roses on a bed of leaves

Ladina was likely one of few people in the world who had access to the Switzerland national representative’s office, and if she wasn’t, she didn’t want to know. All it took was a swipe of her all access key and a wink to the guard at the desk, and she was on her way.

She didn’t even bother to knock as she breezed her way into his personal office, and spun his chair around so he faced her.

“I–” Heinrich stood to follow her, and almost immediately regretted it.  He pulled his hand back quickly, trying not to look too ruffled (though his red ears and cheeks and general face gave him away). “Is that entirely appropriate, miss? I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t want to, you know. Perhaps you can explain some of the more mechanical points and, I can figure it out on my own.” It couldn’t be too difficult right? Sure, this world had magic picture boxes, but even that just changed with a dial and some buttons.

“I wouldn’t be able to groom within twenty minutes anyway. Wait, why do you have a change of clothes that could fit me?” Oh god she was married now, wasn’t she? That’s why she had clothing in his size. He would be wearing another man’s clothes, consorting with his wife in the bathing chambers, invading his space while he was gone. Heinrich was doomed. He wouldn’t let himself live either. And worse, she married Switzerland. That rat bastard who thought he was soooooo much better than everyone else, couldn’t even play with others if it benefited him. Awful. Disgusting. The poor woman.

Suddenly his voice wavered and cracked. “This is all very kind of you, though,” he said. “I appreciate your hospitality. And the food. I’m terribly sorry for imposing like this, though.”

She turned back to look at him, hands on her hips. 

“I can just show you. You don’t have to get naked in front of me. Really, I understand you’re squeamish, but it’s nothing. Cleaning is easier now, though you’ll have to put up with my floral shampoos. A little rose and lavender won’t kill you.”

Luckily for Heinrich, he hadn’t said any of those words about Switzerland, or he’d be back out on the streets, history between them be damned. 

“I make a point of keeping clothes for frequent guests. I’d offer you Wolfgang’s, since he’d fit you in height at least, but the poor boy won’t take a break for more than a few hours. If I could just get him to come stay at least once a month I’d be happy, but no, we can’t have that, can we?”

It was a short walk to the bathroom door, and she opened it to reveal gleaming white porcelain and tile, everything clean and organized just so. 

“A tip for living in the future, almost every single shower operates a little differently, so I need to show you the quirks.”

She explained quickly and then turned the hot water on to spray. 

“Dirty clothes in the hamper, here, and I’ll leave a change right outside the door, okay? Now wash the death off of you. I’ll be within yelling distance if you need anything.”

Just before she left him alone in the bathroom, she stopped and dragged his face down to her level so she could kiss his forehead.

Heinrich stewed in his misery and inability to catch up with the world, but when Ladina returned, he noticeably perked up. He listened quite intently, and that focus helped him regain some of his color. This would be fine; she could lead him through things.

Then Ladina turned on the TV.

And Heinrich didn’t know what it was.

He could understand most of the individual words (even through the accent), and he knew the dialect being spoken. He could’ve parroted it quite easily (as he would have in his own time) and there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with what they were saying, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were saying. Points? Stocks? Numbers? What ever happened to marks? 

“I–sorry?” he said after a moment of staring at the moving light box, eyes unable to look away. He swallowed. Was this magic? Witchcraft? Had that science thing that he’d heard about so much before he died taken off? Surely, in two hundred years, humanity couldn’t have progressed this far, right? And what was with all the jagged lines and

His stomach gurgled. “I–yes, I’m hungry. Food would be much appreciated, but I wouldn’t want to be a bother. Delivery would work fine.” Heinrich assumed that whichever servant would fetch it was simply not in the room. Perhaps she would use that little talking box of hers to summon it. Maybe she would let him watch this time? “I feel like I’ve just woken up from a very long nap, and, well, I guess I have. I’d rather not go back to bed just yet.”

“Delivery I can do.”

After watching his eyes glaze over at the stock exchange, she switched the channel to some teenage soap drama thing that involved vampires or something. It didn’t matter. Having noise in the background helped focus her mind. 

She was just about to order some Thai food takeout, but one look at him and she figured that the flavor profile might just kill him again. While she could use one of her stress meals right about now, instead she pulled out her phone and opened the delivery app to order pasta. Something substantial and with nothing spicier than tomato sauce should be fine for now, along with two salads and garlic bread. Lots of garlic bread. Now was not the time to be worrying about calories. 

