The Dragon of the Balkans [Earth II]

[Freistaat-Ostafrika]

OOC: This thread will sometimes make reference to events taking place in Matters of Honour, with Apilonia's permission

4 November 2020 - 14:00hrs [UTC+2]
Victoria Palace
Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania

Nestled at the crossroads between Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, the Kingdom of Romania was a nation with a proud and rich heritage, even if the rest of the world tended to know the kingdom more for the fictional escapades associated with one particular historical figure. The population of just over twenty-six million people was predominantly ethnic Romanian and so there was a particular sense of unity within the nation, particularly as the kingdom had the distinction of ruling over the extent of what was regarded as 'Greater Romania' after fortunate circumstances between the 1910s and 1930s had presented Romania with the opportunity to establish their modern borders through a combination of military success and popular plebiscites. Modern Romania enjoyed a high-income economy with abundant agriculture and considerable natural resources, along with a diverse range of tourist attractions and a number of successful large home-grown corporations. The political system of the Kingdom of Romania was best described as a unitary parliamentary monarchy. The government was decided by regular democratic elections to the bicameral legislature and the political party that could command a majority inevitably became the party of governance, although there was a degree of reliance upon the reigning monarch in order to ensure that. The monarch was responsible for designating and appointing the Prime Minister, subject to the approval of the two Houses of Parliament, and there was a mechanism for the monarch to dismiss a Prime Minister unilaterally, although this was very rarely used. The formation of the Prime Minister's cabinet was also subject to royal approval, as the Prime Minister had to propose ministerial candidates to the monarch who would then approve or refuse the recommendations; again, there was a mechanism for the monarch to dismiss cabinet ministers unilaterally but again, it was very rarely used as Romanian monarchs tended to only dismiss cabinet ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The monarch was also Commander-in-Chief of the Romanian Armed Forces, a two-hundred-thousand-strong military that enjoyed considerable prestige and respect within the nation. Military intervention in Romanian politics was an extremely rare event but on the very few occasions when it did occur, it had always been in favour of the monarchy's agenda.

Located in the southeast of the Kingdom of Romania, the capital city of Bucharest had existed in one form or another for well over five hundred years. It had served as the capital for the old principality of Wallachia between 1659 and 1862, at which point Wallachia had united with the neighbouring Principality of Moldavia to become Romania, conferring the honour and prestige of a royal capital upon the city. With a population of just over two million people, Bucharest was also the largest city in the kingdom and was renowned for both its elegant architecture and sophisticated cultural life, boasting a wide variety of theatres, concert halls, and museums. As the capital of the kingdom, Bucharest was home to the various constituent parts of the national administrative apparatus, and this apparatus was currently working in overdrive. Central and Eastern Europe had been relatively stable for decades following the collapse of the Habsburg-ruled Austro-Hungarian Empire, a collapse that had seen the former parts of the Habsburg imperial domain go in very different directions. The Habsburgs had retained their rule over the remnant Archduchy of Austria while the rest of the empire had either been acquired by neighbouring powers or become a part of a newly created state. The Kingdom of Romania had been one of those neighbouring powers that acquired territory during the Austro-Hungarian collapse, taking the opportunity to bring the majority-Romanian region of Transylvania into the kingdom. Having been previously incorporated into Hungary, Transylvania had long been regarded as rightfully Romanian, and so the kingdom had sent troops into Transylvania while the newly-created People's Republic of Yugoslavia attempted to incorporate the rest of Hungary into their authoritarian socialist state; the population of Transylvania had voted overwhelmingly to join Romania in the subsequent plebiscite and the kingdom had been buoyed by the resultant surge of national pride. However, events were in motion that threatened to turn the balance of power in the region on its head.

The Prime Ministerial residence of Victoria Palace was a hive of activity as news came in about a press conference being held in Budapest, involving both the Archduke of Austria and the President of the General Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Hungary. The Romanian Intelligence Service, abbreviated to SRI due to its Romanian name 'Serviciul Român de Informații', had been picking up on something going on inside the Socialist Republic but had not acquired concrete evidence of their suspicions; the news conference was not only establishing that there had indeed been something clandestine taking place, but it was also establishing that something major was underway. Prime Minister Nicolae Petrescu sat at the desk in his office and watched with a grim expression as his television relayed the press conference live, clenching his teeth as he listened to President Balázs János. The thin and balding sixty-two-year-old had served as Prime Minister of Romania since 2005 and was drawing near to the end of his second five-year term, with the next legislative elections due to be held on December 6th. Petrescu was regarded as a 'steady hand on the wheel' and this reputation served him well in his political career, having first served as Minister of Labour and Social Protection before advancing to Minister of Internal Affairs and finally becoming Prime Minister. His 'steady' reputation also complemented the similar reputation of the political party that he had led since 2005, the National Progressive Party (abbreviated to PNP due to its Romanian name of 'Partidul Național-Progresist'). The PNP had started life as a centrist party and over time it had evolved to become more of a 'big tent' party, leaning more centre-right with some policies and more centre-left with others, but always maintaining a clear and unwavering loyalty to monarchism. The 2020 election campaign had thus far been rather uneventful with the PNP able to tout their record on the economy and show off their intended policy agenda for the next four-year term, but events in Hungary had the potential to throw everything for a loop...or hand the PNP an opportunity to truly cement themselves as the 'party of governance'. First things first though, Petrescu had to deal with an unpleasant surprise.

"Oh Jesus, no! Why do you have to do this now?! How could you think that it's fine to just spring something like this on the region without the decency of giving a warning?!" Petrescu rose from his seat and began to berate the television as he had no means of directly berating the two individuals on the screen. The news that he was reacting so negatively to was the news that Hungary was to secede from the People's Republic of Yugoslavia and once again unite with Austria, a move that would undoubtedly provoke a response from the Yugoslavian government in Belgrade. Before Petrescu could launch into a more meaningful diatribe, the phone on his desk began to ring and the Prime Minister did not answer it in the most polite of manners.

"What is it?!" He blinked rapidly with anger as he heard the voice of Marius Balan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and responded with a snap in his voice. "Yes, of course I'm watching it! It's typical, absolutely bloody typical! 'We'll do whatever we want and the rest of the region be damned'! What? How should I know if His Majesty is watching this as well, I'm not bloody psychic! Hold on, I've got another call coming through..."

His aggravation was clearly on display as he jabbed a button on the phone with his index finger in order to swap to the new incoming call. "Yes?! Oh, yes, of course." Petrescu immediately attempted to even out his voice as the new caller identified themselves as being part of the Royal Household. "Yes, I'm watching it right now. His Majesty has seen it? Shit." His eyes widened and he clamped his free hand over his mouth before realising that it was far too late for that, so he removed his hand and waved it dismissively as he continued to speak. "I apologise, it was a momentary loss of composure due to the unfolding events. A meeting of the National Security Committee at quater past three? Yes yes, of course, I'll be there. Yes, goodbye."

