Colonel Joseph Hadik was looking through the window of his office. He had a good view of the city and its surroundings, but unfortunately the scenery was unremarkable. As far as the eye can see, low rolling hills covered the countryside, although the colonel's attention was centered on the incoming storm. A strong wind from the east, blown over the great plains and moved the grass to and fro like waves on a green sea. Hadik felt a profound dislike for this land the first time he had seen it, half a life ago. Too many friends and soldiers had vanished without a trace to change that feeling.
The door opened and Michael, his aide, entered in the room. "Sir, Captain Simonyi has just arrived. He is waiting to debrief you."
The colonel smiled "Let the Captain pass." The aide nodded and turned back. "Michael! Call the cuirassier but don't let him pass until I'm finished with captain Simonyi". The colonel said to the aide who was already in the adjacent room.
"Yes sir" Michael replied while the captain entered, closing the door behind him.
"Sir" The young captain saluted while striking his heels together.
Both soldiers wore the same hussar uniform, black from head to toe with a silver death's head displayed on their shakos, the regulation military caps. But this was the only similarity they shared. The colonel was a tall, heavily-built man in his late forties. He had fair skin and a blonde mustache over his clean shaven, square face.
The captain was a far younger man, in his middle twenties, slender and not as tall as his superior. His uniform was dirty, worn out, and repaired with leather patches. He took his shako off, exposing his unkempt hair black like a crow's wing and a little longer than usual, the usual being longer than regulation allowed. His face was unshaven and his skin, darkened from the steppe sun, was covered with dust around the eyes, the one area which had not been protected by the scarf or the cap during the travel across the plains. A great stain of dry blood covered his left trouser leg.
"Is that blood yours?" The colonel asked, looking at the officer's trousers.
"Oh no, it's from a tartar rider who was hanging on to me while bleeding to death."
"And you let him do it for so long that your entire trouser leg ended up soaked like that?" The colonel questioned, raising his eyebrows.
"Well Sir, I fear I was busy dealing with his companion," Simonyi answered.
"Obviously you and your men have had a hard trip. After you failed to show a week ago, there were people who started to think that we had seen the last of you. Sit down Erik and tell me what news you bring with you"
For more than an hour the captain reported about his mission. At the end, got to his feet. "With your permission, I will take..."
"Just a moment," Interrupted the colonel. "You have a visitor who is waiting for you. Michael, we have finished." The last phrase was told loud enough to be heard out of the room.
"A visitor?" The young man looked surprised. "What kind of visitor?"
"An important one," The colonel said softly while a tall man clad in a cuirassier guard uniform with a lieutenant insignia entered the room. His white uniform was immaculate as if he was ready to pass an inspection at the hands of the General Inspector from the imperial palace in Vienna.
Eric looked at his boots, they shone like mirrors. Somebody spent a lot of time cleaning those boots, he thought.
The newcomer performed a perfect salute and looked around the room like he was searching for somebody, until he took notice of the captain epaulettes on Erik's shoulders; they were as faded and worn out as the rest of the uniform. The lieutenant barely managed to control his expression after his initial surprise. "Sir... Are you Captain Simonyi?" his voice suggested a real question instead of just a mere formality.
"Yes I am. And who are you?" The captain asked curtly while returning the salute. His voice stiffened when talking to the newcomer, clearly an official with the elegant manners of someone used to the courtly life of the Royal Palace in Vienna.
"Lieutenant von Leep, I carry a message from the imperial command headquarters addressed to you," The cuirassier produced an envelope while talking and handed it to its addressee.
The captain hesitated for a moment and eventually took the envelope very slowly, opening it and taking a long time to read its contents with care.
"So, I have to be in Arendelle in the middle of summer," he said at last.
"I have a ship waiting for us in Odessa. Sir, we are late. We should leave as quickly as possible, if I may, I'd like to arrange our departature for Odessa in three days. I assume at that time you'll manage to rest and sort out any unfinished business you may have in the city and the regiment."
The young captain gazed at the lieutenant without talking. Eventually the cuirassier broke the silence. "Sir, do you agree to my proposal?"
"No, I will go on my own. Notify the imperial command that I will be in Arendelle at the specified date."
"But sir... The orders say..." stammered the surprised officer.
