Lucky Vasilisa

Koschei blinked slowly, his large eyes wide. He seemed to consider her request for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet.

“Humans are so troublesome.”

With a grinding, metallic sound, he unfolded his massive wings. They enveloped the nest, casting the entire area into darkness. Vasilisa stared into his burning eyes.

An impatient clicking sound echoed from his tongue. The darkness receded as his wings stirred the air.

The gold coins clattered as the dragon’s powerful wings stirred .

A powerful gust of wind knocked Vasilisa off her feet as the ground vibrated.

“Ugh…!”

Coughing in the dust cloud, Vasilisa waved her hand, looking up at the hole in the ceiling where the dragon had flown out. His shadow blotted out the moon.

Her gamble, using her mortality to threaten him, had worked.

The moonlight reflected in Vasilisa’s eyes. She now had a firm conviction: she could manipulate the dragon with logic he understood.

The dragon had claimed her body.

Like the Count and Countess who had taken her in, he now had a responsibility to keep her alive. And that responsibility would buy her time.

* * *

As always, Vasilisa carried a bucket of water and a yellow cleaning cloth tucked under her arm.

She knocked on the Count’s study door. As expected, there was no answer.

The Count, more miserly than a dragon, didn’t employ many servants to maintain his vast mansion. They only cleaned the frequently used areas like the hall and corridors. The Count and Countess’s bedroom and study were Vasilisa’s responsibility.

Vasilisa had always taken great pride in having a purpose in this large mansion.

But even that had been forbidden after her betrothal was announced. For some reason, they hadn’t hired a new servant to replace her.

The thought of the dust-filled study made her heart ache.

“Father will be upset if his things get rusty.”

Anxiously biting her nails, Vasilisa finally stood before the study door, taking advantage of the Count’s absence.

“Is anyone there?”

Knowing no one would answer, she carefully pushed open the heavy oak door.

The study, dozens of times larger than the laundry room where she slept, was filled with treasures and valuables. The Count proudly displayed the gold and jewels mined from the mountains. She had never seen the dragon’s lair, but she imagined the Count’s study might rival it.

But all Vasilisa noticed was the thick layer of dust coating everything, now that she was forbidden from entering. The tapestries were covered in dust, and the metal ornaments were smudged with fingerprints.

She quickly placed the water bucket in a corner and dipped the cloth, which she had carefully folded and stitched the night before, into the water. She removed the lace covers, dusted them off, and polished the sandalwood display cases until they gleamed.

As she meticulously cleaned a tulip-legged jewelry box, the heavy wooden door creaked open.

Startled, Vasilisa dropped the jewelry box. Uncut gemstones spilled onto the floor with a clatter, and the Count rushed into the study.

“What are you doing here, Vasilisa?!”

At his harsh roar, Vasilisa dropped to her knees.

“I’m sorry, Father! I was cleaning since you weren’t here.”

Her voice was barely a whisper. Cleaning was her duty, yet she felt the need to apologize.

She heard the Count’s heavy breathing above her. He bellowed at the young man standing behind him.

“Pick those up! Count them carefully and make sure nothing is missing!”

“Yes, Count.”

The young man, who served the Count, began gathering the scattered gemstones. His footsteps echoed through the study as he moved towards the desk.

After placing the gemstones back in the jewelry box, the young man reported curtly,

“Nothing is missing, Count.”

“Get out of my sight, Vasilisa!”

The Count’s face was red with anger as he pointed towards the door. Vasilisa, speechless, hesitantly gathered her bucket and cloth.

“I’m… I’m sor…”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Unable to finish her apology, Vasilisa left the study with a heavy heart. The Count’s furious voice echoed from behind the closed door.

“I told her repeatedly not to enter my study!”

Vasilisa stood silently outside the door, feeling like a child who had committed a grave offense. The Count, who had been so pleased when she’d dismissed the suitors, had quickly reverted to his harsh demeanor.

She flinched as the door opened.

The young man, surprised to see her still there, quickly covered his swollen cheek. The Count, unable to strike the bride-to-be, had taken out his anger on him.

“I’m sorry.”

Vasilisa looked up at the young man with pity. Flushing at her genuine concern, he tugged on her worn sleeve.

He led her to the kitchen door, then stopped.

“My lady, why do you disobey the Count and put me in a difficult position? I told you several times to stop cleaning the study.”