He then switched back to Minister Balan. "Marius, His Majesty has seen it. That's exactly what I said. Yes, over the phone to someone from the Royal Household. Whatever, I apologised and blamed it on what's being broadcast. Look, the National Security Committee is meeting at quarter past three so I'll see you at the Royal Palace. Well you'll likely be getting a call in the next few minutes, they're probably calling General Stoian first. Yes, yes, yes, right, goodbye."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 November 2020 - 15:15hrs [UTC+2]
Royal Palace of Bucharest
Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania

The road network of Bucharest had briefly seen a spike in activity as government vehicles drove away from ministry buildings around the city, all converging on the monumental building that was the Royal Palace of Bucharest. Actually one of three royal residences in the capital, the Royal Palace was a four-floor building in a simple and sober Neo-Classical style with a twenty-foot steel railing fence surrounding the palace grounds. The grounds were patrolled twenty-four hours a day by the 'Michael the Brave' 30th Guards Brigade, the honour guard that protected the royal residences and was named after the first ruler to unify Romania between 1593-1601. All ministerial vehicles were identical black sedans made by the national automotive manufacturer Dacia, and so five of these identical cars were observed to be entering the grounds of the Royal Palace in fairly rapid succession. Each vehicle was greeted by an immaculately-uniformed footman at the main entrance to the palace and each occupant was politely informed of their desired destination in a well-regimented system that had been in place for decades, even though each minister already knew where they would be heading. One by one, the Romanian government ministers made their way into the beautiful cream-and-gilt interior of the palace, each ensuring that they were not treading dirt on the immaculate marble floors as they proceeded. Eventually, they were gathered in the comfortable reception room that usually played host to the Prime Minister's weekly meetings with the King, all having to remove their shoes before walking on the intricately woven rugs in accordance with the rules laid down by the current monarch. Aside from Prime Minister Petrescu and Minister Balan, the party included Delia Maniu (Minister of Internal Affairs), Sorin Cristescu (Director of the SRI), and General Iosif Stoian (Minister of Defence). The final one to arrive in the reception room, the fifty-seven-year-old General Stoian removed the boots that were part of his military uniform and then strode towards his fellow ministers, brandishing a hastily-compiled dossier.

"Jesus bloody Christ, those damned Austrians! They could've shown a bit of bloody decency and given us some warning but nooooo fucking way, they do what they want when they want and screw the rest of the region! Evidently they wanted to get the drop on Belgrade but didn't think to give any thought about the neighbours who are having this dropped in their lap!" He then pointed directly towards the rather portly Sorin Cristescu. "Why didn't you know what the scheming buggers were up to?"

Cristescu smoothed out his moustache and beard with his fingers before responding. "You try finding out exact details while dancing around with the Yugoslavian Committee for State Security and the local Hungarian agencies. We knew something was going on and we reported what we could find out. Besides, you could equally point fingers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for not asking why there were Austrian diplomats bouncing back and forth between Vienna and Budapest. Anyway, instead of pointing fingers and trying to dole out blame, maybe we should be thinking about how we respond?"

Stoian nodded with a scowl. "Not my place to yell at you, I suppose. It's for His Majesty to decide if you need a reprimand. I-"

He was cut off as a door opened and a uniformed officer stepped into the reception room. They all immediately recognised Căpitan Matei Groza, the thirty-one-year-old aide-de-camp to the King. Standing five-foot-eleven with well-styled brown hair, Căpitan Groza raised an eyebrow at the five government ministers before stepping to one side and snapping into an 'at ease' position, feet apart and hands clasped behind his back.

"Gentlemen. Madam. His Majesty will see you now."

[Freistaat-Ostafrika]

4 November 2020 - 15:15hrs [UTC+2]
Royal Palace of Bucharest
Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania

As their sovereign entered the reception room following Căpitan Groza's statement, the four civilian ministers bowed their heads respectfully while General Stoian stood to attention and saluted. Although certainly quite young for a head of state at the age of twenty-four, King Cătălin I possessed a certain presence and many who had met him in person claimed that they had seen an 'old soul' in his eyes. There was certainly no doubt that he had the lineage to warrant such a reputation. The ruling dynasty of Romania was the House of Drăculești-Mușat, a name that foreigners tended to instantly associate with the fictional vampire known as Count Dracula, but that did a significant disservice to the history of the family. The House of Drăculești were the surviving line of the original House of Basarab, having won out over their familial Dănești rivals centuries before, and they had long ruled the Principality of Wallachia in addition to occasionally ruling the Principality of Moldavia. The Drăculești were proud to count Michael the Brave among their number, and yes, they also counted Vlad III Dracula among their number as the line had been established by Vlad II Dracul, the father of the famous 'Impaler'. The House of Mușat, otherwise known as the House of Bogdan, had ruled Moldavia for a considerable length of time around the occasional periods of Drăculești rule, and the two families had inevitably married on numerous occasions, to the point where they had unified as the single dynasty of Drăculești-Mușat. As the name 'Drăculești' was derived from the old Romanian word 'Dracul', or 'Dragon' as a result of Vlad II's membership of the Order of the Dragon, and the name 'Mușat' was the old Romanian word for 'handsome', the dynasty's male monarchs were nicknamed 'Handsome Dragons', and Cătălin was the latest of his family line to live up to this moniker. A slim individual, the young monarch stood five-foot-ten with a mane of wavy brown hair and green eyes that contained a hint of hazel, and his demeanour bore all of the hallmarks of an upbringing of preparation for the throne. No-one had expected him to ascend to the throne at the age of twenty-two, but his father's unexpected death had resulted in Cătălin being coronated only two months after graduating from the University of Bucharest with a Bachelor's Degree in Politics & International Studies.

Dressed in a black collarless shirt and black trousers, Cătălin walked to his preferred high-backed chair and took his seat, placing both arms on the armrests and crossing his legs at the knee. With the King seated it was now acceptable for the ministers to take their seats, distributing themselves among two couches and an armchair. General Stoian demonstrated a measure of cunning and tactical thinking as he had positioned himself as close to the armchair as possible before Cătălin had entered, allowing him to take it as soon as it was time to sit. Căpitan Groza took up a position standing at ease behind the King's chair and Cătălin took a moment to take in a calming breath before addressing his ministers.

"So where do we stand?"

Prime Minister Petrescu leaned forward. "As the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Apilonia gave us no warning that this was coming, I admit that we're slightly on the backfoot here. We-"

He was interrupted by a beep from the direction of General Stoian, who had just received a message on his smartphone. "Yugoslavia has just launched a retaliatory attack on Austria, we're just getting confirmation in now."

Cătălin cocked an eyebrow. "Hardly surprising, if I were in the shoes of the Politburo I would likely do exactly the same thing. Minister Balan, your thoughts?"

"We should remain as neutral as possible in this conflict, Your Majesty. If we were to side with the Yugoslavians then we would likely end up at war with the Kingdom of Apilonia, if we side with the Austrians then we are tacitly approving their reunification with Hungary. We have no real love for Yugoslavia or Austria so perhaps we should just let them fight."

"Neutrality implies a certain degree of removal from the conflict, Minister Balan. You are correct that we should not choose a side but we should not ignore what is going on, not that you meant that of course." Cătălin gestured towards General Stoian. "General, I want us to have forces deployed on our borders with Yugoslavia and what I suppose is once again Austria-Hungary. Not in preparation to mount an offensive but in order to respond if either nation strays into our territory or is foolish enough to challenge us while also warring with the other. I leave it in your hands to decide the appropriate deployment positions and the forces to be deployed. In addition, there may be refugees coming across our borders at some point during this conflict, depending on how long it lasts and how far it strays into each combatant's territory. In that event, ensure that they are treated well before being handed over to civilian authorities."

General Stoian nodded in an almost reverential manner. "As you command, Your Majesty."

"Minister Maniu. Word of these events is undoubtedly working its way through our populace by now, people are going to be concerned and people are going to be angry. If there are protests on our streets then I want the protestors to be handled with the utmost care. No aggressive moves by the police under any circumstances, our people will be voicing their anger at the actions of other nations so allow them to do so."

Delia Maniu raised her hand despite already having the King's attention. "What if they turn out and direct their anger towards the Austrian embassy, or any other embassy for that matter?"

"Well...try not to allow any property damage in such an event, but ultimately the police are there to protect our citizens. I'm sure that I've made myself clear."

Minister Maniu smirked slightly as she nodded. "Perfectly clear, Your Majesty."

