It took two more weeks for Charles and Bernard to so-called figure it out. Obviously, Genevieve had to marry, and the sooner the better, but the pregnant Countess of Breisach could not be married to just anyone. Bernard came up with the solution. Otto, the Margrave of Provence was in his late forties. He had an eight-year-old son, Leibulf, whose mother died in childbirth, and Otto had been a widower since that time. It was not ideal but Bernard said Otto was a very nice man and would never treat her badly.

Bernard fought alongside Otto in the old days under King Pepin the Short. He called Otto a brave and noble gentleman, like Genevieve’s father. Back when Charles’ grandfather drove the Muslims out of Provence, he made the province a March to watch the Muslims in Septimania, and piracy on the coast, and to watch the Lombards in the east. Otto’s father was the first Marquise, or Margrave in the German tongue.

Otto served faithfully for years and was in on the fight when they finally drove the Muslims out of Narbonne. Now, he apparently raised a little army all on his own and was anxious to go after the Lombards. “The problem is he was wounded on the battlefield and needs a cane to walk,” Bernard concluded.

“He will be no good to us in Lombardy,” Charles said. “Nor would I take a cripple into battle. I’ll take his army, but he needs to stay home.”

“It will help everyone if you keep him home during the fighting,” Bernard said. “I will come to gather the men who are presently in Aquae. They can move up to Geneva and meet us in Lausanne where the Burgundians will gather, and we will see what Aquitaine sends. Then we will move into Italy through the Great Saint Bernard pass.”

“We will see what Burgundy raises,” Charles said as an aside.

“Charles will take the main Frankish army through the pass of Monte Ceneri and we will see what Desiderius comes up with.”

“You’re leaving me in Lausanne?”

“Geneva.”

“You’re leaving me in Geneva?” Genevieve whined.

“Not abandoning you. You and Otto will have full escorts all of the way down river to Arles and then across the coast to Aquae. You will be fine.”

Genevieve squinted at Charles. “The pass of Great Saint Bernard?”

Charles grinned. “Fitting, don’t you think?”

“Ha, ha,” Genevieve said without laughing.

“Charles insisted,” Bernard said with a look of resignation in his eyes. He changed the subject. “Otto will be good to you. He knows about the baby and has pledged to raise your child as his own. He is agreeable on all points, and besides, he says his boy, Leibulf, needs a mother’s influence,” Bernard finished and they waited for her response. It was not what they expected.

“I always wanted to have a baby brother. Mine died when he was two.”

“So, is that a yes?” Charles needed to know.

Genevieve paused but did not let the tension play out too long. “If Otto is all that you say he is, then yes. But if he mistreats me or my baby, you will get a knock on the door.” Genevieve understood that she really had no other choices.

“Of course,” Bernard mumbled. “Of course.”

First thing after that they got everyone moving to Basel. Genevieve got introduced to the people in Basel as the Countess of Breisach. The people, basically strangers, deferred to her and she got some slight bows and curtseys. Genevieve was used to the people back home where she grew up and all the people knew her. Back home they liked her well enough, but this was different. This was a heady experience, but she understood it was mostly Charles or Bernard that got the special attention. No telling what they said behind her back, Charles being married and all. No doubt some of the words were not so nice.

Charles and Genevieve tried to be as discrete as they could. It was easy when Charles got busy building his army. New men came into town every day in April, and as the month progressed, Charles got more and more busy. Genevieve had to content herself with Margo and Nelly for companions, and Edelweiss when she was around. Edelweiss got excited because she found her flower.

“I thought they did not bloom until May, or later, like July,” Genevieve said.

“Apparently, they bloom when Edelweiss tells them to bloom,” Margo responded, and Nelly shrugged.

When Otto and a small contingent of men arrived, his eight-year-old son Leibulf in tow, Genevieve thought she was prepared. She was not. She felt awkward and withdrawn. She hardly knew what to say to the man and tended to look down at her boots. At least she got her own boots.

Otto said, “Bernard, you did not do justice in your description. She is lovely, beautiful, very fetching, I must say. What do you think, Captain?” Otto asked his Captain, Hector.

“Very nice, but rather shy and quiet.” Charles and Bernard laughed until Charles got tears in his eyes and Genevieve bumped him with her elbow.

Genevieve and Otto got to know each other, though they avoided talk about the baby. Genevieve did open up after a short while and found the man was as nice as reported. She decided that being married to the man would not be a terrible thing, and she got along well with Leibulf, the son, almost from the beginning. Of course, he was eight going on sixteen so he was not about to do what Genevieve told him, but she expected nothing else. She indeed saw him as the younger brother she was not allowed to have and only hoped she would not tease him too badly when he started showing interest in girls.

