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Cross-posted from Madrona Project
Title: The Lady and the Duke, a Sovereignty Days Tale (Part1)
Author: kira
World: Capital city of Madrona
Characters: Brunhilde von Meyer; Frederick Saint-Germaine; Klaus, Johann, Albert (her brothers); Count Heinrich von Meyer (her father)
Borrow: No
Word count: 2141
Rating: PG 13 for mention of prostitutes
Summary: Has Brunhilde von Meyer finally met her match in the Grande Duke Frederick Saint-Germaine
Author’s note: Special thanks to my beta Kat for pinking this.
Brunhilde von Meyer stood there, leaning heavily on her long sword, her kettle helm sitting askance on her head. Dog-tired and panting heavily, she could barely keep her eyes open and it was all she could do to keep on her feet. Mustering up the last of her strength, she grinned as she extended her hand towards the young man who lay at her feet.
Frederick Saint-Germaine, Grande Duke of the Duchy of Germania, grinned back at her. He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. “Well fought, Sir, or should I say ‘Lady’?” he said as he sheathed his sword.
Brunhilde shook her head and quickly closed her eyes when the world began to spin. “Hilde is fine, my lord.” She stumbled forward, when a passing soldier gave her a hearty pat on the back in celebration of their victory during one of the many reenactments of various battles that fought to unite the realm in years past.
Frederick was quick to catch her. “Are you alright, Lady Hilde?”
“Yeah,” she said in a breathy whisper. Damn he’s cute and he fights as well as he looks and… She blinked when it hit her. He’s not upset I’m a girl! And that I beat him! “I’m… fine…” She took a deep breath, desperately willing her cheeks to keep from heating up. Hilde took another deep breath and met his gaze. “Just tired.” She smiled, took off her helmet and wiped her brow.
Frederick nodded. “Mêlée can be tiresome. And I’m sorry, I pushed you so hard. I thought you were a boy…” He trailed of as his cheeks heated up.
Hilde giggled. Awe… he’s blushing! “Much to my father’s delight and my mother’s horror, I learned how to fight from my brothers…” she also trailed off as a delicate blush spilled across her cheeks.
“Really?” Frederick’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“Yeah…”
“Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Frederick, by the way, but my friends all call me Fritz.’
“Well met, Lord Fritz.” Hilde held out her hand.
“The same, Lady Hilde.” Fritz smiled as he took her hand in his. “I’m rather parched; you want to go get something to drink? I know where the tent with the best ale is, unless you’d rather some wine?”
“Ale is fine. Besides teaching me how to fight, my brothers also taught me to enjoy a good ale. According to my eldest brother Wilhelm, a good woman not only enjoys her ale, but also something about tumbling …” Hilde blushed and mumbled the rest, mortified that she brought up something so gauche. Heaven help her if her mother ever found out. Hilde sheathed her sword, glad to step back and look away from him.
Fritz chuckled, and clasping her lightly on the shoulder, he steered her through the dissipating crowds. They stopped by a horse trough for a quick wash up, before heading towards the city proper, where various tents were set up in Madrona’s town square. Making their way through the throngs of people, Fritz and Hilde paused to watch a troop of R’kanseeli fire-spinners.
A barely dressed young woman swung a pair of chains, with a lit bundle of wicks on the opposite end, in intricate patterns. The crowd oohed and awed at her performance. Fritz leaned towards Hilde and said, “I bet that looks really impressive at night.”
Hilde agreed. “Maybe we can come back later to watch. That’s if we can get away from our families…” She shrugged. Now that he had taken his helmet off, Hilde could get a good look at him. She liked what she saw too. Fritz was tall and slender like herself and she liked the sharp planes of his face and his long aquiline nose. He also had the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen and she loved the sparkle of amusement that started at his eyes, before running down his cheeks to tug the corners of his mouth upwards. Fierce on the battlefield, but charming off, she hoped to see him later that night at the king’s banquet and ball.
Fritz grinned. “Maybe or maybe we can ditch all that and, if my lady approves, we can dress like peasants and make our own fun.”
She giggled. “Yes!”
He nodded. “Come,” he linked his arm with hers, “let’s get some liquid courage, before we go find our parents and your brothers and tell them we have our own plans for tonight!”
Hilde’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know…” She bit her lip.
“That’s why it’s called liquid courage.” He winked at her. “We can bring your brothers along too when we come back to watch the fire dancers and listen to the music of some peasant band and, I don’t know, dance the night away.”
