GermanyXReader: Learn to Love Me 23 (Royalty!AU)

You kept watch over Ludwig’s door until the first light of day began to filter in the castle’s windows and Alex found her way inside with them. “Europa, change of quarters.  Get some sleep.”

You glared up at her, your book three quarters finished and your hand dangerously tight on the hilt of your sword. “You’ve breasts of steel, that you presume to give your general an order.”

She looked back at you just as stubbornly. “I am not giving my general an order; I am giving my friend a suggestion.  You watched over your prince all night, and that is admirable, but he will be expecting you to spend the day with him in a pleasant humor, and you cannot do that if you haven’t slept.  You’ve at least four hours until he and King Prussia wake and another three before they are ready to depart.  Use them to sleep.”

You looked at her suspiciously for a moment before you rose, snapping, “You, Lena, Mother, Arianna, Belgium, or Helena are the only ones with permission to go near this door, do you understand me?  I care not that King Prussia is inside; I do not want even Hungary to be allowed to approach.”

She nodded her understanding. “Helena and Belgium guard King Strand’s door, but Arianna will relieve me at ten.  I will make sure she receives your instructions.”

You cast one last look at the door, glanced at her, and looked away to growl, “Do not tell him I guarded the door last night, and forbid Arianna from it as well.  The prince does not need to worry himself over such a small matter.”

Grouchily, you moved away to pace toward your rooms, grumbling the whole way there.  Alex smirked to herself as she settled into the chair you had left. ‘I am forbidden to tell the prince…but if I mention it to King Prussia, and Prince Germany overhears, who could have foreseen that happening?’

You growled your orders at Lena in passing, not even pausing on your way to your bedroom.  Exhausted from a long night of high tension, interrogation, and guard duty, you fell asleep facedown in your pillow without even first shedding your clothing.

Just after noon, Lena woke you, as you had instructed.  As you hadn’t instructed, she had ordered a meal brought to your rooms, and you ate contentedly while she went to order a servant girl to bring up a few buckets of hot water.  You were finished with your meal by the time they were brought up, and you washed yourself off quickly, using the second bucket to relax, as had become your custom.  You dried yourself and had just finished dressing when you heard a knock and Mauricio informing Lena that the Beilschmidt men and your father were ready for the day.

“Fetch Liliana as well, Mauricio.” You barked as you entered the main room. “Have her meet us in the main hall.  I’ll collect my charges and be along for her.  And tell her she’d damn well better not forget her sword!”

“Y-yes, Princess.” Mauricio jumped, startled.

Lena grinned. “I warned you she was in rare form.”

You frowned at her, but she only laughed, and you huffed angrily as you belted your swords on.  Still in a foul mood, you headed for Ludwig’s chambers, anxious to see that he was alright though you’d never admit even to yourself that concern and worry were causing your irritability.  Regardless, your heart began to beat more quickly as you approached his door, dismissed the guard, and knocked.

“Ja?  Mauricio?” Called Germany.

“Nein.  _____.” You answered back teasingly. “Do you care to open the door for me, darling?”

There was a moment’s pause before Ludwig asked suspiciously, “How do I know it is you und not ein clever mimic?”

A slight, proud smile crossed your face. “Ask me a question only your princess would know the answer to.”

There was a longer silence before you heard, “What is the name of the bartender at the Bow und Arrow?”

You rolled your eyes, huffing in exasperation. “Ask me something else!  I forgot it within five minutes of him telling it to me the first time, and I could not remember it when we were there; why would I remember it now?”

You heard a soft giggle, and as your ears picked up the sound of the door being unbarred, you barked, “Ludwig Beilschmidt, you had better not be opening this door!  Anyone who did not know the answer yet knew my temperament could have responded as such.  Ask me something else!”

You frowned as you heard him sigh, but after a moment, he asked, “Why did you make it your goal to have me fall in love with you by this festival?”

You stammered for a moment before grumbling, “To set your brother’s mind at ease.  He would have been glad to see that you were happy, but to see that you were in love would erase his burden completely.”

Your sharp, trained ears picked it up as Prussia cooed at the unexpected sweetness and Ludwig murmured, “You see?  I told you.”

“Told him what?” You snapped, blushing.  Frowning, you growled, “Forget that.  Ludwig, schatzchen, I think I have proved that it is your princess.  Open this door, that I might collect my lords and get them on their way.”

