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Leugnen das Ende; Return of the Margrave
Topic Started: Jan 9 2016, 11:54 PM (395 Views)
Margrave
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Is very much a holla-back girl.
 *  *  *  *  *
The Kingdom of Room 3A was a magnificent one, thanks to King Adrian von Lebus. Since he had taken rule of the small parcel of land, none of it's population had died. No one was ill, except for the one time the King caught a cold. While food was not plentiful, nor healthy, no one starved. The Kingdom's chief exports are tobacco smoke, which the King had to beg and plead to the authorities to allow its production. The Kingdom's chief import was suicidal Margraves.

Adrian thought of these and other musings as he sat on the padded bench of his bedroom, smoking a cigarette. After he'd had his fun, and he suddenly felt a frown form on his face. He wasn't blind to the contrast. A year ago he would have pulled a stick of the finest tobacco from an expertly engraved, gold plated, cigarette case, and lit it with a matching lighter, all while sitting in a glorious palace in Potsdam next to his beautiful, pregnant wife. Now he had to grovel before the staff of commoners for every cigarette, and then perform the Herculean task of proving to them he was sane enough to handle any sort of flame. Difficult to do after prostrating oneself on the floor for a cigarette. His glorious palace had been replaced by a small bathroom. At least he still had a throne. Most painful to Adrian was the fact that he hadn't seen his wife during the entirety of his interment. The emotional part of his mind wondered if she hated him now. After that stunt in Vienna, he wouldn't blame her. And what of their child? Adrian had been in bedlam for little more than a year. Was it a boy? A girl? The logical part of his brain attempted to shift the blame for her absence, perhaps rightly so. Adrian believed someone must be preventing her from coming to see him. Whoever was in charge in charge of the country, most likely. Rudolf? Adalbert? Piett? Adrian knew not.

Adrian did know, however, someone was keeping him here. As he stayed in his little hell he grew more humble, and in turn the staff grew more sympathetic. He had been cleared no less than 6 time to go home by his therapist, but every time a doctor or another therapist would come and interview him. No matter what Adrian said, he would be found insane. Then the doctors would drive away in very, very nice cars.

After finishing his cigarette, Adrian thought about all of this while stroking his now-long beard. He stared at the Berlin skyline. In recent months there had been riots. Anarchists had been parading in the street. Less than a week ago there was quite the commotion, and Adrian saw smoke rising from the direction of the capital building. He sighed. Adrian feared his country had fallen to the rebels.

The Austrian special forces soldiers who had just burst into the room to rescue him seemed to confirm that notion.
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Whal
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The Margrave's thoughts were abruptly and violently interrupted by the crashing sound of his locked door imploding into the room. In quick succession, the once solitary room was filled with a half dozen Austrian special forces from the infamous Special Activities Division (SAD) of the RSD. The men scattered throughout the room checking their sectors and awaiting the instruction of their commander.

The Margrave sat motionless; he too awaiting the masked and unmarked soldiers to identify their purpose for interrupting his smoke break. In no time at all, one of the men broke from his ranks and approached the Margrave and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Margrave Adrian von Lebus?" the soldier asked candidly, and Adrian noticed he spoke with intense urgency. These men must have burst through over a dozen rooms already. His mind couldn't help but wonder what happened to the poor souls who weren't who the men were looking for.

"Yes," Adrian replied confidently. "And who are you?"

"My name's not important, sir," The masked figure replied quickly. "Were members of the Austrian military here to free you. I'm sorry as that's all i have time to explain right now. We need to go. Please come with me." The man ordered and pulled him up from his chair.

Adrian hesitated only for a second. His time in the psychiatric ward had somewhat changed him, but his whits quickly returned as he rationalized his escape. Clearly his own government, his government, wasn't going to help him and the Austrians represented his only salvation at present. He calmly picked up his military tunic from its carefully folded spot on his desk and put it on.

"I'm ready, commander," he nodded in agreement.

The commander nodded as well and twirled his hand to alert the team that they had secured their target and that it was time to extract him. The team stacked up at the door with a point man leading them down the hallway, Adrian in the middle, and the commander keeping him in place with a firm hand on his shoulder. As Adrian progressed down the hallway with his saviors he saw the precursor to his rescue - several kicked in or exploded doors with many frightened, unconscious, or restrained patients and staff alike. One room even hid the body of an orderly - a brutish man whom Adrian remembered harshly. His body lay prostrate and motionless on the linoleum floor. A pool of blood puddled around his head.

