Re: Blood and Iron

Though graffiti and propaganda leaflets continued to spread throughout the cities of France, following its unification under Pétain’s new regime. The so called “Réveil de France” remained quiet, and largely inactive.

And they had remained quiet for years following the official end of the French Civil War. The reason was simple: the brutality of the new order had quickly caused those with a spirit for liberty to rally behind de Gaulle’s cause.

But this was not a concern for Bruno, rather as two years passed, he was forced to confront more personal matters. Marrying off his son had been one thing. But Bruno had not truly anticipated how he would feel in 1922, when both his daughter Elsa, and her fiancé Alexei Romanov had finally come of age to marry.

It was not some inappropriate feeling between a father and his daughter that caused such troubles, but rather how much he would miss the girl once she had left his home and moved to Russia to be with her new husband.

To be so far away from home, to no longer interact with his daughter daily, it was not something he had truly understood the weight of until the day rapidly approached.

Because of this, Bruno was dreading each rotation of the sun, whereas Elsa became more and more excited about her upcoming wedding. The planning was left up to Heidi and the Tsarina, both of which gathered frequently in Russia, along with Bruno, and his children that still lived at home to plan the ceremony.

But there was another among the group, who was less than stellar about the thing. Eva had her own reasons for being pouty, standing aside at the table, drinking vodka, along with her father. Both of which kept their distance from the social gathering for their own reasons.

And both understood why the other was feeling glum. Eva knew her father doted on his little girls more than anything, and to see one of them finally spreading her wings and flying was a bit too much for him to handle.

Whereas Bruno knew that Eva was also incredibly jealous of the status quo. She was engaged to the Crown Prince Wilhelm, who was about five years younger than him. Meaning that he would turn 18 two years from now.

But, Elsa was much closer in age to her fiancé. There was only about a year apart from them. As the oldest sister, it rubbed Eva the wrong way that her little sister was getting married before her.

And thus she could only drink with her father and shake her head, as the two of them silently groaned about the passing of time, and the changes that came with it.

“You know, Eva… It’s going to kill me to see Elsa shipped off to Russia. Do you have any idea the expense I will have to pay to fly between Innsbruck and Saint Petersburg every week?”

Eva rolled her eyes at her father’s nonsense. Of course, the man would conceal the fact the thought of his daughter’s absence was what was really killing him. No, he had to make it about itemized bills, expenses incurred during transit, and of course no doubt he was just about to complain about the time travelled between.

“I mean, do you have any idea how long a flight takes across such a distance?”

Eva could not help but roll her eyes once more, this time adding an audible sigh to her repertoire as she amused her father’s ramblings because she knew how much this change meant to him.

“Well, judging from our flight this morning, I would say it is approximately ten hours, depending on whether the conditions are favorable or not…”

Bruno took a sip from his glass and nodded his head in approval at Eva’s statement. While adding more feigned distress over travel time.

“And do you have any idea how much that time adds up to if I’m flying out every weekend to see my baby girl? It’s exhausting!”

Eva silently sipped on her drink, while looking over at her younger sister, who flashed her a pretty smile in between talking with her mother, and future mother-in-law about the decorations, and other such nuances that went into planning a Grand Wedding worthy of an imperial dynasty.

The entire room was filled with planners of every kind. Nothing was being overlooked for the sake of this event, least of all security, which Nicholas spoke to regarding, as he was more involved with the planning for that than anything else.

As for Eva, upon seeing her sister’s smile, she smiled back before turning to her father, and expressing her own lament over this whole ordeal.

“God, I hate her…”

Bruno chuckled. Seeing his eldest daughter’s petty jealousy was enough to snap him back into reality, and away from his overly concerned and doting father mode.

“You know… In two years you will have to go through all of this as well….”

Eva however denied her father’s attempts to get her to reconcile with her sister, and instead smirked smugly with her response.

“Yes, but unlike Elsa, I will be moving to Berlin, and it won’t be such a hassle for us to meet, and continue with my education. Now will it, father?”

Bruno couldn’t but help but shake his head and laugh. His daughter had already seen through his complaints about how difficult it was to visit Saint Petersburg, a mere smokescreen to hide from the fact he was feeling glum about the idea that all three of his eldest children would be moving away from the home, and no longer be a daily part of his life.

After taking another sip of his vodka, Bruno couldn’t help but sigh and look over at Elsa, who despite her best trying to maintain a sense of calmness and control, was very clearly anxious beneath her frozen façade.

“Where does the time go? I suddenly find myself feeling so old…”

Eva couldn’t help but scoff at her father’s remarks, assuring him he was anything but.

“Please, father… With the way our family ages, you won’t be old until you hit 70! Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re almost 42 and still have all your blonde hair, and barely any marks of age on your face…

You and mother easily look a decade younger than you are, and if my uncles, and grandparents are anything to go by, this seems to be a trait that runs in the family….”

Bruno nodded his head in agreement with his daughter’s words, but was quick to deny them all the same.

“While I may not physically age at the same rate as most people, you should remember Eva, that age is a state of mind… And I, I feel ancient these days. I’m going to go speak with your sister. You should do the same when you’re ready.”

After saying this, Bruno placed his drink down upon the counter, and left Eva’s side, instead going over to sit next to his wife, as he forced himself into the conversation seamlessly, as if he were a naturally gregarious person, and not simply one who had adapted to the role as it was a necessary circumstance in his life.

As for Eva, she silently stared at the bottom of her drink, and sighed, finishing it off with one solid gulp, before placing down the glass on the counter next to her fathers, and following his advice.

—

The United States was now in a transitionary state. The Mexican Revolution had ended, and the new government was a puppet of Washington. Allowing for many agreements, treaties, and deals that were favorable to those who resided north of the rio grande.

Meanwhile, industry had begun to return to the United States to some degree, and its military continued its modernization efforts. Not wanting to be left behind by Europe, which intelligence from its ongoing battlefields suggested the United States had fallen dreadfully behind the rest of the world in such matters.

Socially? It was a time of change. Every man and woman with minor limitations now had the right to vote. And with that came sweeping social reforms, like prohibition. Spurred on primarily by the female demographic of the new voter block.

There was just one problem with this: banning a substance outright, with limited exceptions that was readily available and could be made in someone’s garage, was a surefire way to instigate a crime wave.

And it was no doubt that shortly after the prohibition of alcohol had become a constitutional amendment across the united states, the rise of criminal organizations monopolizing the outlawed demand rose with them.

As a result, the United States was in a rough shape as President Hughes debated on how to proceed. It had been some time since he contacted Bruno, or vice versa. And yet, with the raise of violence across American cities, he had to do something about it. The phone tempted him, called to him like a seductress. Yet his hand did not reach for it. Until it did…

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