Chapter 29 Her Counselor

Things are starting to look up for Adeladja...

"Fraulein Danzig!" Adeladja turned away from her dressing-table mirror to see Prussia and Hannover standing in her doorway. She clutched at her robe to conceal her underpinnings as the maids curtseyed and drew away. Prussia was in the walking-about coat of a Prussian officer and Hannover was in a dark, sensible traveling suit.

Prussia strode over and kissed her hand, clicking his heels. He winked at the mortals smiling and blushing at his good manners. If only they knew what he really was, Adeladja thought. She forced herself to smile and look gracious, directing her gaze at Hannover in the doorway. The female nodded her head slightly.

"I am going to Königsberg to visit my sister for at least a week," Prussia announced. He waved Hannover over. "Fraulein Hannover has agreed to visit and keep you company in Potsdam. Of course, a visit from the United Kingdom was a little incentive." He smirked at the blushing German female. "I trust that you two will behave yourselves. No talking politics with the Crown Princess while I'm gone." He arched an eyebrow at Hannover, whose slight smile disappeared. "In the meantime, Fraulein, be good, finish that embroidery I asked for, and be a gracious hostess to Fraulein Hannover, ja?" He leaned in and kissed Adeladja on the lips, a bit longer than she thought proper. "I look forward to a happy reunion, Adeladja," he whispered. Then he drew up, bowed to the maids and Hannover, and swaggered off as Monika called, "Please send my greetings to Maria, Herr Preußen!" He waved a hand nonchalantly at her and left.

Adeladja turned to study Hannover. She knew what Prussia's conversation really meant: Monika was to be his spy and jail keeper, noting all she did or said to report back to Prussia. Yet the taller province seemed too independent and honest for such work. Still, she couldn't trust any of them, she thought. Even if they disliked Prussia, they still saw her as his city and Monika was as much under his rule as she.

Hannover drew over a chair and sat next to Adeladja as the maids resumed arranging her hair. "An embroidery project, Fraulein Danzig? What are you doing for Herr Preußen?"

"He wants me to do some decoration on his new nightshirt," Adeladja replied. A spirit of mischief seized her and she leaned over to whisper, "He wants me to embroider rabbits, cornflowers, and little yellow birds on the yoke."

To her delight, Hannover's pale blue eyes sparkled and she laughed. "Ach, men are ridiculous, aren't they?" she chuckled. "In public, it is all uniforms and medals, but in private they like the prettiest things. Lud—the German Empire likes me to make him dressing gowns out of patterned Chinese silk. The more flowery, the better!" When she smiled, Adeladja saw sweetness instead of contempt. "And Arthur Kirkland likes to embroider. He's really quite splendid at it." Her smile grew wistful. "When we were in a personal union, I would make his suits and he would embroider them. He does lovely work; I still have some of the aprons and caps he made for me from the last century." She leaned over and patted Adeladja's arm. "He is coming over from England in two days and I am eager for you to renew your acquaintance with him. It shall be a nice diversion, ja?"

"Ja, it certainly shall." Adeladja thought about visiting with another entity, and she felt her happiness over freedom from Prussia increase. She smiled tentatively at Hannover.

Hannover shook her head at the maids who had brought over Adeladja's morning dress. "Herr Preußen wants me to take Fraulein Danzig's measurements for her winter wardrobe," she announced. She stood up and gestured for Adeladja to do the same. "Fraulein, you will need to take off your robe," she said as she pulled a measuring tape, calipers, pencil and notebook from her reticule. "This won't take long and the sooner we get it done, the sooner you will have your wardrobe for Berlin."

Adeladja did as she said. When she recalled the fresh scratches on her arm from yesterday, she panicked. It was easy to hide her scars from the maids and she healed as quickly as other personifications, but these scratches were still fresh and she worried over concealing them from Hannover's sharp eyes. She glued her arms to her side as Hannover measured her height, upper and lower bust, waist, hips and distance from her neck to lower back.

"Arm length, bitte," Monika said. Adeladja extended her unmarked arm and watched the German entity note and mark down the measurement. She then measured her bicep and forearm circumferences. "Other arm, bitte," she said, and Adeladja hesitated.