He did as you requested, and he and Prussia were both smiling at you when he opened it, though Prussia’s was one that was clearly appreciating your unexpected sweetness.  You glowered when you saw it, embarrassed, but then you locked eyes with your prince, and all your emotions faded other than the relief you felt at seeing him in one piece.

Ludwig saw the look in your eyes, and he moved to embrace you briefly, murmuring quietly, “Danke so very much for keeping me und mein family safe, Europa.”

Closing your eyes in a fleeting moment of relief, you murmured, “Do not thank me for doing my duty, schatzchen.  I intend to make you my husband, and as such, that means that I will lay my life on the line for yours whenever the occasion might arise, and I will do it gladly.”

You touched a rough hand gently to the soft skin of his cheek and smiled at him for a moment before you took it back. “Well, my lords?  Shall we go and fetch our fathers?”

They nodded their assent, and you led them to your father’s chambers, where you collected two more men for your group.  You made your way downstairs then, acquired Liliana and her sword in the dining hall, and proceeded to the festival grounds.

Roughly an hour later found you and Liliana leaning in boredom against a fence, keeping a watchful eye over the men you were protecting, though both sets of [e/c] eyes were heavy-lidded with disinterest.  You stretched then, cracking your back and letting a satisfied grin spread across your face at the sensation, before you turned to Liliana. “Well, girl?  What’s say we put that pigsticker you call a sword through a bit of practice.”

“Here?” She asked in surprise. “Thought we were s’posed to be keepin’ eyes on the men?”

“Lucky for us, I need but one eye for you.  The other can guard our lords.” You swung your arms back and forth, stretching the muscles out, before you raised a challenging eyebrow. “Unless a street child such as yourself is afraid to face the princess of the greatest queendom in all the world?”

“Like I can even get close to yer without yer ego gettin’ in the way.” She grumbled.

“What was that?” You growled dangerously.

“N-nothing!”

“Hmmph.” You rolled your eyes before you lifted your sword, still in its sheath. “I will keep my blade sheathed for this practice, but you will fight with your blade.  Are you ready?”

Your eyes flicked to your men, where they were all standing in captivation as they watched the castle’s head cook where she was preparing a pig to be roasted and giving a demonstration of how she did it, but they returned to Liliana as she gripped her sword tightly and growled, “Ready.”

Lightning quick, you rapped her fingers where they gripped the hilt, and she swore before dropping the blade and sticking her fingers in her mouth.  You chuckled as you bent down to retrieve her sword. “Let that be your first lesson, soon-to-be soldier.  Grip your hilt that tightly, and your fingers will break from impact, if not first from an enemy’s glancing blow.”

Gripping the sword by its blade, you held the hilt out toward her, and the friendly sparkle in your eyes dimmed to be replaced with a serious look. “Your sword is your best friend now.  Treat it with respect, and never let it go.  If you find yourself disarmed on the battlefield one second, you’re likely to find yourself disemboweled the next.”

She looked at you mistrustfully, but the reddened fingers left the scowling mouth to take the sword once more.

You and Liliana spent the afternoon practicing, drawing smiles and laughter from the passersby as they watched their princess instructing the young girl with eyes so like her own.  You kept a watchful eye on your lords all the while, but they were content to observe the palace chef as she prepared her roast, and the process kept them occupied for several hours.  You and Liliana broke for a drink toward late afternoon, and your group grew by four as the men joined you where you stood, to the side and out of the way but never far enough that you couldn’t spring to action if you were needed.

Ludwig giggled as he touched a hand lightly to your arm. “You look flushed, darling.  Is our young warrior actually giving you ein proper workout?”

He had expected you to bristle, but you knew the importance of morale to any fledgling soldier, especially to one in Liliana’s unusual situation.  You shrugged, laughing as you slid an arm around his waist. “What should I say, darling?  Either I am out of practice, or she is better than I expected…and as you may well remember, it wasn’t that long ago that I was fighting bandits on the open road.”

The men gave an appreciative titter, and Liliana blushed slightly, running her fingers over the hilt of her sword as she fought the smile that wanted to cross her face.  You laughed then, stretching. “All the same, my lords, what’s say we head back to the castle?  It must nearly be my favorite time of the day by now.”

“What time s’at?” Liliana questioned.

