King Wilhelm ignored the boy and walked back into the study, waiting to see what would be done about this matter of his impure daughter.
Hans began his task immediately, shuffling quickly down the hall, asking various servants where the chief magician was. There seemed to a be a bit of confusion on that account, so Hans was sent to various places throughout the castle until he finally found the magician. As he approached the magician's room, he could feel the energy pulling to one place and knew that the man had to be close, but unlike people such as Heinrich or John, this magical energy had a malignant bent which troubled him exceedingly.
Hans knocked on the magician's door and waited for the man to open it, but he never realized that this menial task would completely unsettle his peace of mind and cause him undue pain. The door opened quickly as if the man was anticipating Hans' appearance, and when the magician stepped out into hall, Hans' stomach dropped to his feet.
Master Friedrich smiled mockingly at Hans, "Well, if it isn't my wayward apprentice." Friedrich's voice dipped in disgust as he said the word "apprentice" as if both the word and Hans were particularly distasteful.
"Master Friedrich," Hans bent his neck slightly to signal a respect that he did not feel. "His majesty has called for you in his study."
Master Friedrich smirked as if he had known that the king would call him, and Hans felt his trepidation increase.
The two walked in silence back to the study, and by the time Hans made it to the library, his leg was aching. It wasn't good for him to be so tense, but under the circumstances, he felt that he couldn't really help it. When John saw them enter the library, he ducked his head, and Hans noted that Master Friedrich was surreptitiously studying the child. Hans knew that they master likely could sense his magic potential as the child positively radiated magical energy. Fortunately, the king was waiting for the magician, so he did not linger in the room with them. Hans hobbled over to John and tried to make him laugh. The boy needed a distraction from the turmoil of the day, but despite Hans' best efforts, John's eyes constantly darted to the door of the study.
"John," Hans called softly as the boy tried to burn holes through the door with his gaze. When John's gaze finally turned to Hans, he said, "I think it will be well, lad."
John's brows drew downward at Hans' less than confident statement. "Why was grandfather so angry?"
Hans opened his mouth to reassure the boy, but he had nothing to say that John would understand. He pondered what to say before continuing, "Your grandfather has… misunderstood something about your mother."
"Has mama done something bad?" John asked, his voice shaking.
"No, John, your mother has done nothing wrong," Hans responded firmly.
"Then…" John began crying, "why is he so mad at her?"
Hans embraced the boy, making hushing sounds, but the child was inconsolable. After some time, John finally calmed, curled himself against Hans' side, and fell asleep. The princess had been in the study for a long while, and Hans was beginning to worry that her greatest fears were about to be realized. He cursed himself again for his foolishness. If he hadn't had such idle, errant thoughts, the princess would not be in this this predicament.
Hans jumped, startled as the door to the study was abruptly opened and the King stormed out and marched out of the library. Master Friedrich followed at a much more leisurely pace, and he paused to regard Hans with calculating eyes. Hans just knew that whatever the master had in mind, it was going to be devastating for him as well as for the princess. The master gave him one more malicious smirk and walked through the door to follow the king.
Cordelia was the last to leave the study. Her eyes were red, and the evidence of tears still stained her face.
Hans shifted John and gently prodded him to wake as Cordelia crossed the room, attempting to wipe away her tears. She leaned down to pick the child up, and John wrapped his arms around her neck and burrowed his face in her shoulder. Hans followed the princess and her son out of the library, feeling restless and wanting so much to vent his frustration in some meaningful way, but he was reticent to perform any magic while master Friedrich was in the castle, knowing the man would be able to sense it. Although the master sense Hans' power, he could not know how well Hans could wield that power, and he wanted to give the vile man no opportunity to find out.
Cordelia stopped and turned around rather abruptly, nearly causing Hans to walk into her as he was not paying attention.
"Father and the chief magician are going to make me perform some sort of test on the morrow. Father thinks that he can find out what manner of man John's father is," Cordelia scoffed. "It is very unfortunate for them that John has no father."
Hans was pensive, although he knew what Cordelia said was true, he wasn't so sure that the test couldn't be manipulated in some way so as to give a result even if no man had sired John. He also knew that master Friedrich would get his revenge in some way, so why not kill two birds with one stone?
"Although John has no father, might not the master be able to force an outcome regardless?" Hans questioned aloud.