DISCLAIMER: Well, as we ALL know, Sunrise owns My-HiME and My-Otome, so this is just a formality to legally protect my arse.
A/N: Lady Natsuki Kruger's past is shaping up more mysterious than her mistress'. I apologize for this long chapter. It's the longest one so far.
The Crimson Countess
Count Kruger
Thirty days ago, back at the Abbey, Sister Juliet stood shocked as the second carriage stopped and delivered Count Kruger.
He was not an exceptionally tall man, but his presence more than made up for his lack in height. His bearing commanded attention. Count Kruger was an extremely handsome man with dark hair and dazzling blue eyes that seemed to dance.
"Where may I find Sister Juliet?"
Nao bowed before the nobleman, "I am Sister Juliet."
"I am Count Kruger. I have come for my daughter."
"She just left with the representative you sent."
"Sister Juliet?" Nao nodded. "As you can clearly see, I did NOT send any representative," Count Kruger said, trying to keep his growing irritation in check.
"We should go see Mother Maria," Nao suggested sheepishly.
Nao led The Count to Mother Maria's office.
"Mother Maria, this is Count Kruger, Lady Kruger's father," Nao said.
"Count Kruger. It is a pleasure to meet you," Mother Maria smiled.
"I have come for my daughter, but this young nun informed me she was handed off to someone claiming to be a representative from my kingdom," The Count said, clearly angry and now visibly irritated.
"Yes. The Countess Kruger retrieved Lady Kruger a few moments ago," Mother Maria said, remembering The Countess never formally introduced herself. She just asked for Lady Kruger.
"Mother Maria, Countess Kruger, my dear late wife, died bringing my only child into this world."
Mother Maria and Nao stared speechless at The Count, eyes wide with shock. The small office fell eerily silent for quite some time before Mother Maria finally broke the silence.
"Count Kruger, your daughter seemed to know the woman who picked her up. Other than that, I cannot tell you anything more," Mother Maria said as she prayed this would be enough to satisfy the angry man.
The puzzled nobleman thought for a bit and then spoke, "Mother Maria, could you please tell me what this woman looked like?"
"She was a tall, fair-skinned brunette with the oddest colored eyes. They were a red color, something one doesn't see a lot," Mother Maria answered.
"She was beautiful," Sister Juliet added and was glared at by Mother Maria.
'Hmmm…could it be?' The Count thought.
"Count Kruger?" Mother Maria asked, curious about his silence.
"Thank you for your help Mother Maria. I shall get some of my people on this right away," the distracted nobleman said hurriedly and left rather abruptly.
Mother Maria looked at Sister Juliet, finding an equally puzzled face looking back at her.
"That was very strange," Mother Maria said.
"Yeah…I mean, yes," Nao answered.
Count Kruger walked swiftly to his carriage and yelled instructions to the driver. The carriage sped off towards the nearest town. As the angry nobleman rode, he thought and remembered his late wife.
'Saeko…Fate is such a cruel taskmistress. She has seen fit to bring that horrid woman back into my life,' Count Kruger grimaced. 'How the hell did she find out about my little girl? First she tries to take you away from me and now she may have my little Natsuki!'
By the time the carriage pulled up to the local inn, Count Kruger was lost deep in thought.
"Count, we have arrived," the carriage driver announced.
Count Kruger stepped out of the carriage and secured a room at the local inn, while he set about locating The Countess.
While The Countess was quite well-known throughout the kingdom, the location of her estate was not common knowledge. Count Kruger spent several days and a considerable amount of gold pieces in his attempt to find The Countess. It took nine days, but all of the determined nobleman's efforts finally came to fruition. He finally had the location of The Viola estate.
The night before heading out to The Countess' estate, Count Kruger sat in his room with a flask of wine, staring out the window. Darkness overshadowed him as he remembered his wife and the night The Countess entered his life…twenty-one years ago.
Following tradition, his marriage was arranged at birth in order to unite two powerful families. His parents had an arranged marriage and made it work, although it was common knowledge his father had several mistresses scattered throughout the land. He rationalized if he and his new bride found themselves incompatible; he would follow in his father's footsteps.