“Alright, it should get here in about twenty minutes. I’ll show you how the shower works anyway. You don’t have to take one right now, but the hot water might bring some more color to your cheeks.”

Setting down her phone, she reached out to place her hands on either side of his face. 

“Hmm, I don’t think you’ll pass out just yet but we can’t have you going into shock. I’ll find you a change of clothes. Swiss’ clothing might be a little loose on you, but it will do until I can take you to get fitted. Come.”

She stood and reached out her hands to help him to his feet. 

Heinrich had been gearing himself up for his dramatic, emotional release, and snapped his mouth shut when Ladina got up. He stewed for a moment, grumbling to himself about how Roderich could never change, and even if he did, Heinrich certainly hadn’t, and the goings-on of a crumbling empire and the nation of the ruling family were probably difficult for a young woman to grasp. 

He crossed his legs and absentmindedly gnawed through the offered cookies. Swept up in a little torrent of postmortem self-pity, he lost track of the time. 

Two hundred years was a long time to miss out on. He barely recognized little Lichtenstein–! And the world was so different. During his lifetime, two hundred years meant some change, but not nearly this much. Maybe all those cousins of his had changed! Maybe Roderich, and Gilbert–well, not Gilbert. 

Who else had changed? ”

Then it hit him–just how much everything changed. Everything changed. The clothing changed, the transportation had changed, the background noise had changed, the smell of everything changed, the sweets changed, the…

The color drained from Heinrich’s face, and when he stood, he didn’t know where his feet were taking him. He took a few steps towards Ladina, and thought he heard voices. This, of course, didn’t help him at all, and he wound up stumbling back to the couch to sit with his head between his knees until the world stopped spinning. It was the most familiar feeling he’d had that day. 

The moment passed, and he resolved to stop thinking about it. 

Like a schoolboy, he slouched in his seat, waiting for Ladina to come back and tell him to go back to Roderich. Or whatever it was she was going to tell him to do. 

Who was she even calling anyway? 

It was very difficult to keep the conversation short when she called to verify her German cousin’s health, and she had to firmly end their talk when he started to press, but she managed. Quickly she stowed her cellphone back in her pocket and hurried back into the living room where she’d sat her newly resurrected friend. 

“Sorry, I’m so sorry. I had a theory as to why you were back and... well it’s nothing, everything here is as it should be.”

She perched on the edge of the chair nearest to his, and reached out to take his hand. 

“Whatever you need, I’m here for you. We can reach out to Roderich and the others if you like. If not, you can stay in my guest bedroom. It’s not going to be the same posh accommodations as you’re used to, but we do have memory foam mattresses now, and those are quite lovely as you’ll find.”

As if to comfort him and herself, she patted the back of his hand as she thought. How do you even begin to explain technology to a centuries-dead man?

“Also... well there’s this now,” she said and picked up the remote to turn on the television. It was set only to a report of various stock exchanges, which was boring to anyone even slightly less concerned with money, but would probably be shocking nonetheless. “It’s as well of a way to learn about the world today as any, I suppose. I can show you the channels for news and entertainment if you like. It’s a little like... we didn’t even have radio back when you died, did we?”

She set the remote down and put a hand to her chest. Sometimes it was easy to forget how fast things had changed, how much technology had become a part of her daily life when before there was nothing of the sort. After Heinrich had died it had been almost an entire century before the radio had come about, and a century after that there was all of this. It was a little mind boggling. 

“Not. Roderich.” He took a deep breath, held it, and let it go. He spent a few moments forcing his muscles to release this tension. As she set down the plate, his shoulders relaxed, his forehead creases smoothed, his hands dropped his hat, the fire in his eyes died. He stared at the cookies, felt his stomach grumble, gingerly picked one up. Ladina was a good kid. Woman. 

He dunked the cookie in his tea and nibbled it. It was amazing how much better he felt already, with just a few bites of food. Well, it had been two hundred years, hadn’t it? Already on his second cookie, he thought through his words, not wanting to upset the poor dear. 

“I wouldn’t want to bother him. I didn’t die on the best of terms with him, and, there are a few things that I would rather do, than go back to his home.” He scratched his temple, tiptoeing. “You were a young girl. And you have been more than accommodating, even though our meeting was rocky.” He grumbled, “more accommodating than I would expect anyone else to be. Thank you, for that. Do you remember much from those days?” 

