Royal Palace, Citta del Re. A week before.
Sitting at his desk, still and in silence, Cleone looked up at the ceiling of his office, which was lit only by the sunlight behind him. On the desk were papers, reports, issues, financial and legal matters. Military reports were still coming in regarding the shit-show in Posteastan. Deaths were still being confirmed and letters of condolences were still being written. Sorting out these papers, he noticed an envelope among them. It was sealed with wax and the stamp was an emblem he did not know.
He flipped and turned the envelope every which way, surely the address was to the palace. He stood up from the chair and opened it in the sunlight, it was an invitation to a baptism, in a country called Camelone. Baptism of the two royal children of the king. He'd never heard of this country, or its king. Peculiar that the envelope ended up on his desk, the name rings a bell but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Hmm. Who would I invite?" Throughout his day he would think about who he could take. His brother Marcello? Running things while he's out. His sister Isabella? Out on vacation. Pietro? Doing...whatever he does. In truth, he would go alone, just to take some time off and be alone away from home, but it was almost custom to travel in twos. He'd figured he had to do more research on Camelone before actually going.
The following day, Cleone was again at his desk, a cigar burning in its tray, a line of smoke traveling up to the ceiling. As he read over some more reports, the buzzer at his desk rang.
"Sua Altezza, the Archbishop is here." the king was notified.
The guards outside opened the doors and the Archbishop entered. As he walked up the the king's desk, Cleone stood up. And when he reached the desk, Archbishop Neromari took his right hand from behind his ferraiolo(cape) and held it out, to which Cleone kissed his ring. In return, Neromari took off his biretta and bowed his head before putting it back on and the two sat down.
"My king."
"Archbishop...a drink?" he offered. The guest put up his hand in refusal and nodded. "Well, I'm glad you can come visit me."
"Of course, something about a royal baptism in some island kingdom, correct? But why me?"
"I don't know. Thought it would be fun. We haven't had a good time in a while. Get out of that stuffy cathedral."
"I like my cathedral, and my prayers. I'm not here for fun, I'm here for the Lord's work."
"Come on, there's a time for everything Your Excellency. Obviously, He has priority. But maybe me reaching out to you, is His way of getting you of there. What do you say?"
"Are they Catholic?"
"They were...once. They schismed a little bit after the 'Great' one. They call themselves 'Apostolic Catholic'. Don't know what that means but you can ask when we are there."
The Archbishop sighed "When do we leave?"
"A week." Cleone responded with a smile. The two stood up and bowed to each other. Neromari quickly blessed the king and was soon exiting the room. "See you in a week Your Excellency."
Grand Lux International Airport
The day of departure came and the two, accompanied by guards, made their way to the plane. They had both made sure their things were in order before and during the leave, Cleone made the necessary calls for expectation to whoever would receive them in Camelone. The wind had Neromari hold onto his saturn hat and his cape flowing, it all ceased when he entered the plane. Cleone stood at the top step and saluted his men before entering the plane.
Into the skies the plane went, on its way to Camelone. The two sat in different seats but close enough to hear each other with Neromari in the window and Cleone taking the aisle seat on the opposite side.
Opening up his breviary, the Archbishop inquired before starting his prayers "So...what kind of people will we be dealing with? Frankish? Germanic? English? You know how I don't like those bunch."
"Aren't you supposed to love all God's children?" Cleone asked as he leaned his seat back about to sleep.
"Don't be a hypocrite. God doesn't like hypocrites. Besides, yes I love all peoples, but I don't have to like all peoples. That's the human in most of us, disliking things dissimilar to us."
"Well, this might get your cassock in a twist. It's an island comprised of...take your pick. Gaelics, Anglos, Norse. It's a weird mix of similar ethnicities, kind of like us, no?"
"Hmmph. 'Like us', like you maybe. Italian blood has been running through my veins since the Romans."
"Whatever old man." Cleone said before he nodded off to sleep.
Cnoc na Teamhrach Airport
Several hours later, the plane had finally touched down and they had reached it: Camelone. Woken by his stewardess, the two were escorted by their guards to meet with the Camelonean crew meeting them.
"Buongiorno, I am Cleone d'Angeli, I believe we have spoken, or I spoke to someone and it was said we'd be taken to our stay."
