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Nikolai stretched out his legs, feeling the slight shock on his feet as he landed on the stone walkway. He regretted slightly that he had not slowed down more, but he quickly shook off the pain in his legs and started towards the door. One of the servants offered to take his coat, but he pulled it closer around his torso and kept walking. He knew his way around the palace, so he ignored the people who tried to guide him. His wings were folded tight against his body, the feathers ruffled. This damn Prussian’s proposition had better be astounding - Nikolai was not a representative that took kindly to people wasting his time.
He was surprised to find the door to the room already open, inviting him in. He stepped through the entryway, staring around the room. A large table sat in the middle of it, covered in maps, figures, and everything else needed for strategic planning. Maximilian, the Austrian representative, was sitting in a chair on the edge of the room. He glanced up as Nikolai entered.
“So he invited you too?”
Nikolai nodded simply, moving to sit near him. “Have you seen him around at all?”
“No.”
“So our host is late to his own meeting.” the Russian grumbled. He already didn’t like the bastard, and this wasn’t exactly helping.
“My, my! So little faith in me!”
Both men jolted as the Prussian’s voice came from right next to them. Nikolai stared at him in shock. Francis was wearing hard, heavy boots, and his jacket was covered in ornaments and medals that surely should have made some sort of noise when he had appeared. Yet he had been completely silent, and it was evident that he was proud of himself by the wide grin on his face.
“Now, gentlemen, if you’ll come with me…” Francis waved his hand towards the table. His dark eyes glittered in the candlelight, illuminating something like determination in his glare as he swept towards the center of the room.
Looking over the maps, Nikolai noticed that they covered most of Europe, but the one on top of the rest was mostly a map of Poland. It looked like the Prussian hadn’t commissioned different maps since at least the start of the century - he’d just been constantly drawing over the old ones.
“What’s all this?” Maximilian questioned, crossing his arms.
“Give me a moment to explain.” Francis insisted. His gaze swept over both of them, unspent hostility from the recent war blazing in his eyes. “I assume your human ambassadors are coming?”
Both Maximilian and Nikolai nodded. Francis smiled and trotted excitedly around to the other side of the table. His wings flicked as he walked past Maximilian, hitting him in the bottom of the chin and making his cape flick up into the Austrian’s face. Maximilian spat in frustration at him, his feathers ruffling up. Nikolai had to grab the Austrian by the collar to prevent him from trying to rip out the Prussian’s throat. Instead, Maximilian twisted and tore Nikolai’s hand away, digging his talons into his wrist. Francis didn’t seem to notice.
“I know my King will talk to your humans soon.” the Prussian continued, tapping his talons on the table impatiently. “But I thought I would give you a…. preview, let’s say, of what we’re planning.”
“Does Ethelind know about this?” Maximilian asked, his tone cold and vaguely mocking. He still had a tight, painful grip on Nikolai’s wrist, and the Russian felt his glove starting to turn a dark strawberry. “Do you have her permission? Or are you finally breaking off her leash?”
“I talked about this with my King.” Francis responded coolly - though there was a blaze of fury and determination in his dark eyes, and his talons scratched against the wood grain. “And… Ethelind knows about it too. She’s dealing with the technical side of it.”
“So you’re still a lapdog,” Maximilian scoffed quietly.
“Says the one still acting as a Holy Roman marionette.” Francis hissed back, his neck feathers rippling. “I’m surprised she let you out of your little isolated cell. Surely you don’t think she cares about you either?”
Nikolai huffed as the two men continued bickering like children. He really couldn’t believe that both of them were older than him. Both of them looked a little bit bigger under their uniforms, and black feathers poked out from under their cuffs and collars.
“Francis!” he hissed, grabbing the furious Prussian by the collar and dragging him to the other side of the table. It was a bit difficult to move him - despite his comparatively small size, he was surprisingly powerful, and his frustrated flapping made it hard to keep ahold of him. “Stay still!”
Francis finally shoved him away, but stayed in the spot Nikolai put him in. He twisted to glare at the Russian with a look that was intense and ever-so-slightly frightening.
“Anyway, gentlemen,” the Prussian said, his voice seemingly calm but with a venomous undertone, “I have a proposition for you. I’ve noticed that you both seem to be getting a little bit… agitated. You want something more. You want something to change. And I do too. I’m sure you’ve noticed, as well, how weak Poland has been lately. Partially due to my brilliant schemes, and partially due to their own pathetic faults.”
Nikolai and Maximilian glanced at each other. They could both see where this was going.
“I believe that the three of us could make a…. decent team.” he said slowly. “We all want more land. That’s always a given with kingdoms. I’ll even allow you to have most of what we take. I’ll just take West Prussia.”
“Modesty? That’s not like you.” Nikolai commented quietly, earning a low, warning rumble from Francis. “What’s the catch?”
“There isn’t one.” Francis hissed. “Not everything I do has an ulterior motive. I just want a little bit for myself, less than both of you. And I don’t want to completely get rid of Poland, either. That would turn the world against us.”
Maximilian narrowed his eyes slightly. “...I suppose I’ll consider it. But it’ll ultimately fall to my Emperor. And if you’ll excuse me - it’s very late.”
“Of course, gentlemen.” Francis said smoothly. “Goodnight, both of you.”
With that, the Prussian turned on his heel and left. Nikolai remained in the room, glancing back over the maps. He swept a hand carefully over the papers, eyeing the Prussian’s notes and how he planned to divide the Polish territory. He wasn’t… entirely opposed to the plans. Eventually he looked up, walking away from the table and starting to make his way down the hall, opposite where Francis had left from.
Nikolai walked down the hallway for a while, before being stopped by a sudden hand on his shoulder. He bristled and whipped around, only to find the white-haired Prussian standing behind him.
“What do you want? Can’t I go to bed?” he grumbled. “Or are you going to assassinate me?”
“Listen to me.” Francis hissed lowly. “Even if that Austrian doesn’t want to take advantage of my offer, then you can still come. We can still work together.”
“I thought you didn’t trust me.”
“I don’t. Not at all. Don’t get too sure of yourself,” the Prussian said firmly, crossing his arms and glaring up at Nikolai. Despite being quite a bit shorter than the Russian, he looked a little bit threatening, and very determined. “This works in my favor too.”
“Why me, and not him?”
“You’re easier to work with. Even if you’re a traitor.”
“Traitor… You’re one to talk, hm?”
Francis glared at him.
“I don’t trust you. I don’t know if I ever can. I can’t exactly forget how you tried to kill me, multiple times. How am I supposed to expect you won’t try again?”
“And how do you expect I can trust you either?”
“... I suppose you can’t.” Francis sighed. “Just… Think about what I said, alright? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“... See you tomorrow.” Nikolai said quietly, starting to walk away. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the Prussian had some sort of ulterior motive. Yet he had to admit, the offer was enticing. He had seen the amount of land on the maps, what the Prussian was planning… It would be foolish to deny it, even if it made Prussia stronger too.