Ten Years Later aka Present Day...
"Daily news of the day, read all about it! The empress will reward anyone who finds the lost princess!" a newspaper boy hollered. The young beagle waved his paw high in the air, trying his hardest to beckon over potential buyers. It was hard for anyone in St. Petersburg to make a living ever since the revolution. Some had it worse.
Strolling through the main square, Snowball's ears perked up at the sound of the newspaper boy's call. Intrigued, the white rabbit hopped over to investigate. Digging through his pockets, he found a singular gold coin. "Hey, little boy!" he spoke, gaining the beagle puppy's attention. Tossing the coin to him, the rabbit picked out a newspaper and remarked, "You have a splendid day!"
"Thank you sir!" the beagle yipped cheerfully. Walking away while being mindful of the traffic and slippery snow, Snowball began to read the front page. The headline read "Find the Lost Princess, Win Big!" A black and white picture of an old portrait of the royal family was pictured beneath, alongside a photo of the lost princess in question, Princess Puffball.
His eyes boggling from everything he was reading within the article, Snowball gasped when he got to the last paragraph. The highly respected empress was offering a reward of five hundred thousand dollars to anyone who could bring forth her lost granddaughter. Truly riches beyond one's imagination. One would be set for life! Rolling up the newspaper, the rabbit ran to find his partner.
———
Sitting in an old plush chair that had seen better days, Max stared at the ornate music box he held in his paws. He had held onto it for ten years now. In a way, it had become his most prized possession. He could not part from it, even if it was worth a lot of money. Knowing the financial situation he and his friend were in, the Jack Russell terrier knew the rational thing to do was to sell it for money. But there were other ways to get money. There was no other way to replace priceless artifacts.
"Max! You're not gonna believe this!" Snowball shouted, bursting into the room. Throwing a newspaper at the Jack Russell terrier, the white rabbit exclaimed, "This is the chance of a lifetime!" Skimming through the front page article, a smile slowly crept across Max's face. "That's our ticket out of here," he agreed, his tail wagging. Letting out a whoop of delight, Snowball cried, "Hallelujah! Oh, to be back in the presence of the royalty! And to be with my beloved Daisy once more!"
"Now hold on a second. Where are we gonna find the princess? It's been ten years," Max pointed out. Eyeing the music box the dog was holding, Snowball murmured thoughtfully, "Well... do we need to find the princess or would something of hers work?"
"I'm not going to tell the empress her granddaughter is dead," Max growled. Huffing, he couldn't help but wonder what the chances were of the princess still being alive. It's been ten years, Princess Puffball had been ten or eleven when she disappeared. With how St. Petersburg has become since the revolution, a child that young on their own would not survive. He considered himself lucky that he found Snowball. Then an idea popped into his head.
"We need the princess," Max stated, "But who says it has to be the actual princess?"
