Tyranny of Steel

Honoria stood aboard the bow of her vessel as she gazed upon the coast of Trieste. It had been a relatively brief journey of roughly two weeks; during this time, she had made her way back home without incident. The only downside to this was that her husband, the King of Austria, had stayed behind in the new world. 

This caused her to be deeply concerned for his safety; after all, what kind of wife would she be if she did not worry about her husband who was isolated, and alone, separated by thousands of miles of sea? She did not trust the natives of Vinland. In her esteemed eyes, they were nothing more than backwards savages, and there was no way she could trust such uncivilized fiends. 

Still, Berengar was an ambitious man, and for whatever reason, he was right about the existence and location of Vinland. Perhaps he was also right about the vast treasure trove of untapped resources it held. If such a thing was true, then Austria must monopolize it at all costs. If others were to realize the existence of this new world, then it would spur a race for whoever could claim the most territory. 

Thus, Honoria was more determined than ever to aid her husband as she stepped onto the major port of the Kingdom of Austria. After she and the sailors had finished tying up the ships, she hopped off her vessel and embarked towards the shipbuilding factory. Her first order of business was to give a letter to Evio, the lead shipwright of the Kingdom of Austria.

After walking across the largely industrialized port city, the third Queen of Austria forced her way into the primary shipyard of Triest. Upon witnessing Honoria's entrance, Evio halted his actions and hurried towards her. The Venetian shipwright showed immense respect to the woman, who had become known as the Scourge of the Mediterranean. 

"My Queen, I thought you were on a secret mission alongside the King; why have you returned so soon? Did the quest turn out to be a failure?"

Honoria shook her head in response; a broad smile appeared on her pretty lips as she confidently handed over the letter to the man who handled the construction and retrofitting of her vessel. She remained silent as the man continued to read the letter's contents; with each sentence, his eyes grew wider as he spoke in his native tongue.

"Dear God, he found it!'

Immediately the man performed the sign of the cross before gaining control of his emotions and speaking in a language that Honoria could understand. 

"I will begin construction of the Dominion Class ocean liners at once! It will take a while, as I am currently working on several projects. Because of this, I will have to construct these vessels one at a time. As for the retrofitting of the existing sailing frigates, we have officially completed ten in total. You are welcome to take however many you see fit to accomplish this mission. Though do be aware, the more vessels you bring over, the more men you will have to vet for security clearances. "

Honoria nodded in response to this before thanking the man for his efforts.

"Thank you, Evio, you are a hard-working man, and without you, Austria would lack its powerful navy!"

The old Venetian shipwright merely smiled and nodded his head before dismissing the Queen.

"Well, if there isn't anything else you need, I should get back to work on constructing this steel behemoth that his Majesty has requested of me!"

Honoria gazed upon the partially constructed hull of the Adela-Class Frigate with a bitter smile on her face. Evio was already working on the retrofitting of yet another frigate. What bothered her about this, is that Berengar had named these mighty vessels after his first wife, instead of herself. After all, Honoria was the queen of the high seas. Would such a fearsome ship not be better off being named after her?

Honoria suspected Berengar had named the Frigates after Adela because she was the primary wife. Of course, if she had known that Berengar named the Frigate Class after Adela because she had the smallest bust of his women, which correlated in his mind to the fact that he would arm these Frigates with the smallest guns of his future vessels, she would probably break out into laughter. 

After observing the newest ship and its ongoing construction, Honoria nodded her head in silence before departing; she had much to do while she was in Austria; rallying forth the soldiers and supplies was just a part of it. However, she had a week to fulfill these obligations; she decided the first thing she would do was visit her baby boy who she had left behind, to go on this journey.

After taking the train back to Kufstein, Honoria found her way into the palace. As she made her way to her son's personal quarters, she found Linde inside, breastfeeding her child. The moment Honoria saw this, her expression sank; she knew Linde was practically a milk cow and that she would be the one feeding Alexandros while she was away, but to witness such a thing brought complicated emotions to her heart.

