Eating Strawberry Leaves

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Branch

Nicholas' arc, as he moves into the government and finds a new use for his loyalty to Ludwig.

Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://www.branchandroot.net/archive/).

"Fire on the Mountain" published on 2009-02-02 11:38:05.

"Light to Walk By" published on 2009-02-02 11:39:33.

"Sartorial Splendor" published on 2009-02-02 11:40:52.

"If You Want to Kiss the Sky" published on 2009-02-02 11:42:25.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on September 6, 2019 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Cover illustration is "Still-life with Symbols of the Virgin Mary" by Dirck de Bray, public domain (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dirck_de_Bray_-_Still-Life_with_Symbols_of_the_Virgin_Mary_-_WGA03113.jpg).

Cover design by Branch.

Fire on the Mountain

As the new Strahl are inaugurated Nicholas watches the upsets among his fellows. Drama, I-3

At the appointment ceremony Nicholas found himself kneeling beside Lui, and felt like an interloper for the first time in a long time.

Naoji was watching from the galleries.

Nicholas had heard rumors that someone in the palace had protested a (mostly) foreigner being appointed in the government, but he'd also heard Orphe mentioning Naoji's hesitance to accept a position in a country he intended to leave. Besides being from the horse's mouth, that seemed more like the man, to him. 'Conscientious' didn't begin to describe Naoji.

And now Lui was staring straight ahead with less expression than one of the church's statues, giving his responses in a pure and disinterested tone. No hint of his usual sly amusement and disgust over the antics of the less intelligent souls around him.

Nicholas had seen a younger student thrown from his horse, earlier that year. The boy's leg had been broken. He'd sat and stared at it, face perfectly blank while everyone else ran around shouting.

He hadn't screamed until they'd moved him.

Nicholas didn't think Lui would ever scream. He respected that. But he didn't like the way both Helmut and Camus were watching Lui lately.

As the priest raised her hands, invoking the blessing of wisdom on the newest Strahl, Nicholas, instead, prayed that Naoji would stay in the country long enough for this break to knit.

He wondered if hearts took longer than bones.

"Poland is a long way off." Bauerwurst looked around the room for support. "Germany is between us; any aid we sent would only serve to turn Germany's attention to us, which we have thus far avoided."

Nicholas growled under his breath at such idiocy.

"Therefore, it behooves us to maintain our tradition of neutrality—"

"And die?" Lui's cool voice sliced over Bauerwurst's.

"We are neutral!" Bauerwurst insisted, as if the words were some kind of magic spell.

"No one else is," Lui pointed out, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in waiting stillness. "Do you want this country to be caught in a closing net of alliances, driven into a corner at the last, allying with whoever will have us at the end?" He waited until Bauerwurst had drawn a breath to reply and added, softly, "Would you repudiate the tentative alliances His Majesty has made, at such diplomatic and personal risk?"

Bauerwurst was left with his mouth hanging open, and the truth that yes, he would if he could, written so plainly across his face that even his own allies squirmed uncomfortably.

Lui straightened, hands laid flat on the table. "This is not a time in which conservative tradition alone will serve us. Our king has pointed the way. It falls to us to follow it."

A murmur of approval and relief ran through the room and Nicholas' mouth quirked. They might as well be back at school, the whole crowd following after the brightness of those few who shone.

He did look forward to seeing all of their faces the first time they watched Lui and Orphe have a fight, which was sure to happen just as soon as Orphe got back from his inspection of the country's factories and they all set to over how many might be made over to war purposes, if needed.

He frowned, though, as the meeting broke up and he watched Lui leave the room, head down, with none of the air of having a personal patent on rightness that winning an argument usually brought out.

Lui's brightness still seemed dimmed, for all his sharpness when they worked. Nicholas admitted to being impressed that Lui could work like this through whatever his private injury was, but he didn't approve of it at all. He would, he thought, mention something to Daniel, who was better at prodding Naoji than anyone else Nicholas knew.

Nicholas was looking for Helmut, but found Daniel instead. Well, that would do. Both of them would be off to England in a few days to soothe and worry the English, respectively. He started to call out when his friend looked up sharply from the door he was lingering at and put a swift finger to his lips. His smile was wicked and bright as he beckoned Nicholas closer.

Nicholas' mouth tilted wryly but he continued silently down the hall, wondering what trouble Daniel had found this time.

He was halfway there when he spotted who was beyond the half-closed door and stopped short.

Naoji was caught up against Lui, being kissed, from what Nicholas could see, within an inch of his life, fine hands buried in Lui's mane of hair. They burned against the dimness of the room, the way he'd only ever seen them burn when they both had swords in their hands.

He looked away and put his hands on his hips and raised his brows at Daniel. Daniel just grinned at him, eyes alight. Nicholas shook his head and trod forward more softly than before.

"Your path will be glorious, no matter which one you walk," he heard Lui murmur, voice husky and intent in a way that nearly made Nicholas shiver. "Show me."