"Director Cristescu. Have the foreign intelligence branch of the SRI continue their operations in both warring nations as usual, but I would step up domestic operations within Transylvania. Nothing obvious and nothing overstated, Transylvania is not going anywhere but given the manner in which Austria has regained Hungary, we should not discount the possibility that they have agents attempting to lay the groundwork for a similar action within our own borders."

After receiving a nod of assent from Director Cristescu, Cătălin continued to issue orders and instructions like a dynamo in motion, turning his attention this time to Marius Balan. "Minister Balan. Contact our ambassadors in Vienna and Belgrade. I would like both of them to stress to their respective host governments that the Kingdom of Romania has no desire to be pulled into this conflict and that we will repulse any attempt to do so. Our ambassador in Vienna should also explain in no uncertain terms to the Austrian government that we do not appreciate having our region plunged into war by their unilateral actions, particularly as their arrogance led them to believe that they could simply do this without warning any neighbouring nations of the potential instability that it would cause."

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide advice for all Romanian citizens in both nations to return home if at all possible, and we will attempt to coordinate with our counterparts in Austria and Yugoslavia in order to safeguard our citizens."

Cătălin gave a smile of approval. "Excellent. Prime Minister Petrescu." He now finally turned his attention to his head of government. "Our people will require reassurance. That is why you and I shall address the nation together this evening. We need to show them that their safety is our top priority and that we are doing everything we can to prevent this instability from infecting our nation. I also want you to put plans in place for the funding of refugee camps and the like just in case, hopefully the plans will not be required but it cannot hurt to have them as a contingency."

"Absolutely, a very prudent course of action, Your Majesty. If I might suggest, should we talk to Zapadoslavia? They also now border Austria-Hungary or whatever they're calling themselves, and they will also have their concerns."

Cătălin shifted slightly in his chair as he considered the suggestion. "You have my approval, see what they say."

"What time shall we address our people?"

"Aim for seven o'clock this evening. I intend to summon the ambassadors of Apilonia and Austria to the palace in the meantime so that they can be left in no uncertainty about our opinion of today's events thus far." The young King rose to his feet, causing the ministers to quickly do the same. "We all have our tasks, let us be about them. I shall wish an update after Prime Minister Petrescu and I have spoken to our nation. That is all, thank you."

Cătălin promptly turned on his heel and left the reception room with Căpitan Groza in tow, leaving the ministers to make their own way out. Once the King had left and the door closed behind him, General Stoian gestured towards the door with a smile. "Now that's a leader who knows the meaning of 'decisive'. Well, we've all got our orders. See you lot after the address."

As General Stoian crossed the room to collect his boots, Minister Balan approached Prime Minister Petrescu. "Nothing quite like Hurricane Cătălin, is there? Two years on and I'm still a little frightened."

Petrescu chuckled and shook his head. "Remember when King Radu would chair a meeting of the National Security Committee and it would actually run like a committee? Still, I'm not going to complain. The people adore Cătălin. If I'm addressing the nation alongside him then I get a good association, maybe this war won't be so bad for the election as I thought."

[The Kingdom of Apilonia]

A Joint Post with Freistaat-Ostafrika

Sir Reginald P. Dixon, KCG
Royal Palace of Bucharest, Bucharest
Kingdom of Romania
Thursday 4th November 2020, 16:45hrs Local Time

---

Sir Reginald P. Dixon, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of Saint Gabriel and His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Romania, sat in silence as the small motorcade of three black Chevrolet Suburbans made their way through the streets of Bucharest towards the Royal Palace. It had come as more than a little surprising that he had been summoned to meet with the King of Romania in the aftermath of the Austrian political actions in Hungary and the resultant Yugoslavian hostility. Afterall, although the Kingdom of Apilonia was now the first-amongst-equals of the Apilonian Commonwealth, and the Archduchy of Austria now a Commonwealth Realm, the fact of the matter was that, for all the close relationship and links that entailed the fundamental fact remained that Austria was a sovereign state in its own right. Indeed, everything else that had happened in the past few hours aside, that would be the principle point that Sir Reginald would be making; after a great deal of work had gone into putting together a political framework for the Commonwealth that maintained the due national sovereignty of its member-states. As a representative of the leading power it was his responsibility to ensure that any perceptions to the contrary were corrected.

Sir Reginald was a veteran of His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service, a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, he had been accepted into the highly competitive Diplomatic Service fast-track and had done well for himself. Originally from a comfortable landed gentry background, many had viewed his decision to enter the Diplomatic Service, as opposed to the far more comfortable Home Civil Service, as an unusual one for a man of his class, particularly given that the glory-days of the Apilonian Empire were behind them and the allure of the Diplomatic Service much reduced as a result. Of course, with the development of deeper relations with former colonies, and now of course the establishment of the Commonwealth, a position within the Diplomatic Service was one again one of increasing honour and prestige in the Kingdom. Within the Diplomatic Service, the mission to the Kingdom of Romania was a mid-level one as far as the order of precedence went; certainly not one of the top-level posts to be sure but certainly not one for a first-time ambassador; Sir Reginald had previously served as HM Ambassador to several smaller countries before taking up this post.

As they arrived at the Royal Palace, Sir Reginald could see that the Austrian Ambassador, the Honourable Matthias Ostermann, had already arrived and was waiting by his own vehicles. Once the three Suburbans had pulled up nearby, and the Principle Protection Officer of his security detail, provided by the Royal Apilonian Constabulary’s Diplomatic Protection Command, was satisfied that this was not a trop designed to murder the Apilonian Ambassador, Sir Reginald stepped out of his vehicle and greeted his Austrian counterpart with handshake and a warm smile.

“Matthias, you boys have stirred up something of a hornet’s nest,” Sir Reginald said by means of greeting. “These folks don’t seem best pleased.”

“It does not concern them, and Vienna deemed them a security risk,” Matthias replied with a shrug. “You know we couldn’t risk Belgrade getting confirmation of our intentions before we were ready.”

“I don’t disagree with you, Matthias,” Sir Reginald shook his head. “But I’ll let you tell that one to the King.”

Matthias grimaced but nodded his agreement. Unlike his Apilonian counterpart, the position of Austrian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Romania was comparatively more prestigious; given the proximity this was perhaps to be expected, especially as Austria had not (historically) favoured an overseas colonial empire instead favouring an expansive land empire that had, once upon a time, stretched far and wide and been a major power in Europe. As such, relations with neighbouring and nearby states took precedence over entanglements abroad, and even in the post-imperial age, Austria still had both a reputation and a position to maintain, and whilst he would undoubtedly be respectful to the Romanian King (he was a King after all, and from a prestigious line), Sir Reginald had no doubts that Matthias would be stalwart in his defence of Austria’s position.

“Shall we, Reg?” Matthias asked, gesturing towards the waiting Romanian courtiers.

“Let’s,” Sir Reginald agreed, following his Austrian counterpart away from the vehicles, their respective protective details and staff entourages accompanying as permitted by their hosts. “Once more unto the breach, dear friend.”

“Indeed,” Matthias replied dryly.

After being politely greeted by a palace footman who observed every nicety of protocol, the two ambassadors and their permitted entourages were escorted through the glittering interior of the Royal Palace until finally reaching the entrance to the reception room, at which point the footman reminded them that anyone intending to enter the reception room would be asked to remove their shoes before walking on the rugs within. As the furniture within the reception room could only be reached by walking on the rugs, it was clear that at the very least the two ambassadors would be required to remove their footwear once inside. The footman knocked twice and only had to wait a few moments before receiving a response from within the reception room, at which point he opened the door and gestured for the diplomatic representatives and any accompanying staff to enter. Upon entering, they would immediately be greeted by the sight of King Cătălin settled comfortably in his preferred chair with Căpitan Groza stood at ease behind the high back of the monarch’s chair, positioned slightly more towards the right side. As the door was pulled closed behind them by the footman, the young monarch rose from his seat and offered a polite smile before speaking in a particularly cultured accent that could be identified as a more ‘southern Romanian’ accent by those with an ear for such things, although undoubtedly influenced by his royal upbringing.