"Not a walk in the park, I see?" Adrian remarked with a smirk.

The man merely grunted in what Adrian could only surmise as the affirmative. Not long after, the team successfully brought Adrian outside the back of the compound and into the grassy garden behind it. Before Adrian could even ask about their method of transportation, an Austrian helicopter came streaking over the horizon and hovered above them over the garden. The commander helped Adrian into the helicopter and the team followed suit quickly and professionally. The commander's radio blared constantly and Adrian heard various snippets which led him to believe he was not the only target the Austrians had outlined. He wondered if these other locations had been rescues too, or perhaps something more sinister.

As the helicopter began to ascend back up into the sky, Adrian looked at the smoky and burning Berlin skyline. He was told they would land in Berlin's municipal airport and then switch to a private jet set to arrive in Vienna in a couple hours. He was to be reunited with his wife, child, and his father-in-law. Adrian wondered exactly what he would say to any of them.
Edited by Whal, Jan 16 2016, 09:39 AM.
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Margrave
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Adrian von Lebus looked out the open door of the helicopter at the airport below. He had commissioned the airport himself, and had some input on its design. The building, as designed, was a wonderful and august building. It's Greco-Roman architecture was accented by statues of great German heroes and the like. Siegfried and the dragon, Bismarck, Clausewitz, Falkenhayn, and Rommel all once stood on marble pedestals, providing a shining example of glory for all Germans to see. No more.

The Margrave looked out to see most lying on the ground. Rommel's torso was being used as a makeshift barricade. The dragon, coiled around Siegfried, made an impromptu pillbox. The once opulent marble was pocked by bullet holes, or otherwise blackened with soot. The walls of the Berlin Airport were no better. Blood covered the mosaic floors.

The helicopter circled the landing strip a few times before setting down on the black top. The Austrians had not dallied. They had set up a headquarters in record time. Adrian was ushered to a medical tent for a cursory examination. After being cleared, it was only a short wait for the Imperial plane to land.

It was then that the Anarchists pushed forward. They surged forth from their austere barricades, many being shot down by machine gun fire, but some making it close enough to throw a punch, or a fire bomb. The Austrian special forces were massacring the unorganized militias, but they certainly weren't doing so easily. Adrian was in no danger, and he knew this. In fact, he gave a single scoff at the sound of the Anarchist offensive. It would lake many more Anarchists to get to him.

He boarded the plane along with some members of the Austrian command, as well as a few others from the Margraviate. He had seen their faces in a long while. Once on board, he was shown to a small study by the Austrian commander. The took their seats across from one another on a small, plain table.

"Herr..." Adrian looked at his name tag, smiling smugly. "von Munchen. As thankful as I am for my rescue, would you perhaps explain to me what the hell is going on?"
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Whal
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With the minor anarchist assault hastily taken care of and the Margrave loaded safely on the plane, the Austrians prepared the aircraft and runway for take-off. Although not giving the military capabilities of the anarchists much concern, the Austrian command left in Berlin was guarded heavily and a tight perimeter was quickly reestablished. Following the extraction of the Margrave, the remaining Reichswehr and RSD would need to work together to keep the airport open and clear for other essential personal and soon-to-be expatriates.

From his plush chair inside one of the plane's private cabins, Adrian sat across an Austrian contact officer. Siegfried von Munchen was originally, as his name suggested, a native of the jointly administered territory in the central hub city of Munich, yet was quickly integrated into the Austrian military-industrial complex. A highly valued civilian asset to the RSD, von Munchen was now one of several German private contractors who worked hand in hand with the Austrian authorities in Bavaria and Greater Germany as a whole. He now found himself in Brandenburg, in the Margraviate, as a lead coordinator of the rescue efforts in the quickly deteriorating state.

"Certainly, Lord," von Munchen replied seriously to Adrian's question. "You are being extracted as one of the country's most important political assets to the Austrian Empire. You, alongside other influential members of your household and government, are to be airlifted to Vienna to meet with the RSD and discuss possible contingencies for the future of your country."