Ladina sat in her chair with her fingers threaded together and watched Heinrich with concern. In the back of her mind, she thought that it was probably a bad idea to get him too worked up about anything this close to his resurrection, if indeed he’d been resurrected.

True, there was magic enough in the world to give birth to her and her kind, but she wasn’t quite sure how far that extended. It seemed so unbelievable to have Heinrich here in her living room, here in the 21st century, but she kept her speculation to herself. There was nothing to do with the little information she’d been given.

“Teenagers don’t often like to be referred to as children, you know. Back then, I was already a young woman.” 

Too late, she realized he probably wasn’t familiar with the term.

“Things have changed. Roderich might be happy to see you now, to bury old hatchets as it were.”

She blinked at him for a moment until she remembered the nation that had replaced Heinrich in the world, and jumped to her feet.

“I have to make a call. I just need to check to see if someone is alright. Stay put, alright? I’ll be right back.”

“Er, sugar, please.” Heinrich barely registered that she was steering him, or that he was moving. Now that he was sitting, he felt hot, and maybe the room was spinning? Maybe he was being emotional. “Er, I’m fine without food, thanks.”

He sat there rigid, unsure of what to do with his body or if it was even his. He watched E–Ladina go, and caught himself staring. She’d grown so much. She was a real woman now. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Without her visual distraction, he caught himself wondering what kind of woman Switzerland had made her into.

He wasn’t sure what to think about any of it.

“Oh. I. Uh. Found myself at a train station.” He hadn’t imagined that steam engines would morph so much. “With that paper. I just asked for directions, and wound up here. I didn’t mean to impose. I just didn’t have any other obvious options. How did you get here? I mean. What have I missed? It’s a lot, clearly.”

Thanks to her electric teakettle, she wasn’t gone long and quickly brought over a cup of tea with a little sugar bowl and a plate with some shortbread cookies. Even if he wasn’t hungry, well, it made her feel better to make the offer. 

“You just appeared back to life? With my address?” 

She set down the tray and put her hands on her hips.

“Why not Roderich? Or... well there was another nation that came along some time after you, and I’m a bit surprised you didn’t show up on his doorstep. Not that he’d know what to make of you, but it would make some sense at least.”

Though she’d always liked Heinrich, since she was a little girl, she wasn’t a fool enough to think that in her awkward teenage stage she’d made any impression upon his life. 

Everything went so fast. For the first time since his apparent rebirth, he felt the fear of God in him. Her hand and nails stung, his blood was hot under his skin, her admission left him reeling. Two hundred years! He was two hundred years dead! And the world was already this eerily unfamiliar! He had only just gotten used to the idea that the world was knowable through science and alchemy, and now humans had harnessed foul-smelling magic. Even cathedrals and churches, it seemed, got caught up in the strange reformation.

For a moment he could only gawk and hold his chin while the embarrassment reverberated down his spine. If he had half an ounce of pride left in him he’d have….

He stepped through the threshold, fuming in much the same way a scolded toddler fumes. “I am dead,” he asserted. “And you did–if you were once Elise–then I remember you watching me while I did.”

Heinrich glanced her over with an angry, critical eye, but while he did, his anger drained and his gaze softened. He’d never been good at holding onto rage to begin with, and, well, if he focused, he could see sweet little Elise somewhere in Ladina.

“Switzerland?” He was too tired to laugh or complain. “No wonder you changed so much. You grew up.” He doubted that he meant it as a compliment. He glanced around her home, wringing his hat in his hands, unsure of whether or not he should step off the welcome matt. “And, please. It’s just Heinrich. I want nothing to do with that title.”

“Of course I grew up. I couldn’t very well remain a child over such a span of time, could I?”

Her hands fluttered nervously as she fretted for something to do, and then her mind caught back up with her and she took Heinrich by the shoulders and steered him towards the couch.

“Heinrich indeed. You must be in worse shock than I am, poor dear.”

When she’d forcefully gotten him to sit, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead to see if it felt warm or chill, and gave a hum. 

“I think you’ll live. For now. Good heavens, how did you get here to begin with?”

