Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne

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

Amöneburg Palace, Amöneburg

The Longbournian Nations

To put it very kindly, guard duty at the Dowager Empress's boudoir was boring.

Her chambers were depressing to begin with. The walls were grey, and the curtains and tapestries were all done up in black. Save for a few whispers and murmurs here and there, she worked on her embroidery with a few of her ladies-in-waiting, who were also elderly matrons of her age, in silence.

She did not even notice me, thank goodness.

The only form of entertainment I had inside was watching the twin Corporals amuse each other, purely by facial expressions and eye contact, from opposite ends of the chamber.

My confidence had served me well. A few hours of watching them interact were sufficient for me to pick up a few characteristics to tell them both apart.

I simply could not wait for my apple strudels later.

At that moment, one of the guards at the door knocked and entered the chamber. "Your Majesty," he bowed, "Her Highness Princess Natalya requests a private audience with you."

My ears perked up. The Princess to whom Richard was almost engaged.

The Dowager Empress looked up from her embroidery, and for the first time since I had met her, genuine sadness and exhaustion entered her cold eyes. "Ladies, please adjourn to the recreation chamber," she commanded her ladies-in-waiting, "I will speak with my daughter alone, as she wishes."

The Ladies-in-waiting nodded, and picking up their embroidery, curtsied to her once, before they shuffled off into the adjacent chamber, and shut the door firmly behind them.

One of the twins cleared her throat. "Would you like us to wait in the adjacent chamber as well, Your Majesty?"

The Dowager Empress seemed to notice us for the first time that morning, and her eyes rested on each one of us, lingering on me for the longest period of time, cold and hard.

"Nay, you may stay," she answered at long last, staring straight at me, "I want you to see exactly what you have done to my daughter."

The twins glanced at me, shocked by the venom in her voice for me.

I held her gaze, unflinching. "I did nothing to her, Your Majesty," I answered quietly, "but certainly, if that is what you wish, I will stay."

Throwing me one, last chilling look, she nodded at the waiting guard, who cleared his throat. "Announcing Her Serene Highness Princess Natalya Hohenstaufen of the Longbournian Nations, Archery Mistress at the Longbourne Military Academy for Women!"

I felt my eyes widen in surprise. The Princess was an Archery Mistress too? At the Academy? How had I never seen her around?

A tall, slender woman of about twenty years old glided into the room, her skirts billowing around her. Her sea-green eyes were emotionless and unfocused, as she sank into a curtsey in front of her mother.

"Your Majesty."

The Dowager Empress rose from her seat. "My dearest daughter," she greeted her daughter formally, and raised her to her feet, "I wanted to speak to you yesterday, but your ladies-in-waiting informed me that you were feeling a little out of sorts. How are you now?"

She nodded. "I am feeling much better, Your Majesty. What did you wish to speak to me about?"

Nay, she was not, I thought to myself, my forehead creasing. Deep, dark circles ringed her eyes, and from the angle I stood, I noticed several new and healing scars that lined her wrists and arms like notches on a dungeon wall.

What had she done to herself?

The Dowager Empress caught my expression at that moment, and shot me a glare, which the Princess conveniently missed.

"Come, dear, sit by me," she gestured to Princess Natalya, forcing a rather unnerving smile on her face, "I have some good news to share with you."

The Princess sat down, looking wary.

"Yesterday, an envoy from Florencia arrived on our shores," the Dowager Empress began, keeping that smile on her face, "he has brought a marriage proposal from the King of Florencia, on behalf of his son Crown Prince Wilhelm. For you."

I blinked, surprised. Surely even the Dowager Empress could not be this dense -

In the meanwhile, Princess Natalya stiffened where she sat, all colour draining from her countenance. "Marriage proposal?"

"Crown Prince Wilhelm was most taken with your portrait, and word of your grace, kindness and gentle nature has reached Florencia," the Dowager Empress continued in her excitement, "he is most eager to wed you at the earliest opportunity."

She raised an eyebrow. "Did word of my job as an Archery Mistress reach him as well?" she asked sardonically, "is he willing to marry a woman who might be a better warrior than he is?"

The Dowager Empress did not pick on her tone. "I am certain that your...undesirable qualities can be omitted from being mentioned," she nodded more to herself, "'tis not as if you are going to work after your marriage, surely..."

