A.N. I've had this idea for a while and just rediscovered the file on my flashdrive, so I posted what I had. I do have a plan for this, but based on my other stories I wouldn't count on it being done in a timely manner. At all. Hope some of you enjoy it, and if it isn't already obvious, this is an AU. I don't own anything here.
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Aleksandar von Hohenberg, Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary; etc.; silently walked the baroque halls of Schönbrunn Palace in deep thought, having just managed to slip away from his royal duties. Stopping in front of one of the countless windows, Alek leaned against the gilded panes and sighed. Reaching into his pocket he took out a crumbled, official looking letter.
Though he tried to steady himself, Alek's hands still shook in something he believed to be anger as he unfolded the worn letter he had taken to carrying around with him, the content loosing none of its shock as the days went by. The faded crest at the bottom, so similar to Austria's own mechanical version, seemed to mock him with its' Darwinist fabrication as he stared at what was most certainly his punishment.
A two-headed eagle, the crest of the royal family of Darwinist Russia.
Alek would understand, and maybe even consent to the terms the letter outlined, were his country not in the middle of a war. As it were he had no time for marriage and niceties. Though, he thought bitterly, that was probably why they were offering the proposal now, during what some were now calling the Great War. Several members of his court agreed, though never in his presence, that the Emperor needed an heir in case he went the way of his parents. Horrid gossip mongers the lot of them.
Stuffing the cursed letter back in his pocket, Alek sighed and ran his hands through his russet hair. It was getting long, almost reaching past his jaw in its want of cutting, but he ignored it. He merely brushed it back in slight irritation and, absently, wondered what sort of woman his wife to be was like. The Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanov her name was. He knew she was roughly the same age as him, give or take a few months, and that she was the middle child among five, but other than that his knowledge of her was sorely lacking.
But that was not what bothered him. Marriages of this sort were common place in royal families; though he would rather he knew his fiancée a little more before they eloped. No, it was the not so subtle power grab the Russians were trying for with the marriage. Their empire was in a steady decline, and in what was surely a last ditch effort, the Romanov family practically forced one of their daughters onto him. The union did have some benefits, but Alek was too concerned with future plans of fending off land grabs and potential usurpers of power to acknowledge them.
"Why now?" He mumbled to himself. Shaking his head, Alek threw his shoulders back in a practiced pose and continued down the hall, aware that someone was probably searching for him by now. He had skipped out on meeting earlier involving representatives from the British Darwinist society, a doomed meeting from the start if there was any, but he figured his advisors could handle that.
He was making his way to the Great Parterre gardens, a good place to relax and a rather ingenious hiding spot when it needed to be, when a blond headed boy no older than him suddenly rounded the corner at full tilt. Startled, it took the young Emperor a moment to understand what was happening, and another to leap out of the way.
The boy shouted something Alek vaguely recognized as English as he ran past, surprising him. Was this one of the Darwinist society members?
Alek twisted around and, after a moment's hesitation, sprinted after the boy. No guards seemed to be giving chase, and indeed the young man didn't seem guilty or afraid. Besides, this seemed as good a distraction as any and he was curious as to why a foreign scientist was running around his Palace.
"What are you doing?" Alek questioned as he caught up the boy. The young man merely glanced at him in confusion and shook his head as they raced around a corner, the other boy's boots squealing against the polished floor. Oh right, Alek chided himself. He asked again in sadly accented English.
"I'm trying to catch that wee beastie over there." The boy answered, pointing ahead of them.
"What?"Alek panted, only half understanding. He should have never stopped his English studies. The boy pointed again and said something that sounded like loris. That was when the Emperor noticed the clearly fabricated thing they were chasing through the halls. It looked a little like a ferret, but it was ultimately too short and bigger than one would expect a ferret to be.
The next set of rooms the thing led them through thankfully had guards stationed in them; a blessing as far as Alek was concerned as they ran. Allowing himself to fall behind some, Alek widely gestured towards the creature.
"Guards!" He shouted. "Grab that fabrication!"
To say that the guards were surprised to see their Emperor running through the halls like a commoner's child was an understatement. But they quickly got over the fact and leapt into action, quite literally as one man dove for the loris creature. To Alek's and the other boy's immense relief, the guard managed to get a hold of the thing's tail.
The Darwinist boy quickly rushed over to the captured thing and scooped it up, mumbling to it. It was surprisingly docile after all of that wild running as it moved to sit on the boy's shoulder, the very picture of a tame creature.
