Simeon Dimitrov

The last Tsar of Bulgaria and the Unfortunate Princess


Once upon a time,

Bulgaria

was governed by Tsar Peter III. He had a daughter. Her name was Princess Desislava from the famous Jordanovi dynasty. The Tsar had many problems, because the Turkish Empire wanted to attack

Bulgaria

and they wanted to win the war. So it was very important that his daughter should be the next Tsar of Bulgaria.
 
One day Desislava went to the market. Her guards were always next to her. She wanted to buy an apple, but the man said that he would give her the apple as a present. The next day the princess wanted to go to the same market but without the guards. She walked to the man who had given her the apple the day before. The man was very polite to Desislava and she liked him. The man’s name was Momchil and Desislava fell in love with him. They kissed in the middle of the market square and they were not afraid if anybody watched them. They were just happy!
 
At that moment Desislava thought of her appointment with her dad. She went back to the Palace to meet Tsar Peter there. He told her that the Turkish Empire was going to attack

Bulgaria

in two weeks. So Desislava had to marry somebody quickly. Only so she could be her father’s rightful follower. Her father introduced her future husband, Prince Boris from
East Bulgaria
, to her. But Desislava did not want to marry him because she did not love him. The Prince looked good but everybody said that he had a bad character. She ran to her room and began to cry. The next day she went to her lover and told him the bad news.
 
Momchil wanted to prevent the wedding and made plans. He told Desislava not to worry and just when they kissed each other good-bye Tsar Peter saw them. He shouted, “Guards! Take the Princess and this man!” At the Palace the Tsar decided that Desislava was not allowed to see Momchil again. He also punished Desislava’s lover. Momchil was not allowed to work at the market any more. He was unemployed. All the people in

Bulgaria

talked about the wedding between Princess Desislava and Prince Boris. Everybody was happy, but only Desislava was not. She was very unhappy. She only wished to see Momchil. One night she sent a messenger to tell Momchil that she would visit him the next night. At 10 p.m. she left the Palace, passed the guards and arrived safely at Momchil’s place. She began to cry, and she was very desperate. She stayed with him all night. In the morning she had to go back to the Palace. Suddenly Momchil and Desislava met a poor woman who looked like the Princess. At first they thought that she was not real. But then Momchil had an idea. The poor woman, Vanessa, should be the Princes, and Desislava could be the poor woman and marry Momchil. Vanessa agreed and changed roles with Desislava, who became the poor woman, and Vanessa was the Princess. Desislava took Vanessa to the Palace and told her the most important things she had to know about life there. At 10 a.m. Tsar Peter went to Desislava’s room because he wanted to speak with her. He did not notice the mix-up. Desislava was happy because she lived with Momchil in the same house and they would marry in two weeks. Everything was alright but one day a policeman stood in front of the right Princess. She was arrested because she had not paid any taxes. Desislava shouted that she was the Princess but nobody believed her. One policeman said that she looked like the Princess but she was not because the right Princess was in the Palace and was going to marry Prince Boris. They took Desislava to the Tsar. When Tsar Peter saw Desislava he became worried. But then Vanessa came into the room. When Desislava saw Vanessa she became afraid. “Please, tell the Tsar that you aren’t the right princess”, Desislava shouted. But Vanessa said, “Oh my god! You must be crazy!” Tsar Peter did not believe Desislava and arrested her. She had to go to prison. The Tsar arrested his own daughter because he thought that she was a liar. Desislava was desperate because she was in prison, her own fath! er had a rrested her and she was separated from her lover Boris. Nobody believed that she was the real princess. The wedding day would be the next Sunday. And it was Tuesday already!
 
The situation between
Bulgaria
and the
Turkish Empire
was getting worse. The Turkish generals had attacked Middle Bulgaria and the capital of
Bulgaria
,

Sofia

, on Monday. Tsar Peter III spoke with his daughter about the wedding. He was surprised that his daughter was quite happy to marry Prince Boris.
 
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday Momchil forced his way into the prison. But the guards saw him and arrested him. They whipped him. Desislava could not bear to see that and cried, “Stop that!” But nobody listened to her and they told her to be quiet.
 
On Sunday morning Vanessa went to the prison. She ordered the guards to leave her alone with the prisoners for one minute. She began to laugh and said that Vanessa was a stupid girl. Momchil shouted, “Be quiet, you liar!” Desislava ordered the guards to whip Momchil a second time. They did so with pleasure. Desislava was sad and unhappy. Her Momchil was nearly dead.
 
The wedding ceremony began. There were many guests in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It would be the last happy day for
Bulgaria
because of the
Turkish Empire
. The patriarch asked, if somebody was against the wedding. Then he or she had to say it then or never. Suddenly they heard, “No” The guests stood up and turned around. They saw Desislava. Tsar Peter III ordered the guards to arrest her. Desislava had managed to get to the cathedral because an old lady had helped her. She had believed that Desislava was the right princess. Desislava took out her ring, the most expensive, the most important ring her father had given her and which she had hidden in her pocket. Every looked at her ring. The guards did not dare to arrest her. Vanessa shouted that that was her ring because she was getting nervous! Tsar Peter did not know what to do. But then he finally realized who the right princess was: Vanessa had got a birthmark on her face, and Desislava had not. He arrested Vanessa. Desislava wanted to explain why all this had happened, but the Tsar said, “No time! Come on, marry Prince Boris!” Desislava was the Princess of Bulgaria and she had to do her duty. Just when Desislava was about to say yes, somebody shouted “NO!” again. The guests turned around a second time. They saw a man with blood on his face and body: it was Momchil. He had broken out of the prison. He ran to the Prince with a knife in his hand and shouted, “You are not allowed to marry my Princes!” He killed him. The Tsar was angry and told the guards to kill this murderer. They killed him. Desislava began to cry because her own father had killed her lover Momchil. He was dead. The guests were frightened. The patriarch thought that never before anything like this had happened in his cathedral. Desislava knelt down to kiss Momchil, and then she looked at Boris. He was also dead. She shouted at her father, “Look! What have you done?” Tsar Peter apologized. But for Desislava it was too late. She took Momchil’s knife and said, “Good-bye,

Bulgaria

” and killed herself. The Tsar wanted to stop her and ran to her. But it was too late: Desislava was also dead.
 
This was the end of the Tsardom. The next day the
Turkish Empire
arrived and killed the Tsar. The bodies of Prince Boris, the Princess and Momchil were burnt. The Turkish Empire governed

Bulgaria

until 1980. All the members of the family Jordanovi are dead now. Today

Bulgaria

is a democratic country.
 
This story is pure invention and there is not any truth in it.

 
(c) Simeon Dimitrov 11.März 2005

All rights belong to its author. It was published on e-Stories.org by demand of Simeon Dimitrov.
Published on e-Stories.org on 24.01.2007.

 
 

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