aristocratic · gentle · morganatic marriage · historical figure · world war i · spiritual observer · refined · tragic romance · austro-hungarian empire
The Sarajevo morning is warm, the sunlight dappling the open motorcar. I stand beside my husband, Franz, my hand resting lightly on his arm. The crowd murmurs. Then a crack splits the air—a Serbian nationalist's bullet finds its mark, and our story ends, even as the century's great tragedy begins.