Bastian

Odette moved into her third accommodation, a quiet boarding house in a quiet residential area, run by a very strict landlady.

   After unpacking her small amount of belongings, she sat on the edge of the bed to catch her breath. The room was on the top floor and looked out northwards.

   The fireplace fended off the cold, bitter night. Odette didn’t really care where she was, only that she was in a nice, warm, cosy place. Although she had put in a lot of effort to secure this cosy little spot.

   The landlady was very sceptical when Odette told her that she was a lady from a fallen noble house and she was looking to make a fresh start some where new. The landlady quizzed Odette ceaselessly and wasn’t satisfied until she had gotten Odette to play the piano in front of her, to confirm that Odette was a piano teacher.

   “It’s quite fortunate, isn’t it?” Odette said to Margrethe. She had developed a habit of talking to her dog since being alone.

   Margrethe was sniffing around the room, inspecting every corner of the room, when she came bounding over to Odette, putting her slobbering muzzle onto her lap. Seeing those endearing eyes look up at her made Odette laugh. Any time things seemed bleak, moments like this made her smile.

   It had been a month already, since Odette escaped Bastian and none of the things she feared the most had come to pass. While Odette sought some form of stability, the child in her grew. The passage of the peaceful days made her worries of the past a distant memory.

   Odette stroked Margrethe as she turned her mind to the future. She could winter here, but giving the landladies strictness, she doubted she would be able to stay here with a child and no father. Odette wanted to get a rental house, but in order to do that, she needed a way to make money.

Deep in thought, Odette looked at her fingertips. The landlady seemed to enjoy Odette’s piano playing and may be able to help her in finding a part-time teaching job. Initially, she planned to lay low and avoid trouble, but due to dwindling finances, she could no longer remain hidden.

   She would ask at dinner if there were any jobs available. Satisfied with her plans, Odette got up and finished her unpacking.

As winter was nearing its end, Odette ignited the fire to combat the cold. Her financial condition dictated minimal use of firewood, forcing her to only light the fireplace post-sundown. The past two years had been unlike the norm, abuzz with a luxury that was not truly hers. Presently, she has returned to her baseline circumstance— a scenario not unfamiliar to her as, since childhood, she faced winters of scarcity.

   “Sorry for putting you through this, Meg.”

   Odette was over come with guilt as she looked at Margrethe, who had curled herself up in front of the fireplace. For the dogs sake, Odette needed to familiarise herself with the local geography.

   By the time Odette had finished getting herself settled into the room, the bell for dinner rang out. Odette hastily tidied herself up in front of the grimy mirror. Her belly protruded a little and she did her best to try and hide it under the drape of her dress. She had come to notice her body was going through a lot of changes recently. The thought that she will need new clothes was growing louder with each day. She needed to find a job.

Wrapping a large shawl around her changing body, Odette stepped out of the room with steady strides.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Good work Franz, you did it,” Jeff Klauswitz said, showing affection and pride that he had never shown before.

   Franz stared at his father blankly, unsure of how to react. The report was still on his fathers lap, torn up and almost forgotten as they pulled into Boulevard Preves.

   “So, have I helped in matters?”

   “Ha, you’ve done more than help, son, to say that you’ve only helped would be extremely modest indeed.” Jeff smiled broadly as he patted his son’s shoulder.

   On the surface, it looked like a simple war for the throne of king of the railway, but just under that was a complex hive of companies competing for high stakes. The Klauswitz Railway Company was structured so that where ever the railway company went, a dozen other companies followed. Bastian had mimicked this strategy to the point where it was impossible to tell the difference between the rivals.

   Two years ago, when the railway company had tried to cheat with a diamond and failed, they used a strategy to infiltrate at the base level so that they could shake up the top. This was only possible thanks to the growth of Illis corporation, which rivalled Klauswitz.

   Things were set up so that if the railway company was to collapse, than the shipping and steel industries would collapse too, starting off a chain reaction that would ruin everybody. That way, the company was practically invulnerable to attack.

   Bastian was concentrating on setting up a strong link between Felia and Belov. Using an aggressive strategy that made it seem like he was being reckless, too much confidence was going to create weaknesses.