“But he hasn’t hired a new servant yet. You know he doesn’t trust anyone else. Do you expect me to just stand by and watch his treasures gather dust?”

Vasilisa’s eyebrows drooped at his rebuke. He sighed deeply.

“My lady… the person the Count trusts the least is you. So don’t even think about entering the study again. Just stick to cleaning the kitchen.”

“What do you mean? Is he… wary of me?”

Stunned, Vasilisa pressed him for an answer. Her bright blue eyes, filled with questions, seemed to pierce through him. He looked away uncomfortably.

“Just… don’t make things worse by meddling in things you don’t understand!”

He raised his voice, then quickly backed away.

To think that the Count distrusted her, after all her years of trying to earn his and the Countess’s affection. It was a devastating blow. And the young man’s evasive behavior fueled her suspicions.

Her insistent gaze fixed on him.

“…What don’t I understand?”

“Don’t ask. I’ll be beaten if the Count finds out.”

As he turned to flee, Vasilisa grabbed his arm.

“What are you talking about…? What don’t I know? Why would you be beaten for telling me?”

He quickly covered his face, but couldn’t hide the deep blush spreading from his neck to his hairline. Vasilisa pulled his arm towards her and asked again,

“Tell me. I won’t let you go until you tell me.”

She felt a faint tremor in his arm. He must know why the Count and Countess didn’t accept her. If telling her was reason enough for a beating, then she had to know.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to let him go, the young man squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out,

“He… He said you covet his treasures.”

Vasilisa let out a hollow laugh. Taking advantage of her loosened grip, the young man pulled his arm free. She muttered incredulously,

“That’s absurd. Why would I covet his treasures?”

She had lived her entire life without possessions. The thought of coveting the Count’s treasures had never crossed her mind. The young man sighed, as if giving up.

“It’s probably because of what the fortune teller said when you were born.”

“What fortune teller?”

“Haven’t you heard? Everyone in the village knows.”

His surprised reaction confused Vasilisa.

It must be something related to her birth parents. She was uncomfortable with the fact that this young man, a stranger, knew something about her past that she herself didn’t.

She hadn’t been interested in learning about her real parents. She feared discovering some inescapable, vulgar trait she had inherited from them. But if it was affecting her relationship with the Count and Countess, that was a different matter.

“What did the fortune teller say? Tell me. …If you tell me everything, I won’t tell anyone about you spying on me and stealing my undergarments.”

The young man’s face paled at her fierce threat. She knew he looked down on her while secretly engaging in unsavory behavior towards her. She had pretended not to notice, fearing she would be accused of being promiscuous.

“Either way, you’ll be beaten. If you tell me now, no one will know about your misdeeds.”

Under her menacing glare, the terrified young man finally confessed.

– This child will possess all the gold!’

Vasilisa tilted her head, puzzled by his almost prophetic statement. Resigned to his fate, the young man continued,

“A fortune teller came on the day you were born and said those words. The Count sometimes says you’re a lucky child, right? Now that he’s amassed his wealth, he’s afraid you’ll steal it all.”

“…That I will possess all the gold?”

“Don’t tell anyone you heard this from me.”

It was news to her. A hollow laugh escaped her lips at the absurdity of it all.

To think they suspected her based on the words of a fortune teller. The injustice of it all made her seethe. After all her years of dedicated service, a single prophecy had turned the Count against her.

She felt dizzy.

“I haven’t tried hard enough. My behavior, my vulgar habits… Because I look like a vagrant… Father and Mother fed and clothed me, and I didn’t appreciate their kindness…”

The young man’s expression twisted with discomfort as Vasilisa’s usual cheerful demeanor crumbled into despair.

“Could you tell me more? I can’t bear to leave my parents with such a heavy heart.”

Despite Vasilisa’s earnest plea, the young man shook his head, his lips pressed together in a firm line.

“I don’t know anything more. There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

With those words, he quickly fled.

Overwhelmed by despair, Vasilisa finally burst into tears as his figure disappeared down the hallway.

To think that a mere prophecy had caused the Count and Countess to despise her. Perhaps her good fortune had only extended to surviving her birth.

Even if the prophecy was true, gold meant nothing to her. All Vasilisa wanted was peace and love.

The fact that even the luckiest Vasilisa’s prophecy didn’t include love must be because love was more precious than gold.