What If... Lady Winterwald Appeared?

by oohlips123

Summary:

After making it to the Winterwalf Manor, Judith now has to convence the Masters of the WInter Forest to take Luca in.

Notes:

Well, look who decided to add another chapter after all! And only a few months after the first chapter, OMG! That's considered a major win for my fanfics, I'm inconsistent as hell with updates.
So yeah, I decided to try my hand at continuing this story. Chapter 2 is here, chapter 3 is in the works, and anything beyond that is for the gods to decide. I'm at least going to have Judith and Ruediger meet, okay! That is all I'm promising. If I try for anything more than that, it'll only result in an overly complicated outline on Google docs and the complete lack of drive to finish the story. Too many plot bunnies have been lost that way, I won't have it.
Also, some part of me is kinda bummed that I decided to continue this story, just because I really liked how that first chapter ended. So don't feel bad if you don't care for this or future chapters. If you want to imagine this as a oneshot and ignore this and future chapters, you have my blessing. I am a pathologically unreliable author...

After crying her heart out into the shoulder of her 6 year old nephew, Judith felt more dead on her feet than when she had ACTUALLY been walking on her feet most of the way the Winterwald manor.

Pulling back slightly, Judith felt her heart tremble as Luca's arms remained secure around her. He's such a sweet boy. Despite not knowing why, he tries to comfort her for the simple fact that she was crying. Lalisa would be so proud of the little gentleman he was growing into, despite how much her sister was failing with his upbringing.

Maneuvering the child so he was sitting securely on her lap and in her arms, she breathed out and tried to center herself. Her job wasn't finished yet. She may have gotten them to to the manor, but she needed to make sure Luca at the very least was taken in and cared for.

During their journey here, Judith had thought long and hard about what she brought to this family other than the boy in her arms, and found herself severely lacking. Much like her grandfather, Judith had no special skills and no social standing to bargain with. More importantly, she had no place in Luca's life that would warrant special treatment. She was not Lalisa, Luca's mother and Jonas Winterwald's paramour. She wasn't even Lucas's grandparents, whom most nobles would consider important enough to care for. Judith was just his aunt. A young woman of 23 years, unmarried, homeless, and politically inconsequential.

The Winterwalds had no reason to take them both in. But Judith would be damned if she let them deny Luca. They'd both gone through too much for it to end like that. 

Lalisa had gone through too much.

If Judith was sent out to the streets with a small pouch of coin and a pat on the back, she would accept it. There were ways she could survive, as unsavory as they were. But she wouldn't subject Luca to such a life. 

She'd thought she could make it work, when she began her trek from Emden. That, if she only had enough coin to get them a place to stay, she could make it work as she had been ever since Lalisa died. But in all her self-reflecting, Judith realized just how worn she was. She was 23, unmarried, and lacked any support. Even if the Winterwalds decided to give them money rebuild their lives, Judith was wholly under-qualified to raise Luca. If she were to take Luca with her, Judith feared that she may one day come to resent the child. That some part of her, no matter how small, would blame him for the long hours of work, the sleepless nights, the lack of meaningful companionship. 

Judith did not want that. This was her sister's son. Her flesh and blood. The only family she had left. Her nephew.

Judith's little Luca.

So Judith had resolved herself to ensure that she gave Luca the best shot at living the life he deserved. She'd plead his case as Jonas's son and present everything she had to offer as proof. She’d even beg if she had to. 

Judith wasn't sure how long they sat there, waiting. The relief from finally making it to their long-sought destination had sapped her of most of her strength. All she had the energy left to do was keep Luca secure in her arms as she dozed off on this opulent couch, in this scary, large manor, surrounded by strangers, with her only remaining family held tightly in her arms.

 

 

Judith was startled from her doze by a series of solid knocks on the reception room door. Sitting up a bit straighter, and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Judith took a second to look down at Luca. The boy must have also fallen asleep in the silence of their waiting, as he looked far more rested that before, and his hair had a few strands out of place. He was looking at the doorway intensely, like he was preparing himself for a battle only he could fight.

