Gilbert, the eldest son of the House of Beilschidmt watched his youngest brother, Ludwig frowned for the upmost times. There was something troubling Ludwig recently. He invited his brother to go hunting with him, which was one of Ludwig's favorite sport. Yet after having caught two rabbits and a quarry, there was no sign of his brother's mood lifting.
As they rode back home, Gilbert asked, "Stop pulling the face. You have to tell your awesome brother what ails you?"
"Father wants me to find a bride. I am of marrying age, after all," answered Ludwig.
After Ludwig twentieth birthday, their parents urged Ludwig to find a fine bride and introduced him to many of the ladies of good family through balls and social-gatherings. It was definitely tiring and overwhelming for him who had few lady friends, preferring to spend his time in his study room and attending meetings with father.
"That is quite right. Who will you marry?" asked Gilbert, knowing his brother must have chosen a bride.
"Mother wants me to wed Lady Christine of Wolfenbutel,'' said Ludwig. Gilbert nodded in approval. Indeed, Lady Christine would be a good match for his brother. "But I have already promised to marry someone else."
Gilbert pulled his horse to a stop at his brother's admission. The horse whine and Gilbert promptly pat it to sooth it. "Why did you not tell me before? Who is lucky girl?" asked Gilbert with a wide grin.
"It was a promise I made when I was eight."
"When you were eight?" exclaimed Gilbert. He wanted to tell his brother no one was going to remember that kind of promise, especially when you were merely kids. It's just childish, innocent play-date. But a good German is a man of his word. So, he said, "Do you remember who she is?"
"A little. I remembered she is from the House of Vargas but I didn't know her name."
"Hold on. You don't remember your lady's name and she is from the House of Vargas," said Gilbert slowly, repeating what his brother had told him.
"Yes."
Gilbert shook his head and said, "This is not going to work. Father hates the Vargas, they betrayed us, remember. God forbids you to ever make such promise. And the girl you promised to marry could be engaged to someone else or married or even forgotten all about you?"
"I don't believe that would be the case. We exchanged gifts and sworn to marry each other."
Gilbert was more humored than surprised by his brother's reasoning. The House of Vargas used to be allies of the House of Beilshimdt. However, their partnership turned sour when there is increasing disagreement between the two on business shares and strategies that it began to threaten the survival of the business. Eventually, the partnership fall out and each House blames the other for the losses. He was not convinced of Ludwig's reasons and story. Yet, Ludwig could be very stubborn at times. "What are you going to do then?"
"One is to forget about the promise and marry Christine. Two is to ask for the hand in marriage of the daughter of Vargas. I am in favour of the later one."
"What are you waiting for then, my silly brother?" teased Gilbert and he slapped the back of Ludwig's horse, which began to pick up speed. "Hurry up and don't keep the lady waiting."
-/-
"Outrage! Those barbaric Germans! How dare they mock the House of Vargas. I will not yield to their request. I will not," Luciano Vargas, son of late Romulus was livid as he cursed. He received a letter from the Beilschimdt, which requested the hand in marriage of Vargas's daughter, wishing to bridge the relations between the two families.
Lady Vargas, who was shaken by the news, spoke sorrowfully, "Oh dear lord. Save my poor child. What should we do? How can one refuse their good intentions?"
"Beilschimdt has the gall to requests this barbaric union. I will show him the consequence of belittling the House of Vargas."
"Oh my dearest husband, please don't send my precious daughter away to marry the Germans. I cannot bear the thought of her leaving my side."
"Hush, my dear. We will negotiate with Beilschmidt," said Luciano, trying to comfort his wife. "There must be some ways."
He could simply refuse Beilschimdt's proposal and explain his daughters were already engaged to other suitors and his youngest daughter was too young to even marry. And if marriage was the way to keep peace, he could ask the hand-in marriage of one of Beilschimdt's daughter for his son. But the thought of his heir marrying a German lady was awful.
An idea stroke Lady Vargas's mind, "Yes, of course, there is." Her eyes shone with resolution as she looked at her husband, "My dearest husband, I beg you to forgive my selfishness. Let one of your mistress's daughter marry the German instead, please."
"How could you suggest such a thing? No, Beilschimdt's youngest son asks for the hand in marriage of the daughter of House of Vargas, you can't trick him or fool him," said Luciano.
"Yes, you can. He did ask for the daughter of House of Vargas but there was no mention of a name, only a daughter fathered by you," said Lady Vargas. "Those bastards are of your blood and flesh, aren't they?"
"You watch your mouth. I may have not been a good father but I love and take care of all of them."
