Authors note:….is at the bottom, sorry I don't want to spoil my own story

A/N 10/12/2019: sorted some grammar issues and made some very minor changes, nothing should affect the plot if you've already read this far though.

Chapter 4 Operation Deliverance: After Action Report Part I

40 years after the Great War

Londinium

As discussed earlier, the Saint often broadcast a child's voice pleading for peace. Rumour persists that this child was none other than the second son of the Grand Duke of Letzenbourg, Prince Wilhelm Viktor Von Hozollern. Amazingly there may be some truth in these stories as, unlike his older brother, the regent of Letzenbourg at the time. He was a direct relation of the sitting Emperor via his mother. From the young Prince's birth, the Empire made it clear that he was a preferred heir to the Dutchy and would often attempt to boost him in the eyes of the world. - Andrew WTN Special correspondent

March 3rd Unified Year 1925

Rhine Front

"So, you can follow orders when you want to," stated Tanya sardonically raising an eyebrow.

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of disobeying you Argent," he said in his innocent voice turning towards her with a sweet smile.

"Stop it" she snapped, "I've had it with this act, I don't know what you're trying to achieve but you haven't fooled me," she finished with a hint of warning.

The prince's smile widened, and he burst into laughter for a moment before wincing in pain. He grasped his side and fell to one knee with a grunt of discomfort. He took a few deep breaths to compose himself before glaring up at Tanya.

"Maybe I'm not trying to fool you!" he said darkly with a painfilled half-smile.

She was about to question him further but was cut short by shouts from the approaching Captain Hausmann and a group of Letzenbourgers.

"Prince Wilhelm Sir! Are you alright?" He asked voice bristling with concern.

Once again, the prince donned his innocent act, although now pain was leaking through into his face. He obviously wasn't going to elaborate while others were around.

Tanya wondered quite what had happened, although he had been bandaged in the hospital, he had shown little sign of discomfort and she had not seen him take any obvious injury during the skirmish. Other than the exhaustion bought on by magical fatigue he should be fine. He leaned on his sword and pushed himself unsteadily to his feet as the captain rushed over.

"I think the drugs have started to wear off and my wounds are reopening," he said wincing and holding his side.

"You drugged him?" Tanya blinked in surprise, "why wasn't I informed" she finished angrily. The idiot had clearly been hiding the extent of her injuries from her, she wouldn't have let him fly had she known. At least it went some way to explaining his strange behaviour, the boy's head was likely on another planet. I should have just had Wiess or Neumann carry him.

"Sorry miss…erm… Major" he began, correcting himself as Tanya's face darkened "I gave him pervitin, one of the drugs the foot-sloggers use in the trenches. He asked me not to mention it."

At least the captain had the decency to look ashamed, although whether it was from giving a child drugs or telling her that she had when asked not to she couldn't tell. She sighed, she knew the drug he was referring to, it was a combination painkiller and energy boost taken by the overworked front-line troops. Officially the military had banned it, but long hours in horrendous conditions on the Rhine meant that commanders turned a blind eye if meant their troops could keep going that bit longer. Giving it to a 10-year-old however was incredibly stupid, he was lucky his heart hadn't exploded! She was about to reprimand the captain but was cut off once again by the prince.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want to appear weak in front of a hero like you Argent," he said his voice sad while his eyes glared at her telling her to drop the issue.

She considered pushing the point, he was manipulating the situation again and she didn't like him being in control. No, it was better not to rock the boat just yet, this kid had influence, it would be better to use that than upset him over this, besides most of the work was done, she just had to get him back over the lines. Despite herself she couldn't help smiling, if he had been one of her men, regulations said she could have had him flogged. The idea of seeing the source of all her recent problems beaten was oddly satisfying. She pushed the thought aside, as much as she'd like to beat him the prince was a superior officer, so he was more or less untouchable for her. Anyway, they had more important things to worry about, they still had to get back.

"The Republicans will start artillery barrages again soon to cover their retreat," she observed as Serebrykov and the rest of her company landed close by. "Can you fly?" She asked the prince almost certain he couldn't, judging by the tired and pained look on his face.

"I don't think I have enough energy left," he said looking down at his sword glumly. Tanya almost laughed out loud. This was the first expression he had worn on his face while others that were around that she believed to be sincere, and it was embarrassment. He admitted his weakness to her, and somehow it felt like the sweetest victory.

"I suppose you'll have to be carried then," she said unable to keep a hint of mockery from her voice.