“Suppertime.” You, your father, and Germany all answered, and the other men and Liliana joined them in laughing.

You, though you crossed your arms huffily, even smiled.

As you walked up the hill toward the entrance to your home, you glanced down at Liliana where she walked beside you, lost in thought.  Your father led the way to the castle, talking animatedly to Gerhart, who was nodding quietly to show his interest, and Gilbert and Ludwig followed behind them, Gilbert speaking much the same way as your father was and Ludwig responding quite like his own father.

You and Liliana followed behind them, and you had just explained quietly to the girl that in a situation like this, in home territory, it was safe to allow them to lead, while bringing up the rear allowed you to defend them from behind while keeping an eye on any threats from the other three directions.  Softly now, seeing her expression, you spoke. “What troubles you?”

She looked up at you then, her brow furrowed as she tried to work out some puzzle in her mind. “Earlier, when we was…were trainin’, yer said to never let go o’yer weapon.  That if yer lose yer sword in battle, you’re gonna get kilt.”

You sighed irritably at her grammar, but you let it slide in favor of the question. “Yes, and you would do well to heed those words.”

The frown deepened. “People talk.  I heard the prince tellin’ his brother ‘bout it an’ he said…he said yer threw yer sword to get one of ‘em that was goin’ for ‘is door to get to ‘im.”

You nodded, your eyes on the back of the blonde head though your mind was seeing a replay of a long-ago battle. “Yes.  That’s true.”

She looked up at you then, her [e/c] eyes locked on your face even as yours were locked on your prince’s back. “But…you said today when you was givin’ me lessons…if yer throw yer sword in battle, yer dead a million times outta a million an’ one.  Yer said…the odds for dyin’ are asternominal.”

A smile twitched onto your lips then at both her sentence and her mangling of the word ‘astronomical’, and you diverted your eyes down to the girl’s. “Yes.  That’s true as well.”

Liliana’s eyes widened in shock. “Yer mean…you were gonna give yer life up for the prince?  But…you’re the princess!  Yer got this whole queendom that’s gonna be yers someday an’…an’ you were gonna just give it all up for ‘im?”

As she looked up at you, she watched in surprise as your [e/c] eyes, usually so hard and strong and calculating, softened at the edges.  Her thoughts had no specific words, just a tangle of emotions, mainly shock and a vague sense that your eyes were prettier than she had thought because she had never seen them looking quite like that before.

You, on the other hand, had the words.  You spoke them softly, so your charges wouldn’t overhear, but you spoke them all the same. “For twenty years, I was my own top priority.  I take pride in my home and in my army, but making them great reflects well on me and brings glory and honor to the royal family, of which I am a prominent part.  I care for my friends and for my subjects and for my battlehorse and my hunting hounds; I do care, make no mistake, but everything I do for them makes this queendom the best in all the realm, and that benefits me as well.  But Ludwig…he is my top priority now.  Having something to fight for the way that I fight for him, having someone who relies on me in such a personal and profound way…has changed me, has made me a better woman.  I would take a blade for him, if it came to that.”

Your hand drifted to your tunic, and you played absently with the fabric covering your newest scar. “I already did, as it were.  I got this scar because I threw my weapon, and…it is as I told you, girl.  You should only throw your weapon in a battle if you are prepared to die afterward.” The girl let out a sound of surprise, and a small smile slipped onto your lips then. “My options in that particular instance were to allow him to die when she reached the carriage, or to throw my sword and risk my own life in his place with those million-to-one odds.  The choice could not have been easier had it made it itself.”

She stared up at you, stunned. “Yer…yer love ‘im, don’t yer?  Not the way all the nobles get married, pretty lads with handsome women and beautiful lords with handsomer ladies, nice-lookin’ people that’re nice to see together.  But…yer love ‘im like my Ma loved my Fa.  The kinda love that holds yer hand when yer scared an’ brings yer soup when yer sick…the kinda love that’s around when nobody’s there to see it.”

Your own [e/c] eyes were surprised as you looked down into Liliana’s, a little stunned at the rough eloquence you hadn’t expected from the girl.  They crinkled at the corners then as you smiled, and they did it even more as they looked back at Ludwig to watch him laugh as he talked happily with his brother, looking carefree and content even despite the events of the night before, safe in the knowledge that his princess was nearby.

“Yes.  Yes…that’s true as well.”