The Ultimatum: Franz Joseph

The years that passed after that horrible night seemed to pass in a fog. All of my actions seemed mechanical and forced. Every night I would open our door to see Elisabeth sitting on the bed, staring at the wall. I talked to her, tried to move her from her sad state, but it took a long time.

The birth of our son Rudolf helped a little, though Elisabeth remained somewhat distant from the world. Mother insisted that Rudolf be placed in her care also. She told me that having raised one Emperor had more than prepared her to raise another. Elisabeth disagreed, but there was nothing she could do.

Eventually she was able to put on a façade for the rest of the world, acting as a powerful Empress to her people. But as soon as the door was closed the mask would crumble and she would become a sad woman with a wakened spirit.

But soon a new change began to come over her. I would watch her studying my mother for long periods of time, never saying anything, just watching. She seemed to be calculating or planning something, though she would never tell me what.

Elisabeth had distanced herself from me. Now she would not open up to me, choosing to hide many of her emotions and regard me with silence. It broke my heart to see her acting this way. What had happened to the spirited young woman I had fallen in love with? I wanted to believe that she was simply hiding the shadows…waiting to be revealed.

Then one night everything changed. I had finished working and stood just outside of Elisabeth's door. She had recently moved into a bedroom farther down the hall from mine, she had not told me why.

Now I paced slightly, wanting desperately to burst through the door and pull her to me, to talk some sense into her. But I knew that such an attitude would only drive Elisabeth further away from me. So I paced. And I thought.

"Elisabeth, please open the door to me…I long for you."

I stood just in front of the door, resting my forehead against the cool wood. I spoke softly, hoping that she would hear me and would confide in me again.

"My days have been filled with problems. France is now threatening me openly. Scandals are never ending, bankruptcy, war and revolution! A Wave of suicide and a new wave of Typhus."

I sighed heavily, resting my fist on the doorframe, my voice louder now, reaching out to my wife.

"But help me find a safe port, guarded by your tenderness and without a wish for one night. Please…"

I know stood with my palms on the door, hoping, praying that she was standing on the other side listening to me.

"Please open up to me…don't let me wait. Be the woman who understands me…Elisabeth."

I stood for another moment, not hearing any movement beyond the door. I sighed and turned away, running a hand through my hair in disappointment.

A soft click sounded behind me and I turned slowly to see Elisabeth standing, framed in the doorway, a sad look in her eyes. I met her gaze, walking slowly to her, hearing my heartbeat in my ears.

She stepped aside and allowed me to enter the room without saying a word. As she closed the door behind me I could feel a certain tension in the room, something that made me uneasy.

"Why don't you go to your mother?" She suddenly said bitterly,

"usually you like talking to her much better."

"Angel, please spare me that!" I went toward her, my arms outstretched, wanting to know why she had suddenly turned to so cold towards me.

"What have I done?"

She broke away from me, taking a few steps back and glaring in my eyes.

"You allow them to torture Rudolf! I know everything!"

"They torture Rudolf?" I had not been aware of what my children's education consisted of, but this worried me.

Elisabeth threw up her hands, taking a firm step toward me.

"Your mother gave him to her torturers, she has to…educate him. He can't defend himself."

She shook her head sadly, sinking into a chair. I approached her slowly, resting my hands on her shoulders, relieved that she did not pull away. After a moment she spoke again, her voice quieter now.

"But I won't take it any longer, it's her now or me."

She stood up abruptly, gathering up a sheet of paper that was lying on her bed. She looked down at it a moment before holding it out to me, her voice firm.

"I give you an ultimatum, If you don't want to lose me, fulfill it."

I stared at her, not liking the direction the conversation was going.

"From now on I will be in charge of the education of my children and I will decide by myself what I do and where I go. Read it."

I slowly took the paper from her hand, staring down at the words as she continued.

"You have to decide Franz…for your mother, or for me."

I looked up, alarmed. I reached out to grasp her hand, but she turned away and pulled her hands into her chest.

"Now leave me alone."

There was nothing else I could do, she was too far away, I couldn't reach her now. I sighed heavily, grasping the paper in my hand as I walked to the door. I stopped with my hand on the knob, glancing back at my beautiful wife. She sat on the bed, turned away from me, her hands over her face.

"I love you." I whispered as I opened the door and stepped out of the room. The click of the door closing behind me echoed in the empty hallway, filling my ears and mirroring the emptiness in my heart.

What was to become of us?