Part Nine – Cold Water

I stood out on my deck at my bow as I sailed through the North Sea, it had been strange to be so close to home and yet sail so far around it. It was chilly out here today, even if I was heading into summer in a few weeks from now. Taking a moment to blow into my right hand after I switched my mobile phone to my left hand just as my mother asked, "Any clues as to where you are this time?"

I give a little laugh as I see my breath and answer, "Only that it's damned cold."

She sighs and I hear her chair spin as she moves and starts tapping on a wall before saying, "That could be nearly anywhere north of me right now. But it's good to hear you laugh, my sweet boy."

"Thanks, mum, I feel better than I did a few weeks ago." The words feel so honest this time.

"I'm glad to hear it, how was France?" she asks, again her tone sounding so much more relaxed.

"Interesting, I think I made a friend there, and I think I picked up a crush as well." I say as I move to lean over the end of my bow.

"As in you developed one, or one of those girls developed one?" she asks, clearly fishing for knowledge.

Switching hands again I answer, "The latter I think."

"Oh? I would hope she would be of an appropriate build and station." Comes the warning tone out of her lips.

With a shrug, I move back towards my A turret as I answer, "Jean Bart."

"Interesting, I wouldn't have thought she would have a taste for anything English." My mother starts to muse before adding, "But she could be an interesting match."

My brow knits together and I ask, "Why?"

"She's the sister to the flagship of their fleet; I would expect nothing less than that to be a possible match for you." She answers.

My lips press together and I feel a little frustration building as I say, "I won't be used as a political tool again."

She sighs, and I can almost picture her pinching the bridge of her nose as she says, "Yes and no, Mitchel. The reality is, you are of a higher station, I'm sure you figured that out last time. Kansen have a pecking order after all. Carriers and Battleships are at the top, whereas destroyers and subs are at the bottom… I thought that would've been clear last time."

"Well," I start to say as I duck inside my hull, closing the hatch behind me, just as it sinks in, every woman I was matched with last time were either a battleship or carrier and I admit, "oaky, you've got me there, but what about my feelings on the matter?"

"I would think this time they matter more." She pauses before adding, "Vittorio asked me to tell you hello, by the way. Apparently, you left a positive impression on her from your… encounter. Did you do the same with Miss Bart?"

Clearing my throat before I answer, "No, no I didn't."

My mother gives a soft laugh before saying, "I'm surprised her knightly tendencies won out there, I would've put money on her more… loose morals to win out."

Once I get to my bridge and pour a cup of coffee and look out at the waves that are starting to crash over my bow I ask, "Mum if I tell you where I'm going, can I trust that you won't try and stop me?"

She's quiet for a moment before answering, "Of course."

Sipping from the mug I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I'm going to see the Iron Blood, Jean said that they can be a fun bunch, and if I recall the time I spent with Gneisenau, they can be when not busy with their duties."

She is silent for a few moments before saying anything, "I won't lie to you Mitchel, but I am not keen on the idea of you chatting up Gneisenau again, but I won't stop you either, not that I could." She pauses before adding, "Just, keep in mind that you are in a valuable position, aside from your status as the male kansen, your sisters are all flagships, that puts you in a unique position of being in an eligible and powerful position."

Rolling my red eyes I ask, "Fine, so if I were to look for a German strudel of some kind what do you think would be fitting?"

From the other side of the line I hear her mobile protest being crushed a little before she grits her teeth and says, "If you must be in such a position, I would accept no one less than Tirpitz or Bismarck herself."

Getting comfortable on the captain's chair and drinking more coffee I respond, "That seems like a tall order."

"Considering you seem to have a knack for getting in knickers now, I'm not so sure it would be." My mother teases dryly.

Rolling my eyes I put an end to this conversation, "Alright mum, I'll call you again next week. I love you."

A happy tone comes to her voice as she says, "I love you too Mitchel, I miss you."

"I miss you to mum, I'll be home when I can." I say before hanging up just as I sense the approach of a smaller ship coming towards me. Sighting my A turret where they should be, I can't see anything as there is a fog bank they seem to be hiding in.

I load a star shell into one of my forward-facing secondary turrets and fire over the ship to try and illuminate the ship's outline. It doesn't take long before the profile shows in the fog, and I feel a grin come to my face, I know that profile, but the question is, is it who I think it is, or is it her sister?

It wasn't long before her long slender hull slipped out of the fog, those twin triple-barreled turrets on the bow, small for a battleship, they were no less a threat, but the real surprise I knew she packed were the two triple torpedo launchers. I felt a little excited if it was the sister I knew, now I just had to wait for her to come alongside, but in the meantime, I could at least get back down on my deck to greet her once she did.

It didn't take long for her to pull alongside my hull and hop onto it, her long purple-pink hair, tight shorts, and top looking just as good as I remember. When I got to her face, I could see that lollypop stick, sticking out between her lips, and when I made eye contact with those blue eyes framed in red glasses I extended my arms and called out to her, "Gneisenau! How are you?"

