The cost of a dream

Closed thread for Prussia and Switzerland
Maria and Vash's age: 13

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Maria had always heard the Zwingli family spoken about in high regards throughout her childhood. She had met the head of the family quite a few times as he was a friend of her fathers but besides that she had not had much contact with the that family personally.

This is why when her father suggested that she go live with the Zwingli family it seemed to come out of nowhere.

Her father explained to her that if she wished to become a knight she would need to go start her squire training immediately under the tutelage of a Knight. Her fathers old friend was indeed a knight and was the only one that he trusted to be her mentor, even if she was a rambunctious girl he did not trust sending her away to live with strangers or even an acquaintance. In return for taking in Maria as a squire and keeping her gender a secret her father had offered to be Lord Zwinglis sponsor. Although the Zwingli family was an honourable one they had hit rough times in regards to money and no matter how tightfisted they became there was barely enough money to keep up expenses of being a knight, let alone paying for the cost of training a squire.

Lord Zwingi had agreed to take the sponsorship which would mean he would then be able to cover the cost of his own knighthood, Marias training and board, as well as allowing the lords son to train to be a knight as well. Lately there seemed to be a lot of once proud families that were relying mostly of their heritage and family name to remain relevant and noble in this day and age, but then again, many of the citizens of the kingdom seemed unhappy with one thing of the other recently.

Maria was rather excited to meet her new training partner, if he was anything like his father is then this 'Vash' would be a worthy sparring partner and rival she had concluded. As the carriage driver announced that they were getting close to their destination she grinned widely and went to twirl her hair out of instinct before remembering that it had been recently cut and styled into that of a boys. "Oh yeah..." She grinned sheepishly. "I'm Gilbert now..."

Her father was hoping that this was a phase, that the harsh training away from her family would have her change her stubborn mind and she would wish to come home. There was no point in locking her up and trying to force her to be a lady, that would just be met with rebellion and stubbornness. The only way for her to learn was through her own experiences and he hoped that she would learn from them soon enough.

As the carriage arrived she did not wait for someone to open her door never the type to care about those sorts of polite gestures. She hopped out with an excited bounce in her step grinning from ear to ear, it seemed that a few people were already outside to greet her and it just made her excitement grow, it was really happening even if it was not a dream that many other ladies would want for herself, it was what she wanted, she was going to be a knight!

"Yo~ Welcome the awesome me for I have finally arrived~!" She laughed and waved.

To say that Lord Zwingli was enthusiastic about the arrival of one of his closest frriends' youngest child was a mixed truth. This dear friend would help pay so that his knighthood could be maintained, and even sponsor Vash's own training, and in exchange they would foster, care for, train, and protect a girl named Maria...who would be pretending to be a boy. The word unorthodox came up a lot, as did a few about piety, decency, and morals from Lord Zwingli's wife, as typcially any conversations about girls and their household were either about one of their few remaining servants, or deciding their son's future through a proper betrothal. The family could be maintained if they married into another, better-off family. But the girl would be here under the guise of a boy to train as a squire with Vash instead, despite there being some grousing that Vash was already turning thirteen. Lord and Lady Zwingli had quite a lot to say about the matter.

Their young son in question sat at the end of the table in their hall, cheek resting in his palm, and trying to move as little as possible for fear of dirtying the dark green and black doublet and crisp whiteness of the shirt underneath it. The clothes were new, very clean, and the nicest things Vash had, his mother only allowing the boy to wear them when the family had people to impress. Times had become hard on their household, which had led to more than a little quarreling at dinner and constantly looking to new ways to try and maintain or improve their status. Most of the pressure fell on the boy who stared out the window, waiting to greet the carriage that would be bringing their new houseguest and his new training partner. Vash wanted to be a knight and a great lord. He wanted to marry into a great and noble family and help his family. Of course he wouldn't rather be out in the woods hunting pheasants with the dogs.

"Vash! Come on outside, the carriage is here." Vash looked up, away from the window that overlooked the forest that dribbled down the hill to the plump woman that took care of most of the house's needs. Bertie had been there all Vash's life, brought as a servant from his mother's house when they'd married. Sighing, the boy stood up, smoothing the wrinkles from his doublet and walking outside into the bright light of early afternoon. His father had often spoken highly of Herr Beilschmidt and his years knowing him, and his family, and Vash wondered what sort of person his youngest would be. She was here to become a squire and a knight, so she couldn't have been too girly...because, God help him, if she sat down to teach him to crochet lace...

The carriage pulled up to the house and came to a stop, Maria not waiting for anyone to open the door for her as she burst out of the buggy... with distinctly short hair. Vash blinked, fidgeting slightly, uncertain if he needed to bow, kiss her hand, or shake it. He was quiet as his father and mother greeted her, luggage being carted off the carriage to the servants, Bertie already fawning over how sweet 'Gilbert's' face was. Lord Zwingly patted 'his' shoulder, introducing everyone to the young squire until finally Vash was ushered forward. He figeted, looking at his new training partner up and down warily. She at least looked enough like a boy. For now. And Vash would be good and not say anything but... He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, disliking the forced social interaction and really, really preferring to be out hunting. He looked up at Maria once more before his eyes shot down to his feet, managing, finally, a proper greeting. "....Hullo." Whether or not it was loud enough to even be heard, however, was debatable.

