Tyranny of Steel

Prince Ansgar braced his rifle against the barrier, and aimed down the iron sights towards the steel target, which lay approximately one hundred meters out. With the squeeze of the trigger, the bullet propelled forward, and smacked against the steel plate which was the size of a man's torso, disintegrating as it did so.

After firing another two shots, one to the torso, and one to the head, Ansgar quickly retrieved his rifle from the barrier, and swiftly sprinted towards the next located. Where he repeated the process on another few targets.

Although he might be the son of the German Crown Prince Hans von Kufstein, and the Princess Anne von Wittelsbach, Ansgar was not afforded any special treatment throughout the education system, and was expected like his peers to undergo combat and survival training at an extremely young age.

Thus, the man wielded the older model of the AK-74, which in the Reich was known as the Stg-942, as he continued to lay down a spread of precise fire on the targets within the training grounds of the local elementary school.

Boys aged seven and up were expected to be expert marksmen within the borders of the Reich, and Prince Ansgar was no exception. He had been training with firearms since the age of five, and could now out-shoot most soldiers outside of the Wehrmacht.

After shooting all thirty rounds in his magazine, the young prince quickly swapped it out in a style that had become popular among german soldiers. Which meant that he used the fresh magazine to eject the spent one, before rocking and locking it in to place, where he then racked the charging handle before laying down more semi-automatic fire at the targets.

Despite only using iron sights, Ansgar's shooting was almost as precise as a laser, as he laid down the 5.45x39mm projectiles with speed and accuracy that only the most veteran of shooters were capable of performing. In the end, he completed the scenario in under two minutes, which was a record for the school.

As a result, the officer in charge of conducting the JROTC training programs pinned a marksmanship badge to the Prince's chest, but only after he had cleared his rifle, and placed it on safe.

With a short salute, the Officer dismissed Ansgar from the rest of his training for the day.

"Cadet Sergeant Ansgar von Kufstein, you have completed your training in the alotted timeframe, and are now dismissed from service for the remainder of the day!"

Ansgar saluted the officer, and returned to the locker rooms, where he changed out of his combat gear and into his school uniform. After brushing his hair into the fashion which he desired, his face was revealed in the reflection of the mirror.

The young prince was a blend of his father and mother in terms of appearance. His hair was a very light strawberry blonde, almost like a golden blonde with a slight reddish tint to it, while his eyes were as blue as the sky, much like his grandmother Linde. Despite not even entering puberty yet, the boy had exceptionally handsome figures for his age, and would no doubt grow up to be a lady killer, much like his father and grandfather.

When Ansgar had finished getting dressed, he exited the locker room and entered the cafeteria. His next class was not for another hour. Thus, he grabbed some lunch, and sat down at an empty table, before whipping out a handheld game console, where he began to play a popular video game.

Unfortunately for him, his gaming time was interrupted when one of his relatives sat down next to him. The cute young girl was none other than his cousin Elsa, who was the oldest daughter of Emperor Lukas von Kufstein, and his wife. The young girl had been sent to Kufstein for an education, just like her siblings.

And though the Reich's schools were segregated based upon sex, that did not begin until middle school. Thus, Elsa was able to interact with her male cousins while at lunch or recess.

Elsa had an adorable expression on her doll-like face as she posed a question to Ansgar, one which he found to be utterly infuriating.

"What's that? I see a lot of boys with the device you are using, but I have no idea what it is! We don't have those in England!"

Ansgar sighed heavily, as he handed the device over to the girl who was several years younger than him, and explained in detail what it was as she gazed in awe at the LED screen.

"It's called a Gamechild. It's a portable console which allows me to play video games while on the go. Naturally you wouldn't have these in England, because your people have yet to discover electricity, let alone the complex nature of computers that are required to build such a thing."

Elsa ignored her cousin's comments regarding her homeland. If there was one thing she noticed since first travelling abroad to study in Kufstein, it was that Germany was a nation that was far more developed than her homeland. And though Lukas had done his best to modernize Britannia, it was a lengthy process to turn a feudal state into an early modern one.

Unlike his father, who had focused on developing Kufstein first, and then spreading those innovations to the rest of the Reich, Lukas had a balanced approach to developing Britannia, one that was nationwide, rather than locally. Thus, it had taken him several years to get to a point where his Empire was now agriculturally self sufficient, with a thriving, albeit primitive industry based upon the use of water and horse mills.

Elsa seemed to enjoy playing the game that Ansgar had spent many hours on, that is until the boy took back the console, where he then chastised the girl for messing up his game.

"Damn it all! I knew I shouldn't have allowed you to play my game!"

Elsa pouted when she heard these words come from her older cousin. Not knowing what she had done wrong in the first place. However, she did not say a word in her defense. As the Princess of a foreign Empire, she knew better than to insult the potential heirs to the German throne, even if they were related by blood.

After seeing the depressed look on the girl's face, Ansgar sighed and apologized for getting stern with her, where he then offered one of his cookies as payment for his misdeed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. Here is some extra Pfefferniisse as a token of my apology."

Elsa happily accepted the offer of an extra cookie, after all her home country did not have the culinary arts that the Reich had, and if there was one thing she enjoyed most about living in Germany with her relatives, it was that she was able to eat a variety of delicious foods.

Ansgar simply watched the young girl snack on the cookie in delight, with an exasperated expression on his face. He did not know what he had done to have this little tyke follow him around like a trained dog, but at every given opportunity Elsa would speak with him.

It was fine at first, but now there were rumors spreading across the school that he and Elsa were engaged. And the very thought of marrying his cousin filled Ansgar's little heart with embarassment.

Although he knew such a thing was a common practice among the nobility in the olden days, there had been great lengths taken by the Kaiser to prevent inbreeding among the German noble families.

Ansgar did not know exactly why this was the case, but over the past few years, first cousin's marriage had become a taboo, especially among the nobility. Thus, the accusations that he and Elsa were getting married filled the little prince with a sense of dread. As if his reputation was being ruined each and every time Elsa approached him.

Yet, he could not turn the young girl away. After all, she was so cute and innocent, and she also appeared to desperately be in need of friends. After all, the noble scions of the German Reich were particularly snooty towards foreign exchange students, even if they carried the blood of the Great Kaiser in their veins.

Thus, Ansgar could only sigh, and put up with the rumors that were surrounding him and his cousin, something which the young girl was apparently entirely unaware of. Instead, he offered more sweets to Elsa as an apology for snapping at her earlier.