   These weaknesses Franz exploited expertly, managing to swipe away the deal from Bastian with pinpoint precision. Franz had a clear advantage after sabotaging Bastian’s attempts to secure the funds he needed.  More over, the financial minister of Felia, who were spearheading the contracts, was a close friend to the Count Klein family. No matter how cunning Bastian tried to be, he was going to find it almost impossible to close the gap.

   “This bid might be just the thing you need to kick start your era,” Jeff Klauswitz said, adopting the air of a proper businessman.

   The car stopped in front of Ratz Central Station. The two stepped out of the car and the onlookers recognised Jeff Klauswitz as the King of the Railway.

   In two days time, the victor of this little war would be announced officially and by the time they returned from Felia, no one would dare utter baseless rumours of Bastian Klauswitz dethroning his father.

   “Oh, father,” Franz said, his mood darkening.

   Out from the crowd, a tall military officer strode toward them with determination. A face that could be recognised at a glance. Bastian.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

   Bastian broke the silence first. “It’s been awhile, father, how have you been?”

   Jeff Klauswitz stared at his son like he wanted to murder him, but he didn’t raise his voice. He suppressed the anger burning up his insides and greeted Bastian politely. It looked like any formal family reunion.

   “Will you be heading to Felia to personally oversee the bidding? You’re very much more proactive than I thought you would be.”

   “Yes, well, I assume you are doing the same.”

   “Of course, since Felia is an ally of Berg. I anticipate this will only solidify our friendship.”

   “Would it be wise to sell your face so openly?” Jeff was running out of patience, but Bastian smiled care freely and shrugged.

   “It’s a face that sells for a pretty high price.”

   “Like you said, you’re quite famous in Felia, I guess rumours of this has already spread that far, but, would it be wise to entrust such an important appointment to a young, inexperienced upstart that can’t even keep control of his own wife?”

   “We will have to wait and see how things unfold.”

   “Yes, we will,” Jeff Klauswitz said, calling Bastian’s bluff.

   Jeff and Franz strode away confident in their victory and looked as if they were royalty inspecting their kingdom.

   No one really noticed the passage of the Klauswitz men, they were all too busy with the hum drum of their own lives. Crowds of people moved about the station like clouds in the sky. Forming currents and eddies of living souls going about their business.

   Bastian moved with the crows toward the platform and although he was going to the same place as his father and brother, he lost sight of them pretty quickly. Things should quiet down a little without those two bothering him.

   Bastian didn’t delay and headed straight for his first class cabin. As soon as he reached the carriage, a team of servants that had been waiting for him sprang into action.

   “There’s no need for ostentation,” Bastian said, “lets just get on with it.”

   Bastian was accompanied by Thomas Muller and together, they poured over every detail of the meeting that was coming at the other end of the train tracks. By the time they were happy with minutes of the meetings, the world outside was dark.

   “We’ve worked hard, lets get some rest before moving on,” Thomas said, stretching.

   Bastian smiled as he watched Thomas work out the aches in his back from leaning over the all too small desk piled high with folders, folios, dossiers and loose bits of paper.

   “That certainly sounds like a good idea,” said Bastian, doing his best to prevent a yawn.

   Thomas switched off the cabin light, leaving the only source coming from a tiny bedside lamp.

   “I’m glad you agree and don’t even think about looking at another official document until the morning, got it?”

   “Yes, of course,” Bastian said, feeling like a child.

   “If I catch you doing more work and not getting the much needed rest, I will be very disappointed in you,” Thomas said. He repeated his threats serval times before finally exiting the cabin.

   Bastian kicked off his shoes and laid out on the bed which was slightly too short for his tall frame.

   He had requested leave from the admiralty to go on this business trip, but not for the reason he gave them.

   Odette was staying at a cheap lodge and was looking for a job. Even after all the jewels he had given her, how comfortable and easy he had made her life, she would prefer to go out and buy firewood when ever she could afford to, according to the latest report from Keller.

   Throwing off his tie, Bastian looked out of the small window, to the moonlight sky that twinkled with a hundred specks of diamonds.

   When he calculated his loss from Odette, he couldn’t help but laugh in the face of such silly behaviour. All the talk of selling face, hers was probably the most expensive.

   That kind of trouble was worth a reputation being dragged through the mud.