"Gather around, children," Maria Theresa let out a small chuckle as the youngsters before her quickly scrambled to her feet, sitting down in a small semi-circle around her chair. Though the Austrian Leader's schedule was usually quite busy, between actual affairs of the state to her overzealousness towards practicing the various instruments she played, the elderly woman still set aside the time to pay occasional visits to a particular orphanage in Vienna that she personally patronized; the smiles on the faces of the children as she read to them made the somewhat straining trip worth it.

"What're you gonna read us today, Miss Theresa?" the ornately dressed woman's smile only grew slightly at the child's innocent comment. They were respectful, clearly taught good manners, but still lacked the knowledge that she was an immortal Empress, and saw her as little else than the kind old lady who would come to read to them every once in a while. Their admiration came from endearment, not the respect that her title demanded.

"If only everyone could be as pure as these children..." the white-clad woman looked down at the history book siting in her lap, and flipped it open to the bookmarked page. "Today, I will be reading you A Tale of Two Hordes."

One of the children raised his hand. "I haven't heard of that one before! What's it about?"

The woman only smiled. "Why don't we read and find out?"


Many centuries ago, in a faraway land known as Russia that was famed for its wonders, a great war was underway. Two neighboring nations, full of people who, rather than live in one place, traveled around their open lands on their horses, had both invaded. The Huns and the Mongols, as they were called, were both unaware of the other's intentions; too focused on all the gold they could find to truly notice. One day, though, they happened to stumble into each other as they approached the capital city of Moscow...

"Lady Catherine! Lady Catherine!" the beleaguered Russian Leader looked up from her desk, her face devoid of any vibrancy, the beauty she was famed for having made way for dark bags underneath her eyes and wrinkles from the incessant work and worrying. She only sighed wearily at the servant's sudden intrusion, having no doubt that the boy was only hear to bring her another piece of bad news.

"The Mongols are nearing!" she dreaded her own question, and her mood was made no better by the page's panicking.

"Where?"

"Here!" between her shock and horror, the woman failed to notice the quill slipping out of her hand and clattering to the floor. Then, as if God himself had been conspiring against her, the hysterical page carried on.

"That's not the end of it! The Huns are also on their way!" and with that declaration went any hopes the woman had of being able to orchestrate a safe evacuation of the city. Catherine leaned back in her seat, shifting her dress slightly before burying her head in her hands. The Russian stayed like that for a few moments, silently listening to the sounds of the messenger running around frantically while shouting out about their imminent doom, knowing very well that the loss of the Capital would completely cut off the few cities that remained unmolested in the north and west from each other, not to mention her own capture and a massacre. After what felt like an eternity of gathering her resolve, she stood and quickly exited the room, marching across the palace to the balcony that laid closest to the city walls.

Shoving open the glass doors and quickly striding out onto the porch, she could clearly make out the two armies in the distance. However, much to her surprise, they had simply stopped at the sight of each other. Catherine's alabaster face brightened; if her suspicion was correct, she could kill two birds with one stone.


The two leather-clad horseman scrutinized each other, having rode out from the front of their perspective armies. The two immortals, a fact unbeknownst the other currently, rode in a short circle around each other, eyes running up and down before returning to their prior positions. The one on the grey horse, wearing a bit more armor than the other, cleared his throat.

"And who are you?" the man's voice echoed out in a common trade language, his tone a bit more refined than one might expect from one of his position. The other warlord, mounted upon a white house, pounded his chest and smiled proudly.

"I am Attila! Leader of the Huns, ruler of the steppes, destroyer of civilizations, and the Scourge of God! And who are you to stand in the way of my rampage?" The rider across from Attila scoffed.

"I am Genghis Khan: unifier of the Mongols, supreme leader, and master of all under the heavens. And by what right do you ride in defiance before me?" Attila just let out a healthy bout of laughter.

"By what right?" the man's gauntlet smacked against the side of his saddle a few time's, the Mongolian's eyes narrowing in displeasure at the Hun's insolence, before the man wiped a few forced tears out of his eyes. "My own! And I suggest you and your merry little band trot aside; the last few people who denied me my right ended up... well, that's a story for another time."

Khan merely snorted indignantly. "There is only one city and yet there are two armies. I believe you understand what must be done."

One of the riders closer to the Mongolian Leader cleared his throat loudly enough for the Hun across from them to hear. "My Khan, though the warrior's way is always true, would it not be prudent to sack the city first then fight over the spoils?"

Genghis Khan raised an eyebrow at the aide's comment, a hand slowly moving to the sword strapped to his side, only for Attila's laughter to redirect his attention.

"That man has a good head on his shoulders!" the Scourge of God commented. "I suggest you let him keep it there."

"Be that as it may," a new voice rang out, and every head quickly turned to see the feminine voice had come from a white-clad woman standing in front of the city gates, surrounded by a small group of pikemen. "Do you truly think you could trust each other not to betray the other while running through Moscow and taking everything for themselves?"

Genghis Khan put a hand to his chin, scratching his beard as he mulled over Catherine's words, while Attila nodded. "That is true as well."

The Russian smiled slightly, folding her hands as she continued. "And both of you claim to be the true master of the plains. If you truly want to prove your claim, one of you must overcome the other."

Her final, not-so-subtle, encouragement pushed both the warlords over the edge. Genghis was the first to draw his sword. "Ha! I will not abide by any pretenders! Let your arrows fly, men!"

Attila was no slouch either, quickly pulling his sword and snapping the reins of his mount. "Well show these fools the meaning of the word terror!"

The armies and leaders, too busy cutting each other to shreds, failed to notice Catherine and her entourage quietly slipping back inside the city.

And by the time the battle was other, both armies that had managed to nearly conquer Russia were too small to do anything else but slink back to their homelands. Catherine had forced the two leaders to not only give back every city they took, but even made them give her extra gold, too, and Russia returned to peace.


Maria Theresa closed the book and placed it back on her lap, looking down on the children, all of who were still sitting at the base of her chair and looking up intently. "So, who can tell me what the moral of the story is?"

"Oh! Me! I can!" the Austrian chuckled at the child's comment as he energetically rocked back and forth, shaking his hand to try to get her attention.

"Yes, Franz?"

"Greed never leads to anything good!" she nodded.

"Good boy. Now-" the sudden chiming of the nearby clock as it struck three abruptly drew her attention, and the Empress sighed.

"Ah, I'm sorry children, but it appears that my time is up," a series disappointed groans and pleas met her ears at the declaration.

"Please, Miss Theresa? One more story?"

"I would like to, but I have a luncheon at five, and I can't be late," she quickly followed her half-hearted rebuttal with a silent prayer that the innocent children sitting before her would never have to know the horrors of politics. The youngsters only increased their pleas, and she finally relented and sat back down.

"All right, I suppose I can spare the time for one more story," the atmosphere of the room quickly turned around at her acquiescence, some of her listeners even going so far as to cheer when she opened the tome again and cleared her throat. "This story is about a man whose neighbors repeatedly bothered him..."


Author's Notes:

Sorry about how long it took to get this one out, I've been a bit busy this month, but I'm happy with how this chapter turned out as well.