It sounded so tempting that Hilde found herself agreeing. She hurried along with him, pushing their way through the crowds, to a large tent full of long tables. Each one had their fair share of people, singing and drinking, while buxom young barmaids flitted up and down the aisles between the tables, carrying pitchers of beer. The place reminded Hilde of her father and brothers, and far from being subconscious about being there with a young man she barely knew, Hilde thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Fritz was pleasantly surprised when she sang along with everyone else, the bawdy drinking songs of the barracks and taverns from seedier part of town. He was glad he had met her on the first day of the festivities as now he had time to get to know her better, that’s if the fates were kind and let them meet again and again. In between choruses of “The Lady and the Snake,” and draughts of ale, he found himself telling her about himself.
“Your great-grandfather married two Kittens? Wow! I didn’t think they got married.” As tired as she was, and while the ale did nothing to keep her awake, she found herself hanging on his every word. Hilde liked the way he treated her as something midway between a blushing flower and a fellow soldier, unlike most of the men she knew, who thought her unorthodox upbringing meant she liked whoring as much as they did. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Fritz nodded. “It’s okay. Anyway, his first wife gave him several children. I’m descended from his eldest and when my father died two years ago, I inherited his title and the chateau. His second wife was a rent-boy, who was also a Kitten, if that makes any sense.”
Hilde frowned. “How can a rent-boy be a Kitten? One’s a boy and the other’s a girl, right? They both get paid for their services and all... But ummm...That's what my brothers said." She blushed. "I overheard them explaining it to my brother Klaus, but they quickly shut up when they noticed I was there," she added.
Fritz raised his eyebrows in surprise at her forthrightness over her knowledge as most of the women he knew feigned ignorance over what a Kitten did. He shrugged, putting her at ease. “I have no idea, if my great-grandfather had a male Kitten, there's got to be more, right?" He paused and she nodded. "Anyways, my great-grandfather loved them both very much. At least that’s what my grandfather used to say.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Apparently, I take after him, according to my mother.”
She lifted her tankard and drank. “You have a Kitten?” Hilde was not sure how she felt about that, when another thought hit her. What if he only liked men? Her brother Albert had a male lover and her cousin Lisel’s husband also liked men to the point that rumor had it that her son and baby daughter were sired by the stable boy because her husband spent too much time with his lover.
Fritz laughed. “No, I have better things to spend my money on, like fine wines and fast horses. Do you ride?”
Hilde nodded. “I have the most beautiful dapple grey gelding that I like to ride. His name’s Rain.”
“Aaah… I have a black stallion, I call Midnight. You should go on a hunt with me sometime.”
“I’d like that.” She smiled.
“So tell me about yourself.”
Hilde drank her ale. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, in a way Fritz found adorable, and said, “Well, you know I have some older brothers, eight to be exact.”
“Eight?” Fritz interrupted.
Hilde nodded. “Wilhelm, the oldest is married, and so are Johann, Erich, Josef, and Franz. Albert likes boys, and Karl is engaged. Klaus is the ‘baby’ and while he’s two years younger than me, he fights as well as the rest and is a fine horseman too!” her expression and tone grew wistful. “I wish I had a sister.” She sighed. “Mama said she didn’t want any more babies and I guess Papa agreed with her.”
“You’re lucky; you have brothers. I don’t have any, or sisters.”
“There you are!! Papa’s been looking all over for you!!” a young man called out as he pushed his way over to them.
Hilde swore softly, eliciting an equally soft chuckle out of Fritz.
“Who is he?” Fritz nodded towards the approaching young man.
“That is Klaus and the other two, who just entered, are Johann and Albert.” She sighed. “I have to go.” Hilde got up to leave.
“Wait!” Fritz reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. “Why don’t you introduce me?”
“What?” Hilde frowned.
“Introduce me to your brothers.” Fritz also stood up.
Hilde shook her head. “I…” She looked at him like he had suddenly sprouted six heads.
“Hilde, Papa is very angry! And Mama is worried! What are doing in here dressed like that?!” her younger brother shouted, causing a flurry of whispers.
Before she could say anything, Fritz said, “We were part of the battle of Helmsford. I’m Frederick Saint-Germaine.”
Klaus ignored him. “Let’s go!” He reached for his sister’s arm as if to pull her out of there.
Hilde, mortified, stood there and shook her head at him, while Fritz attempted to reintroduce himself. Minutes later, they were joined by Johann, Albert, and the owner of makeshift biergarten. Before an argument of epic proportions erupted, Johann spoke up.
