The Dictator and the Princess (Closed/Meillur Only)

[Kingdom of Derita]

Amélie watched with some satisfaction as Sebastian’s face shifted. So she had hit a button. Perhaps he didn’t like the idea of being called an autocrat. Though gardens aside he radiated the sentiments. This, she suspected, was a man who didn’t share power and had come a long way to justify precisely that.

“How righteous. How noble. The sins of a nation laid squarely on the shoulders of one man, for the greater good of course.” Amélie smoothed her dress. “How many others have echoed those words, ‘then so it must be?’ How many martyrs have lined the path to the pyre in a sea of blood so that they may wear red?”

The Princess Imperial met his gaze through her veil.

“Being willing to face punishment for what one has done does not excuse it. That has always been the flaw of so many foreigners. You seek to see your intentions out way your actions, and your awareness justify your deviations. Have you ever considered that perhaps doing what is right and what is necessary are same, and you have simply missed the mark?”

[Colfico]

He thought on her words for a moment, carefully considering their meaning as he calculated carefully his response. He even contemplated a very different idea, continuing his path of conversation, and attempting to get off her radar as a potential suitor, it could be disastrous if she were to discover the true nature of the 'Monarchy' of Colfico. However at the same time, he could not deny the potential benefits. It was only after a few moments of silence, that he decided, and began to speak again.

"Perhaps you are correct, however the method I have been using is the only one that I know, I would need help to shift my ways. " he let his eyes soften, as if he were feeling some form of internal regret.

It was in reality a change in strategy, strength clearly was not working, so the dictator had decided to change his tactics, to see if a different road were more successful.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Amélie took a step back in disgust at Sebastian. She hadn’t been expecting that and it both threw her off and repelled her. What she had been expecting, she didn’t know. Part of her words were her true feelings and part of them were her picking at the logic the man crafted around himself and his position. Far too often sovereigns went unquestioned and she alone was in a prime position to tear back that false sense of security from critic. The softness in his eyes at his words, in them she didn’t see regret, instead she read it as if he were attempting to accommodate her own delicate nature. She had heard enough tales of broken men searching for a woman to fix them, and the concept repulsed her.

“I am a student of History,” the Princess Imperial said, “and history has a number of tales of foreign kings looking for soft Deritain women to smooth their edges.”

Lady Adriana perked up at this and and faked a cough. “Your Imperial Highness—“

“Do you know how those tales end?” Amélie asked with steel in her voice.

Before she could say another word, the Duke of Angoulême swooped in and looped an arm around his niece’s to her horror, as he gently directed, tugged, her back to the path. “I think perhaps the princess and her ladies should be directed towards their rooms. The journey from Derita is long and we should prepare for a meal. Food is a great communal builder, don’t you agree, Your Manesty?”

[Colfico]

"Perhaps it would be." the Colficoan king had not achieved his primary goal, however a smile still crossed his lips, because his other goal had been, now that she was likely no longer interested, he likely no longer had to be concerned about her being close to the truth of the matter. However in this he let a sigh of relief out, in a momentary drop of his emotional cover, he was glad that it had proceeded the way it had. However this look of relief was only for a moment, and he turned with the same cold look on his face, and spoke.

"While I would have liked to show you the way myself, i do not believe it would be in anyone's best interest for me to do it personally, and I have...matters that I must attend to, go to the right off the double doors leading from the garden, take the first set of stairs up one story and turn right, those rooms should provide adequate accommodations, I will send someone to show you the way to the dining room once it is prepared."

He only prayed that she would not catch on that he was now attempting to back away and gain some space, the secret he had to protect was far too important to proceed with chasing a woman, no matter her rank or status, and most certainly no matter how beautiful, or how pleasant she was to be around.

[Kingdom of Derita]

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” The Duke of Angoulême bowed, while the Princess Imperial’s ladies in waiting curtsied to Sebastian. They turned in unison as they followed the Duke and the princess through the double doors. Lady Adriana paused briefly at the doors leaving the garden to glance back at the king, curious as to what sort of matters he had to attend to.

When they were safely out of earshot and out of sight from the king, Amélie yanked her arm free from the Duke’s grip. “I thought I was clear in my capacity to transverse stairs under my own power.

