Matilda Kshesinskaya is a 17-year-old ballerina of Imperial Theater. She’s the most beautiful
and graceful dancer in the group. As a prima ballerina, her performance is very
much anticipated by bachelors and married men. Everyone gathered in the theater,
all excited to be entertained. The Royal family is also in attendance for the spectacular event.
Matilda stood backstage to wait for her turn. She used to be a solo performer in the finale because
of her grace and charisma. Legnani, an older ballerina who can do 32 fouettes in a performance,
wished her luck. She teased her about doing well because Nikolay Romanov the second of
Russia was watching. She untied a strap of Matilda’s dress without her knowing.
Matilda gracefully jumped and twirled with the magical music. Everyone was amused as
they followed her movements. Suddenly, the strap of her dress was totally untangled,
exposing the upper portion of her body. The crowd was shocked. The ladies looked bothered while male
audiences immediately grabbed their binoculars to look closely at the ballerina’s body.
One of them is the heir of the throne, Nikolay, who is also tempted to look at her. Matilda,
on the other hand, was so professional that she remained graceful as she walked backstage.
The conductor was about to stop the orchestra, and curtains were prepared to cover the stage,
but Matilda went back to the center stage! She continued her performance,
unbothered by the wardrobe malfunction.
The next day, the Royal family rode on the train to go somewhere. There,
Emperor Alexander The Third advised his son Nikolay to marry someone in preparation as
heir of the throne. He recommended the German princess, Alice, and gave him a photo of the lady
for reference. The crown prince stared at her picture, but on his mind was Matilda. He could
not forget her performance. She had already captured his heart on their first encounter.
While the Royal family was dining, the train hit a carriage that blocked the rails.
A drunk coachman had a hard time controlling his horse as he saw the train’s arrival.
The impact was strong that a side of the train was removed. The roof also fell on the passengers.
The family rolled inside, injuring their bodies. Some jumped outside to escape the falling debris
of the vehicle. Everyone panicked to go out to save themselves from the burning train.
Fortunately, the females and the crown prince were safe. However,
as the guards checked the royal family members, they noticed that the emperor was not there.
They ran to the train to search for him. He was trapped on the collapsed roof and lost
his senses. The engine’s smoke circulated in the area, but the men were able to rescue him.
After the incident, the king’s health deteriorated. Because of that,
Nikolay felt pressured to look for a wife. Matilda was all he could think of. He became desperate to
meet her again. In a horse race, royal guards battled to win a kiss of an Imperial ballerina
of their choice. The beautiful ladies lined up, and Matilda was also present. Her beauty was
indeed captivating. Male commoners and royalties were dying to get her attention. The lady noticed
that someone kept staring at her. She looked around and saw Nikolay standing on a platform.
Their eyes met, and the lady nodded her head to greet him. He also nodded back at the lady.
Apart from the heir, the lady also captured Grand Duke Andrei's attention,
who was standing on her left side. He had already prepared flowers to give to the lady.
He also told his cousin Nikolay about his plan. The crown prince was bothered that
men wanted Matilda. Before they could approach her, he invited the lady inside a tent nearby.
In the tent, the heir gave her an elegant necklace. The lady accepted it and asked
him if his gesture meant he was willing to pursue her. The proud man replied and
told her their relationship would never be deep and long-lasting. But on that period,
he wants her to know that he can guarantee her a successful career in ballet if she agrees.
Dismayed, Matilda told the man that many bachelors are dying to have her. She removed
the necklace and walked out. Shortly after, the heir was attacked by Lieutenant Vorontsov.
He won the horse race and intended to get a kiss from Matilda as a price. But as soon
as he sees the heir stealing the lady, he goes inside to attack him. Because of the incident,
he was captured by the royal guards and faced death as a consequence. Fortunately,
he was pardoned from the death sentence. Instead of releasing him, Colonel Vlasov brought him to
Dr. Fischel. He suspects that the lieutenant has deeper reasons for attacking him and not
just pure jealousy. In the laboratory, he was in a tank full of water until he admitted the truth.
One night, during Matilda’s solo performance, Nikolay was there fully supporting the lady.