"Yes." Naoji's voice was pretty husky too, he couldn't help noticing, but it was firm, and that... that was probably what Lui needed to hear.

Lui would not be happy to know anyone else had heard it, though. Nicholas wound his fingers in the back of Daniel's jacket and pulled him away down the hall.

"Let's not stir them up too much," he said softly when he judged they were out of earshot.

Daniel burst out laughing. "And after setting me on them; you're so dishonest sometimes, Nicholas."

"I was worried, sure. You want him to go off feral again, the way they say he used to be?" Nicholas paused and snorted. "Wait, never mind, don't answer; this is you I'm talking to." He gave his friend a tolerant smile. "Come on. I've got the shipyard figures for you and Helmut to take with you." Tempted by the promise of new targets, Daniel went along easily enough and Nicholas smiled.

If his smile had as much to do with relief as with his friend's bad hobbies, that was his own business.

End

Light to Walk By

Years have passed. Nicholas is a member of the Strahl, and finding that people simply don't understand what's between he and Ludwig. Drama, I-3

Bauerwurst had an oily little voice; Nicholas had always thought so, and annoying as it was in ministerial meetings, it was a lot more annoying when the man was dogging his personal heels through the palace halls.

"...and the Minister trusts your judgment, your word would be of much value to us..."

Nicholas was sure it would. Right at the moment, he wished it were otherwise.

"...in return I'm sure we could do something about Herzog von Liechtenstein's leverage against you..."

Nicholas stopped dead and finally turned around. "What?"

Bauerwurst smiled at him, nearly dripping with attempted camaraderie. "Oh, no one dares say anything openly, but I assure you my associates and I are alert to these nuances. You argue every issue with Liechtenstein, but when it comes to a vote, you vote with him each time. I don't know what he holds over you, but I'm sure we could—" He broke off, suddenly looking less oily and more alarmed. Nicholas noted it distantly, through his rage, and took another step, catching Bauerwurst's jacket in his fist and pinning the man against the wall. He felt weightless.

"No one holds anything over my head, you little worm," he said, level and hot as poured steel, loud enough to echo off the walls and turn the heads of the people around them. "I vote by my damn conscience and follow my brain, not my damn pocketbook. Ludwig has my loyalty because he earned it."

"I... I'm sure I didn't mean..." The whites were showing around Bauerwurst's eyes and Nicholas snorted with disgust, opening his hand.

"Your kind make me sick. You give government a bad name." He turned his back and strode on down the hall, turning his mind firmly to France's last request for supplies.

He imagined there would be trouble over this, but he'd found there was trouble over everything, sooner or later, at the palace. That was apparently life.

And Lui, too.

Nicholas was stuffing papers into his briefcase, glad to finally escape for the day, when a stir at the door made him look around. Lui was standing just inside, regarding him with cool eyes and crossed arms. Nicholas' mouth tilted.

"Wondered how long it would take before you heard."

Lui just watched him, distant as any glacier, and Nicholas snorted.

"Oh, relax, will you?" He stood up and stretched the kinks out of his back. "Honestly, I'd have thought Orphe would have gotten you used to it by now."

"Orpheus," Lui said, precisely, "is loyal to this country. Not to me."

"He will be," Nicholas pointed out, blunt and brutal. "We all know it's coming."

He wouldn't have thought it possible, but Lui stilled even further.

Nicholas sighed. "You won't be able to avoid the crown, Lui, and when it comes you won't be able to do everything by yourself. I get that you don't like that," everyone got that, wasn't like it took Camus to spot it, "but that's just too bad." He slung his briefcase over his shoulder, dangling from his fingers, and shot Lui a fierce grin. "I trust you. I'll follow where you lead this country."

Lui closed his eyes, as if weary at great foolishness, and Nicholas let his grin turn affectionate. Lui had inhuman control of his expression, but his eyes gave him away if he felt strongly enough. When he closed them, you could be sure it was to hide a strong feeling. Almost as good as Orphe's open-book expressiveness, really.

"Come on," he jostled Lui with an elbow as he passed. "We can have a nice fight tomorrow over how many ships we can afford to send to France. Won't that be fun?"

"I'm sure it will be most satisfying, when I win." Lui looked down his nose, collected again.

Nicholas laughed out loud. "We'll see."

He didn't know why more people didn't understand Lui. All you had to do was take everything he said and turn it thirty degrees, but practically no one around here noticed. The best and brightest, in his considered opinion, could be pretty dim.

Fortunately, there were still some bright enough to light the way.

End

Sartorial Splendor

Nicholas has been appointed to a post he likes, with a uniform he doesn't. Drama with Humor, I-2

Nicholas put his hands on his hips and glared at his king. "Absolutely not."

This only got him a raised eyebrow.

Nicholas stood his ground. "I don't care what our historical ties to the Magyar are. I don't care how symbolically significant it is. I am not wearing that lavender velvet top hat!"