“Your tongue is too sharp,” the Duke of Angoulême hissed at her.

“It is sufficient for cutting through the layers of nonsense everyone seems keen to wrap me in.”

“Amélie—“

“Your Imperial Highness,” Amélie corrected as they turned a corner and reached the rooms. Amélie pushed opened the doors and marched inside. Her ladies followed after her, closing the curtains while the Duke close the doors. When they were alone, Amélie threw off her veil and tossed it into a chair. The others followed suit.

“Finally,” Frédérique said, pulling a fan out from the folds of her dress and waving it at her face. “It is so hard being beautiful.”

“Let us hope you haven’t ruin your chances with the king,” The Duke said as he approached his niece. She whirled on him, a dumbfound look on her face.

“Never mind if he has ruined his chances with with.”

“You have only just met the man.”

“And he has only just met me.”

“Your Mother and I have worked hard for this alliance Princess Amélie,” the Duke said. He gripped her shoulders gently. “But treaties can be broken and promises reneged. But you and I both know that blood is eternal, unbreaking and binding.”

Amélie shrugged off the Duke. “I am not a piece of breeding cattle to be traded away with for an alliance.”

Lady Jikela tilted her head. “Well... technically...”

“You know it is more than that,” the Duke of Angoulême cut off the young woman. “You are 26, and back in my day a person was—“

“Married by the time they were 27,” Amélie finished for him. “Yes, yes, I’m aware of your antiquated ways from a bygone era uncle. But I will not be some ditzy headed fairytale and marrying the first man I have ever met because it would be convenient for you or my mother. A need I remind you that you most certainly weren’t married by the time you were 27.”

“That is different. I am a Duke—“

“And I am the Princess Imperial. I outrank you.”

“Precisely why you must make nice with the King at dinner. There are only so many thrones left in the world, and the only people who will ever be open for you to have a relationship with are those sitting on them.”

“I will not repeat myself,” Amélie warned.

The Duke huffed and threw his hands into the air before he excused himself. He needed a walk. He pinned his veil back in place and left the room. Amélie sank gracefully into a chair, like a fresh blanket of snow atop the dragon mountains. For a moment the women were all silent. When it began to stretch on and on, finally, Lady Yejide spoke up.

“You shouldn’t make a decision now. The two of you barely know one another.”

“And he is quite handsome,” Lady Adriana said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“I’m surprise you noticed his face,” said Lady Jikela, “I would have thought you too busy oogling the guards weapons.”

“I can admire both.”

“Men do look dashing in a uniform,” added Lady Frédérique.

“Perhaps he should take his pick from you,” Amélie said with a small laugh. Her ladies echoed that laughter back at her, the tension finally dissipating in the room. When they finished the Princess Imperial sat as if she were a Queen holding her own miniature court. “I am not a fool. I am well aware of why my mother sent me here. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a kingdom, must be in want of a wife. But I refuse to bend or bow to the whims of theater man or my mother. I will be his guest, as Princess Imperial and a representative of the empire, but I will not be a suitor in some political game of love.”

“My,” Lady Adriana said dryly, “I’m sure this will make for an excellent dinner conversation. I can’t wait.”

[Colfico]

It was then that the king looked over to see one of his generals, whom walked over and then, at full attention, saluted, which the king, thinking himself unobserved returned with a salute as well, before returning to his previous stance.

"I see that things are turning out interesting"

"Interesting indeed, what news do you have?"

"I will have to discuss much of it with you at a later point, the details are....sensitive, however, the important basics is that we have located our target, it is located in the northwestern mountains"

The king held his chin for a moment, carefully contemplating his next action, however he traced the generals gaze to the door. understanding why he had mentioned that the details were sensitive instantaneously.

"Very well, inform the other commanders that I will be holding a strategic conference, once the guests are asleep, or at the very least in their rooms, we will convene and discuss these matters, this war ends before the end of the month. Return to your duties until then, you are dismissed."

