NationStates

William smiled and said "Trust me, I know all about it" he then said "and it is a wonder place as well"

He then said "Thoygh I'm sure we're not entirely here to enjoy the scenery

Karola let out a small laugh.

“Well you certainly don’t waste much time Your Majesty. Not everything must be dissected oh so quickly. Is it not fun to for a moment believe that once simply wishes to enjoy that which her see just to see? “

William smiled and said "Indeed"

He then said "Though there are certainly a few things that we could dissect right now, questions, food, a drink or two." He then said "Just to name a few"

Karola nodded in agreement, taking a sip of her water.

“Well then, allow me to introduce you into the exquisite culinary world of Polonge. People may talk about the master chiefs of Vanessa and Gênes, but it is Bledapestra at the greatest food in made, I assure you. You should try the lángos, it’s to die for.”

William smiled and said "I'm sure it will be wonderful" he then said "Though I must admit that Confederation survival rations have muddied my idea of good food a tad"

Karola shook her head in pity at the King. She had heard of the absolutely terrible food that was created in New England, so much so that people had started to joke that it was where cuisine went to die.

“You poor thing. You simply must get something actually edible into you.” She snapped her fingers at the waiter and ordered them to bring lángos with grated cheese, sour cream, bacon, onion and parsley on top, so that William could taste some actual food.

William nodded and smiled before saying "I'm always for eating a good meal" he looked at the food and said "ah it looks good" though he wasn't a particularly picky eater, given his upbringing, good meals had been hard to come by in his early life.

He tried it and said "it's pretty good" he then said after swallowing, displaying good table manners. "Though bacon isn't exactly something new"

Karola smiled as he ate and she took from her own plate, every action perfectly groomed over years of etiquette by the best of teachers. How different their childhoods must have been this man who been orphaned and left alone in the world and her, a woman who’d had everything she could wish for since birth.

“Bacon my dear, is already perfect. Not even we could improve it.” Karola said with a laugh. She was happy to see that he enjoyed it.

William nodded and said "You haven't had the misfortune of trying bacon from an Imperial Ration" he had a disgusted look and said "it barely qualified as a low quality jerky that had been heated up"

Karola wrinkled her nose at the thought.

“My god, is that legal?”

Karola shook her head with a bemused smile.

“There must be a way to improve the taste. It would be a tremendous understatement to say that it doesn’t matter, food connects with people on a deeper level than you might think. There should be a research group organized on how to improve them.”

William shook his head and said "I don't think the Imperial Army cared too much for legality" he then said "and while that may be true, one should not put taste over nutrition, especially when in a combat or survival situation"

Karola shook her head. She couldn’t with his first statement, but she disagreed with the later half.

“Combat is grueling enough, one does not have to be forced to maintain such an unsatisfactory diet as well. It is the duty of the armed forces, and you as their commander-in-chief to make sure that rations are more palatable to servicemembers and match ever-changing trends in popular tastes. There should be a research group and a committee to receive feedback in order to improve it as best as one can.”

William nodded and said "Yes, and that is what protein resynthesizers are for" he then said "However in an interstellar battlefield access to good, or even decent quality ingredients cannot always be guaranteed" he then said "Thiygh we do certainly do a lot better than the Imperial Army and SDF managed"

Karola waved a fork at William.

"Then I suggest that you improve your country's supply lines to forces in your colonies. As for going better than failed states, that seem like hardly a good scale to place one's self."

William thought and said "maybe" he then said "It's not the state itself that is being being compared though" he took another bite and then said "Besides while they may have failed, they provide lessons which can be learned from, and things that were done right which may be improved upon"

William thought and then said "As for supply lines, the only way to improve them would be to create a faster method of FTL, and to remove factors such as Pirates and hostile extraterrestrials which may interfere with a supply line" he then said "which is no where near a simple task"

Karola nodded her head. She feared that they might circle back to their conversation back at the place. While she enjoyed business at time, she preferred to place this in the pleasure catergory of her day.

“I suppose you right. There would be much to figure out for such a grand task. I am sure that you could fulfill it though under the right motivation. After all you are where you are because of your boldness.”

William shook his head and said "The credit does not lay squarely at my feet, the Death Marines that fought under my command deserve credit for the work they did during that attack"

William had accidentally let his more humble side slip, and had not realized it, and then said "And there was as much credit to give to luck as there was to give to my abilities"

Karola smirked at his humility. She wasn’t quite yet sure how sincere it was. People often time tried to claim that their greatest fault was their weakness of being too humble. Karola found that no one was ever quite as humble as they thought.

“While no man gets power alone, there is often a center piece. A great man in history. Of course, even with greatness, no man rules alone. He needs advisors and administrators... a spouse, children.”

Karola said her words slowly and gently, trying to gage his response.

William heard her words, and guessed what she was trying to guess at and said "That is true" he then said "However it is not as simple as going to the first woman I meet and offering a ring, after all family is extraordinarily important in New England society, and as a king I must provide a role model both to my successors, and to my people"

He then said "And I hope to at the very least enter into such a marriage with someone I could eventually fall for, if not someone I already have"

“Family is and myst always be a pillar of society, if that society is to succeed at least. It has been the backbone of Polonge for centuries. I have over a dozen brothers and sisters, each born from a marriage of love and happiness. As for the idea of arranged marriages, I am unsure why so many stigmatize the idea. Are not all marriages arranged by two parties? One can not truly force two people together.”

Karola took a sip of water. She let out a small sigh.

“My last husband was sadly unable to bless me with a child of my own, but I hope in the future to have a great litter of little ones.”

William nodded and said "I have been close to being blessed with children twice, and twice fate has intervened"

He then said "I still hope and pray that someday perhaps I will be able to hold a child of my own"

Karola nodded her head.

“God can act in mysterious ways sometimes. But his ways are not our ways and sometimes though the path may seem scary at first, but often times it is the one we will ultimately be happiest once we have faith and walk forward.”

William nodded and said "Indeed that is true"

He then said "But there is also some wisdom in not moving too quickly" he then said "Though I do suppose that depends very much on your idea of too fast" hinting that he was certainly considering the option, however he had not yet entirely decided.

Karola paused.

“Depends on what is too quickly and what is too slowly. When one goes to fast, one can fall, and when one goes to slowly, they can not move at all. There are certain things that require speed and decision. Not everyone has the luxury of dragging one’s feet.”

William said "Too slowly is me dying" he then said "Hiwever too fast is not entirely my decision to make in this situation" he then said "While I would like to take my time, there is a definite urgency, especially given the increased risk brought about by recent events, such as the bombing" he then said "and there is much at stake for everyone should I fail"