Alright, alright. Thanks for the reviews and favourites! I really like writing this story and I'm glad that I have some readers ;) This chapter is a bit short and probably not my best, but you always need stuff like that to get a story going, and trust me, the next chapters are gonna be more eventful! Please R&R! Thanks so much! - Oh, and as always: Translations at the end!
It had been about an hour since Clara had crawled into Aldo's tent to discuss the details of their little arrangement, and she already felt more comfortable with him. He reminded her of her grandfather in many ways, so it wasn't trust him. They immediately agreed on her continuing to work in her shop as if nothing had happened, and hiding some of the Basterds in her apartment. It was extremely hard for them to sneak in and out of the city every night, but when they had her shop as an in-town headquarters, things would get a lot easier. When the time came to move on, they would then discuss further details, but until then, she would act upon Aldo's commands.
"Alright, hun. Now that all the organisational parts are discussed, why don't we talk about your personal life?" he began while smoking his large, Indian pipe. Clara immediately stiffened.
"I'd rather not," she said uneasily.
"What are you hiding?"
"I just don't wanna talk about it, okay? It does not matter here." Aldo eyed her suspiciously and leant forward, closer to her.
"I don't like secrets, especially, if they're not mine. At one point or the other, it has to come out, and I'd rather you'd tell me now before it happens by accident," he offered with a dark tone in his voice. Clara knew that she was playing with fire. She didn't want to piss him off that early, but if only it was her secret to tell… If the wrong people found out, her whole family would be in danger. She sighed and looked at Aldo. Could she trust him?
"I will tell you, but only because I think you are a good-hearted man. You're fighting for the right things. There's only one thing I demand: absolute discretion. You cannot tell anybody, promise me?" He looked surprised.
"Damn it, Belle, what are you hiding that you are so cautious about? I can promise you to be discrete, but I have to tell Donny, he's second in command, and he needs to know, in case anything happens to me," he proposed. Clara's expression changed. Aldo immediately saw that she and Donny would have their problems, but so far, he wasn't sure if it was attraction or repulsion. As if on cue, Donny's head appeared at the entrance.
"Aldo, we picked up a civilian lurking around the camp, he claims he's not a Nazi, but we're not so sure," he reported. Aldo immediately got up.
"Then let's interrogate. Susie, you're coming with," he instructed and they left the tent. To Clara's surprise, Donny offered her his hand when she crawled out, but she refused to let him help her. He just grinned.
They walked into the middle again where a slender body was kneeling on the ground, his back facing them. Stiglitz turned him around and Clara gasped for air.
"Constantin! She almost screamed and ran towards the man. Falling down on her knees, she flung herself into his arms and hugged him tightly while tears were running down her cheeks. They loosened their embrace and looked at each other joyously, with genuine smiles spread across their faces.
"Aber wie kann das sein? Ich dachte, Ihr ward geflohen, Hoheit?" the man said. Stiglitz and Wicki looked at each other, surprised. Did he really just say 'her majesty'?
"Aber nein doch, Constantin, ich würde Österreich doch nie aufgeben," she answered, still crying. The man looked in awe while she helped him get up only to kneel down in front of her again, bowing his head.
"Eine echte Habsburgerin. Lasst mich Euch wieder dienen, Prinzessin Clara," he said. Clara was so moved, she could only manage a nod. Too late she remembered that some of the Basterds spoke German. Her secret was out. Panic-striken, she turned around and her eyes searched for Stiglitz. He smiled broadly whereas Wicki, standing next to him, looked shocked. Slowly, he approached her and fell down on his knees as well.
"Eure Hoheit. Meine Loyalität lag immer schon bei der Monarchie. Ich werde Euch bis zum Ende folgen, " he said.
„Okay, stop all this crap! What's going on? Someone translate, please!" Aldo took over the conversation. He was pissed because he didn't understand a word they were saying, and something big just happened. Clara turned around, a sad look in her eyes.
"My real name is Clara Sophie Francesca Habsburg. I am the eldest daughter of crown prince Franz Ferdinand and if Austria were still a monarchy, I would be queen," she simply said. They all looked shocked.
"Come again? You're a royal?" Aldo asked. Clara nodded.
"My family fled at the beginning of this war, but I promised to stay behind undercover to keep an eye on things. I have been presented to the public when I was three years old, but not since, so nobody knows how I look like. But this has to stay a secret. No Nazi can know!" she emphasised the importance of her words with strong gestures, shooting majestic looks at every Basterd.
"And who's he?" Aldo asked with a look at Constantin. Clara looked at the man tentatively.
"He was my butler, but more of a friend than a servant," she said and took Constantin's hand. They looked at each other happily. Donny let out a short sniff of disapproval.