Luciano had many mistresses and a handful of love-children. He was a successful businessman and has the ability to provide for all his children with basic needs and education. At the age of seven, his illegitimate daughters were sent to a convent while his sons worked as apprentice for painters, carpenters or engineers. He did not bring any of the love-children home with the exception of two children, a son and a daughter bore by a peasant from Naples who died soon after the birth of the daughter. Luciano could not bear to send them to an orphanage and took them back to live and be taken care by the Greek slaves. Lady Vargas was livid and forbid the siblings to partake in any of the major events hosted by the House of Vargas or play with their legitimate half-siblings.
"Forgive me, my lord," said Lady Vargas immediately, knowing her husband temper.
Luciano waved it off, "So I should grant Beilschimdt's request?"
"I plead you, my lord, this is the best solution."
Lady Vargas was nervous when Luciano remained silent for a long while. She relaxed only when her husband finally spoke, "Who do you think is the most suitable? Certainly not Agnese, she is only four."
"No, of course not. Perhaps Florenza would agree?"
"No, she won't. Her mother would never forgive me."
"Oh, alright, what about the one you brought home with her brother?" asked Lady Vargas, remembering the children who came to the household after their mother's death.
"Oh yes, my sweet Chiara."
"If I'm not mistaken, she is eighteen this year?"
"Yes and she will be taking her vows this year."
"Dear me, then we must act quickly to inform the headmistress about this. After all, Chiara is the most suitable daughter to marry Beilschimdt."
"Are you sure?"
Now that Lady Vargas found someone else to replace her daughter, she would not let her plans be ruined. "My dear, this marriage will strengthen the ties between the Vargas and Beilschimdt. Your daughter will be provided with a much better life compared to the simple life of a nun. Her late mother would thank you for finding a good match for her. Also, you'll never have to worry about your business with Beilschimdt after this union."
-/-
Chiara found it peculiar when the headmistress told her to pack her things to return home. Her closest sister only told her Master Vargas had other plans for her life. She was rushed home and met with a nasty surprise, in which the plans include marrying a man she never met in a far-away land. Upon arriving home, she was given her own room and servants bought her pretty dresses and expensive accessories.
It must be the foremost time Lady Vargas spoke to her graciously. However, her words were still nothing sweet but venomous. Her step-mother told her that it was an honour for her to wed the youngest son of House of Beilschimdt and it would resolve the families' feud. The dresses were meant to prepare her to be presentable as a member of the House of Vargas and a tutor would be sent to teach her about demeanor. Lady Vargas went even further, saying she had faith in her.
It was unnerving to hear Lady Vargas recognizing her as a Vargas and praising her. Chiara only knew she would take her vows at the age of eighteen and live a religious life. She never dreamt she would ever marry, not to say into a German family, far away from Florence. She heard nothing good of the Germans except they were mostly vicious barbarians, some defying the Catholic laws and lived in evil forests.
She had no idea she was to replace her half-sister's place until an accidental meeting with her half-brother, Feliciano in the garden of the House of Vargas. Feliciano had not recognize her, nor did she. He asked the reason for her presence in the House of Vargas and if she was perhaps one of the mistress of her father. Repulsed, she straightened the creases on her pretty dress and prepared to leave as she told this insolent young man off. Realising his mistake, Feliciano asked for forgiveness of his impertinence and began to pursue her, talking sweetly to her. Their meeting ended abruptly when her aunt stepped in to taunt Feliciano for his embarrassingly mistake and mocked Chiara's misfortune, telling her no jewels or riches could mask her lowly birth.
Stunned, she ran to her father and cried to him. She did not want to marry anyone. She would rather take her vows, live a simple religious life. However, her father was indifferent and listened to the words of his wife, who was the daughter of a great Councilor. Her father only told her the marriage was for her own good and it would provide a better life for her.
What better life can there be if she was to leave Florence, to leave her devout friends and her precious brother? What about her safety? What if the Germans found out that she was an illegitimate child with no rights to the Vargas inheritance and sent her back or killed her?
There was only one person she could trust. She ran to her brother, whom she missed dearly. Lovino was enraged and decided to help her run away from home. Yet, they had no friends nor money. Her step-mother had ordered a servant to stay by her side throughout the day and placed guards outside her quarter and hid all sharp items away from her, lest she do anything reckless.
Days before the wedding, the Beilschimdts sent three men to escort the bride to Germany. They were Vash, a Swiss guard, Leopold, cousin of Beilschimdt from Hesse and Gilbert, older brother of her betrothed. The Germans were stiff in their postures and spoke with a foreign tongue that sounded threatening and wicked.
There was no carriages provided for the long journey, instead Chiara was to travel on a horse in which she had no experience in. Her dowries were nothing grand nor excessive. Lovino offered to travel with them to the border, in which horses would be exchanged for them to travel further to Germany. Lovino helped her up the horse and he held onto the lead rope of the birdles. Alas, her father bade her farewell and prayed for her to be strong.
