Austria's Lariat
CHAPTER 1:
Elizabeta peered out the window; her breath fogging it up as she leaned closer. The sky was painted dark hues of gray while it spewed forth heavy droplets on the pebbled drive. The olive trees, as if almost majestically swayed upon their fragile limbs as the wind howled outside the large dwelling. The swarm of droplets against the roof created a strong rhythm which the Hungarian found a vigor need to clean the mansion for any minute, for she was expecting a Prussian dignitary to ride up to the estate in the dim noon. The day before, she was informed that she was to receive important news regarding Prussia's invasion of Austria. A region known as Silesia, which was very important to him, was being threatened, by Otto Von Bismark, leader of Prussia, and his vicious spirit for expanding his country.
Roderich was not at home, he had departed from his piano to dutifully defend his kingdom. On a typical day, he would be composing music, which he had grown accustomed to over the years. It felt anomalous for the music room to be vacant without the melodious rhythm of his piano. Elizabeta picked up a glossed violin; she was baffled on how to play, she had seen Roderich play it before, but was not trained on the fingerings, or the proper way to use the bow. He did not frequently play the violin as he did the piano, he usually played the violin with others in an orchestra. Elizabeta considered.
Perhaps if he wasn't such a withdrawn and occupied man then maybe he could teach me how to play! I've always been curious how such melodious sounds are performed.
That evening there was a thunderous knock on the door. Elizabeta glanced out the hazy window from the second floor and saw a figure at the front door. Realizing this was her guest, she rushed to finish getting dressed into the proper Austrian attire. The guest impatiently banged on the door again, this time shouting as she straightened her dress and smoothed out her hair. She skipped down the marble staircase and passed the main entry, the door was nearly ready to break when Elizabeta finally unlocked it.
"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH! What kind of housemaid are you anyway?" The Prussian officer demanded.
Baffled, she stated "I'm not a maid, I'm the wife of Sir Roderich! Can't you tell?" He clearly was not pleased at having to wait, and was surprised upon seeing the retorting female royal, rather than an obedient maid. After enough ridicule and snickering, the man finally clucked,
"All jokes asides, My name is Heinrich, I am an official from the Kingdom of Prussia. I must ask, where is the man of this house? Are you acting for Roderich? I am surprised, I would never have thought someone of your...calibre would have the ability to understand such serious business that only a male should worry about."
Elizabeta was seriously offended at this remark, and there was no hiding it. Her brows knit together in an irate manner as Heinrich looked smugly at her, and snickered with a cheesy smile. He did this with a kind of pride, which was similar to that of a child who was confident that he was going to win a contest. She regained her thoughts.
"You're absolutely right, I'll be right back with Mr. Edelstein," sneered Elizabeta.
She was filled with rage, she would not stand for such a sexist comment. She had been through enough wars and battles for Roderich that she knew she was just as capable as he was in diplomacy. In a fury, she looked around the elaborate mansion for something to use to counter the official. She noticed something in the kitchen that she had forgotten to clean. There was an iron skillet on the range. She thought to herself:
Well...it's not the ideal weapon, but this will have to do.
Upon approaching the door again, she heard more snickers from the Prussian. She extended her arm out, holding the skillet, and opened the door as quickly as possible. Heinrich, upon seeing his attacker's weapon, suddenly lost all confidence, he lost his smirk and the pupils of his eyes became smaller as the pan came closer to his face.
Elizabeta had cooked up a storm for her husband whom she expected home for dinner. Carefully fixing an apron across her waist as to not ruin her frilly dress,which Roderich would disapprove of, she decided to make Wienerschnitzel. It was the first Austrian dish she had tasted when she started to live with him.
"It's a rather simple dish to make," he once told her.
Overtime, it became her favorite and she would turn down the cooks when she felt like having it to make it herself. The sound of a horse carriage outside became audible as the butler escorted a young man from the driveway. Edelstein stormed through the custom doorway. It was a long, hard, day at the battlefront. Empress Maria Theresa had assembled soldiers however the odds of surviving were seven to one. Prussia had primacy over the newly formed German states and efficiently used their train lines to transport soldiers and weapons. While the Austrian troops were more lazy and weren't interested in fighting. The Austrian man trudged through the salon hoping after such a long day, he would be able to relax. This was unfortunately, not the case, as he spotted a man sprawled out on the canapé. His exhausted face abruptly turned to shock as he shouted, "What is this guy doing there, HAS MY WIFE BEEN CHEATING ON ME!?"