"I can't say that I like it, but it'll sure come in handy. Everybody go along your own business! Princess, we're gonna have a serious word now. Come on!" Aldo said and they sat down once again. "Now, what is he doing around here?" Aldo asked, gesturing towards Constantin. Clara chatted away with him quickly before translating.
"He's hiding not far from here, along with a few other former servants of the Habsburgs and rebels. They have continuously moved over the past 5 years, this is the first time they're near Vienna again," she said.
"Are they fighters or just refugees?" Aldo asked.
"Both. They have a few former members of the Guard with them, but their goal is to stay hidden, not to fight," Clara said. Aldo nodded.
"Alright. Tell him to bring these men here, maybe some of 'em will be useful."
"What? You can't expect them to fight for you when they have their own people to protect!" Clara argued.
"Listen, princess, normally, we would have killed your little friend here, just in case. It's dangerous for us if we keep even one person alive who knows who we are and where we camp, but we're gonna make an exception for you. All we ask in return is some sort of 'payment'. Maybe one of them's interested – who knows?" Aldo answered almost amused.
She stared at him angrily, her eyes hard and dangerous. "I'm gonna go with him, but I can't promise to return with any men willing to change groups," she said harshly. Aldo leaned back, stretched out his legs and scratched his chin, totally at ease with the whole situation. He respected her for what she did, but her logic was something foreign to him. Women.
"Donny!" he shouted. The Bear Jew appeared in an instant. "Escort our little princess here and make sure she comes back with one or two useful warriors. And don't hurt the butler, understand?" Aldo added when he saw the look Donny was giving Constantin. He nodded and they got up to leave. They marched north and Clara and her butler were happily chatting the whole time while Donny trotted along behind them, making sure no one would hear or cross them. After about 30 minutes, they came towards a steep wall of rock with a little cave hidden at the bottom. Clara started cheering when she recognised some of the faces from her former life at the palace upon the group of about 20 people. She embraced everyone and explained what she had been doing since the Anschluss. Donny kept in the background the whole time, earning suspicious looks from the others. Clara had not mentioned the Basterds so far, she had only told them that she was part of another resistance group and that Constantin ran into them by accident. Right after they had left, Donny had instructed her and the butler not to say anything about them, just to be sure. After about half an hour, he appeared next to her and grabbed her arm. She tried to jerk it away, but his grip was like iron.
"Enough with the catching-up, time to go, hun," he lowered his voice. She instinctively wanted to slap him again; it was okay for Aldo to call her stupid nicknames, but she would not tolerate him doing the same. She was a royal, for fuck's sake – no common American should treat her that way. But then again – she did not like to think hierarchically. It was a coincidence that she was born a princess; she could have also been a common farm girl. Clara decided to direct her anger towards the Nazis and took a deep breath. She walked over to three men who were former royal guards. One of them was her personal bodyguard, Heinrich, and she was truly happy to see that he made it. When her family fled, they managed to take as many servants with them as possible, but some stayed behind, and he was one of them. She quickly explained the situation and watched their faces change. One was against it from the first moment on, but Heinrich and Erich, the other one, were willing to come with them to talk. Heinrich even spoke a little bit of English, and Clara began to play with the idea of him joining the Basterds. They said goodbye to the others and began their way back. Clara chatted a bit with Heinrich, but not as much as with Constantin. Donny was pleased. When they arrived at the camp, Clara asked Stiglitz to translate for Aldo, because she was more than hungry. All the others had eaten already, but she didn't have any breakfast and now it was almost 5pm. Aldo told Wicki to bring her something and she sat down, back to a big trunk and silently chewed on some bread and smoked meat. She took in the whole scene in front of her. Some of Aldo's men were practicing one-on-one fights, whereas others sat around the fire, telling dirty jokes. Aldo and Stiglitz had retreated with the two Guards in his tent, besides the cheers of the fighting men and the laughter of the others, everything was peaceful. She leant back against the trunk which pressed hard against her back, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Somehow, she suspected that the quiet part of her life was over. This was just another beginning...
Translations:
Aber wie kann das sein? Ich dachte, Ihr ward geflohen, Hoheit? - But how can that be? I thought you fled, your majesty?
Aber nein doch, Constantin, ich würde Österreich doch nie aufgeben! - But, no, Constanting! I could never surrender Austria!
Eine echte Habsburgerin. Lasst mich Euch wieder dienen, Prinzessin Clara! - A true Habsburg. Let me serve you again, princess Clara!
Eure Hoheit. Meine Loyalität lag immer schon bei der Monarchie. Ich werde Euch bis zum Ende folgen! - Your majesty! My loyalty always belonged to the Monarchy. I will follow you until the end.
