Tyranny of Steel

Berengar was hard at work signing away documents when a knock resounded on his door. He was slightly perturbed when he heard this and immediately rejected the idea of entertaining someone.

"Not now... I'm busy!"

However, the voice that called out to him belonged to his wife Linde, and because of this, he immediately shifted his attitude, especially when he heard the concern in the woman's voice.

"Berengar, I'd hate to bother you when you're busy, but this is pretty important. Do you mind opening up?"

In response to this, Berengar sighed before getting up from his seat and walking towards the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see that his wife was holding a crying child in her arms. Perplexed by such a strange scene, Berengar grabbed hold of the boy and tried to calm him, all while inquiring with Linde as to what had transpired.

"What happened? Why is he like this?"

The boy did not stop crying, and instead filled Berengar's tunic with his tears. Linde sighed heavily as she explained what had just happened moments ago between his two sons.

"Apparently, he got into a fight with your son, Kristoffer, who called him a half-breed. Alexandros appears to be under the delusion that I am his biological mother."

In between his sobs, Alexandros muttered some words which Berengar could barely hear.

"It's not true! I'm not a half-breed!"

Just when he was about to scold his son for his actions, Linde revealed another interesting piece of information.

"Berengar, he made his mother cry. I'm going to go search for Honoria and try to comfort her, you should tell your son the truth."

Such news caused Berengar to be slightly infuriated as he nodded his head in silence, signalling the redheaded beauty that she could leave. Once he was alone with his son, Berengar glared at the boy and spoke to him in a stern tone.

"Just what did you do to make your mother cry?"

Such overwhelming authority immediately caused the boy to stop his crying and gaze at his father with a defiant expression.

"She's not my mother! Linde is my mommy!"

Upon hearing this response, Berengar had the urge to slap the boy, instead he took a moment to calm down with a deep breath before revealing the truth to the boy.

"Of course, Linde is your mommy, just like Adela, Yasmin, and Henrietta are, as well. However, you know Honoria is your actual mother, right? You are blessed with five mommies, each of them cares for you as their own child. However, Honoria is the one who brought you into this world. You need to apologize to your mother and make this right."

Alexandros gazed up at his father with a perplexed expression. He could barely comprehend what his father was telling him.

"If Honoria is my mother, then why has Linde raised me?"

Berengar sighed in response to this, before reaching into his ice chest and grabbing out a pitcher of milk, which he poured a glass for the two of them. After doing so, he handed one cup to his son, while drinking from his own. It was only after he and Alexandros had become more comfortable did Berengar tell his story.

"You can't blame your mother for being absent in your life. It's actually my fault. You see, when your mother was a young girl, she was held captive by her family, never being allowed to leave the palace. She escaped from that life at a young age and made a perilous journey here to Kufstein.

I looked after your mother for some time, and eventually the two of us fell in love. She made me promise I would grant her freedom so that she could explore the world that her parents kept her hidden from. Since that day I have done my best to keep that promise, however it has been at your expense.

The moment she had you, I should have put my foot down and forced her to raise you as a responsible mother. However, Linde was more than happy to take over that role for Honoria, and because of that I felt at ease, ignoring the consequences such a thing would have on you. After all, I wasn't there for you or your siblings like I should have been.

However, that's going to change now. As you know, I have been taking weekends off to spend time with you and your siblings. I am trying my best to be a part of your lives, it just appears that your mother has yet to realize how important family is. She's still acting like that little girl who wanted to escape from the cage her parents forced her into."

Alexandros was too young to properly understand everything Berengar was telling him, but he understood the gist of it. Thus, with tears forming in his eyes asked the father the question most important to him.

"So, I'm a half-breed?"

Berengar chuckled as he wiped the tears from his son's eyes before filling the boy's head with the vision he had for him.

"That's right, you're the best of both worlds, half-german and half-roman. You know, a long time ago it was my people who were the barbarians, while the romans gazed upon us from their grand civilization with a hint of disdain in their eyes. Alexandros, you are very important, more than you realize.