Chiara dreaded the time when Lovino would leave her alone on her journey to wed the foreign man. Her brother was the only person she trusted, knew her secrets and missed the most when she was in the convent. She worried what her step-mother would plan to do to him after she was married.
They stopped for a rest after a few hours of traveling in which they learnt the Swiss guard, who helped to secure the horses spoke their tongue.
"You speak our tongue," said Lovino.
"Clever, are you? I am here as an interpreter," said Vash.
"You are not from Florence."
"No, I am from Ticino."
"How far more will we travel?"
"At this pace, it will take another two hours to reach the border," said Vash.
Gilbert called Vash over to help him with the ration.
"Aren't you tired, brother?" asked Chiara. The horse ride was not entirely uncomfortable but her rear was numb from sitting for too long.
"Do not worry about me, sister," said Lovino.
A snicker erupted from Gilbert and Chiara turned to her brother. "What do you think they are saying?"
"God knows," said Lovino. Upon seeing the uneasiness in his sister's eyes, he said softly, "Fret not, I am here."
"But you will leave me at the border and I will be alone."
"My dear sister, you can write to me often. And if you were feeling lonesome, there is always the bible and prayers to keep you company."
As they prepare to continue their journey, a gang of men who had been travelling behind them blocked their path and shouting in a gruff voice. "Hand over your money and leave your horses or somebody is going to get hurt real bad!"
There were some exchange of words between Vash and Gilbert before the later said, "Lo and behold. I must say, masters, you must be fortunate today. Why? You ask. Because you will die in my awesome hands."
There was an uproar and the Germans began to fight off the gang. The mob was clumsy in fighting and upon seeing a handful of their mates being wounded heavily, the rest ran away screaming for mercy.
Gilbert jeered at the cowards and shouted, "Hey! Vargas! Danger's out. Once again, the awesome I have saved the day!"
"Don't get cocky, Gilbert," said Leopold, disgusted at the red stains on his own sleeves. "Anyway, they won't understand what you are saying."
Vash shouted out to them in Italian but no one came.
In the midst of the fight, Lovino had led his sister away from the scene. They did not manage to get away for long and were caught by the Germans, who rode on the horses.
"Hurry!"
"But bro-"
"Quick or they will find us!"
"Brother! They are near!"
Indeed, Gilbert caught up with them and descended from his horse back. "Young master and missy Vargas, I have to admit that was rather rash to run but hey you made great progress. Come now, we have to make haste to home."
The Vargas had no idea what he was saying and Vash quickly translated.
"We are not going with you," said Lovino.
Vash translated and Gilbert looked at them in bewilderment and began speaking in rapid German, which sounded like someone croaked and very evil to Chiara. She was frustrated with the situation, tired and shaken by the journey, language barrier and the rough sound of the German tongue. She decided to try her luck and spoke in Latin to the Germans, "I am not going with you!"
Gilbert looked at her for a second, then he turned to Vash who frowned and began to translate, "She said she was not coming with us."
"Ah yes, I know what she is saying," said Gilbert in Latin and his smirked widened at the two Vargas's much relaxed composure. "As the heir of the Beilschimdt, I do apologize for the mishap that happened but do not fear, young missy. We will travel swiftly and in safer roads in the German woods."
"You misunderstand my sister, Mister Beilschimdt, my sister is not going with you to Germany." Now that they have a common tongue, he was free to speak what he wanted to the barbarians.
"Well, your father told me your sister was a novitiate, preparing to take her vows and this marriage was quite a shock to her."
"You are right."
"Miss Vargas, if it makes you feel better, I will tell you, my wife, Ilsa, once locked herself in a confessional and swore to kill me at the altar."
"I say to you, mister, if I had the chance, I would have taken my vows and be married to Christ."
"That won't do. I promise Ludwig to unite him with his sweetheart. He is delighted to hear that you were going to keep your promise."
Lovino looked perplex and turned to look at his sister. "What is he saying, Chiara? Who is this man he speaks?"
"I have no idea, brother. I don't even know this Ludwig!" said Chiara.
"Aye, poor Ludwig, his princess has forgotten him. I warned him this may happen," lamented Gilbert.
Leopold shrugged his shoulder and said, "Well, that's easy to rectify. All we have to do is escort Ludwig's beloved back to his arms and they will live happily ever after."
Vash rolled his eyes and wondered why he was in the company of this two Germans.
"Right on! Come, dearest sister," said Gilbert leading her horse to her side. "We must hurry and let you be united with your prince charming."
"Mister, there must be a misunderstanding here."
