Chapter 40
Parental Chat

The city of Hannover was much like all the other Germanic cities that they had visited so far. The edge was made up of peasant huts and small garden plots. Then came the small markets, shops, and more middle class housing. And then there were the residences of the rich, noble, and powerful clerics, the large important stone buildings, and the cathedral. The streets were about as crowded and the language was certainly the same as before.

But for Kurt, this was something of a new experience. He'd been to Hannover before, but not with a group of foreigners and a smuggled miniature dragon in tow. Ahead of him rode the still ashen-faced Axel, who was leading them to where his father was staying so that they could gain some free lodgings. Behind him rode everyone else. Bobby was his usual cheerfully inquisitive self now that he was distracted by new surroundings. Logan looked angry, but then again he always looked angry, and all the others looked around with mild curiosity.

Kurt looked ahead in time to see Lord Grünbaum's very impressive manor house come into view. The vast hall had more than enough room to accommodate all the invited guests and whoever the guests decided to invite as well. But besides its great size it is known for its fine stained glass windows and enormous dining and dancing hall. And the lord himself was well known in these parts and quite popular. Not only was he kind and generous, he also wielded some power and influence with the Kaiser himself.

"Wow! That place might be bigger than Lord Xavier's!" Bobby exclaimed, jolting Kurt from his thoughts.

"Oh really?" He mumbled to himself as his curiosity about this English Lord increased.

They entered the front gates and rode around to the stables to board their horses. Kurt sent Axel ahead to speak with his father and he personally worked on the arrangements for their horses and rooms. Thankfully they weren't the last people to come for this party and there were still plenty of rooms available. With the help of a few servants who had nothing to do at the moment, they carried their things to a set of empty rooms and settled in. With all of that done, everyone was able to relax. Kurt, however, had one final chore to take care of.

"Oh Kitty?" He called, poking his head into her room.

"Yes?" She replied. Kurt wanted to laugh when he saw her sprawled out on the bed on her back with Lockheed snoozing on her stomach. Apparently she missed sleeping in real beds very much.

"I need to ask you something." He answered as he walked over to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Ask me what?" She asked, lifting her head to look at him with confusion.

"What you came here in search of." He replied. "You never got around to telling me."

"Oh," she blinked, then slumped back down onto the mattress. "Is that all?"

"'Is that all?' Just what did you think I was going to ask?" Kurt wondered.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Well, we came here to find something." She forged on before he could press her on the other subject.

"Find what?" He asked.

"The Destiny Scrolls. Some old wooden box with magic seals that preserve some ancient scrolls with prophecies concerning the future of all humanity." She explained.

"Wow." Kurt mumbled after a moment. "So…are you looking for these Scrolls to learn about the future?"

"No, we're looking for it because it was stolen. And if they were to fall into the wrong hands they could lead to the destruction of the world…or something." Kitty corrected.

"Oh," he muttered after a longer pause. He would've liked to mull over this new chunk of important information for a while, but he was rarely so lucky as to get his way.

"M'lord?" Axel's voice echoed down the hallway. Kurt sighed and trudged over to the doorway.

"Yes Axel?" He replied as he slipped out of Kitty's room. Axel spun around and looked greatly relieved.

"Oh there you are! I almost thought you'd disappeared on me again." Axel replied, hurrying over to Kurt's side.

"Now why would I do something silly like that?" Kurt grumbled. "So what is it?"

"Your father demands to see you immediately." The guardsman answered.

"Wunderbar," Kurt sighed as a wave of dread crashed over him. "Lead on!" He commanded.

Axel nodded and they set off for wherever Count Wagner happened to be waiting for them. They went through a series of halls, most of them with tall windows filled with colored glass. The one inner hall that had no windows was decorated with colorful tapestries that depicted religious and historical scenes. Most of the people they came across were servants or pages hurrying off somewhere to complete some task or relay a message. The few exceptions, two to be exact, were some visiting lord's daughters who were rather suggestive in the looks that they gave the passing men. Kurt felt extremely uncomfortable with this, but Axel looked most pleased and interested to follow this opportunity up. Kurt had to kick him in the shin to keep them moving.

Finally they arrived at a room with a heavy oak door. On the other side of the door was a decent-sized room with a single window that filled the room with some light, though didn't illuminate everything. Immediately to one side of the door stood Günter, head of his family's guard and personal guardsman to his father. If the look on that man's face was any indication of what he was in for, which it always was, then he was in serious trouble. Kurt nervously scanned the room and found an occupied chair in the remaining patch of shadow.

"You called for me father?" Kurt prompted politely. There was a very long pause.

"You have much to explain Kurt." His father finally replied, his voice cold and commanding.

"Where would you like me to start?" Kurt sighed, shifting nervously as he wondered just how much he was going to have to say.

"How about the point when you decided to go off on your own without any protection." The Count growled.

"I do that every year father and the reason is always the same." Kurt almost whined.

"Fine," His father snarled ill-temperedly. "Then tell me what kept you so much longer this time."

"I…ran into some people." Kurt muttered evasively.

"Who?" The Count demanded.

"Some English people." Kurt stalled, though he knew it was hopeless. All he really wanted was some more time to come up with a good way to explain this.

"Which English people?" Count Wagner asked, his expression had grown dark at the mention of 'English' people.

"Well, you really wouldn't know any of them." Kurt mumbled. At his father's obvious exasperation he decided to add a bit more. "Except Katharine, though you haven't seen her in a very long time."

"Katharine?" The Count murmured to himself, thrown off by this seemingly random name. "Wait. Katharine Pryde? The girl that…" The man trailed off and stared at his son with disbelief.

"The girl that you arranged for me to be married to? Yes, that girl." Kurt grinned mischievously.

"You…ran into her out in the wilds?" His father asked, confused as to how that could be.

"Yes. Well, I ran into one of her friends first, but then when I led that idiot back to the rest I found her there too." Kurt explained.

"What was she doing out there? And who are these 'friends'?" The Count inquired.

"Her friends have nothing to do with her family." Kurt hurriedly explained. "Together, they are here to look for a stolen artifact for their benefactor."

"Benefactor?" The elder Wagner prompted.

"Lord Xavier, some rich old lord with no family who takes in who or what he sees fit, I believe." Kurt replied, drawing on what scraps he'd heard the others say. From his father's expression, he could tell that the Count had no knowledge of this particular English noble either. The older Wagner seemed to be considering all this new information and was in no real hurry to come to a decision on it. But when he did, Kurt could tell it was in his favor.

"Now, tell me about this artifact that I'm sure you promised to help find…"