I was affronted upon hearing that, and even Princess Natalya's eyes narrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

Her mother laughed, sending chills down my back. "There is no need to mention to them that you are an Archery Mistress," she waved it off, "in any case, after your marriage, you will be too busy with your duties as Crown Princess consort and begetting heirs to pick up a bow and arrow."

She was about to argue, when the Dowager Empress took her hands in her own.

"If you say yes now, your brother and the King of Florencia can enter negotiations," she beamed, "and if God wills it, you will be married by summer next year. How about it?"

"By...summer next year?" the Princess repeated in horror.

The Dowager Empress nodded, eager.

Princess Natalya looked at her hand, as her eyes began to fill with tears. "You only do this when you want me to do as you say," she murmured so low that I almost could not catch it, "only then, and never else."

She looked up at her mother. "You have never bothered to understand me," she whispered, filled with pain, "and mayhap never will." She did not scream the words, but she might as well have.

My heart squeezed in pain for her.

With that, she removed her hand from her mother's, stood up abruptly, and strode out of the chambers. A few seconds later, I could hear the Princess's chamber doors at the end of the corridor slam shut loudly.

The Dowager Empress continued to blink at the doors, shocked. Despite my will, a snort left my lips, which did not do unnoticed.

"Did you find anything amusing?" her nostrils flared.

I shook my head. "You, Madame, have the emotional capacity of a teaspoon."

"I beg your pardon?" her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"The Princess is clearly still mourning over her broken engagement, Your Majesty," I sighed, exasperated, "what in the world possessed you, or the Emperor for that matter, to bring a proposal to her at such a time?"

To be honest, after our walk last night, I had expected at least Emperor Sebastian to be sensitive enough to take his sister's feelings into consideration before pressurising her thus to marry - even if their mother seemed incapable of it.

As always, the Dowager Empress's temper flared. "What audacity! Do you think you know my daughter better than I do - "

"If my parents brought me such a proposal now, and told me that I need to get married by next summer, I would have reacted exactly the same way as Her Serene Highness did," I stated quietly, "heartbreak needs time to heal, Madame. It is as painful as any physical injury, if not more."

"Your opinion - "

" - is not warranted, yes, I am aware, Madame," I finished for her, stepping closer to the walls, "and I have said what I have wanted to, as someone who knows what she may be feeling at the moment. The rest is up to you. It is not in my place to interfere, and I do not intend to."

She turned away from me, too angry to speak, back to the comfort of her silent embroidery.

On the other hand, my heart went out to poor Princess Natalya, and I remained silent for the rest of the time I spent on duty there.

***

"It has been three days, and you have already managed to antagonise the Dowager Empress?" one of the twins remarked in wonder at the end of the day, "I am impressed."

After our evening training session, we were walking towards the dining hall for dinner through the grounds, cutting across a few other towers as we did so.

I smiled weakly at her. "I wish I did not. She is a terrible enemy to make."

"But how did you do it?" her sister mused, observing me, "she usually prefers to treat army officers as if we are invisible, unless she needs us to do something for her. Did you botch up a task she asked you to complete?"

I shook my head, trying to keep up with their pace. "Nay, she holds old grudges," I sighed, "there is nothing more to it than that."

Before they could question my words, I changed the subject. "By the way, the both of you may begin saving up for my apple strudels," I offered them an impish grin, "it is going to be a very expensive treat indeed."

That brought them to a screeching halt.

"You can tell us apart?" they asked in unison, shocked.

I nodded, laughing. "I was watching you both the whole day," I admitted, "one of you tends to fold your hands into fists when you are anxious, while the other crosses her arms. This happened twice - once when the Dowager Empress told me to stay, and again when the Princess stormed out of the room."

"And when you smile, your eyes crinkle a little around the edges," I pointed to one twin, "while hers does not."

"Next, your hair is a slightly darker shade of strawberry blonde than hers is," I pointed to the other, "very slightly, but it is clearer in the afternoon light. I noticed that during luncheon. You also seem to have slightly more freckles on your cheeks than she does. So need I list more, or have I earned my apple strudels?" I grinned happily.

They stared at me for a long while, stunned into silence, before they began to applaud softly.

"Good job," the very slightly darker haired twin grinned, "I am Roberta, and this is Jaime. And you, my dear, are about become very, very sick of apple strudels."

