I Dream Of Eroica
Another Genie!Eroica fic. Thank you to grey_bard for beta, and to mprice for adding the series tag!
"You are not to turn Fraulein Rüdlinger into a toad."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to send her to any faraway countries."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to inflict a contagious, temporarily disfiguring disease on her."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to place a glamour on her that makes her believe me to be so ugly that even an eventual title and the Eberbach fortune cannot compensate for it."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to create an illusion that will make her appear hideous to all the men who see her, leaving her to wonder why they are not responding normally to her flirting."
"Yes, Master." The genie's glumness lifted somewhat as he was reminded of how he had shooed Konstanze Hirsch away from his master. The shameless flirt had never been the same after that ball, and had shortly thereafter married a shy intellectual who had been hopelessly worshipping the popular beauty from afar for years. All in all, Eroica considered that he had done everyone concerned a favor.
Well, except for the senior Eberbach. Who had now found another prospective baby-machine to inflict on his son. And his dear master was so dutiful that he was escorting the tramp as ordered. Even though his master was firm that he had no intention of marrying any of the fertile wenches his father threw at his head, Eroica preferred not to have *his* master looked over like a stud animal by Germany's upper crust. After two thousand years trapped in that bottle, Eroica had no intention of sharing his rescuer. Major Eberbach was his!
Having extracted promises from his genie on every contingency he could imagine, the Major donned his tuxedo and showed up at the drearily formal gathering as his father had ordered. How anybody could endure such tedium was beyond him. He wondered if he could get through the evening without having to dance.
When he arrived, Herr Rüdlinger was making apologies to the senior Eberbach. “I had no idea Mieke could be so flighty. I really don’t know what the younger generation is coming to.”
Whatever these gloomy words portended, they were likely to be good news for Klaus. His spirits rose a bit.
His father glanced over and saw him. “Ehm, Klaus. I am afraid that Fraulein Rüdlinger was unable to attend.”
“Then I suppose there’s no point in my staying here,” Klaus replied, trying to sound disappointed.
“On the contrary!” his father said quickly. “I have been talking to a most charming young lady I’m certain you’ll be delighted to meet.”
His father was of course certain of nothing of the sort. But when Klaus reluctantly turned to acknowledge the girl his father was gesturing to, instead of resignation he felt a combination of relief and shock.
“Fraulein Doria Roth, may I present my son, Klaus von dem Eberbach?”
Where Eroica came up with his human names Klaus had no idea. And despite the fact that “Doria Roth” was quite obviously female - her childbearing hips and ample bosom no doubt had every aspiring grandparent in the room drooling - the sparkling sky-colored eyes and abundant golden hair were unchanged and unmistakable, the finely drawn features more delicate now but nonetheless the same. Had Eroica been a mortal, Klaus would have assumed “Doria” was his sister.
“Charmed,” Klaus said automatically, taking Doria’s hand gingerly. He couldn’t help noticing how much smaller the hand was now. Some men liked holding dainty little hands, he supposed. Klaus didn’t.
“I’m sure Fraulein Roth would like to dance, Klaus,” his father spoke up. Klaus wondered if some parents were more subtle.
Doria’s face - Doria’s narrow, painted, *female* face - lit up. “Oh, I would be delighted!”
At least dancing gave him a chance to ask what he couldn’t in front of his father. “I didn’t know you could do this,” he muttered once they were safely on the dance floor.
“Assume a female shape? I can assume any shape you would like, Master!” Speculation lit the genie’s eyes. “Is there some form you would find especially pleasing?”
“No!” Klaus shuddered to imagine the parade of movie stars Eroica would transform into if he thought it would.... “Wait. I thought you were male. That is....” If the genie could metamorphize at will, was he really male? Was he really anything?
“Genies can change shape, but we each have a true form. My true form is the one you have always seen me in.” Eroica paused, then continued reluctantly, “But if you prefer me as a female....”
“No! Ehm, stay like this for the evening. It’ll keep my father off my back for a while. You must have told my father you’re a countess who wants six children.”
“Precisely, Master!”
Klaus had been joking. He should have known better.
“So you prefer me as a male, Master?” The genie’s flirting tone sounded different with a female voice, even though it was a fairly low contralto.
