[EVENT] New Year, New Era

The two men walked briskly down the nearly empty street. They both wore overcoats over their suits to ward off the biting cold, and Groza wore a hat, which was starting to accumulate snow on its brim. The two of them were going to Elisabeta Palace, located in Bucharest, to formally usher in a new era for their nation.

“Are you sure he’ll be there?” Gheorghiu-Dej asked.

“Of course he will,” Groza answered, “I could practically hear his excitement over the telephone when I told him we needed to discuss urgent matters. I believe he thinks that we decided to let him take on ‘royal powers’ again.”

Gheorghiu-Dej chuckled, “Then I suppose he’ll be in for a shock. You have the papers, right?”

“Clearly,” Groza replied, holding up the briefcase in his left hand. Shortly after, they arrived at the palace, where the shivering guards recognized the two men and let them in. Groza hung his coat and hat on a hook after dusting the snow off, while Gheorghiu-Dej conspicuously kept his coat on. They made their way up several flights of stairs, opened a door and found themselves looking at King Michael of Romania, who was looking over some papers lying on a table in front of himself and jotting down the occasional note.

“Ah, there you are. How are you feeling, Prime Minister? Is your family well, Mr. Gheorghiu?” the King said, greeting the two men in turn and shaking their hands. The King had always had a youthful appearance, and although he was 26 he could have easily passed for 18.

“I am well, Michael,” Groza said, “But I fear there is no time for small talk. As I told you over the telephone, there is urgent business that needs attending to.” The Prime Minister paused for a second, “You were planning a party for tomorrow, correct?”

“Of course, I’ve always enjoyed New Years,” the King replied with a grin.

“Well, you’ll want to cancel that party,” Groza informed him.

“Why is that?” the King asked with honest confusion.

“Because you will no longer be ‘King’ of anything.” Groza gave Michael a second to let that sink in before beginning to recite what he had prepared earlier, “We are now living a new era, an era of equality and-”

Groza gave an audible gasp and stopped speaking when Gheorghiu-Dej suddenly pulled out the pistol he had been hiding in his coat. “I should put a bullet right between your eyes right now, you aristocratic swine,” he said menacingly as he laid the muzzle of the weapon on Michael’s forehead.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Groza demanded of Gheorghiu-Dej.

“Delivering justice,” he responded.

“This was not the plan,” Groza said, “We came here to depose him, and apprehend him so that he can be put on trial, not to kill him.”

“His father’s men never gave me a trial, or any of the men they executed. This bastard deserves no kindness, and neither does anyone who claims to be a king,” Gheorghiu-Dej announced.

“Look,” Groza said, taking a deep breath, “Communists and better than monarchists, are we not? If you kill him now, than we will be no better than them. We aren’t here for revenge, we are here for change. So, would you kindly back away?”

After the longest moment in Michael’s life, Gheorghiu-Dej slowly took several steps back, although he kept the pistol pointed towards the King. “Thank you,” Groza muttered before opening the briefcase and pulling out a paper covered in typed writing. “This operation has gone completely off the rails at this point, so I suppose I’ll skip the speech I was going to give. It was rather well written if I don’t say so myself, so I might end up reusing it for something, but I digress. I’ve taken the liberty of preparing an announcement of your abdication in your name,” he said, placing the paper on the table in front of Michael, “If you would just sign there, you will no longer be King, we will put you on trial, and you will be forced to leave Romania. You can take whatever personal possessions of yours with you that you wish, and I will see about arranging some sort of pension for you. Do you understand?”

Michael, still shocked and half thinking that he was in some sort of nightmare, nodded slowly and signed the papers with a shaking hand. In that moment, the Kingdom of Romania ended and the People’s Republic became a legal reality.

[M] For those who are curious, here is the actual abdication notice.