“Klaus, be quiet. You’re disturbing the patrons.”
“Why don’t you wait for us, outside?” Albert added.
“By the way, I’m Frederick Saint-Germaine, I was in the battle of Helmsford with Hilde, and I asked her if she would like to quench her thirst. She agreed and we’ve been sitting here, enjoying this good man’s ale ever since.” Fritz smiled as he waved in the direction of the owner of the biergarten.
“Your Grace… Forgive me and my foolish brother,” Johann gave him a slight bow.
“Your Grace.” Albert followed suit.
“Please, like I told your sister, just call me Fritz.”
“But…”
“Let’s just sit and relax, and have some ale,” Fritz said as he signaled the owner of the biergarten to bring them more ale. “Now, which one of you is Albert and which one is Johann?” He sat down and minutes later, Hilde and her brothers sat down to drink the ale that had been brought over to them.
By the time Hilde’s father, Count Heinrich von Meyer found them, his children and the Grande Duke were chatting like old friends. Happy to be invited to sit with them, he forgot his anger at his wayward daughter’s disappearance. They remained there until Klaus returned to inform them that they needed to leave and get ready for the king’s banquet.
Getting up to leave, Heinrich said, “Will we see you later tonight?”
Fritz grinned. “I was hoping to spend time with your daughter, if I may. I heard there’s going to be a dance tonight for the common folk and I would like to take her, if it’s alright with you, sir?”
“Oh?” Heinrich frowned.
“My great-grandfather believed in mixing with the people. His duchy was always a peaceful one and my father believed that was the reason why. So with your permission?”
“Very well.” Heinrich turned his attention to his daughter. “You will come back and dress like a lady,” he gave her an affectionate smile, “and do try to behave like one. I’ll never hear the end of it if your mother hears of the merest whiff of scandal.”
“Thanks, Papa.”
“Oh, and your brother Klaus will be joining you two.” Heinrich grinned and turned to leave.
“I’d better go. We’re staying at the La Fountaine.”
Fritz nodded.
“Until then.”
Fritz watched as she hurried after her father. He finished his ale, before getting up to go. He had to get ready too, not to mention thinking up something, anything, to amuse her younger brother, while he danced the night away with Hilde.
Author: kira
World: Capital city of Madrona
Characters: Brunhilde von Meyer; Frederick Saint-Germaine; Klaus, Johann, Albert (her brothers); Count Heinrich von Meyer (her father)
Borrow: No
Word count: 2141
Rating: PG 13 for mention of prostitutes
Summary: Has Brunhilde von Meyer finally met her match in the Grande Duke Frederick Saint-Germaine
Author’s note: Special thanks to my beta Kat for pinking this.
Brunhilde von Meyer stood there, leaning heavily on her long sword, her kettle helm sitting askance on her head. Dog-tired and panting heavily, she could barely keep her eyes open and it was all she could do to keep on her feet. Mustering up the last of her strength, she grinned as she extended her hand towards the young man who lay at her feet.
Frederick Saint-Germaine, Grande Duke of the Duchy of Germania, grinned back at her. He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. “Well fought, Sir, or should I say ‘Lady’?” he said as he sheathed his sword.
Brunhilde shook her head and quickly closed her eyes when the world began to spin. “Hilde is fine, my lord.” She stumbled forward, when a passing soldier gave her a hearty pat on the back in celebration of their victory during one of the many reenactments of various battles that fought to unite the realm in years past.
Frederick was quick to catch her. “Are you alright, Lady Hilde?”
“Yeah,” she said in a breathy whisper. Damn he’s cute and he fights as well as he looks and… She blinked when it hit her. He’s not upset I’m a girl! And that I beat him! “I’m… fine…” She took a deep breath, desperately willing her cheeks to keep from heating up. Hilde took another deep breath and met his gaze. “Just tired.” She smiled, took off her helmet and wiped her brow.
Frederick nodded. “Mêlée can be tiresome. And I’m sorry, I pushed you so hard. I thought you were a boy…” He trailed of as his cheeks heated up.
Hilde giggled. Awe… he’s blushing! “Much to my father’s delight and my mother’s horror, I learned how to fight from my brothers…” she also trailed off as a delicate blush spilled across her cheeks.
“Really?” Frederick’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“Yeah…”
“Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Frederick, by the way, but my friends all call me Fritz.’
“Well met, Lord Fritz.” Hilde held out her hand.
