October 12th, 1840
Kurzheim Manor
The small wooden floored and stone walled room hung still with relative silence as Hans gazed out the window onto his limited landscape. As was typical of the rocky Southern Isles, a good degree of grey had begun to set in with the fall, foreboding the coming winter months. However, as was normal in the rest of Denmark, the foliage on the limited trees had begun to turn. As such a few of the trees in the courtyard had turned gold and red, their vibrant colors standing out against the bleak grey and brown landscape.
He was waiting for Johanna to arrive after having attending to business required of the Lady of the Island. Also in the room was Kristina, who was set about on some sort of maid business, though Hans suspected she was there to try to gleam some sort of information for the former prince. He was glad she was there though, because it gave him the opportunity to talk to her.
"So, Kristina."
"Yes?" It was by this point established that they were forever passed the "M'lord" stage of relationship.
"Time's running out. What I am to discuss with Johanna, will require input from you. Of a magic sort."
Kristina gave an annoyed look, knowing that she wasn't in a good position. "I cannot say no, can I?"
"You always could. But, If this works, myself and more importantly to you, the Lady Johanna will prosper immensely. Plus, I make sure my inner circle is taken care of."
Kristina scoffed. "Your inner circle?"
"Yes. It is time that my schemes and my wife's scheme become the same. To be fair, our inner circle would be more correct. In either case, you've proven to be more than just an asset."
"Well, this is all flattering, but what did you mean, 'time's running out?"
"I need your magic to make a plan work. And the only way I can truthfully confide my plan to Johanna is to reveal that we have a sorceress on our side."
Kristina's eyes widened. "I still haven't told her…"
"Based on the sounds coming from Johanna's room last night, I figured as much. But not to worry, I can stall- for now. But Johanna's a smart woman, she'll find out sooner or later. And for both your and her sake, she better find out from you."
An uneasy moment passed, with at least 30 ticks of the grandfather clock passing before footsteps were heard and with impeccable timing Johanna entered the room. As she was answering her husband's summon, she bore a sarcastic smirk, which became a warm smile upon seeing Kristina.
"Kristina, I wasn't expecting you. Your day is going well, I hope?"
"It is, M'lady. But I do believe your husband has business with you…"
Hans interjected, attempting to keep the both women in the room so they could hash out their business, "Johanna, it'll take but a moment. As the Lady of this island I thought it would be common courtesy to let you know that we will be entering the Royal Ceramic Trials later this month."
Johanna was taken aback for but a moment, before responding. "We're competing for your father's patronage? Are even we ready?"
"With the quality of our clay and the skill of our workers, I feel we can more than compete." Twisting his head to face Kristina, a smirk grew on this face. "Besides, I have some tricks up my sleeve."
If Johanna noticed Hans' tell, she didn't show it. She instead moved further towards the center of the room, resting her hand on a chair as she continued on. "I hope you are not referring to your father, because I seriously doubt he'll show favor."
"Don't worry, Johanna, I have plenty of assets that do not rely on my father's help." Noticing Kristina slowly moving towards the door, Hans quickly weighed pros and cons, before abruptly changed the subject matter to force the problem issue at hand. "Not all of the assets are guaranteed, but we have enough to make a difference. However, Kristina said she's had something to tell you, so now that's out of the way, I shall leave you two be."
Kristina, mere inches from the door froze in panic as Johanna turned attentively to her. The Lady was more inquisitive than usual as, Kristina rarely involved Hans in even basic household duties, let alone major news. Put on the spot, she silently cursed as Hans walked out the door with a smirk on his lips, closing the door behind him.
"Well, what do you need to tell me, Kristina?"
Kristina sighed, nearly shaking from fear as she pondered whether to lie or not. She was scared of losing Johanna's love, but the royal bastard was right. Johanna needed to know the truth. From her.
"Johanna, there's something I have kept hidden from you for a long time. Something you should know."
Johanna became puzzled. "I don't understand, Kristina what's going on?"
