Disclaimer: The Hetalia characters and their personifications belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. 日丸屋 秀和

What Not to do if You are a Knight by Gilbert Beilschmidt:

24.) Do not resolve problems by crushing young girls' hopes and dreams.

25.) Do not trick your friends into murder.

FLASHBACK - For Her Own Good

It was evening when young Gilbert reached the rear of Lord Héderváry's castle. He would always approach through the back woods so as to remain out of the other guards' view - concealed by the shadow of the wall.

When he sneaked up to the low window, the panes were closed. He rapped his knuckles across the decorative glass.

Soon, two gentle (but calloused by daily sword practice) hands pushed open the panes, and he stared into the tear-stained face of Lady Elizaveta Héderváry.

Her curled locks were in slight disarray, her cheeks and nose were tinged a rosy-pink and her gleaming, watery eyes shimmered in the moonlight. Even in her sadness, she was beautiful.

For a moment, he feared she had heard the news of the tournament, but he quickly realized that said circumstance was impossible if he had only just heard about it himself.

She helped him climb inside and then, with a sniffle, threw her arms around him and wept.

"Hey, hey, hey," he patted her gently, "what's with the waterworks, kid?"

"It's terrible-" *sniff* "-they say... they're going... to m-marry me off- They said that because I'm 14, I'm the perfect age to be betrothed... Oh they're going to send me away and I'll be forced to live with some old, horrid man!"

That was the second heart-shattering piece of information Gilbert had heard that day.

But within it, he saw opportunity; it was an opportunity he, whether he liked it or not, would have to take.

"...That's it?" he replied, cringing internally at what he was about to start.

"Wh-what do you mean 'that's it'? Gilbert, they're going to take me away and I don't know what to do about it!"

"Well, you knew you had to be married off someday. Maybe... I think this is best for you, Liz."

She released him and searched his scarlet eyes disbelievingly. "Y-you don't mean that..."

"Oh, come on! You could never have been a warrior, Liz. I mean, grow up! You're a girl. You're emotional and weak. And the older you get, the more likely they are to discover your true identity. Don't you think it's time to end this little charade? At 14 you're a woman; maybe it's time you start acting like one."

"Weak? I've beaten you plenty of times!"

"And what happens when your clever tricks run out, Liz? I'm sorry, but when it comes down to pure brute strength, you lose. And I can't keep protecting you-"

"Protecting me?!" He could see the shock and rage behind her fiery eyes and it stung him. Of course he didn't mean a word of what he was saying. "I've saved your ass a thousand times over! We protect each other... I thought... I thought..."

"You know, this is actually kind of perfect. I was just coming over here to inform you about this upcoming tournament. The victor gets accepted into the Landmeister's private sector of knights and gets taken on a tour around Europe... but it's much too dangerous for you."

As he spoke, her eyes grew wide with an idea.

"This is my ticket out of here," she whispered.

"What? No! Liz!" he yelled with fake opposition. "I'm forbidding you to participate!"

"You can't forbid me from doing anything!" she shrieked. "In here I am your commanding Lady, and out there, well, when this tournament rolls around I'll prove to you just how strong I am. Then I will be your superior out there as well."

He snorted. "Fine. I'll watch you lose. And you can see the Awesome Me get congratulated by the KING himself!"

His words cut her like a knife. Lingering behind her rage was also hurt and confusion. Softening her features, she placed a gentle hand on his arms which were crossed over his chest. "Why are you saying these things to me...? I thought... when you heard that I would be getting married... you'd... miss me." When she looked into his eyes again, there was a small glimmer of hope, a slightly darker blush upon her cheeks.

He knew that in order for Elizaveta to fight her hardest in the tournament, for him to be sure that she would truly put forth all her effort and to show no sympathy and no mercy towards him, this couldn't be just some little argument. He had to make sure that all emotional ties were severed. She had to hate him.

So, staring directly into her large, imploring eyes, he thrust her hands roughly off of him, sending her stumbling backward. "You. Thought. Wrong." he ground out disgustedly.

He saw her eyes flash heartbreak, betrayal, but then came the desired response of hatred. Dark and festering.

Without another word between the two, Gilbert turned and left.

When he was at the edge of the woods once again, he glanced back at the castle. It was darker now with the clouds veiling the moon. He saw the window of her room emanating dim firelight. He could also hear the distant echo of broken sobs.

"Mon ami, what happened?" he heard a voice approach from behind. Francis and Antonio appeared from the brush.

"Liz is going to participate in the tournament," he told them. "But don't worry, I have a plan."

"Aye, DIOS MIO. Whenever one of you says that, somebody ends up hanging from a net."

Historical Notes

* Yay! More about marriage! So in this story, Elizaveta's father wanted her to get married at the age of 14; but for Lovina, the proper marrying age was 16. What? Well, during this time period, many noble-born or royal women could and often did marry at a young age, but it usually depended on when the girl hit puberty.

There are many instances of very young girls being betrothed and married under the age of 10 years old. This did not necessarily mean that the marriage was consummated (they didn't have sex). It was more common for a young woman to be married early, though not to have her first child until she was much older.

In Italy during this time the average age for marriage was 17; in France it was 16 years old (Source: "Medieval Households" by David Herlihy, Harvard University Press, 1985).

However, the following examples are exceptions:

Bianca of Savoy, Duchess of Milan was married aged 13yo (1350), and aged 14yo when she gave birth to her eldest son, Giangaleazzo (1351).

Agnes of France was 12yo when, widowed, she was married to Andronicus Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (1182).

St Elizabeth of Portugal was aged 12yo when she was married to King Denis of Portugal and gave birth to three children shortly thereafter.

Caterina Sforza was betrothed aged 9yo, married aged 14yo, and gave birth aged 15yo.

The consensus is that young women of middle or low status married and gave birth at a much later because they did not need to marry for dynastic reasons, girls were often employed in service for a "fixed" term before being paid out and released from service, and in some cases, a "fee" was required to be paid upon the marriage.

"Church law forbade child marriage and allowed young brides and grooms to repudiate the marriage once they reached the age of puberty, which was officially set at 12 for girls and 14 for boys". (d'Outremer, Melisende. 'Women of History: Medieval Marriage & Childbirth'. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2015.)