Chapter Text
Après 1525 mais avant le tournant du 16th siècle
Prussia grazed out of the stage-coach window with awe in his eyes. Despite just seeing farmland for miles, Prussia could not wait to get to the old city of Aachen. Aachen, the place where the holy roman emperors and kings were crowned. Aachen, the city of Charlemagne, Aachen, the city of—
The stagecoach bumped over something and sent everyone inside tumbling. The older Brandenburg was able to protect Prussia from multiple books that Prussia left lying around the stagecoach from smashing into his face. Brandenburg’s sons went tumbling around the inside.
The bump in the road even affected the elderly Poland, who was invited as Prussia’s plus one (for raising him and allowing him to live after he came out as protestant), who fell off the roof of the stage-coach and was hanging onto the sides before he flew back up. Prussia wished Poland could teach him how to fly. As quickly as everything was devolving in chaos, it quickly went back to normal.
Bayreuth and Ansbach went back to arguing about who the best legendary king was, Brandenburg went back to napping next to the window like a black cat in the sunlight, and Prussia went back to gazing out the window. Soon, Aachen came into view and Prussia perked up.
“Look! Look!” Prussia said, climbing over to Brandenburg, shaking his surrogate father, and pointing outside. “LOOK!”
Brandenburg yawned and looked out the windows. “Yep, that’s it.” Brandenburg smirked. Bayreuth and Ansbach climbed over each other to catch a view of Aachen through the windows. Poland could hear the commotion from under him and scoffed before flying away to Aachen. He could have flown to Aachen in the beginning, but he frankly did not want to disappoint the young protestant boy who looked up to him like an uncle that lay in the carriage.
Prussia’s eyes widened in even more awe, oh, he really wanted Poland to teach him to fly.
Once they arrived at Aachen, Prussia exited the stagecoach to find Poland talking? —interrogating? ---yelling? ---arguing? ---with Bavaria. Then Prussia looked around him. Aachen was ancient, but it also looked like it was being or needed to be rebuilt. It was old and it showed.
As servants carried their luggage into the palace the Holy Roman Empire forced all of the states and Prussia to stay in for their time at Aachen. Prussia asked Brandenburg why they were here in the first place again and Brandenburg replied, “Because the Holy Roman Empire wants to celebrate his only child’s birthday.”
“Okay.”
Eventually Prussia settled in his dusty quarters. He felt like a ghost was watching over him. He knew many old palaces and castles that the Holy Roman Empire would frequent were rumored to be haunted, Brandenburg had told him when he was taught about the Empire. Prussia lay on his bed in exhaustion from thirteen hours of travelling. He eventually took an unforeseen nap before Brandenburg woke him up an hour later. “Get up.”
“Why?”
“The imperial diet doesn't sleep, or at least the royal court doesn’t.”
“But they’re so up their own asses and sinful!”
“Kid, I know your father was the Teutonic Order but get the bible and commandments out of your head when in court, the states in the empire are usually sinful.”
“But–” Poland entered Prussia’s room, yelled an ‘I agree’ and then stood there for a moment before leaving. He also left Prussia and Brandenburg confused.
“T-the entire empire is not horrible, I promise you. You will find allies that agree in your beliefs–you will find your people—but in the meantime, kid, let us introduce you to the court.” Brandenburg started dragging Prussia towards the door.
“Young girls get prepared for this, can't I?” Prussia groaned.
Brandenburg paused before saying, “No.” Brandeburg breathed in deeply, “As your surrogate father, former best friend of your actual father, and the March and Electorate that has declared he will help you... live, know I love you so much when I say this...” Then his surrogate father ranted, “You formally introduced yourself to the entirety of Europe when you decided to come out as protestant in 1525 against your father’s wishes. You did not prepare the world for that, so I will not prepare you for this.” He lamented before opening the door.
…
Prussia shut the door behind him. His hair was a mess, he was even more exhausted than before, and now he was socially exhausted. The court had drained him. Prussia yelled in frustration and flopped onto his bed.
That feeling of being haunted returned. Prussia looked over to the window next to his bed and his eyes widened. This time, not in awe, but in fear and horror. The Teutonic Knights, along with the personification—his father—had arrived at Aachen.
When the holy roman empire had said he wanted everyone in the empire here, he meant it.
Prussia dove back to his bed and hid under his sheets, fearing his father might have seen him, even though he could not, not right now. “Why, why, why, why, why?!” Prussia pounded his fists into the bed like mallets on a drum. He cried himself to sleep. Then, he was woken up.
Brandenburg pulled him out of bed and walked him hastily down the halls. They arrived in front of a tall door. “You are going to meet a very important country.” Brandenburg said, “He was originally the empire’s friend before his lion-like betrayal.” Brandenburg, brushed Prussia off and then stood next to him and adjusted and brushed off his own clothes. “You are going to meet Saxony.”
“Saxony?!”
“Yes, I managed to get a meeting with him for you—the palatinate and Bavaria are with him tonight as well, do not embarrass yourself. Answer all his questions if he ever asks any.”