Because of that, everyone thought that he was her lover. He followed the lady into
the dressing room and gave her a bouquet. He also confessed his willingness to offer her
marriage and invited her to his birthday ball. The lady doubts accepting the offer because
Nikolay is already engaged. She teased him that she had other admirers anyway.
Duke Nikolay’s birthday celebration came, and Matilda attended. The two made love, and the
Empress saw the ballerina sleeping in Nikolay’s room. She was dismayed that a commoner flirted
with his son. Guests are awaiting the Duke, and he tells Matilda to prepare herself to go with him.
At the ball, everyone bowed as they saw the crown prince. The Empress stared with disgust at the
ballerina. The Emperor, on the other hand, was delighted that his son finally brought a lady.
There, he whispered to her and requested to take care of the heir, whom he identified as immature.
Matilda went emotional after hearing that she had the Emperor’s approval.
Months passed, and the Emperor died. Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt arrived to pay her respect
to the bereaved family. After losing the emperor, Nikolay was overwhelmed with the
duties passed down to him. He realized that he was still unready to be a tsar. However,
Russia needed an Emperor, and his mom pressured him to marry soon for the incoming coronation.
Instead of Matilda, he was forced to marry Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Everyone at the palace was already prepared for the incoming marriage.
A formal announcement of Nikolay The Second and Alice’s anticipated marriage was made.
The Imperial Theater ballerinas were also requested to perform before the grand celebration.
However, Legnani was chosen as the leading performer of the group instead of Matilda.
They reasoned that the lady wouldn’t fit the role because she couldn’t do 32 fouettes.
Matilda was pissed off and went to her apartment. Nikolay constantly visits
there to sleep with her. Later that night, Nikolay slept with her. She
confronted him for not telling his marriage to Alice. Apart from that,
she was also getting mad that he only visits her lesser times these days. They broke up after that.
At the palace, Alice notices the Empress’s cold treatment.
It came to the point that it made her doubt if the incoming marriage would happen.
She had already given up many things, even her religion, just to be with the crown prince.
To make sure, she went to Dr. Fischel, a fortune teller, to ask for a prediction of her life.
The man told her he needed her blood sample to make that possible. Alice was desperate,
so she went to his laboratory after that. There, Matilda appeared in a mirror, and Dr. Fischel
told the lady that she would be a hindrance to her happiness with Nikolay in the future. He
also advised her to get Matilda’s blood sample so that he could stop the prediction from happening.
In the library, Grand Duke Andrei, cousin of Nikolay, comforted Matilda. He told the lady
that if he were Nikolay, he would give up his throne to marry a beautiful maiden like her.
There, he offered her a proposal to go with him to Paris, which the lady accepted.
The next day, someone ransacked Matilda’s apartment while she was taking a bath.
Nikolay’s letter was also stolen, which feared the lady. She receives a call from the heir and
immediately informs him about the letters. She wondered why Nikolay was not talking on
the line. Without her knowledge, it was Alice who contacted her. There,
Alice confirmed that the Duke was having an affair with the ballerina before marriage.
At Dr. Fischel’s laboratory, the prisoner who attacked the heir underwent breath deprivation
by pulling him underwater for an extended period. He will not be released if he won’t reveal his
main agenda for attempting to eliminate the Duke. Until that day, since he was captured,
the lieutenant did not confess anything. He also tried to escape in the tank,
tired of his situation. Fortunately, Dr. Fischel saw him. The two fought the tank.
Meanwhile, Matilda cannot accept that she was not chosen to perform at the wedding.
For that reason, she decides to train herself to twirl using the chairs arranged in a circle.
She wanted to achieve the 32 fouettes of Legnani,
but she failed. Her foot was bleeding after hitting all the chairs. Without her knowledge,
Alice was watching her. She was planning to get her blood sample as how Dr. Fischel instructed.
After seeing that the lady had a hard time, she came into the studio and insulted her for only
making 16 twirls. The ballerina was not hurt and greeted her with respect as she soaked her wounded
foot in the water. Instead of carrying out her dirty plan, the lady went jealous of how pretty
and calm Matilda is. She remained composed even if she was insulted. The ballerina walked away,
bothered with Nikolay’s fiancée. There, Alice had a chance to steal her shoes with blood.