"I shall speak frankly Lord, your country and government have gone to shit. A recent bout of protests in the cities have spread to the countryside and turned violent. You have a revolution on your hands, Lord. The Austrians, likely the Archduke, have taken you out because you are a liability. I would not expect much from them in terms of consideration. They are here to protect and further their interests and I would equally not expect them to be too eager to cater to your demands."
Edited by Whal, Feb 2 2016, 01:14 PM.
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Adrian quietly, but noticeably, laughed when the man said the Margraviate had "gone to shit." He was correct, of course. Adrian leaned back in his chair, looking out the window at the black as he did. von Muchen presented a dossier, leaving it on the table. He said something else but Adrian wasn't listening.

He was thinking about Eleanore, instead.

His heart beat hard in his chest as he did. His extremities felt cold, as if they had been drained of blood, but his face and head felt hot. He didn't have the slightest clue how she would react. He didn't even know how he would react. He looked at his left hand where his ring would be, had it not been taken from him during his internment.

"Are you alright, Lord?" Von Muchen asked the Margrave. "Yes, I'm fine, I just need a moment, perhaps I need to rest. Thank you Herr von Muchen. That will be all." He gestured to the door. Von Muchen looked confused for a moment. "Lord, you and I are sharing these quarters."

"Oh." Adrian said sheepishly, sinking into his chair and hiding behind the dossier. He read the documents and reports it contained. A regency council had formed after his institutionalization. This council was made up of largely petty nobles owning small fiefdoms, who did their best to erode the centralized state Adrian had created and run like a well oiled and efficient. He sighed. It's hard to run an engine when the gears and cogs want to run the engine instead. These petty nobles promptly used their newfound power to starve the country until the urban populations revolted.

Not intentionally, of course, but when they began to squabble and fight among themselves they destroyed the large scale agriculture necessary to feed the country. Many were too prideful to import food from foreign countries. Those that did lacked the national infrastructure needed to better distribute the food. Food spoiled on the docks while people staved. Stores closed. The economy stalled. The Anarcho-Syndicalists took hold and quickly became the head of the rising revolutionary front. This culminated in the sack of Berlin going on below the plane.

By the time Adrian was finished, it was the wee hours of the morning. He was exhausted. The plane had landed in Wien while he was reading, but he had refused to depart until he was finished. It was an excuse, and Adrian knew that at the back of his mind. He was scared, like a child. He wasn't ready. To see Eleanore, to see his child, to be Margrave, any of it. The whole experience he had just been through seemed so surreal. By this pint, he and von Muchen were the last on the plane. Von Muchen had been glaring at him for some time, and suggested they leave the instant Adrian looked up, finished.

Adrian finally agreed, and the two now watched as the stairs of the plane descended, opening up the cabin to the sun rising over Wein.
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Whal
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At first glance, the scene on the tarmac of Vienna's international airport was one of a normal daily routine. Commercial airlines landed their planes, their passengers disembarked, and then they took new ones before ascending up into the air again. Somewhere down the way, a military transport aircraft unloaded some supplies which were happily received by some RSD operatives. On the surface, a normal day in Austria was unfolding around the Margrave, yet a closer inspection would reveal the very sinister forces at work within the authoritarian system.

Yet, there were more pressing concerns on the young Margrave's mind. Adrian eventually faced his demons and exited the doorway of the private liner and proceeded to the adjacent terminal. He was flanked on both sides by an accompanying escort of an unfamiliar Austrian special forces branch. As he proceeded through the various security measures presented to arrivals in the Austrian Empire, the royal was suddenly confronted by the realization that the Austrians were treating him like any other visitor. It was not as If Adrian expected a parade in his honor, but he was half expecting the courtesy to be whisked through the RSD's rigorous security apparatus. He was a member of the royal family for Christ's sake. Yet, there he stood behind common people (albeit guarded) waiting in a god-damn line.

His eyes wandered about the terminal. His gaze focused ahead to a large group of people ahead of him.

The family was huddled together in fear as a man, presumably the father, argued with the custom's agent. Adrian couldn't hear much, but he could make out the agent's request for the family's identity cards. The family spoke a different language, vaguely Slavic in origin, and seemed confused and afraid that there Austrian passports were suddenly not enough to enter the Empire. Once the man smacked his hands against the kiosk, the soldiers who had previously stood by uneasily sprang into action and seized him. The quickness of their seizure surprised the man, but not as much as the truncheon that soon found its way into his left knee. He fell to the floor clutching his knee as his family was rounded up and moved aside.

