Father and son

Not long after Leopold sat down a small boy entered the room. He was only two years in age, but carried himself well for his age, or at least as well as he could be expected to. Vincent was Leopold's son, and as such he was very proud of the little guy. He felt a kind of delight as he watched him walk, somewhat shyly, over to the table and greet the king and Leopold each in turn. "Hello your majesty!" He said with a cheerful smile and a sloppy, yet earnest bow. He then turned to his father with a large grin and asked, "Did I do good daddy? Did I?"

Leopold couldn't help but chuckle at his son's excitement. "Yes." he responded, noticing how much his speech had improved recently. It was amazing how quickly this little person was changing. It felt as if it was just yesterdaythat he had brought him home, but he was already walking, talking, and practicing his manners. "You did very well."

Despite the heartfelt nature of his father's words young Vincent was a little hurt, thinking that he was making light of what Vincent had tried very hard to achieve. It wasn't easy learning how to greet someone properly, and he felt that he had done a very good job. As he thought about this it upset him, and he pushed his small lips together and puffed out his chubby little cheeks. Leopold could cleary see that he had somehow managed to upset the boy, but looking at him all he could think about was how cute he was even when he was upset. Indeed, he was quite adorable. Before coming to dinner he had attempted to sick his hair back the way his father typically wore it, but in part do to his young age and insistence that he do it himself and in part because of the nature of his wild cury locks, his raven back ringlets had started to fall randomly about his head. He had large, green eyes that shined bright in contrast to his light brown skin. In truth, he looked very much like his mother, but this was something that Vincent himself was entirely unaware of as it was unlikely that he would ever meet her. This was even more the case since Millie was no longer a part of this country. Leopold smiled and wrapped his arms around his son, lifting him up into his lap. "Fine." he said. "You can sit with me."

This was not what Vincent was upset about at all, but before he could voice his frustration the king interrupted. "Hey," he exclaimed. "wouldn't you rather sit with your Uncle Jakob?" He stretched his arms out to take the boy, but he didn't budge. As much as Vincent may not have wanted to be treated like a baby, he still enjoyed sitting on his dad's lap. The thought of having to leave now that he was there was enough to make Vincent bury his face into his father's shirt and wrap his chubby little arms around him. This rejection wasn't at all unexpected. Given a choice there was really no one that Vincent would choose over his father, but the king was determined to change his mind. He let out a dramatic sigh, and said. "I guess that's fine. I'll just have to the story of how your father offended a foreign nation for the sake of a single woman to someone else." He flashed a wide grin at Vincent and then an amused look at Leopold.

Vincent, however, didn't notice this gesture towards his father. This was because young Vincent had a keen interest in the idea of women in gerneral, something that was only amplified by his father's involvement in the story. As he listened to the King's words he eagerly jumped out of his father's lap and toddled over to the king and asked eagerly, "Really, you mean it?" In response Jakob simply nodded, pulled the boy into his lap. and began recounting the tale of Leopold and the Illastia representative as he knew it. While Vincent was more entranced with every word, Leopold could feel his heart grow still as a lump formed in his throat. There weren't many details that Jakob wasn't privy to and as such he had gotten the entire story fairly close to right. In the end, all could say in his defense was that the Illastia representative was offering nothing of value. This, however, didn't excuse the manner in which he had dismissed him. Even Vincent appeared to be aware of this fact as he promptly replied by saying, "but daddy why were you so mean?"

"Yeah daddy," Jakob prodded, clearly amused. "why were you so mean?"

Leopold couldn't help but feel that this was a low blow, even for the king. He had known Jakob for years, but this was the first time he had ever resorted to such tactics as using the innocent of his son against him. It was frustrating to say the least, especially as it gave him little choice other than telling the truth. Leopold let out a sharp sigh, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and said. "There's one woman who fit what he requested the best, but she..." He paused here. perhaps he was having trouble thinking of the right words to say to explain his actions without telling to much, but maybe he simply thought about Elisabeth and didn't quite have the right words to describe his feelings for her. He had never felt anything like this before, still he had to answer, so he smiled and continued. "she isn't someone who I could even think of letting go of without good reason."

This explanation was just enough to make young Vincent extremely curious. He had heard the men around him talk about women quite frequently, but this was the first time he had ever seen his father show any interest in the topic. He was beyond curious about the woman who inspired this change. Whenever he had asked about the women of the kingdom before his father had shrugged it off and told him that it wasn't something that he needed to worry about at his age. This just made him upset, believing he was treating him like a baby. This time was different, however, and he wanted to know why, but he didn't have the confidence to ask him directly. Instead he looked back at the king and eagerly asked, "She must be amazing. Huh, Uncle Jakob!"

Jakob couldn't help but chuckle at both the eagerness of the child and the cleverness he showed in choosing to ask him instead of his father. "I can't say I've ever met her." He replied, feeling quite pleased as he watched the boy's eyes grow large with surprise. "Though, if your dad has taken such a keen interest in her I imagine that she must be truly amazing." Vincent nodded eagerly in agreement with what he said, but Leopold didn't feel nearly as happy about the conversation at hand. It was very clear that Jakob was trying to get more information from him and he was using his son to do just that. The worst part was that he had no idea how to deal with this particular line of questioning without alienating him from his son. Most father's stayed home with their sons for the first few years of their lives to promote bonding, but because of Leopold's position and general nature this wasn't really possible for him. as a result, he desperately worried about his relationship with Vincent, and hated doing or saying anything that could possibly further distance their relationship. As he listened to Jakob and Vincent speculate about the nature of his interest in Elisabeth he thought about what it was that he was attracted to in her in the first place. The more he thought about it the more he realized that the initial interest he showed was similar to the attraction he had felt towards Vincent's mother, Millie. She was beautiful, confident, and more than anything intelligent. Not only was she willing to take risks in learning about her potential mates, but she was easily able to win back their interest, even after offending them. This was also a skill that Millie had shown upon their first encounter, but it wasn't that simple. Elisabeth showed something else, something that made her far more desirable than anyone he had ever met. She showed a desire to reach for desires that were far beyond her reach, no matter the cost. This was a trait that he also had, and it was one he found irresistible. If given half a chance he knew that she was the kind of woman who very likely could change the world, and a large part of him wanted very much to be the person to give her that chance. In a different time the two of them really could have conquered the world.