;:)
@authorofyourpain
She could FEEL it from the moment that she woke up in the morning.
As usual, Ernst was already absent from bed. Sleep was, apparently, of LITTLE interest to the man who effectively ran the world. She didn’t know how he always managed to slip in and out so quietly– she only knew that he was never there with her in the morning.
There was TENSION in the housekeeping staff, however. She could see it in the furtive way that the maid avoided her eye when she arrived with breakfast. Some calamity, somewhere– but did she suspect–? Ann frequently wondered whether anyone knew the dark truth about the Prince Consort. Surely they DIDN’T– if they did, he would have put an end to them in his quiet, subtle way. But how could they not know?
She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she received the news: political assassination overseas. Ideological radicalists were taking the blame, but she knew the TRUTH. Everything that happened in this world was connected by a series of strings– invisible to most, but strong as steel– and those strings were wrapped around his finger.
She delivered her public condolences, saw to her business for the day– there was PLENTY– and by the time dusk gave way to night, she was headed for her husband’s private office. It wasn’t his primary workplace; he had several of those, all of which were far more secure than the palace. But here, at least, he could manage affairs that needed his immediate attention.
It was off-limits to everyone except his most TRUSTED operatives– and Ann.
She slipped inside as quietly as a shadow, making her way along the wall behind his desk. He didn’t react to her presence, but she’d long ago given up on the prospect of taking him by SURPRISE. He had eyes in the back of his head: she knew that now.
She lingered behind him in silence, trying to reconcile the contradictory feelings welling up from inside. All day long her mind had been inundated with images of SUFFERING– distraught families, broken nations. There would be horrible consequences for this, and they would manifest on every level of society. The blame rested squarely on Blofeld’s shoulders– of that she had no doubt.
But she LOVED him. To her he had never shown anything but kindness and respect, so how could she help but love him?
Slowly she crept forward, long fingers inching over his shoulders as her lips found their way to his ear.
“You’ve been MISBEHAVING again, Ernst…”











