A flower growing in the face of adversity

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long chapter

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POV of Janna Tyrell seventh moon 284 AC

As mother has always said, you have to be quick to adapt to political situations in order to take advantage of them, unfortunately what happened to us was accompanied by military tactics, something that does not usually go hand in hand with the political situation. 

All these circumstances had happened so fast that no one could adapt to them and everything culminated with our expulsion from our home.

Mother was not happy, first being taken prisoner by Friedrich von Roon who is an annoying person and who did not feel the slightest sympathy for us and then having to endure the cries of mace who was more concerned about losing the luxuries he had become accustomed to since he became the paramount lord of the reach. 

With those events my engagement was broken, leaving me free for the plans mother had for me, since we were in a position that we had to adapt and it was best to collaborate with our conquerors to try to influence the prussians to slowly regain our power as our ancestors had done.

I had my worries at first although I had to do my duty as a daughter I didn't want to have to marry some kind of old man or brute which many said the Prussians were

but it seemed that the seven smiled on me when I met Wilhelm, a handsome young man with smooth white skin, lush golden hair, beautiful blue eyes and in perfect physical shape, completely different from how I had imagined him or how mother described him the first time she saw him His presence was charming and his personality kind and respectful. I realized that not all Prussians were as they had been portrayed, and I was immensely relieved to know that my future husband would be someone with whom I could share a happy life. 

Unlike my sister who had to marry our cousin paxter who was going bald at a young age, I had Prussian royalty within my grasp.

I had only to comply with influencing or manipulating him if he proved to be too simple-minded like most men I had known, but I was confident that my intelligence and charm could genuinely win his heart. Besides, I knew that my education and social skills would allow me to easily adapt to life at the Prussian court. 

But it seems that the Prussian king was blessed in every way, not only was he a military genius as everyone said he was, but he was also a skilled administrator and politician who was truly committed to his duty and the welfare of his people. 

His leadership and wisdom impressed me deeply, and I realized that winning his heart would not be an easy task. However, I was determined to prove myself to him and earn his trust.

For even with my best attempts to have conversations alone with him, all meetings were postponed because he had to leave the castle to see the progress of the construction of his new city, roads and infrastructure.

Or his daily meetings with his trusted advisors, about what was happening in his territory, anything about ruling from the reach postponed my requests to meet with him.

This put me under constant pressure because there was a possibility that the lord of the Prussians would find a better marriage and since we only had betrothals they could be broken at any moment, the moment an alliance that would bring more benefits from our union would present itself.

I decided to make a drastic action, to guarantee the marriage between us with clothes that would allow me to undress, I quickly went to the room of my fiancé with the intention of waiting for him in his bed as a reward after a long day of work, but I was brutally hit with the reality that surrounded the lord of the Prussians.

When I arrived at his room I found that there were knights guarding the room, even without the presence of its owner and the eyes of the Teutonic knights were fixed on me, watching me intently for any move I decided to make, even without blinking I felt intimidated and confused by the presence of the Teutonic knights in my fiancé's room. I did not understand why they were there.

I tried several times to get the guards to leave the room, but they only responded once that their duty was to guard the room where their king sleeps at all times, even while he sleeps, and then they just ignored me as if my words were slipping through their armor as they watched me with distrust.

No matter how desperate I was in the situation of marriage, I could not humiliate myself to be observed by other people who were not my fiancé, or I would put myself in danger. Not only was our union possible, but it was also a punishment to all my family for an offense to the honor of my future husband.

The Prussian culture was different; privacy was a luxury that the royalty did not have at any time; the king of the Prussians was at no time unattended by his guards; and even the consummation of the marriage was public and had to be witnessed to ensure the legitimacy of the bond. This lack of privacy and constant surveillance was considered normal in Prussian society, but for me, as a woman, it was a humiliating and oppressive experience.

Luckily, when I managed to get the meeting with him, we began to interact more often, and it was then that I realized that no matter how hard I tried, it would be impossible to influence him, much less control him.

His personality was very strong, and he was always looking for the hidden words in compliments or recommendations, and he was always surrounded by skilled advisors who were blindly loyal to him to give him advice and support him in his decisions. Despite my best efforts, I realized that my voice as a woman carried no weight or importance in his close circle, which made me feel even more frustrated and limited in my ability to influence his behavior.

Frederick von Roon.I curse my luck; he rose through the Prussian ranks because the previous holder of the most important Prussian military title had not followed his king's orders to the letter and was dismissed, and the meritocratic system gave the position to him, which allowed that man to have a lot of influence on everything because the Prussian culture is totally focused on military

I understood that everything the Prussians do is to prepare an army to fight and that whatever they do is for that purpose, whether in terms of education, economics, or politics. Furthermore, discipline and obedience are fundamental values in Prussian society, which contribute to their military efficiency.

Roon continued to behave like a bastard towards me until I once replied to his cutting remarks in his language, when I noticed that he started to smile and slowly began to treat me better the more German I learned, until he treated me with respect and consideration. This made me realize how important language proficiency is in social interaction. To Roon, we are just barbarians, and they have come to bring us civilization.

The wolf head,I don't know his name, and I don't know his face. I can only recognize him by his green eyes, which differentiate him from the other guards around me. Besides making threats about how I should behave, he constantly talks to my fiancé in his language, which, although I don't understand , must be important since they only say a few words to each other and he leaves the room. I wonder what they are up to together. Maybe they are planning or discussing some strategy to better control us. I feel very helpless not being able to understand what they are saying, and I am worried about how this might affect my future and that of my family.