The lady rushed to the laboratory to give the shoe to Dr. Fischel. But she was shocked as
she saw him tied in the water tank, lifeless. Alice screamed. Out of shock, the shoe from
her hand fell to the tank and settled at the bottom. She went outside and called for help.
Months passed, and the palace had already rolled out everything for the celebration at Khodynka
Field with 100,000 expected guests for the coronation. The tentative plan was relayed
to Nikolay, who was busy holding his binoculars. He was stalking Matilda with her new love affair,
Duke Andrei, his cousin. The two were having a great time in the lake nearby.
Matilda was already drunk and shared with the Duke how she survived in life because of the
men who financed her expenses. She mentioned all of them, making the man jealous. The Duke,
on the other hand, teased the lady that he would put her to eternal sleep if she didn’t stop.
He went nearer to stare at the lady’s beauty. She still looks so beautiful, even if drunk.
They docked in a luxurious mansion, and the Duke told the lady to check out the place.
Matilda ran inside and saw how elegant the villa was. She saw Nikolay there,
whom she missed so much. She ran to him, and the two kissed. The man told her that the
place was all hers! He built it for her. The lady’s heart melted with his sweet gesture.
Nikolay brought Matilda around and went to a mini theater. It was so beautiful that
the lady loved it. She danced happily on the stage like she was performing as a ballerina.
She then requested the man not to marry Alice and to live a private life with her. They will
both suffer if he’s married to someone else. The heir declined and told the lady that it would be
difficult to give up the throne and go against his destiny. Matilda was upset hearing that he chose
his royal responsibility over living a life with her. The lady ran outside the mansion and went
back to the boat. There, she kissed Duke Andrei to hurt him. She also asked for his blessing in their
relationship. Nikolay couldn’t do anything but shed tears as the lady sailed with another man.
In the palace, Alice wore her gown for the coronation. While she was looking
at herself in the mirror, the Empress went near and stared at her with disgust. She
did not like her dress and insulted the lady that she had no taste in fashion.
Alice sat on a chair to try the crown. The Majesty placed it to her head but
accidentally pinned her scalp. It created a wound that hurt the lady.
The next day, Nikolay was oriented on what to do during the coronation. Heartbroken,
he could not focus on practicing. His temper goes high when the Empress and his fiancée keep
fighting over little things. He realized that he didn’t want his royal life anymore. He ran away.
The Empress was so mad and followed her son. She lectured him to stop thinking about the
ballerina. Nikolay cried and requested to cancel the coronation. He told her he would
not live happily if it were pushed through. But the only way a coronation will not push through
is if the heir dies before that day. Seeing her son in grief, she consoled him and retold her
story to the Emperor. They were also forcedly married but lived happily after some time.
She wants his son to think of that as an example. Meanwhile, in a separate room, Alice was also
practicing her lines for the coronation. She desperately wants the event to be successful.
Later that day, Nikolay launched Russia’s first official cinematic projection with
a spinning reel. He invented it and proudly showcased it to the audience. Shortly after,
Matilda came in with Duke Andrei. The lady gave him the letters she found useless because the
man did not fulfill his promise to marry her. The crown prince was hurt. He didn’t want to lose her,
so he followed her to the staircase. He kissed the lady, but she ran away.
The royal family and other guests headed to the theater to witness a spectacular performance of
the Imperial ballerinas. Matilda arrived at the building. She got pissed off seeing Legnani’s
name on the poster to perform in the finale. She crumpled the paper and went upstairs. In the
dressing room, Legnani was there, kissing Grand Duke Vladimir. Instead of getting dressed for her
most awaited performance, she went inside the room with the royalty. Matilda grabbed that opportunity
to wear her ballerina costume. She planned to take Legnani’s spotlight to irritate the royal family
for rejecting her. She locked the room so that the woman couldn’t get out during her time on stage.
The organizer screamed at Legnani to prepare because Imperial ballerinas
were about to end their performance. Legnani heard it but discovered that the door was
locked. She used all her energy to break the doorknob and successfully went out.
Meanwhile, Matilda hurriedly went backstage. She was so beautiful in her sparkling white
dress. She also had a glittering eye mask that made her look more elegant.
Just as she was about to hop on stage, someone stopped her.