Kristina sighed, feeling a practical demonstration would be best. She drew a Krone from her pocket, laying it flat in her right palm. Closing her eyes as tears began to flow, she began to gesture with her left hand as she chanted the words that came to her in dreams, overcoming her own sobs. As such the coin began to glow blue with enough light to overpower the gas lights already lit in the room.
It took a moment for Johanna to realize what was happening, but when it did it hit like a ton of bricks. Staggering as she moved to and sat in the chair she had propped her hand on moments before, she could only look at her closest friend in absolute shock, with a hint of hurt from betrayal.
Her tears openly streaming, Kristina reopened her eyes as they briefly glowed blue before shifting back to the red eyes of someone who was crying. She would have likely have broken down if it was not for the invigorating surge she always felt when casting her magic. As upset as she was, she still felt pride in her magic after all. But paled in comparison to the shame of her own betrayal of trust to the woman she loved unconditionally.
Fighting the tightening in her throat, she could only say one thing before breaking out in sobs. "Johanna, I am so sorry…"
…
October 16th, 1840
It had been a quiet few days since the incident Hans arranged took place, not that Hans enjoyed them as an awkward silence lulled over the Manor. He feared the worst when he did not see Kristina at dinner that first night, so much so he tasked Wagner to keep an eye on the departures of the island, worried that the young sorceress might flee the island.
When she didn't leave either the first or second night, Hans was at first relieved. After all, her magic was a lynchpin in his plans, and he didn't need her running away. Plus, he hated to admit to himself, but she had grown on the self-proclaimed heartless bastard. But as the third day came and left, Hans became worried that Kristina had adopted a… permanent solution to her heart-ache and as such Hans found that third night was a sleepless night as no-one had seen Kristina. And Hans dared not ask Johanna about the matter, especially as she drifted about the manor ghost-like and lost-looking. He asked Wagner to look about the island, but that night he came back without luck.
It was near the end of the fifth day that news finally came. He was inspecting some of his finished china, looking for defects that may lead to defeat at the royal trials. Now while his ceramic products were good thanks to a number of experienced workers he had imported with generous bonus-laden contracts, but he still worried they could go toe-to-toe with Royal Copenhagen.
Just as he put down the last piece and collected his notes for the factory the door opened, revealing an extremely bitter looking Kristina. Not wearing her normal maid uniform but a rather plain looking dress, Hans mentally concluded that she had in fact been dismissed from Johanna's service, before he began to speak.
"Dear god, Kristina, what happened to you?"
"What happened?" Kristina looked livid. "Your bullshit happened! I told her my secret, and she threw me out, you prick!"
"Well, obviously. What I mean is, I've had men looking for you, and they couldn't find you. My men. On this island."
Kristina let out a single laugh. "You forget I play the game. And I know Johanna's dirty secrets, and if she wrote me off, I wouldn't put it past her to… liquidate her asset. So I took my mother and went into hiding."
"So why come to me? After all, Johanna might still have an assassin after your head."
Kristina shook her head with a sad smile. "Because, compared to me and you, she isn't even in the same league when it comes to the game of espionage. By the end of the second day my dear Johanna couldn't even leave the North Wing without my people knowing about it. She's smart, but she's none too clever in the spy business. That was my job."
She sighed, before answering Hans' initial question. "So, what was so fucking important that my life had to be torn apart?"
Hans smiled evilly, before lifting a single ceramic tea-cup. "This."
"Your ceramics. Are you fucking kidding me? You destroyed my life!"
Hans' face grew sour, and his voice stern as he began a tirade. "No, the fact that you hid a secret from the woman you loved for over a decade destroyed your life. You have more money than nine-tenths of this shit-hole of an island, and you are more than smart enough to know that at the very least, Queen Elsa would love to have another sorcerer on her staff. And besides, 'my ceramics' may finally turn around the millennia of soul crushing poverty that has plagued this island. I merely need to win one solid contract, that's where you come in."
Kristina scoffed. "How so?"
"Simple. You will ensure our ceramics are the best. So much so, that we'll blow the competition out of the water at the trials." Hans chuckled as he finished, breaking up as he finished. "And I don't think I need to tell you how that's going to work."