Tanya felt a moment of triumph as the remaining colour drained from the prince's face, clearly, he did not want to appear too weak in front of the troops. She knew she wouldn't in his position. Soon, however, she felt the tables turn and a sick feeling in her stomach as a smile started to creep back on his face.

"Oh, A..Argent," he stuttered "Y…you want to help me back across yourself?" he asked injecting a hint of embarrassment and nervousness into his voice. The troops around began murmuring and smiling to each other.

"What, No!" Tanya replied horrified, they couldn't be thinking that! She would not allow it!

"Oh, I see," the prince replied dejectedly and once again she found Hausmann looking at her disapprovingly, while Serebrykov shuffled her feet nervously as she did when she had an objection but wasn't sure whether to voice it.

"Erm…excuse me commander, but maybe it would be best if you did help him back," her adjutant whispered pulling her aside before looking back at the prince.

Tanya felt anger bubbling up inside her but swallowed it down, this wasn't Serebrykov's fault, that bastard was manipulating them again. Perhaps it was her fault for baiting him.

"Why do you say that lieutenant?" She asked eyes narrowing at her.

"Erm well," Serebrykov began intimidated by her superior, "you're a similar size and well…." She took a deep breath "he clearly likes you and you know….and he's royalty….it could be good for you," she finished with a nervous smile.

Tanya stared at her assistant dumfounded, he liked her? That is what they thought? Ridiculous! They'd gone mad obviously! They were in a muddy war-torn wasteland and they were playing matchmaker!

Serebrykov had gone quiet and looked uncomfortable, she was probably worried about how she'd manage being shelled in a pillbox. Tanya would never do that to her of course, they'd been through too much but if she could arrange it to happen to the prince she wouldn't hesitate. Before she could compose her thoughts the Letzenbourg captain decided to interject.

"Excuse me, Major, it'd mean a lot to the prince, he idolises you, he's always talking about you!" he paused for a moment, "besides it won't look so bad him being carried back by a hero rather than one of us."

Tanya closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she felt cornered. If she refused, it would make her seem like a shy little girl afraid of the prince's infantile little crush. The very idea infuriated her. On top of that, she would make both herself and the prince look bad, the news would reach the higher-ups that she had shamed the emperor's beloved nephew and she'd find herself stuck with some terrible assignment in the trenches. He'd done it again, with a few words he'd manipulated everyone and made her feel like a fool. She repressed her anger, she'd already decided she wouldn't let him get to her anymore, this was just a test of her resolve. One she would win.

"Prince Wilhelm," she said sweetly turning back and offering a hand. "You've worked very hard and you seem tired, let me help you home."

You're not the only one that can fake innocence she thought.

She had expected some comeback but instead, the prince thanked her, put one arm around her shoulder and stood on her flight boot. She took flight, then radioed the rest of the battalion to follow. It wouldn't be too far, once they made it back to the supply trenches they would land and let the train take them back to command. Personally, she'd be content to fly the whole way back to the command centre but not everyone in the unit had the magical stamina she had. Besides the prince was exhausted and injured, the sooner she foisted him on someone else, the sooner she'd be free of responsibility for his wellbeing.

As they flew away, the repetitive booms of enemy artillery resumed. The battle had been won but the front hadn't moved, thousands were dead, and the stalemate continued.

xxxxx

The support line was several kilometres back. Although technically a safe zone for the troops it was only just out of enemy artillery range so any change in the front line could spell disaster for the ad-hoc rail depot. It was this Tanya was heading towards, motor vehicles were still unreliable, and although horses were still widely used, they were fast becoming obsolete. A protected rail system for supplies was vital to current warfare.

Tanya wasn't sure what to expect from the smug young royal as she carried him along but what she didn't expect was sullen silence. Not that it was a bad thing, but she was curious about what he had said after finishing off the republican soldier.

"Care to explain what you meant earlier?" she questioned, taking care that they were out of earshot of the rest of the company. He'd obviously not wanted to speak of it, even in front of his own men, so she doubted he'd talk if he thought they would be overheard. He still hadn't sheathed his sword, but Tanya didn't see it as a threat, he was so exhausted he could barely lift it, but he was still oddly fixated by it, glancing down at it from time to time.

"Nowhere near enough," she heard him murmur to himself before carefully stowing his sword and staring off into the horizon. He was ignoring her again, I've had enough Tanya thought with annoyance.

"Hey!" she exclaimed squeezing his battered body. He yelped in pain and glared at her.

"You will not do that again" he threatened, "don't forget who I am Major."