The general then stood to attention and snapped to a salute

"Yes my lord"

The King returned the salute, and the general left, and the king turned on his heel towards the double doors, and made his way to his personal room, and once inside, closed the door, and locked it. Now all that he could do was wait, he looked over to his cello, a fine, dark wood instrument hand made, a pre-collapse relic that the king had received as a gift from his father, and had gone to painstaking lengths to preserve in peak condition. He walked over to it, grabbed it, and its bow, along with a small box, a box of amber for the bow, and walked over and sat down in his chair, and began applying some to the bow, careful to ensure that it was applied evenly across the piece of equipment. Once he was finished, he began to play, and lost himself in the music, loosing track of time and his surroundings as he let the music flow through the instruments strings.

[Kingdom of Derita]

As the Princess Imperial and her ladies settled in, their servants bringing in the last of their luggage to then be unpacked, Amélie commandeered a desk and began writing. The Princess Imperial, like most of her contemporary royals, continued to communicate via writing. There was an entire profession of messengers tasted with racing through the halls of Tajiyagette Palace delivering missives from one member of the imperial family to another. Amélie wrote in Deritain, the looping symbols dictated with her impeccable handwriting.

Aware of any potential spies, the letter contained only a description of the De Leans Villa, the King of Coflico and a summary of their first meeting. Said letter was then sealed with wax with the coat of arms of them Count of Godey, Lady Adriana’s father. It was a precaution Amélie had developed over the years. One of Lady Adriana’s letters were far less likely to be of interest to anyone than the Princess Imperial. With the missive sent off on its journey to her sisters in Great Hyruke, Amélie drew in on herself and began reading Tsars & Tyrants: Leviathans of the 21st Century.

[Colfico]

As he finished up a song, the King looked up at a clock on the wall of his room, it was a fairly spartan place by the standards of a royal, however it was still well furnished and had his books. He realized that it was getting close to time for dinner to begin, and he got himself ready, changing into another uniform. This one was virtually identical to the last one, however there was a key difference, this was a battle dress uniform, rather than a formal dress uniform, and put on full display that the King was a former tank commander. He did not don the normal tankers helmet, instead opting for a standard issue service cap. This dress decision had two purposes, the primary one being that it made the king far more difficult to distinguish from a normal soldier, and two, it was something that he could afford to get dirty without much worry or trouble, essential for a leader who often found himself out in the field and the countryside overseeing various operations and other undertakings. Once he was ready, he unlocked the door, and opened it, before making his way to the dinning room. It was simple by comparison to those found in a palace or other governmental building, however it was more than large enough for the purpose needed of it . In its center sat a large, sturdy, and well made Oak table, with matching chairs, topped with simple, but comfortable cotton cushions. Hanging just above the table was a equally simple, but beautiful chandelier.



He walked over to a chair on the end of the table, and pulled the chair out before sitting down, and looking at his watch, he was about ten minutes early, which gave him time to prepare for the conversation and exchange ahead, which he knew was likely to be very interesting.

In the halls with the guests a soldier went to each room, passing along the information that dinner would be ready soon, and giving instructions as to how to get to the dining room.

While he was waiting, Sebastian had pulled out small book, it was old, and the title was written in an old Colficoan language, almost forgotten, except for a handful of people within the nation.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Amélie looked up from her book as Lady Adriana swept into the room.

“Dinner will begin soon Your Imperial Highness.”

“Very well,” Amélie said, setting the book aside and rising to her feet.

Amélie let herself be guided a dressing era, where Ladies Frédérique and Jikela were already dress in formal dining wear. Frédérique wore a bright yellow a-line dress that stopped at her ankles, green beans looping around her neck and wrists and dangling from her ears. Jikela wore a similar blue dress, but were Frédérique’s had thin straps that showed off the caramel skin of her arms, Jikela’s had fluttering silk that hid her shoulders.

“It is such a pity to have cover up such beauty,” Frédérique said with a glance in the mirror.

“You are the one who adores tradition,” Lady Yejide pointed out as she presented Amélie with a beautiful black and silver dress. Yejide herself wore a wrapper with with vibrant three and white shweshwe cloth patterns that matched her new massive gele. As the trio helped Amélie into the dress, Adriana slipped into a simple over the shoulders a-line dress similar to Frédérique’s only hers was bright red with silver floral print. Adriana slipped on a pair of red gloves as the Princess Imperial finished dressing.

