Henry saw the banner rising from beyond the hill. He instantly turned around and started running, first on all fours, then he somehow managed to get up on his two feet with Eleonora's help. His heart was racing, the heavy feeling he felt weighing down on him was now lifted. Henry felt warm tears rushing down his face. His father was finally back, the hole left in his chest started filling in fast.
After rushing out of the room, Henry ran to the stairs. He was, in the last moment, caught by Eleonora, “Honey, don’t run down the stairs. I know you want to see your father, but take my hand, let's go down slowly.” As she said these words she took his hand and slowly started walking down the stairs. While they were descending the mansion door burst open and Alfred rushed up the stairs.
Alfred spotted them and gave his greetings, “Eli, Henry, I’m home!”
“Welcome back Al!” Eleonora said holding back her tears.
“Daddy, welcome home!” Henry jumped into Alfred’s arms. He could not hold his emotions in anymore. All the pain and fear he felt were now gone. Alfred, his father was home and all that was left in Henry was gratitude and a warm feeling in his chest.
Alfred did his best to sooth his son, “There, there, I am back, we won. The danger is over.”
He gently stroked Henry’s hair and gave Eleonora a big hug. Finally he could relax, his precious family was safe. Things would get hectic for the next few weeks, but with them by his side he could weather any storm life had in store for him.
“Shall we have a nice breakfast? I have a lot of stories to tell you. Henry, be sure to listen about how cool your dad is, ok?” (Alfred)
Henry nodded, he did not care what they talked about, he missed their talks and even if they just sat in silence he would be happy. Eleonora wore a radiant smile and took Alfred’s hand. They went towards the living room, when Anna came before them. “The people escorting you have been given food and will take the rest of the day off.” As Anna said these words she made a bow. She positioned herself behind them and the four continued their advance.
***
“Oh, great tea Anna, I missed this aroma.” Alfred took a sip of tea and his body sunk into the chair. Henry was sitting on the couch next to him. His eyes were sparkling, he could not wait to hear about his fathers exploits. After all, one day he would lead troops just like Alfred.
“Lord, as ordered I have sent the report with your seal to the royal capital, we can expect an officer from the War Ministry in the next few weeks.” (Anna)
“Usually I would not send a request about a small-scale raid like this one, but it seems fishy.” (Alfred)
“Indeed, they must have an endgame they wanted to achieve and the best course of action is to let the Royal Family use their network to investigate.” (Eleonora)
“Too bad they never tell the people leading the raid anything, we caught one of them, but he was useless as expected.” (Alfred)
“They never give usable information to the bottom feeders they send on such missions anyway.” (Eleonora)
“I have already sent out orders for our people to search through the territory. If they find anyone or anything suspicious they will send a report.” (Anna)
“We probably won’t find anything useful but still, let’s see what happens.” (Alfred)
“Honey, Henry seems to be interested in your stories, let’s leave the talks about the future maneuvers for later.” Eleonora decided to change the topic to something that Alfred would enjoy.
“You are right, sorry to bore you Henry, let daddy tell you about the battles I fought.” (Alfred)
The next few hours they talked about what they did while Alfred was away and he told them about the march, the battles and the funny moments that happened along the way.
***
10 days after Alfred returned, just as Henry was getting used to his routine, a trumpet sounded in the distance. Alfred and Eleonora took Henry and went out of the gym. The sound heralded the arrival of an important guest.
Alfred knelt next to his son and explained what it meant, “Henry, it is a bit of a surprise but you will now meet a very important figure, the minister of warfare Nicolas Ritter, he is the king’s brother.”
“That trumpet is only used to announce the arrival of royalty. Lord Henry, just as we practiced a deep bow, do not raise your head before he allows it.” (Anna)
Henry was in shock for a moment, but quickly recovered and started thinking about the situation that was unfolding before him, ‘A member of the Royal Family, he came here? Was this incident more than what my parents are telling me? Still I must be on my best behavior, I mustn't embarrass my family.’
He took a deep breath and gathered up strength, “I will do my best, nanny!”
“We have no time to change our appearance, let us go to the gates, we mustn't keep our guests waiting. Anna, send a knight to the house, have them recheck the guest rooms and prepare a lavish feast for later.” (Eleonora)
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“As you wish, my lady Eleonora.” (Anna)
Along the way Anna gave quick pointers to Henry, revising the lectures she had given him about etiquette when talking to a member of The Royal Family. Soon the gates were before them, the knights were lined up and a tall, slender man stood at the center of the opened gate.
Alfred took a step forward and made a perfect bow, a moment after him Henry and Eleonora did the same, Anna knelt on the ground.
“Rise your heads, please. I am archduke Nicolas Ritter.” the man said while wearing a polite smile. “ I would not need to introduce myself to you three, but I see a new Sigurdson here, so I need to follow proper etiquette.” Nicolas then came over and shook Alfred’s hand.
He looked Alfred over with a worried expression before speaking, “I was most worried about you, my friend. To charge into the enemy like that, I see you haven’t changed at all. I hoped you would become more of a commander and less of a frontline infantry man after your son was born, but I see now not even he can change your ways.”