…
October 17th, 1840
The meeting room dinned with the noise of the large number of men speaking amongst themselves, uncertain about the future. The men and women were the experts, shift leaders, supervisors, and other leaders of Kurzheim's budding ceramics industry, they had been informed about the fact they were running for the Royal Ceramics Contract, and that worried them immensely. Most were veterans of the field, and they knew that it took time to become established and for both quality and efficiency to become the norm in any industry, especially one that was practically an art form.
And yet their top opponent had dominated the trade for decades, with a well-established production going on. It would not be an easy fight, if even possible. And unlike most of the island, most of these people were recent arrivals, and had not grown to be loyal to their new Lord. If they were anything, they were skeptical.
Still, when the doors opened, revealing Hans in a suit rather than his traditional uniform, they grew silent as he quickly moved to a stool placed ahead of time for him, so to allow the young man to address his workers. There was a lull as Hans collected himself and scanned the room to ensure that everyone was in fact there. Unexpectedly but fittingly, Johanna was in the back looking despairingly sullen and lost.
I guess she wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Well, don't I have a surprise for her.
Collected, he began to speak.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, as you are all well aware, we have embarked on a massive undertaking. The King of the Southern Islands has issued that beginning on November 2nd, a trial will be held to ensure what ceramics company will produce all future china for the Royal Government of the Southern Isles. This, is as big of a contract as will likely ever fall into our laps."
A number of scoffs began to be heard, as well as some mumbling. And many rolled their eyes or shook their heads. Apparently 'fall into our laps' was not the proper phrase to use. But damn it all, he was committed.
"Yes, I said fall into our laps. And do you know why? Because look around, and look in the mirror! You are some of the best in the field, masters of your craft and tireless workers. In mere weeks we went from nothing to a producing factory! I didn't do this! You did! So why are you damned scared of Royal Copenhagen?"
Switching to a louder and angry voice, he continued, decrying their rival. "For too long, we have bowed to all things Dane, submissive to men who have not felt strength since the time of our grandfather's youth! Royal Copenhagen has grown soft, slow, weak and decadent! It is time for the Southern Isles to control its own factories, to make our own goods again! And I say, let it start here!"
The gathered audience responded well to the nationalistic cord, nodding in agreement with moderate clapping as well. While most were newcomers to the island, almost all were Sothern Islander who almost to a whole tired of living in Denmark's shadow. Happy to have improved morale, Hans decided to end the meeting on a high note with one last item.
"I swear to you; we will do everything we can to beat the Royal Copenhagen Plant. As such, I have hired an extremely skilled woman to act as my agent in matters of preparation for the Royal Trials: Miss Kristina Annasdatter."
Kristina walked through a door on Hans' side of the room, standing before the gathered crowd of workers. A little nervous around crowds, she smiled shyly. Kristina couldn't see over the crowd, but Johanna had heard the name and had gone white as a bedsheet, causing Hans to smirk before continuing on.
"Now no-one is losing their jobs to Miss Annasdatter, she will simply act as my agent as we prepare china for the Royal Trials. As so, in addition to keeping track of the productions process, she will carefully all china before deciding if it will go to Kesselburg or not. She's been a maid her whole life, both here on Kurzheim as well as a brief stint in Kesselburg. She knows what Royal china looks like, and trust me- she will work magic for us."
Hans smiled at his own cleverness as the workers nodded and murmured in uncertainty, a little unsure about a new superior but relatively confident in their tasks. They now had a fighting spirit and will to beat Royal Copenhagen, so with that and Kristina, victory was all but assured against the stagnating Danish ceramics giant.
Everything is going well.
…
Holy Crap an update at long last!
I do have to apologize for the extreme tardiness of this chapter, as this chapter originally had a massive amount of material, material that I knew the outline of what I was going to write, but when it came down to it, I could only stare at the Word Document. In addition to the massive writer's block, I've also have been focusing primarily on completing Faith and Duty- Aftermath, as I will continue to do so.
As such, after I release the next chapter of Hans' Fate (which is like two-thirds done), Hans Fate will enter a Hiatus until at least Aftermath is done. I am sorry it took this long to get a chapter out announcing this, but this chapter simply would not write itself.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
O7
Dragunov