She put her hands on her hips and eyed him skeptically, almost convinced that this was still some deeply cruel prank. But no, the more she saw of him, the more familiarity edged into his features. With a flash of horror, she realized that he shared a likeness with the nation that had taken his place, which was a detail she hadn’t considered at the time. 

After several beats, she held up one finger in his direction. 

At first, Heinrich was absolutely mortified. He had no idea what he possibly could’ve done to this woman, or why she was so upset. “I’m sorry, madam. I didn’t realize you’d have–wait excuse me?”

Heinrich stood a little straighter, clutching his wide-brimmed hat with more gusto. “Gilbert? Gilbert is still alive?” His lips pressed until they were thin, and the bubbling anger in his belly turned his cheeks red. The world was so unfair! “I won’t be accused of consorting with Gilbert, of all people,” he said, voice raising slightly in pitch. His gaze narrowed, and he looked down his nose at the girl. He never looked at Elise (bless her soul) like this, but any of the other German nations would have been well acquainted with it. “And besides, I think I would remember a woman who called me a dear friend. I have no idea who you are.” She did feel familiar though, didn’t she? “I won’t take your money. Could you point me towards–”

The thought of going to anyone else sickened him. Liechtenstein was easily one of the more tolerable of his kin; he didn’t want to impose, but he didn’t exactly have other options. It’s not as he wanted the help of his siblings, anyway, he just didn’t know what else to do.

It was a terribly familiar feeling for him.

“The nearest hostel? I wouldn’t crawl to Gilbert if my life depended on it.”

This time, Ladina gave into her earlier impulse and smacked him, just to see the blood flush red on his cheek.

“Heinrich.... Johann Ludwig Heinrich Beilschmidt vom Nichts, you’re dead. I saw you dead!”

She took him by the chin and examined the red mark she’d left, pressed on it with her thumb until it went white from the pressure, and then released it to watch the red bloom black in. Blood. Living blood moving through his veins and not dried to dust. 

“Impossible,” she whispered, and then muttered an Ave Maria under her breath. “It’s been two centuries, have you realized?”

Only after several breaths did she realize she was still holding him in a vice grip, and released him as if he’d burned her. 

“I... yes, Gilbert is still alive. He’s fared better than you, though he’s surely tried hard enough to pass through the pearly gates within the past few decades. Roderich, too. As am I, though it’s not Elise anymore. These days, I am Ladina, since Switz took me in.” 

Her hands twisted in the fabric on her skirt, before she abruptly stepped aside from the doorway.

Ah, this may have been a mistake. Maybe he had the wrong house? This woman was familiar to him, but only in the way that distant memories were. He experienced that with humans all the time; after all, some of them just looked so similar. 

“Ah, I know this sounds silly,” he said. “My name is Johann Heinrich–” the full name wouldn’t work, would it?–”er, Beilschmidt.  I’m not entirely sure–what’s going on, but I was hoping to meet an old friend. You wouldn’t happen to be able to direct me to an Elise, who used to live here, would you?” 

Her first impulse was to slap him, and though she reigned it in before the thought became action, it still shocked her. Ladina was not a violent woman, but the myriad emotions that came up at the sound of that name were overwhelming. 

“Tell Gilbert he’s not funny. Johann Ludwig Heinrich Beilschmidt vom Nichts is dead.”

She squared her shoulders and leveled her finest glare at the man. 

a fun lil thing for @rheinherz​ 

Heinrich didn’t know why he was alive. As far as he was aware, he had suddenly appeared at a train station with a ticket in one hand a slip of paper with a name an and address in the other. He didn’t feel bad. He didn’t feel dead, at least. He felt foggy. And just a bit dreary. Just like the weather.            Through the kindness of others, he’d managed to wander his way to the address. He knocked on the door, and paused to wonder what the woman who answered thought of the bleary-eyed man in a trench coat that knocked on her door (at least he was clean-shaven). “Excuse me.” He bowed his head, and held out the paper slip. “I’m looking for an Elise, I think? Is she still around?” 

For the first moment, Ladina was about to make kind, yet firm refusals and shut the door in his face, but then the prickle of memory stopped her hand. It was a dull memory, from very early in her life, and it took a while to resurface. 

“I haven’t been Elise in centuries,” she said, feeling the frown on her face. “Where did you get this?”

She reached out to take the paper out of his hands and confirm that it was indeed her address.