I suppose not he said, before checking himself over in the mirror. While he wasn't a fan over overt displays of wealth or finery, he had to admit he looked pretty good, How do I look? he asked the older man, standing in front of him fully upright with his hands behind his back.
The old manservant inspected the young princes attire with a practiced, approving, look. "Every bit the fine Rheinlandic gentleman of old! Very dashing indeed mein herr. He smiled, lighting up his face in a warm, almost fatherly, look of pride. "Ja, very presentable. Shall we?"
With another approving nod, he lead the young prince out of the manse into the growing darkness outside. A cool breeze whispered through the trees, carrying a light sprinkling of summer snow down from the mountains. The flakes glittered softly in the darkness, reflecting the light that spilled out from the manse. Alfred began the descent through the woods toward the main house, noting with approval that the door guard had wordlessly fallen in behind them. He paused for a moment at the top of the stone steps, half turning to the prince, indicating the guard with a tilt of his head "Mein Herr, this is Hans. He has been assigned as your personal guard - command him as you will, and he will keep you safe." Without further word he turned back to the stairs, leading the way to the main house.
A few minutes later, the small group approached the main entry to the house. A warm welcoming light spilled for from the grand, but worn, doors. From somewhere within, the sound of of music and laughter could be heard. Taking the grand staircase slowly, he could be heard making a small groan with every-other step; rarely more than stairs did his old age show. Pausing for a moment at the top of the stairs to catch his breath, he shot the prince a reassuring smile, before leading the way to the grand hall.
As they approached the door to the grand hall, the sound of laughter and music grew louder. The occasional, faint, clink of glass against glass could be heard, as if punctuating the murmur of conversations within. Guards in the sanitized grey-green uniforms of the Admiral's personal guard stood either side of the door, snapping to attention as the group approached. Hesitating on the threshold a few meters away from the door, Manfred stopped, and turned to the prince. He gave him a reassuring, sympathetic look - truly he felt for the plight of this young man, so suddenly thrown into the world of the elites, the world of politics. Reaching out, he clasped the young man gently by the shoulders, wryly noting to himself that if the admiral saw it he would have gotten a lecture on etiquette, in a gesture of reassurance. "Don't let it overwhelm you, they mean well mein herr. If you need an excuse, signal me and I will provide you an appropriately socially acceptable excuse", he chuckled, giving the distinct impression it was an art he had well-practiced, "and do try to have some fun! But... I do apologize for the following..."
As he finished his sentence, Manfred nodded to the guards, who promptly stepped forward to haul the heavy oaken door open. Almost immediately, from within the hall, the booming voice of a domo rang out: Presenting, Mitt Gottes Gnaden, Seiner Majestät Korvettenkapitän Prinz Christian von Albrecht des Altadelstamm Leicht!.
The hall fell silent in an instant, all eyes on the prinz. The curiosity of the assembled men and women hung heavy in the air like smoke from a fire. The moment, just a few seconds long, seemed like an eternity. Von Ehrenberg was the only one in motion; he had immediately crossed the hall at surprising speed, a big smile on his face. Ah, Pri-Herr von Albrecht, I am pleased you could join us! As he spoke he snapped his fingers at a nearby server, "Get the good man a glass!"
Something stopped the admiral dead in his tracks there; in his peripheral Christian could see Manfred, a pointed glare on his face, directed at Reinhardt. Taking the hint, the admiral half turned to the groups behind him - still avidly staring at the new arrival - giving a pointed, half-judgmental, half-quizzical look. Slowly, the assembled guests tore their attention away from them, returning to their conversations. The murmur of discussion soon returned. Turning back to the prince, Reinhardt beamed at him: "My apologies; please, will you join me? I'll introduce you."
Drink in hand, von Ehrenberg slowly meandered amongst the guests, introducing Christian to someone from time to time - a renowned officer here, a decorated combat veteran there, a handful of officers from the prince's future command - making their way toward the group of admirals clustered around the grand bay window. Checking to see that Christian was still at his side, he approached them, clearing his throat to draw their attention. "Meine herren, I have the honour to introduce Christian von Albrecht; Herr von Albrecht, I may present to you Admirals Bäke, Hetzer, Kreuzer, Porta, Auttenberg, Hiestand and, of course, our dear von Thielau's!"
(06-12-2019, 01:04 AM)Nepotu Wrote: Remove the SNAC for good
Quote:[08.07.2019 03:20:17] =CR=Zulu: Situations like these makes me wish they left me behind in Crayter.
Grüsse, Herr von Albrecht, Claus nodded and shook Albrecht's hand. Allow me to introduce myself- Claus Auttenberg, konteradmiral der Rheinwehr, Oberbefehlshaber Kampfgruppe "Admiral Scheer". I am glad to meet you. After these words, Claus smiled and put his hands behind his back.
Standing next to Auttenberg, in a clean and sharp Rheinwehr uniform, Porta bowed towards Christian and coming to attention, he presented himself "Grüße Herr Albrecht, erlauben Sie mir, mich vorzustellen, ich bin Konteradmiral Joseph Porta und dieser Herr an meiner Seite ist Ernst von Liechtenstein aus Köln." he continued, introducing Ernst. "I think his name might ring a bell or may not but he can explain it to you why is that"
Taking a sip from the glass, Ernst was not really in the mood for family history "That could be done in another day, now Herr Christian is the star, not me or my family. Nice to meet you and it gives me great pleasure to see so many gathered around a rising star." Porta looked at Ernst and shook his head in disbelief "Well, even if I do not have any Von in my name, I wanted to say that is a great honor to be here now and meet you, Sir. Whatever happen, I support you in ...." but he could not finished as he received a small kick from Ernst, which continued in Porta's place "We should not push the subject anymore at the moment, I am convinced that all of this is all too much for Herr Christian. Take your time, we will be here." and he made a step back, dragging Porta also and continuing with a small head bow.