“The same, Lady Hilde.” Fritz smiled as he took her hand in his. “I’m rather parched; you want to go get something to drink? I know where the tent with the best ale is, unless you’d rather some wine?”
“Ale is fine. Besides teaching me how to fight, my brothers also taught me to enjoy a good ale. According to my eldest brother Wilhelm, a good woman not only enjoys her ale, but also something about tumbling …” Hilde blushed and mumbled the rest, mortified that she brought up something so gauche. Heaven help her if her mother ever found out. Hilde sheathed her sword, glad to step back and look away from him.
Fritz chuckled, and clasping her lightly on the shoulder, he steered her through the dissipating crowds. They stopped by a horse trough for a quick wash up, before heading towards the city proper, where various tents were set up in Madrona’s town square. Making their way through the throngs of people, Fritz and Hilde paused to watch a troop of R’kanseeli fire-spinners.
A barely dressed young woman swung a pair of chains, with a lit bundle of wicks on the opposite end, in intricate patterns. The crowd oohed and awed at her performance. Fritz leaned towards Hilde and said, “I bet that looks really impressive at night.”
Hilde agreed. “Maybe we can come back later to watch. That’s if we can get away from our families…” She shrugged. Now that he had taken his helmet off, Hilde could get a good look at him. She liked what she saw too. Fritz was tall and slender like herself and she liked the sharp planes of his face and his long aquiline nose. He also had the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen and she loved the sparkle of amusement that started at his eyes, before running down his cheeks to tug the corners of his mouth upwards. Fierce on the battlefield, but charming off, she hoped to see him later that night at the king’s banquet and ball.
Fritz grinned. “Maybe or maybe we can ditch all that and, if my lady approves, we can dress like peasants and make our own fun.”
She giggled. “Yes!”
He nodded. “Come,” he linked his arm with hers, “let’s get some liquid courage, before we go find our parents and your brothers and tell them we have our own plans for tonight!”
Hilde’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know…” She bit her lip.
“That’s why it’s called liquid courage.” He winked at her. “We can bring your brothers along too when we come back to watch the fire dancers and listen to the music of some peasant band and, I don’t know, dance the night away.”
It sounded so tempting that Hilde found herself agreeing. She hurried along with him, pushing their way through the crowds, to a large tent full of long tables. Each one had their fair share of people, singing and drinking, while buxom young barmaids flitted up and down the aisles between the tables, carrying pitchers of beer. The place reminded Hilde of her father and brothers, and far from being subconscious about being there with a young man she barely knew, Hilde thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Fritz was pleasantly surprised when she sang along with everyone else, the bawdy drinking songs of the barracks and taverns from seedier part of town. He was glad he had met her on the first day of the festivities as now he had time to get to know her better, that’s if the fates were kind and let them meet again and again. In between choruses of “The Lady and the Snake,” and draughts of ale, he found himself telling her about himself.
“Your great-grandfather married two Kittens? Wow! I didn’t think they got married.” As tired as she was, and while the ale did nothing to keep her awake, she found herself hanging on his every word. Hilde liked the way he treated her as something midway between a blushing flower and a fellow soldier, unlike most of the men she knew, who thought her unorthodox upbringing meant she liked whoring as much as they did. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Fritz nodded. “It’s okay. Anyway, his first wife gave him several children. I’m descended from his eldest and when my father died two years ago, I inherited his title and the chateau. His second wife was a rent-boy, who was also a Kitten, if that makes any sense.”
Hilde frowned. “How can a rent-boy be a Kitten? One’s a boy and the other’s a girl, right? They both get paid for their services and all... But ummm...That's what my brothers said." She blushed. "I overheard them explaining it to my brother Klaus, but they quickly shut up when they noticed I was there," she added.
Fritz raised his eyebrows in surprise at her forthrightness over her knowledge as most of the women he knew feigned ignorance over what a Kitten did. He shrugged, putting her at ease. “I have no idea, if my great-grandfather had a male Kitten, there's got to be more, right?" He paused and she nodded. "Anyways, my great-grandfather loved them both very much. At least that’s what my grandfather used to say.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Apparently, I take after him, according to my mother.”
She lifted her tankard and drank. “You have a Kitten?” Hilde was not sure how she felt about that, when another thought hit her. What if he only liked men? Her brother Albert had a male lover and her cousin Lisel’s husband also liked men to the point that rumor had it that her son and baby daughter were sired by the stable boy because her husband spent too much time with his lover.
