Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne

9 October, Year 1 of Sebastian VI, Emperor of the Longbournian Nations' reign

In between the Longbourne Military Academy for Women and Amöneburg Palace, Amöneburg

The Longbournian Nations

Good Lord, I was sitting in front of the Emperor of the Longbournian Nations himself.

To be very honest, however, he did not look like an Emperor at all. He was dressed as any common man would be, and his countenance lacked the worry lines I had grown up seeing in King Frederick's. Indeed, his round, sea-green eyes still shone bright with hope and promise, and his strong, tapered jaws were still set firmly in determination. This was a man who was in the peak of his health, hale and strong, and ready to face all the challenges ahead of him.

Which was a sharp contrast from the tired sight of my own sovereigns back home.

Surely I could not be faulted for not recognising him sooner?

The Emperor began to chuckle now. "I am aware that my countenance is stunning," his deep voice was impish, "but it has never warranted such scrutiny before. You may do and keep a brief sketch of it if you like it so much. It lasts longer."

I was startled out of my reverie. "I beg your pardon?"

His sea-green eyes were twinkling. "Nothing," he laughed, "I generally have such an effect on women, but none of them have ever dared to stare at me as long as you have."

My cheeks heated up. "I was not staring, Sire!"

"Admiring, ogling, staring," he shrugged, "pick what you will."

"I was surprised for a moment, that is all," I answered defensively, as I bowed the best I could seated, "it is a pleasure to meet you, Your Imperial Majesty. I am Mistress Katherine Harrington, from Monrique."

At once, I braced myself for his enquiry about my engagement. Every time I introduced myself to someone these days, the question that always, always followed was about my engagement.

Before Richard ran away, I was happy to speak of it. Now, all I wished was for people to forget he ever proposed to me.

However, the Emperor surprised me yet again. "I know. I was simply teasing you," he grinned, "I am truly honoured to make your acquaintance, Mistress Harrington. I saw you shoot when I recently visited Bordeux, and I must say, your command over archery is impressive."

I offered him a small smile. "Thank you, Sire."

"Your students have much to learn from you," he mused to himself, "in any case, were the three of you on your way to the Palace to meet me?" He glanced at my colleagues as well.

Corporal Baudelaire, who had been watching us thus far, nodded. "Aye, Sire," she confirmed, "and if you permit, we can all travel there together. Everyone must have noticed your absence by now, and must be beside themselves with worry."

"I was on a walk by myself outside when I was attacked," he admitted sheepishly, glancing at his timepiece, "and it has not been too long since then. I doubt anyone is aware that I am missing."

"Nevertheless, we need to leave before any more of your kidnappers arrive, Sire," Corporal Montgomery's countenance turned dark, "we are certain to be outnumbered."

"Oh, yes," his forehead creased, "all right, let us return to the Palace. What are we to do with him, though?" He pointed to the corpse of his kidnapper.

Corporal Baudelaire hardly spared it a glance. "He can rot there where he deserves," she shrugged, "shall we leave, Sire?"

He nodded in agreement. My colleagues gestured at me to ride ahead with the Emperor, while they rode behind us on either side for protection, in a triangle formation.

For a long while, we rode in perfect silence. I was immersed in my own thoughts, brooding over nothing in particular, when the Emperor decided to do something about it.

"Mistress Harrington," he interrupted my reverie, thoughtful, "have you heard of knock-knock jests?"

I broke into a smile. Knock-knock jests were some of my favourite jests. However, only a rare few of my family, friends and acquaintances appreciated the humour behind them.

And by rare few, I meant only my younger brother, Tristan.

"Of course, Your Imperial Majesty," I grinned, "they are among the most humorous jests invented."

"I am of the same opinion," he declared cheerfully, "and I thought of one a few moments ago. Would you like to hear it?"

"It would be my pleasure, Your Imperial Majesty," I smiled.

He cleared his throat, and kept a straight face. "Knock-knock."