She didn't answer right away, she just started to walk towards me as she took the red lollypop out of her mouth with her left hand, once she was almost close enough for me to hug, it was a blur of motion and a pain in my left cheek before the sound of skin on skin slapping. I was shocked, my eyes blinking in surprise as she said to me in a clearly agitated voice, "I will not be your whore or bed warmer!"

Reeling from the hit I take a step back and demand, "What the hell are you talking about? Why did you hit me?!"

I see her blink a few times, her hand still up and in the position it had been in after the slap and she asked me, "Why are you asking me that? You of all people should know why that is!"

"Ginny," I start by using a private name she had let me call her back at Midway before I take a step back and continue, "I have no idea what you're talking about! I've never asked you to do either of those things! I had gone out of my way to try and respect the position you were in!"

Her head tilts to the side and her eyes narrow a little as she says, "The last time I spoke to you or Illustrious; she told me that the next time I saw you, you would be asking me to be your whore."

Of course Illustrious had something to do with this, and now it makes sense why Ginny wouldn't talk to me after I had been given to Illustrious. Hanging my head I say, "Figures, even back then she wasn't telling me the truth."

Gneisenau folds her arms under her bust and angles out her right hip as she says, "What are you talking about?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose I sigh out, "She lied to you, she lied to me," I pause and look up and try to smile at Ginny as I continue, "I think the only person she didn't lie too, was Littorio in the end."

"What do you mean, Mitchel?" she asks me as her features soften a little and she adds, "I thought you two were getting married, at least that was what U-47 had said when she departed for Midway."

Moving over to the side of my hull to lean bend at my hips and rest my elbows on the railing as I admit, "She left me at the altar and ran to Littorio, a lover she had denied ever having, to my face."

Ginny moves to stand beside me, and rubbed my shoulders with a hand as she said, "I'm sorry to hear that, Mitchel, but I would be lying if I said I liked her."

I nod and sigh out, "I had wanted you, I had even told the half-pint as much."

"I know, but she had made it clear to me, that I would never be the one." She says before kissing my cheek and admitting, "That Christmas when I gave you the bread, I had wanted you to kiss me. But I knew if that happened, it would've been nothing but trouble."

Giving her a look over my shoulder I ask, "What about a second chance?"

She frowns a little and shakes her head as she says while adjusting her left hand to show me an engagement band as she says, "I'm sorry, but shortly after I rotated home, I met someone. But even if that wasn't the case, you're position places you even above my weight class."

"What do you mean?" I ask as I move to put my back to the ocean.

Ginny moves to match as she says to me, "Your sister, Dominion, is the flagship of the Royal Navy, correct?" She waits for me to nod as she continues, "That means, if you are to be married off, she will need to be of a similar political station, either human or Kansen." Again I nod slowly and she continues, "That means for a kansen, she will need to be a Flagship or be the sister to a Flagship. And when I say Flagship, I don't mean a detachment Flagship, I mean she has to be the Flagship."

With a groan, I lean my head back and say, "I think my mother tried to explain the same thing to me a couple of hours ago."

"Wales is a smart lady, you should listen to her." Ginny says to me as she laces her fingers together and looks out over the water before asking me, "So what brings you to Iron Blood waters?"

"Figuring myself out, after things came to a spectacular end when I caught up with Illustrious in Taranto, it became clear I needed help." I say to her as I rest my chin on my folded arms.

"Alright, but why here?" she presses for details.

"I spent a week in the Iris Dominion, just decompressing and being given trust that wasn't being betrayed. When I felt I was in a better place, Jean," I start to say and Ginny nods before adding, "She would be a good match for you, with her being the sister to the flagship."

I raise an eyebrow and ask, "Why is it that I get the impression that I'm the equivalent of a princess in medieval Europe?"

Ginny gives me a bit of a giggle as she says, "Well, kansen would be most likely a matriarchy, rather than a patriarchy, so…"

Hanging my head I groan out, "So yea, my real value is being sold off for an alliance or realm expansion."

Ginny brushes some hair behind an ear as she says, "More or less. And since you were rolled out shortly after the Conqueror class came to be, your position in the fleet wasn't known at the time."

"So are you telling me, I should get on board with the idea of being used as a tool?" I ask in a slightly cold tone.

"Likely, but unlike Elizabeth, Dominion will likely put more weight on your preferences." She says to me as we start to walk back towards her hull as she adds, "Follow me in, I'll find you a good dock."

"Thanks, Ginny." I say with a pause to add, "I hope they're treating you well."

She twists slightly to wink at me and says, "He is."

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Once we had docked I was surprised to have Ginny link arms with me and start walking through the port town, banners of the Iron Blood were hanging down from patios, little flags were strung along between lamp posts, it looked like destroyers and human children were playing games, and I could see men drinking with what I could only assume were kansen. Sensing my confusion, Ginny whispered to me, "We are gearing up to celebrate our…" she paused and her brow knit together for a moment before she said, "day of no longer being state property, it is only the second one, so it is still a very new holiday."