Legnani was able to arrive on stage and start to dance. Seeing someone steal her position made
Matilda angry. She was able to escape from the man’s strong arms. She ran to the stage
and danced with Legnani. Nikolay, Alice, and the royals noticed Matilda stealing the show.
The heir was so delighted to watch again the woman he loves performing on stage.
He grabbed his binoculars to look closely at her. The lady gracefully danced to show everyone she
could be as good as Legnani. The crowd applauses as the two perform 32 fouettes. They were all
amused that they twirled together effortlessly. Matilda felt relieved that her training had paid
off. She successfully did it! Suddenly, her foot landed badly after a jump, and she fell to the
floor. Feeling embarrassed, the lady escaped backstage. The crowd was terrified, including
Nikolay, who was so worried about her injury. He stood up from his seat to approach the lady.
After the show, Nikolay found Matilda sitting alone on the
stage. He hugged her tightly and wanted to be with her again. Out of happiness,
the lady told him to watch her as she performed 32 fouettes again. She successfully executed it
but was shocked when someone from the balcony was clapping. It was Alice! She followed Nikolay
earlier and found herself there. She heard everything and congratulated both of them.
Nikolay went to the palace to pack his things. He’s planning to be together with Matilda. Duke
Andrei drove him to Matilda’s place. In the same manner, Matilda went back to her mansion to wait
for Nikolay there. Suddenly, the lieutenant who attacked the heir months ago hugged her.
He escaped Dr. Fischel and searched for the lady. He was madly in love with her. He tied her arms
with the stripped cloth from her dress. Matilda cried and hesitated to walk with him to the deck.
She was forced to hop on the boat. The lieutenant wants to live with her in the forest and build a
family. Little did he know, a group of men had poured gasoline into the raft earlier.
They also lit a fire on the rope attached to it until such time that the fire reached the boat.
Matilda rattled and requested the man to untie her so that she could jump into the water.
However, the man refused and kissed her instead so that they could die together.
Nikolay and Andrei’s car arrived there. They also saw the burning raft. They heard Matilda’s voice
screaming for help. The two ran to the lake, but the boat exploded. It was all too late.
Nikolay mourned the death of Matilda and finally accepted Alice to be his wife.
He apologized to the lady. He told her that he was so happy back then when he heard that Alice,
the princess of Germany, would visit them. At that moment, he genuinely stared at the
lady and thanked her for coming into his life. They got married and had a happy life together.
Coronation day came, and the fellow citizens of Russia gathered at Khodynka to hail their newly
crowned Emperor and Empress. The expected guest is only one hundred thousand. However, the people who
flocked there are half a million. Unfortunately, the massive crowd created a stampede that
eliminated many people. The royal guards panicked and went to the church to inform Duke Vladimir
about it. Hearing that, he immediately went outside to visit the scene and control the crowd.
A lady in a white dress entered the church. It was Matilda!
The night of the blast. Matilda was able to jump from the raft. Grand Duke Vladimir,
Andrei’s father, rescued her in the lake. Without her knowledge,
he was the one responsible for burning the boat. He planned everything to make himself
appear as a hero. He was madly in love with a lady, and he hid her in his home,
far from Nikolay. They also had a romantic relationship after.
Matilda stopped for a while as she entered the church. Shortly after,
Duke Vladimir was also heading outside. Their eyes met, and the Duke was so mad that the lady
was there. He doesn’t want Nikolay to see her. The lady ran with all her might heading upstairs.
She went to the choir bleachers and locked the door to block the Duke from entering.
The choir sings as Nikolay is about to wear the crown. Nikolay was emotional as he held the crown.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. It was Matilda! She was calling his name.
He missed her so much and ran along the aisle to meet her at the end.
The two passionately kissed, leaving the crowd intrigued.
Nikolay woke up. He was just daydreaming after collapsing on stage. The coronation continued,
and Russia officially had its new Emperor.
After the event, Emperor Nikolay The Second went to Khodynka field,
concerned that 2,000 of his countrymen had died after the stampede. There,
he felt guilty and ordered his captain to give each family 500 silver rubles.
He also refused to bury the bodies in a mass grave and requested to place each in coffins.
Nikolay went on stage and kneeled as he witnessed corpses around the vicinity.
He continued the fireworks as a tribute to pay respect to the Russian people he lost.