"Who is it?"

"Boo."

"Boo who?"

"Please do not cry," he patted my shoulder, "it was only a knock-knock jest."

Snickering, I shook my head. "For a spontaneous jest, it was a good one, Sire," I conceded, "would you like to hear one from my hometown?"

He beamed. "I am all ears."

I chuckled again. "Knock-knock."

"Who is it?"

"Apple."

"Apple who?"

I broke into an impish grin. "Knock-knock."

He was confused. "But you did not finish - "

"Please bear with me, Sire," I assured him.

"All right," he sounded uncertain, "who is it?"

"Apple."

"Apple who?"

I was already shaking with laughter now. "Knock-knock."

He huffed. "Who is it?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?"

"Orange you glad I did not say apple?"

He blinked at me for a moment, bewildered. When he managed to sound out the words for himself, he burst into laughter, and began to applaud in excitement like a child.

"Excellent," he exclaimed, "this is one of the best - and certainly the longest - I have ever heard!"

"My little brother Tristan is very fond of such jests," I chuckled in amusement, "however, many in our hometown are not - and as such, he takes great pleasure in irritating them with these whenever he wishes to."

"Indeed?" he sounded surprised, "where is your hometown?"

"I hail from Johanne, a small earldom in Monrique," I grinned, shrugging, "most of its people are born with a natural flair for talking altogether too much, and - it seems, alas - a hatred for knock-knock jests."

He laughed at my resigned tone. "You will find that most Longbournians enjoy a good knock-knock jest from time to time," he assured me kindly, "welcome to our country, Mistress Harrington. I hope you will be very happy here." His sea-green eyes were warm.

I faintly returned his smile. I hope so too, Your Imperial Majesty.

***

I blinked. And I blinked. And I blinked.

At the gates of Amöneburg Palace, two Longbournian soldiers had forced my arms behind my back, while another held a dagger to my throat so tightly that I was certain that it drew blood.

Corporal Baudelaire and Corporal Montgomery on either side of me were subjected to the same treatment, and all three of us were surrounded by twenty more army officers, who were all pointing their swords at us.

I blinked. And I blinked. And I blinked.

It had happened so fast. One moment, we had been approaching Amöneburg Palace at breakneck speed, and the next moment, the Palace guards had closed in on us and dragged us all - except for the Emperor - off our stallions.

Corporal Montgomery was furious. "Release us at once!" she commanded, struggling against those holding her down, "we did not - "

The Emperor dismounted from my stallion in one, fluid motion and frowned at them. "Men," he sternly addressed them, "what is the meaning of this?"

An over-eager Cadet deigned to answer. "The Dowager Empress's orders, Your Imperial Majesty," he bowed deeply, "she was almost beside herself with worry when she discovered you were missing, and even fainted. When she became conscious, she dispatched soldiers to every corner of Amöneburg to find you - "

"And ordered us to apprehend whoever was found holding you hostage," the army officer who was holding a knife to my throat interrupted his long story, "and we now have, Sire. " He pressed the blade even tighter against my skin.

Fresh drops of blood trickled down my throat, and despite myself, I winced.

The Emperor caught it, and whatever he was about to say to that died on his lips. His sea-green eyes followed the red trail down to the hollow of my throat, where it stained my collar, bright red against white.

His forehead creased in concern.

In the meanwhile, Corporal Montgomery was becoming angrier. "Hostage?" she echoed incredulously at all the army officers standing around us, "you mindless coconuts, if we were truly kidnappers, why would we ride towards the Palace with the Emperor, instead of away from it?"

Corporal Baudelaire turned to face her, appalled by her outburst. "Michelle!"

"Hold your tongues, women!" one of the other Corporals there barked sharply, "you are currently under arrest, and are not permitted to speak."

