Re: Blood and Iron

120  Tea Time with the Princess of Prussia

Bruno stood there with the dainty hands of a young girl around his eyes. Considering he was in the Kaiser's palace, just about to step out of it without saying hello to someone in particular, he could guess exactly who was so bold as to approach him like this. With a heavy sigh, one that sounded as if he was too exhausted to entertain the girl, he voiced her name aloud correctly. "Princess Victoria Louise, I was just about to come find you to pay my respects…" The girl let go of Bruno's eyes, which she was standing on the top of her toes to even reach, and immediately called the man out for his obvious lies. "You're lying! You were just about to leave without saying hello to dear old me!" Bruno turned around and gazed upon the young princess, who was having fun at his expense. He couldn't help but sigh once more, as he admitted the truth to her, considering she had the gall to actually call him out on his lies. "You're absolutely right… Well, now that you have my attention, was there something you wanted to say to me?" The young princess simply giggled at Bruno's serious expression. The man was generally seen by most people who didn't know him, but knew about him as a stern, serious, and outright dreadful figure. His lack of ability to smile unless he was around his close friends or family was not helping him in this regard. Even so, the Princess couldn't help but make a remark about this. "I just wanted to say hello. Is it really so hard to entertain a princess for a few minutes? Most men in your shoes would be dying to get the chance for me to show them such favor! Yet here you are, acting as if I am wasting your precious time. So, I have to ask what is so important that you can't even spend a few minutes speaking with an adorable little princess like myself?" There were few people in this world, especially a woman at that, who had the nerve to be so bold in front of Bruno's face. Then again, the Royalty generally held such a privilege, as at the end of the day there was nothing Bruno could do to discipline a brat of such status. Because of this, he simply responded to the girl's whimsical rant about himself as if it were something he would reflect on. "I'm a busy man your majesty, your father's wars won't win themselves. But if it is a royal command, I suppose I can make some time for you, so, are you willing to abuse your power for such a petty matter?" Perhaps Bruno had underestimated the shamelessness of the girl, but she immediately smirked something sinister as she latched onto his hand and began to speak incredibly informally with the man. "Are you really going to think that such a thing would compel me to free you? Oh no, Lord von Zehntner, I'm afraid you have the privilege of accompanying this little princess for the afternoon!" Victoria Louise could see the rage flash in Bruno's eyes at how utterly shameless she was being, but this only made her laugh more than she dragged him off to the palace gardens to enjoy a cup of tea with her. There were many things she wanted to know about, especially regarding her father's plans. The Kaiser would never tell his little angel about the prospect of war with the world becoming a very real reality, but that didn't mean that she couldn't use her privilege as princess to compel one of his generals to speak to her about such critical matters. And because of this, Bruno soon found himself in a garden, beneath an awning, enjoying tea and snacks with the young teenage princess who was very interested in what he had been up to as of late. "My father won't tell me about what you have been doing, especially while you were in Russia. But I'm not deaf. I can hear the servants whisper about this so-called Red Scourge. Your reputation has even reached my ears, even though I'm just a caged little bird. So… Tell me all about your exploits! My father and you are planning something so secretive that I am not even allowed to eavesdrop on your meetings!" Considering this royal brat wouldn't let her go until he had fully satisfied her curiosity, Bruno sighed heavily and began his tale about what he had been up to over the years, starting with his exploits in the east at the beginning of his military career. "You didn't hear this from me…" After several hours of a long and dreadful discussion in which Bruno held nothing out about his exploits during the three wars he had fought in up until this point. The young Princess was not the slightest bit disturbed. Instead, she keenly listened to the tale with much excitement. Eventually Bruno began speaking about the preparations he had begun making for the upcoming Great War. After all, who would believe such fanciful tales from the mouth of a teenage girl? In the end, the girl couldn't help but make a remark, which caused Bruno to smile in her presence for perhaps the first time since she was old enough to remember their encounters. "It sounds like you know a bit too much about the future, and what it has in store for us all… You wouldn't be an angel, would you, Lord von Zehntner?" Bruno damn nearly choked on his tea when he heard the young princess' question. But he managed to pass it off with a smirk, as he responded to the girl's question with the honest truth, knowing that she wouldn't believe him. "An angel? No, I am wholly undeserving of such a privilege. But would you believe me if I told you that God sent me back in time from the year 2024 so that I may save the German Reich and its people?" Naturally, this absurd statement had one effect on the young German Princess who broke out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, as she made fun of Bruno for finally showing a playful side to himself. "You! And here I thought you were a boring old fuddy duddy! But you actually have such a humorous side to yourself!" Bruno stared sternly at the girl. Any friendliness he had shown her immediately reverted back to its previous dreadful state as he interrogated her on the spot. "Old? I'll have you know I have yet to even turn 27! I'm not old! I'm not even in the prime of my life!" This denial of his age only caused the princess to break out into even further laughter as she treated Bruno as if he were an old man who was very sensitive about his age. "Yes, yes, my mistake! Well, now that I know all about you, and your time traveling adventures, you are free to go, My Lord. I'm sure you have many preparations to make if you wish to save the German Reich from certain defeat!" After saying this, the Princess couldn't help but laugh some more, as Bruno simply stood up, thanked her for her treatment, and walked off. Once he was no longer in sight, the girl ceased her laughter, and looked at where Bruno had walked off to, making a comment to nobody in particular as she did so. "As ridiculous as it sounds, it would explain a lot. I mean, aircraft were just invented, and yet the difference between his prototypes and what the Wright Brothers designed are decades apart from one another. Could he really be from the future? No… That's absurd, perhaps he really is the genius my father touts him to be… It is such a shame a man like that is not a prince, and is already married…" Luckily Bruno had not heard the last words the princess said, cause if he had he would have instinctively flinched and looked around to see if his wife's murderous gaze was nearby. After speaking with the princess throughout the afternoon, Bruno told her all about his exploits and plans for the future. Albeit leaving out any classified or sensitive information. He returned to his home, where he was greeted by his wife and children. They were close to finishing their preparations for their family trip to Saint Petersburg. And Heidi had properly cleaned and pressed Bruno's Russian Field Marshal Uniform, as well as perfectly aligned his medals and orders as they should be per regulation. Ultimately, Bruno would forget his conversation with the young princess of the von Hohenzollern dynasty, even if she did not.  n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om