Chapter 13 Swiss Chocolate
Here's some Switzerland for ElleVipsilon, the winner of the Elektra challenge.
Lili rested her head on Gilbert's chest and sighed contentedly. She traced his arm with her finger; he was not in fighting trim, but she could still feel his firm, lithe muscles under the skin. She felt his fingers play with her hair as their breathing synchronized. It was early on an August morning in Maldun, Liechtenstein; soon she would hear Willi and Leo, her new Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, snuffling and whimpering to go out. Maria would probably roll out of bed, looking for breakfast and amusement on the television. But for now, Lili would enjoy a few more minutes alone with Gilbert.
In July, he had knelt before her as he had for the past ten years, and he asked if he had served her as faithfully and tenderly as she could desire. Lili had nodded and murmured, "Of course, mein Ritter." Then he had asked if she would like to continue with him, and she again said she would, that she loved him even more with each passing year. He had smiled, that rare shy smile no one else had even seen on the normally smirking Prussia, and they had kissed. Ten years, she marveled, ten years and he had not grown indifferent or annoying, as Vash had hinted he would. If anything, he had become more lovable and loving with time. Last summer, as Bruno had grown weaker and in constant pain, Gilbert had listened patiently to her as she had debated further treatment or ending his suffering. He had dropped Maria off to stay with Thuringia and had come to Vaduz to be with her when she had taken the dying Greater Swiss Mountain Dog to his final appointment with the vet. He had helped her bury Bruno in her garden, and held her as she wept.
And he had brought Maria into her life. Maria, now approximately eight years old and as tall as Lili's shoulder, who called her "Muti" and skyped her to talk about Grundschule and weekend visits to classmates' houses. Lili had a collection of her drawings (done with a tablet and art software) framed throughout her rooms. She knew Maria was not her daughter, not in the way of mortals, who could see resemblances through genetics or constant presence, but she felt the same concern, love, and yes, exasperation, that any mother would feel.
Maria was also like the playmate she had never had as a young entity growing up alone in the castle in Liechtenstein. They played dolls and vidoegames (Animal Crossing was a favorite and another way to communicate with each other when they were apart), hiked and swam during the summer. In winter, Lili taught Maria how to skate and ski, and teased her into joining forces against Gilbert in snowball fights. A couple of days ago, she and Vash and his girlfriend, the American state Colorado, had taken her to a shooting range for her first lesson in firing handguns. Even Vash had been impressed by her earnest attention to safety instructions and her concentration as she aimed and squeezed off shots.
"What are you thinking of, meine Dame?" Gilbert whispered. Lili looked up and kissed him.
"I am thinking of how blessed I am, mein liebster Geliebter," she murmured.1 He grunted approvingly and squeezed his arms around her. And as surely as Swiss clocks, the dogs clambered off their cushions, sneezing and shaking their hair into place, staring earnestly at their owners.
Lili put on some clothes and led Leo and Willi downstairs and let them out into the garden. Sure enough, Maria was perched on the sofa in the television room, bare feet wiggling as she ate bread and jam. Lili joined her and kissed her on the head.
"I was going to make waffles for breakfast, Spatzchen. Are you still hungry?" she said. Maria nodded, engrossed in the dubbed American cartoon. Lili nudged her playfully. "Well, come help me then!" Maria joined her, beating egg whites with an old-fashioned beater while Lili measured and mixed the dry ingredients. They mixed the whites with the rest of the batter and poured it onto the hot waffle iron.
"Look at it puff up!" Maria said proudly. Lili smiled at her and said, "We'll make a few and put them in the oven to warm, and then wake up the others, ja?" Maria nodded.
"So do you like my country, Maria?" Lili asked. This was the first time Gilbert had taken her out of Germany; he had figured she was strong enough to spend a week away from her land. Maria nodded. "What is your favorite part?" Lili continued.
"The mountains," Maria replied, prodding at the waffle. "I like how big they are."
"And how about Lake Maldun, mein Wasser Sprite?"2Lili remembered how much Maria enjoyed sailing with Vash, and how quickly she learned to handle the lines.
"It's nice." Maria nodded and stuck a strand of hair in her mouth. Lili gently pulled it out."Just 'nice'?" she teased.
"It's not the ocean," Maria admitted. She turned to her mother, her round amethyst eyes adult and thoughtful. "The lake is like Willi and Leo, but the ocean is like a wolf. My wolf, but still a wild one."
"Hmmm." Lili was impressed with her daughter's analogy. "But lakes can still get rough and dangerous, like the ocean, Liebling. And Tante Melinda told us her country has large rivers like the Mississippi that can flood and cause trouble."
Maria pouted out her lower lip; she wasn't going to give up her point. "It's not the same," she said. "It's, it's bigger, grander, wilder—"
"It's alive, even more than a river." The two females turned and saw Gilbert leaning against the kitchen doorway. He was smiling at Maria, but his eyes were serious.
Maria flashed a triumphant grin at Lil and then hopped off the stool to hug Gilbert. "Exactly, Vati! How did you know?"