She snarled at them in frustration. "Are you even listening to me?" she yelled, losing her temper, "I swear to God, I could tell you that we did not kidnap His Imperial Majesty a thousand times, and I would still only be able to hear my own echo in those empty heads of yours, you damned, doddering, diabolic ducks - "

"Silence!"

A sharp voice cut through Corporal Montgomery's tirade.

The crowds made way for an aged, petite woman, who glided towards the Emperor with poise and elegance. Her hard, sea-green eyes - of the exact shade as those of the Emperor - surveyed the scene in a slow, sweeping motion.

She seemed to bring with her a certain chillness that numbed me to my very bones. Everyone around her seemed to sink into obeisances, swift and deep, as if afraid of earning her wrath if they failed in either aspect.

She came to a stop in front of us, and spared us a fleeting glance, before she turned to the Emperor. "Your Imperial Majesty," her voice was void of all emotion, "welcome home, dear son."

My jaws almost dropped. This was the woman who was said to have been beside herself with worry for her son? This was the woman who fainted upon hearing about his disappearance?

There was no trace of tears, or concern, in that stone carved face of hers.

The Emperor, however, gave her a smile. "Thank you, Lady Mother."

She nodded, turning away from him quickly. "Sirs, you may release these women," she waved her hand briefly towards us, "I am certain they were only trying to help."

Almost at once, all hands and daggers that held us in place were gone, and we staggered to regain our balance.

"Trying to help?" Corporal Montgomery muttered, rubbing her wrists, "Lord - "

She paid no heed to us. "Your Imperial Majesty, please do rest well today," she advised him, "would you like me to bring you some soup before you sleep tonight?" Her tone still sounded formal.

The Emperor's sea green eyes lit up. "Thank you, Lady Mother."

Still expressionless, the peculiar Dowager Empress inclined her head at the Emperor, turned around and glided back to the Palace.

That was the strangest welcome I had ever witnessed, especially one involving a kidnapped son and his mother.

On the other hand, two years ago, Queen Eleanor had dropped to her knees and wept with joy and relief at the Bordeux Castle gates, when Richard had been rescued after being held hostage for almost ten years -

I clenched my fists, shaking my head. Nay, not now. Not ever.

Once she had left, the Emperor approached us, still in a happy mood. "My apologies about the army," he apologised, "our Palace has healers, should you require their assistance."

"It is all right," Corporal Montgomery grudgingly conceded, "we are fine."

"The Corporals were only doing their duty," I agreed.

His eyes fell on me at the sound of my voice. "You are still bleeding, Mistress Harrington," his forehead creased again, "does it hurt?" He offered me a white handkerchief.

I accepted it. "I will survive, Your Imperial Majesty, thank you."

"Good, because it would be a shame to see you perish on your first day here," he offered me a rueful smile, before, "all three of you, would you please stay on for dinner? It is the least I can do for you for aiding me."

"We would love to, Your Imperial Majesty," Corporal Baudelaire smiled, "thank you."

"You are most welcome," he grinned amiably, "if you will excuse me, I have a few matters to attend to. I will see you at dinner." With that, he hurried into the Palace as well.

Corporal Montgomery watched him leave. "I bet you my life's savings that we will have an audience with the Dowager Empress tonight before dinner."

Corporal Baudelaire followed her line of vision. "Within the next hour, I would say."

I glanced at them, surprised. "What makes you think that?"

"For one, she will want to know exactly how we rescued her precious son," Corporal Montgomery answered me dryly, "and of course, she will want to meet you."

"Why me?"

"Why you?" she asked me incredulously, "you are Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne, one of Monrique's best archers, and the ex-fiancée of Prince Richard of Monrique - who happens to be notorious for his disappearances, both intentional and unintentional."

I could not help it. I flinched.

"That is quite enough, Michelle," Corporal Baudelaire shot her a pointed look, before she turned to me, "come now, allow me to clean that before it festers." She took the hanky out of my hands and began to dab at my bloodied throat.