Amélie wore a stunning black and silver dress. Like her ladies it was a-line, her cinched waist forming an hour-glass shape. From the waist up it was solid black, with short silver and a conservative v-shaped neckline. From the waist down it radiated in a circle in cascade of silver tulle that sparkled whenever she moved in her black pumps. It was paired with a long silver tulle shawl she wrapped around her arms. A thin circle of smooth obsidian beads looped around her slender throat, matching the obsidian beads that pierced her ears and the black gloves that hid her hands. Adriana finished the outfit with the pinning of a blue sash across the princess’ chest.

Together the five young women donned their veils. Jikela, Frédérique and Adriana put on small tiaras, familial heirlooms entrusted to them for their journey abroad. Of the three, Adriana’s was the most magnificent. She would the Marguerite tiara of the Godey family,a brilliant piece with rubies placed in the shape of hibiscuses, which had been made for her father’s original betrothed by her grandparents. Yejide wore a band of gold around her forehead with dangling cowry shells falling forward like a curtain. Amélie opted for a simpler style, with a small silver coronet and a diamond glass that sat on the back of her head, a dozen tiny chains of silver that ended in tear drop diamonds that dangled like a wind home behind her.

Finally ready, the Princess Imperial and her ladies left their rooms and made their way to the dining hall, joined along the way by the Duke of Angoulême, who once again brought up the rear of the group. As Amélie stepped inside, she noticed the King reading. She didn’t recognize the language it was written in. As Princess Imperial, Amélie was fluent in no less than seven languages, but almost all of them were languages from within the diverse regions of the Celestial Empire.

With a playful laugh, the Princess Imperial announced their arrival with: “First music and now literature, dare I say, at this rate, this soldier may convince people that he has hobbies.”

[Colfico]

He looked up from his book, about to say something before he paused, caught off guard almost completely, by the princesses beauty, a smile, small but genuine, escaping his emotional wall for a moment before he snapped back to his normal expression. He marked the book with a simple, paper bookmark, and closed it before placing it back in it's place in his uniform.

"I did not realize that I had to tell people that I was supposed to convince people that I enjoy things. You look stunning this evening. Dinner will be ready soon, I have had a selection of Colficoan and Deritan dishes prepare d, so that everyone may choose something that they enjoy."

[Kingdom of Derita]

“Thank you,” said the Princess Imperial as she smoothed her dress. “It is a reconstruction of one of Queen Caroline of Great Hyruke’s.” The dress had been made by Deritain tailors at her direction based off old photos of the foreign sovereign, meet to impress the Hyrukian court, before she’d been redirected to Colfico, but the Princess Imperial knew that she still looked nonetheless stunning in it. Amélie smiled behind her veil at the complement. Perhaps now that the king wasn’t meeting her under conveniently timed military drills, he would be more tolerable than he had been before in the estate’s garden.

“Deritain cuisine is the finest in the world, it is nice to know that Colficoans have such good taste,” Amélie said, taking her seat at the King’s right, as she was the highest ranking person there, aside from Sebastian of course, while her uncle sat on the other side of her, with her ladies filling in around the table.

“And I am eager to try some Colficoan dishes,” Lady Adriana added smoothly, noting that Amélie’s pride for Deritain food may come off as an offense. Amélie knew this as well, which had been why she’d said it. “I fear so many of the dishes people associate with Derita, samosas, crêpes, crème brûlée are terribly light. We couldn’t survived on such sugary foods.”

“They forget all about umqombothi,” Lady Yejide agreed, “or savory pies, or umfino.”

“Don’t forget suya,” added Jikela. “Which are all far superior.”

“Speak for yourselves,” Lady Frédérique said, “Piémont food may be light, but there is a reason we never get graisse.”

“Better to be curvy and satisfied than a twig and starving.”

“What of you?” Amélie looked to Sebastian. “What foods do you think best exemplifies Colfico?”

[Colfico]

The King listened carefully, although he seemed unaffected by the apparent insult, as he had chosen to ignore it. However when asked to comment on Colficoan food, he had to think, it was until fairly recently that he had spent years living off of RCA rations, which were more oriented towards providing a soldier sufficient nutrition on the battlefield than tasting good. However he did enjoy several dishes, although his constant travel overseeing various projects and matters prevented him from enjoying truely fine food very often. So, lacking a better answer, he decided to answer honestly.

