Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was away on his journey to the Kalmar Union, Yasmin was busy instructing her young son, Ghazi, in proper manners about how to act as the Sultan of Al-Andalus. The boy was dressed in his own form of imperial regalia, while his mother was dressed in a heavily embellished Kaftan. She fixed the boy's posture as the two of them looked into the mirror. The mother had a beautiful smile on her face as she lectured her son.

"Now that you are the Sultan you must learn how to act appropriately. Stand firm, straighten your back, and keep your chin held high. You should always behave as if you are in command, with an air of authority around you. In Al-Andalus, you are the Sultan, and that means you must not tolerate disrespect from anyone, no matter their position."

Ghazi gazed up at his mother with his amber eyes and nodded his head before answering the woman with an adorable smile on his face.

"Yes, mommy..."

Seeing her boy dressed like a little emperor, and have such a warm expression on his face, filled Yasmin's heart with pride. She petted his golden hair and hugged him before complimenting the boy.

"Very good, Ghazi! You must always show respect to your elders, especially your parents!"

The boy enjoyed the warmth of his mother's embrace as he gazed into the mirror at his stellar appearance with a humble smile on his face. He was too young to really understand all the intrigue regarding his position.

All he needed was the approval of his mother and father. Both of which seemed to be pleased with his performance. Interestingly enough, his father was nowhere to be found, and thus the boy quickly asked about it.

"Where is father?"

A bittersweet smile formed on Yasmin's pretty lips as she stroked her boy's golden hair to the side.

"Your father is on an important diplomatic visit to the North. He should return in a few weeks. For now, I am afraid you're stuck with me..."

The young boy could only smile and nod his head in understanding. He knew little of his father's duties, or the true meaning behind his visit to the North. However, if his mother said it was important, then it must be. He only wished he could spend more time with the man.

While Yasmin was giving her son instructions on how to appear in a court, a knock resounded on the door to reveal Adela's figure. Yasmin's mood immediately soured as she saw the woman enter the mood. She and Adela were not on the best of terms. After all, the two of them came from opposing religions, and both of them were quite fierce in their faith.

However, Adela did not seem to be concerned about who was worshiping the right god at the moment, and instead appeared to be looking for something, or someone. She quickly voiced this concern as she gazed upon the Moorish woman and her young half-breed.

"Yasmin, have you seen Alexandros? It's time for his daily lessons, and I can't seem to find the boy."

Yasmin reflected on this question for some time. Now that she thought about it, she did not seem to remember encountering the boy during the past few days. This made her slightly concerned as she immediately questioned Adela on this matter.

"Adela? When was the last time you saw Alexandros?"

Adela immediately understood the intention behind this question, causing her jaw to drop in shock. She had not seen the boy since his parents had departed. While it was not uncommon for Alexandros to sneak off and mope after his mother and father went away, it was indeed rare for him to be missing for so long. She quickly rushed out the door and inquired with the other women who remained behind, just where the little boy had run off to.

At the moment, Berengar and his soldiers were still camped in the winter wasteland of Jutland. Out of nowhere, a blizzard had occurred, and the soldiers were snowed into their position, unable to move forward without serious difficulty. Luckily, Berengar had brought ample supplies and was not the slightest bit concerned.

However, he had eaten through what remained of his first day's rations, and decided it was time to go out and fetch some more. Thus he quickly got dressed early in the morning, while Honoria was still asleep naked beneath the covers.

Berengar walked through the pouring snow and approached the nearest wagon, where he sifted through its contents in search of another set of rations. With an oil lamp in hand, he searched through the darkened interior until he noticed a small child shivering in the corner. Berengar's heart nearly stopped as he gazed upon the nearly frozen face of his own son. It took several moments for this to register in his brain before he checked on the child's condition.

"Alexandros? Why the hell are you here? Screw that. Are you okay? You must be freezing!"

Somehow the boy had managed to stowaway on the journey, most likely hiding among their supplies. Luckily for him, he dressed in thick winter clothing like his parents, and covered himself with a fur blanket. Otherwise, he likely would have died from hypothermia a long time ago.

Berengar did not hesitate, and quickly grabbed hold of the boy, and dragged him back into his tent, instantly awakening his wife with the panic in his voice.

"Babe, get some boiled water running quick!"

Berengar stripped the half-conscious boy from his cold clothes before placing him under the thick covers of his sheets, while his mother gazed in shock at the sight. She could not believe her son had accompanied them on this journey. Naturally, Honoria's maternal instincts kicked into overdrive as she hopped out of bed and prepared a pot of boiling water.

Berengar immediately broke into a nearby first aid pack and pulled out his dry warm compress, which he used to raise the boy's temperature. Eventually Honoria came over with the water, which had cooled down from a simmering boil to a natural heat and fed it to her son. They continued to treat his condition for an hour before he opened his eyes, startled at the sight.

Alexandros gazed upon his mother who was naked, and his father who was fully clothed, staring at him with anxious expressions. He did not know what had occurred since he fell asleep on the wagon in the previous night, but his parents seemed worried out of their minds. Honoria instantly cried as she realized her child was okay and hugged him tightly. Alexandros only had one question on his mind as he stared at his parents in bewilderment.

"Mommy? Why are you naked?"

Upon seeing that the boy was healthy enough to make such stupid remarks, the woman flicked her son on the head and scolded him.

"What the hell were you thinking stowing away on this journey? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Berengar was unbelievably furious with his son. He, too, could not hold back his words.

"You worried me half to death, boy! You better have a damned good reason for your actions!"

Between his mother's outrage, and his father's fury, the boy instantly broke out into tears as he cried into his mother's bosom.

"I didn't want to be alone again! You two always leave me behind when you go out on your adventures! For once, I wanted to be a part of your lives!"

Berengar had initially wanted to spank his son until his butt was as red as an apple, but he ultimately decided against it as he heard this. The fact that the boy had thought far enough in advance on how to perfectly plan his escape from the palace without detection of his parents, the guards, or his other family members meant that his intelligence should be commended. Berengar immediately had to question the boy about how he achieved all of this.

"Just answer one question for me boy, how the hell did you manage to follow us this far without being noticed?"

Alexandros looked up at his father as if he didn't fully understand the question. He did not think it was all that impressive. He had observed time and again how Berengar and his troops did not inspect the goods after initially packing them. So he simply made a calculated risk.

"Well, you guys never check on the crates full of ammo after you have packed them, so I snuck inside one of them and followed you on your journey. Is it really that surprising?"

Berengar was astonished. Once the ammo was packed, he never felt a reason to check on it until it was needed. However, what this boy had done was remove several spam cans of munitions in order to insert himself in side. With his size and weight, the difference was unnoticeable, but still the very idea that the boy would put them all in jeopardy just so he could tag along got on Berengar's nerves. He could not help but condemn his child for his recklessness.

"When we get back to Kufstein, you are going to be grounded for half a year!"

Alexandros immediately pouted as he protested this decision.

"That's not fair!"

Berengar flicked the boy on the head before shouting at him.

"You endangered not only your own life, but the lives of everyone here with your foolishness. If you were one of my soldiers, I would have you dragged out back and shot! You are lucky you are my son!"

Honoria placed her forehead into the palm of her hand as she sighed. She could not fathom the difficulties that this presented.

"What the hell do we do now?"

Berengar struggled to come to a decision, but ultimately sighed in defeat.

"I am afraid that we have no choice. We will take him with us. We will just have to place extra emphasis on his protection."

Honoria nodded her head in agreement. It was the most prudent decision. They were so close to their objective and could not easily return to Kufstein. They could only keep a watchful eye on the little stowaway...