Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat upon his Throne while tapping his armrest; to his left was Linde, Adela to his right. The three of them stared down below Austria's seat of power to witness the French Princess bowing her head with respect. With one glimpse of Berengar, she could tell that he was nothing like her own father. This was a man who wielded absolute power with both fear and respect. 

However, the one who truly caught her eye was the redheaded lass by his side; Linde gazed upon Sibilla with a look of complete and total contempt. This gaze did not go unnoticed by the French Princess, and if she were as mentally weak as her brother, she too might have succumbed to the pressure this woman was exuding. Instead, she merely behaved with the respect afforded to a foreign monarch. However, Berengar's following words immediately caused the young woman to become enraged.

"I have no time to entertain the daughter of the French King. I am dreadfully busy at the moment; the fact that I have taken time out of my busy schedule to greet your arrival is the most respect I will afford a lady of your position. 

After the sheer level of disrespect, your brother showed me you are lucky that I had not claimed his head. Now your father sends you in his stead? For what purpose do you interrupt my peace?"

Sibilla was surprised when she heard the cold and callous tone Berengar used to speak with her; she had never been so disrespected before; in fact, he did not even bother to comment on her beautiful appearance. Then again, why would he? When he had two women far more attractive than her by his side. 

The very thought that she could not compare to the women by Berengar's side further instigated the flame inside Sibilla's black heart. Ultimately, she was forced to calm her growing wrath and sighed heavily before responding. 

"I have come to negotiate for your continued support in the ongoing war my Kingdom faces against Rebels and the English alike. Please do consider what an alliance between our two houses could mean!"

Upon hearing these words, Berengar immediately scoffed and rested his face on his fist. After doing so, he responded in an equally stoic tone of voice as he had done prior. 

"I have already given your family sufficient arms and munitions to win your little war. By now, my weapons should have arrived and should currently be in service by your brother's retinue. If your father wants Austrian troops on French soil, I am afraid that is not something I am inclined to do. 

In case you are not aware, we are currently fighting a war with the Eastern Coalition and will be soon thrust into a defensive war against the Catholic World, which I suppose would include your Kingdom, would it not?"

Sibilla bit her lip in displeasure; she was not accustomed to verbally sparring with someone who had such a sharp wit and a complete disregard for her people. As far as the Medieval world was concerned, France was a significant power, yet Berengar gazed upon them as if they were worthless.

The idea of an alliance with France was laughable to him, which further stoked the rage that the French Princess was currently enduring. However, like a skilled diplomat, she put her pride aside and offered Austria incentives to support her family.

"I don't know if you are aware of this, but my father, King Gilles, is missing currently. My brother Aubry is acting as regent in his stead. If you pledge your support to the House de Valois, I promise you there will be ample rewards, money, territory, women, whatever you want, you shall have it!"

Berengar did not respond to this offer immediately. Instead, he took a drink from his skull chalice, an item he had not dusted off in some time because of its more intimidating nature, yet in a meeting with a member of the French Royal Family, he felt it was appropriate to break out this old relic and show it off. Having swallowed the red wine within its cup, Berengar placed the chalice down on one of his armrests and leaned forward before responding to the French Princesses' claims.

"Do you think I am lacking in any of those things? I have told you before; I have no intentions of placing Austrian soldiers on French soil; however, since you say your brother is acting as regent, surely he has given you some negotiating power? Else why would you be here in my domain?"

Sibilla immediately nodded her head and responded with a charming smile.

"Of course. What is it you desire? As long as it is in my family's power, I shall grant it to you in return for your support!"

Berengar leaned back in his chair and play with his skull chalice as he pretended to dwell upon the woman's offer for some time. After a while, he wore a smug grin before expressing his thoughts.

"I will not send troops into France; that is something I am unwilling to do. I have already sold you a substantial stockpile of arms so that you can equip your levies with some decent weapons. What more is there I can offer?"

Sibilla nodded her head upon hearing this result; truthfully, although she wanted Berengar's unconditional support to herself, she knew she could not immediately require such a thing. Instead, she had to play the long con. Because of this, she made an uncommon request of him to break the ice. 

"I would like to hire some veterans of your army to provide training and tactics to my brother's soldiers. Name your price, and whatever it is, I will fulfill it to the best of my ability!"

