by H J Peterson
The people in the ballroom chuckled, apparently thinking that Eltz was joking. He wasn’t: Friedrich knew all too well that that man wasn’t joking. It was the closest thing to a kind thought his father had said about Katalin and her family: Friedrich guessed that it was probably better to treat it like that instead of the backhanded compliment it was.
Eltz raised his glass higher and looked down at Friedrich and Katalin. “To Friedrich and Katalin: may the two of you have many long, happy years ahead of you.”
Everybody else raised their glasses a little higher, too. “To Friedrich and Katalin!”
They all took a sip from their champagne glasses.
Friedrich sighed, relieved. Thank heaven, his father hadn’t decided to make a fool of himself.
“Dinner will start in about an hour,” Eltz said. “For now, the servants will start to bring out the hors d’oeuvres, and the band will start to play. Feel free to dance and chat while the chef works on dinner.”
With that, Eltz sat down, the band started playing, and couples made their way to the dance floor to start the evening’s dancing.
Katalin looked over at Friedrich as the small orchestra began to play a light, airy waltz. “Friedrich, what do you say to a little dancing?”
Friedrich immediately went on edge, again. Dancing?
“Katalin, do you really want to subject yourself to that?” Friedrich asked. “I-I’m really not a great dancer.”
Katalin smiled shyly. “I’m not either.” She put her head on his shoulder. “Besides: didn’t your mother ever tell you that the wife is always right?”
Friedrich smiled at that. Of course, his mother had told him that. As did Terézia. All while Eltz and von Thurzó rolled their eyes in annoyance.
“I guess you’re right.” He stood up and offered her his arm. “May I have this dance, then, my lady?”
Katalin smiled a little brighter as she put her arm in his and stood up. “I would, my lord.”
With that, the two of them headed off to the dance floor to have their first dance as a married couple.
The band started to play another waltz as they made their way to the dance floor, the other couples parting for them. It was a little faster than the other one they’d played: Friedrich found himself worrying that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the band’s pace.
Even so, once they were on the dance floor, he took up the waltz position with Katalin, and the two of them began to dance.
Katalin, as it turned out, was not a bad dancer. She was actually quite good, enough so that Friedrich was positive that she was making him look bad. She was light on her feet, and graceful to a fault, gently yet confidently stepping to the beat, following the terrible lead Friedrich was setting. She was relaxed, yet had perfect posture, her dress gently brushing against the ground and their legs.
And how did Friedrich, himself, do? Not well. He was lucky to step to the beat, and he was as rigid as a plank of wood. He probably would’ve stepped on her feet quite a bit, had it not been for the fact that Katalin was able to get her feet out of the way just in time. It was embarrassing, but he didn’t say anything about it: Katalin seemed like she was having a lot of fun, and he wasn’t going to spoil it for her.
“Thank you for humoring me,” Katalin said after Friedrich found his rhythm. As much as was possible, anyway. “I know you don’t love dancing.”
Friedrich smiled. It probably ended up looking more like a grimace: he always looked like he was in pain when he was concentrating on something, according to his parents. And he really, really needed to concentrate on dancing if he didn’t want to completely embarrass his new wife.
“Anything for you,” Friedrich said. “Besides: I kind of thought that actually experiencing dancing with me might ruin it for you for the rest of our marriage.”
Katalin laughed at that. He was glad that she seemed to think it was a joke.
“Well, I’m sorry to say that you failed in that,” Katalin said. “You really aren’t that bad of a dancer. I can honestly say that I’ve danced with worse partners.”
Now, it was time for Friedrich to laugh. A worse dance partner? Than him? That wasn’t even possible, was it?
“Katalin, I don’t think such a man exists,” Friedrich said.
“You’d be surprised,” Katalin said with a smile. How could she manage to smile so much? Didn’t her mouth hurt at that point. “Believe it or not, but I was actually one of the best dancers in Báthory.”
“It’s not that hard to believe,” Friedrich said. The song was starting to wind down, reaching its final bars. “I think you might just be one of the best dancers in Königstadt.”
A bigger smile from Katalin. The stringed instruments played the last chord of the song, signaling the dancers to end their dances, and to switch partners if possible. “Thank you.”
Friedrich bowed to her while she curtsied. “You’re welcome.”
Before the band started playing their next song, the announcer began to shout over the people in the ballroom: “Lords and ladies, please welcome Manfred II, the emperor of Vorbereich and protector of the realm, and Lady von Braun, empress of Vorbereich!”
Friedrich turned to look towards the door, more than a little surprised. Sure enough, the emperor, himself, and his wife were standing by the door in their finest clothes. Both of them were all smiles as they waved at them all.
Everybody in the room bowed to Manfred II and Lady von Braun for a few seconds, including Friedrich and Katalin.
Friedrich could hardly believe it. His father was pretty close to the emperor (he was fairly high in the line of succession), but he still didn’t think the emperor would show up at his wedding. He’d assumed that he would be too busy dealing with the… things that had happened by St. Janika’s.
The thought of it still haunted him. To think: so many people had died just after his wedding. It kind of made him feel guilty for celebrating when there were families in Königstadt that were being faced with living without one of their loved ones that night.