"But how did you find out?" Jaime was curious, "are you naturally observant, or...?"

I smiled sadly. "I was previously engaged to Prince Richard of Monrique, who has a twin too," I chuckled, "I would have made a terrible fiancée if I had not been able to differentiate my own betrothed from his brother."

Understanding entered her eyes. Before she could say anything to me, however, Roberta had paused in her tracks, tilting her head.

"Say," she murmured, "is that Her Serene Highness Princess Natalya?"

She pointed to a familiar woman seated alone by the pond yonder, who was running her hands absent-mindedly through the water. She was in deep thought, her sea-green eyes laden with sadness, as she hugged her cloak around herself from time to time.

"Indeed it is," Jaime was amazed, "what is she doing there all by herself? Come, let us bring her to dinner with us."

Without waiting for us, she marched towards the pond, waving her hands hard. "Mistress Hohenstaufen!"

"Her Serene Highness always insists on being called Mistress Hohenstaufen when she is on Academy grounds," Roberta explained to me in a low tone, "she is also an Archery Mistress here, although she has been taking a sabbatical these many weeks."

I nodded, understanding.

In the meanwhile, Princess Natalya had looked up from her thoughts, startled. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, as she took in the faces of her colleagues.

"Corporals Johnson and Johnson," she smiled weakly, standing up, "how lovely to see you both again."

I hung behind, as the twins strode forward to greet her. I was not entirely certain if the Princess would even want to see me - let alone make my acquaintance - considering I was partly responsible for her misery.

"You too, Mistress Hohenstaufen," Roberta grinned, "has your sabbatical ended?"

"Nay, it has not. I only came here because I needed a quiet place to think things through," she admitted sheepishly, "but worry not, I will return to work very soon."

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Jaime offered, "it will be served at the dining hall shortly."

"Oh, I cannot. I must return to the Palace soon," she denied, "'tis almost dusk, and my brother the Emperor might be worried - "

"Come now, Mistress Hohenstaufen! You can simply send word to the Palace that you are dining here for the night," Jaime urged her good-naturedly, "and besides, you know Cook makes the best Sauerbraten in all of the Longbournian Nations!"

A look of longing crossed her features. "Well, I have missed the Academy food - "

"And if the rumours speak true, we are having apple strudels for dessert again tonight," Roberta put in impishly.

The Princess chuckled softly, glancing between the twins. "All right, all right, I will come. You had me at apple strudels," she held up her hands in surrender, "but I think you are forgetting your new friend." Her curious voice shook me out of my reverie.

It was at that moment that Jaime noticed that I was standing behind them, and pulled me forward by the hand. "This is our new Archery Mistress from Monrique," she introduced me cheerfully, "she joined us only a few days ago. She - "

"We can converse on the way to the dining hall," Roberta glanced at her timepiece, "dinner will be served in five minutes. We had better start walking."

With that, Roberta began to walk ahead, and Jaime shot us a smile and hurried to catch up with her, leaving me to walk with the Princess.

In the meanwhile, the Princess's sea green eyes had lit up faintly, as she fell into step with me. "Are you from Monrique?" she was intrigued, "I have heard many amazing things about your country, and I have always wanted to visit. I am Mistress Hohenstaufen. It is very nice to meet you." She held out her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine. I am Mistress Harrington," I shook her hand, and took a deep breath, "but I think you might know me as Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne."

Her eyes grew round. "Prince Richard's fiancée?"

"Ex-fiancée," I corrected her quietly, "you must feel I deserve nothing less for being the cause of your broken heart, but I assure you, I had not known of your wish to wed him at that time."

She shook her head, looking quite distraught, as she struggled to express herself. "Never, Mistress Harrington," she whispered, "I would never wish it upon anyone. By God, I am so, very sorry to hear about your broken engagement."

Unlike most of the people who had offered me their condolences, sincerity and compassion shone through her words, and I was touched. She was as nice as her brother the Emperor, and I was forced to wonder - again - if the Dowager Empress truly was their mother.

"Thank you, Mistress Hohenstaufen," I answered softly.

She nodded in acknowledgement. "And please do not worry," she added, "I truly do not hold anything against you. Prince Richard was free to make his choices, as I had made mine." She bit her lip.

We turned a corner. "But you are still grieving."