I was about to say something when I hear a man call out, "Gneisenau!"

Both of us looked in his direction and I saw a tall man not overly well dressed but going by the grease stain on his cheek I'd guess he worked with machines of some kind. Taking a moment to look at Ginny, I can see it in her face, she's happy to see him. Ginny lets go of me and goes over to embrace him, before bringing him over to me as she says, "Mitchel, this is Hans. Hans this is Mitchel."

He extends a hand to me quickly as he tries his English with a heavy German accent, "Good to meet you, Gneisenau has had very kind words for you."

Looking at his hand for a moment it feels, strange to be asked to shake hands after so long and I'm slower to take it than I should've been, or rather would've been a few years ago now. I can tell that he works with his hands, they feel rough in mine and I say to him, "It is good to meet you as well, I hope I am not intruding."

Ginny smiles and places herself between the two of us, slipping one hand around his waist and the other over my shoulders as she says, "Not at all, I'm glad you're here, even if it wasn't planned."

I watch Hans whisper something in her ear and she nods before pulling me along as she says, "Come! To the alehouse!"

XXXX

As the door opened, the sounds of merriment reached my ears, looking around I saw kansen and humans clinking glasses together and drinking. Once we had found a table, Hans excused himself and went to get us beers. Once he was gone Ginny smiled at me and said, "I'm sorry that things came apart for you, but I'm not sorry that it did at the same time."

I shake my head and say, "It was likely for the best, now I'm working on being a better person."

"Ja, you said as much, but what does that look like now?" she says, fluffing out her long hair with one hand.

I was about to say something when I felt someone bump into me from behind as a woman's voice laughed and said, "I doubt you can drink me under the table Agir!"

Another woman laughed as she countered, "I did last year!"

Twisting around slightly I see two women that look a lot alike, the major difference being that one had horns on her head. The one with the horns on her head looked at me, before looking to Ginny and asking, "He is not Hans, is he free?"

I didn't even get a chance to say something as Ginny pushed me out of my chair a little and said, "He's all yours Agir, his name is Mitchel." She paused to wink at me and add in a whisper, "Have fun."

The one called Agir took my arms and pulled me up before linking her arm with mine, while the other did the same from the other side as Agir stated, "Come, Mitchel, we will drink and see who passes out first!"

Looking to the other woman, she rolled her rust-red eyes before sniping, "What, we need to involve someone else, just so you can win this year?"

Agir gives off a boisterous laugh as she says, "Not at all Eugen, I just want to see you lose by even more this year!"

The three of us sat at the bar and three pints were placed in front of us, Agir lifted her glass to me and Eugen and stated, "Skål!"

Agir tipped her pint skyward and started to chug it down, with a shrug I did the same. Once I was done and put it down, a second pint was ready to go, lifting it I called out, "Cheers!"

Agir gave out a throaty laugh as she said, "See, he gets it!"

From my other side, I hear a second-pint glass hit the bar as Eugen says, "But the real question is can he keep up with kansen?"

When I put down my second pint and wipe my chin I state, "As His Majesty's finest, I'd better damn well be able to."

Things got quiet after I said that, I could feel them both looking at me for a moment before Agir asked Eugen, "Did he just say, what I think he said?"

Eugen pokes my cheek as she says, "I think so."

With a heavy sigh, I take up my third pint and say, "So what if I'm him, I'm here to have some fun."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Eugen's eyes go a little wide as she straightens up a little and Agir laughs as she says, "Then we must show you a good time then!"

I turn my attention to where Eugen was looking and I see a blue-eyed blond I know, her very fine features relax a little as she says, "Agir, I do hope you are not planning on taking advantage of Thunderer."

Agir just about spit out her third beer, before turning slowly and stating, "Of course not, Herrin Bismarck, I wouldn't think of doing that!"

Bismarck nods, and turns her full attention to me as she says, "Then you two wouldn't mind if I borrowed him for a while?"

"Not at all, Herrin Bismarck." Eugen said as she slipped off of her stool, reaching around my back to pull Agir away.

Once they were gone, she sat down beside me and I noticed for the first time, she wasn't in the uniform I've always seen her in before. She gestures to the man behind the bar for a pint before turning her attention fully to me and asking, "I heard about what happened at your wedding, I'm sorry that you went through that." She pauses to sip her pint before adding, "How is your mother?"

As a fourth pint landed in front of me and I took a sip from it I say to her, "She's doing well enough, covering for me with the Atlantic HQ, though she does worry about me."

"As a good mother should." She says, sipping again before asking, "What brings you to my waters, though?"

"Learning how to have fun, again." I say as I lean back and look around the alehouse and watch as everyone seems to be having fun.

Bismarck nods and lifts her glass as she says, "To fun then."

With a clink of the glasses, we both drink deep of our pints.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the return of a few characters from his past! As I said before I can be followed on Reddit by looking up u/MetusR and as always, stay tuned for Chapter 10, there is going to be some good stuff in it!