Je T'aime. - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Flanked by two richly decorated guardsmen, I stood just outside the opulent state rooms that held the government of our entire Empire. A clock chimed somewhere behind me, the only noise besides the muffled voices of my mother's advisors behind the heavy oak doors. With two knocks of their staffs upon the ground, the guardsmen opened the doors, releasing the gentlemen from their prison of argument and politics. The gentlemen were too busy bickering and chatting amongst themselves to really pay me much mind; some gave me a simple tip of the hat, while the rarest gave a simple "Archduchess."
From inside of the state room, I saw the swishing of a gown as my mother retreated from the state rooms and back into her own apartments. Good. This was my chance. I adjusted my posture, and ran my palms over the wrinkles of my maroon and white striped gown. I adjusted the edelweiss in my hair. With a nerve-swallowing sigh, I entered the state room. Standing near his seat at the fine mahogany tables packing up his papers was the very man I had come to speak with. He was a middle-aged man on a slender frame, wearing a slightly outdated suit of blue and silver. Military crosses, sashes, and metals crossed his chest, and the cross of the Order of Maria Theresa hung from his neck. His hair was clearly a wig, heavily powdered, his queque contained in a black silk bag to keep the powder from smearing on his back. He had a Roman nose, and kind, dark eyes that wrinkled into crow's-feet at the corners. "Hello, General Jovanovic," I said, my voice cutting through the silence and the sound of shuffling papers.
General Xavier Jovanovic looked up from his papers and smiled. "Ah, good morning, Your Highness. How are you?"
"Well, thank you," I said as the retired General walked towards me. He wobbled like a drunken sailor with each step; a shot to the hip had placed him out of the field and into the palace indefinitely. "I just have to ask one favor of you."
General Jovanovic raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "What's that?"
"You taught my brothers the art of war, why can't you teach me?"
General Jovanovic shrugged. "Not usually in the repertoire for girls."
"There isn't any rule against you teaching me, is there?" I asked, adjusting my stance to try and look as confident as possible.
"I don't think so," the General replied. "But why the sudden interest?"
"Well, my nation is at war. As Austria's Archduchess, I will not be left in the dark about what is happening with my nation's armies and the men that fight for her. I wish to learn what is going on. With the Prussians, with the British, with everything."
General Jovanovic leaned onto the back of a nearby chair, taking the weight off of his bad hip. "Really, now? Well, I can respect that. As long as your parents don't find out and I don't get in trouble, sure."
"I'm forever in your debt, General," I thanked as I pulled out a chair for the injured hero to sit.
General Jovanovic unfolded a map and spread it across the desk, weighing down the upturning corners with letter openers that he found in the drawers of the desk. "Ah, it's nothing," he said. "What's the difference between you and your brothers, I say?" The General questioned, glancing to me like he wanted me to answer.
"Oh, many things," I stuttered.
General Jovanovic laughed heartily. "For one, you're much more ambitious."
"Oh, that's true," I laughed, trying to shake off the awkwardness.
The General began to dot the map with square pieces of glass in many different colors. "Well, I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning with you, Your Highness."
"Christina is fine. No need for the protocol, we're alone."
"Very well. Christina, this map shows the area that we are most focused on now- Silesia. When your mother took the throne, a war broke out called the War of the Austrian Succession. At the end of the war, Silesia was given to Prussia by the word of the peace treaty. The war goes on for many other reasons, but on this campaign, our main goal is to take back Silesia. There is good mining for coal, iron, lead, and zinc there, as well as budding manufacturing. It will bring great wealth to the Empire, wealth that is currently going into the pocket of Frederick. Now, this region is mostly Protestant, so they like Frederick. They won't just let your mother win them over by personality, as she did in Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. So," General Jovanovic said, pulling over the little pieces of glass. "We must fight for it."
General Jovanovic set out his little pieces of glass in strict formation across the map. "Are the other aspects of the war like the Silesian campaign?" I asked.
"In Europe, yes," stated the General. "In other areas, especially the Americas, not at all. But that is the problem of the French, not us," the General laughed to himself as he arranged his little colorful army, each square representing thousands of men. "These are the orders we just finished planning. Here are Frederick's men, marching from their barracks in Ostrava," the General pushed his formation of white squares forward. "Since we have taken Berlin, their morale is low. Their officers are distracted. So," the General moved a similar red formation onto the battlefield. "We intercept them, and we fight. And if we win, we can take Ostrava, and all of its resources for our army."
"And if we lose?"
"All of these men are dead. Anyways," the General went back to playing with his toys, arranging the red regiments of Austria on the map.
I was shocked by how he moved on so fast. "How many men are each one of these?" I asked, pointing towards one of the red squares.
"Ah, about three thousand or so," the General replied nonchalantly. "Now," he continued, "The best way to swipe across armies on this kind of terrain is with cavalry. So, we'll run up on the Prussians by surprise, and charge through the center of the ranks," He pushed a few Austrian units into the Prussian lines. "Then, our light infantry will work on both sides there. And knowing Prussians, they'll try to regroup," he pushed together the white squares into a tight bundle. "That's when we get the infantry to get a few good volleys in there. And with what limited field artillery we have, we'll finish them off. The last of the Prussians we'll take prisoner, and we can continue on to Ostrava. That is, of course, if nothing goes wrong. But with war, a perfect order is very, very rare. And we can only pray for good weather. Any fog can severely disable a command."
"Well, if we have a larger army than the Prussians, that will help, right? Are there any Russian units in the area? They helped us take Berlin."