Klaus allowed several measures of the music to pass before he answered. “I don’t feel comfortable around women,” he said at last. To forestall further discussion along these lines, he abruptly asked, “What did you do to Fraulein Rüdlinger?”
The wide-eyed-innocence look was even more melodramatic when Eroica assumed it with a female face. “I did nothing to her, Master!”
“Then why isn’t she here?”
“She has eloped with her chauffeur, Master.”
Klaus was trying not to look at his dancing partner too much, but the smugness was audible. “You put a love spell on her,” he said, resigned. He would have to add that to his list of things to order his genie not to do to prospective Frau Eberbachs.
“I did nothing of the kind, Master. She has been in love with her chauffeur for years. A very handsome young man, though of course not nearly so handsome as you, darling Master. But they could not marry because he did not have a penny to his name.”
“Until his Uncle Norbert died suddenly this afternoon and left him two million marks that nobody knew he had,” Klaus supplied.
“Master! I would not kill anyone.” The lilting voice was reproachful. “It so happens that the chauffeur has been writing novels for years. Today, a publisher finally accepted one of them, and is so confident that it will be a bestseller that the chauffeur was given a generous advance!”
“What a coincidence."
Eroica laughed softly. "It was well worth it to get to dance with you, Master." He - she - leaned her head against Klaus's shoulder. Instinctively he recoiled, as much as the steps of the waltz would allow.
The genie straightened and looked at Klaus curiously. Eroica was accustomed to Klaus's consistent discouragement of his overtures, but this reflexive bristling was something new. "You really do not like me as a girl, do you, Master?"
"'S creeping me out," he muttered.
Eroica bobbed his head and was a man again, back to his true form, and to his usual costume (more heavily jeweled than usual, as the occasion was fancy dress).
Klaus looked around in panic, but his genie reassured him swiftly. "Everyone else here is still seeing me as a woman, Master, do not worry."
It had to be true, as no one was staring at them. Klaus relaxed (as much as he ever did), though when he briefly met his father's approving gaze he had to look away.
Eroica contentedly rested his head on Klaus's shoulder again. Klaus decided to shut up and cope.
"You are not to turn Fraulein Rüdlinger into a toad."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to send her to any faraway countries."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to inflict a contagious, temporarily disfiguring disease on her."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to place a glamour on her that makes her believe me to be so ugly that even an eventual title and the Eberbach fortune cannot compensate for it."
"Yes, Master."
"You are not to create an illusion that will make her appear hideous to all the men who see her, leaving her to wonder why they are not responding normally to her flirting."
"Yes, Master." The genie's glumness lifted somewhat as he was reminded of how he had shooed Konstanze Hirsch away from his master. The shameless flirt had never been the same after that ball, and had shortly thereafter married a shy intellectual who had been hopelessly worshipping the popular beauty from afar for years. All in all, Eroica considered that he had done everyone concerned a favor.
Well, except for the senior Eberbach. Who had now found another prospective baby-machine to inflict on his son. And his dear master was so dutiful that he was escorting the tramp as ordered. Even though his master was firm that he had no intention of marrying any of the fertile wenches his father threw at his head, Eroica preferred not to have *his* master looked over like a stud animal by Germany's upper crust. After two thousand years trapped in that bottle, Eroica had no intention of sharing his rescuer. Major Eberbach was his!
Having extracted promises from his genie on every contingency he could imagine, the Major donned his tuxedo and showed up at the drearily formal gathering as his father had ordered. How anybody could endure such tedium was beyond him. He wondered if he could get through the evening without having to dance.
When he arrived, Herr Rüdlinger was making apologies to the senior Eberbach. “I had no idea Mieke could be so flighty. I really don’t know what the younger generation is coming to.”
Whatever these gloomy words portended, they were likely to be good news for Klaus. His spirits rose a bit.
His father glanced over and saw him. “Ehm, Klaus. I am afraid that Fraulein Rüdlinger was unable to attend.”
“Then I suppose there’s no point in my staying here,” Klaus replied, trying to sound disappointed.
“On the contrary!” his father said quickly. “I have been talking to a most charming young lady I’m certain you’ll be delighted to meet.”