“Honoured ambassadors, I am most grateful that you have been able to provide me with this opportunity to speak with you. Once you have removed your shoes, please take a seat and make yourselves comfortable. If you would like anything to drink such as tea, coffee, water, anything like that, please do not hesitate to ask. While I suspect that we will have opposing points of view in regard to the topic I wish to discuss, I always endeavour to be as welcoming a host as possible.”

After bowing respectfully, the two Ambassadors did as they were bid, removing their shoes and taking the offered seats, this not being the first time they had encountered the King’s quirks when it came to protocol. Both men were dressed in smart business suits, given that it was not a formal occasion ornate dress uniforms were hardly necessary after all. After requesting a drink from the footman, an iced water for Matthias and a tea for Sir Reginald, they turned their attention back to the King, and the diplomatic tongue-lashing that was likely to be waiting for them.

Cătălin took his seat and waited a few moments for the ambassadors to get comfortable before beginning, still maintaining a calm demeanour as he spoke.

“So, as I am sure you are aware, today has been a day of surprises for us here in the Kingdom of Romania. If you will allow me to be honest as I believe that honesty is going to be the best option here, our intelligence services had acquired an inkling that something was developing but they were unable to ascertain precisely what was developing. We certainly did not expect to have the reunification of Austria-Hungary dropped on our lap as if it were a surprise Christmas present, and the more recent news we have received regarding Yugoslavia’s response...well, not as surprising as the event that precipitated it. With that in mind, Ambassador Ostermann, would you please explain why Vienna thought that it was best to act unilaterally and bring about regional instability in the form of a war rather than attempting to reach out to neighbouring nations in order to create a regional consensus on the status of Hungary?”

Matthias took a deliberate moment to sip his water before placing it down and looking the King in the eye, as Sir Reginald sat back in his chair and sipped his tea.

“Your Majesty, I can certainly appreciate your frustration that we were… unable, to provide you with advance notice of the details of what was happening in Hungary, however, given the circumstances of the delicate negotiations between the Archduchy and the Hungarian National Assembly, Vienna deemed it prudent to keep the circle tight, and strictly need-to-know. Given that the Hungarians were desiring to secede from the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, and who can blame them, it was absolutely essential that the Yugoslavians not receive advance warning of the exact nature and timing of what was going to happen, and no disrespect to your intelligence services, but it was far easier to keep that information strictly in house than risk it with a third-party.”

Matthias paused for a breath before continuing.

“Considering the increasing unrest in the People’s Republic, any action to diminish the power of the Politburo in Belgrade is arguably far more beneficial to regional stability, even if that power has to be reduced by means of military conflict. Besides, and I say this with the greatest possible respect, Your Majesty, but do you really think that Yugoslavia would have engaged in any meaningful way had we attempted to build a regional consensus on Hungary’s status? There would have been Yugoslavian tanks on the streets of Budapest within hours of any such attempt. In any event, Austria’s bilateral agreement with the Hungarian people is in their best interests, and their stated will, and whist Vienna regrets any… distress, caused by our actions, we will not apologise for seeking reunification with our long-lost cousins, particularly when they have wallowed under the thumb of an authoritarian socialist regime for decades.”

Cătălin listened intently as Ostermann spoke, nodded politely at any pertinent points being made. He then flexed his fingers slightly and smiled.

“Interesting. Ambassador Dixon, indulge me for a moment if you would. If the Empire of Layarteb were to launch an invasion of Mexico without giving your government any warning whatsoever, would there be concern on the part of the Kingdom of Apilonia?”

Sir Reginald, slowly and deliberately, took another sip of his tea before placing the cup back down on the saucer, albeit not in a manner that would be disrespectful. He had been wondering when the King would turn his attention to him, and was also aware that if the interaction between Austria and Romania was one of approximate equals, Apilonia was noticeably on a different tier and it was his responsibility as its representative to reflect that.

“Your Majesty, although we are not formal allies with the Empire of Layarteb, there exist extensive cooperation agreements between Apilonia and Layaryeb, including intelligence sharing regarding the…” well, clusterfuck wasn’t particularly diplomatic “situation in Mexico. Although nominally friendly, the relationship between Romania and Austria is not, to my knowledge, developed to the point of military co-operation or intelligence sharing, as such any comparison would be disingenuous at best.”

Sir Reginald went back to sipping his tea; as had been agreed with Matthias on their walk in, his intention was to avoid getting drawn into a debate with the Romanian King, leaving such to Matthias.

The slight smile on the young monarch’s face grew and he once again nodded.

“A fair enough answer, Ambassador Dixon. I am simply attempting to put across the point of view of my nation and my people. Perhaps it would be better if I simply make it plain? We are due to have an election in the first week of December. The debates were focusing quite nicely on domestic matters but now they are going to be overshadowed by these new events. For Austria to refuse to apologise is, to be blunt, demonstrating a level of arrogance that certain elements of the far-right in this nation believe to be an innate trait. You see, there is a matter of history here and Vienna appears to be either blind to it or deliberately ignoring it. Austria-Hungary was once known for treating the Balkans as their personal colonial playground. When that state collapsed, there were nations in the region that had to retake ancestral lands that had once been theirs but were taken by Austria-Hungary as part of their colonial adventures. Romania is one of those nations. We lost Transylvania to Austria after military conquest and it took us many, many decades to reclaim it. During the time that they held it, they handed it to Hungary as if it were a toy to be traded. This was despite a clear will of the Transylvanian people to return to Romania. Now imagine the current situation.

“Austria-Hungary has been reborn. Reborn without a second thought about what that nation did to their neighbours. There are going to be those in Romania who argue that it is only a matter of time before Austria-Hungary attempts to use the same sort of subterfuge against us as they used against Yugoslavia. Under normal circumstances it would be less likely that they would attempt something so brazen as the other nations in the region would undoubtedly resist such an act, but they now have the backing of a far superior power. It is rather telling, don’t you think, that Austria did this after marrying Apilonia, not before?”

Sir Reginald and Matthias exchanged a glance as they listened carefully to the King’s response. The point had been taken, of course, even if Sir Reginald had deliberately done his best to avoid it. Nevertheless, it was refreshing that the King decided to be plain as it made quite clear his opinion on the matter.

“Your Majesty, neither the present Archduke and Archduchess, nor Austria as an institution, are blind to the excesses of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as it was at the height of its power, indeed I believe that our current Archduchess’ illustrious father did issue a general public apology to those wronged by our historic actions. However, Archduchess Sophia is no Franz Joseph, and an assumption on her intentions not only does her a disservice but invites the same kind of misunderstanding that leads to the tragedy that fell Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which ultimately rendered him unable to implement his reforms. Her Grace is not unaware or uncaring of Romania’s history with Austria-Hungary, however we cannot avoid doing what needs to be done solely to protect your sensibilities, particularly when we can prove by our actions in the aftermath that we do not have hostile intent against Romania.”

Matthias paused.

“I would caution Your Majesty, not to allow those within your Kingdom that feel that way to predestine your relationship with Vienna going forwards, we have no hostility towards Romania, and it would be unfortunate if those within your Kingdom were to initiate a hostile, or certainly unfriendly, relationship that they so fear by their… concerns, regarding our supposed intentions.”