He shrugged and strolled over to kiss Lili. "I knew someone once who loved the ocean as much as you did, Spatzchen." He picked at the finished waffle. "So where's Vash and Melinda? Out on a hike? They're usually up by now."
"I'll see if they're in their room," Lili said. She tapped Maria on the nose. "You're in charge of the waffle batter, Schatz. Don't let Vati eat all the waffles!"
She went upstairs to the guest room where Vash and Melinda were staying. Normally, they were up and out before anyone else; they both liked morning runs or hikes. But she still knocked at the closed door anyway.
She heard tumbling, creaking mattress springs and stifled exclamations and laughter. "Bruder, are you and Melinda all right?"
"Ja, we're fine! Just give us a minute!" Vash's voice sounded muffled. Lili wondered what was going on. "You can come in now," he said.
Lili came in and first saw the splotches of red on the floor; at first she wondered if someone had cut themselves on broken glass or worse. Then she saw the red spots were rose petals. She looked up at the bed and saw foil wrappers and some kind of puddle on the quilt. Was zum Teufel, she thought. She then looked up and saw Colorado clutching the sheets to her chest with one hand and holding a champagne flute in another. Vash was hastily dabbing at the wet spot with a pair of red silk boxers, a piece of chocolate stuck in his mouth.
Lili bit her lip, trying hard to keep the laughter in. Her brother looked up at her, his deep blush making his eyes extremely green. Melinda shrugged and took a sip of champagne. "S'up?" She said.
"We're having waffles for breakfast, if you'd like to join us," Lili finally managed to say. "But yesterday was so busy, I'd understand if you two just want to sleep in." She winked at her brother.
"Ja, ja," Vash mumbled as he took the chocolate bar out of his mouth. His shoulders relaxed as he edged back to sit next to Colorado. "Sailing on such a windy day took a lot out of us. And then there was the hike…"
"You two sleep in," Lili said. "We can save a few waffles and you can reheat them later in the oven if you like." Vash nodded, and Lili retreated. "Sleep well, you two," she whispered. Her last glimpse of them was Colorado putting the chocolate between her teeth and leaning in to kiss her blushing brother.
After breakfast, Lili, Gilbert and Maria went out to the lake with the dogs. They swam, picnicked, play cards, and dozed. Leo and Willi wrestled with each other. "Enjoy yourself while you can," Lili laughed at the bold Pomeranian. "Leo will soon become too big for you to push around!" The Bernese Mountain Dog puppy shambled over to get his ears rubbed.
"Onkel Vash! Tante Melinda!" Maria called. Lili turned and saw her brother and his girlfriend walking towards them. She noted the clasped hands swinging between the two entities and smiled.
"What are you grinning about?" Vash asked as they came closer.
"I'm just glad you two joined us," Lili replied. She thought about how she had caught them earlier that morning and noted Vash blushing. Maria ran up to him and Colorado and tugged at his free hand. "Come swimming, Onkel!" Vash scowled for a second, and then to Lili's surprise, smiled and shrugged. "Sure!" He and Melinda followed the little girl to the water.
After awhile, Gilbert came out of the water, dried himself off, and sat down next to Lili. "I'm shriveling up like a verdammt prune and that little mermaid scolds me that it's only been a couple of hours!" The two laughed as they watched Maria coax Vash and Melinda into a game of "Red Light, Green Light" in the water.
"Who was it who said that thing about the ocean?" Lili asked. She wondered if it had been Canada, who did have two coasts.
Gilbert shrugged and looked out to the lake. "Danzig." His hand inched over to hers and squeezed it. "It was a long time ago, Liebling."
"And yet you remembered it." Lili wondered why he could recall that one phrase from an entity he claimed he was done with.
"It was eerie, hearing Maria saying those words." Gilbert looked at her and his eyes were haunted. "I just tell myself that maybe it's something all personifications near the ocean would say, but then she speaks Polish like a native, she'll move or do something in a way that reminds me of that crazy Feliks or his sister, and all Vash's little jokes aren't so funny anymore."
"Gilbert, we found her on a German beach. Ludwig, Monika, all the other German states adore her. Ludwig has said nothing to indicate he won't allow her to represent Mecklenburg-Vorpommern when she's ready. So what if she speaks Polish well or loves the sea? She's also learning English at school. If she learns to speak that well, does that mean she is secretly one of Arthur's entities?" Lili nestled against him. "These things shouldn't matter, Schatz. So what if she is German, Slavic or Baltic? She is ours, we raised her, we love her and she loves us. She adores you and you are such a good father to her." She gazed earnestly at him; she was having a hard time reading his garnet eyes. "What if she were actually one of Poland's? Would that really change how you feel about her?" Her throat tightened.
They both looked out to the lake, where Maria ran out of the water, calling to the dogs and laughing. Lili marveled at how much she had grown. She didn't care where she came from; she knew she loved her. She turned and studied Gilbert as he watched their daughter.
"Maybe. Maybe this is my chance to set things right," he whispered. He smiled wistfully at her and she felt her anxiety fade.
1 German: my dearest beloved
2 German: my water sprite