Sir Héderváry stood outside his door, a long face dawned on his expression. Gilbert could only guess that the news had reached him as well.
"What do you want?" Gilbert question not so kindly. He still couldn't forgive this man for his treatment of Elizaveta.
"I received a note from Elizaveta two weeks ago, she said she's pregnant and she wanted me to come." He responded.
"I don't believe you." The Prussian retorted. With a sigh, Sir Héderváry pulled out a slip of paper from his coat pocket, and handed it over to the skeptical man. Gilbert took it from him and unfolded. It was addressed to Sir Héderváry from Elizaveta, and it had her same handwriting.
Dear Father,
It's been a while since I left and I have found myself becoming weaker by the day. I fear I will not be here for very long. Truthfully, by the time this will reach you, I will have already died. However I have found myself with child and am due in two months. I want you to come to England to see my child. If I am not there when you arrive, know that I love you, and I have no more regrets in my life.
Sincerely, Elizaveta
Gilbert stopped reading and looked up at the aged man. He still didn't trust this man, but he couldn't ignore his wife's wishes. Gilbert stepped to the side to let him in, but continued to glare at him. Sir Héderváry walked in and removed his hat. Gilbert led him to the back and up a flight of stairs, to their living area. It was Sunday so the shop was closed to customers. It was a one roomed living space. A sofa and a small table in the center, a dinner dinning table to the right near the front, and an old bed tucked in the back left of the room. Sir Héderváry took one slow look around and gave a small look of disgust.
"It's a bit dry in here." He said aloud.
"Sorry, but it is still technically summer." Gilbert growled.
"It's also quite cramped. Does the child even have a room to themselves?" The Hungarian man asked.
"No she doesn't, she won't need one till she's older." The platinum blond answered.
Sir Héderváry tisked and walked in further. He walked up to the coffee table and saw his granddaughter atop of it, in a cushioned wooden box.
"Oh my! She doesn't even have a crib!" He exclaimed. Gilbert's glare deepened, he was starting to feel uneasy about the man's visit.
"What did you really come here for? Other that to criticize they way we live." Gilbert shot out. Sir Héderváry let out a cough and straightened his coat.
"Well, I think it would be in her best interest, if my granddaughter came to live with me in the manor." He said honestly. Gilbert felt his blood run cold that boil above the line.
"What, so you can ruin her life to?" Gilbert spat venomously.
"Now you look here-"
"No, you look! Elizaveta may have wanted you to be able to see your granddaughter, but Marie is my daughter. I know what's best for her, not you!" Gilbert yelled at him, quickly becoming loud as his anger steamed out.
"Tell me this, do you know the likelihood a premature baby has at survival? At my manor, Maria would receive the utmost care." The older father argued.
"Her name is Marie! And she'll survive just fine! Just like Elizaveta did without your so called 'care'. What she needs is love and human connection. Not being placed on a pedestal, divided from any actual human connection." Gilbert hollered. Marie's sudden cries erupted from her little box. Gilbert shoved the Hungarian out of the way and gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Soothing her and whispering calming words. The little baby soon calmed down and closed her eyes again.
"Until you get this ridiculous idea of taking Marie away from me out of your head, I don't want you to ever step near my house again." Gilbert said to him coldly.
"Wha-" Sir Héderváry stared in shock. "Do you know who I am?" He yelled angrily.
"You're the man who ruined my wife's life!" Gilbert yelled back.
"You know nothing! Your the worst mistake my daughter has ever made!" Sir Héderváry bellowed. Gilbert set Marie back in her box, he squeezed his fist, he spun around quickly and shoved Sir Héderváry in the chest.
"Your the one who locked Elizaveta away! You drove her to near suicide and did nothing! You tore away the one thing she loved just so you could sleep better at night! I gave her a life of fun and adventure, just like she always wanted! Because of me she made friends! We got married! We had a kid together! DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME A MISTAKE!" Sir Héderváry clamped up and silenced himself. Gilbert shoved him back out the front door to the shop as roughly as he could.
"Don't ever come back!" The blond shouted and slammed the door shut. Gilbert stomped back up stairs and picked his daughter back up again. Sitting himself on the couch, he rocked her back and forth slowly. Marie looked back at him with her big green eyes and smiled brightly, giggling adorably. Staring at his child, Gilbert sniffled and began to tear up. His daughter was so little and frail, she really did need proper treatment in order to survive. But he was too selfish to let that bastard take her away from him. He feared he may be no better than him. He was afraid to lose Marie, like he lost her mother.
"Oh, Elizaveta..." Gilbert cried out in a mumble. "I can't do this alone."
...
[Six years later]
The bright sun shined through the cheap curtains and threatened to awaken the tired Prussian. Birds chirped outside, and the occasional sound of a rooster cocking rang though the air. Just as he was about to return to sleepy time junction, a small voice rang in his ears.
"Wake up, papa!" Marie shouted directly in his ear. Gilbert jumped up out of bed and landed on the floor in shock. The sound of happy, playful laughter filled his ears. Gilbert looked up back at the bed, where his daughter was sitting and watching him with a grin. Gilbert felt himself smile. His daughter was as beautiful as her mother. She had long silver hair that spiked a bit at the top, with bright green eyes that reminded him of her mother. When his daughter had asked about her mother, he told her that she died of illness when she was a baby. Gilbert didn't want to tell her she died after childbirth.
"Morning, birdie." He said as he got up. Picking her up by her armpits, he spun her around twice and placed her on the ground.