Fortunately, when he met his fiancée, he was pleasantly surprised. She was beautiful, graceful, and naïve. He was thrilled her naïveté would allow him to mold her into the perfect wife of a nobleman.
The wedding was picture perfect; however, the honeymoon was quite the opposite. The new Countess Kruger was sexually unprepared for her husband. The moment she saw him naked, she screamed in terror and locked herself in the bathroom. After several hours of trying to coax her out, Count Kruger finally gave up and went to sleep.
The next morning, the newlyweds began their life together. Just as Count Kruger knew she would be, Countess Saeko Kruger was the perfect wife, except in the bedroom. Every single night, she locked herself in their bathroom and stayed in there until the morning.
Count Kruger did not know how to handle this problem with his new wife. He knew they would be expected to begin having children, but this could not happen with things the way they were. Count Kruger decided to ask his father for advice.
After he left his father's mansion, Count Kruger was frustrated and torn. His father instructed his son to take what was rightfully his, by force, if necessary. In The Count's mind, this was somehow wrong. He did not want to hurt his wife, but at the same time, he did not want to disappoint his family by not being able to provide any heirs.
For several days, he tried to come up with a solution to their problem. He removed the lock on the bathroom door, so his wife could not lock herself in. That night, after she ran in the bathroom, she found she could no longer lock the door.
"Dear wife, please come to bed," Count Kruger asked as he held out his hand to her.
Countess Kruger cowered in the corner on the bathroom floor, her eyes wide with terror.
"I promise I will not touch you," Count Kruger said with his hand still extended.
"Do you promise?"
"Yes."
The Countess took her husband's hand and he led her to their marital bed. As he promised, he did not touch her sexually and to help lessen her fears, he wore a nightshirt to bed.
The next night, they slept in the same bed again. He wore his nightshirt, but asked if he could kiss her goodnight. When she gave her permission, he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
This went on for three months. Each night, Count Kruger slowly pushed at the sexual boundaries around his wife. At the end of the fourth month, they were sleeping in the same bed, naked, cuddling, with some passionate kissing and light petting. The Count took an ice cold shower every morning, because he had fallen in love with his wife and she was the only woman he wanted sexually.
The first day of the sixth month, everything changed for the couple. As they always did, they went to bed naked. He tenderly held her until she initiated the kissing. They were kissing passionately. For the first time, she began moaning and involuntarily wrapped her legs around his waist. He slipped inside her and began to move.
"It hurts! Please stop! Please!" Countess Kruger screamed and tried to push her husband off her.
Unfortunately, Count Kruger could not hear her screams and pleas through his lust. He continued thrusting into his now sobbing wife, who lay there praying for the pain to end.
Count Kruger gave his final thrust and flopped back spent. He was happy and smiling. When he looked over at his wife, he finally saw the damage he did. She was curled up in the fetal position, sobbing. There was blood on the sheets.
"Dear?" Count Kruger asked softly and reached for his wife.
She recoiled from his touch, which should have made him realize how much pain he inflicted on her, but his machismo intervened. He pictured his father shaking his head in disgust at his son's weakness.
"Damn it wife! This is your duty! Stop crying!" The Count yelled.
The Countess curled up into a tighter ball, which angered The Count. He grabbed his wife and slapped her across the face.
"Listen to me wife! You belong to me! I own you!"
The Count pinned his wife's wrists over her head and forced himself between her legs.
Unbeknownst at the time to the couple, Lady Natsuki Kruger was conceived during that night of sexual violence.
One month after that fateful night, Count and Countess Kruger attended a grand ball in a neighboring kingdom. As the evening progressed, Count Kruger disappeared into another room with a few other men to discuss land trusts, leaving his wife alone in the ballroom.
"Hello."
"Hello," Countess Kruger said absently, not looking up at the female voice.
"Are you here all alone?"
"No, my husband is off somewhere," Countess Kruger said with irritation in her voice.
"You look a little bored. Would you like some company?"
"That would be nice," Countess Kruger said and finally looked up, right into crimson eyes.