Corporal Montgomery observed us for a long while in silence. "In any case, Mistress Harrington," she eventually sighed, "welcome to Amöneburg Palace, where every day is an adventure."

***

"I told you so."

I scowled at Corporal Montgomery, who was smirking at me. "Keep your silence," I muttered, "and if you dreamt that I would give you your life's savings' worth, then please wake up."

She released a wry bark of laughter. True to what she had predicted earlier, here we stood, scarcely an hour after the Palace healers had finished treating our wounds, outside the Dowager Empress' presence chambers.

And it was dinner time.

And I could smell the food with clarity from the dining hall.

And my mouth was watering -

"I know," Corporal Baudelaire nodded towards me knowingly at that moment, "I can smell our dinner too." She released a heavy, longing sigh.

My own stomach grumbled. "I do not understand," I frowned, "why would Her Majesty want to meet us during dinner time?"

Before the either of them could answer me, the doors to the presence chamber opened.

"Her Majesty Dowager Empress Liese of the Longbournian Nations is ready to receive you all," a Lady emerged from within, "please enter."

We strode into a warm, well-furnished room that was completely empty, except for the Dowager Empress. She was seated on a rocking chair on a small dais, with her hands folded neatly on her lap.

We sank into deep bows before her. "Your Majesty."

"You may rise, Corporals," she commanded, "and you may be seated."

The three of us looked to each other, puzzled. There were no chairs in the room except for the one the Dowager Empress was seated upon.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty," I spoke up hesitantly, "but where do we sit? There are no chairs here."

Her chilling laughter reverberated throughout the room. "Chairs?" she raised an eyebrow, "you expect to sit on chairs before a Dowager Empress? Like equals?"

"Strike one," Corporal Montgomery muttered under her breath.

I maintained a pleasant smile on my face with great difficulty. As a daughter of an impoverished noble, I was well accustomed to receiving such treatment from some of the richer nobility back in Monrique as well.

But at least our sovereigns treated everyone equally, from common man to nobleman.

"Of course not, Your Majesty," I assured her smoothly now, "I merely assumed that foreign guests at all courts were treated with basic respect regardless of their social class. Forgive me, but I am new to your empire and its strange customs."

Corporal Baudelaire released a bark of laughter, which she hastily turned into a cough.

In the meanwhile, the Dowager Empress's sea-green eyes narrowed. "Foreign guests?" she bristled, "you would consider yourself as our guest?"

"Clearly. We have not come to the Longbournian Nations because we are lacking jobs or money in our own country, Madame," I was blunt, "we are here only at His Imperial Majesty's invitation."

She tilted her head at me, coolly intrigued. "My, my, my, what a tongue you have on you," her voice was dangerously soft, "surely you must be Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne. The Women's Academy's newest Archery Mistress."

I inclined my head. "The very same."

"I have heard a lot about you, Mistress Harrington," her lips curled, "and your engagement."

"Strike two," Corporal Montgomery muttered again, reminding me of her presence.

On my right, I felt Corporal Baudelaire bump her shoulder gently against mine in silent support, but still, I felt myself grow cold.

Nothing good ever followed whenever anyone enquired about my engagement.

She leaned back against her throne. "Did you know that Queen Eleanor and I had discussed a possible match between my only daughter, Princess Natalya, and Prince Richard? King Frederick and my son were all for it, and we were even about to draw up a formal betrothal," her gaze held mine, "however, the Prince rejected her, on the grounds that he was not ready to marry. But then, scarcely a month after that, he proposes marriage to you."

I blinked, taken aback. The Queen had been planning to marry Richard off to the Emperor's sister? This was the first time I was hearing of it. Richard had not even mentioned it to me.

Which made me wonder what other secrets he had kept from me.

"Princess Natalya was heartbroken when she heard about it," she stated coldly, "she had fallen in love with his portrait on first glance, and had expected the engagement and the wedding to go through."

I was fast growing uncomfortable.