"Morning papa!" She giggled. "Hurry and get ready, school is today!" She told him and ran downstairs. Gilbert chuckled and went over to the wardrobe he built. He grabbed a tunic and pants, and got dressed quickly. He followed after his daughter downstairs to the shop and checked the clock. It was six, so the shop didn't open for another two hours.
"Marie! Come help me with the bread!" He called out.
"Okay!" Her voice answered from the other room. She ran in and he pulled her up and set her down on her high chair. Together they worked on the dough and formed it into the shape of pretzels and buns. After filling a tray, Gilbert placed them in the oven. The little bell went off in the front, signifying that someone had just walked in.
"Marie, darling?" A voice called out.
"Grandfather!" She said excitedly and ran over to him, not bothering to clean herself of flower. Gilbert begrudgingly walked over to him as well.
"Marie! You're all dirty!" He exclaimed.
"I was helping papa make bread." She told him. Sir Héderváry looked over at him disapproving. Gilbert rolled his eyes. The two of them still didn't get along well, but they came to terms with each other and made a deal. One that aloud Sir Héderváry to come and visit Marie, but still gave Gilbert full custody of her. The man had even built a second home on the outskirts of town, where he lives half of the year. He had even gotten Marie enrolled in school, which would have been impossible for Gilbert since their poor, without status, and the fact that girls didn't go to school and usually stayed home. But Sir Héderváry waved around his little wand of influence and got her into a high class school. Which actually really annoyed him.
"Well then, it's a good thing I brought this over." He stated. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a long, dark purple, extravagant dress.
"Is this for me?" She asked wondrously.
"Yes, I wanted you to look your very best for your first day of school." He smiled at her.
"Oh thank you!" She hugged him than ran upstairs to go put it on. With her gone, thing quickly became awkward and silent. Neither one of them wanting to speak to the other.
"She still doesn't have her own room, does she?" Sir Héderváry broke the ice.
"She still doesn't need one." Gilbert reported.
Marie came running back down stairs in her new dress. It looked absolutely beautiful on her. But she looked like another doll.
"What do you think, papa?" She asked.
"It's beautiful, birdie." He told her with a bittersweet smile.
The three of them got into an expensive looking carriage and rode over to the school. It was huge and looked almost like a palace. Dozens of rich adults walked up to the school with their rich kids, nose stuck up and head held high. Gilbert got out with Marie and her grandfather, the two of them looking just as rich, while he looked like a peasant. He got some questioning looks as he held his daughter's hand and walked her up to the front. Before she walked in, Gilbert keeled down to her height.
"Before you go, repeat after me." He told her and she nodded.
"I am strong."
"I am strong."
"I am smart."
"I am smart."
"I am beautiful."
"I am beautiful."
"I am not better than anyone else."
"I am not better than anyone else."
"No one is better than me."
"No one is better than me."
"Who are you?" Gilbert asked.
"I am Marie Beilschmidt, daughter of Gilbert and Elizaveta Beilschmidt. Daughter of a baker." She answered.
Gilbert smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Yes you are, now have a good day."
Marie smiled and ran inside the building, followed by her grandfather. Gilbert had taught her that so she would not lose who she truly is when she entered the school. Because he was afraid that by going to school, she'd forget her roots, and want to leave.
[Ten years later]
Marie was sixteen now, and the time had come that she would finally graduate. Over the years she had stayed humble and playful. While she was recognized for being the granddaughter of a powerful business man in the Holy Roman Empire, she often got teased for being the daughter of a baker, but she took pride in it and studied in business and culinary. Because of her kindness, Marie had made quite a handful of honest friends. She had finished at the top of her class in both, and was going to London to study at university in business. Gilbert still had his fears that she would leave him one day, but he had realized years ago that he could keep her in one place all her life, as that's what Elizaveta went through, and that's not what his wife would have wanted for their child.
Since she was top of her class and well like by the majority of the student body and the teachers, she was picked to deliver the graduation speech. Gilbert had showed up as best dressed as he could, as a proud parent. Marie walked up to the front podium to begin.
"Who am I?" She began, Gilbert's eyes widened in realization of what she was doing.
"Am I defined by my heritage? Or by what I study? I am what I make myself to be. I am who my parents are. I am Marie Beilschmidt, born from Gilbert and Elizaveta Beilschmidt. Daughter of a baker. I am a Howard. P Kingston graduate. Future London University graduate of business. I am whomever I make myself out to be, but I will never for get my roots." Marie paused to glance at her father, their eyes made contact, and she smiled. "And I will always return to them."
Everyone stood up and the graduates threw their hats in the air. Gilbert felt tears meet his eyes, his heart filled with joy and pride.
"Elizaveta, wherever you are, I hope you can see how awesome our daughter has become." He smiled and wiped his eyes. He got up and went over to his daughter to congratulate her.
From the corner of the room, a stream of light fell on the unseen form of Elizaveta who watched her family with a smile.
"I see her, Gilbert." She murmured.
"You found yourself quite a man." Her mother told her.
"Although I never said it to his face, I thought he was a good man too." Her father agreed. Elizaveta smiled at her parents and looked back at her husband and child. "He truly is." Together the three of them left the room and faded away.
A voice suddenly reached the father and daughter's ears, "I love you" It said. Marie looked around in shock.
"What was that?" She asked in shock.
Gilbert gave her a bittersweet smile, he recognized the voice the moment he heard it. "Your mother."
.
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I cry. I'm going to miss this story so much! Thank you to everyone who stayed with me and read this story! I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave me a review, a follow, or a favorite before you go.
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