Je T'aime.

XIX. God and His Generals

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 He was a middle-aged man on a slender frame, wearing a slightly outdated suit of blue and silver.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.