"I spent the majority of my young adult life living off of army rations, I was better off than most being a tank commander, and having access to a small propane stove we kept in the tank to heat food and water, but it was still never exactly gourmet quality, and I travel so often that a true fine meal is few and far between. So I don't think I would be the one to ask on this matter., But of the ones I have had, the ingredients are usually simple, but high quality, and even in rations fish is a big staple due to it being widely available thanks to the river. So I doubt they are as complex as most Deritan dishes, but they should at least be well made and taste good, as well as being high in nutrition and being very filling."

[Kingdom of Derita]

Lady Adriana shivered in her seat.

“Tutu Kane made us eat army rations when I was a girl. He forced my father when he was a boy as well, as to make a soldier out of him. They are not the most satisfying of meals, but they are manageable. And I agree, they are handy when one is moving from place to place. It is best to keep things simple. And they are better than leaving off the land. Hunting is a great sport, but when one becomes dependent on it for your next meal, you release you must be excellent at it, and that is a trying feat. I admit I do not miss those days.”

“But surely it is not as if you two must subsist on rations now a days. You have risen high in station and status that you could snap your fingers and have a seven course meal brought to you if you wish.”

“Indeed,” the Duke of Angoulême said. “My father was a soldier all his adult life and for all the military drills and pride, the man still managed to have fine dining at his disposal regardless of he were attending a count’s ball or besieging an enemy city.”

“No offense Your Grace,” Adriana straightened in her seat next to him, “but your father was a strategist who was far more often behind a map directing troops. He was only ever on the frontline when he was three to snap victory at the last moment. My grandfather was always on the frontlines, even when ordered not to be.”

“True Deritains know the importance of good food,” Frédérique said with noble finality, “regardless of the circumstances. Our cuisine is beautiful and rich, and that is why it is the best.”

[Colfico]

Sebastian nodded, he had never been particularly fond of the RCA's rations, even if they were effective, and generally contained enough nutrients to keep a soldier going. It was the talk of being behind a map that caught his interest, he shook his head at the idea, while he understood that leading from the front was not always a good idea, it was the duty of a leader to inspire and lead his men to the best of their ability, even if it meant putting their own life in danger to do so.

"I did not have much choice during that time, the battles of the Time of Despair were fierce, and even as a future royal, the strained status of Colficos infrastructure and farming meant that even I could not have been given special treatment as far as being fed extra, and I would not have accepted it even if I would have had the opportunity. Now thankfully I do enjoy somewhat better food than RCA rations, but I am constantly out in the field and in areas where fine dining simply is not available, so I work with what is available."

He then paused to think on something, his face showing that it was not an entirely pleasant memory.

"Although I am fortunate to have survived that dreadful conflict, I watched many of my brothers in arms die on those battlefields for nine years, and there are at least two separate occasions where I came dangerously close to joining that body count.

He pulled his collar back to reveal the burn mark on his neck, before speaking again.

"If the copper jet had been just a centimeter closer, I would have been killed, or if the projectile had struck a different portion of the tank, there would not have even been a body to bury."

He then let the collar fall back to its original position, before he began to speak again, his hands lowering to a respectful stance.

"My own father was killed near the end of the conflict, when the vehicle he was in struck a land mine meant for one of the tanks in my unit."

[Kingdom of Derita]

“Mon Dieu,” Frédérique gasped at the sight of the King’s scar.

The Duke of Angoulême shifted slightly in his seat. His father had indeed Ben on the frontlines of conflicts, though to Lady Adriana’s credit that it was often rarely and near the decisive ends of action. He had then grown old and died far from any conflict. He did at times wonder if that was the way he would have wanted to go. He suspected that was not the case for Adriana’s grandfather.

Amélie was still in her seat, her hands in her palms. She found the need to defend her own grandfather, who had always been a respected symbol of military conservatism and the ultra-royalist in Derita during his two tenures as prime minister.

“With all due respect, I would say that the evidence shows that when there isn’t a line drawn between those in charge and others, it leads to disaster.” Amélie turned to Adriana. “The Duke of Alençon’s recklessness and desire to be at the front of everything more than once lead to the destruction of nations, including nearly our own.” She turned to Sebastian. “And clearly it did neither you nor your country any good with your father being on the frontlines.”

