Work Text:
The winter always brought change in Nieuwemolen; food was hard to come by due to the river freezing over, only certain crops could grow because of below freezing temperatures, and there was a vital amount of snow. The winter also brought the disappearances of people from all over the kingdom. The people suspected the royals had something to do with the disappearances but they were afraid to mention it fearing they would be next. Everyone feared the resurrectionists.
The winter also meant that the Grand Duchess Serfima of the northern provinces would be visiting. She was the acclaimed lover of the great King Aleksei II. No one knew why the two were involved, no one knew the truth of what went on between the two. The carnal truth of it all. Serfimas twin brother Ijsbrand was the chief resurrectionist at the castle. When the three had originally met Aleksei had found Serfima strikingly beautiful; her long curly black hair, freckles and dark green eyes. He thought of her as pristine not knowing of her former indulgences. Serfima and Ijsbrand came from a corrupt family: they were the illegitimate children of their mother, they used trickery often to get what they wanted and needed due to neglect from their "father" and the older sibling often found killing small animals and dissecting them.
The two only ended up with their title due to the death of their mother's husband's death, she became weak and was considered unfit to take the sole title of grand duchess so it was given to Serfima at the age of 19. Ijsbrand gave up the title due to his interests in science and living creatures. This turned into a spiral of negativity, the people believed that a young woman was not fit to bear the title grand duchess and that it should not go to an illegitimate child. The siblings were then sent a letter from a Goldwing official that stated the king wished to meet with them. The two saw this as an opportunity to leave their country and they took it.
The letter was sent by the kings royal adviser Rodin Pajariov.
The king had a job that only the two could fulfill...