Tyranny of Steel

Berengar awoke bright and early on the cold near winter's morning; he was lying naked in a feather bed covered in bear fur; Honoria's beautiful bare figure was lying next to him. She was wrapped lovingly around him as if she was utterly unwilling to let him out of her sight, even in her sleep.

As for Heraclius, he was sitting perched on the stand Honoria had brought with her for the pet eagle, giving Berengar the stink eye. The more Heraclius stared at Berengar with his master, the more protective he felt. 

Regardless Berengar returned the Eagle's fierce stare with a wicked smile; after doing so, he grabbed ahold of Honoria's sizeable bust and squeezed it softly before kissing her on the lips. The girl quickly awoke after feeling this and stared into Bernegar's sapphire eyes. 

He was not wearing his eyepatch at the moment, and as such, she was able to see his scarred pupil, along with his perfectly intact one, which she rarely got to see. Despite the grievous injury, she was not in the least bit frightened; if anything, in her mind, it added to Berengar's character. 

As such, she cupped his face lovingly as she pushed him down onto the bed and began to kiss him passionately upon the neck. Before long, the two were going at it once more, and Heraclius had decided to shield his eyes with his wing.

Since he was trapped in this room with a closed window, there was no way for him to escape the scene; as such, he did his best to avoid it. The entire journey had been like this, and he was beginning to get annoyed with the young couple.

After some time, Honoria and Bernegar got dressed, where they greeted the King and his family at the dining table for breakfast. After the previous night, King Alvar and Berengar had gotten along quite well, both men had a penchant for drinking, and Berengar had saved his life.

However, Berengar asked for nothing in return, insisting that he was merely doing the right thing and that righteous action should not be repaid as a favor. The reason for this was quite simple, in front of the Scandinavian Reformists, they would see this as proof of Berengar's supposed true nature, despite the Catholic Church's slander. 

As for the Catholic Church, they could not use the event to smear his name, and thus Berengar had bought himself some good publicity in the eyes of the Scandinavian people.

Truthfully Berengar did not want a military alliance with the Kalmar Union. He was confident there would be some conflicts with them in the future over the Schleswig-Holstein question.  Thus what Berengar wanted in this visit was to establish a beneficial trade agreement between the two realms and a non-aggression pact. 

His goal with this breakfast was to enhance further his relations with the Royal Family of the Kalmar Union. Thus Berengar was seated next to Honoria as they dined upon the simple food. It was mainly rye bread, cabbage, and salted pork. 

As Berengar ate the food, he inquired about the King's plans for the day. 

"So, King Alvar, tell me, what do you have planned for today?"

Seeing as how King Alvar was entertaining a vital guest, he decided to do something recreational, and as such, he stared at Berengar across the table with a fat grin on his face. 

"I was thinking of going fishing. Would you like to tag along?"

Without a second's hesitation, Berengar nodded his head and accepted the offer.

"If you are offering, then I would be happy to accept."

Upon hearing this, Honoria instantly began to tug on Berengar's sleeve with a pouting expression. She did not want to be left alone with the Royal family and a contingent of guards. Nevertheless, Berengar needed to secure his goals in this visit, and as such, he had to leave her behind. After all, fishing was a task where men could bond, and a woman's presence would ruin it. 

As such, Alvar's house and Berengar's host enjoyed a simple breakfast filled with acceptable banter; it was not until that afternoon where Berengar and King Alvar departed from the Castle and approached the docks of Copenhagen, where they began to cast out the lines of their fishing rods and angle for a meal. 

Though the medieval fishing rod was different than the gear Berengar was accustomed to in the 21st century from his past life, he quickly adapted to it and before long was sitting back and waiting for a bite. 

As he did so, he reached into his fur coat and pulled out a wineskin where he began to drink from it; after doing so, he wiped off the lid before handing it over to King Alvar. Alvar nodded at Berengar as he took a sip from the wineskin; after doing so, he handed it right back to Berengar. 

As the two men sipped on fortified wine while fishing off the coast of Copenhagen, Berengar eventually broke the silence and asked the question on his mind.

"Can I ask you something, your Highness?"

Hearing Berengar speak in such a severe tone made the King curious, and as such, he nodded his head silently, giving Berengar permission to ask his question. 

"What do you intend to do when the Pope finally declares a Crusade on the German Reformation?"

By now, the wineskin had made its way back into Alvar's hand, and as such, he took a big gulp before responding to the question with another question.

"What do you think I should do about it?"

It was apparent the man was testing Berengar. The man was all too aware of the stories of Bernegar's conquests. He knew that so long as the Catholic Church held significant power, the two factions would fight each other until one managed to gain dominance. 

He also knew Berengar did not plan to sit back in Austria quietly and most likely had grand ambitions. As such, he was curious if Berengar would call in a favor for saving his life now that they were in private. However, Berengar's answer was not what he expected. Instead, Berengar spoke clearly and confidently as he outlined exactly how he thought the future events would unfold. 

"Honestly, it is in the best interest of you and your people not to get involved, you have already promoted tolerance of Christian faiths in your land, if you choose one side, you will only be inviting internal chaos, and I have no desire to see the Kalmar Union tear itself apart from internal strife."

Berengar could have further elaborated about the strength of his army versus that of the crusaders. Instead, he chose to keep it short and straightforward, in doing so, nudging towards the idea of a non-aggression pact. 

As such, the response from King Alvar was one of surprise; truthfully, he had spent the previous night lamenting the debt he owed Berengar after his life was saved, as he did not want to get involved with the Crusade. As such, he began to speak to Berengar with caution as he attempted to clarify the issue at hand.

"You don't want me to send troops to your aid?"

In response to this question, Berengar merely shook his head as he answered honestly.

"Rather than ask for your support, I would prefer you make your stance known to the world that you have no intent to get involved. Sign a Non-Aggression pact between our two realms, and I can sleep easy knowing that an invasion from the Far North is not a possibility."

Upon hearing this, King Alvar sighed heavily; he felt as if a great weight on his heart had been released; as such, he nodded his head and placed out his hand to shake upon the agreement.

"Deal!"

With that said, the two men shook hands, agreeing not to attack each other in the near future. Shortly after that, Berengar's line began to bob, and he immediately began angling for the fish. After a brief struggle, Berengar was able to real it in. The two men smiled as they gazed upon the size of the fish that Berengar had caught. It was a North Sea cod, and its size was about 100 lbs and was close to five feet in size. 

Upon seeing this, Alvar was amazed; Among all of the cod, he had ever seen fished from the shore this was one of the biggest. As such, the two men were eager to have the fish gutted and cooked so that they could eat it. 

Thus, the two men returned to the Castle to draft an official non-aggression pact between Austria and the Kalmar Union. By doing this Berengar ensured that no man from Scandinavia would enter his realm during the next Crusade. If they did so, they would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. 

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