"What do you have, that my daughter does not?" she continued, musing, "she is well-mannered, intelligent, beautiful, and has riches that one can only dream of. She would make any Prince a more than ideal wife."

"You, on the other hand, are born to a small Earl in an obscure corner of Monrique," she wrinkled her nose at me, "you have no beauty or wealth to speak of and you behave more like a common born wench than a well-bred Lady. Why did he choose you?"

I had heard this too many times from too many Ladies of the Society in Monrique to take offence anymore.

"It is a mystery to me, as well, Your Majesty," I spread my hands.

If I had hoped she would give up, I was mistaken.

"Nay, surely you must have something if he turned down a match with a royal Princess," she scrutinised me, before her eyes widened, "hold, are you carrying his child? Is that why he wished to marry you?"

What?

There did not seem to be enough air to breathe suddenly. I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach, and knocked all the wind out of me.

"Strike three," Corporal Montgomery sighed tiredly under her breath.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

Was this what everyone else had thought as well?

If a Dowager Empress herself should think that I was so unworthy of Richard that he would have only agreed to marry me if I was compromised, then what had the rest of Society thought when we had announced our decision to wed all those months ago?

To even think of it made chills run down my spine.

"Do not listen to her, Mistress Harrington," Corporal Baudelaire murmured fiercely to me, "she is merely trying to tear you down."

It took me a while to find my voice again. "I know," I assured her, "she is not the first, and nor will she be the last."

With that, I raised my gaze to the Dowager Empress. "Nay, Your Majesty, I am not with child," I answered quietly, "Prince Richard wished to marry me because he loved me. It is as simple as that."

"Where is that love now, Lady Katherine?" a taunting whisper left her lips, "where is he?"

I asked myself the same. For the umpteenth time that month, I could not help but doubt if Richard had truly loved me at all, or had merely agreed to marry me under duress of some sort.

Of course I had taken care not to pressurise him into anything - and had even checked with him countless times if he was certain after he had proposed - but I wondered now if he felt obliged to do it all the same, for some reason.

The very thought hurt.

"Nothing lasts forever, after all, Your Majesty," I smiled lifelessly, "neither did my engagement - but I hope - nor will my grief."

Her eyes glinted, as she sought another point to attack me. "I would not be so certain about that - "

I did not allow her to finish. "At such a difficult point, your son His Imperial Majesty has graciously given me an opportunity to start my life afresh in your beautiful empire," I met her gaze, "and you can be certain that I will make the best of it."

She became confused. "Of course - "

"My colleagues will explain to you how we found your son earlier, and any further questions you may have regarding the kidnap attempt," I bowed deeply, "but I am afraid our conversation on my engagement, at least, ends here." With that, I turned towards the door.

"You have not been dismissed," the Dowager Empress' voice cut through the air sharply.

"I swore fealty and obedience only to my sovereigns in Monrique," my eyes blazed, "and as such, I am in no way obliged to take any orders from you. Have a good evening, Madame."

I left.

***

I adjusted the saddle on my stallion one last time. "Come, old boy," I murmured, "let us return to the Academy."

He merely neighed.

"We will have an even better dinner there," I coaxed him, "we shall have sweeter sweetmeats, and much better company."

At this point, I knew not whether I was convincing him or myself.

"Are you certain about that?" a deep voice chuckled behind me.

Startled, I turned around to find the Emperor striding towards me, sporting a wide beam on his countenance. He was followed by his two of his guards who stationed themselves near the stable's door.

He was holding a large tray covered by a red, silk cloth, which he set down on the straw-covered ground in front of me, before sitting down cross-legged.

To be very honest, his constant good mood bewildered me.

"Good evening to you too, Your Imperial Majesty," I knelt down before him, "but whatever are you doing here in the stables?"

"Well, I noticed that you were leaving the Palace without having your dinner," he remarked cheerfully, "and since I have yet to have mine as well, I thought we could dine together."

I was speechless for a moment. "Dine together?"