"Kucsma," Lui murmured. "Not a top hat." He leaned his chin in one palm, watching Nicholas with distant interest.

"I know you can perfectly well alter the Councilors' uniforms. It'll be a hopeful symbol of change, and all that rot, or at least Orphe will probably say it is."

Lui's eyes glinted and Nicholas carefully refrained from smirking. He might not be as good a strategist as Lui or Daniel, but Lui-manipulation was a separate art, and one he followed with dedication.

"So, are you declining your appointment?"

Nicholas considered it. Yes, Lui was too practical to throw away a good tool, but he was also bloody minded enough to find a much worse post for Nicholas just to make his point. "No," he decided. "I'm perfectly happy to accept. I'm just not wearing that damn uniform."

"I'm sure something else can be arranged," Lui purred.

Nicholas snorted at this not-subtle-at-all threat. "Save your gold braid and and velvet for all the trained monkeys you've just inherited," he suggested.

As he'd hoped, that made Lui laugh, and he tossed off a casual salute before turning his back with calculated insolence and strolling out. He knew exactly what it was Lui valued him for, and he was more than willing to play on it if it got him out of that godawful, antique, showboat uniform. And if it resulted in some of the more obsequious, suck-up nobles inheriting the pastel velvet instead, well that was just fine with him. He thought it was good for Lui to have someone who would egg on his evil sense of humor.

He smiled cheerily at the official waiting outside the audience room doors and strolled down the corridor, whistle echoing insouciantly off the marble.

End

If You Want to Kiss the Sky

Nicholas corners Lui about his trust issues. Drama with Kissing, I-3

Nicholas paced Lui's private office, running his hands through his hair in exasperation.

"You have to give something back, Lui! You're starting to lose the Ministers and the Strahl both."

"They should have no complaint." It wasn't even a statement, it was a pronouncement. Nicholas rolled his eyes.

"Yes, all right, you're good at your job, you fulfill your duties and then some, you'll probably be one of our strongest kings. But I told you years ago! You can't do it all yourself!" He turned and flung out his hands. "For God's sake, even Orphe isn't talking to you this week!"

Which was how he'd gotten elected to the next turn of thumping sense into Lui, and he'd have to remember to find some way to thank Ed for that.

Lui sniffed. "Orpheus overdramatizes things."

"Orpheus knows what to do with loyalty," Nicholas growled. "You could learn a few more things from him."

Lui looked away. "I doubt that."

"Hah! The problem isn't even arrogance, or wanting all the control is it? Loyalty is the one thing that scares you, is what it is," Nicholas threw at him.

Lui stood still, one hand resting on his desk. "Fears are often born of logic. One must simply deal with them."

"Yeah?" Nicholas crossed the room to him in a few swift strides and dropped down to his knees. "Can you deal with it?" He raised his hands, pressed palm to palm, eyes fixed on Lui.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. The usual glint in Lui's eyes was quenched and dark.

"You can't, can you?" Nicholas said quietly. "I'm already sworn to you as my king, and even so you don't have the courage take it personally."

Lui's nostrils flared as he inhaled sharply, and his hands moved, closing around Nicholas'. At the touch, Lui paused again, and Nicholas grinned darkly; nothing like a challenge to make Lui act. From the twist of Lui's mouth, he knew he'd fallen for it, too.

"It seems a little superfluous to ask if you're willing," he murmured, dryly.

"Of course I'm willing." Nicholas snorted. "I am your man."

The glint in Lui's eyes flared to life again and his lips quirked. "Very well, then. I accept you." The quirk got more pronounced, downright wicked now. "And since such things should be done properly..." His hands closed on Nicholas' shoulders and he bent down to kiss him.

It wasn't a ceremonial kiss, and could not, by any stretch, be considered a kiss of peace. Lui's mouth on his was hot and demanding, opening his mouth fiercely and plundering it. Nicholas pushed back, tongue sliding against Lui's, sparring fast and strong the way they did with swords.

It was good. It was right, to refuse to surrender to Lui's strength and fire, and all the while feel the hardness of the floor under his knees, the tug of his spine arched back, because he had offered himself up willingly. It was the way they were with each other.

Finally Lui drew back, tongue tracing one last time over Nicholas' lower lip. Nicholas found he was panting, hands wound tight in Lui's shirt, and laughed, breathless. "Somehow I don't think this is going to work with all your officials."

Lui gave him a rarely exasperated look for the suggestion, mouth twisted in faint disgust, and Nicholas smirked.

"Well, don't worry," he said, as he rose, "I'll be sure to whack you another one if you don't shape up."

"How very comforting."

Nicholas grinned at his friend. "See you tomorrow, my liege."

Lui's parting look would have been a glower on anyone less controlled, and Nicholas decided he'd prodded enough for one day. Any more and Lui would start talking about the Russian embassy post again.

Now to find Ed and collect on the drink he was owed for this.

End