Sir Reginald leant forward to speak himself feeling the need to emphasise that for all the close friendship, Apilonian support ought not to be construed as backing for raw aggression.

“Your Majesty, I would also say that, whilst Austria-Hungary is its own sovereign state, even with its sovereign having married an Apilonian Prince, and as such may do as it wishes, our close relationship does imply a black cheque for Vienna to conduct an aggressive foreign policy. In any event, I would also point out, as an outsider looking in, that at this point the only entity in the Balkans to commit a hostile act is, in fact, Yugoslavia, and that those factions within Romania who have concerns over threats from without ought be far more concerned about them, than any historic threat from Vienna. Indeed, now that Austria’s attempts to reunify with Hungary peacefully have failed, despite the best efforts that necessitated keeping you in the dark, and the Yugoslavians have shown themselves to be aggressors, a unified front against them would surely be in the best interests of all concerned.”

There was a pause as Cătălin appeared thoughtful about the statements of both ambassadors, leaning to one side and balancing his chin on his fist. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deliberate breath before beginning to chuckle.

“Ambassadors. I am certain that you do realise that the reason for Yugoslavia’s aggression was the sudden announcement that Hungary was going to secede. I find it a little rich for you to portray it as completely unjustified when you undoubtedly knew it would be their reaction. The key word there being ‘reaction’, as in a response to an action. Just as I’m certain that Vienna would have responded in the same manner if Yugoslavia had announced that the Margrave of Istria was taking his territory and forming a new Socialist Republic. I am addressing my nation this evening alongside Prime Minister Petrescu and the best you can give me to tell them is ‘Austria promises to be peaceful once they’ve won the war that they instigated, as they knew that Yugoslavia would react poorly to the idea of a state seceding without any warning’. My apologies, ‘Austria-Hungary promises to be peaceful’. It would be nice if that placated those with concerns but I somehow doubt that it will. Fortunately we have had the forethought to prepare an increased police presence on the streets of Bucharest this evening in anticipation of possible public anger, I don’t know if there will be any protests but it never hurts to prepare for them. We have also taken the liberty of informing both Vienna and Belgrade that we will be deploying forces to our border in a defensive move, I’m certain that you can appreciate that having two neighbours at war with each other warrants such a move. Note how we are informing both governments in advance, in order to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings.

“As far as any Apilonian support of Austria is concerned, Ambassador Dixon, please attempt to see it from another’s point of view. Apilonia is an extremely powerful nation. Austria marries Apilonia. They put down internal strife in the form of the Margrave of Istria. Now they are reunifying with Hungary. Apilonia is currently engaged in re-engaging with your former colonies and creating the Apilonian Commonwealth. By reunifying with Hungary and springing that upon an unsuspecting region that previously had to experience the reign of Austria-Hungary, it does give the impression that Austria wants to re-engage with their former colonies just as Apilonia is doing. However, their manner of doing so leaves much to be desired. Regardless of whether or not Vienna and Budapest have any actual ambitions of reforming their empire, their actions have caused concern. I suppose that the real test of sincerity will be whether or not Austria and Apilonia are content with simply defeating Yugoslavia. If this becomes a wider move against other states in the Balkans then all of your statements to me today will ring somewhat hollow.”

“Your Majesty, there is a world of difference between the Archduchy of Austria and the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia; we are a liberal democracy with a constitutional monarchy… they are an authoritarian one-party state, they were never going to allow Hungary to go peacefully, whereas the issue with the former Margrave of Istria was his desires to not follow the established protocols for an area of the Archduchy wanting to go its own way. Just because the Yugoslavian response was predictable, does not change the fact that they were the ones that started this fight. You are, of course, more than within your rights to position your force on the respective borders, and I am sure that Vienna will understand your reasonings, however I assure you that our forces will not necessitate any sort of reaction fro yours.”

Matthias sipped his iced water once again, clearly indicating that he had nothing further to say on the matter, as Vienna was not going to apologise for its decision to keep Romania in the dark, there was little else to say than he already had. Sir Reginald, however, clearly had more to say.

“I appreciate your viewpoint, Your Majesty, but i would simply point out that the difference between what Apilonia, and arguably Austria, is doing and historic imperialism, is that we are doing some by peaceful, democratic means, and not by force of arms as was the case in the past. Whilst it is true that Apilonia is re-engaging with its former colonies, we are doing so on a bi-lateral basis, in no small part to make amends for historic slights or failings. In the same way that Apilonia is making amends for the mistakes we made during our retreat from Empire, Austria is simply trying to put right the negative outcomes of the Balkans Wars; our disagreements on the current situation aside, I’m sure we can all agree that Yugoslavia has been a negative for this part of the world, given the countless provocations they have offered against their neighbours by their near-incursions into foreign airspace. As you say, actions speak louder than words, and I am confident that Austria will demonstrate it’s integrity when it comes to standing down militarily after hostilities with Yugoslavia are over.”

Sir Reginald sipped the last of his team, briefly considering the elephant in the room that he was aware of but that the King like wasn’t; the matter of Greece. As a regional Ambassador, Sir Reginald had been read into the highly classified information regarding the exiled heir to the Greek Throne, currently on Rhodes, along with his counterparts across the region. Although it was impossible for the King to know what was likely to be coming in Greece, and there was no way that Sir Reginald could tell him as that decision was well above his pay-grade, he had to say something.

“I would also say, and this is solely as His Majesty’s Ambassador to your court, and not as a friend of Austria, that the Kingdom will continue to maintain its diplomatic and military commitments in the Balkans, and beyond. As you are doubtless already aware, the Treaty of Cape Town, commits us to Austria’s defence, and I think it highly likely that Apilonian military forces will be involved in this conflict. Similarly, my Kingdom’s commitment to the continued survival and existence of the exiled heir to the Greek throne, the Duke of Sparta, is longstanding and that we will maintain that commitment, and should we need to do so, it should not be construed as anything more nefarious than it actually is.”

“Well, rest assured that Romania shall be watching events in Greece as well. We have had a good discussion here this afternoon, unfortunately I cannot say with any confidence that it has been a constructive discussion. My Prime Minister and I will be addressing the Romanian people at seven o’clock this evening as I have already mentioned, I shall share with him the details of our discussion and we shall tailor our joint speech accordingly. You are correct that Yugoslavia is not the best possible neighbour but I do not think that having the Balkans under the influence of a single outside power would be any better. After all, that was tried once before.” King Cătălin cocked an eyebrow in the direction of Ambassador Ostermann before continuing. “Romania will observe the proceedings as your two nations engage Yugoslavia and we shall reserve the right to speak openly and plainly if we see signs of your nations attempting to assert control over the region. If we ever decide to pursue a policy other than dialogue then we shall inform you before we change our approach, as we shall continue to show respect to your nations and treat you as equals.”

Cătălin rose to his feet and clapped his hands together once before bowing his head to the two ambassadors. “Thank you for your time, ambassadors. I believe that our time is done. Have a safe journey back to your embassies, and if there are any public protests regarding the war on our borders then we shall do our utmost to steer the protestors away from your establishments.” With that, he turned on his heel and began to leave the room, so Căpitan Groza directed a nod towards the footman before following his monarch. The footman approached the two ambassadors with a polite smile, clasping his hands together.

“I believe that the audience is over, if you would please follow me then I shall show you the way out.”

The two Ambassadors exchanged another look as the King took the last word before departing, it was his right and prerogative after all, given that this was his playing field. Once the footman approached they simply nodded and followed him from the room and back towards their vehicles.

“Well,” Sir Reginald commented dryly, once they were by the vehicles again. “That went well.”

“They don’t like us here, Reg, they were never going to accept the practical necessities so long as it was us doing it,” Matthias replied with a shrug. “Much in the same way as we’re going to have issues with Yugoslavia after the fighting… we have a legacy here, and most of it isn’t good.”

