Chapter 18

Author's Notes:

Sorry for this incredibly short chapter, but I didn't want to attach it to the end of chapter 17 or the beginning of chapter 19 because I felt that both of those chapters would work better without having to carry this little snippet with them. In return, I'll be updating the much longer chapter 19 tomorrow.

The first time Henrietta met Emperor Albrecht had been on her fourteenth birthday during a party to celebrate her coming of age. That had been back before her father died and before Reconquista had risen up in open rebellion.

When she met the emperor, she had been struck by how unassuming he was at first glance. He was neither particularly attractive nor unattractive; neither very large nor very small. He carried himself with dignity, certainly, but that was typical of nearly every noble, regardless of rank.

What set him apart, however, were his eyes. Though his stomach slightly bulged underneath his doublet and his beard had grown, his eyes alone had not changed in the years since then. When Henrietta looked into them, the only word she could think of to describe them was one of great hunger. This was a man who would never be satisfied with what he had. He would always be looking for more, until he was either dead or all was his.

Henrietta did not like those eyes. There was a fire in them, but no warmth. They were the opposite of Prince Wale's, who cherished what he had and sought to protect them. They were the eyes of a conqueror, not a king. She liked them even less when she noticed them looking her over from head to toe, but particularly around the chest. As she and Mazarin entered the emperor's throne room and she curtsied before him, she had to suppress the desire to cover herself with her arms.

"Welcome to Vindobona, Your Highness, Cardinal," Emperor Albrecht said, nodding at each of them in turn. "I did not expect to see you again so soon. Preparations for your arrival has not yet finished."

"Circumstances forced us to arrive by way of ships," Henrietta confessed. "I learned, nearly at the cost of my life, that there are those who would see us unwed."

"Indeed?" Emperor Albrecht narrowed his eyes into slits as he rose from his throne and walked down the dais. He took Henrietta hand in his and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "You need not concern yourself with such trifles any longer. You are safe now. I shall see to it that you and your men have every need provided for while you are here."

"You have my gratitude, Your Majesty."

"But come now," Emperor Albrecht said. "I wish to hear more about this. Let us retire to my solar so that you may tell me what happened."

Henrietta agreed, and once there she recounted all that had happened to her and her party, starting from the assassins at Aubergine. The only detail she left out was that Alex was currently on the loose in the emperor's country, and had attacked at least one of his noblemen.

"What a troubling story to hear," Emperor Albrecht said when she was finished. "You are unhurt, though, yes? No wounds or scars of any sort?"

"Yes," Henrietta confirmed. "My familiar and knights protected me, as did Lady Joanna and her men."

"She will be properly rewarded for her leal service," Emperor Albrecht said. "I would also reward your knights."

"I am sure they will be delighted to hear that."

The emperor nodded. "My enemies too shall know how I return the favor. Their boldness must be responded to in kind."

"As you say," Henrietta said. "But if I may? Perhaps the simplest solution would be if we were to be wed sooner. Once we are married, it would be too late for our enemies to do anything."

"No," Emperor Albrecht said, standing up and turning away from her, looking out the window. "Our marriage will be the moment when Germania steps into an age of glory. It will be the beginning of a new day, one where none may question our legitimacy as a great power. I will give no one cause to question otherwise, nor will I allow it to be said that I fled into a marriage. Preparations must still be made. Our wedding shall be the grandest in all history, and it will take place as planned in two months."

Henrietta bit her lip. She wanted to scream at the man that she might not even be alive in two months, if not for the assassins, then because of Reconquista. She wanted to yell at him that if that happened, there would be no "age of glory" for him or for Germania. But she knew that would do nothing to change his mind, so she kept her protests to herself and nodded.

"I shall look forward to it," she said, forcing herself to smile instead.