As the door slowly opened, Judith took a few precious seconds to fix Luca's wayward locks, the boy himself looking at her in confusion as she did so. He was dressed in his best set of clothes that could withstand the northern weather. While they were obviously way below the standards of the Winterwald's, his brown cotton jacket, white shirt tucked in cleanly, and black trousers spoke of attempts at tidiness. With their lack of a home help oh gods everything was GONE money, there was only so much Judith could do to prepare Luca for this introduction to his father's side of the family. Judith's selection of clothing, too, had been whittled down in favor of money for food and the occasional lodging. She wears her sturdiest outfit, now. A light blue skirt and matching coat, over a white shirt and undergarments. 

All the Maibaum family amounts to now are the clothes on their backs, the bedding in their carrier, and the only portrait they've ever owned.

As they stood to greet the entering party, Judith put on her best smile. Neither her clothes (raggedy, worn, and dirty) nor her looks (plain, average, unappealing to most) would win her any favors in the upcoming conversation. An honest smile would have to do.

Looking at the Lady of Winterwald as she entered the room, Judith was taken back at just how beautiful this woman was. It wasn't just the fine clothes and jewelry and the likely expensive cosmetics hiding the beginnings of wrinkles on her face. It was more than the subtle shows of opulence and the life of luxury that Judith had always secretly wished for. There was something so much more to the Lady of the manor that spoke of her beauty. 

The few nobles Judith had seen (at a distance, of course) had been severely lacking in looks. Many of them were superficially beautiful and handsome, in a way that spoke of money and prestige, but Judith had grown up around Lalisa and their grandfather. Judith's standards for beauty were unfairly skewed. Not to mention the impact personality has on looks. Lalisa was practically radiant at times. She had sass and snark and could put up a fight as well as the rest of the Emden children, but her heart was what made her glow. Just look at how she stood strong against the villager's scorn once Luca was born. Looking at Lady Sophia, Judith saw the phantom image of what Lalisa could have become, had she not been born a Maibaum.

The way Lady Winterwald carried herself, with an air of regal and pride, was something Judith envied greatly.

And now, Judith has to convince this beautiful noble that her grandson stands just a few feet in front of her.

Dipping into a low curtesy, and signaling Luca into a bow, Judith subtly wiped the sweat off her shaking hands, and breathed. 

She will see this through. For Luca's sake, if nothing else.

"Vincent tells me you claim this child is Jonas's." Lady Sophia took a drink of her evening tea, her piercing sapphire eyes observing the young woman and the child grasping her hand tightly. "He certainly bears a striking resemblance to Jonas." 

The Viscountess grew silent once more, taking another drink of her tea. Judith soon grew tense, her own tea doing very little in warming her after days weathering the Northern cold. 

"Yes, Lady Winterwald. I'm honestly a little surprised he drew no one's eyes, once we left Greenhalten. Lord Jonas's looks are apparently quite... Well known in certain circles, it would seem."

Lady Sophia sighed, briefly closing her eyes and lifting her hand to rub at her temple, "Plastered on the cover of many a tabloid, you mean. Yes, I am very aware of his reputation." The lady looked at Judith once again, "Am I to assume that his lack of commitment to any of the women he bedded is the reason you chose to approach us on this matter, rather than Jonas himself?"

Judith startled slightly, her face growing a touch red at having been seen through so easily. "I apologize if it was presumptuous of me to do so, Lady Winterwald, I-" 

"Madame Sophia will do when you address me in private, dear." She took another sip of her tea. Judith must be losing her mind because  Lady Sophia, the mistress of the North, looked fond and gentle as she spoke to Judith. 

Is that a custom of nobility that Judith wasn't aware of? Do they drop titles and the like when conversing casually with peasantry? For the first time in her life, Judith was remiss about her lack of education. She can read and write, and was passable in arithmetic, but Judith knew next to nothing about how to carry herself in a situation such as this. The Maibaums really were nothing but peasants with fancy titles.

Not wanting to be caught wrong footed again, Judith corrected, "Madame Sophia. I was concerned, with how many women he must have been with over the past 6 years since Luca was born, that Lord Jonas would not remember Lalisa and instead send us away."

Lady Sophia sighed once more, “Yes, I can see how you would come to such a conclusion. And I cannot say for certain that you were wrong in that decision." The Lady's hand folded as she sat back in her chair. "An official investigation will need to be conducted to confirm the claims you've made." 