As her new sponsor family greeted her Maria remained confident and free from any shy or nervous behaviour, modesty never being her strong suit after all. She greeted Lord Zwingli fondly as she recognised him and thanked both him and his wife for letting her stay here, which of course she had promised her father she would when she arrived. Even if she did enjoy the reception she was glad that the Zwingli household was a small one, it meant that she had more room to be herself without fear of her secret being exposed. She knew as soon as word got out that she was indeed a she, a buggy ride home was soon to follow and knighthood was forever out of her reach. Her goal was to prove herself before then, if she ever did reveal her secret that is... what possible reason would there be to stop?

Just like Vash her dream had a similar core goal, greatness. Although Marriage was something that she did not even wish to think of. Of course whoever did marry her would have to be of rather high standings to meet her fathers approval both in character and status. Her father had talked to her about marriage before and she had simply replied that when a boy her age is strong enough to beat her in a fight she would accept him as a husband and he had just sighed and rolled his eyes admitting that any possible suitor would probably have to best him as well.

"Hallo!" 'Gilbert' beamed back at Vash, tilting her head so she could look at the boys face. "Are you still awestruck by the awesome me?" She grinned and took the others hand to shake it in a very masculine fashion that she had picked up from associating with her many male family members. "You don't have to be so intimidated by me~" She laughed in a joking fashion. "Well I suppose just a little.." She smirked. "But don't worry, I will the greatest training partner you could have ever wished for, and together we will become great knights that the entire kingdom looks up to!" She gave the other a confident smile, if this boy was going to be her sparring partner he was going to have his work cut out for him.

She noticed that even though Vash was a boy his age, he was still shorter than her and even had longer hair. This set her at ease a bit, and she felt more confident in her ruses success in the future rather glad that she was not one of those unlucky girls with extremely feminine features and those awful pouty lips, that was her opinion at least, no one would take her seriously if she looked like that.

"I trust that it is you who has been asked to give me a tour of my new home?" She gave the other a friendly smile.

Even though in good times the Zwingli household would entertain guests, some more lively than others, generally they were a very quiet house, down to the remaining servants who at their worst would be chatty with a ahappy noise but would puull themselves back if Lord Zwingli wasn't in the mood. Even from this short impression, Gilbert seemed to resound with an energy that was either alight from finally being out of that carriage after a long journey, enthusiasm to start training, or he was just natrually an energetic person... The enthusiasm was admirable, but Vash really hoped the energy that nearly burst off his being was only temporary.

There was a certain cockiness and confidence Vash's new partner exuded, her handshake firm and enthusiastic, despite Vash still bening quiet. Was he still awestruck? Maybe a little; 'Gil' looked convincing. That, and Vash wasn't really used to other people at the household his age. Finally a tiny ghost of a smirk tried to form at the corner of Vash's mouth and quietly evaporated. Gilbert would be his new partner and together they'd become great knights for all the kingdom to admire. Lord Zwingli was a great knight, and Vash's future had been decided for him, leaving the boy little choice other than to find some way to live up to that expectation of greatness and an endless drive to service his kingdom. Finally, Vash gave a small nod, hard green eyes still trying to fully assess the partner that would help Vash achieve that goal. "Someday, yes. We shall be great knights together."

Glancing over his shoulder, Vash caught the cautionary look given to him by Lord Zwingli, reminding the boy to be on his best behaviour and make a good impression. For as long as she was here, seh would be Gilbert, trained as Vash would, and her father would finance it all, and for that, they would show their gratitude through the care of Maria. He gave a small nod to his father before turning his attention back to Gilbert, only hearing half her question. "Oh, a tour? Ja, I have." Vash stepped away from the wall, wondering if he should go change his clothes and then deciding against it, still wanting to make a good impression as Gilbert gave him a warm and genuinely friendly smile. Maybe... this wouldn't be so bad. Even though he didn't return the smile, Vash was starting to warm up to the idea of having someone else at the manor his own age that he would be training with. "So, there's the manor, the stable, or further out into the grounds is the forest I go hunting in, and the village isn't far from here... Where would you like to see first?"

Vash was defiantly not going to get his wish of 'Gilbert' calming down any time soon if anything she could get even more rambunctious than this and her father usually had her run off her energy before she was allowed back into the house. She was taking Vash's lack of enthusiasm as shyness and awe and was not at all suspecting that he was not enjoying her company or found her exhausting. As far as she was concerned Vash was like family, her father did not praise many people openly so she knew that this family was one that she should be fond of and friendly towards.

Her eyes followed the others gestures as he gave a very brief overview. Maria had already noticed that this house she would be staying in was a lot smaller than her own but she did not really care, she usually spent her time outdoors anyway and it was rare for her to ever be in the house. She grinned however when she Even if Maria was born into a lucky household, one where she could of lived the life similar to a princess if her father chose to spoil her that way if he wanted too it was just not something that interested her. Many people would most likely think of her as ungrateful but it was hardly the case, her family was very sensible with money in the first place and her brothers had always been taught to work hard for everything and she had decided that the same should apply to her.

She looked thoughtful as the other asked her what she wanted to do. "Well I defiantly want to see your horses...!" She grinned widely, she had had to say goodbye to all her families horses so seeing others would probably lift he spirits even more. She would have to wait until she was sixteen until her father was willing to get her one of her own so she was hoping that Vash had some nice horses. "Do you have your own horse Vash?" She rolled her eyes. "Vati says I can't have one until my sixteenth birthday..." She pouted. "That is almost three years away!" She took Vash by the wrist and started to lead Vash towards the direction he had pointed was the stables. "After that I want to see all the best hunting spots and awesome places on your families land!" She chuckled and tugged the other along in an excited manner, as far as she was concerned, Vash was now her friend.