“The notion of the warrior leader is romantic. It is why they are the stars of poems. But it is impractical. Say what you will, but my grandfathers accomplished much from behind maps. A prime minister and an emperor, who lead long and prosperous lives, for themselves and for the empire. They are may have been behind the palace gates, but they are the reason that the Celestial Empire survived the Collapse as a single stable nation whilst the rest of the world tore itself apart. Where your forebears nearly started a civil war, and died and one, mine unheld law and order.” The Princess Imperial looked to the King. “Sovereigns do not belong on battlefields.”

[Colfico]

"Perhaps they do not, however I can not change the past, and in the end Colfico did survive the crisis, and we gained some very valuable experience from it in the process"

He was still seemingly ignoring the more inflammatory of her statements, and seemed almost unaffected by her pointed attack against his father. The Colficoan instead deciding to point his attention elsewhere, away from the princess, instead focusing on his other guests. He liked very much to mention the fact that Colfico had not always had such a government, and had been a republic at one point, however he could not, and would not, and that his father had not actually been a King at all, instead being among one of the generals which had taken up arms during the conflict to bring order back to the country.

The doors then opened and several servants, although servant would not be the right word, they were well paid for their work, brought in the various dishes, some which would undoubtedly would have been familiar with. However there were also the Colficoan dishes, several plates of marinated and grilled fish, including catfish, a common meal in Colfico due to both its wide availability and relatively high yield in meat, and more commonly different forms of tilapia and sunfish. However there were also plates with vegetables and potatoes, and even a simple, but delicious looking casserole made of hardy, but healthy vegetables, including squash, green beans and carrots. There was also several bowls of rice, one which was standard, and the other which had mixed into it diced fish and vegetables. They were all fairly simple, but well seasoned, and often with simple melted cheese or garlic sauce drizzled over them in careful amounts.

The king gave a silent and unseen prayer of thanks for the interruption of the conversation and took the opportunity without hesitation.

"Well I think we can give this talk on war at least a temporary pause, while we enjoy the food."

[Kingdom of Derita]

“Agreed,” the Duke of Angoulême said. “The anarchy and despair and the like are behind us. Now is finally a time of peace. And fine cuisine,”

The Princess Imperial, satisfied for the moment that her point had been made, nodded as a plate was set before hers while Lady Frédérique and Lady Jikela were hesitant to try the Colficoan food, Amélie was quite curious. Growing up in Tajiyagitte, she had been near the Western Sea, and thus, fish had been widely available. Which had been precisely why it had been consider too common for her royal lips.

While she avoided the catfish, she happily tried the sunfish and one of rice bowls of vegetables and decided fish. Seeing this, Lady Adriana and Lady Yejide followed suit in trying the Colficoan food. With the matte of eating of course came the matter of how to do so while wearing their veils. But there was no fear. The Princess Imperial and her friends had practiced for several hours on the ocean journey to Colfico to master the art of eating from behind the veil, slipping their forks in a manner that was still graceful without showing their faces.

Amélie found she rather enjoyed the rice bowl, and present the King with silence, a Deritain show of approval.

[Colfico]

The meal that the king decided to dine on was simple, a filet of catfish and some potatoes and vegetables, and he calmly ate them, noticing the way that the deritan guests were eating, and found it strange at best, and knew that there were plenty of Colficoans whom would have found it creepy at worst, and gave a quick, almost unnoticeable nod to one of his servants, whom then left the room.

With a pause in his eating, the king seemed to become lost in thought, and indeed he was, carefully analyzing the practice of wearing veils, and decided that it was a deritan custom that could stay deritan, he had no intention of hiding his face in such a manner. However he also seemed to be more interested in the reactions of the guests to the food, and watched as carefully as he could without staring, watching them in the corners of his eyes and observing every detail and movement of their bodies that he could see.