"I am The Countess Viola."
"Nice to meet you. I am Countess Saeko."
"Nice to meet you Countess Saeko," Countess Viola said as she glided into the chair next to Countess Saeko.
The two women talked throughout the evening. Countess Saeko clearly enjoyed the company of her new friend and was visibly disappointed when her husband's aide came to retrieve her. She wanted to spend more time with this enigmatic woman.
"I am sorry, but I must take my leave now. My husband is demanding my presence."
"I see."
"I would like to get together again, if possible."
"Yes, that would be lovely. I would like that as well. Shall we meet for lunch tomorrow?"
"I would like that very much."
"Wonderful. Here is my address. Come for lunch at one o'clock."
"I shall see you tomorrow."
The next day, Countess Kruger was a nervous wreck as she prepared for her lunch date. She deliberately forgot to tell her husband about it. The prospect of a new friend that was exclusively hers, made Saeko giddy.
The carriage pulled up and Countess Kruger stepped out. Her jaw went slack as she stood staring at the mansion in awe.
'This is twice as large as ours,' the impressed Countess thought.
Countess Saeko walked up to the front door and used the massive door knocker to announce her arrival. A few seconds later, a young maid answered the door. Before Countess Kruger could state her business, the young maid spoke.
"Countess Saeko. The Countess Viola is expecting you. Please come in."
The young maid led The Countess through the back door and out into the garden, where an exquisite lunch was set out. Countess Viola was seated underneath an umbrella. She smiled and stood when she saw her lunch guest.
"You really should not have gone through all this trouble," Countess Saeko said and blushed.
"I cannot take credit for all this hard work. My maids did it all," Countess Viola smiled and gestured for her guest to sit.
As the two young women enjoyed their lunch, The Countess Viola also enjoyed admiring the beautiful woman before her. The porcelain skin, long dark hair, and emerald green eyes captivated The Crimson Countess.
'If only she did not have a husband. I could fall for a woman like this. It has been so long since my dearest Ahn,' Countess Viola thought as she stared dreamily at her lovely lunch guest.
"Countess Viola?" Countess Saeko called, bringing her hostess out of her reverie.
"Yes?"
"I was asking if there is a Count Viola."
"There was, but he passed away a long time ago."
"I am sorry. Did you have any children?"
"Excuse me? Oh! No. I apologize. Count Viola was my father."
"So you are not married?"
"No. I am a widow. My spouse passed away several years ago. We did not have any children."
"You did not take his name?"
"No. I did not take her name."
Countess Kruger stared at Countess Viola in a state of shock.
"Are you shocked?" The Crimson Countess smirked.
"Y-y-yes! Two women together is a sin in the eyes of the church!"
Countess Viola sighed deeply as she disappointedly resigned herself to having to use mind control to correct her error in judgment. She honestly felt Countess Saeko was different and would be able to accept the idea of two women together.
The Countess was just about to erase her mistake, when Countess Saeko spoke, stopping her hostess.
"However, after being married to that ogre, I no longer adhere to church doctrine."
Countess Viola smiled broadly and the two young women enjoyed the rest of their lunch.
The two Countesses had lunch together at the Viola estate every single day for one month. During that time, they got to know and like each other. The closer Shizuru got to Saeko, the more intense her internal struggle grew. The Countess Viola had a strict rule against getting involved with married women.
Saeko stayed until the last possible moment before she had to return home, in order to arrive before her husband, but one day, Count Kruger arrived home early. The butler informed him Countess Kruger was out having lunch with her new friend, Countess Viola. When Countess Saeko got home later that day, she was greeted with an inquisition and a beating.
Count Kruger forbade his wife from seeing Countess Viola, but she defied him by keeping her standing lunch date the next day. She did her best to hide the bruises.
"Saeko, what is this?" Shizuru asked as she pulled up Saeko's sleeve.
"I hit my arm against a door."
"And this?" Shizuru countered as she pulled up Saeko's other sleeve.
"Shi-zu-ru…," Saeko broke down crying.
Shizuru held Saeko in her arms while the married woman cried.