"Of course," she admitted, exhausted, "he was everything I ever wanted in a consort. I had built too many dreams of our life together in those weeks my brother spent negotiating the engagement.....and by God, it is so hard to forget everything and move on now." She blew a ragged breath through her lips.

I nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Right on time!" Roberta cheered, interrupting our conversation, as we neared the double doors of the dining hall, "come, come, let us go!" She was almost bouncing in her excitement, as she hurried inside, followed by her exasperated sister.

At the threshold, the Princess held out her arm towards me, sending me a wobbly smile. It took me a few moments to realise that she was not asking me to lead her inside, but rather, she was offering me her friendship.

Without hesitation, I looped my arm with hers, and together, we strode into the dining hall.

***

"There is some magic in you, Mistress Harrington."

Corporal Montgomery was rocking back and forth on her armchair in front of the fireplace, tapping her chin thoughtfully, when I entered our room after dinner.

I closed the door behind me, and raised an eyebrow. "Magic?"

"Yes, magic," she mused, "Mistress Harrington, you have done the impossible. Impossible." She shook her head in disbelief.

Certain that Corporal Montgomery had lost her mind, I glanced over her head at Corporal Baudelaire, who was folding her clothes on her bed, for an explanation.

Mystified as well, she simply shrugged at me.

"I am not losing my marbles," Corporal Montgomery insisted indignantly, glaring at me, "do you know what happened today at dawn training?"

I walked over to my trunks, and began to take out my nightclothes to change into after bathing. "I have a feeling you are going to tell me, Corporal."

"I had full attendance at attire check during dawn training," she sounded disbelieving of her own words, "full attendance."

I was surprised. "Cadet Hartmann was present?"

"She was on time, too," her eyes were wide as saucers, as she sat upright to face me, "and for the first time, the squad was ready for inspection. I think all her fellow Cadets were secretly relieved they did not have to suffer punishment on her behalf anymore."

A large grin tugged the corners of my lips. Cadet Hartmann actually listened to me during the few minutes I spent in her company? I was most happy.

"Of course, she left training immediately when she found out that you were on Palace duty, and were not teaching today," she added wryly, "but the question still remains: what sorcery did you practise on her to change her mind? It has only been three days since you stepped foot here!"

Even Corporal Baudelaire was listening intently, curious.

Before I could come up with an answer, however, we heard the sound of a cannon firing off in the distance, and a war cry along with it. Mere seconds later, footsteps thundered outside our door, a loud cry went up in the corridor.

"We are under attack! We are under attack!"

We exchanged a single glance. Corporal Montgomery was out of her armchair at once, and she swung open the door, peeking her head out.

"What is going on?" she demanded of someone outside.

"A large group of rogues are laying siege to the Academy," came the hasty reply, "take up your arms, and hurry!"

Without further hesitation, the three of us took our weapons sprinted out into the bustling corridor. Corporals Baudelaire and Montgomery hurried off towards their squads' dormitories to evacuate their students to safety.

In the meanwhile, I headed towards the post allotted to me and the rest of my fellow Archery Mistresses to operate our cannon, according to Captain Keitel's emergency plan - the South-East tower terrace facing the entrance of the Academy.

When I was almost about to reach there, I felt my hand being pulled none too gently. Startled, I turned around to face a very distressed Corporal Johnson.

"Jaime?"

"Mistress Hohenstaufen has yet to leave the Academy," she informed me urgently.

"She is still here?" I was flabbergasted, "I thought she said she was returning to the Palace after dinner - "

"She was stayed behind to speak to a few of our colleagues," she was anxious, "Katherine, could you please ensure that she is evacuated to safety? The Emperor will have our heads if anything happens to her."

"But I am needed at my post," I pointed out, "the enemy is firing cannons, and they need archers to aim - "

"You have many other colleagues at your post who can operate the cannon just fine without you," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Roberta and I would have gone in search of the Princess ourselves, but we also need to evacuate our own students - "

"All right, all right, I will go," I cut her off, "where is she?"

"The last I heard, she was headed towards the stables."

Without another word, I sprinted off in the opposite direction towards the stables. Even while I ran, I could hear the clash of the swords and our own cannons being fired all around me, indicating the battle was in full swing.

I stumbled into the stables, to find a different battle altogether being waged. At the far end, away from the horses and shrouded in darkness, stood a group of men.