"Why not?" his sea-green eyes twinkled, "can you truly refuse this meal?" He removed the red silk to reveal an array of dishes.

My eyes widened in surprise. They were dishes of kind that I had never seen before in my life. There were two bowls of what looked like soup, two plates with some mashed potatoes and turkey, but I could not identify the rest of them.

They smelled heavenly, nevertheless. I was almost tempted to stay.

Almost.

"Thank you. It is very kind of you, Sire," I released a sigh, turning away, "but I think it is best that I return to the Academy before it gets too late."

His next words stopped me short. "She does not mean it, Mistress Harrington."

"I beg your pardon?" I turned around.

His smile had faded, and he seemed extremely solemn. "Please do not take the Dowager Empress's words to heart, Mistress Harrington," he clarified quietly, "she does not mean them."

My eyes widened. "Were you present when we spoke, Sire?"

"Nay, but I could hazard a guess on what she wanted to speak to you about," he shrugged, "and what had you storming out of the Palace, without your colleagues, within ten minutes into the meeting."

I remained silent, looking away.

"Mistress Harrington," his gaze held mine, "I apologise on her behalf."

I shook my head. "I mean no disrespect to her, Your Imperial Majesty," I answered quietly, "but my broken engagement is not a topic I wish to discuss and analyse with anyone, at least for now."

"I understand," he offered me a sad smile, "I simply want you to know that if my mother sounded rude and bitter, it is only because it has been difficult for her to see Natalya upset over Prince Richard's rejection all these weeks."

My gaze softened. "I am truly sorry to hear about Her Highness's distress," I sighed tiredly, "I understand how she feels." I looked down at my hands.

He nodded, releasing his breath. "She will be all right with time, and I trust that you will be too," he told me gently, before sitting upright, "however, these dishes will not. Would you like to join me for dinner, Mistress Harrington, before it gets cold?" He gestured to the tray.

I stared at the food for a long while, undecided. Eventually, I gave in to the heady aroma wafting from the tray, and I sat cross-legged in front of him.

"I suppose I will, Sire," I rubbed my hands, grinning, when I stopped short.

I did not know what to begin with. Most of these dishes were so foreign to me.

The Emperor sensed my confusion. "These are our traditional dishes," he explained, "this is Eintopf, which is a kind of soup. We usually begin dinner with this." He handed me one of the bowls of soup, with a spoon.

I tasted a spoonful, and pondered. "Spinach, carrots, broad beans and minced garlic," I guessed, "boiled with salt, pepper and a little bit of broth?"

He broke into a pleased smile, sipping on his own. "Close enough."

"It tastes wonderful, Your Imperial Majesty," I beamed, as I swiftly proceeded to finish the contents of the bowl, "what is next?"

For the next hour, he proceeded to introduce me to a variety of dishes which possessed strange sounding names - Kartoffelpuffer, Sauerbraten, Schnitzel and many others I could not pronounce for the life of me - and were equally unique and delicious.

My favourite, as usual, was the dessert. "My God...." I groaned, as the flavour exploded on my tongue, "Sire, what is this? It is unlike any sweetmeat I have ever had before!"

The Emperor burst out laughing. "You may want to keep your volume down, Mistress Harrington," his eyes danced impishly, "someone may get the wrong impression upon hearing you."

I could not even be bothered to glare at him.

"It is called Apfelstrudel," he deigned to explain once his laughter died down, "or apple strudel, in English. It is one of my favourite desserts as well." He beamed widely.

Lord, I could live here for the rest of my life, if I could have such food every day.

"Your Imperial Majesty, if you are attempting to coax me into taking up a permanent position at the Academy," I closed my eyes, relishing the taste of the pastry on my tongue, "it is working."

For a long while, he did not speak. He simply watched me devour the plate of Apfelstrudels, his sea-green eyes bright with amusement.

"Indeed?" he smiled softly, "I am very happy to hear that."

***