Homelands
Chapter Twenty Nine: March of the Prussians
Part 4
Prelude:
In 1289 the war with Pskov concluded with Prussia taking over the Russian fortress. Kiten was quick to move ethnic Prussians into the region to help stabilize it. The King was starting to have trouble ruling the entire Empire as a single entity, so it was obvious that any major steps to true centralization would have to wait for now. The Empire was divided into three entities: Prussia, Hungary and Bohemia. Prussia, however, was divided further into "Grand Duchies" and "Marches" which were between the Princes and the King. Grand Duchies were usually considered safe or stable, Marches were usually under some form of military guidance as their purpose was the be a first line of defense for the heartland. Outside of their territory, however, Grand Dukes has very little authority. Kiten was anything if not unwilling to share the authority of the King. He faced pressure from all sides to relinquish some of his power to prevent revolts and keep the different factions happy. In the waning years of the XIII Century the Kingdom faced a threat that was mostly internal, she was getting too big. Kiten was unwilling to give up at inch of soil he conquered and so Prussia was now growing again. What Kiten didn't realize is that the only King who could rule such a realm was sitting under his nose.
Grand Duchies and Marches of the Prussian Empire.
December 14th, 1289
Kiten and his family took up residence in the far south, on the Black Sea outside of Morcárgrád. The King sat at his desk trying to figure out what to do. Under his desk Vishly played hide-and-go-seek with Oleksander. Blazena watched from aside as her husband shifted through letters and complaints and suggestions from those below him. The clergy wanted more money for churches, the nobles more money for palaces. The generals wanted more money for keeps and towers. It was all maddening to Kiten. His face drooped as he read one letter.
"What is wrong with these people?! They are suggesting that I open my succession to the nobles and not to my own children!" Kiten crumpled the letter and threw it away, "Spineless creep didn't sign his name! The solution, the solution is to just have them all killed when I find out who did it!" Kiten shouted. "But no, I am as spineless as they are. I let them get off easy! I let them walk away!" He stood up, artfully avoiding Vishly, and papers in hand, threw them all into the burning fire in the corner. He watched as the flame took hold and the edges darkened and eventually evaporated.
"Is that really the solution, Kiten? To kill everyone who stands in your way? Who questions you authority or power?" Her question was rhetorical, but Kiten felt urged to answer anyways.
"Yes. Simple as that."
"And what would you have done?" she asked, getting more concerned, "Build a massive gallows? Crucify them?"
"I don't know. But I am sick of this. Why is it anytime I even skirt the law I get a million complaints but in complaining they are breaking the law! Why am I the only criminal here?!" Kiten turned back to his desk and saw Vishly standing on his chair, leaned over to reach the desktop.
His son looked up at him and shouted, "Mine!" Kiten scoffed and then walked over and took Vishly in his arms.
"See, Blazena, even my own son wants my throne already," he laughed. Vishly squirmed and kicked, trying to escape his father's hold. Eventually he just bit Kiten's arm and in the resulting confusion escaped into the hallway with a dramatic bound. "Blast!" Kiten shouted.
"What happened?!" Blazena asked as she got up to see where Vishly was headed. When she looked out into the hallway it was empty. A clean get away.
"He bit me!" Kiten said, shaking his arm and then straightening out his shirt sleeve. "It doesn't hurt, but damned it caught me off guard!" Blazena chuckled and walked over to her husband, taking his arm in her hand and kissing the wound.
"Better?"
"Of course," Kiten smiled and then returned to the task at hand, "Did you see where he went?"
"No, disappeared into thin air. I don't know where he gets it from." The two of them stepped back into the hallway. The corridors were dark, lit only by candle light and the limited amount of light from the setting sun in the windows. "Vishly!" Blazena shouted. In the quiet the faint sounds of footsteps could be heard in the room across the hall. Kiten opened the door and instead of Vishly found Oleksander hiding under a chair.
"Oly, have you seen your brother?" Kiten asked kindly. The little boy shook his head quickly and continued to hide from whatever force he thought to be watching him. Kiten scrunched up his face in confusion and then walked around a bit. "Where is your brother?" he asked more forcefully.
"Closet."
"Thank you, Oly," Kiten said. He opened the closet and found Vishly sitting in the open.
"Traitor!" the boy shouted as Kiten picked him up again. "Traitor! I'll get you!" Oleksander stuck his tongue out at Vishly and Kiten carried him off to return to Blazena.
"I found him," he said, almost triumphantly. Blazena looked relieved and took Vishly from his father. He settled down into her arms and slowly went off to sleep. Kiten and Blazena sat down in front of the fire and warmed themselves.
"You need to watch your temper, Kiten," Blazena said, "I don't want Oleksander and Vishly emulating it with one another. Oly is already terrified of Vishly. It is so strange, Oly is so much bigger."
Kiten nodded, he rested his head in his hand and thought, "Yeah, I don't get it either. They are both behaved enough, or at least I think they are. The maids don't complain, do they?"
Blazena shrugged her shoulders, "I have never heard a complaint, so you know as much as I do." The two parents shifted their attention to Vishly, asleep in his mother's arms. "So, the court is curious, what is next on your list of dubious things to do?"
Kiten laughed, "I am not quite sure. I want to settle into peace for a while, but finishing Croatia is going to happen eventually. Mordvia might have to be dealt with too," he said, winking.
The Prussian Empire in 1289.