"Fraulein, I have noted that not even entities have the exact same measurements for their limbs, and the news from Paris is that sleeves will be very tight-fitting this winter," Hannover said gently. Her eyes bore into Adeladja's until she had to lower them. "Bitte, your other arm."

Adeladja extended her marked arm, trying to roll the fresh scratches away from Hannover's sharp gaze. The German entity noted the length, bicep circumference, and then wrapped the tape around her forearm. When she saw the scars, she turned to the maids and said, "You should prepare Fraulein Danzig's day dress." As the mortals moved away to get the bustle, dress and accessories, Hannover lowered her voice. "How did you get these scratches, Fraulein?" Her gaze was serious.

Adeladja licked her lips and thought. "A cat," she said.

Hannover continued to stare at her. "The Hohenzollerns don't keep cats," she said slowly. "Indeed, they have ordered their gamekeepers and groundsmen to shoot them on sight. How did you get one so close to scratch you?"

"I found one in the gardens and took it in," Adeladja lied. "A half-grown, half-wild kitten. That's why she scratched me."

"May I see the little one?"

Adeladja tried to withdraw her trembling arm, but Hannover held on, still studying her. "It escaped," she murmured. "It didn't like being in my room, and I knew Herr Preußen wouldn't approve, so I let it go and never said anything."

"And what did Herr Preußen say when he saw these marks? If you had told him about the cat, I am sure he wouldn't approve of it damaging your skin."

"He doesn't notice. I keep them hidden from him." Adeladja dropped her eyes, assuming she was safe. But Hannover gently tilted her chin so she had to look into her clear blue gaze. She looked as serious and intelligent as the German Empire, Adeladja thought.

"Fraulein," Hannover said softly. "I've been scratched by cats and their claws don't leave those kind of marks. Bitte, tell me the truth."

Adeladja stared back. She couldn't tell Hannover or anyone that she had deliberately dragged her embroidery needle so deeply into her skin. She didn't think anyone could understand how the physical pain made her shame and rage go away. Inflicting pain in order not to feel it? Who could possibly understand that?

"Herr Preußen bites his nails to the quick," Hannover whispered, "but there are other ways to make scratches, ja?"

Adeladja saw the door Hannover was opening for her. She could invent another lie that would make Prussia look like a cruel monster who enjoyed torturing her. Then Hannover could tell the Empire, Saxony, and others what she suffered under him. And Prussia would hear the lie and punish her for it. No chance of a trip to Vienna, she realized. Yet Monika looked so kind and worried, she wanted to tell her the truth. All her nights with Prussia made her tired of pretending.

"Sometimes when I am embroidering, I daydream," she whispered. "I think back to my past and my brother and sister. And I keep plying my needle, but I don't see where it is going. And then suddenly I remember I am in the present, and I look down, and…." She trailed off.

Hannover nodded. "And it goes off course," she finished. Adeladja nodded, relieved. "But if you concentrate on your embroidery as if it were the most important thing at that moment, you wouldn't need to lose yourself in the past, now would you?" Adeladja wanted to protest that if she didn't lose herself in the past, she would have to face her present, and it was unbearable. But she only nodded dumbly. Anything, she thought, to keep from admitting her present misery.

Suddenly Hannover bent down and kissed the scratches. Adeladja gasped; the touch of the other female's lips seemed to awaken her nerves and send them rushing into life. She wanted to break away and she wanted to cling to the German entity and beg her not to leave. But she stayed still, quivering as Hannover's lips left her skin.

"Fraulein Danzig," Hannover said as she looked into Adeladja's eyes. They were as pale blue as Venetian glass and as clear as a magnifying lens. "You have enough pain in your situation. Don't cause yourself more. Promise me you will stop and we will find other ways to make this bearable, ja?"

"Ja," Adeladja barely managed to whisper as the maids approached with her bustle and petticoats.

If Hannover were her jailor, Adeladja thought, she was a likable and easy one. The two entities walked about Sanssouci Park, played cards, chatted, and dined with the German Empire. After some beer or Rhenish wine and schnapps, the normally reserved Ludwig became flushed and talkative. He recalled the games and songs Hannover had taught him when he was little, and she reminisced about him as a serious little entity who loved the stuffed toys she had made him. Adeladja watched the two German personifications, marveling at how they could be twins. The Empire played the piano and she and Hannover sang duets, Monika's alto a perfect match to her mezzo-soprano.