Needless to say, right from the get go, Christian was overwhelmed, mainly due to the politeness and the manners shown. He was normally used to two bit hoods giving him lip, or to dealing with the darker nature of mankind in the depths of Planet Nuremberg. Polite society was not something he was accustomed to. Yet he had been invited, and the very least he could do was show himself. He couldn't help but wonder at the continued mention of Royalty, he has heard very little, only that Hans had left Cambridge and returned home. Other than that, those present seemed to have a far better understanding of what was going on.
He snapped himself away from his day dreaming when he would be introduced to another person. His introduction to the staff of the Military did come as a surprise however, Meine Herren, es ist mir eine Freude, Sie alle kennenzulernen He said quietly, uncertain how to address those who were so clearly his social betters, that and some of these men were national heroes, commanding respect and authority that few could match. I hope you are all in fine spirits, what with the war now over. He took a small sip of the beverage he was holding, alarmed to notice that it was a high end wine imported directly from Gallic vineyards, an extravagance he could ill afford on an Oberkommissar's salary. He also felt seriously under-dressed, although he was assured that his uniform was perfectly suited to the occasion by a young serving girl he managed to talk too ever so briefly. He looked back at Von Ehrenberg, guilty that he had yet to thank his host. Ich entschuldige mich bei Ihnen, mein Herr. He said, attempting to find the correct words. I have yet to thank you for your invitation and your hospitality. So, allow me to simply say, thank you.
A man entered the room. While he was inspecting the room, he also noted various familiar faces. "Die Herren, Herr von Albrecht, seit gegrüßt. I suppose that formalities are not neccesseary right now. Herr von Albrecht, i have heard much about you already, but it is good to finally see you in person. It is nice to meet you, my name is Reinhold Kreuzer, Vizeadmiral der Rheinwehr." the man said.
The old Admiral stepped forward to the prince and shook his hand. "It is a honor to finally meet you, euer Exzellenz. Gestatten Sie dass ich mich vorstelle; Admiral Karl-Heinz von Thielau, Erzherzog zu Stuttgart. My family served your bloodline in earlier times, unfortunately I didn't have the honor, to serve the Kaiser, myself. So I do indeed enjoy this moment hier, Prinz von Albrecht. It is a pitty it took us so long to come together with you, but you are finally here and as I see you already have a Military Galauniform. You look good in it, Hoheit."
Karl-Heinz was so focused on his words, that he didn't notice that the prince didn't feel very well being in this circle with all the Admirals. Wolfgang pushed his father back, carefully that on one else saw it. "Entschuldigt meinen Vater, Eminenz. He hasn't been that happy for a long time, he doesn't mean to roll all over you with his kind words. Mein Name ist Wolfgang von Thielau, Konteradmiral der Rheinwehr, Erbserzherzog zu Stuttgart. With your allowance, let me take you to a more quiet part of the room." He lead the prince with his hand on the prince's shoulder to some tables abit apart from the louder crowd. With an inviting gesture he asked Karl-Heinz and Reinhardt to follow him.
Nun, let us come to the important things, Prinz. I have already talked with your brother, Hans Fredrick von Albrecht in a meeting. That was merely about the political situation in Rheinland, but he made some points very clear, apart from that political conversation. The one important for me was, that he cares about his family and thus wants to know, that his brothers are living in safe places. Therefor I am asking you, Prinz, do you have a safe place to stay, hier in Rheinland, these days?
Albrecht followed his new acquaintance and was surprised to hear that of all people, his elder brother was responsible for the evenings events. He was not amused. Hans had departed Rheinland many years ago and now he had returned, apparently at the head of some conspiracy. Christian had no doubt in his mind that there were likely other forces at play, but he was all the same surprised. His mind wandered at the though of Alexander, the youngest of them. He had lost contact with him some months ago, and now that Wolfgang had asked after his own safety, Christian began to worry for his brother. I have a room in the back of a tavern sir. At least that is where I am until I can move onto one of the Naval bases. He answered somewhat coldly, uncertain where the man was taking the conversation It's safe enough I suppose, although I doubt many would be looking for me. Few know who I am...well, that's not overly true He said looking back into the crowd that seemed to be growing in number, Everyone here now knows who I am...Why do you ask sir?
It was not hard to see that Wolfgang was concerned with this answer. He looked at his father for a minute. Karl-Heinz understood what Wolfgang was about to ask, smiled and nodded slowly. Durchlaucht, I admit, I don't like the fact that you live in such an unprotected place. You may have lived a normal life the past years, Prinz, but the times change… I fear that lack of security could lead to some unwanted problems with our enemies at a certain point. The Erzherzog von Stuttgart feels the same. Even naval bases are not a place I would like to bring you too, durchlaucht. There are some Soldaten who dislike noble persons, supporters of the former von Rohe movement. Nein. I would like to offer you, in Absprache with my father, to move to our Estate on Stuttgart. It is a nice place near a forest and a prairie in the other direction. You will love it. And do not worry about the security, the Estate is safe like a fortress. Wolfgang looked at Christian and then at Reinhardt, who hasn't said a word for some time.
An invitation? he did not expect as much and he raised his eyebrow in surprise, thinking about the offer. He had his own concerns over whether he would be a guest, or a prisoner, an estate could still be a cage after all. Well we had better ask your father first. I doubt that anyone would waste their time with some plot to kill me, but..if you are that concerned then I would be grateful for your assistance, He was still not comfortable with all this 'high society' business, but if Hans was up to something, he needed to find out what and if nothing else, Stuttgart sounded much better than Munich. Things were underway and Christian felt that he was playing catch-up, something he was used to, but did not enjoy.