Adrian's gaze lingered a moment before von Munchen whispered something into his ear.

"Slavs without government I.D cards," he said flatly. "Poor devils."

Adrian pushed the family out of his mind as he was further processed and moved through the rest of the security measures unmolested or detained. His Brandenburg passport elicited strange looks from the security operatives, but their heads nodded once they saw his escort and his identity. As the leader of a failed state, the Margrave was still attended the rights of a diplomat and he was finally let through. Once outside by the road, von Munchen opened the door to a limousine and motioned for Adrian to enter. The car ride to the Hofburg Palace was a relatively quick one, but the awkward silence stuck in the cabin like a fog.

Soon the limo stopped in front the steps and a security escort of Royal Uhlans approached. Once they opened the door, there were no more excuses. Inside the Hofburg, Eleanore waited eagerly with her child....his child. He took a deep breath and followed them.

---

"Do you think he will even recognize you?" Ferdinand mocked from his chair. The gleaming rays of sun from the large bay windows were reflecting off him in a manner which made him seem rather angelic, yet he had been far from such comparisons in recent months. Swirling a glass of brandy, he paused a moment before addressing his question to his sister once more.

"Don't be ridiculous! Its been under two years, and we weren't children when he was incarcerated," Eleanore snapped back angrily. The sharpness of her voice was not lost on the squirming infant she held in her arms. The tiny blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl raised her head from its nestled position in her bosom and looked at her mother nervously. In that moment, Eleanore saw her likeness in those big blue pools. Obviously distressed by her mother's tone, she began to tear slightly.

"Oh no, Elizabeth," Eleanore replied reassuringly, "Please, don't cry. Mama's not angry." She began to slowly and tenderly rock the child back and forth. The rhythm of the rocking coupled with a smile seemed to calm the child and she fell quickly into a relaxing sleep.

"You didn't answer my question," Ferdinand replied unsatisfied at his sister's indifference. "Who knows how addled his brain is? Its possible isolation has changed him. I mean you wouldn't know exactly. Its not as if you have seen him since it happened."

Eleanore's brow furrowed, but this time she whispered her retort. "You know exactly why I haven't seen him. It's not as if I had a choice, besides he hasn't forgotten me. Surely, he wishes to meet Elizabeth regardless." Her thoughts trailed off. She ardently hoped he wasn't angry with her for not seeing him and she prayed he could understand why she hadn't.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and a guard informed the two royals of the Margrave's arrival. Eleanore barely had time to gather her thoughts before Adrian entered the room to find her and their child nestled quietly asleep in her arms. For a moment, no one spoke. Adrian's face betrayed a sense of fear as his wife stood her ground rather than approach him with outstretched arms. Eleanore herself was surprised at her own hesitation. Internally, she fought back a tidal wave of emotions that flooded her mind. Eventually, however she smiled a sincere loving smile as she slowly approached her husband.
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As soon as the doors had opened and Adrian saw his wife, time stopped. There she stood, in beauty and in piety. Adrian soaked in every monad of the picture he was seeing. It felt like he was seeing her for the first time all over again. Her blonde hair, her deep, blue eyes, the simple dress she was wearing, all of it together made a masterpiece no artist could replicate. Then he saw the swaddled infant she held in her arms, and his awe turned to elation. Eleanore, however, stood motionless.

The same feeling he felt on the plane engulfed him once more as she stood there. "Oh God, what could she be thinking?" Adrian thought to himself. All of his fears seemed to coming to fruition. In reality, less than a few seconds had passed, but to Adrian, it seemed as if an eternity had. Adrian immediately felt ill. He thoughts raced back and forth and his mind began the run like a prized stallion. His heart began to sound like one, as well.

Then Eleanor took a step towards him. Her shocked expression softened into a smile, then to a grin. Adrian bit his lip as he smiled back. Tears began to spring up in his eyes. He raced forward and embraced his wife and child. Every sensation from the two of them felt like lightening through his nervous system. The pressure of holding them in his arms, the heat radiating from their bodies. It all felt so surreal, almost like a dream. It was enough to push Adrian over the edge, and the small pool of tears turned into cascades down his face.