On the second night, the Empire teased, "Your Geliebter is coming tomorrow, Monika!" His blue eyes sparkled with drink and mischief. He turned to Adeladja. "All you will hear over the next few days is 'Arthur says this' and 'Arthur thinks that!'"

Hannover's sun-kissed face blushed. "Ach, Mein Herr, he is not my lover! He was my husband and is now only a good friend. We shall talk about the good times and visit with the Crown Princess, so she can hear about her family."

"Not one little rendez-vous?" The Empire winked at Adeladja. "Keep a close eye on them, Fraulein Danzig. My brother will be very upset if those two sneak off and talk policy or worse!"

"Mein Herr, I doubt that Fraulein Hannover would do such a thing," Adeladja murmured. She had noticed something strange about the province. She talked warmly about the United Kingdom, but she also worried about how the city of Königsberg was handling Prussia's visit. When she spoke about Maria, her voice dropped and face flushed. Adeladja remembered the kiss on her forearm and thought the two were connected. "Have you heard anything from Herr Preußen, Herr Deutschland?"

The Empire shrugged. "Just a wire letting me know he had arrived. I am very busy with Bismarck about the banking crisis." He sighed and looked like his usual serious self. "The Chancellor is not comfortable with internal economic affairs, but it needs to be addressed or many mortals will lose their money and positions." His mood dampened the gaiety of the dinner. He stood up, kissed the female personifications' hands and excused himself. "I need to look over the reports and figure something out. Gute Nacht, Damen." He left the room.

Hannover turned to Adeladja. "It's still light out. Shall we walk, Fraulein?" Adeladja agreed and the two set out on a stroll around the gardens of Babelsberg Palace. Adeladja was happy to be out of the heavy-looking rooms and in the cooler air of the summer evening.

"Fraulein, may I tell you a story? I hope that it will be informative, but if it gets too boring or embarrassing, let me know." Hannover said. Adeladja nodded, and the German entity took a deep breath and began.

"When I first entered into a union with the United Kingdom, it was merely a political match. He was polite and respectful towards me, but nothing more. Then in 1745, Scotland and some of his mortals rose up to support the Young Pretender in his claim for the British throne. I was back in Europe, but Arthur summoned me, Hesse and our mortal troops to come over and help him. So I put on my dragoon uniform and joined him in battle. It was the Battle of Culloden, very bloody, but a great victory for Arthur. That evening in camp, we celebrated. Arthur drank a little too much and he decided that he would cement his triumph by consummating our union. I remember him staggering into my tent, demanding, "Wife, we shall be in true union tonight!" I told him that I was sore and tired, and he was too drunk. He insisted, put his hands on me, and I fought him off and put him in a wheelbarrow and brought him back to his tent." Hannover smiled and blushed. "Arthur does not handle his liquor as well as he thinks. He was a little angry with me, but soon got over it.

"Then in 1761, he approached me again. The new King, George III, had just married and he and his wife were crowned a fortnight later. While we were at the festivities, Arthur took my hand, got down on his knee and said, 'Madame, you are as wise and martial as Minerva, as chaste as Diana, as lovely as Venus. If you and I were to participate in the happiness of this evening, I promise you that I will be as passionate as Mars, as grateful as Pluto, and a good deal more loyal than Jupiter.' I was amused and flattered—who wouldn't be at such a declaration? And thus our union became more personal." Hannover blushed deeper. "In time, things became very agreeable between us, and it was with real sorrow that we were parted by our mortals in 1837." She turned to Adeladja expectantly.

Adeladja was puzzled. She wanted to tell Hannover that her situation was nothing like hers; she had not come to Berlin as an equal entity in a political alliance with Prussia, but as a replacement for her brother. She had not managed to fight off Prussia's advances as successfully as the German province had England's, and he had not treated her honorably. For a second, she felt resentful and envious at how Hannover had managed to turn her union into a happy one.

