Chapter Text
If Kurt was being honest with himself, he’d seen Julia de Sardet in a different light than her cousin for some time before Teer Fradee. The “fledgling noble” thing had really just been an overcompensation to make it very clear to anyone within earshot that he was not favoring the older cousin. It also playfully frustrated her to no end which worked for him.
He’d felt a fundamental change in their relationship 19 year old Julia was shipped off the court of another prince to finish her magic training and refine her manners. She was upset about the whole situation and voiced her displeasure to anyone who would listen.
“Who's going to look after Constantin when I’m gone?” she demanded hotly as Kurt adjusted her stance.
“You’re turning your feet in again, Green Blood, I could knock you right over.” He tapped her foot with his.
“You’re not even listening to me! No one listens to me!”
Kurt sighed and looked at his young charge. She was a woman at this point but she still wore her honey red hair in pigtail braids and dressed in the shapeless tunics and gowns young people wore. “I’m not getting in between you and your royal mother, My Lady.”
She dropped her stance, folding her arms and glaring at him. “So you do have an opinion.”
“You never make this easy on me do you? Just let me do what I’m paid to.”
She shook her head. “Nope, not until you tell me what you think. We can sit here all day. If you tell me, I promise I’ll keep it a secret.”
Kurt narrowed his eyes. She was so stubborn and she had a way of talking people into doing what she wanted. With a little time and maturity, that would be a great asset. “Fine.”
“Yes!” She cried, pumping a fist in the air.
“Calm down, I am not about to say what you want me to.”
She froze, her hazel eyes trained on him. For a moment he saw a flash of calculation. Then she nodded. “That’s alright. I trust you to be real with me in a way the others at court aren’t.”
He had to look away at that. It was these rare moments of wisdom and maturity that always caught him off guard, like the girlish clothes and attitude were all hiding something else. “I don’t think I’m worthy of those words, but I approve of you going away. I think you need to spend some time discovering who you are outside of managing your cousin. Besides, I’ll look after him while you’re gone. I’ll have extra energy only chasing after one of you.”
She let out a groan and rolled her eyes. “You’re right. That makes so much sense. You’re the worst, Kurt.”
“I thought you said you’d listen.”
“I am listening, but I never said I wouldn’t whine about it.”
Kurt smiled. “You’re a menace. Try to refrain from embarrassing us.”
She laughed and slid back into her fighting stance.
Julia was gone for a year and a half. She was supposed to only stay gone for a year. Kurt tried not to worry, she was a big girl and his contract didn’t apply to her while he was away. It didn’t work as well as he would hope. He was getting sentimental after all this time. He thought that part of him had died a long time ago.
Constantin was miserable without her, mainly because she was his only friend. Kurt was not as accommodating or forgiving without having Julia around to tag team managing him. He missed her more diplomatic touch. The royal family were also keeping Julia’s whereabouts away from Constinin so Kurt knew he would not get any information.
All the princess would say to her nephew was, “Julia will be alright, she is doing her duty like we expected her to.”
That worried Kurt more than anything. He knew what duty meant and he’d secretly hoped Constinin and Julia would have a few more years of innocence before they had to learn that lesson. He also felt a pang of guilt that he wasn’t there to help her with whatever was so serious no one would talk about it.
One morning, he rose at his normal time of too early and went as always to the training ground. Someone had beat him there and was working on one of the training dummies. For a moment he thought it was Constintin as they were wearing noble attire. This stranger did not move like Constantin though. They looked seasoned and there was an efficient brutality to their movements that he recognized in himself. As the sun peeked over the stranger's light hair caught and blazed strawberry blonde.
Kurt swore under his breath. “Green Blood?”
She whipped around, hammer still gripped firmly in her hand and the look she gave him was chilling. He almost took a step back but she cried out with joy and ran towards him, that cold look fading away. “Well if it isn’t my favorite Coin Guard!”
She dropped her hammer and boldly embraced him. She was a bit taller than him, something he’d somehow never noticed. Kurt froze before gingerly patting her on the back. Her embrace was so strong, he didn’t remember her being this muscular.
“I thought you were supposed to learn noble manners,” he mumbled.
She released him and stepped back. “I did, I’m a proper Lady now, but last time I checked, you weren’t a noble.”
He regarded her and his mind stuck on proper lady to his annoyance. She had, well, matured. She was wearing a well tailored jacket, waistcoat, and trousers that did nothing to conceal her strong body and curves. Her hair was short and tucked behind her ears in a business-like fashion that complimented her round face and gentle features
The most jarring change was in the way she carried herself. Before, she had seemed small and slumped into her frame to seem smaller. Now she stood with her shoulders pulled back and at her full height. She also was subtly standing with her feet at hip distance, one slightly ahead of the other. She’d gone to a fighter's stance without thinking.
Kurt felt three things all at once, the first was pride that she’d obviously become more seasoned, the second was sadness that she had so clearly aged due to combat, something that he was all too familiar with, and the third was a slight lurch in his gut that it took him a moment to identify as attraction .
He coughed, covering whatever sound he would have made at the realization that Julia de Sardet had suddenly become his type. “You’re late, your cousin is almost unmanageable with grief. Care to explain?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t kiss and tell, Kurt.”
Shit. Whatever it was, it must have been bad. It was best not to push the issue. “Whatever you say, My Lady.”
Julia wagged a finger at him. “That would be Madame while we’re at court.”
“I’ll tell you what, Green Blood, I might consider calling you that if you can show me that you learned something useful on your little adventure instead of noble bullshit and how to dress your age.”
Her eyes widened and her bow shaped lips parted slightly. “Dress my age?” Her hands flared with magical energy and she took two steps away. “You're going to regret that.”
He drew his sword. “That’s what I’m counting on.”