"Eleanore," he began between sobs, "I'm so sorry, Eleanore. I'm so, so sorry." Eleanore was crying too. "Shhhh..." She hushed him. "It's okay, Adrian. It's okay." His reaction surprised Eleanore. Adrian rarely, if ever, apologized for anything. Not that it was a bad change. It was somewhat refreshing. It was then that Elizabeth, so rudely awakened from her nap, began to cry as well. Adrian looked down.

"Is this..?" "Elizabeth." Eleanor said, finishing the Margrave's sentence. He took the child from her arms, supporting her head with his hand. He smiled. "It's not what I would have picked. I assume your father picked it though, so there's no changing that." They both chuckled a little. Eleanor reached out and touched Adrian's face. Adrian closed his eyes as she did so. "Your beard..." "I know," he replied. "I intend to cut it as soon as possible." They both laughed again. They must have looked quite the pair of fools, crying and laughing and touching eachother's faces and passing a baby back and forth.

Ferdinand certainly thought so. "Are you two quite done?" he said, repeating the same mocking tone he had used earlier. Adrian looked up. "Yes." He said, before turning to Eleanor. "Let's go for a walk about the grounds. Just we three." He rocked little Elizabeth in his arms, calming her, before turning towards the door, Eleanore by his side.
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Whal
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"I think not," Ferdinand replied tersely. He finished his glass of brandy and started towards the door. "I have matters to attend to downtown. You'll have to excuse me."

Eleanore smirked, "What matters, Ferdinand? You know if Father catches wind of you sulking around the brothels again he'll be more irate than usual." She turned back to Adrian quickly to give a sly wink. She had little interest in spending this time with her brother anyway, and she wondered whether or not he had understood what Adrian meant.

Ferdinand chuckled mockingly and waved his hand towards his sister and brother-in-law. "Please, dear sister. I don't need any reminders of Father's opinion of me. It has been clear enough these past few months. However, I am not yet married to that Russian princess he's always blathering on about, and until then I plan to enjoy myself."

Adrian smirked to himself quickly and inconspicuously enough to not draw his wife's attention. He remembered the life of a bachelor and all the adventure of getting to know countless women intimately, yet strangely enough he missed none of it now. There was something simply enchanting about being married and having a child. He had replaced feelings of lust long ago.

Eleanore merely shrugged her shoulders. Her brother's business was not of her concern. Now that her husband had miraculously returned, she was elated to spend sometime rekindling their more intimate feelings and watching how he interacted with their daughter. Yet for all the good that Adrian's return had done her, darker thoughts were never too far behind. Looking at his eyes and how he adored her, she couldn't help but feel the sharp tinge of shame and sadness. Hopefully, Adrian wouldn't ask her why she had not visited him. She did not know how she could tell him, and now that he had returned there were many things that needed to be resolved.

"So good to see you again, brother," Ferdinand said flatly and without any real emotion, as he coldly embraced the Margrave. "Take good care of my sister." He looked at Eleanore with a wry smile and wink. "We all know how lonely she has been in your absence." The Crown Prince left the room shortly after. If looks could kill then Eleanore's gaze would be murderous.

"Come," Eleanore pleaded softly, tugging at Adrian's arm. "Lets walk through the gardens for a short while. My father wants to speak with you, but he can wait a bit longer."
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Adrian took great offense at his brother-in-law's sardonic comment, but decided to let it slide, for now. He let Eleanore led him outside, pushing open the heavy wooden door to the marbled halls of the Hofburg. He laughed a little to himself before looking over his shoulder to make sure Ferdinand was out of earshot. "You know," he said "when I said 'us three,' I was referring to you, Elizabeth, and I. He would be as bored with gardens as I would be of him after about 5 minutes." He grinned. Eleanor gave him a bit of a look and his grin subsided, but he still loved the humor of the situation. They walked through the halls, passing through the Imperial Library, To their left, the morning light shone through the windows.

Eleanor gripped his arm and held it close to her. Adrian grinned again. Eleanor did too. For the first time in a long while, Adrian was happy. Not only that, he was elated. Ecstatic. Jubilated. A million different words and none could describe the way he felt now, with his wife holding is left arm, and his first child in his right. He looked down at her face. She looked so much like Eleanor. God, he wished he could stop time.

