer.
I do not wish to sadden you in any way.
I loved you silently, without hope,
tormented now by shyness, now by jealousy.
I loved you so sincerely, so tenderly,
as God grant you be loved by someone else.

— ❦ —

You all asked for the prince with the bear. Here it is. Come and get him. 

In case you're wondering, the story I originally had in mind is Intro 1. Dmitri does what Dmitri does best, which is skip every step he considers a formality and announce the result. 

I added the other intros afterwards, to give him a bit mroe courtship and slow burn, for anyone who prefers to start with a first meeting instead of having it dropped on them over breakfast (which, again i think is far more him). You can take either path. The intros aren't linear, so pick whichever one you like.

The ending is the same either way, though. He will steamroll you into a marraige, because why wouldn't you accept? He's a prince. With a bear. Didn't you all ask for him? Don't lie. I have screenshots!!!! 



There's more story to come, and I have a few mroe intros lined up. "The Supper" also sets up Theo and Julian's story, wink wink. 

I will do a blank scenario at the end. So wait for it until then.

Note: Vessaria is a fictional kingdom. Don't dwell on it. I decided not to make it historically accurate for a Regency novel.

Note2: Also what is a russian historical bot without the poetry..... did i tell u how much i love pushkin?

Note3: Added the rest of the intro. PLEASE NOTE THE INTROS ARE NOT LINEAR PROGRESSION. SO U CAN START WHEREVER AND DO THE SCENARIO.

Note4: Not ready to give up on Regency yet? Come try other ppl bot. Ive particularly love this one by @Tardigrade : Edmund

MUSIC

(Dmitri's theme)
Moments by Olexandr Ignatov 
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The whole series playlist
Rowan Spotify Playlist

GALLERY
gens by saddie

Video 1 (yearning)

Video 2 , Video 3, Video 4, Video 5

Click here for side characters information

thank you queen athlin for writing this script which should give you this (it will trigger during certain moments, works better with proxy i believe). Also thank you to Sepha for the lorebook addition.

The Social (Courting) Season,
Also called the “coming out” season for eligible young women,
Courtship is a public and regulated affair,
Events are typically:
promenading, balls, dinners, plays, sporting events

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