"The orders says that I have to be in Arendelle at the middle of summer. It also gives me special permission to requisition any transport means I deem necessary to ensure that. There's nothing in the orders about how I am supposed to reach Arendelle, and I will be quicker on my own."
"But sir, the imperial delegation will depart from Vienna in a month."
"And I will meet them in Arendelle in the middle of summer." The captain's voice took the tone of a teacher repeating a lesson to a less than bright boy. "What's the problem?"
The lieutenant was confused and at a loss about how to act with this sudden turn of events. When he was assigned to the mission he had thought that it was a great opportunity to meet the son of a duke and give him an important mission, one that came directly from the Chancellor and would allow him to leave the barbaric and dangerous eastern frontier of the empire. The long trip would be a great opportunity to acquaint himself with the young scion and ensure a good contact for the future, when his star began to rise in the court as this mission suggested it would. But alas, after two weeks of travel crossing a vast plain full of nothing, and another two weeks waiting in this little wretched town, he had met that grim-faced and shabby officer who was talking nonsense.
The lieutenant turned towards the Colonel. "Sir, can you talk to the Captain in order to..."
"I'm sorry lieutenant but this issue is between the Captain and the imperial Command. I can't interfere in the way the Captain chooses to obey his orders."
The colonel had a warm dislike for all the non-hussar regiments of the army, he was not going to help the young cuirassier.
The lieutenant thought for a second until eventually he took a decision. "Well sir, if you don't need me I will take my leave."
"I don't need anything else. Thanks for bringing the message." Simonyi replied shortly.
The lieutenant left the room. The colonel laughed when the door closed behind him. "Goodness captain, you have made a friend today."
"Yes, Sir... Just one question, is Arendelle one of these little Norwegian kingdoms?"
The colonel burst out laughing. "If you don't know where is Arendelle how do you know you will be there in the middle of summer?"
"If it can be done with that courtier, I'm sure it can be done on my own."
"I have heard something about your dislike for the Court, but I never thought that it ran so deep. Anyway you are right, Arendelle is a Norwegian kingdom."
"One of those petty kingdoms with two or three valleys around a fiord?"
"In this case, it's even smaller than that. But it is a wealthy kingdom. They trade with timber, furs and things like that. It is located in the southern part of the Scandinavian peninsula on the west side, straight ahead of the English coast."
The colonel approached to a table full of maps took one of them and signaled the position of Arendelle. His subordinate approached and looked at the map. "So, if I depart from here," the young captain signaled a position near the north coast of the Black Sea. "I can cross the plains and the northern lands following the great river and reach the Baltic Sea. Then I could take a ship, one that could carry my horse, and disembark in the east shore of the Scandinavian peninsula." Erik thought for a second before he resumed making his plan. "Scandinavia is covered with mountains, in such a difficult terrain I will need local guides to pass through and be in Arendelle in the middle of summer."
"You are crazy. It's a longer trip and far more difficult than the one proposed by that green cuirassier. To top it all off, the imperial permission to seize vehicles will be useless in nearly all the lands you intend to travel across. Do you really want to cross the great plains alone? Are you out of your mind? Come spring they will be swarming with Tartars and Cossacks, hunting and herding parties; you'll be dead before you reach the Lithuanian forts on the frontier. It would be far easier taking that ship through the Black Sea to Venice and then a nice and pleasant boat trip to Vienna."
"The great plains are not a problem. I like them; it will be like when I was a scout all those years ago. I can make it, no need to worry about it," the captain smiled at the perspective.
Hadik looked at Erik despairingly. "Heavens, I had forgotten your fondness for this dammed land. It would be a pity if you got killed on this stupid trip when you are going to be a suitor to the pair of Arendelle."
"Suitor for what?" Erik asked with surprise.
"To the Queen of Arendelle and her sister! All the courts of Europe are talking about it. Haven't you heard anything? A year ago, she was called the "snow queen". Do you remember? There was even a song about her and who was going to thaw her heart!"
The young captain thought for a second "I remember a song my men sang about the snow queen during a march. But I can't remember any details about it, I never paid much attention to it. But I'm sure her heart wasn't the part of the body they were interested to thaw."