Alek, still out of breath from his mad dash after the godless thing, waved the remaining guards away. They left without complaint, though they eyed the foreign boy and his creature with suspicion.
"Thanks." The boy called as he walked over to Alek. The young Emperor straightened and threw his shoulders back, suddenly reminded of the fact that he was the ruler of a Clanker empire who had just given chase to a Darwinist creature without the intent to kill it. He could only pray Volger would not find out.
"Listen, sorry 'bout all that. I have no idea what happened. Bovril is usually the sweetest little beastie. I guess this fancy place just got him all riled up." The boy shyly offered his hand and smiled. "My name's Dylan by the way."
"You are welcome." Alek managed after a moment and quickly shook the boy's offered hand, wary of the thing perched on Dylan's shoulder. "You may call me-"
"Your Majesty!"
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Emperor Aleksandar von Hohenberg, winced. He was stupid to believe the guards would stay silent about this. Before him Count Volger strode across the room with an expression somewhere between anger and disapproval. Refusing to let the older man attempt to boss him around, a nasty habit Alek had never managed to break the wildcount of, he composed his features and tilted his head back to regard the noble.
"Yes?" He answered, letting a hint of annoyance creep into his voice. It may have been unbecoming of him to race around the palace halls with a Darwinist by his side, chasing a godless fabricated creature of all things, but Alek was the Emperor and therefore had legitimate reason to do what he wanted.
"What were you doing?" Count Volger hissed, his tone insinuating that he knew exactly what Alek had been doing. He glared at Alek and an uncomfortable looking Dylan standing off to the side, clutching his loris. "First you did not show up at the meeting and now I hear you have been running around the Palace like a child. Must I remind you that we are in the middle of a war? And that you are soon to be wed? You have no time to be traipsing after some beast!"
"Watch your tone, Count." Alek admonished, drawing himself up even farther. Like he needed to be reminded about any of those things. They were the whole reason he had slipped away in the first place. "I was merely helping Dylan here in the recapture of his beast."
"The guards-"
"There were no guards in the immediate area." Alek cut over the wildcount. The older man pursed his lips, though remained silent. "Now, the representatives from the British society are still here, yes?"
"That was only the first meeting among many." Count Volger rigidly allowed, looking far from pleased.
Alek nodded. "Tell the members that I had urgent matters to attend to earlier and that I apologize greatly for not being there in person. Let them know that I will be present tomorrow. Do you understand?"
The Count's eyes flashed in anger as he forced a bow, murmuring a clipped, "Yes, Your Majesty." He then spun on his heel with all the grace of a seasoned fencer and stalked from the room. Alek was glad he no longer took lessons from the man.
"Why me?" He muttered under his breath, abruptly feeling too young to be ruling an empire. He sighed and ran his hands through his too long hair, weary. Shaking his head, he shot an apologetic glance to Dylan. "Please forgive me for that."
"Oh um... it's alright." The blond haired boy looked shocked. Frowning, Alek wondered how much German the other boy knew when Dylan suddenly blurted: "You're the barking Emperor?"
Well, that answered that question.
"Yes." Alek replied, absently trying to smooth the wrinkles from his clothes. "Emperor Aleksandar Ferdinand I of Austria-Hungary at your service. But you may call me Alek."
"Why didn't you...? Blimey! I've been running around with the barking Emperor for spider's sake!" Dylan's voice seemed to crack and the end of his statement. The creature-loris-thing suddenly giggled, causing Alek to start and back away.
"Mr. Sharp." It said and giggled some more. Alek only just restrained himself from swearing.
"What is that godless thing? It spoke!"
"I already told you." Dylan looked annoyed as he rubbed the creature under its neck. Alek had to remind himself that he was an Emperor and that Emperors do not run away as the thing began to purr. "This little guy's called a loris. Dr. Barlow, the lady boffin I work for, fabricated him. And what's so wrong with him talking? Parrots talk."
"Yes. But they are meant to talk."
"Yeah, well so is Bovril." At the mention of its name, the little creature let out a noise like a sigh and bobbed its head. Dylan grinned. "Aren't you little beastie?"
Alek was regretting giving chase to the creature. He should have known no good would come from an insane Darwinist. He was at least thankful he skipped the first meeting. If this is what he would have had to go through, he surely would have snapped.