General Jovanovic rolled his eyes. "Even if the Russians were near, they would be no help. Being so far from home, they have no supplies. Austria feeds their entire ranks. I'd be surprised if their men even had shoes. Useless, I tell you. We'd be better off with an army of musket-shooting monkeys. But for political reasons, your mother insists on keeping Russia allied with us."
"Maybe she wants to have one of my siblings married off there," I inquired.
General Jovanovic just laughed. "No, no. The Russians are Orthodox. That's a bit better than Protestants, but not by much. Your mother doesn't despise Orthodox as much as she does Puritans and Quakers, but it's close enough."
"God, I don't know why my mother meddles in other people's business. If they're Quakers, so what? I don't understand how that's impacting her at all. I don't think that they're hurting anyone."
"Ah, Christina, I'm no philosopher or theologian. I couldn't tell you anything about that. If it doesn't involve gunpowder, then frankly, it's none of my business. I think it's very impressive how intelligent you are at this age, but try not to be too open, or you'll make enemies rather quickly. Trust me on that. Politics can kill more than war can."
I sighed, leaning my elbow on the table and resting my chin on my hand. "Yeah, I know. I've read enough history to know that."
"Good," replied the General. "The Lord knows we need more well-educated Austrian ladies, no?" He gave me a proud smile. "How I wish I had daughters."
"You can borrow one of my sisters at any time," I replied. "There's plenty of us to go around."
The General and I shared a laugh. "May I ask you, Christina," he said, adjusting his weight in his chair. "Why are you so interested in learning about war? Your mother is a great Empress, but I doubt that you will be a Queen Regnant in your life."
"Do you know Prince Albert of Saxony?"
"Vaguely, yes."
"He's going to war in January to protect his home of Dresden from the Prussians. I wanted to learn about war so that I can understand what's going on. I hate to be left in the dark."
"Are you and Prince Albert..."
Just then the clock on the wall rang out with the chimes of the hour, echoing across the room with great vigor. I glanced toward the still face of Father Time. "Thank you for all of your help, General, but my mother is taking us to confessionals in an hour. Do forgive me. Thank you for all of your help."
"Not a problem," the General said, putting away his things. "Any time."
I went back up to my apartment, my mind rushing with thoughts of war and peace. War was so glamourized in every part of my prior education. Guided by the divine will of God, soldiers marched bravely across barren fields towards an unwavering victory. But no. Blood, death, and strife followed the army like starving dogs, immediately pouncing at any opportunity.
The winter sun shone with a grayish hue through my bedroom window, sending a white streak of white light across the eyes of Isabella's portrait. From her place on the easel, she seemed to be looking off to the other side of my room. I glanced over to the clock. I had twenty minutes before confessionals. "Damnit," I said as I quickly began to undo the bodice of my gown. I reached for the edelweiss tucked in my hair, but as soon as my fingertips touched my petals, I decided to leave it. As I pulled my francaise off of my shoulders, revealing my stays, I saw something on my writing desk.
My heart leaped in my chest as soon as I saw it. A letter with a blue wax stamp. I couldn't have grabbed it and peeled off the wax fast enough. Isabella's handwriting was always such a blessing to see. But the scripts of her letter was different. Her letter was not in German, like the way we spoke. It was French.
Dear Christina,
I asked your dear Albert and he said that you speak French as least a little, so I hope that this letter is navigable! Though, I will try and ease up my language a little. My mother was French, through and through, and so I speak the language much more than you most likely do. But that is beside the point.
Besides our little amusing mishap upon arrival, I have settled rather comfortably into Hofburg Palace. It reminds me of the court palace in Madrid where I was raised. The chambers that Joseph and I occupy are very spacious and beautiful. The Empress was so kind as to let me hang a portrait of my dear late Mama over the mantle. Our apartments are on the corner of the building, and the tall windows let in plenty of light. From our windows we can see both the west gardens and the palace's grand entrance, where we can see the city beyond. I love St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is such a brilliant sight. I only wish that from here I could see the river. Where I spent most of my early years in Madrid, and later in Parma, from the palace we could always see the river. Versailles had many fountains and pools which I found satisfactory. Something about the visual of running water is calming to me.
The apartments have a large salon for myself and a workspace for Joseph, where he spends most of his days working on internal affairs and management. The Empress will not let him touch military actions of any sort. So, instead he manages Austrian domestics alone. He is very busy, but is never so busy that he tires himself and becomes irritable. My father had a habit of getting that way. I sent him a letter last week. Hopefully he receives it and replies, if he is not too tied up with my younger siblings. My mother would always respond to my letters as soon as she got them. But my father likes to let them marinade, I suppose.
Winter is fast approaching, and so is Christmas. This will be my first Christmas away from home- well, I suppose that this is my new home now. But I am excited to see what an Austrian Christmas holds for me. I hope that you will guide me through all of the grand celebrations that I am expecting. Maybe there will even be snow! In Madrid we never had any snow at all. In Parma a dusting would fall, but it would quickly melt away. When I went to Versailles I was amazed by the snow. My cousins and I romped in it for hours. It was one of the most pleasant moments of my childhood, and all that I could ever wish is to experience that again. Not only the snow, but Versailles herself. But for now, I will be content with the snow. Maybe we can ride in a horse sleigh! With ringing bells! Oh, how fun! I'm getting excited just thinking of it!
I hope you can forgive my ramblings. I hope desperately to see you again. I have found that I experience no greater joy than when I am in your company. Whenever you are liberated from your duties, do come and see me. It may be too cold for a turn around the garden, but this place is certainly large enough for a decent stroll within the palace walls.
Yours Truly,
Isabella
I sighed joyfully and brought the letter to my chest. How blessed I was to know her.