"Shizuru…," Saeko said softly and buried her face in her friend's neck.
Saeko began to kiss Shizuru's neck and against her better judgment, Shizuru brought the married woman into her bed and showed Saeko what gentle, unbridled, tender passion was like. The married woman did not want to leave her new lover's side.
Later that day, Saeko left Shizuru's mansion to pack and promised she would return. She never kept that promise, thanks to Count Kruger. Shizuru could not even begin to find Saeko, since Countess Kruger never disclosed her last name.
In Count Kruger's room at the local inn, the nobleman passed out drunk across the bed. He tossed and turned, his dreams plagued by nightmares of his late wife.
After his restless night, Count Kruger woke in a foul mood and hung over. As soon as he finished dressing, he boarded his carriage and set off for the Viola estate.
When Count Kruger arrived at his destination, he swiftly exited his carriage and strode arrogantly up to the front door of the mansion. Rather than use the large metal knocker, he opted to pound on the massive wooden door. A few minutes later, a slight young maid opened the door.
"Yes?"
"My name is Count Kruger and I am here to see The Countess Viola," The Count said rather brusquely.
"Please come in. I shall fetch The Countess."
Count Kruger looked around the waiting area and tapped his foot impatiently while he waited.
A little bit later, The Countess entered the waiting area with the maid that answered the door.
"I understand you wish to see me?" Shizuru said elegantly.
Count Kruger spun around towards the sound of the lilting voice. His jaw went slack when he saw the beauty before him and for a moment, he found himself speechless.
"Yes. I was told you picked up my daughter, Lady Natsuki Kruger, from the Abbey."
"You must be mistaken sir. I did not pick up anyone claiming to be your daughter."
"The Mother Superior of the Abbey told me you did."
"Sir, I did not pick up anyone claiming to be your daughter."
"I want to see for myself!" Count Kruger yelled and began to head into the mansion.
"Sir, you may not enter my home without my permission."
"And who is going to stop me? You? Your maids?" Count Kruger taunted sarcastically.
Before Shizuru could respond, a voice came from behind her.
"I shall stop you," Natsuki growled and revealed herself.
"DAUGHTER!" Count Kruger yelled happily.
Natsuki stood her ground and glared at the man.
"Do I know you sir?"
"I am your father."
Natsuki scrutinized Count Kruger thoroughly before speaking.
"My father?" Natsuki asked skeptically.
"Yes daughter. I am Count Kruger, your father," Count Kruger said frustrated.
"I don't recognize you, sir."
"YOU WITCH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER?" Count Kruger yelled at Shizuru and lunged for her.
Before Count Kruger could lay a hand on Shizuru, Natsuki put herself between The Countess and her father.
"Sir, you may NOT touch my mistress," Natsuki growled and glared at her father.
"Your WHAT?" Count Kruger asked incredulous.
"My mis…," Natsuki began to repeat herself, but was cut short by her father.
"I HEARD YOU!" Count Kruger yelled at Natsuki.
Shizuru continued to remain silent and watch.
"YOU DEVIANT! WHAT SORT OF PERVERSION HAVE YOU CAST UPON MY DAUGHTER!" Count Kruger yelled at Shizuru.
Natsuki started to say something in Shizuru's defense, but The Countess stopped her.
"Sir, you are mistaken. I would never promise anyone I love to that child rapist, King Paedophilia."
Count Kruger's face turned a deep red and he slapped Shizuru across the face. The blow did not faze her at all. She remained standing in the same position. The only evidence of the blow was the red mark on her cheek. Count Kruger stood staring at Shizuru incredulous.
"DAUGHTER! YOU ARE COMING WITH ME!" Count Kruger yelled after finding his voice, grabbed Natsuki's wrist, and started pulling her behind him.
Natsuki fought against his grip, but he was too strong for her, so she kicked him in the shin.
"YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BITCH!" Count Kruger yelled and slapped Natsuki across the face.
Natsuki reeled back from the hard blow and landed on her backside. She cupped her sore cheek with one hand and stared at her father with rage burning in her emerald eyes. Shizuru fought the urge to run to Natsuki, because she knew this needed to play out to the end.