She waved, and as she did, a young maid approached to refill her tea. "I noticed that you did not claim the child as your own. Who are you, if not his mother? Why is it not she that I am speaking with?"

"I am his aunt, Judith Maibaum, Madame Sophia. He's been in my care ever since my sister, Lalisa's, death a little over a year ago."

The Lady's eyes widened slightly, "Do you have any other family?"

Judith shook her head, "No, everyone's passed away... So it's just me and Luca now."

Lady Sophia's eyes shone with sympathy, "Oh my, I'm so sorry." She reached across the table, grasping placing a gentle hand over Judith's. "I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you, raising a child all by yourself at such a young age. That's very admirable."

Judith felt her eyes begin to water. And here she thought her tears had dried up. "Things were okay in the beginning. With there only being two of us, the food lasted a little longer. But money was so hard to come by, and the village had all but made us pariah's after Lalisa got pregnant." Judith quickly wiped her eyes, smiling slightly as she looked down at Luca, who was quietly sipping at the glass of milk the butler had say before him. "But we made due, Luca and I."

The noble woman's eyes grew solemn. "Considering you are now sitting in front of me with nothing but those dirt cover clothes and a single carrier case, I'm assuming something changed."

Swallowing the lump on her throat, Judith nodded once again. "There was a fire. I'm not sure what caused it, but it burned down the entire house, as well as much of the surrounding forest, before the rains put it out. I was able to get us, as well as a few of our possessions out before it was too late, but there was no salvaging  the house."

Lady Sophia's eyes, as well as the maids behind her, widened in shock. "My goodness, you mean to tell me you both were inside the house when it caught fire?"

Judith felt Luca's hand tighten around hers. She squeezed back in comfort before replying. "Yes. I had just put Luca to bed when I went downstairs to find the whole ground floor ablaze." One of the maids gasped quietly, before being shushed by another. "I awoke Luca and threw as many of our possessions in the carrier, but the way out of the second floor was blocked by the flames. We had to climb out the window onto a nearby tree in order to escape."

Lady Sophia picked up her cup to take another drink. "And it was then that you decided to find help with us?"

"Yes. My sister had told me before her passing that it was Jonas who sired Luca." She gently pulled her head from Luca's grasp, and places it on his shoulder a hand on Luca's shoulder, "I hoped that, as his paternal grandparents, the Lord Winterwald and yourself would take him in and raise him. If not as a legitimized Winterwald, then as a child of Jonas nonetheless."

Luca's head whipped around to look at her in shock. "But Aunt Judith, what about you? I thought you were going to stay here, too!"

Judith smiled at him sadly. "While I would love that, Luca, I'm just your aunt, nothing more." She ruffled hair a bit, at once trying to direct his attention away for her tearing eyes and to avoid his hurt and outraged gaze. "The Winterwalds have no reason to take me in."

Lady Sophia's tea cup made a loud clank as she placed it harshly on the saucer. "Nonsense." She said, and air of indignation around her. "You're from the Maibaum Family. They're a noble family, aren't they?"

Judith quickly turned her gaze back to Lady Sophia, having. Briefly forgotten the other people in the room. "Yes, but only up until my father..."

The Lady took another sip before replying, "The only one who can revoke titles of nobility is the King himself. Did your family ever receive a letter officially revoking your rights as members of the gentry?"

Judith shook her head, once again finding herself off kilter. 

Lady Sophia- Lady Sophia smiled as she spoke next. "Then I see no issue with you living here alongside young Luca while we look into the matter of his parentage. Vincent." The butler who had stood silently behind Lady Sophia ever since she'd entered the room stepped forward. "Tell the servants to prepare two rooms. The Maibaum family are to be respected guests of the Winterwald's for the foreseeable future."

In the face of such a decisive decision, Judith could do nothing more than nod in acceptance.

Notes:

No promises on when the next segment will be posted. You have been warned. But otherwise, if you have any questions, leave a comment. If you don’t have questions and just want to say something, leave a comment. If you want to bash on my writing, leave a comment! All comments are welcome in this household!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of What If?