He was also in deep consideration of which path he would seek to take from there, especially in regard to the Imperial Princess, carefully considering every detail of the previous events of the day. The risk was still very real that she would push him again with the talk of being a dictator, and it was a very dangerous direction if things did go that route. However that was not the only matter that was now beginning to concern the King, he had no intentions of unifying Colfico, or handing its leadership over to another throne. He made a mental note to begin setting up a series of measures to counteract this threat, a threat that was clearly very real given whom had been sent to visit him. However, an outright rejection of the Imperial Princess, while certainly an option if it became necessary, was not ideal. It would be unpleasant to both himself and Colfico, as well as quite possibly harm the reputation of the Imperial Princess and sour relations with the Celestial Empire in the process, and at the moment, he had to balance foreign policy on a knifes edge to prevent being dragged to one side or the other decisively.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Noting the silence, and realizing that perhaps it was not as appreciated in this foreign land as it was in their homeland, Lady Adriana feared that they may causing offense. In order to rectify the situation she spoke softly, saying “Your nations cuisine is quite exotic. A fine delightful deviation for the taste buds.”

Amélie was enjoying her meal, but as she ate, she noticed the drifting eyes of Sebastian watching her and the others as they ate. A smile laugh bubbled up pass her lips as she set her silverware down. The moment she did so, the others did so as well, though it was a bit unclear to her ladies if they should consider that to be the Princess Imperial or the King of Colfico. Sebastian was a sovereign, but Amélie was their princess and friend. Independently they each decided to stop as Amélie stopped.

This internal struggle was completely lost on Amélie, who’d never had to worry about such things as imperial court etiquette, because most often times it left her to do as she pleased. Only when she ate with her parents would she have been superseded in rank, and such meals were a rarity, and when they did occur were in a far more relaxed setting. The Princess Imperial looked to Sebastian and considered him for a moment.

The Princess Imperial had never had the luxury of looking at a man before. Not truly. The Celestial Empire’s royalty and aristocracy was built on rank and hierarchy, and it was something that was taught to the children of emperor from birth. There had for many years, in perhaps the most ambitious days of her dynasty, times when children of the Emperor were considered only good enough for rulers. As that pool grew ever smaller after the collapse however, that had left that list ever shorter and shorter. This meant that none of the many counts and handful of dukes that Amélie wasn’t related to— an even smaller list— would ever be considered a proper match for her. Her aunt Alara, the previous Princess Imperial, had dared to marry a mere count and she and her daughter had never been treated with quite the same respect.

But of course Amélie was not expected to be a nun. Well, not by most of the country. There were the most staunch of traditionalists who would rather see her either shipped off to a foreign kingdom as a Queen or locked in a convent. And Amélie’s mother had made it quite clear that the second was not to be an option. So whenever the Princess Imperial had dealt with men before, it had been with the forgone conclusion that nothing would come of it. She considered Sebastian. Perhaps Adriana had a point. He was sort of handsome in a decidedly foreign, exotic kind of way.

“You are wondering about the veils, aren’t you?” Amélie guessed. She had been prepared to explain them at Great Hyruke’s royal court, but she would have expected her uncle to communicate the reasoning as envoy to Colfico, but the way Sebastian sent glances towards her out the corner of his eye made her suspect that had not been the case. Perhaps her uncle had not felt reason to explain himself. Perhaps Sebastian had not deemed it necessary to ask.

[Colfico]

He was midway through taking another bite when Lady Adriana had spoken, and, not wanting ot be rude with food in his mouth, had simply nodded in response. Once finished, he looked to the deritan woman, and spoke.

"Thank you, I am sure my chefs will be very happy to hear that they have received such praise."

He was about to speak again when he noticed a small smile on the face of the Imperial Princess, out of the corner of his eye, and when she laughed it drew his full attention to her. He was for a moment, puzzled, although he did not let it show on his face.

It was when she asked if he was curious about the veils that he realized why she had laughed, and took note to be more disciplined and subtle than usual when making his mental observations. However he also had no reason to not answer honestly, or at least mostly honestly, there had been many different things on his mind, and the Veils were easily one of the very minor ones.

"It had crossed my mind, I simply did not feel it important enough to bring up."

[Kingdom of Derita]

“It isn’t really.” Amélie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Though there are those in the empire who wear veils for different reasons. There are those in the western regions where women wear it for religious reasons. There are men who wear it in the south as a sign of having reached manhood. Though most in the empire don’t wear veils it is... traditional that unmarried men and women who leave the safety of the empire’s borders.”