The couple walked out to the Volksgarden with a small escort of Uhlans. The beautiful gardens stunned Adrian. The flowers had just started blooming, and the scale and diversity of colors was majestic. Then, their peaceful walk was soon interrupted by members of the Austrian press and other laymen. Eleanor sighed, taking hold of Eleanor. Adrian looked around confusedly, but did nothing, until a surprisingly loud camera woke Elizabeth. Adrian scowled. Now it was his turn to throw deadly looks. How badly he wanted to take one of the Uhlan's saber and- No, no. He pushed the thought out of his mind. He was still visibly distressed, but he would not be threatening or brandishing sabres at any of the townspeople.

"Dear, would you like to return to the palace?" He asked, trying to calm himself down.
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Whal
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Eleanor winced at the flashes of the paparazzi's cameras. Elizabeth, snuggled comfortably in her arms, also wiggled around in obvious irritation. Reading the facial expressions of their charge, two of the Uhlans guarding the young couple finally positioned themselves in the way and dispersed the nosy rabble. Eleanor sighed, remembering the more inconspicuous days of her collegiate career. No one cared back then who she was or who her father was, yet it was all a memory now.

"Yes, I think that would be best," She replied somberly in response to Adrian's question. "Father must be raving that we haven't arrived anyway."

Just like clockwork, a servant from the imperial household arrived from seemingly nowhere to alert them that their presence was indeed requested by the Archduke. Eleanore looked at Adrian and smiled. Taking him by the arm, she walked with him from the garden and back into the Hofburg. There presence was little noticed by the multitudes of officials and noblemen who darted from room to room throughout the palace. Midday always was a dreadfully busy period inside the palace and she wondered if her father ever had time to relax anymore. In truth, she had hardly seen him in the last few months. Always tucked away in his study or in the palace, Karl von Habsburg was growing ever more reclusive and brooding in his micromanagement of the Empire's affairs. She longed for the days when her father, two brothers, and herself actually resembled a typical family. Life was much simpler then.

The servant brought Adrian and Eleanore from the courtyard, to the lobby, and all the way to the Archduke's private suit. There he left them in the care of the Archduke's chamberlain - a man named Rudolf. Rudolf smiled at Eleanore and pinched Elizabeth's cheeks. He had been with the Habsburg family since before the coup, and was a trusted member of the household. When she saw the troubled look on his face, she was visibly worried.

"What is it, Rudolf?" She inquired concernedly.

Rudolf's eyes shifted from her to Adrian. "His Majesty, is....not in a good mood."

"Why? Its not as if we kept him for too long," she responded slightly perturbed.

"No, it is not that, Archduchess," Rudolf sighed. "He has just been given word that another of our officials was assassinated in Bosnia. Though, I do believe something else may have triggered his irritation alongside it." He continued, looking down whenever his eyes fell over Adrian. "He wishes to talk you, Margrave von Lebus."

Eleanore shook her head. Adrian swallowed hard, but nodded as well. Eleanore nodded eventually and allowed Rudolf to continue on with his duties. When he had left the pair alone in the hallway outside the Archduke's suit, she leaned her head on Adrian's chest and sighed.

"Well, the sooner the meeting is finished, the sooner we can retire for the day," she said exasperatedly. "Shall we?"

Adrian agreed and the doors were opened by two of the Royal Uhlans guards standing in front of the door. The room was rather dim, lit only by a few candles, a fire in the fireplace, and the sun where it shinned through the obstruction of the blinds. The room smelled of fine wood furnish and cigar smoke which for some reason reminded Eleanore of her childhood vacation home in Salzburg. It was then there several years prior that her father locked himself away for days after their mother had passed. While he would argue otherwise, Eleanore knew he was never the same after that day.

"Ah, Eleanore," a voice said coming from one of the adjacent rooms. "You're back."

It wasn't the Archduke, but a familiar voice all the same. Otto von Treschow, the young family friend from Istria, emerged and embraced her and patted Elizabeth on the head. He gave Adrian a cursory glance and nodded. Adrian had scarcely met the man outside a few family gatherings, but he nonetheless gave a polite nod back.

"Otto," Eleanore said happily. "Where is my father? Are you to join us?"