She paused, uncertain for a moment. This was dangerous. Although the Empire was a constitutional monarchy, the monarch was supremely popular and had a lot of political power. As a relative, the prince had a portion of that power and as a potential heir, he could be considered her boss. You don't threaten your boss…. unless you had something over them. He had already said, 'Maybe I'm not trying to fool you!', he seemed less concerned about keeping his act up for her, it must mean something. Let's roll the dice she thought.

"I could always drop you Wilhelm, but I'll settle for you explaining yourself," she threatened while imitating his own smug grin.

"I didn't take you as a traitor rusted silver," he replied confidently before coughing and grimacing in pain.

"Crap! I would love to indulge you, but the bullet the republican doctors took out of me cracked some ribs," he growled, "I thought I was as good as healed."

Maybe if you had stayed out of the way rather than going on a killing spree you would be! she thought to herself as she scowled at him. Any rational person would take it easy after surgery, they certainly wouldn't be charging at machine guns and waving a sword around! Catching her gaze, a strange and thoughtful look crossed his face before changing to a look of resignation.

"You have my word, I'll explain to you before we reach command," he promised eventually.

"Fine" she frowned, as much as she would like to have him explain himself, she did have to deliver the prince intact. Besides, it was another rare look of sincerity that accompanied his promise, somehow that was more unnerving that his usual fake persona.

"Where are we going?" he asked eventually in laboured breaths, obviously he'd been right about the cracked ribs.

"Belvaux" she replied, and she heard a noise of disapproval from him. Seeing him frown further she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the place.

"It would be better if we landed in Kayl" he replied eventually in a serious tone.

"Too close to the front line," she countermanded leaving no room for argument. She wasn't going to give him another inch she decided, you'll do as you're told this time.

He remained silent for a moment before asking for a radio, she obliged and he contacted command, spewing a code she didn't recognise. She raised an eyebrow at him in question, was he trying to overrule him again?

"On to Belvaux, I suppose," he muttered grumpily. Obviously not but she did wonder who he had contacted.

The rest of the journey was spent in relative silence between the two. The prince was in too much pain to want to talk much and although Tanya had several questions for the boy, it was obvious she wasn't going to get a lot out of him. She was aware of some snickering coming from the ranks behind her. The little prince's earlier performance had obviously got the rumour mill going and her subordinates were clearly speculating about things that they should not. She would need to deal with that later. The bastard made a fool of me again she grumbled to herself inwardly, squeezing her charge a little to provoke some extra pain.

Once they approached the small town, they landed close to the rail depot. Tanya was glad to release the ailing noble, she didn't particularly want anything to do with him let alone be that close to him. As soon as they touched down a young Letzenbourg trooper got out of a nearby car and rushed towards them. The prince's radio message now made sense, he had obviously radioed ahead to be picked up, it seemed she would be rid of him sooner than she thought.

"Prince Wilhelm, Sir" the young soldier saluted, 2I'm here to take you back to the palace, I've been sent by your brother, the regent"

The prince stiffened and regarded the officer suspiciously, a look of concern crossed his face as his eyes narrowed. "My brother?" he breathed quietly to himself, glancing between the trooper and Tanya.

"Sorry corporal, Lady Degurechaff has to escort me to command to be debriefed," he shrugged apologetically, reverting to his angelic persona.

Tanya scowled, he was calling her 'Lady' once again instead of her rank. She pushed her annoyance aside. Something wasn't right, why would the prince radio ahead to be picked up and then refuse to go with the driver?

"The regent was quite insistent," the corporal said grasping the prince's arm.

The troopers around her tensed, something was definitely wrong. A corporal laying hands on a colonel was more than a little improper, a soldier laying hands on his prince was unthinkable. She readied her weapon unsurprised to see the Letzenbourg captain doing the same.

The tension was palpable, Tanya's instincts told her something bad would happen soon if something didn't change. It reminded her of her old life, two superiors had disagreed, and it was the underlings that suffered for it, it'd been a busy time in the HR department as the higherups used their employees as pawns. Not too dissimilar to this world she thought dolefully.

"Prince Wilhelm!" a new voice called from a military ambulance that pulled up nearby causing everyone to turn.

To Tanya's surprise it wasn't a Soldier that stepped out, but a maid. She looked to be in her early 20s and wore large glasses and a stern look on her face that made her seem older. A look of relief crossed the prince's face.

"Christina, I see you got my message," the prince called, freeing himself as the maid strode towards them. The prince had summoned a maid to pick him up? She knew the nobility were supposed to be eccentric, but this seemed more than a little strange under the circumstances.