“We can relate,” Sir Reginald nodded wryly. “We’ll want to handle these people very carefully, as the situation in Yugoslavia develops… let us know what you need, this is your backyard, you call the shots.”


“I’ll be in touch,” Matthias smiled, shaking Sir Reginald’s hand once more. “By the sounds of it, I’m going to want to wear a cup for this speech… hopefully it won’t be too rough on you.”

“We can take it,” Sir Reginald chuckled. “Some people just aren’t able to see the forest for the trees, and get caught up in the present and don’t see the big picture.”

“Just so,” Matthias nodded. “Stay safe, Reg.”

“You too, Matthias.”

[Freistaat-Ostafrika]

4 November 2020 - 19:00hrs [UTC+2]
Royal Palace of Bucharest
Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania

The Press Briefing Room of the Royal Palace was not as unremarkable as the name made it sound, as the room was still a part of the primary royal residence in the Kingdom of Romania. Easily able to accommodate one hundred journalists, reporters, and accompanying camera crews, the Press Briefing Room was perhaps better described as a 'hall' than a 'room'; the decor was the same cream-and-gilt that ran through the vast majority of the palace, while the marble floor featured an aesthetically pleasing geometric pattern. The provided seating was full of media representatives for this particular event, with a number of reporters having to stand against the walls as every media network had sent someone to the palace in order to cover the announced 'address to the nation'. Mass media in the Kingdom of Romania was operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations, and the more popular television news networks ran the gamut from the public television broadcaster 'Televiziunea Română' (TVR) to cable news channels that catered to specific ideological tendencies. Every news network in Romania had been covering the situation in Hungary ever since the news conference by Archduke George and President Balázs János, and the prospect of a national address from both Prime Minister Petrescu and King Cătălin was sure to only increase the viewer numbers. Not so much because of Petrescu's presence, however. As Petrescu had earlier observed to Marius Balan, the Romanian people adored their young monarch. The nation had rallied around him upon his father's death and his earlier-than-expected ascension to the throne, and since taking the throne King Cătălin had shown himself to be a decisive ruler who brooked no nonsense. People loved him for the obvious excellent relationship that he enjoyed with Queen Mother Gabriela and his younger brother Prince Andrei, but they also loved him for the occasions when he had directly addressed critics or disrespectful individuals and shut them down in a convincing fashion.

At seven o'clock precisely, King Cătălin and the slightly shorter Prime Minister Petrescu entered the room through a large pair of doors and made their way to the two podiums that had been set up in front of the gathered media representatives. Once they were in position, the two men briefly spoke to each other before turning their attention to the assembled media who began to quieten down. Cătălin then cleared his throat and began to speak, remaining calm and measured throughout his speech.

"My fellow Romanians. You have all undoubtedly seen or heard the news about the conflict that now rages between the Archduchy of Austria and the People's Republic of Yugoslavia, a conflict that has erupted due to the announced secession of the Socialist Republic of Hungary from Yugoslavia with the intention of unifying with Austria. This conflict is still in a relatively early stage but it has the potential to become larger and that is why I am here with Prime Minister Petrescu, in order to inform you of what the Romanian government is doing in response and to reassure you that everything possible will be done to prevent this conflict from impacting too negatively upon our nation. This afternoon I held a meeting of the National Security Committee where decisions were made regarding the actions that our national government will be taking at this time, and those actions will be detailed shortly. I then held a meeting with the ambassadors of Austria and Apilonia, as Austria is one of the combatants and they are a member of the Apilonian Commonwealth. I wish that I could state that it was a constructive meeting, but it was not. I was told that they did not give us prior warning of this potential situation because they could not trust us to keep it to ourselves. Neither ambassador appeared willing to give any of my concerns any genuine consideration, and there was absolutely no acknowledgment that this conflict was precipitated by the sudden announcement of Hungary's secession. Both Apilonia and Austria apparently believe that Yugoslavia is completely to blame because they did not simply accept Hungary's secession. I find it ridiculous that either nation genuinely believed that Yugoslavia would respond so timidly to part of their nation seceding without warning, so it would appear that they either knew it would happen and therefore did not care about the potential regional problems that this conflict could cause, or they were hopelessly naive about the potential response of the Yugoslavian state. Prime Minister?"

Petrescu nodded respectfully to Cătălin before speaking. "Thank you, Your Majesty. The Romanian government is now carrying out a variety of actions, details of which will now follow. Ground forces will be deployed to our border regions with both Yugoslavia and what we suppose is now Austria-Hungary, not in order to take offensive action but in order to intercept any forces that cross into our national territory without permission. Our air force is similarly on alert for any combatant aircraft that stray into Romanian airspace. Let us be clear about this, we will defend ourselves if either side attempts to draw us into this conflict. Our ground forces will also be ready to meet any refugees that cross into our territory due to displacement as a result of hostile action, the central government is already liaising with local administrations regarding potential refugee housing sites if there should be any significant numbers. The simple fact is that we do not know how long this conflict might last or how destructive it might become, so it is best to be prepared.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already contacted both Vienna and Belgrade to inform them of our stance on this conflict, and we have advised all Romanian citizens in both combatant nations to return to Romania if at all possible. We are attempting to work with both the Austrian and Yugoslavian governments in this endeavour as our priority is the continued safety of the citizens of Romania, no matter where they might be. I am pleased to announce that the Republic of Zapadoslavia has agreed to assist in this as well, so to any Romanian citizens in either Austria or Hungary who wish to return home and would find it easiest to reach Zapadoslavia, the Zapadoslavian authorities have stated that they will give you shelter. We are reciprocating that by accepting any Zapadoslavian citizens who would find it easier to reach Romania than to get back to Zapadoslavia. I would like to take this time to thank Prime Minister Zahradnik for his government's rapid response to our request regarding this matter, and I am pleased to be able to reciprocate his generous accommodation.

"Now, we are aware that there will be Romanian citizens who might seek to express their anger and concern about this conflict by means of protest. It is the right of every Romanian citizen to conduct peaceful protest and therefore we will not attempt to impede any such expression of public feeling. However, we do ask that any such protests refrain from property damage or any other act of violence. Police will be present at any public protests in order to ensure the safety of those peacefully protesting, if anyone attempts to conduct criminal acts under the guise of a protest then those individuals will be arrested. Allow me to make that as clear as possible. If you are peacefully protesting then you have nothing to worry about. Your Majesty?"

Cătălin gave Petrescu a nod of approval. "Thank you, Prime Minister. It is my hope, and the hope of every Romanian, that this conflict can be ended swiftly and with as little loss of life as possible. The longer this conflict lasts, the more lives will be lost, and the more unstable our region will become. The Romanian government will work tirelessly to ensure that all Romanian citizens are kept safe, and the Kingdom of Romania will endeavour to work with other nations in the region in an attempt to bring this conflict to a swift end. I now ask all Romanian citizens, who are within our national borders and who are not involved with our efforts regarding the conflict, to go about their daily lives as normal. If there are any changes in our situation then you will be informed, and you will be advised on the best course of action to take. Thank you for listening and thank you for your cooperation at this time."

He then looked over to Petrescu, who began to gesture towards the assembled press as he addressed them. "Okay, we'll take a few questions. Claudia?"

A middle-aged female journalist with raven-black hair stood. "Claudia Popescu, TVR. Your Majesty, you stated that your meeting with the ambassadors of Apilonia and Austria was not 'constructive' . Would you be willing to expand upon that?"