“Lady, lady,” Edelweiss came flying into Genevieve’s room when she was packing to move into the church rooms before the wedding. “Lady.” The fairy was excited and Genevieve knew enough not to interrupt before Edelweiss told her news lest she distract the little one and make Edelweiss forget why she came. “I saw Blondy. I saw Blondy.”

“Where?” Margo asked, pulling her head out from the wardrobe.

“When?’ Nelly asked from the floor in the midst of pairing up Genevieve’s socks.

“What was he wearing?” Genevieve asked last.

Edelweiss let out a little shriek, like her little brain could not answer all those questions at once. She chose to answer Genevieve. “He was dressed like a soldier.”

“When did you see him?”

“Just now. I came straight here.”

“Where did you see him?”

“In town. In front of town hall and the church,” Edelweiss said and took a deep breath, pleased that she remembered and got it out before it flitted from her thoughts.

Margo added a question. “What was he doing?”

“Just sitting there.” Edelweiss flew up to Margo’s face. “He was not doing anything.”

“Genevieve?” Nelly called, but Genevieve was already leaving the room. Her face looked determined. Her steps were deliberate. The others followed.

Edelweiss sat on Genevieve’s shoulder as she marched into town. Like elves who could wear a glamour to appear human, fairies also had ways of being around humans without getting big and looking inhumanly beautiful, which might attract the wrong kind of attention. Most often, people see fairies as birds of some sort so people mostly ignore them. They often appear in the corners of the eye, like some movement in the peripheral vision that vanishes when looked at directly. When people do look directly at them, they naturally projected a kind of perception filter which makes them appear like a spot of light or shadow, or something not quite clear. Even when people concentrate on them, they can be difficult to bring into focus. They often present multiple unclear images where the eyes have to dart around the small area in front of the eyes to see anything at all, and even when they see, it is a faded, unclear picture, like someone moving around behind a translucent veil, unless the fairy wants or is willing to be seen. Of course, the people who get to know the fairy can see the fairy perfectly well. Magic can also pierce the veil, and that was what happened with Blondy.

Genevieve arrived at the town hall at the same time Charles rode up with a small troop of soldiers, mostly captains of some sort come for a meeting. Blondy stood, which got Genevieve’s attention. He had two throwing knives in his hands. Edelweiss chose that moment to squirt from Genevieve’s hair and shout.

“There he is.”

One knife headed toward Charles, but the other headed toward Genevieve, though the fairy got in the way. Genevieve reacted like it was an attack on her fairy. Something like lightning poured from her hands. The throwing knife got knocked to the ground. People got shoved back and out of the way. The electrical charge went straight at Blondy. He may have tried to put up a magical shield, but that would have been like a single grain of sand trying to hold back the ocean. Genevieve was not presently an ordinary young woman, but goddess of the little ones and filled with the power of creation itself.

Charles ducked. The knife cut him in the upper arm, but it was no more than a scrape as it essentially missed. Edelweiss threw her hands up to her face so she would not have to watch. Genevieve let out a shout of surprise. The lightning stopped instantly and she threw her hands up to cover her mouth. Blondy was reduced to a smoking cider of what used to be a man.

“Let me,” Genevieve heard the words in her head. Amphitrite, or Salacia as the Romans called her, asked to take a look. It only took a moment. Amphitrite appeared in Genevieve’s place for one quick moment to look. Genevieve came back to her own time and place well before Charles approached her.

“Interesting, whatever you did,” Charles said with a sly smile, pointing at the smoking flesh that used to be Blondy.

“That wasn’t me,” Genevieve said quickly. “I mean it was me, but it was that part of me that watches over the little ones.”

“Your Kairos.”

“Yes,” she said and raised her voice a bit. “He attacked my fairy.”

Charles looked around, but Edelweiss had rushed to Nelly’s shoulder and presently hid in Nelly’s long dark hair. “Good thing that little one and I are friends.”

“Oh, you have nothing to worry about.” she put one hand on his chest to draw on his strength. She killed a man and needed the strength to hold back her tears. She did the deed whether she admitted it or not. She wanted to cry about it, but instead, picked up the throwing knife from the ground. “You are hurt?” They both looked at Charles’ shoulder. Charles had to twist his arm and head a bit to see.

“Only a scratch,” he said. “But say, how would you like to do that on the battlefield?”

“No, that would not work on the battlefield. Little ones in battle face the same chance as any other soldiers. Sometimes they die and I am not allowed to change that. Meanwhile, I checked if you are interested.”

“You mean that other woman in your place? I blinked and almost missed her.”

Genevieve nodded. “Amphitrite,” she called her, thinking Salacia was a name that might be recognized in that post-Roman province. “Mister Lupen, Antonio, and Baldy are still in Lombardy and have no immediate plans to come this way.”

“Good to know,” he said as he pecked at her lips and went to check on his men. Genevieve turned and walked slowly back to her rooms where she finally let herself cry and finished packing.