When Linde saw Honoria enter the room, it filled her with shock, so much so that she almost dropped the child. It took her a second to keep control over the boy as she quickly approached her rival. Linde immediately asked the question that was racing across her mind with an excited smile on her face.

"Is he home?"

However, the moment Honoria shook her head, Linde pouted. Instead of dwelling on the disappointment, she switched the subject to something more productive. Something that she had wanted to discuss with the Byzantine Princess for some time.

"Honestly Honoria, your son is lucky..."

Honoria raised her brow when she heard this. Just what was this vile temptress thinking of when she was clutching Alexandros to her breast? 

"How so?"

In response to this, Linde sighed as she looked around to see if anyone else was watching; after doing so, she lowered her voice and became honest with Honoria for the first time in a long time. 

"Since you and Berengar are married matrilineally, it means Alexandros won't have to compete with my son for the throne..."

Honoria felt as if Linde was insulting her and her child. She could not believe she would say such a thing when she was in the middle of breastfeeding the very child she insulted. Of course, Linde didn't mean it as an insult. Instead, she genuinely felt that Alexandros was lucky that his father wouldn't force him to compete against his brothers for the Austrian Throne. 

However, Honoria didn't realize this, and instead scowled as she tried to force her son away from the woman she thought had insulted him. 

"You can talk whatever crap you want about me, but don't you dare insult my son, you fucking bitch! Give him to me right now!" 

Linde felt mistreated, but did as she was told. After all, Alexandros was not her son. However, the moment that Honoria had forced the boy from Linde's breast, he broke out into tears. This immediately caused the woman's maternal instincts to kick in as she shushed the child, calming him in the process. 

Honoria gazed curiously at Linde. She did not know the woman was so good with children. Despite her venomous nature, she actually seemed to care for Alexandros, even though he was not her child. Thus, she took a step back from her preconceived notions and asked about what Linde meant by her previous statement. 

"So you weren't insulting my son when you said he was lucky to be born matrilineal?" 

Now it was Linde's time to feel offended when she heard Honoria's remarks. Linde puffed her cheeks up in a pouting expression as she expressed the thoughts on her mind.

"I would never! Your child may not be mine, but he is still Berengar's son, and whether or not you want to believe it, I still consider him family because of that. I was only saying that he was lucky to be spared the future pain that will accompany Hans and my other future sons, who their father will force to compete against their siblings for the Austrian Crown." 

Honoria had a newfound respect for Linde. In all honesty, she had never even thought of the line of succession since her children wouldn't be a part of it. She was fine with that. It meant her kids could enjoy their lives to the fullest without being chained to the state's affairs. However, she realized now the thoughts that both Linde and Adela alike must consider every time they saw the child of their rival. Linde's next remarks further enforced this idea in Honoria's head.

"Though Berengar will force Hans and his future brothers to undergo some hardships in pursuit of the crown, I vow I will do everything I can to ensure that it is one of my boys who ends up on Throne after their father has abdicated. I will never allow Adela to put one of her sons on the throne. If it is the last thing I do in this world, I will make sure I beat that bitch!"

Honoria always knew that the rivalry between Linde and Adela was fierce, but she never knew it was this intense. Of course, there was only one question on her mind, and she was not afraid to ask it.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Linde closed the distance between her and Honoria. As she did so, she patted Alexandros on his head, who was now in his mother's arms, before answering her question. 

"Because I want to make sure that you are on the right side of this conflict. You may think that Alexandros is free from the politics of our family, but you and your children have a role to play. You and I both know how much of a hypocrite Adela is. She may act like the most pious woman on the planet, but she would stoop to levels I wouldn't dare to in order to ensure her son ends up on the throne. I could really use your support in this matter."

Honoria smirked when she heard this before expressing her honest thoughts.

"You are such a bitch..."

In response to this, Linde merely smirked before walking out the door. As she did so, she left her last remarks. 

"All is fair in love and war...."