Charles had become my teacher as well as my nephews; he had a lot of experience educating since it seems he was the one who created the king of the Prussians, and in a way, you could tell that they were similar but not the same.

Charles behaves and acts like a knight. I have met hundreds of knights who claim to be virtuous only to try to get land and be considered a lord or to charm a woman, but Charles is an honest-made person. His integrity and sincerity are evident in every action he takes. In addition, his dedication to the education of my nephews demonstrates his commitment to the growth and development of others. I am grateful to have him as a teacher for both myself and my family.

Charles was the best warrior of the Prussians and at the same time extremely kind; he constantly made sure I had everything I needed, and he acted with the purity that only a child would have. If it weren't for him, I don't think I would have been able to master German so quickly because he had truly made an effort that I could speak the same language as my fiancé so as not to make our relationship more difficult.

One of the fears my mother had about Wilhelm was that such attractive men tended to have mistresses, and I was sincerely hoping he would have one or two, as he is one of the most attractive single lords, if not the most attractive, in the seven kingdoms.

All powerful lords tend to take mistresses to get the support of lesser lords or simply for pleasure, but apparently this was the exception, and luckily neither were the extravagant tastes, because in the castle where he lives, there was no female presence before I arrived with my maids; all the workers were soldiers who were now servants of their king.

Although we have become quite close because we talk frequently, I have not been able to achieve the goals that my mother wanted about understanding his personality in more depth because he acts very similar to the image he sends: austerity, discipline, and diligence, which was strange. Everyone has a vice that they cannot control, and sooner or later they will show it, but he seemed to have none.

Finally, for my and my mother's peace of mind, it seems that my fiancé wanted to make our engagement public since it was kept secret from most. Everyone thinks there is currently no engagement since, from what Charles told me, Wilhelm must have answered several letters refusing further engagements with lesser gentlemen.

And all would be in a tournament paid by him, the most expensive tournament in the history of the seven kingdoms, to overshadow the previous tournament that met the characteristics said, that of Harrenhal.

To my surprise, we stayed at the red keep because the Prussians had built a city on the nearby hill for them. As is characteristic of Prussian architecture, everything was standardized, and the room where I would stay these days was the same as the one I had in the castle of my fiancé.

There were many days that we would attend feasts, and I did not have many clothes with me, and I do not like the Prussian clothes that are characterized by being black for these events. The last thing I want is to relive history by filling the royal court with the colors of the green and black dragon dance.

But I got a good surprise when I received a present: the clothes and jewels of the former Prussian queen, silk and velvet clothes of bright colors and jewels that had a bit of a bitter history. Although some were made for the Prussian royalty, many were conquered by the multiple Prussian victories of the great religious war.

That's another rare Prussian custom; they hate luxury unless it has been conquered in war

A knock on my bedroom door broke my concentration.

Without giving me time to respond, Charles opened the door to my room.

Lady Janna, I apologize for disturbing you at this time,'' said Charles, smiling.

I answered, trying to hide my surprise at his unexpected visit.

Today is a quiet day, and my brothers think it would be a good time for you to go and observe your future duties as a Prussian consort. As you know, during the last few days we have been performing charitable acts outside the castle to try to alleviate the pain of the small folks because of the hardships left by the war, and your presence could help a lot'' said Charles, adjusting his cloak.

Oh, what would those duties be?'' I said with a serene tone while maintaining a small smile.

''As a consort, you will be overseeing many of the charitable activities of the Teutonic order; it is a very important task to help others in times of need'' Charles said, smiling and handing me some papers.

''Is this a budget?'' I asked as I read some of the numbers on the papers.

''that's right lady janna, the budget allocated by the state of prussia to support these aid to the small folks'' charles replied pointing to a budget of almost two thousand golden dragons for today.

''Wow, so theoretically I could command the knights?'' I asked Charles.

''No, you must propose it to my lord, and he will approve it and order knights to carry out the plan. Your duty is to locate groups of people looking for help and be the face of Prussian charity. That has been the role of the Prussian queens since the state of Prussia changed the state religion. Usually, the queens came from great noble families who had many servants to help her with the task of information, but I think I could ask for help from some acquaintances in the future. If you cannot get help, you will still be allocated an amount of funds so that you can pay them when the marriage is consummated,'' replied Charles.

''I see, is it safe?'' I asked, a little worried.

''You will be protected by my brothers, but you don't have to be afraid; the small folks know that we only want to help them, and they won't do anything bad to you,'' said Charles, calming my worries.

''Fine, then let's go'' I replied, handing the papers back to Charles.

Following the Prussian knight, we left the safety of the enclave in a carriage to the entrance of the castle to a small Teutonic camp where they were doing charity.

My job was to give bread and porridge to everyone who asked for it and then tell a story to the children who gathered every day. It was the story of a certain George, a knight who had lived in the past and killed a dragon.

The reason the Prussians liked the story was very obvious: their lord had defeated a dynasty whose heraldry was dragons, and the story of George, the knight who slew a dragon, reminded them of their lord's victory over that dynasty.

I did my duty and acted as was expected of me. I was not going to miss the opportunity. If the Tyrell House wants to rise again and hold political power, it will depend on me since Mace only has a minor job in Oldtown.

We must grow strong.

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