“During the Collapse,” Amélie continued, “and the turbulent times that followed, there were several instances of young Deritains overseas falling victims to the lustful desires of...” the Princess Imperial searched for the proper world. It didn’t translate well, so she selected on: “lintlanga. To protect our people, my grandfather embraced our isolationistic tendencies. Foreigners, it was decided, could not handle the beauty of the children of the empire. So it we wear veils that obscure our faces.”

“Why do you think we are the Celestial Empire,” Lady Frédérique said with a bubbly air of pride. “Our beauty is heavenly. It drives mere mortals mad.”

[Colfico]

Sebastian merely nodded as he listened carefully to the explanation that the Imperial Princess was given, his eyes watching her through out her explanation, a sign of respect within Colfico, especially among those in the military.

Once she was finished, he pondered the matter, carefully considering every detail before coming up with his response.

"There is some metaphorical merit in the idea, it's fairly....alien here in Colfico. Here spiritual and emotional discipline are considered a paramount part of life. If one cannot keep their emotions and temptations from interfering with their job, then they are not fit for it."

He then removed his own hat, so as to symbolize removing what coverage of his face he did have before speaking again.

"Besides, having to develop an elaborate method for eating because you cannot remove a veil seems to be both unnecessarily difficult and wasteful of valuable time that could be put to better use elsewhere. Time, especially in these times, is a precious resource that cannot be replenished."

[Kingdom of Derita]

Amélie shook her head.

“I disagree. Both in it being elaborate and it being unnecessary or wasteful. For those who see it as part of their religion, of their culture, it is the furthest thing from unnecessary. For the men of the souther regions, it is as much as a symbol of respect as any uniform you wear. For the women of the western coast it is a physical manifestation of their loyalty to God and their family. For me it is a symbol of national pride and individual beauty. I fear you may mistake wasteful for different.”

The Princess Imperial picked up a fork and twirled it between her index finger and thumb, as if she were presenting a brand new invention to the table.

“You say that the way I eat is wasteful and time consuming. Yet I have dined just as well as you, and kept pace with everyone else. Yes, it took me a while to learn how to, but no more so than it took you to learn to use a fork and knife.” She pointed the tongs of the fork at the King. “See that is the problem with the desire for efficiency, specifically in human cultural behavior. Where precisely does one draw the line?”

Amélie spread her hands, gesturing to the table, looking to Sebastian. “Is this necessary? Following the line of thought of your military rigor, this is all rather inefficient and time consuming. One does not need a fork, a knife, a plate, a table, even a chair. One could eat out of a bowl on the floor with their hands. Which some people do. In the Dragon mountains of the empire, there are people who do precisely that. It is said that red iraysi can be eaten no other way.”

“It tastes best from the hand that worked hard for it,” Jikela said, repeating the proverb almost automatically.

“On Kahulu,” Lady Adriana added, “many of my people use chopsticks.”

“As for the vital resource that is time, if one spends their entire life managing it down to the seconds, they will not have a life fulfilled. I think it is rather the opposite, now more than ever, one must take time to enjoy every bit of it, as one wishes. Life is often short and one must make the most of it.”

[Colfico]

The King listened to what the Imperial Princess had to say, and made a note of the fact that she seemed to almost be goingoutof her way to be confrontational with him, however this time he did find himself beaten so to say, and he decided it was a good time to admit defeat.

"I suppose that is true, I have had no experience myself with it. Perhaps it is simply a difference that Colficoan and Deritans will have to learn to agree to disagree on, I have no intention of hiding my face behind a peace of cloth unless it is to defend against a disease or a chemical attack."

He also made a mental note to save the difference as potential propaganda to use against them if there was ever a need to do so.

He then looked back from focusing on her, seemingly so that he could listen to each of the guests equally. Even as his continued considerations about the Imperial Princess continued on his head. For now he was content Toler her loose interest on her own.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Amélie felt her eyebrows furrow in annoyance, feeling a familiar pant of annoyance as she had at the garden. She wished she’d still been holding the fork just so that she could slam it down, but she had already placed it gently on the table during her spill. Instead she put her hands in her lap and spoke softly.

“I was not suggesting that you adopt the article, Your Majesty, only that you acknowledge that there is more to it than a minor inconvenience to your Colficoan sensibilities, which appear to be been rubbed down to the nerve endings for the sake of your country’s collective post traumatic stress, of which you seem to be the gleeful recaller of.”