"Well then." He had to salvage this situation somehow. He couldn't let Dylan think him some little boy afraid of an unnatural talking beast, even if the thing defied the laws of nature. "I expect you to keep your loris locked up in the future. I would hate for the guards to have to deal with a rodent problem."
"Now wait just a minute Alek! You have no right-"
"I have every right." Alek interrupted. Dylan angrily shut his mouth and glared at the young Emperor. "And it is Your Majesty or Emperor Aleksandar. If you wish to remain here unmolested then you will lock up that beast of yours."
"Dr. Barlow won't like that. You're supposed to be promoting good will." There was a spark in Dylan's eyes as he said that, an inaudible challenge to go against his silly scientist lady.
"Does she hold the power to expel you from Schönbrunn Palace?"
Without another word, Alek turned and headed in the direction of his rooms, intent on having a bath drawn up. He couldn't help but hear the other boy's obscene exclamation of some form and the ungodly creature's utterance in an almost perfect imitation of his own voice: "I have every right."
Alek sighed and sunk deeper into the steaming water, rubbing at his face. He had hoped to make something of a friend out of Dylan Sharp. The other boy seemed an interesting character at first, despite his Darwinist background, and a part of Alek was ashamed at his actions. The other part was pleased at the look on Dylan's face when he had told him he had every right.
He ran a hand through his soapy hair, trying to relax. He didn't need this right now. What was one boy in the face of a war anyways? An expensive, resource-consuming, and all out horrid war. That coupled with the stress of managing civilian affairs and planning for the arrival of his fiancée, it was just too much. Sure, he could push some things off to his advisors and plead the distraction of war for others, but in the end he still had so many people depending on him.
Slipping his head beneath the calming water, Alek quickly scrubbed his long hair free of dirt and lather. Resurfacing with a gasp, he allowed himself to lie back for a moment, the warm water making him pleasantly drowsy. That however, didn't stop the guilt from working its way through the steam.
Emperor Aleksandar stretched and rolled his aching shoulders, glad to be free from the tedious meeting with the Darwinists. Conditions to be met, papers to be signed, and so much talking it was a miracle he had not gone mute. Though as it was, his throat did hurt. But above all else he was pleased to find that the loris-thing was nowhere to be seen during the meeting. Absently waving off a few officials and guards that tried to accompany him, Alek set off down one of the countless grand halls.
Though, he thought to himself, one of the scientists, the lady Dylan had claimed to be his boss, Dr. Nora Barlow, did stare at him for the majority of the conference. Dylan himself had just stared at the table the whole time, only moving to hand papers to the lady scientist when needed. Alek had felt a bit guilty after seeing that, but then he would remember what the creature had said and shiver.
Realizing that he had some time to spare before having to meet with a few of his generals, Alek set off towards the Great Parterre in hopes of getting a chance to relax in the gardens without incident. Though, he could not really call it relaxing. The crumbled letter he carried with him was burning a hole in his pocket, reminding him that the Grand Duchess was soon to arrive.
At least he knew a little more about Maria Nikolaevna today. One of his advisors had informed him over breakfast about the young lady's personality and such. She was a kind-hearted girl, well educated with a mellow personality, and had a certain thing for soldiers. That was easy enough. He was Supreme Commander of the entire Austro-Hungarian army, a soldier among soldiers.
He had also heard somewhere that arranged marriages gave the heart time to grow fonder over the years. Really he just hoped they could get along well enough and maybe one day produce an heir.
Deep in thought, Alek didn't realize he was not alone in this section of the gardens until he all but ran into Dylan. The blond haired boy was bent over a sketchbook, pencil busy recreating the statue of Apollo before him. Marveling at the odds of running into each other, Alek hesitantly cleared his throat, letter forgotten.
Dylan started, pencil jittering across the page, leaving an ugly mark through the top half of his work. Alek refused to feel responsible for that as the other boy shot him a look. He already felt bad enough.
"What do you want? Your Majesty." The title was clearly tacked on as an afterthought and dripping with irony. Alek forced his annoyance down. Just because the other boy was being impolite, that did not mean he had to lower himself to his level.
"Excuse me. I didn't realize this area was occupied."
"Yeah well, guess you're just a bit daft." Dylan muttered. He was busy correcting the line that intersected his sketch of the Greek god. Alek frowned slightly, wondering what in Austria's name daft meant, but then decided it was better that he didn't know if he wanted to get on with it.