“My lord, because I have a son I have even more reasons to break any and every threat that might come our way. Besides, such a low level group of weaklings cannot put me in any real danger.” Alfred said with a smirk.
Nicolas sighed and moved to Eleonora, he kissed her hand. “Lady Eleonora, I see you are well, the capital has become far less fun since you and Alfred left. When will you grace us with your presence?”
Eleonora answered in a casual tone, “In time, when Henry is ready to enter The Academy we shall return to the capital.”
“Oh, you seem more worried about him going to the capital than you were when you announced you would be leaving to govern the territory. After all this is a border region filled with constant raids and dangers.” (Nicolas)
Alfred swiftly move in to defend his homeland, “My lord, I see no dangers here and not to insult anyone but the capital, with all the pointless drama and the never ending pleasantries that mean nothing is far more dangerous.”
Nicolas looked at Alfred and both men burst out in hearty laughter. After a few moments Nicolas placed his hand on Alfred’s shoulder and spoke into his ear. “My friend, you and I both know that that place is filled with rats, but still, don’t speak such words in public, even if we trust everyone present, we can never be sure who works for whom.” He then separated from Alfred and looked at the still kneeling Anna.
Nicolas looked at the woman kneeling before him and exhaled deeply, “How many times must I tell you not to kneel before me, if anything I should kneel before you. You did save my life several times, my lady Anna. Please rise.”
“Even if you say that I cannot disrespect the Royal Family in such a manner. Proper etiquette must be followed.” Anna said while wearing a smile.
“Anna, one of these days I will ask my brother to issue a ban on you kneeling before me.” (Nicolas)
The people present burst into laughter and Alfred proposed they continue their talks inside.
***
“So this is your son. My boy, I see you have been taught well by your nanny. Listen to her and you will learn all there is to know about polite society.” (Nicolas)
“Yes my lord, I will.” Henry was nervous, even if his parents were friends with the archduke he still had to perform well. Most nobles, in his mind, were fickle people who could change their opinion in a moment if they saw something they find insulting.
Nicolas understood the pressure Henry must be feeling so he moved on to more pleasant topics, “Good, soo, this old man did not come to your second birthday celebration, nor the first one, please forgive me. While it is not an excuse I was busy with the ministry, I have brought gifts to make up for it. Also I intend to come for your third birthday celebration, if you will have me, of course.”
Henry was flustered, he did not expect any gifts, let alone an apology but, once more, Anna's strict training was there to help him weather the storm, “There is nothing to forgive, my lord. I thank you for your gifts, and look forward to your visit next time.”
Eleonora swooped in to help the shift the conversation away from Henry, “Lord Nicolas you should not have, after all, it was us that did not want to make a spectacle of his early birthdays and wanted to keep the celebrations as small as possible.”
“I understand, me coming over would have brought a lot of pointless people who want to use such an event for meaningless lip service, hoping to get some connection they might use somewhere down the line. My boy, the gifts are downstairs, do go and check them out.” (Nicolas)
These words might seem friendly to a child, but Henry understood what they really meant. He was basically kicking Henry out so that the real talks might begin. Henry looked over at Eleonora who nodded so he quickly left the room with Anna, leaving his parents alone with the guest.
“Now that we are alone, let us quickly talk about the serious stuff, before the boy gets back.” Nicolas sighed and took a sip of tea, as if to prepare for the following talks.
Alfred was the first one to start talking: “Not much to say really, a typical raid for the most part.”
“Most part?” Nicolas asked pausing for a moment, then looked at Alfred and started talking. “We have received a few troubling messages from our people over in Albion, they seem to be up to something. Not sure what unfortunately.”
Alfred nodded and crossed his arms, “Indeed, same with us, except for a bad feeling, we have no proof of them actually having a plan.”
Nicolas scratched the back of his head and spoke: “It would mean little if such words came out of people with no experience, but when you say them, there are more than enough reasons to keep digging. For now we will do our best to get information from our people on the ground in Albion, we will also do sweeps of our ranks for any infiltrators. We do it all the time, but now we must be far more zealous.” (Nicolas)
“For now we can only hope that we are ready when they put their plans into action. We will increase the number of patrols along the border and increase the number of eyes on the mountain.” (Alfred)
Talks continued on for some time but without any real information they could not do much.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy, caused by the unknown enemy strike that might be coming out of nowhere, but it was lifted instantly as Henry and Anna returned.
“My lord Nicolas, I thank you for your splendid gifts.” Henry was overjoyed once he saw what the archduke had brought for him. Among the many toys, he also gave Henry fine materials that could be used for clothes. Also there were many golden and silver coins, but Henry had to pretend not to notice them as he, as a child, should not understand what their worth was.
Nicolas came over and patted Henry’s head. His eyes were calm and gentle. “It is a small gift, after all you have made many of us happy with your birth, and now seeing you growing up into a fine child I want to shower you with many more gifts in the years to come.”
“My lord, don’t spoil the child, I am sure he will grow into a fine man but still, we must not risk ruining him.” (Anna)
Nicolas laughed and returned to his seat, “Lady Anna, please. A child that has Alfred and Eleonora as parents and you as a nanny will never turn into anything other than a splendid man.”
The pleasant talks continued on, until a butler knocked on the door and informed them that the meal was ready.