A wicked smile appeared on Berengar's face as he gazed at the French beauty before him. Since she had said he could ask for anything, he would not be polite about it. 

"My terms are simple. I want you! Hand yourself over to me as my fifth wife, and I will do as you hae requested."

This request shocked Sibilla; she had not expected Berengar to be so forward, nor did she desire to be his plaything, rather she yearned for the opposite. As for Linde and Adela, they immediately glared at their husband. Did he seriously make such a request in front of them? They were unaware that Berengar had no intentions of making the French Princess his own.

He could tell by one look of the woman that she was most likely a slut, just like her brother, and he had no desire to be with a woman who had such a massive body count. This was merely a test of her resolve to see how far she would go to secure what she wanted. After careful consideration, the Princess sighed before nodding her head. She had resolved herself to agree to his demands, and slowly manipulate the man into becoming hers. 

"Fine! If it means saving my Kingdom, then I will gladly give myself to you!"

Berengar's brow raised in curiosity; he had not expected such a result; clearly this woman scheming against him. If he did not want to prey to her games, then He needed to decline her offer; despite his internal hesitation, he kept a calm facade as he boldly declared his conditions for his previous demands.

"Very well, so long as you are a pure maiden, I don't mind adding you to my collection of beautiful wives. You are a virgin, are you not?"

The moment Sibilla heard these words, she felt as if her mind was going to explode. Did this man seriously have the audacity to ask her that question? She did not know how to answer him satisfyingly. Of course, she wasn't a virgin! Berengar's estimation of her was right on the money; every night, she enjoyed the company of a man, more often than not multiple at the same time. 

The panic on Sibilla's face became apparent after being asked this rather inappropriate question. Linde had a cruel smile carved on her luscious lips; she immediately understood what her husband's intention was; he not only was testing the French Princess but was openly trying to humiliate her.  Ultimately, Sibilla could no longer play the part of a dignified Princess of a foreign Kingdom. Instead, she completely snapped as she scolded Berengar for his mockery.

"You dare question my purity! What gives you the right!?! After all, I highly doubt any of your wives were pure before you got your filthy German hands on them! After all, what kind of loose women would marry a scoundrel like you?"

However, the moment after she said these words, the French Princess became filled with regret as Berengar snapped his fingers, causing his Royal Guards to surround the young woman and restrain her. As they pinned her to the ground, he stood up from his seat and walked down the steps before he was staring down at her.

"Out of respect for your family's power, I restrained myself when your brother sexually harassed me; in fact, I was willing to let anything you said about me slide; after all, I am not a petty man who cares about the opinions of fools.

However, you made one major mistake; you dared to compare my women to a French Harlot like yourself? I am pretty sick of dealing with your family and your lack of manners. Have this bitch locked up in a labor camp; you can release her after the year is over. That ought to teach her some fucking respect!

As for supporting your Kingdom, I am now more inclined to arm the rebels than I am your wretched household. Perhaps the Duke of Burgundy will be capable of showing a proper degree of respect to his superiors!"

After saying this, Sibilla was dragged out of the Royal Palace while kicking and screaming by Berengar's guards; while this occurred, the young King sat down on his throne once more and drank from his skull chalice. Having finished his drink, he let out an enormous sigh before complaining about the current situation.

"I should have done that while her brother was here..."

Adela immediately gazed up at her husband with a look of worry as she asked the question that was on her mind.

"By locking up the French Princess, aren't you worried France will declare war on us?"

Despite the dire question, Berengar was unmoved; instead, he scoffed in annoyance before educating his High Queen on the geopolitical situation.

"You heard her, Gilles is missing, and that twink of a Prince sits on the Throne. If her father were still in charge, maybe I would not have reacted so harshly, but so long as Aubry sits on the French Throne, I can do whatever the hell I want to his sister. That boy doesn't dare to step on my tail..."

Linde immediately hugged her husband after pouring another cup of wine for him; as she rested her head against his shoulder, she complimented him.

"I love it when you act so ruthlessly..."

Having said this, Berengar gazed in the direction of the entrance to his throne room. Without Sibilla, France's ability to conduct intrigue would be substantially worsened. After all, the woman was a lesser version of Linde.. Without the ability to identify his agents among the French Populace, his plans for the Kingdom of France could continue unchallenged.