Chapter 149: Book 2 Chapter 14

Fritz

 

"Fritz!" Ingried looked at him confused as he stood at her door in the evening. "I didn't expect you to visit me. Come in!"

"Hello little sister!", he grinned happily at her. Fritz had stopped aging at twenty-nine. You might think the two would be about the same age, or he would even be the younger one. Ingried looked, for over thirty, still very young. However, gray strands had crept into her hair.

On the way to her house, he noticed a few soldiers who seemed to be watching the house. He was therefore glad to have hidden his face under a hat and to be on the road again with a public carriage. But why did soldiers watch his half-sister's house?

"We have visitors?" A man with blond, short hair and light blue eyes joined Ingried. That had to be Adam.

"My brother. Fritz!" She smiled, still confused. "Fritz? This is Adam."

"Prince Fritz!" Adam blinked. "What gives us the honor?" He began to bow but changed his mind. Instead, he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Am I not allowed to visit my sister?"

"Oh! No! Of course!" Adam pulled Ingried aside, she rolled her eyes in amusement and made room for him. Fritz entered the small house. It was nicely decorated. Simple and fine at the same time.

"Would you like tea? Or coffee?" Adam was already on his way without waiting for Fritz's answer.

"He's terribly nervous!" Ingried winked at him. "Let's go into the living room."

"Gladly."

He followed his sister into a cozy living room. There they sat down on a small, comfortable couch. Ingried crossed her arms. "So? What are you doing here? You have never visited me in recent years. Why now?"

"Sorry. I didn't dare. Mother would have been against it."

"Mother!" Ingried snorted. "And what has changed?"

"A lot. I'm afraid Mother has lost her mind. But that's not why I'm here."

"And why then?" Adam came into the living room with coffee and milk. He took a few cups out of a cupboard and sat down on a narrow armchair opposite Ingried. "Coffee?"

"Gladly. Do you have sugar too?"

Now Ingried laughed. "No. We accidentally left the kitchen window open at night. Fairies stole that little bit of sugar we still had.  I'll buy new sugar tomorrow."

Adam handed him a cup and Fritz poured some milk into his coffee. "The queen must be stopped. She must no longer govern."

"Hm." Adam frowned. "These are dangerous words."

Fritz nodded. "My wife, Paula, and I belong to the resistance. We are part of the rebellion."

"What?" Ingried was about to pour herself coffee, but she put the pot back on the table in shock. "You? With the resistance?"

Fritz nodded.

"This is madness! Fritz! I have represented a few rebels in court if they were allowed a trial. I lost every time! This is very dangerous!"

"I know. But I can't sit still and do nothing."

"And why are you telling us about it? Do you want us to join the rebels? Officially, the uprisings are over. There are rumors..." Adam sighed and looked at Ingried. "The fact that you represented rebels in court was dangerous enough. Since then, I often see soldiers near our house."

Ingried nodded. "I don't want to just watch, but... What do you have in mind, Fritz?"

"I need messengers and people with influence. People who easily get information and have plenty of contact with all population groups. Like a lawyer and the owner of a bookstore."

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"No. No way!" Adam crossed his arms. "No. Ingried has already risked her head enough! And I'm attached to my life. I like to live!"

"But if the situation in the country worsens, that could change quickly." Ingried leaned against the couch and looked at the ceiling. "I have little influence. I'm just a small, poorly paid lawyer. But I can get information about prisoners. Would that do you any good? Former rebels staying in prisons. Most pay with their lives, but some are imprisoned for life. Those who were only suspected and for whom nothing could be proven, or who are believed to keep important information secret. A terrible fate."

"Prisoners... This could be valuable information... I heard that a group is planning to free prisoners. But no one knows who is in which prison."

"Ingried! No!", said Adam immediately. "You can't do that."

"I can and I will! I've been trying to make a difference for years. Unsuccessful. Do you have contacts? Since you're a rebel?"

"You don't have any? You represented rebels, Ingried. Have you never asked? Never considered joining?"

"Of course I have." His sister smiled sadly. "But they never trusted me. I'll help you. I'll get this information if it's useful to you!"

Fritz nodded. "Thank you Ingchen!" That was her old nickname.

"What?" Adam looked at his wife in shock. "Ingried! No. That will come out. We are already being watched."

"And? That won't be noticed."

"Ingried!" Adam ruffled his hair. "That could cost you your head! And me!"

"I know." She looked at Fritz. "I'll help you. But I'm not going to risk anything. We are already watched. Whoever your contact is, meetings must be discreet."

"That's why I thought of Adam's bookstore. No one would suspect that information is being passed on to rebels there. Everything Adam, you!, would have to do would be to slip a paper roll to a customer. This is not very time-consuming. But maybe you two will talk about that to each other first?" He raised his eyebrows. "I'm going to send someone to the law firm Ingried. Disguised as a client. You can then tell them your decision. Our detection is as follows: 'I forgot to wash my socks. Sorry for the smell'. That's what he'll say to you. The reply is 'I have fresh socks in my drawer'. This is how we make sure that potential newcomers really belong to the rebellion. The password is changed once a month. If you're around longer, you rarely have to use the passwords." He winked at her.

"Socks?" Ingried grinned.

"Before that, it was about the price of fish. So then. I hear from you!" And Fritz said goodbye. 

 

 

Julia

 

Marko was not yet back from the river. Slowly Finn became restless. Julia felt sorry for them. Losing loved ones was never easy.

They all sat in the main room and had dinner. Only Hanno was missing because he wanted to check on Marko. Julia was still dizzy, but gradually she got used to the feeling. It was strangely quiet in the room. No one said anything.

"It's me, Finja. May I come in?", they heard the voice of the tribal elders in front of their tent.

"Of course!", Flora replied immediately.

An elderly centaur with grey hair and a grey horse body came in. "Good evening and bon appétit." She smiled kindly. "As you know, we expect several tribes. It will be a very big meeting this year. Hundreds of centaurs. We expect their arrival tomorrow or the day after. I would therefore like to ask you to stay in your own tent camp if possible. To avoid trouble."

"Of course Finja." Flora chewed on her lower lip. "Do you think there will be trouble?"

"Possibly. Two of the tribes are hostile to strangers. I still have to go to our other guests. So then: Enjoy the food. And. One more thing!" Finja looked at the two dragons and then at Julia. "Please keep your reptile friends under control, child."

Peter grinned and nudged Fiete when he stuck out his forked tongue at Finja when she wasn't looking at him. Josefine, on the other hand, growled softly and Leopold put his arm around Julia, giving Josefine a warning look, which she ignored.

"Of course", Julia replied quietly. Under control?  Fiete winked at her.

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