"Indeed, my prince, we will have you checked in the ambulance then deliver you to the command centre," the maid replied unemotionally.

"Sorry Tanya, I'll have to meet you at the command centre," the prince apologised turning back towards her. "Take the staff car if you like, I'm sure my brother won't mind," he finished grinning at the corporal who shifted uncomfortably.

Like I'd go anywhere with someone that suspicious thought Tanya keeping her weapon ready. The corporal mumbled an excuse about the car being unfit for passengers and rushed away. Once he was out of sight everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Unfit for passengers but fit for a prince? I don't think so Tanya thought.

The Maid began shepherding the prince away towards the ambulance while his troops began loading themselves on the nearby train. So much for his promise, obviously nobody was going to explain to her what had just happened, so resigned but annoyed she ordered her troops to do the same.

The supply train was long and made up mostly of large cargo cars with huge sliding doors to allow entrance and exit. The military would cram both supplies and humans into the cars and not for the first time Tanya was thankful for being a senior officer. Officers of Captain and higher were allowed to ride in the small passenger car towards the front of the train, it was hardly 1st class but it was by far more comfortable than the cramped cargo cars.

She left Wiess to organise loading the troops and left Serebrykov to stow away her own equipment and began wandering towards the front of the train. She sighed to herself, there was still so much to do. She needed to report to General von Hans and write the written report for command. Worse still they had yet to set up a battalion command, they had been deployed to the rescue mission as soon as they had reached the front. She didn't even know if the General had commandeered them a base of operations yet. On top of that, she desperately wanted a bath after the day's events, and she wondered if not having a cup of coffee for a few hours, was good enough defence to murder someone.

As she approached the passenger car, she noticed the Letzenbourg Captain Hausmann talking to a young woman in a military uniform. It was the maid from earlier she realised, but when had she had time to change? Wasn't she supposed to be with the prince? Seeing her approach, they both stopped and saluted.

"Major I'm Captain Sophia Zerbst, Prince Wilhelm's liaison officer," she chirped cheerfully. Hadn't the maid been called Christina? This was not the same person from earlier she realised, but there was an uncanny resemblance.

"You must have met my sister" she laughed sensing Tanya's confusion. The officer turned to Hausmann and ordered him not to let anyone else into the passenger car before turning back to Tanya.

"Please follow me, the prince will see you in the front carriage, I'll see about getting some refreshments for you both," she said quietly before Tanya could ask.

Tanya's eyes widened in surprise, "I thought he left in the ambulance," she replied confused.

"For security reasons, we didn't want anyone to know where he was, so we moved him here in secret," the officer returned grinning happily as they entered the railcar. "besides it would take hours to get to western command in that thing," she giggled referring to the battered ambulance.

The passenger car had been emptied she soon realised, although there wouldn't be many officers leaving the front line at the moment she reasoned. It seemed they didn't even trust Letzenbourg's own officers it seemed as there weren't even any guards in the cabin.

They stopped at a compartment and knocked at the door before the liaison officer opened it and ushered Tanya inside hastily. Inside the Prince was being rebandaged by the maid from earlier, he turned his head to Tanya and grinned.

"I suppose you want that explanation now."

Authors note…... again: After all the action in the last chapter, this was pretty hard to write as everything wound down. Also, lots of dialogue and I don't like using that unless I have to but hey plot is beginning to emerge! Before we go on a few things.

First and most importantly, thanks again to everyone that is reading and/or favouriting this story. Even more so to people that reviewed! Every time I get a notification, I get super motivated to continue.

Second: There was a bit about drugs in this chapter so I thought I should explain. This is a reference to both drugs being sent to soldiers in WW1 (you literally sent gift boxes of morphine and such) and both sides encouraging troops to take some sort of amphetamines in WW2. 'Pervitin' the drug I mention was actually used by the Germans during the war, scary right? (Although I may have exaggerated its pain suppressing effects for the story, I'm not sure I've never indulged myself.)

Third: I would really appreciate your opinions and criticisms (as long as it stays constructive), I know I'm not perfect and want to improve.

For one thing, would you prefer longer or shorter chapters? I'm trying to let them finish naturally but this and the last one went past my original plan. I'm aiming for 2-3k words. Also if you find any spelling or grammar errors, this story is falling out my brain so quickly I'm not surprised I missed it. Just be aware I'm British, so it's colour and don't get me started on aluminium!

Seriously though thank you for reading, you don't know what it means to me.