Nikolina Pavlova |
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Nikolina Pavlova was a 15-year-old Russian ballet dancer encountered by Ryunosuke Naruhodo, Susato Mikotoba, and Herlock Sholmes onboard the SS Burya.
Early life[]
Pavlova was born to a "strong sailor" and grew up to become a dancer as part of the band on the Burya. At age 13, she was found and recruited by Novavich Ballet, and she performed under them for two years, being admired not only for her dancing, but also for her beauty. One of her performances with the troupe was in Japan, where Kazuma Asogi first saw her. On another occasion, an earl of Prussia gifted her with a tiara worth 20,000 rubles. However, the troupe treated its dancers poorly, giving them low wages and little food and drink. Eventually, she felt that running away was her only option to survive at all.
Runaway[]
- Main article: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band
The crew of the Burya coordinated an escape plan with Pavlova. On January 8, taking along the tiara and her Russian Blue cat Darka, Pavlova made her escape during a ballet performance in Shanghai, and met with the Burya at midnight as it was passing by on its journey to a Hong Kong port and ultimately the United Kingdom. Borrowing a small fishing boat from a friend of the Burya crew, she was able to sneak onto the ship without it having to dock or even stop. She was assigned to stay in first-class cabin 002. The crew had laced the passengers' dinners with a sleeping drug, making it so that no one else would be awake to witness Pavlova coming on board. Renouncing ballet dancing forever, she planned to take a ferry to the United States after docking in Britain.
The harrowing night was still yet to end, however. Darka was anxious due to the new environment, and got agitated while Pavlova was feeding her some milk. Darka suddenly scratched Pavlova's hand and fled the room through the ventilation shaft, which connected to the neighbouring cabin. She tried to call back her pet with a whistle and a cat's toy to no avail. She then headed to the other cabin herself.
Asogi answered the door, at first believing it to be an inspector friend of his. They found Darka, but then Asogi recognized Pavlova from her performance in Japan, causing her to explain her situation to him. Asogi thought of what to do with this information, and stated that he could use a second opinion before turning in the direction of the cabin's bell cord and wardrobe. Fearing that Asogi was going to contact a police inspector to deal with her, Pavlova panicked and pushed Asogi, causing him to trip on Darka's bell and fall to the floor. Bif Strogenov, a senior crewman, heard the noise and headed to Asogi's cabin, where Pavlova explained that Asogi had tripped and fallen to the floor, seemingly dead. Strogenov rearranged the scene to divert any leads to her.
The following morning, Pavlova saw an article in the newspaper about her disappearance from the Novavich Ballet. The tiara in particular featured prominently in the article, as the troupe apparently considered it their property that Pavlova had stolen. The article compelled Pavlova to scream out in horror, which caught the attention of Ryunosuke Naruhodo, Susato Mikotoba, and Herlock Sholmes. Pavlova immediately disguised herself as a wealthy gentleman by the name of "Grimesby Roylott", but her would-be visitors arrived before she could cut her real hair. "Roylott" tried to remove the three from her cabin, but Sholmes and Naruhodo jointly deduced her true identity, forcing her to admit her identity as the runaway ballet dancer. Nonetheless, she refused to divulge any other information, and Strogenov arrived to kick the three out and fetch "Roylott" to go see the captain.
The three continued investigating, however, and Naruhodo and Mikotoba were found searching Pavlova's cabin when she and Strogenov returned. Sholmes also arrived, and he and Naruhodo proceeded to deduce what had really happened to Asogi. Despite Pavlova's repeated denials of any involvement and Strogenov trying to defend her, in the end, Sholmes had discovered that Asogi was holding onto part of Pavlova's earring. It had broken off when Asogi grasped it as he was falling, which had totally escaped Pavlova's notice. It was even graver than Pavlova had realized, however, as they theorized that Asogi had actually wanted to wake up Naruhodo and ask for his opinion, not hand her over to authorities. Pavlova apologized as she broke down in tears.
Aftermath[]
- Main article: The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo
After the case was solved, Sholmes revealed to Pavlova that Asogi was actually alive, albeit still unconscious, but that he had instructed the crew to submit him to Hong Kong police as a murdered corpse. Sholmes later helped to grant her asylum in America without severe punishment, though she would never be permitted in Russia again. Naruhodo and Mikotoba, however, were kept in the dark about all this, being led to believe that Asogi was still dead, until he turned up in Britain nine months later.
Name[]
- Her alias, Grimesby Roylott, comes from the Sherlock Holmes character of the same name from The Adventure of the Speckled Band.
- Japanese - Nikomina Borchevic (ニコミナ・ボルシビッチ Nikomina Borushibicchi):
- Her given name, Nikomina, comes from nikomi (煮込み), meaning "stew", in line with the theme of naming sailors and other workers of the ship after Russian delicatessens.
- Her patronymic surname is close to, and may have been intended to be, one of the real names Borshevich, Borshchevich or Bolshevich. The suffix -ovich/-evich, often associated with Russian patronymics, means "son of", is masculine, and is not used for girls' patronymics. It includes possible references to:
- the Bolsheviks (in Russian большевики, bolsheviki, in Japanese ボリシェヴィキ, borishebiki), a radical Marxist group of Russian revolutionaries who led the October Revolution, part of the Russian Revolution;
- borscht (борщ, borshch, ボルシチ borushichi), a dish typical of cuisines of various eastern European countries, including Russia, which takes its name from the hogweed (борщевик, borshchevik), a dangerous and toxic plant common in the Northern Hemisphere;
- Moscow's Bolshoi Theater, known throughout the world for its ballet performances.
- In the English localization, the "surname" Borshevik was instead given to the revolutionary Vilen Borshevik.
- English - Nikolina Pavlova:
- Her English surname, Pavlova, may be a reference to Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballet dancer, or the dessert named after her. A connection could also be made to Ivan Pavlov, but even the conditioning that Sholmes accuses her of using on Darka has no relation to the classical conditioning that Pavlov is known for discovering.
Note[]
- At age fifteen, she is the youngest culprit to date.