"It is the only possibility that justifies your transfer, as the son of a Duke you are a good choice as a suitor; and being half Norwegian sure didn't hurt your chances." The colonel was getting excited with the perspectives for his subordinate.
"Yes sir, my mother was Norwegian, but she died during my birth and I've never been to Norway," the captain's voice was unconvinced.
But Hadik continued with his argument. "Anyway, it is a good reason to call you. Now I'm sure you will be one of the suitors. For the princess I suppose, since your brother will try the queen."
"I suppose Adrian will be in Arendelle too," Erick grimaced at the mention of his elder stepbrother.
"He is rumored to be a suitor for the Queen. Two sisters, two brothers, the numbers match," the colonel smiled. "Rumors say that they are real beauties."
"They would say this even if they were two monsters covered with blue freckles." replied the captain with indifference.
"You don't seem especially happy with the prospect," the colonel looked puzzled.
"Truth to be told, I'm not excited with it."
"What can you expect from a man that likes the plains?" The colonel snarled. "Anyway, a marriage like this is a great chance for your career, something any officer would dream about. And speaking of your career, before you leave I want to tell you that I'm going to send my personal request to the Inhaber of the regiment for your immediate promotion to first captain."
Thank you Sir! Erick couldn't help an expression of surprise and satisfaction crossing over his face. The Inhaber of the regiment was the man who funded the needs of the regiment and had the last word on promotions.
"I hope this will assure your return as quickly as possible, even if your match with the princess doesn't happen as it should. Being a first captain you are going to command a quarter of the regiment. Do you feel you are capable of this?"
"Of course I am Sir."
"Then go; honor the reputation of the regiment and return to us, married or unmarried," the last words were told with desperation. "When will you depart?"
"Tomorrow sir, early in the morning."
"Tomorrow, so early?"
"Yes sir, if I have to be in Arendelle, I may need every day to arrive in time."
"Well then, I wish you the best. And be sure to pack your dress uniform; you'll need to look sharp, and everybody knows all the ladies have a soft spot for our jackets; the hussar's dolman," the colonel said, shaking hands with Erik.
The young captain was about to leave the room when turned back. "Excuse me colonel, may I ask you a last question?"
"Of course you can." Hadik replied looking at his subordinate with curiosity.
"Why are the Imperial Court and the whole Europe so interested in Arendelle? It is a petty kingdom, wealthy but insignificant and too far from Vienna."
"The English are behind this. I suppose the reason is that Arendelle's superb harbor and its position, is one of the Scandinavian ports nearest to the English coast. It is an excellent place to launch a full-scale invasion, and you know how the British usually reacts when a threat like that arises. They'll make sure Arendelle's not a threat, and I suppose marrying the Queen to an acceptable suitor is the easiest way... "
"I see" Erik replied while trying to remember all the information about Norway he had learned in his days as diplomat, more than seven years ago. "But there are a lot of other good harbors with good positions and they don't care as much."
"You are right, they have something in mind but I don't have the slightest idea," Hadik shrugged while talking.
Erik left the colonel's office thinking about his travel to Arendelle. Seven years after the confrontation with Adrian and his voluntary service in the eastern frontier, his Highness Great Duke Adrian Simonyi has once more forced his way into his life and Erik feared that trouble would come in his wake. He tried to forget the entire issue and mentally began to make a list with all the things he'd need.
"What a crazy journey I am going to make," He said to himself. "But it sure will be better than sharing a long trip with Adrian and I will enjoy crossing the plains on my own again." The young man smiled at the thought.
Anyway, if he really was supposed to leave the city tomorrow morning, a lot of things had to get done. His clothes needed to be washed, probably mended once again, and he should throw a farewell party for his fellow junior officers that night. They could go to that tavern by the river; the waitress there had a brazen gaze and the last time he had been drinking there with his companions she had cast casual glances at him.
Suddenly Erik saw a flash of lightning on the horizon.
The storm had started.
H.N (Historic Note): A Proprietor, or Inhaber, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the Inhaber (proprietor) who also acted as honorary colonel. Originally, he raised the regiment, funded its needs, and received a portion of its revenue, which might be plunder or loot. He also shared in its shame or its honors. The Imperial Russian military adopted a similar system. (Excerpt from wikipedia).