Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

• Preminger's full name is Wulfgang Carolus Veremund Preminger.

• He was given such a long name because his parents were aware that names carry purpose, and they wanted their son to have all the luck three names could possibly give him.

• ( His parents naming him Veremund is ironic however, because vere means “true”, and there is no universe in where adult Preminger is truthful ( especially not to the crown, lmao ). )

• Wulfgang (Preminger) was born to an (our world) Ashkenazi Jewish father, who came from kingdoms beyond, and a (our world) German mother who was native to (a future) Queen Genevieve’s Kingdom.

• His father, Herr Tevel Preminger, was a stable hand, and his mother, Frau Katrin Preminger (nee Geissler), was a washerwoman in the Palace.

• His parents met entirely by chance one summer's day in the busy street, when they bumped into each other - Tevel with hay over his shoulder and the spinster Katrin with a basket of laundry obscuring her view. Tevel was new to the Kingdom, and Katrin had heard her neighbours gossiping of him through the thin walls of her single-room "house". Katrin did not know what this Herr Preminger looked like, so she had no reference to who he was.

• It was an awkward first encounter that evolved over the months into a devoted romance. Neither Tevel or Katrin married for prestige, and they were both overjoyed with who their spouse was. They married as middle-aged adults, so they did not expect to bear children. It was a happy surprise when they did.

• Tevel and Katrin had two daughters before their son was born. Their eldest was Irmlind, their middle child was Lieschen, and their youngest was Wulfgang.

• Irmlind did not survive late infancy. She passed away from a sickness at just under one year old. Lieschen and Wulfgang never knew her beyond the stories her mother spoke of her.

• Three years after Irmlind passed, Lieschen was born. After another two years, Wulfgang was born.

• Irmlind had Tevel's brown eyes and dark curls, Lieschen had Katrin's hazel eyes and Tevel's hair, meanwhile Wulfgang had the colouring of their mother ( dirty blond hair and hazel eyes ) and the face of their father as he grew up.

• He never met his paternal grandparents, however he knew his mother's parents, for they lived in the single-room "house" underneath theirs. Wulfgang grew up interacting daily with his grandparents, whether in chores, work, or rare times of leisure.

• Growing up, Wulfgang was close with his mother and older sister and had few friends outside of his family.

• He was known as "the odd son of Katrin" by the palace staff. For he was often day-dreaming of living another life in the middle of chores.

• Lieschen was an equal outcast. She was stubborn and hot-headed when it came to injustice. She was the one who staunchly defended Wulfgang from the village bullies - they who made fun of Wulfgang for hating getting dirty and being "girlish".

• Lieschen grew up working alongside his father in the stables, caring for the horses and maintaining the yard outback.

• Wulfgang, on the other hand, grew up working beside his mother in the palace wash-house.

• Their family owned no pets for they could not afford another mouth to feed, however Wulfgang would often wish for a dog like the local nobles had for hunting. In his mind growing up, a masculine-coded dog would stop him being laughed at.

• Everything changed however, when Lieschen passed away from a freak accident as a teenager. She was kicked in the side by a temperamental horse the master of the stables was trying to train.

• This began the strained relationship Wulfgang had with his father as he grew into a young teenager. Tevel loved his son, truly, however Herr Preminger did not see dedication in his son's future when compared to his passed sister.

• Becoming the sole child in the family put a heavy pressure on him to excel in whatever he did whilst working alongside his mother, Katrin.

• Folding the laundry with his mother as a young teen? Any tear he accidentally made was his to stitch together. Any unfixable mistake was his to pay for out of his weekly, meagre coin. No breaks were allowed in the wash-house, unless for swift mealtimes.

• This pressure left Wulfgang to often do the bare minimum in tasks he did not enjoy, for he felt no happiness in it. His sister's passing left him lonelier than ever, and neither of his parents knew what to do, for they were hurting also.