"Listen, Mr. Sharp. I wanted to…" Why was this getting to him? He shouldn't have to apologize to a Darwinist! Tension was thick in the air and, unfortunately, his conscience told him otherwise. Dylan glanced up from his work with an almost hopeful expression on his face, blue eyes shining. Alek titled his head back and continued in the most formal tone he could manage. "I wished to apologize for my improper behavior yesterday. It was most unbecoming of me to judge you and your... loris without... getting to know either of you."
The other boy looked surprised for a moment, like he hadn't been certain Alek would really apologize, before grinning.
"Guess I should say sorry too, aye? It was my beastie that ran off through your palace." Dylan set his sketchbook aside and stood up, hand extended. Alek apparently stared at the offered appendage for a moment too long, as Dylan suddenly blushed and dropped it. "Sorry. Am I supposed to bow?"
"Oh, excuse me." Alek held his own embarrassment and offered his hand. Dylan shook it. "Pleased to officially meet you Mr. Sharp."
"You too, Emperor Aleksandar." The blond haired boy suddenly laughed and ran a hand through his short cropped hair. "How grand is this? First I go and tick off the barking Emperor of Austria and then he goes and apologizes to me. I can't wait to shove this in Jaspert's face!"
"Yes, well." Alek couldn't help but grin himself.
"So..." Dylan sat back down on the bench and grabbed his sketchbook, flipping back to the ruined god. Alek, after a moment's hesitation, sat down next to him and sneaked a glance at the sketch. His work was genuinely good, despite the mark through it.
"May I?" He motioned at the book.
"Oh, course."
Alek flipped back through the pages, impressed. Each held a different fabricated beast or diagram on it, all insanely detailed. Dylan was clearly a talented artist. He even noticed some half-finished walkers and gears among what looked to be a giant whale. The Darwinist boy grinned and pointed at the patchwork whale.
"You like it? It's called the Leviathan. It's the airship I used to serve on, one of the biggest in the world."
"You were an airman?" Alek studied the fabricated creature, honestly amazed at the smooth transition from whale to gondola. He had only ever seen one airship up close before, a smaller one that had been shot down near the northern border of Austria, though he didn't feel the need to share that with Dylan.
"Aye." The boy glanced up at the sky for a moment, most likely remembering the time he spent among the clouds, before shaking his head. "But now I work for Dr. Barlow and the Zoological Society of London."
"What is it you do there?"
"Come on, Alek. I can't be revealing my country's secrets to a Clanker Emperor." Dylan crossed his arms and nodded decisively before adding: "That and checking the growth of bacteria is as boring as clart."
Alek chuckled and handed him his sketchbook back. With a start, he realized that this was the most relaxed he's felt in a long time. Maybe even years. Brushing a few errant strands of hair from his face, the young Emperor turned to face Dylan and grinned, an idea taking hold. It was only fair he impress his new friend in return.
He was just about to voice his idea when a servant suddenly appeared around a hedge, walking briskly towards him. Frowning, Alek sighed and rose to meet the harried looking man.
"Your Majesty, the generals are urgently requesting your presence."
"Why?" Alek quickly glanced to Dylan and, catching the young man's look of concentration and remembering his decent understanding of German, switched to Hungarian. New friend or not, they were on opposite sides in the middle of a war. Though, he did hope to change that. "There is still another half-hour until the meeting begins."
The servant blinked at the language change but took the hint and replied in kind.
"There has been a rather distressing development regarding the British forces."
"Alright. I shall be there shortly." Alek waved the servant off. The man bowed and murmured a polite, "Yes Your Majesty," before retreating.
"What kind of Clanker talk was that?" Dylan blurted the second the servant was out of earshot. He then looked promptly embarrassed, ears flushing red.
"I'm sorry?"
"I mean, that wasn't German or anything..."
"Did it occur to you that I am also the King of Hungary?" Alek questioned, face stern, thought a corner of his mouth perked up in a half-smile. "And besides, I can't very well be revealing my countries secrets to a Darwinist boy. Even if they are as boring as, ah, clart."
The other boy smirked, though it was subdued through his chastisement.
"Excuse me, Dylan." Emperor Aleksandar gave a half-bow and turned to follow the servant back into the Palace. "I am afraid the duties of ruling an Empire have caught up with me."