Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat by the fireplace as he warmed himself beneath a blanket. He had just done something utterly foolish, and that was to enter the cold winter weather of the Alps with nothing but pants on. He had spent more than enough time outside on a frozen bench, thinking through his plight in the freezing weather.

He was indeed in a difficult situation as it appeared Henrietta ’s infatuation with him was more substantial than he initially believed, almost like she was dependent on his affection to sustain herself. If he coldly rejected her, there was no way of knowing what drastic measures she might take to win his love.

Thus he had come to a decision, he needed to buy himself some time. Time to find a proper suitor for Henrietta, and introduce him to the girl so that she could build a proper bond, with a man unrelated to her. However, it had become obvious that she would insist on an answer from him sooner rather than later. Thus he had hatched a plot within his mind that would allow him to accomplish his goals.

Until he found a proper suitor for his sister, Berengar would be forced to entertain some of her less radical ideas, to give her the emotional fulfillment she needed to prevent any unnecessary actions that she might resort to if she were desperate enough.

As he was thinking of these thoughts by the fire, Henrietta silently approached him from afar. Eventually, she sat down next to her brother without him noticing. It was not until she latched onto him did he begin to see her presence.

Berengar ’s first instinct was to flee the scene, but like a wolf who had locked onto its prey, Henrietta could smell his fear, thus with a soft voice as if she was hiding her true nature by acting like a sheep, she whispered something in his ear.

”Big brother, please don ’t leave me… ”

Upon hearing this, the young King ’s defenses immediately melted, and he sat firmly in place, where he began to pat the Princess ’ head like he had done so many times before. As he did so, he gazed down at her appearance to see that her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying for some time. With a heavy sigh, he began to put his plan into motion.