“Friedrich, I didn’t know the emperor would be coming,” Katalin said as they all stood up straight, again. The emperor and his wife were being escorted to their seats, next to Eltz. She looked up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know, either,” Friedrich said as Manfred II and Lady von Braun stepped onto the dance floor.
The two of them took up their dancing position and started to dance, again.
“Do I look okay?” Katalin asked. “And be honest: I’m not going to be offended if you say I’m not-“
“Katalin, you look just fine,” Friedrich said. “You look stunning, actually. And anybody that says different is the dumbest man in the world.”
Katalin frowned. “Is it really a good idea to call the emperor the dumbest man in the world? You’re going to have to work for the man, someday, you know.”
“As long as he doesn’t try to tell anybody that you aren’t the prettiest girl in this room, I won’t call him that.”
That particular song didn’t last long after that. The two of them bowed to each other, again, the musicians starting to tune their instruments, again.
“Do you want to go sit back down, again?” Katalin asked.
“Do you?”
She nodded, wincing. Was she okay? She looked like she was in pain. “Yeah: my shoes are killing me.”
The two of them walked off of the dance floor, before the next song could start.
They didn’t get far before they were stopped. Just after they had left the dance floor and the next song started, Manfred II and Lady von Braun walked up to the two of them, all smiles.
Katalin’s grip on Friedrich’s arm got a little tighter. Of course, it did: this was going to be her first meeting with the emperor of Vorbereich. That was intimidating for anybody: he’d just about made a fool of himself the first time he talked with Manfred II.
Knowing the government job he would inherit after his father either died or retired
, though, Katalin was going to get very comfortable around these two. There would be plenty more dinner parties after this one, thanks to the fact that Friedrich was going to be a member of the King’s Council and the Noblemen’s Council.
Friedrich bowed to the emperor, while Katalin did a curtsy. “Emperor, empress: it’s an honor to see you here.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Manfred II said. “I would never think of missing your wedding, not when your father’s practically my co-regent.”
Manfred II chuckled at that. Friedrich tried to laugh, but frankly, he wasn’t totally sure how to react to that. It would definitely explain why the government had responded so coldly to the public’s concern, and why they were much more concerned with winning fights than they were with finishing it.
Manfred II looked over at Katalin and smiled warmly. “Lady von Thurzó, you look beautiful, as always.”
Katalin’s cheeks burned as red as cherries, off guard. “Th-thank you, your grace.”
Friedrich tried to hide a smirk. Told you.
“Now, how has your first day as a married man been?” Manfred II asked. “I trust you’ve both had a wonderful day?”
“It has, thank you,” Katalin said. She looked up at Friedrich, again. “Friedrich had the most romantic day of my life planned for me. So, so wonderful, your grace.”
“I took your suggestion to book a reservation at the Spring Palace,” Friedrich explained. “I have to admit: I’ve never actually been before today. Perfect weather for a stroll through the gardens.”
Katalin looked between Friedrich and Manfred II, apparently surprised. “I didn’t realize the two of you were so close. How have we not met, before?”
“I’ve asked Manfred the same thing,” Lady von Braun said. She looked up at her own husband. “Really, darling: why haven’t we all gotten together for dinner before now?”
“I’m… not sure, actually,” Manfred II said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just didn’t think you would be interested in that sort of thing, I suppose: you always seem so bored when I have to discuss politics around you.”
“Touché.”
The song the band was playing slowed and came to an end.
Once that happened, Lady von Braun looked up at Manfred II. “Come on, honey: I want to dance some more.”
“Alright, dear.” Manfred II looked up at them. “We’ll see you two later on tonight, right? We have to get more acquainted.”
“That sounds wonderful, your grace,” Katalin said.
With a few more bows, they parted ways, Friedrich and Katalin heading for their table, Manfred II and Lady von Braun heading for the dance floor before the next song started.
Friedrich sat down and took a sip of champagne. That conversation he’d had with von Thurzó still stuck with him, filling his head with worry. What were he and Katalin going to do about their living situation, now that they were married? They couldn’t stay in Eltz Manor’s guesthouse forever; that hadn’t intended to be a permanent solution, anyway. Were they just supposed to buy a house somewhere? How would they even start? Friedrich had lived in the same house his entire life, and the manor would be his when he became the head of his house, but what did they do in the mean time? He guessed that this was all just something they would have to eventually figure out, but he couldn’t manage to shove those worried thoughts out of his head. He didn’t think he’d ever stop thinking about it, not until the two of them had everything figured out.
He turned to Katalin. “Katalin, where are we going to live?”
She turned to look at him, frowning. “What?”
“I mean, I know that my parents will let us stay in the guesthouse for as long as we need, but we can’t stay there forever,” Friedrich explained quickly. “I mean, how would we even go about finding a house? There’s just so much we’ll have to figure out-“
“Friedrich, you need to relax,” Katalin said. “Just enjoy our wedding: we can worry about things like that in the morning.”
“I know, I know,” Friedrich said. “I guess… I guess that I would just feel a lot better going forward if we had some sort of plan, is all.”