Cătălin gave a polite smile. "Excellent question Claudia, and I am certainly willing to expand upon what I meant by that. There was no attempt or even desire on Austria's behalf to warn any of the other governments in the region about their intentions regarding Hungary. Their reasoning was that they did not want Belgrade to find out about Hungary's secession and, essentially, telling us would be a security risk. Personally, I have to ask, which is more likely to contain operatives of Yugoslavia's intelligence services? The Romanian national government, or the bureaucracy of a constituent state of Yugoslavia? Essentially they felt that they could not trust us with the information, yet they want us to trust them that they have the best interests of the region in mind and they will demonstrate that after this conflict. Note, after the conflict. It was also made clear to me that if they deem something to be necessary then they don't care if neighbouring nations have concerns.

"So what will they deem to be necessary? Simply holding Hungary and reaching a ceasefire? Overthrowing the government in Belgrade and installing a pro-Apilonian government in Yugoslavia? Defeating Yugoslavia and dismembering it out of so-called 'necessity' when it is actually out of revenge for the collapse of Austria-Hungary the first time around, carving it into smaller and more 'manageable' states? Will they keep their operations confined to Yugoslavia, or will they find 'necessary reasons' to strike other nations? They had an opportunity to establish genuine dialogue and cooperation with neighbouring nations in this region, but instead, we are told 'trust us, we know what is best for the region'. I think it is rather telling that at one point I was told that 'Austria is simply trying to put right the negative outcomes of the Balkans Wars', with no explanation of what Austria deems to actually be the 'negative outcomes'. Then again, if we were not trustworthy enough to be informed of their plans regarding Hungary then they would not trust us with a proper explanation of their motives. I hope that answers your question, Claudia."

"It does indeed. Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

Prime Minister Petrescu then scanned the journalists for the next individual to be chosen to ask a question, their hands raised in an attempt to catch his attention. "Umm...yes, Dan Filipescu?"

[The Kingdom of Apilonia]

Sir Reginald P. Dixon, KCG
Embassy of the Kingdom of Apilonia, Bucharest
Kingdom of Romania
Thursday 4th November 2020, 1930hrs Local Time

---

The Apilonian Embassy in Bucharest was a modest affair, in keeping with the relative importance of the mission as a thoroughly mid-level posting, build in the neoclassical style it was designed to have a distinctly traditionally Apilonian flavour and, as such, it would not have been out of place in the Royal District of Bainbridge, back in the Kingdom. Indeed, in many cases the Apilonian Embassy in any given national capital tended to be a more sedate affair, particularly where an extensive security compound was not necessary, as the presence of the Apilonian Flag was more than enough to imbue the mission as a whole with the quiet confidence of a great power. In a country like this one, where despite the recent tensions there was no real security threat, both the embassy staff and diplomats other than the Ambassador could live outside of the Chancery complex, reducing its size. As a result, much of the staff lived in rented accommodation elsewhere in the city, selected, paid for and secured by the Apilonian Foreign Office and commuted to the Embassy for work. Aside from anything else it was just good diplomacy, being part of the community rather than mere distant interlopers.

The Ambassador, however, did live within the Chancery, possessing a small but well-appointed suite of rooms for him and his family. This was a matter of protocol as much as security, but the latter was certainly a very real concern as of all the diplomats and staff posted to the mission it was the Ambassador that was the most of risk. It also helped to ensure that the head of the mission was available on very short notice, which could be critical in the event of an international incident. Given that the Embassy maintained a night staff, albeit usually a skeleton one, the Ambassador’s suite was located well enough away from the hustle and bustle of the main bullpen, but Sir Reginald could often be found still in his office late into the night and was not alone in this habit amongst His Majesty’s Ambassadors. Service in the Diplomatic Service was not for the faint of heart, whether at a low level or a higher one, and it was not for naught that the service looked down on the cushy civil servants of the Home Civil Service.

It was in his private sitting room that Sir Reginald had watched the speech by King Cătălin and Prime Minister Petrescu, accompanied by his wife, Stephanie, along with several members of his staff, although it was an informal gathering rather than an official meeting. As expected, Apilonia had not come out of the press conference of smelling of roses, although Austria had come out far worse. It had been interesting to see the King double-down, publicly, on the exaggerated role of the Kingdom in what he apparently thought was an elaborate scheme behind the scenes. It was also a little distressing. Although the Kingdom had made clear to the Austrian leadership that they would back their play, to say that they had been intimately involved in the decision-making process was overstating the matter. As far as the Apilonian Government was concerned, Austria was best suited to take the lead in this part of the world, and that its primary involvement was in defending Austria against assault and, regardless of whether it had been provoked or not Yugoslavia had attacked Austria and that had put into motion a series of events. As much as King Cătălin had argued that they would not simply sit aside, and politically it would have been very difficult for them to do so, but the Politburo in Belgrade had to have known what would happen if they lashed out as a result of the Budapest declaration.

Aside from the immediate implications, specifically the bilateral relationship between Apilonia and Romania, it also boded poorly for the optics of the Apilonian Commonwealth if the Kingdom was be so overwhelming an influence. After all, the idea of the framework had been a true collection of equals, with Apilonia merely as the first amongst equals. Hopefully, this would not be a view that was widely held, although Sir Reginald had no doubts that certain other members, potentially the entire Shenzhen Pact, would likely share the view which was both less than ideal yet unlikely to change anything given the… fractious relationship between Apilonia and several Pact members. Sir Reginald had no doubt that the newly formed Commonwealth Secretariat would already be hard at working determining if there were ways in which this impression could be… corrected. Of course, his immediate concern was Romania and yet, with Pact membership expanding in Europe it was a very real and very present concern.

It was not for naught that Sir Reginald, not normally a drinker, was sat with a glass of whiskey as he had watched the coverage. It had been decided that the Austrian Embassy would take the lead on any response, however both Ambassadors had agreed that there was little value in getting into a tit-for-tat argument with the Romanians, as it was unlikely to change their opinions on matters.

“The sheer audacity of the man,” Counsellor for Political Affairs, Michael Calabrese, scowled at the television, which was now showing the rolling news coverage of the speech and its aftermath. “That we ought to have included him in our every decision… does he not realise that its actually this sort of reaction that prompted us not to.”

“The audacity of Kings often knows no bounds,” Sir Reginald commented dryly.

The Ambassador shared a wry look with his other senior diplomats, they were all hoping to forestall a Calabrese rant, for which the passionate young man was well known within the Embassy, even if he maintained an impressive fade when at diplomatic functions.

“And for the Prime Minister, to throw fuel on the fire of protests,” Calabrese continued. “They might have been calling for calm, but they basically declared on national television that there would be protests… its a self-fulfilling prophecy!”

Seeing an opportunity to derail Calabrese before he ran up a head of steam, Sir Reginald held up a hand and his personal secretary, Amy Ford, who had been in and out of the sitting room about her duties.

“That’s a good point, Mike,” Sir Reginald said with a nod, turning to his secretary. “Amy, will you find Captain Rothchester for me?”

Amy nodded and left the room. It was only a few minutes later she returned with a uniformed man in his late twenties; Captain Fox Rothchester, the Commander for the Embassy Guard detachment. As part of a long tradition of the Crown providing for the protection of its diplomatic missions overseas from its ‘personal troops’, the Household Division, every Apilonian Embassy was provided with a detachment of Foot Guards of varying sizes, depending on the threat level. Aside from the tradition, there were a few practical reasons for this decision; the first was largely ceremonial; the Guards looked resplendent in their crimson dress uniforms and certainly looked the part when they were standing post, whilst the second was largely partial, as the Foot Guards were the Apilonian Army’s experts in defending a fixed position and had a fierce reputation in that regard. Of the six regiments of Foot Guards, three rotated through mounting the King’s Guard at Royal Palaces and other residences, whilst the other three rotated through mounting the Embassy Guard at Apilonian diplomatic missions all over the world whilst another was available on short-notice to respond to security threats all over the world, and every four years the two blocks of three regiments would completely alternate, ensuring that a balance was struck between having experience in both duties and specialising in one, as the two duties were as different in some respects as they were similar in others.

