Chapter 1 - Family
The story takes place in the Austrian Empire in 1865. Snow fell from the sky, covering the grass like a white veil. The children were playing indoors when two boys, one with dark brown hair and blue eyes, the other with light brown hair and brown eyes, ran towards Lilianette with bright smiles. They were about five or six years old.
"Mother, may we play outside, please? It's snowing!" the blue-eyed boy said eagerly.
Their mother looked at him and smiled, glancing briefly at her husband. It was indeed Lilianette and Nicolas.
"Wilhelm, Theodore, dear, you should wait until it stops snowing. You don't want to catch a cold."
The boys pouted softly but eventually relented and returned to their bedchambers.
A ten-year-old girl with glossy dark brown hair and mesmerising blue eyes approached her mother, holding a painting.
"Mother, this painting is ruined," Ophelia said.
Lilianette took the painting and examined it carefully.
"You are very much like my mother," she said gently. "Always self-critical, even when you paint beautifully."
She handed the painting back.
Nicolas soon entered the room carrying a two-year-old girl with light brown hair and brown eyes.
"Darling, Dorothy has finished her meal. She ate everything without my help," he said with a warm smile.
He handed the child to his wife before sitting down beside her.
"I see you're getting tired, my dear," she said while cradling the toddler.
He leaned back on the sofa dramatically.
"But I'm going to do it anyway."
At that moment, the sound of piano music filled the room. Both parents turned their heads towards the instrument in the corner.
Johnathan was playing Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. The nine-year-old had chestnut-brown hair and hazel eyes.
Nearby, Ophelia simply rolled her eyes at her brother's performance.
