July 1866, Nikolsburg Castle, Margraviate of Moravia, Austrian Empire
Austria couldn't sleep any more. He sighed. A new morning dawned on Nikolsburg and he knew he had to get up in an hour or two.
He didn't want to.
Not even three weeks ago, Prussia had beaten him on the battlefield near Sadowa, a village in the Kingdom of Bohemia, one of the crown lands of the Austrian Empire. The battle of Sadowa, or Königgrätz, as it came to be called after a larger city nearby, had been the decisive Austrian defeat in the Austro-Prussian War. Now, Prussia and Austria, with France as an intermediary, were negotiating a preliminary peace treaty at Nikolsburg Castle.
Or, rather, King William I of Prussia was arguing with his premier, Graf Otto von Bismarck, about Prussia's conditions for peace.
The Prussians wanted to throw Austria out of the community of the German states; that much was clear. Bismarck tried to convince William that the only major territory Austria should lose was the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, which seemed unavoidable for Austria. William, however — the same King William who had only reluctantly taken to Bismarck's idea of fighting against Austria — now thought Prussia should invade Vienna and cannibalize the Austrian Empire further. Thank you very much.
Even worse, Austria thought, was the fact that William and Bismarck would decide this over the heads of himself and his delegation. That prospect alone was disgusting.
And depressing.
This is the end, Austria thought. They had already taken Holy Ro— the German Confederation from him. Sometimes, when he was alone at night, he feared he would never see that lanky youth Ludwig again. He also feared they would, in the end, cannibalize his empire. It was enough to take away his sleep.
Then, again, he would reminisce about his time as the leading power of the Holy Roman Empire of which the Habsburg family had been emperors for about 350 years. In the German Confederation, he had been a leading power as well…
Gone. Crushed by Bismarck's — Prussia's — desire to make Austria opt out of German politics in order to unite the German states under Prussia's guidance alone.
Austria wondered what would become of him. Yes, this probably was the end of an era. He wondered if he would recover from this blow like he had from so many else.
Austria shifted to the side, turning his stare from the Baroque ceiling above his head to the wooden closet on the opposite side of the room. He still didn't have the energy to get up.
What if this really is the end?, he wondered.
At the same time, he scolded himself for even thinking like that. The Austrian Empire would continue to exist, even if, one day, it weren't the second largest country in Europe any longer. A.E.I.O.U., he told himself. He took it to mean Austria erit in orbe ultima, "Austria will exist until the end of time".
Austria's eyes locked onto a putto holding a lyre, one of those little angels you could find virtually everywhere in Baroque art.
Maybe he would feel better if he did get up… Playing the piano always was an option, and it hardly ever failed to raise his spirits.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
As this day's negotiations came to a close, Austria couldn't tell how he had managed to keep himself together. But he had. Despite the physical weakness that came with defeat and the ensuing loss of his military strength, he kept his back straight, his chin up and his gaze as firm as ever.
Perhaps it wasn't only the music that had helped him pull through the day, but also Prussia being … well, Prussia. That daring grin never failed to annoy him, swiping away his depressive mood. It reminded him that he was, in fact, really angry,because Bismarck had caused the war in order to bring about just this situation.
"Now, little master", Prussia said at this moment, grinning at him, "you finally have to realise I'm far more awesome than you are. I'll be the leader of the German states. You're out; I'm in."
"Oh, that one again", Austria replied, glaring back, locking purple eyes with red ones. "I only see that your chief negotiators are awesomely getting at each others' throats."
That earned him two warning glances from his chief negotiators, Graf Alajos Károlyi and Adolph Freiherr von Brenner-Felsach. Bismarck assured them with a wave of his hand that he didn't take offence. Austria supposed the Prussian premier knew how Prussia could be, quite able to annoy even the most peaceful of persons.
"Well, if your Austrians are unable to argue with us all that much, we have to do even that for you", said Prussia, returning Austria's stare.
Now it was Károlyi's turn to assure Bismarck that he didn't take offence, but Austria barely noticed the gesture. He was too busy trying to stare Prussia down.
As they glowered at each other, electric current seemed to flow between their eyes. For the first time in days, Austria truly felt alive. His old rival was as much part of his oh so familiar past as he was part of his unknown future. Oddly enough, this comforted him.
The longer they attempted to outstare each other, the more of Austria's old anger flowed back. The other persons in the room seemed to sense the tension between the two countries all too well. None of the humans dared getting between them.
None of the humans.
France apparently wasn't afraid of receiving an electric shock. "Hey, you two, will you stop that?", he said, trying not to flinch as two pairs of eyes locked with his.
