Blue Blooded - [Mick Schumacher]

Sixteen

Elias halted while the couple was arguing gently about what was best to do. "Have you heard from them after Eric of Bern ended the friendship with your father?" Lucia asked. Mick shook his head. "And you said before that Bern is part of the politically important parts of the Swiss empire," Lucia continued. "You're professional enough to handle this, if Joaquim turns out to be childish and hold a grudge against your family, we turn around and go back home," Lucia said. "Unless you feel like it would be more safe to go home right now," she opted. Mick spurred Elias on to continue walking, the horse breezed softly in response and its tail swept from side to side in a lazy way. "You're right. Let's continue the ride and we'll see what happens," Mick agreed and Lucia nodded. The weather remained good the further up north they rode towards Bern and Lucia enjoyed it after Mick's mood had cleared up a little too. It nearly took them all day to ride from Zürich to Bern, holding a couple breaks between for Elias to rest and to eat and drink.

Lucia was feeling sleepy and drowsy from being seated in front of Mick for so long, however, she could never get tired of his arms curled around her like she had grown to love so much. The evening fell by the time they rode into Bern, Elias' hooves sounding on the road beneath them. Lucia looked around as people came out of their houses, yet it struck her that Zürich had been so beautifully decorated for the royal couple, while no flag of the Swiss Empire or other decorations were to be seen here. The people were whispering to each other while looking at Mick and Lucia, and it made her feel incredibly small, even though the Frisian horse towered above the people so easily. Mick seemed to notice and he himself thought that their entrance to the city was a little strange. People bowed gently and politely, but he could notice they only did that because they were their king and queen. At the end of the road, three men on horses arrived, all of them wearing armour and the weapon of Bern on their chests.

"King and queen?" one of them spoke up when Mick halted Elias on a couple meters distance. "Yes" Mick replied. They curtly nodded and turned their horses around. Mick looked at them for a second and then spurred Elias on to follow them. The path led them to a landscape that was nearly empty, not even the beautiful colours of the Swiss nature Lucia had seen before seemed to appear here. In the distance a large, dark castle appeared and then it was gigantic. It would nearly match the size of the royal castle in Geneva and it made Lucia feel a little nervous, however, Mick's fingers were firmly curled around the leather reins and he didn't hesitate while continuing their path to the castle of duke Joaquim. Everything about the castle was dark and obscure and the such an opposite to the others she had seen during their trip. They kept following the men and they were led to the inner court of the castle, where more guards appeared. Lucia slowly let herself glide down to the floor and Mick followed soon after.

"Take the horse to the stables," one of the guards commanded, and Elias was taken to the stables of the castle. "Duke Joaquim will welcome you during dinner," the same one told them. "Now," he added. Mick reached for Lucia's hand and their fingers intertwined while they followed the guards into the castle. The inside of the castle was just as murky and obscure as the outside. It made her think of the horror castles in the books her sister used to read, the same high, empty walls with just a mere candle burning to show the way. Mick and Lucia were taken to the dining room right away, the doors falling heavily closed behind them as soon as they stepped inside. It was silent while Joaquim was seated at the head of the table. "Mick, how much you look like your father," his voice caused shivers to run up Lucia's spine. It was a comment that had been made more often, however Lucia sensed that this time the meaning wasn't as positive. "I've been told," Mick replies, his voice loud and clear, his shoulders broad as he adjusted his posture.

"Please, take a seat, dine with me," Joaquim spread his hands as if he was welcoming his best friends to dinner. Mick moved to sit down next to Joaquim, while Lucia remained on his other side, preferably not sitting next to the duke. His hair was black and so were his clothes, his eyes a dull, grey colour. "The queen," he spoke randomly, looking over at Lucia. "Beautiful, from Aosta I've heard," his eyes briefly widened as if he was impressed. "Here we are. If you'd make a painting of us, I'm sure it would take my father to back in the days," Joaquim mentioned while poking his fork into some turkey. "Two kings together," he said, his eyes sparkling in a challenging way, and Lucia glanced over at Mick, who's jaw clenched. "Right," Mick sharply said, nevertheless managing to force his lips into a faint smile.

After the dinner there was nothing. While the other dukes and duchesses had taken their time to tell something about their region, or show something from their region, like the vineyards of Zürich. Joaquim had wished them a great night and disappeared deeper into his murky castle. The maids had showed them their way to the guest room they would use and it was nothing like the room they had in Zürich. Lucia would even say she prefered the stable they slept in, in Lausanne. "We're very sorry to not be able to offer you a more comfortable stay, king, queen," one of the maids spoke up while she adjusted some things, then she stood up straight and folded her hands behind her back, visibly nervous as she didn't look into Mick's or Lucia's eyes. "It's no problem. We will enjoy our stay here," Lucia said, hoping she sounded sincere. "Have a great evening," the maid smiled quickly before rapidly leaving the room. "We're leav-..." "We're not going to stay-..." they started at the same time when the door of their room closed behind them.

They laughed softly. "We're going back home first thing in the morning," Mick said, sounding resolute in his decision and Lucia agreed. She sat down on the bed to take her shoes off and she started to undress herself to get into her nightgown. She felt exhausted and she wanted to fall asleep as soon as possible in order for the morning to arrive again. Mick followed her example, undressing himself. It was cold in the room, but what else could they expect from a castle like this one. Joaquim wasn't only a bit of a loser, he was an incredibly bad host as well. Lucia crawled into Mick's embrace as soon as they were both under the sheets, resting her head on his chest. He kissed her forehead and they didn't speak up again. Lucia had fallen asleep already, but Mick's thoughts were still keeping him awake. His fingers played with Lucia's hair while he gnawed on his lower lip. Maybe it had been a bad decision to come here, even though Joaquim hadn't said anything hostile so far.

The whole atmosphere around the duke was bothering Mick and perhaps it would have been better if they returned home after Zürich.