"FATHER!" Natsuki yelled, remembering the moment he caught her with another girl and struck her in the exact same manner.
Natsuki remembered her father tearing her away from that girl, her first crush. She remembered how he abruptly pulled her out of her favorite school and locked her away in that prestigious co-ed academy. The academy she ran away from when she was a mere teen.
"NATSUKI!" Count Kruger yelled happily and knelt beside his daughter on the floor. He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly.
"Father," Natsuki said softly.
Shizuru watched the two hug on the floor, but what would normally be a heartwarming family reunion failed to warm The Countess' heart in the least.
"Na-tsu-ki?" Count Kruger asked in a ragged breath.
Natsuki smiled and looked at her father with an evil glint in her eyes.
"Na-tsu-ki, please release me," Count Kruger pleaded.
Natsuki tightened her already vice grip on her father's crotch.
"If you wish for me to release you, I want your promise you will leave me alone and never come looking for me ever again," Natsuki whispered in her father's ear.
"I…cannot…promise…that," Count Kruger managed through the pain and winced as Natsuki tightened her grip again.
"Well, kiss your sex life goodbye," Natsuki smiled and twisted her grip.
"ALRIGHT! You win. Now let me go," Count Kruger said reluctantly defeated.
Natsuki faked a twisting motion, prompting her father to add, "Please."
Natsuki smiled triumphantly, released her father, and jumped up off the hard floor. She stood next to Shizuru and smiled brightly at her mistress. Count Kruger stood up slowly and rubbed his painful crotch, causing Shizuru to giggle, because she now knew what was really going on between father and daughter.
"At least I stopped you from taking my wife from me. Her mother," Count Kruger said bitterly.
Shizuru tried to mask her shock, but it was too great.
"I shall take my leave now," Count Kruger smirked.
"Father? Your promise?" Natsuki growled.
"I promise to leave you alone from this day forth and never come looking for you again," Count Kruger grumbled and walked out the front door.
Natsuki ran over to the open front door and yelled at her father's retreating figure.
"IF YOU EVER COME LOOKING FOR ME AGAIN, I'LL KILL YOU."
Natsuki gleefully slammed the massive wooden front door.
"Shizuru?" Natsuki asked as she wrapped her arms around her mistress' waist and buried her face in The Countess' stomach.
"Yes?" Shizuru responded as she wrapped her arms around Natsuki's shoulders.
Natsuki looked up from Shizuru's chest, "What did he mean…?"
The Countess interrupted Natsuki, "My Natsuki, it seems there are many things I now need to tell you."
Shizuru took Natsuki's hand and led her to the drawing room. The Countess locked the door and began pacing. Natsuki sat on the couch and looked up at Shizuru with curious emerald eyes, waiting for her mistress to speak. The Countess sat down next to Natsuki and began.
"Is there anything specific my Natsuki wishes to ask before I begin?"
"Yes. Who is King Paedophilia?"
"He is your fiancé. Your father promised him your hand in marriage in exchange for land usage rights of his Neverland territory. The man is a pervert! I have rescued several children from him during social gatherings. He has a taste for young noble children."
"WHAT?" Natsuki yelled, "Why doesn't anyone stop him?"
"He is a very powerful man. There is no way I could make him disappear without drawing unwanted attention to myself."
"I guess my running away from that snotty academy turned out to be a good thing after all," Natsuki grinned.
"Yes. You have been on the run from your father ever since you were a teenager."
"How did I live?"
"My resources told me you made your way in the world by taking odd jobs here and there."
"What did he mean by, 'At least I stopped you from taking my wife from me. Her mother.'?"
Shizuru looked into Natsuki's face and saw Saeko.
"Natsuki? Do you remember anything about your mother?"
"Just that she died bringing me into this world."
Shizuru could no longer hold back her tears. Natsuki instinctively wrapped her arms around Shizuru and murmured comforting words. After The Countess regained her composure, she calmly told Natsuki about the young noblewoman's extraordinary mother.