"The point of my story, Fraulein, is not to make you unhappy. Nor is it to give you hope. I know Herr Preußen too well for that. When I became his province, he thought he could subdue me, but he was mistaken. I may no longer wear the uniform, but I am a dragoon at heart. It took only a few blows and kicks to convince him that he could never bend me to his purposes. But my way may not be yours." Hannover looked back at her, serious and appraising. "I have taken the liberty of reading about your history, Fraulein, and it seems that you are not very successful at warfare. A besieged city usually falls." Adeladja cast her eyes on the ground; Hannover was right about that. "Yet, as a trade city, you have other skills than war. I am sure that if we were to go marketing together, you would be amused at how poorly I bargain, while I would envy how well you could handle the merchants and get good deals that I can only dream about. That is what you are good at, ja?" Adeladja looked back up at the taller entity and nodded. "So," Hannover continued, a little smile playing on her lips, "one must use one's strengths to get what one wants and to avoid what one dislikes. A battle is easy for me, but negotiations are not." She leaned in closer and squeezed Adeladja's arm; she could feel the strength in the other's hand race through her skin and flesh. "You do not have to surrender unconditionally to him. Use your strengths, Fraulein, and make whatever peace and happiness you can get yours."

Adeladja thought about her words. Prussia had already offered her the trip to Vienna if she behaved herself, but she felt as if he had defined all the terms unfairly to his advantage. Weather, transportation trouble, even a bad turn in relations with Austria could keep him from fulfilling his part of the bargain. She couldn't even trust him to keep his word; he could keep raising the standards for her behavior until it was impossible for her to meet them. She would have to do better, she vowed. The next negotiation would have to be to her advantage.

"Ja, Fraulein Hannover," she said, hope fluttering in her chest. She smiled back at the other personification. "I have forgotten myself for a while, and it was good of you to remind me of what I can do. May I tell you a story?" Hannover nodded, and Adeladja told her about what had happened after she had left Zopot. She left nothing out; she was only telling the truth, she reasoned, and if Prussia did not want others to know that he could be deceptive and violent than he shouldn't do such things in the first place. She was pleased to see indignation, anger, contempt and even pity cross Hannover's face as she told of Prussia's trickery and treatment of her. At the end, the other female squeezed her arm and exclaimed, "Isn't it a terrible thing that you can tell me this and I am not shocked by Preußen's behavior? Of all the stupidest ways males can react to a setback!" She stared into the distance, her delicately square jaw working. "I would confront him myself, except I am afraid of the repercussions it would have for you, Fraulein. But this behavior must be addressed. It is dishonorable!"

"Do you think the Empire would be upset if he knew?" Adeladja asked. She felt hope growing stronger within her. "Do you think he would be able to intervene with Herr Preußen and let him know there are consequences to his actions?"

Her hope dwindled when she saw Hannover's troubled expression. "The Empire would be unhappy to hear the news," she answered. "Yet he is very grateful to Preußen for unifying and strengthening him. He still looks to him for advice and guidance, since he is young and inexperienced. I don't know if he can be of any help to you, Fraulein." Adeladja sighed; of course, she thought, she could not expect help from any German entity. Maybe Saxony, but what could he do?

"But, one can always help oneself, ja?" A mischievous look appeared in Hannover's eye. "Even a non-martial female entity can learn a few tricks to protect herself from outrages. Would you like me to teach you, Fraulein?"

Adeladja smiled back. Maybe there was hope, after all. "I would like that very much, Fraulein. Danke!" They continued walking along the path. "Of course," she sighed, "It's not very easy to kick in skirts like these."

Hannover shrugged. "One only needs a knee." The two entities laughed as they sauntered back to the palace.

It's good to be back posting! I had a wonderful time visiting my friend KorosuKa in Belgium. I did an overnight trip to Amsterdam and got some useful material for "The Cuckoo Bird." I ate lots of awesome Belgian chocolate, waffles, frites and mussels, and drank a wide range of delicious Belgian beers. Netherland's sister can cook! But getting back to the story, what do you think of Adeladja's confiding in Hannover? A smart move or foolish one? Would a true Pole admit such a thing to another entity? How about Hannover's advice? I missed reading your reviews and your thoughtful comments and hope this chapter pleases and inspires you to review. And for my UK fan readers, I have only two words about next week's installment: Arthur. Kirkland.