Fritz laughed. “No, I have better things to spend my money on, like fine wines and fast horses. Do you ride?”
Hilde nodded. “I have the most beautiful dapple grey gelding that I like to ride. His name’s Rain.”
“Aaah… I have a black stallion, I call Midnight. You should go on a hunt with me sometime.”
“I’d like that.” She smiled.
“So tell me about yourself.”
Hilde drank her ale. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, in a way Fritz found adorable, and said, “Well, you know I have some older brothers, eight to be exact.”
“Eight?” Fritz interrupted.
Hilde nodded. “Wilhelm, the oldest is married, and so are Johann, Erich, Josef, and Franz. Albert likes boys, and Karl is engaged. Klaus is the ‘baby’ and while he’s two years younger than me, he fights as well as the rest and is a fine horseman too!” her expression and tone grew wistful. “I wish I had a sister.” She sighed. “Mama said she didn’t want any more babies and I guess Papa agreed with her.”
“You’re lucky; you have brothers. I don’t have any, or sisters.”
“There you are!! Papa’s been looking all over for you!!” a young man called out as he pushed his way over to them.
Hilde swore softly, eliciting an equally soft chuckle out of Fritz.
“Who is he?” Fritz nodded towards the approaching young man.
“That is Klaus and the other two, who just entered, are Johann and Albert.” She sighed. “I have to go.” Hilde got up to leave.
“Wait!” Fritz reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. “Why don’t you introduce me?”
“What?” Hilde frowned.
“Introduce me to your brothers.” Fritz also stood up.
Hilde shook her head. “I…” She looked at him like he had suddenly sprouted six heads.
“Hilde, Papa is very angry! And Mama is worried! What are doing in here dressed like that?!” her younger brother shouted, causing a flurry of whispers.
Before she could say anything, Fritz said, “We were part of the battle of Helmsford. I’m Frederick Saint-Germaine.”
Klaus ignored him. “Let’s go!” He reached for his sister’s arm as if to pull her out of there.
Hilde, mortified, stood there and shook her head at him, while Fritz attempted to reintroduce himself. Minutes later, they were joined by Johann, Albert, and the owner of makeshift biergarten. Before an argument of epic proportions erupted, Johann spoke up.
“Klaus, be quiet. You’re disturbing the patrons.”
“Why don’t you wait for us, outside?” Albert added.
“By the way, I’m Frederick Saint-Germaine, I was in the battle of Helmsford with Hilde, and I asked her if she would like to quench her thirst. She agreed and we’ve been sitting here, enjoying this good man’s ale ever since.” Fritz smiled as he waved in the direction of the owner of the biergarten.
“Your Grace… Forgive me and my foolish brother,” Johann gave him a slight bow.
“Your Grace.” Albert followed suit.
“Please, like I told your sister, just call me Fritz.”
“But…”
“Let’s just sit and relax, and have some ale,” Fritz said as he signaled the owner of the biergarten to bring them more ale. “Now, which one of you is Albert and which one is Johann?” He sat down and minutes later, Hilde and her brothers sat down to drink the ale that had been brought over to them.
By the time Hilde’s father, Count Heinrich von Meyer found them, his children and the Grande Duke were chatting like old friends. Happy to be invited to sit with them, he forgot his anger at his wayward daughter’s disappearance. They remained there until Klaus returned to inform them that they needed to leave and get ready for the king’s banquet.
Getting up to leave, Heinrich said, “Will we see you later tonight?”
Fritz grinned. “I was hoping to spend time with your daughter, if I may. I heard there’s going to be a dance tonight for the common folk and I would like to take her, if it’s alright with you, sir?”
“Oh?” Heinrich frowned.
“My great-grandfather believed in mixing with the people. His duchy was always a peaceful one and my father believed that was the reason why. So with your permission?”
“Very well.” Heinrich turned his attention to his daughter. “You will come back and dress like a lady,” he gave her an affectionate smile, “and do try to behave like one. I’ll never hear the end of it if your mother hears of the merest whiff of scandal.”
“Thanks, Papa.”
“Oh, and your brother Klaus will be joining you two.” Heinrich grinned and turned to leave.
“I’d better go. We’re staying at the La Fountaine.”
Fritz nodded.
“Until then.”
Fritz watched as she hurried after her father. He finished his ale, before getting up to go. He had to get ready too, not to mention thinking up something, anything, to amuse her younger brother, while he danced the night away with Hilde.