Prussia was the first one to look away from his old friend; Austria followed soon after. The mental sighs of relief everyone in the room breathed were almost audible.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Austria was among the last to leave the hall in which the negotiations had taken place. He wasn't even surprised when Prussia appeared on the corridor leading to his room.
"Tell me, little master", Prussia asked with feigned innocence, "how does it feel to have your ass saved by a Prussian premier?"
"You can ask me that question if he really manages to convince King William not to invade Vienna", Austria replied coolly.
"Oh, I don't doubt he will." Prussia took some steps in his direction. "Apparently, Crown Prince Frederick also is on Bismarck's side."
"Yes, and William will certainly give in to his son's opinions, just as he did so many times before." Austria's voice was dripping with sarcasm. It was well known that Frederick didn't have much of a say in Prussian politics.
"Did you just insult my king and my crown prince in the very same sentence?", Prussia asked sweetly. Then, he gripped Austria's jabot and pulled him close. "Don't you dare doing that again", he hissed.
"What if I do?", Austria asked calmly. "Besides, it would be kind of you if you didn't try to throttle me." He was unafraid, albeit a little annoyed. It was clear to him that Prussia was playing the old game again.
Prussia didn't answer the question. Instead, he pulled Austria face to face with himself and said: "Did you really think you could beat me near Sadowa?"
No, actually not, Austria thought, but he couldn't very well say so. His emperor, Francis Joseph I, had hoped for Ludwig von Benedek to bring about a miracle as commander in chief, but Austria, having centuries of war experience, had always been sceptical.
"I'll take that for a no", Prussia said smugly, and Austria cursed his intelligence. Never slackening his grip, Prussia used the index finger of his left hand to brush over Austria's lower lip. "Let's see if you can beat me this time", he whispered.
Austria frowned. He had known it all along, but still… "Don't you think this is neither the time nor—"
He never got to say "place". Prussia simply, but effectively cut him off by bringing down his lips on Austria's. Austria rolled his eyes, because he really thought Prussia's timing wasn't appropriate. It wasn't that he didn't like being kissed by his old rival; not that he'd ever have admitted it to Prussia. Yet, having lost a war, waiting for the bosses of that same rival to decide whether they should treat Austria leniently or harshly, certainly wasn't his favourite moment in time. He tried to back away, but Prussia apparently took that as an invitation to push him against the wall in between the windows.
"Come on, you don't even fight!", Prussia complained. "If you don't, I win." He smirked.
"You're such a fool", Austria said. It was a matter-of-fact statement.
Prussia laughed and kissed him again. "Don't be such a priss", he whispered against Austria's lips.
"Oh, for Heaven's sake!", Austria hissed. His feelings for Prussia were more conflicting than ever. Will there ever be more moments like this?, he wondered. What if there aren't? Then, he kissed back, catching Prussia by surprise. At some point, their lips parted and their kissing grew considerably more heated.
We've never gone this far, Austria thought. On the one hand, he really liked being able to kiss back under the pretence of trying to "beat" each other, as Prussia had put it. On the other hand, he couldn't ignore the voice of warning in his head telling him that this was all wrong, that he still needed to recover from the war he had lost before he could take it up with Prussia again.
We have to stop this, he thought frantically. How can I stop this?
Then, he knew. He let his body go limp.
Prussia backed away and stared at him in confusion. "What is it?", he asked. "What's the matter with you?"
"What do you think?", Austria replied. "You've won already. Do you really believe I still have the power to win against you right now? I've spent all my strength on the battlefield not even three weeks ago. I need time to recover." That'll possibly take years, Austria pondered, thinking of the desolate state his military was in, but he took care not to voice it.
A number of conflicting emotions showed on Prussia's face. Austria read confusion and annoyance, but also genuine concern. At last, Prussia said: "You … you know, I hope Bismarck and Prince Frederick are able to convince William. I want you to leave the German states to me and I promise you I'll take good care of… Well, I don't know his name as a country yet. Ludwig, anyway. But I don't want to crush you. Not any more, that is."
Austria noticed the slight blush on Prussia's face before his long-time rival hurried away. He sat down on the window bench next to where Prussia had pinned him against the wall. Now, what do I make of that?, he wondered as he leaned his head against the backrest.
He almost jumped as he heard someone clear his throat. His gaze darted to the corridor — and there he stood. Otto von Bismarck, the one who had provoked the Austro-Prussian War in the first place.