His father was of course certain of nothing of the sort. But when Klaus reluctantly turned to acknowledge the girl his father was gesturing to, instead of resignation he felt a combination of relief and shock.
“Fraulein Doria Roth, may I present my son, Klaus von dem Eberbach?”
Where Eroica came up with his human names Klaus had no idea. And despite the fact that “Doria Roth” was quite obviously female - her childbearing hips and ample bosom no doubt had every aspiring grandparent in the room drooling - the sparkling sky-colored eyes and abundant golden hair were unchanged and unmistakable, the finely drawn features more delicate now but nonetheless the same. Had Eroica been a mortal, Klaus would have assumed “Doria” was his sister.
“Charmed,” Klaus said automatically, taking Doria’s hand gingerly. He couldn’t help noticing how much smaller the hand was now. Some men liked holding dainty little hands, he supposed. Klaus didn’t.
“I’m sure Fraulein Roth would like to dance, Klaus,” his father spoke up. Klaus wondered if some parents were more subtle.
Doria’s face - Doria’s narrow, painted, *female* face - lit up. “Oh, I would be delighted!”
At least dancing gave him a chance to ask what he couldn’t in front of his father. “I didn’t know you could do this,” he muttered once they were safely on the dance floor.
“Assume a female shape? I can assume any shape you would like, Master!” Speculation lit the genie’s eyes. “Is there some form you would find especially pleasing?”
“No!” Klaus shuddered to imagine the parade of movie stars Eroica would transform into if he thought it would.... “Wait. I thought you were male. That is....” If the genie could metamorphize at will, was he really male? Was he really anything?
“Genies can change shape, but we each have a true form. My true form is the one you have always seen me in.” Eroica paused, then continued reluctantly, “But if you prefer me as a female....”
“No! Ehm, stay like this for the evening. It’ll keep my father off my back for a while. You must have told my father you’re a countess who wants six children.”
“Precisely, Master!”
Klaus had been joking. He should have known better.
“So you prefer me as a male, Master?” The genie’s flirting tone sounded different with a female voice, even though it was a fairly low contralto.
Klaus allowed several measures of the music to pass before he answered. “I don’t feel comfortable around women,” he said at last. To forestall further discussion along these lines, he abruptly asked, “What did you do to Fraulein Rüdlinger?”
The wide-eyed-innocence look was even more melodramatic when Eroica assumed it with a female face. “I did nothing to her, Master!”
“Then why isn’t she here?”
“She has eloped with her chauffeur, Master.”
Klaus was trying not to look at his dancing partner too much, but the smugness was audible. “You put a love spell on her,” he said, resigned. He would have to add that to his list of things to order his genie not to do to prospective Frau Eberbachs.
“I did nothing of the kind, Master. She has been in love with her chauffeur for years. A very handsome young man, though of course not nearly so handsome as you, darling Master. But they could not marry because he did not have a penny to his name.”
“Until his Uncle Norbert died suddenly this afternoon and left him two million marks that nobody knew he had,” Klaus supplied.
“Master! I would not kill anyone.” The lilting voice was reproachful. “It so happens that the chauffeur has been writing novels for years. Today, a publisher finally accepted one of them, and is so confident that it will be a bestseller that the chauffeur was given a generous advance!”
“What a coincidence."
Eroica laughed softly. "It was well worth it to get to dance with you, Master." He - she - leaned her head against Klaus's shoulder. Instinctively he recoiled, as much as the steps of the waltz would allow.
The genie straightened and looked at Klaus curiously. Eroica was accustomed to Klaus's consistent discouragement of his overtures, but this reflexive bristling was something new. "You really do not like me as a girl, do you, Master?"
"'S creeping me out," he muttered.
Eroica bobbed his head and was a man again, back to his true form, and to his usual costume (more heavily jeweled than usual, as the occasion was fancy dress).
Klaus looked around in panic, but his genie reassured him swiftly. "Everyone else here is still seeing me as a woman, Master, do not worry."
It had to be true, as no one was staring at them. Klaus relaxed (as much as he ever did), though when he briefly met his father's approving gaze he had to look away.
Eroica contentedly rested his head on Klaus's shoulder again. Klaus decided to shut up and cope.