I warily approached closer.

"Well, well, well, if it is not Her Highness Princess Natalya herself," a man was crooning in heavily accented English, "how very wonderful to meet you here."

Princess Natalya was forced down to her knees at sword point by four masked men, while the fifth one, whose back was facing me, was talking away.

Damn.

I swiftly crouched down behind a large pile of hay on my left before they could see me, deciding to gauge the situation first before doing anything.

"I cannot say the same," she scowled, "by God, the very sight of you disgusts me, Prince Heinrich."

I felt my eyebrows rise. This man was a Prince?

"Careful with your words, you pathetic woman," he clucked his tongue softly, "I am in power here. I need only say the word, and this entire Academy will burn down in ashes along with you."

"Did you lay siege to the Academy just to come and kill little old me?" her was voice dripping with disdain, "that seems like a lot of trouble to go through for a pathetic woman like myself."

"You flatter yourself, Natalya," Prince Heinrich scoffed, "we came here to address more important matters - finding you here is but an added bonus. Imagine Sebastian's face when he sees you dead by my hands...ah, my victory tonight will be much sweeter." He clapped his hands together once viciously, clearly relishing the thought.

Her eyes blazed. "Dare not even utter my brother's name through your accursed lips, you undeserving, backstabbing filth," she snarled, "and what makes you think I will die by your hands? You forget that all of us here in the Academy are trained in warfare."

He seemed satisfied at her reaction. "You, my dear, forget that you are all mere women," he sneered condescendingly, "weak, indecisive creatures whose strength and reflexes are no match for a man."

The Princess simply raised her eyebrows in apparent surprise, as if she was hearing such an opinion for the first time, before she did something I would never have expected.

Even before my eyes could complete one blink, she had rolled beneath the swords pointing at her, used one leg to kick them away good and hard, grabbed her dagger by her waist and placed it against Prince Heinrich's neck, forcing his hands behind his back.

"Now, you were saying something about weak and indecisive creatures?" she remarked coldly.

I was suitably impressed, and controlled the urge to applaud her. Why in the world did Corporal Johnson send me here? This woman was more than capable of defending herself.

He struggled in her hold, to no avail. "Let - me - go!"

The four men stared at their empty hands for a moment, shocked, before they realised what had happened. They started forward to defend their leader, but Natalya shook her head, dragging the repulsive man a few steps behind.

"Move an inch, and he dies," she tightened her hold on Prince Heinrich.

Mayhap the fools thought she was making empty threats. Mayhap they believed they had strength in numbers. They grabbed their swords and darted forward regardless, ready to ambush her.

They were wrong on both counts. She did not hesitate to slit open Prince Heinrich's throat, swift and vicious, and allowed him to fall at her feet, bleeding to death.

My eyes widened, as did those of the men. An unnerving silence reigned throughout the stables.

"That is for betraying my brother, over and over again," she whispered, knowing fully well the dying Prince could still hear her, "he may have forgiven you a thousand times, but I never will. Be damned to hell, you vile creature."

Prince Heinrich stilled, silenced for all eternity.

The men rushed forward once more, and I decided it was time I aided her. Four armed, angry enemies against one was still disadvantageous, even after factoring in her impressive reflexes.

Grabbing my bow, I fired four, sharp arrows in quick succession from where I crouched down, aiming straight for their legs.

Their knees buckled, and they were distracted by their pain. The Princess turned around to see who had shot the arrows, and I stood up, walking over to them.

"Mistress Harrington?"

"The siege may end if you brought Prince Heinrich's body out into the open, Mistress Hohenstaufen," I suggested to her quietly, "the attackers no longer have a leader to fight for."

She shook her head. "He is not their leader," she poked his corpse with her toe, scowling, "all five of them here answer to someone else."

While she was speaking to me, one of the men attempted to rise on his feet, sneak up and attack from behind her.

I reached out over her shoulder to punch him squarely in the jaw, causing him to fall back to the ground.

"You should never turn your back towards the enemy, Mistress Hohenstaufen," I murmured to her, before glaring at the man whom I had just punched, "and you. I do believe 'tis rude to interrupt a conversation?"

But he simply gave me a twisted smile, his eyes trained on something behind me.

"Mistress Harrington," the Princess warned.

***

P.S. The photo above is the woman I imagined as Princess Natalya :)