1845, Berlin
It was sunny out and very warm, so Johann decided it was best to go out. It had been raining almost every day for the past month, so it was hard to step out of the house and not get drenched. So when it was sunny for once, Johann was thrilled. Immediately after breakfast, he told Lydia to get ready for an outing. This time, the territory didn't bother to get Gilbert's permission to take his apprentice.
Now he found himself walking down a sidewalk with the white haired girl next to him. They had barely talked, but their outings were almost always like this. Though, Johann was getting a bit tired of the silence. He looked down at the girl, his ice blue eyes almost piercing. "Are you excited about being a country again?"
Lydia glanced up at him, but then looked back down the path. "I'm more nervous than excited."
"Why? Is it because of Maria?"
Lydia looked back up to the taller German, her eyes full of surprise. "No, not at all! Her Majesty is actually one of the better things about this entire situation. She's been really nice to me so far. I'm a little afraid it might change though; Gilbert and Claus told me that bosses act differently when they actually become your boss." Lydia looked a bit sad, and Johann knew he would have to get onto Claus about this later.
"You shouldn't worry too much about it, Lydia. Maria is a very caring woman and probably will always treat you the same. So be sure to listen to her when you leave." Johann said plainly. Lydia smiled, giving him the unspoken confirmation that she had heard him
They walked for about ten more minutes before they got to a busy street lined with shops and houses. Johann looked around the surrounding area and came up with an idea. He looked down earnestly at the girl. "I want to get you something nice."
Lydia looked up at him, her face twisted in slight confusion. "Why?"
"Because I want to congratulate you on becoming independent." Johann was blunter than he intended, and it almost caused him to cringe. Before Lydia could answer, the taller German ushered her into a nearby store. Only, he didn't know exactly what the store sold.
When they walked in, Lydia gasped. The store front was extremely fancy; there were crystalline figurines and jewelry being presented in glass cases, and the clerk was wearing a fancy dress. The clerk at the front desk took note of two right away and smiled brightly. "Welcome!" Lydia and Johan felt out of place as soon as they walked in. They stood there for a while before the clerk took the initiative. "Is this cute girl your daughter, sir?"
Johann looked up, a bit of surprise covering his face. "Umm, yes. She is."
"You're very lucky. Is there anything in particular you're looking for today?"
"Just looking, thank you." He gave Lydia an approving look, but the girl stayed rather close to him. But then her eyes went wide as she looked past the counter. Lydia was staring at the ribbon that was used to tie the boxes together. "Found something, Lydia?"
The white haired girl looked away for second, as if she was ashamed of what she had found.
"Some how I'm not very surprised that's what you'd want. But, what would you do with it?"
"I don't know. Sorry, it was a dumb idea."
"You could pull your hair back with it; the one you have know is kind of destroyed." Johann looked up at the clerk. "We would like about seven inches of the dark blue ribbon, please." The German said as Lydia tried to stop him.
The two walked out of the store, Lydia feeling slightly bad about what just transpired while Johann was feeling quiet proud of himself. "Thank you." Johann could barely hear the girl's quiet mutter. She looked down at her feet meekly, which Johann found adorable.
"You know you have to keep up appearances once you become a country. The ribbon will help. Besides, it's a congratulatory present."
"Right." Lydia looked up and smiled at him. "I'll wear it every day then!"
"Good, I'd like to see that." Johann laughed at his little sister and the two walked home.
Author's Note: I'm back! That was quicker than usual also. Yata for me! Anyways, these are just some one shots that have do with Northern Rim that I had started writing about two nights ago. I'm planning on making these little shorts about five to seven hundred words long, so not to long. Sorry. These are also the replacements for OneDay that I had promised on my profile, so I will try to post different stuff until I have that story all sorted out. Please read my other stuff and review! It would mean the world to me! Ja ne!
FYI, Johann is Hessen while Claus is Saxony.