"Austria", Bismarck began. "Or do you prefer going by the name of 'Prince Edelstein'?" His voice was squeaky for a man of his size and stature, which never ceased to surprise Austria.
"I'm not a prince, actually", Austria said. "You know who I am, so please feel free to call me by my proper name."
"Well, then, Kaiserthum Österreich", Bismarck started anew, "it wasn't my intention to eavesdrop on Prussia and you, but I heard part of your conversation."
Austria couldn't find it in his heart to ask Bismarck which part he had heard or, more importantly, if he had noticed what had been going on before the conversation. If he had, Bismarck would keep quiet about it anyway, because it certainly wasn't in the interest of Prussian politics to do otherwise.
"Prussia alone is able to dominate the other German states, but if you remain a factor in German affairs, you will always rival him." Bismarck cleared his throat again. "You were too strong, not too weak. That is the reason why it is necessary for you to stop interfering in German politics from now on."
Austria looked at him in surprise. The information Bismarck had given him wasn't exactly new, but he'd never have expected to hear it out of his own mouth. "Why are you telling me this?", Austria wondered.
"Apparently, the impact of wars and alliances on individuals like you, who live for centuries, is different from their impact on human beings like me", Bismarck remarked. "I only wanted you to know that I don't — how did Prussia put it? — I don't want to crush you either."
Having said this, he walked away.
Prussians, Austria thought. Weird people. But he smiled.
—
Notes:
Sorry, lots of history and historical allusions in this … I'm trying to keep the notes as short as possible.
About the Habsburg family being Holy Roman Emperors for about 350 years: The first Habsburg emperor was Frederick III (1415-1493, Duke of Austria since 1424, King of the Romans since 1440 and Holy Roman Emperor since 1452), the last one was Francis II (1768-1835, Holy Roman Emperor 1792-1806, Emperor of Austria 1804-1835). The only non-Habsburg emperor between 1452 and 1806 was Charles VII (1697-1745, Prince-elector of Bavaria since 1726, Holy Roman Emperor since 1742).
A.E.I.O.U. was the motto of Frederick III; its meaning is unclear. Shortly before his death, Frederick claimed it to be "Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan" ("All the world is subject to Austria"), but other interpretations have been suggested as well. Amongst these also is "Austria erit in orbe ultima" (literally: "Austria will be the last in the world"; probably better translated as "Austria will exist until the end of time").
The Austrian Empire (Kaiserthum Österreich), which was founded by Francis II (Francis I of Austria) in 1804, consisted of several crown lands, among them the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Margraviate of Moravia in (basically) today's Czech Republic. It was succeeded by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867. The Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires were the second largest countries in Europe respectively; only the Russian Empire was larger.
The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806. After the Congress of Vienna (1814/15), the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund, 1815-1866) was founded as an association of 39 German states. It dissolved as a result of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and was succeeded by the North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund), excluding Austria.
In the Austro-Prussian War, troops of the German Confederation, led by Austria, fought against a Prussian alliance (including Italy). The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa), which took place on 3 July 1866, was decisive; Austrian and Saxonian troops, led by Ludwig August Ritter von Benedek (1804-1881), lost against Prussia.
The preliminary peace treaty between Prussia and Austria was negotiated in the castle of Nikolsburg (today's Mikulov in the Czech Republic) from 22 July on; it was signed on 26 July 1866. The chief negotiators for Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830-1916, Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary since 1848) were Graf Alajos Károlyi von Nagykároly (1825-1889) and Adolph Maria Freiherr von Brenner-Felsach (1814-1883). Prussian premier (Ministerpräsident) Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1815-1898, Graf since 1865, Fürst since 1871, Herzog zu Lauenburg since 1890) led the negotiations for King William I of Prussia (1797-1888, regent of Prussia since 1858, King of Prussia since 1861, German Emperor since 1871). Bismarck as well as William's son, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (1831-1888, German Emperor in 1888 as Frederick III), managed to convince William I not to invade Vienna and to treat Austria leniently. The results of Nikolsburg were basically confirmed by the Peace of Prague (23 August 1866).
French Emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873, emperor 1852-1870) had hoped to gain territory on the left bank of the Rhine for acting as intermediary. The formerly good diplomatic relations between France and Prussia cooled down when this wasn't the case. Napoleon demanded "revenge for Sadowa" (revanche pour Sadova), which finally resulted in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 (provoked by Bismarck, just like the Austro-Prussian War). As a consequence, the German Empire (Deutsches Reich), also excluding Austria-Hungary, was founded on 18 January 1871 in Versailles, precisely 170 years after the foundation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701.