I will not lie to you, you will have many brothers, Alexandros. Currently you have Hans, and the newborn Brandt whose mother is Linde. While I have two sons with Adela as well, Kristofer, and the infant Franz. My sons who come from Linde, and Adela's bloodlines will one day fight to succeed me. Only one will be crowned the German Emperor.

However, you are destined to be the Emperor of Byzantium, a civilization with its roots in the Ancient Roman Empire. You will have a very important role to play, and that is to work alongside your brothers and maintain the balance of power in this world.

You are my son Alexandros, and because of that, I will make you an emperor. Your mother is a Princess of Rome, and don't you forget it. So hold your head high and embrace your heritage. While you're at it, try to get along with your mother. Though she may not show it often, she cares for you deeply, and your words hurt her."

The tears in Alexandros' eyes had long since vanished, and instead were replaced with fascination over the idea of being a Roman Emperor. In truth, the current Byzantine Empire was a far cry from their ancestors and was more Greek than Roman. Despite this, they still claimed to be the successors of Rome, and that was good enough for Berengar.

---

While Berengar was comforting his son, Linde was searching for Honoria, who was crying in the Palace Gardens. With a smug smile on her face, the redheaded beauty announced her presence.

"I thought I would find you here... Honoria, talk to me..."

The byzantine princess had tears flowing from her mint green eyes as she gazed upon the intruder with a hint of envy on her pretty face.

"He called you mommy. Do you have any idea how it feels to have your own son reject you?"

Linde sighed heavily as she sat down next to Honoria and hugged the young woman fiercely. Though Honoria didn't want to hear it, Linde felt she needed a good kick in the pants to change her carefree attitude.

"Well Honoria, I don't mean to stick my nose in your business, but who do you think raised the boy until now? You have been gallivanting across the high seas in search of adventure. All this time I have been here raising your son. Is it really a surprise that he sees me as his primary maternal figure?"

Honoria bit down on her lip in displeasure upon hearing this word. She was so confused about what she should do to repair the strained relationship she had with her son.

"Linde, what do I do? How do I win back my son's love?"

A wry smile appeared on Linde's face as she gave the woman next to her some much needed advice.

"Why don't you sit out on this upcoming expedition to Africa and stay here with your children? You have such a lovely son. It is truly a shame you don't spend any time with the boy."

Honoria was shocked to hear that Linde had learned about her plans so soon, and immediately questioned just where the woman got such information.

"How-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Linde looked at her with a condescending expression before mocking the woman.

"Hello, Director of Imperial Intelligence, there's nothing I don't know that goes on around here!"

Honoria did not know how to counter such words. After all, it had only been an hour at most since she had informed Berengar of her intentions. Naturally, Linde was aware of the journey Honoria's crew had taken and where they went. Not only that, but she saw the map on Berengar's desk when she delivered Alexandros to him. She decided to reveal this last bit of information in an attempt to cheer up the crying beauty by her side.

"Actually, I just found out about it when I went to deliver your son to his father. I saw the map on his desk and could quickly conclude about what your plans were."

Such a simple admission made Honoria giggle. She did not know why. When Linde saw this, she stroke the girl's hair before complimenting her.

"You look much more beautiful when you smile..."

Honoria did not know why, but she soon found her face dragging closer to Linde's lips like a tractor beam had set on her. Eventually, the two women kissed passionately in the middle of the Palace Gardens. Heraclius was the only witness to this, and immediately rolled his eyes before taking off, returning to his quarters, where his own family awaited him. It would appear he was worried about nothing.

After the intimate moment between the two women was over, Linde grabbed hold of Honoria's hand and led her back to the palace.

"Come, it is time you act like a proper mother to your son!"

Linde did not wait for a response and instead dragged Honoria alongside with her. She was determined to repair the bond between mother and son.