Katalin sighed. “Alright. But do you promise me you’ll be able to get your mind off of all this for the rest of the night if we talk now instead of tomorrow?”
Friedrich nodded. “I promise.”
“Alright,” Katalin said. She took a sip of champagne. “What do you think we should do? Do you have any ideas?”
“Well, all I really know is that we need to move out,” Friedrich said. “How did that all work when your family moved here?”
“I’m not sure: my father didn’t really involve my mother and me in that whole process,” Katalin said. “I know that we have to talk to someone in the land commission in the city we want to live in, and that they’ll tell you which homes are for sale and when you can walk through them.”
Great: now, they just had to figure out which city they wanted to live in.
“So, where do you want to live?” Friedrich asked. “Sommerfest? Ungarn? My uncle is the lord of Eltzich, so he can probably find a place for us down there.”
“I don’t know,” Katalin said. Friedrich knew that tone of voice very well: she didn’t really like any of those ideas. “I’d kind of like to stay close to Königstadt.”
Friedrich frowned. She did? “I thought you didn’t like living in the city: you used to complain about how crowded everything here was when you first came.”
“Believe me: that opinion hasn’t changed,” Katalin said. “I just don’t want to stray too far from my family, is all. I don’t exactly know very many people here in Vorbereich, yet, and I don’t think I’d be able to adjust very well without a support system.” She took a sip of champagne. “Besides: you still have to finish up your studies at the university. I don’t want to pull you away from that, now, not when you’re so close to finishing.”
“Alright: so, somewhere close by,” Friedrich said. “How about Staatsberg? It’s only an hour out from the city, and it isn’t nearly as big as Königstadt.”
Katalin frowned. “Staatsberg?”
“The city the Spring Palace is in.”
Katalin lit up when she heard that. “That would be wonderful!”
“Then, I guess it’s settled,” Friedrich said. “I’ll talk to Eltz in the morning, ask him if he knows the land commissioner in Staatsberg.”
Katalin smiled. “We make such a good team.”
Friedrich smiled. She was right, of course: they were quite a good team. He could only hope that that all wouldn’t end, now that they were married.
Friedrich heard something clang behind him. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw that Maddox and the other members of the personal guards of the people at the high table were all standing up, slinging their guns over their shoulders.
He bit his lip. He had a terrible feeling about this.
“Maddox, is everything alright?” Friedrich asked before Maddox could leave.
“Probably,” he said with a shrug. “Something’s going on out behind the kitchens, I guess. Don’t worry about it: it’s probably just a bunch of protestors, again.”
That didn’t exactly comfort Friedrich, after what happened with those protestors earlier that day, he didn’t exactly like anything that involved angry civilians and armed soldiers crossing paths.
He didn’t ask any more questions as Maddox and the other guards headed for the kitchen doors. Asking more questions would just make him worry more, and he’d promised Katalin that he’d enjoy himself from then on out.
Friedrich tanked a servant as she refilled his champagne glass. It’s fine, he thought to himself as he took a sip of champagne. Maddox is probably right: there’s nothing to worry about.
I hope.
“You think there’s something going on?” Katalin asked.
He looked over at her as she took a sip of champagne. “Do you?”
“They wouldn’t have called all of our guards out
there if they just needed to dispel a bunch of protesters,” Katalin said.
Oh, hell! She was supposed to tell him that he was being paranoid, not agree with him. Now, he was going to be thinking about what might be happening out there for the rest of the evening.
Friedrich took another sip of champagne. Well, so much for enjoying his wedding-
There was a loud boom, one that seemed to shake the very ground. The orchestra stopped playing, and everybody began to murmur under their breaths, trying to figure out what was going on.
Friedrich was surprised he didn’t break his glass, he was holding onto it so tightly. He didn’t know how he knew it, but that was a bomb.
Something was horribly wrong. Regular protesters didn’t have bombs. There was more to it than a bunch of disgruntled civilians-
A second explosion, but this one was much louder, and much closer. Smoke began to billow out from the door of the kitchens, burning as black as charcoal. The people standing by that door began to back away in fear.
Friedrich took Katalin’s hand in one of his and the pommel of his sword in the other. He didn’t know what he planned on doing with his sword, but he had to do something. Katalin could handle herself just fine, thanks to the fact that she was a Dodger, but what kind of a husband would be if he didn’t at least try to defend his wife?
The doorman came to the center of the ballroom as the nobility around him began to panic, heading for the door. “Everybody, remain calm: I’m sure everything is under control-“
The door to the kitchens burst open, and a figure in the uniform of the Königstadt guard came out, his arm covering his mouth, coughing and wheezing, nearly falling over.
Friedrich barely managed to hold himself back. He recognized him. It was Maddox, singed, his uniform blackened with soot, but he looked okay.
Maddox turned around, took his gun from his shoulder-
A gun went off, but it wasn’t Maddox’s. Maddox stumbled back as a bullet hit him in the shoulder, knocking him down onto his bottom.
He cursed as he tried to get him gun back up, pressing the butt into his injured shoulder-
The gun was ripped right out of his hands, launched towards the wall by some invisible force.