"Actually, no" Otto replied with a smile. "Your father wishes to speak with your husband alone. I am to escort you on a short sojourn to visit your brother at the military academy while he does so. After we take Elizabeth to her room so the servants can take care of her."

Eleanore nodded, before turning to Adrian. "Apparently, father wishes to speak with you alone. We'll meet up later though, dear. I'll wait for you in our suit after I return." She leaned in close and kissed his cheek. Otto said a terse goodbye and showed Adrian to the next room and pointed to the door where the Archduke was waiting for him. Adrian looked about the living room in search of his father-in-law, but he was nowhere to be found. The whole suit was eerily quiet in a manner that made Adrian's hair stand on the back of his neck.

He thumbed through some of the books in an adjacent bookcase, while he waited for a servant or the Archduke to show.

"Adrian?," came a voice from behind him. As he turned, he was face to face with his father in law who eyed him curiously.

Karl seemed sapped of energy somewhat, but his piercing gaze was still as terrifying as ever. His face also appeared slimmer, and his tunic fit him less tightly than it had a year prior. He also kept his beard and hair longer than was typical for the usually clean-shaven man. It seemed to Adrian as though he was ill, but it could have easily been a result of stress. He opened his mouth to speak, but Karl cut him off.

"I was sorry to hear what happened after the trial and even more when I heard the reports of what happened to the Margraviate in your absence. It appeared as though your brother was not as capable a ruler as we all thought. Tell me Adrian, how do you feel?"
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"I feel..." Adrian thought carefully for a few moments, "better, for lack of a better term. I know now that my mind was not in the right place. As impossible as that seems." Adrian smiled the goofy, innocent smile he'd flashed multiple times since leaving the hospital. Karl's expression stayed serious, not unlike a statue's features. Adrian had expected the Kaiser to be angry, enraged even. Perhaps he was, Adrian thought. This could be the calm before the storm.

Adrian braced himself for an assault that never came.

Karl instead turned away. His gaze went out the nearest window. He sighed before saying "That's good. Adrian, I want to make sure you understand that you and I are family now. You are my daughter's husband, and as such you are nearly my son. Despite our differences you must understand that there isn't a thing I wouldn't do for my family." He smiled a bit. "I did save your hide form that dreadful place, did I not?" Adrian too smiled a bit. He felt it was the first time Karl had done so in some time.

In truth, Adrian felt very nearly the same for Karl. Adrian's father Adolf was a man so obsessed with legacy that he molded every aspect of Adrian's life into creating the perfect monarch. He hadn't done very well, Adrian thought to himself. To contrast, Adrian felt Karl built him up, whereas Adolf constantly broke him down.

Adrian was about to broach the subject of the Kaiser's own health before he cut him, almost as if sensing the question to come.

"Now shall we discuss matters of state?" Karl said.
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Whal
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"Life is too short to be wasted on bad scotch"
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"Yes, I would very much like to jump back into the saddle, so to speak," Adrian replied eagerly. "What is currently being done regarding Berlin?"

Karl replied quickly, "Good, but do not be hasty. While I have set my Ministry of War to the task in Berlin, Austria cannot be expected to act unilaterally. By which, I mean we will need to secure allies within the Margraviate to assist the Reichswehr in restoring order and propping up the new government."

"My government, surely," Adrian replied skeptically.

Karl gave Adrian a look which made him uneasy. The Archduke rescued his son-in-law out of sincerity, but he was never without his ulterior motives. Karl's thoughts never strayed too far from the notion that it was Adrian who had lost the country in the first place (or his brother, yet Karl knew fairly little about him personally.) Nonetheless, it would take time for his full trust of the Margrave to return fully.

"A government shall return to the Margraviate and you shall be placed in high esteem, yet I fear you need time to recuperate before returning to the highest position. Take some time to be with your family, relax and enjoy the life you have missed for so long. Assist me with some matters of state here in Vienna, but stay yourself from returning as Margrave until we can be sure you will be supported as you once were. I have reason to believe our anarchists may be more than simple common folk and may be supported by elements in German high society. I shall require your aide in discovering them and recruiting loyal followers who can be trusted to assist you once Austrian forces retire."

OOC: Lets get the RP ball rolling again! Also, Margrave, feel free to have Adrian tell Karl to "shove it."
Edited by Whal, Jun 7 2016, 08:30 PM.
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