The ship pulled into the docks of Constantinople; the banners of Magna Graecia waved proudly across the Bosporus channel.
Bruno stood on the bow of his personal yacht, dressed not in a military uniform, nor in the elegant formality of his Royal Court.
Instead, he stood there in a humble suit, head bowed low, his crucifix in hand. He wasn’t praying per se, while the ship cut through the waters like a triumphant conqueror.
But he was chanting, or perhaps singing. The prose was ancient, spoken in a language long replaced by the modern vernacular. And yet still distinguishable to the modern German speaker.
"For the first ti I live worthily,
Since my sinful eyes have seen,
The noble land and those places,
To which so much honor is given.
Now my prayers have been heard:
I have co to the place,
Where God Incarnate walked."
The lyrics were originally written during the Crusades, and was a song as a hymn by German Crusaders who arrived in the Holy Land, witnessing its glory and divinity firsthand.
And while so of the lyrics seed out of place for the city of Constantinople, Bruno felt the sa reverence for the city for both spiritual and historical reasons that many of the old Crusaders felt when they first walked upon the sands outside Jerusalem.
His hymn ca to an end as he stepped onto the docks, Heidi’s hand intertwined with his own. A royal procession was awaiting them, as well as a small delegation from the Patriarch.
The representatives of the King and the Patriarch almost seed to be fighting over who got to speak with Bruno first. Both eyeing one another competitively until the King’s representative shafully stole the lead with a leap and a bow.
"Your Highness, Grand Prince Bruno von Zehntner of Tyrol. His Majesty King Paul welcos you and your wife to Greece."
Bruno did not stand on ceremony as he accepted the King’s welco.
"I am thankful for the warm welco. My wife and I are pleased to visit the diterranean under more peaceful conditions. It has been many years since I last saw Saint Constantine’s city. And it would appear in my absence the final rot of the Turk’s occupation has finally been excised from these lands."
It was only then that the delegate of the Patriarch stepped forward to introduce himself.
"You can be certain of that. We have worked tirelessly since the day you took this city back for Christendom to ensure that the Saracens will never hold claim over this city or Europe as a whole ever again. I am sure you will be pleased when you see the restoration of the Hagia Sophia."
Bruno acknowledged the a delegate of the Patriarch with a silent and subtle nod of his head. There was nothing more to be said in this regard. He was all too aware of Greece’s current military capacity.
After all, they had been on the winning side of both World Wars, aligning with Germany, and reaping the benefits from doing so.
Eventually, Bruno and Heidi were escorted to the palace. Whereupon entering the abode of Greece’s King, Bruno was jumped by his daughter, Erika.
"Daddy!"
Bruno feigned strain as he forced a grunt after catching his daughter. Who by now was in her late twenties.
"Baby girl, you’re going to break your father’s back at this point. Can’t you see that I’ve gotten old, and you’re all grown up?"
Erika didn’t seem to buy Bruno’s crap for one second. Particularly because he quite literally lifted her off the ground when he caught her, before placing her down gently afterwards.
Ultimately, however, it was Heidi who stepped forward and nudged her husband on the shoulder.
"You don’t get to play the old card when you can literally toss her older brothers onto the ground as if they were children...."
It was only as they heard a forced clearing of a throat, did they noticed that the King of Greece was watching them all the whole ti?
"Pardon my intrusion on this heartfelt family reunion, but if I didn’t force my intervention, I never would have gotten a word in...."
Paul and Bruno stared at one another for a few monts in silence, before Bruno finally said sothing that caused a nearby maid to drop a vase.
"You’re bald...."
The King of Greece stood there in silence, as if embodying the ancient virtue of the Greek stoics, until the façade crumbled and he broke out into laughter.
"Sohow, I knew you would comnt on my hairline first. Curse you, old man, how the hell are you in your sixties and still have a full head of hair?"
Erika rolled her eyes at the friendly banter between her father and her husband. She had been married to the King of Greece since she first beca an adult.
In the years since they had many children, and the eldest of them had grown like weeds.
After sharing a few laughs, Paul was quick to properly greet his in-laws with a far more warm approach.
"You two must be tired after the journey. Please, let maids take your bags, dinner is already be prepared. In the anti we should get a drink and catch up. There are so many things to talk about. And so many places I wish to show you both."
Bruno and Heidi glanced at one another, this was the first ti in a long ti they were going on a vacation to visit one of their children.
And since that was the case, they decided to relax, and not micro-manage everything in their path for once in their life.
Upon coming to this conclusion through borderline telepathic ans, Bruno accepted the King’s offer.
"I could use a drink. How about we discuss upgrading your railway while we’re at it. The next ti I visit my daughter and grandchildren I don’t want to be forced to travel by sea, because the weather is too difficult to traverse by air."
And with that Bruno and Heidi had arrived in Constantinople.
"...no longer the girl he had left behind during the Great War, but a woman grown in its aftermath."
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