Prussia nodded and Brandenburg opened the door to a room lit by only three candles.
The room had one table with three chairs around it where Palatinate, Bavaria, and Saxony sat.
Bookcases and maps filled the room and walls.
Prussia hesitantly stepped forward, “Hello…. sir?” Bavaria snickered, Prussia twitched. Palatinate observed from behind her fan. There was a long pregnant pause. Saxony looked Prussia up and down.
“You look healthy,” Saxony hummed, “The Teutonic order’s own flesh and blood. Born from the pages of the holiest book around—only to challenge the highest worshippers of it–”
“W-well I didn’t mean...”
Saxony laughed, “You are a bit of a fixer upper, I mean, you are still young. You need a bit more fat in you. You are lean—God, I can see your cheekbones, that is not good. You also need some more muscles. What did your father feed you before he almost disowned you?! Beets?! A monk’s diet?!” the man laughed harder.
Prussia did not know what to do.
“Hey, how about this. During Austria's birthday, there will be a tourney held. There will be jousting and horseback riding, it will be fun. My sons will be there, and so will my grandchildren. Now, one of my sons has excellent horses and he was able to get all the horses in the stable to be his horses—if you think the horse thing is weird, it is not, I gave to my son when he was two and he recently got a pony for his daughter—I want you to be there. Got it?”
“Y-yes sir—I mean your majesty–your...dukeness?”
Saxony nodded, “Good.”
“C-can I ask you one question, duke?”
“Yes?”
“What was it like being exiled?”
“Well… not bad, until you come back and find out that you’re suddenly a grandfather and missed your children growing up and getting married and all these births and….” Saxony looked over to the Palatinate, “Y-you are lucky you were raised outside the empire. It is a spider’s web.” Saxony paused, “I look forward to seeing what you do later in life.”
“T-thank you, sir.”
Prussia sat in the imperial booth, overseeing the jousting part of the tourney. Sweat dripped down his chin and onto his clothes. He held himself still and tall. He was sitting in the ‘children's area’ of the seating, as Brandenburg told him to. Brunswick-Lüneburg’s children—the descendants of Saxony that the Holy Roman Empire allowed into imperial gatherings—were supposed to sit right next to him but they had not arrived yet.
The Holy Roman Empire’s only son, Austria, sat the farthest from him and looked to be in grief. Styria sat next to Austria. The Hessian brothers sat in their own seats next to Styria but kept bickering and playfighting with each other. Above him, Brandenburg, the Palatinate, Bavaria, Swabia (who eyed him oddly), Poland, Lorraine, and Saxony sat. In the final row sat the Holy Roman Empire himself, he sat up above everyone.
The jousting had not even started yet but the adults above him were starting to place bets. Suddenly, Brunswick-Lüneburg’s children entered. Prussia’s eyes widened as Brunswick-Woffenbuffel—the oldest and the one that initially sent him a nasty letter to Prussia when he announced his Protestantism–sat next to one of the Hessian brothers. Then the other son sat down next to Brunswick-Woffenbuffel. Then the only girl, blond hair and red eyes, sat next to Prussia.
Prussia sank into his chair when the girl spoke, “Hey! You’re the Teutonic Order’s son, right?! Your name is Prussia, right?”
“Y-yes,” Prussia muttered out.
“Well, I am Hanover! Palatinate was talking about you in court! She said my grandpa was impressed by you and said you’re brave.”
Saxony said he was brave. “Really?” Prussia turned towards Hanover, who was now talking about court gossip.
“Yeah! And—”
Prussia eventually tuned her out and then sat completely still when he saw the Teutonic Order–his father–walking down the steps towards Austria. Hanover noticed this and turned around, “Oh! The Holy Roman Empire instructed your father to mentor his son!” Hanover turned back to Prussia, “I hear the Teutonic order treats him like a—never mind”
“Yeah, I know what you’re implying.” Prussia grumbles. “Uhhhh…your grandpa said you and your family liked horses?” And that unleashed a whole lecture's worth of horse information. Eventually, the Teutonic order stopped talking to Austria and went up to talk to Swabia. The knightly order kept his hands behind his cloak his entire time, clearly hiding something. Yes, Prussia was keeping his eyes on his father rather than listening to Hanover talk.
However, when Prussia did decide to listen to Hanover talk–now talking about the difference between cold- and warm-blooded horses–his father appeared right behind him. “Prussia.” the old voice said.
Hanover suddenly stopped talking and all the ‘children’s’ eyes—except for Austria and Styria’s—went towards Prussia. “Yeeeeessss...?” he responded fearfully.
His father took his hands from behind his cloak and revealed a large bible, “This is yours; it was a family bible your….” The Teutonic order looked over at Swabia, but Prussia did not see it.
Swabia smiled at Teutonic before putting up her fan. “--that your grandfather had, given to him from his youngest brother. I hope you will keep it with you.”
“I…. Thank you, Teutonic Order.” His father stiffened and sighed. He eventually walked up and sat next to the Holy Roman Empire—above everyone—as Prussia flipped through the pages of the large book and the jousting began to start and the crowds got louder and started to cheer.