"Stay where you are, Beilschimdt," said Lovino, hiding Chiara behind his back. "My sister told you she does not know your brother. She had spent her entire life in Florence. You got the wrong person."
"We are certain you are Luciano Vargas's daughter," said Leopold.
"Yes, I am. But there-" Chiara meant to explain her father had many daughters but was disrupted by Gilbert's outburst.
"I got it! You are just nervous to meet your prince charming," said Gilbert with a laughter. "Don't worry. Ludwig is nervous too and I dare say, heart-sick. And when you see my little brother, you will remember his wonderfulness."
Chiara stared at the German who was babbling. She had spent her life in the convent, only to come home occasionally to see her father and brother. She was forbidden to meet nor play with other boys when she was young. Certainly, she had not met any Germans. She came to the conclusion that Gilbert must have hit his head at some point of the day or he was just being Non compos mentis.
Leopold said, "Let's go. We are already delayed and Master Beilschimdt hates it when people are not punctual."
When the Vargas refused to cooperate, Vash stepped in to distract Lovino while Leopold carried a struggling angry bride up the horse. Chiara quickly grabbed onto the saddle and ropes to steady herself, "Ouch! Holy Mary! You can't force me to go with you if you got the wrong person."
"You are in denial," sang Gilbert and with a rope in his hand, he said, "I don't want to hurt you, sister but if you insist on running away, we will do this the hard way."
"You wouldn't dare," said Chiara defiantly.
"I am sure you wouldn't want to know how the awesome I convince my beloved Ilsa to step out of the confessional."
"Barbaric," said Chiara and her eyes fell to her brother who was being restrained by the Swiss interpreter. "Release my brother!"
"Na-ah," said Gilbert. "Your brother has caused much trouble since he followed us on this trip. He shall no longer travel with us and go home right away to tell your father about your safe journey."
"That's breaking the agreement," argued Chiara.
"Oh ho, little miss, you speaks for yourself. Master Vargas gives his blessings to your marriage to my brother."
Chiara bit her lips. Her father had agreed Beilschimdt her hand in marriage and her father's words were law. She wondered where her brother and her would go if they outrun the Germans. Lovino told her the dangerous world outside the city, including disease, famine and war. She had seen the dying and sick during her visiting to hospitals and slums. She had watched in horror of criminals hanged in public. They would not have survived on their own without their father's care. And if they were to return home, she was sure to meet the wrath of her father.
"Well?" said Gilbert.
"Don't you dare hurt my sister, sausage-eating bastard," shouted Lovino. "Unhand me now. I am going to the House of Beilschimdt with Chiara."
"Really?"
"Yes, as if I would let her travel alone with you," snorted Lovino. "Is this how the Beilschimdt's treat their in-laws?"
"Oh no, we wouldn't dare unless one try to help the bride run away."
"Do you want me to ask Vash to translate what I said into the barbaric tongue of yours?"
Gilbert shrugged his shoulder and Vash got the cue to unhand Lovino. Stretching his numb arms, Lovino walked to his sister and said in their native tongue, "Don't fret, sister. I will not leave you with these people."
"But it will take days to reach there and there is no other horses."
"Hush, I will manage."
They set camp shortly after crossing the border. Chiara wanted to wash herself at a nearby river.
"I will go with you," said Lovino.
"No, you stay. The stream is not far from here," said Gilbert. "Vash, escort our dearest bride."
Lovino scowled at Gilbert while Vash lit a candle lamp and led Chiara to the stream.
Vash gave her privacy to clean herself while keeping watch. At the stream, she found a suitable spot and swiftly wiped herself clean with a small cloth she had. When she was done, she walked back to find Vash, who was relatively quiet and soft in his footsteps. She would have thought he left if not for the light from the lamp he was holding. Her heart calmed when she saw Lovino waving to her to sit beside him.
Lovino passed her a bowl of soup with potatoes and carrots. Then, Gilbert asked her to be the one to speak the prayer before meal. After the prayer, Leopold shared his apple cider with them while Vash did most of the tidying.
The Germans talked about their family and asked the Vargas to talk about themselves. The Vargas learnt Gilbert was the eldest son, followed by two sisters and two brothers in which Ludwig was the youngest. Vash was actually indirectly related to the Beilschimdt as his sister was married to the brother of the Gilbert's wife. Leopold helped in his uncle's business and was much older and experienced than any of his cousins. Lovino told them he was an apprentice for an architect and when asked why he did not study law or business which was expected of the sons of well to do families, Lovino explained simply he was not interested in his father's business and was not the heir of the House of Vargas anyway. Later, Gilbert encouraged Chiara to ask him anything about Ludwig and could not fathom the fact she was so disinterested about her supposed true love.