“You wanted to see me, Sir Reginald?” Captain Rothchester asked formally.

Sir Reginald nodded and turned to the Guards officer. The Kingdom was relatively unique amongst those countries that attached military guards to its overseas diplomatic missions in that it appointed an officer to serve as Detachment Commander, where most others used a senior staff non-commissioned officer, believing that it was a waste of an officer for a detachment that could be as few as seven. The Kingdom had taken the opposite view, feeling that in addition to commanding the detachment, an officer in command would reflect nuanced nature of a diplomatic posting, and their status would allow them to participate in the mission’s social calendar in a way that an NCO would struggle. This worked particularly well given that it was the Guards regiments that provided the detachments, as its officers remained predominantly drawn from the upper classes of Apilonian society, although this was less set in stone these days even if high standards were still maintained, which meant that they were already well-acquitted with how to act in a social setting. It was true that every Embassy already had a Defence Attaché, a more senior military officer appointed to co-ordinate defence cooperation where required, but having another officer, a more junior officer, present at such events, had its advantages as well.

“Yes… you saw the speech, I take it?” Sir Reginald asked, to which Captain Rothchester nodded. “We’re expecting protests.”

“We thought the same, Sir,” Captain Rothchester agreed. “How do you want us to proceed? I assume we’ll have local police?”

“The Romanian Prime Minister just said we would, so let’s work under that assumption, in that case I want us to be ready but I don’t want to take any unnecessary actions,” Sir Reginald replied thoughtfully, sipping his drink. “Indeed, as much as I think it best to have all your men standing post this evening, I want them all in dress uniforms rather than combat year, let that demonstrate our opinion.”

“That the protests are’t worth our getting all worked up over, even if we put a few extra men on duty as an appropriate precaution,” Captain Rothchester nodded his understanding. “The men already stand post with rifles, so we’ll be well prepared in the unlikely event they breach the perimeter.”

“I leave the disposition of your men to your discretion, Captain,” Sir Reginald said firmly. “Liaise with Inspector Hastings to keep our people off-site safe.”

Captain Rothchester nodded; Inspector Jennifer Hastings was from the Royal Apilonian Constabulary, and was the Mission Security Officer, the individual responsible for the overall security of the Embassy and all of its staff. Although he answered administratively to the military chain of command, operationally Captain Rothchester answered to Inspector Hastings who, in addition to being responsible for the protection of the Ambassador (through her own close protection officers), the Embassy itself (through Captain Rothchester’s detachment), was also the senior Apilonian law enforcement officer to be part of the mission, which had a wide range of roles and responsibilities of its own. It had been weird for Captain Rochester at first, to answer to a civilian (even if they were a Crown Constable), but Inspector Hastings was a professional and very good at her job and had quickly earned his respect.

Sir Reginald watched Captain Rothchester go before turning his attention back to his staff where there was a lively debate breaking out over whether the Romanians actually believed what they were saying or whether they were kicking up a fuss for internal political purposes. Regardless of the motivation, it was obvious that Apilonia’s diplomatic efforts in Romania were going to be made significantly harder by the events of the pat few days, however if Austria’s action resulted in the removal of Yugoslavia, and the threat it posed, that arguably was an acceptable trade-off, all things considered. The simple fact of the matter, Sir Reginald thought morosely, was that Apilonia did not need Romania, whereas Austria was not only a key partner but a member of the family of nations that was the nascent Commonwealth. When it came down to it, there was no other choice that Apilonia would have made in this situation and it was foolish to think otherwise.

As expected, protests began to form outside the Apilonian Embassy within a couple of hours of the President’s inflammatory speech (which was precisely how it was being described on Apilonian and Austrian newscasts), as it would have taken a little time for like-minded individuals to reach out to each other and make arrangements. As instructed, Captain Rothchester had doubled the guard, ordering all eight members of his detachment to take up posts around the Embassy, but they were still in their distinctive scarlet uniforms. Of course this deliberately calm and measured response, almost aloof even, could chance in a heartbeat; not only would it take mere minutes for the Guardsmen to replace their ceremonial uniform with full combat uniforms, but just being in a smart uniform did not change the fact that they were fully-trained soldiers and the weapons they carried, whilst clean and polished to look their best, were very real and their magazines carried live ammunition. It was something that many tourists, back in the Kingdom, so often forget; many of those Guardsmen who were standing post and whom they called ‘toy soldiers’ had served at least one tour in the Guards Regiment that was available for global security deployments, and as such seen as close to combat as most Apilonian soldiers could boast.

The numbers started small at first, but as word of what was happening spread on social media the crowd grew in both size and volume as they began shouting and chanting. After a time, once the sound from the protesting crowed became loud enough that it could be heard inside even over the (turned-up) sound of the television, Sir Reginald made his way downstairs and found Captain Rothchester and Inspector Hastings observing the protests from the main entrance of the Chancery building, two of the Guardsmen on either side of the large door, their expressions impassive. The only indication, beyond the noise, that something was going on was the fact that Captain Rothchester had attached the rarely-used holster to his ceremonial uniform in which was an Sig Sauer M17 9mm pistol, the standard issue sidearm of the Apilonian Army. The Inspector, who was in her own dress uniform, was also armed, in her case with a Smith & Wesson M&P, chambered for the .40 S&W.

“They are a noisy lot, aren’t they,” Sir Reginald commented dryly. “How we looking Inspector? Captain?”

“A lot of hot air more than anything else,” Inspector Hastings replied, observing the crowd with an expert eye. “This lot aren’t going to get out of hand, unless something dramatically changes.”

“I agree with the Inspector,” Captain Rothchester nodded. “I’ve had one of my men on the roof with a scope, there’s no sign of any weapons, and we’re keeping an eye out for any organisers or agitators.”

“Very well then, they can shout themselves hoarse if they really must, it's not going to change anything, so we’ll stay above this,” Sir Reginald said firmly. “I think perhaps that is why they are so worked up over this, it's not the lack of notice… it's the lack of control.”

“And we, or rather Austria, are in control in this part of the world,” Captain Rothchester agreed. “Which must be driving them mad.”

“Undoubtedly; and that is the only concern about this entire situation, what they might do next to try and regain that control,” Sir Reginald admitted. “I’m sure I don’t need to explain the geopolitical situation in this part of the world.. so we’ll see what happens.”

“Yes Sir,” Captain Rothchester nodded. “We’ll do our best not to make things more complicated for you.”

“I would appreciate that,” Sir Reginald said dryly. “Well, I don’t think any of us are going to get any sleep with that racket, so I’ll get on with some paperwork… I’ll be in my office if either of you need me."

[Freistaat-Ostafrika]

5 November 2020 - 13:00hrs [UTC+1]
Chamber of Deputies
Kraków, Republic of Zapadoslavia

With a population of just over fifty-four million people, the Republic of Zapadoslavia might not have been a titan on the world stage but it was by far the largest nation facing the potential effects of the Austro-Yugoslavian conflict. The name 'Zapadoslavia' roughly translated to 'Land of the West Slavs', and it was a rather apt name as the vast majority of the population was comprised of West Slavic peoples: Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Sorbs, Kashubians, Moravians, and Silesians. This did not, however, mean that there was any real affection between Zapadoslavia and Yugoslavia, the 'Land of the South Slavs'. While both nations had been born from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Zapadoslavia had come into existence after popular plebiscites in the territories now known as Czechia and Slovakia had led to their union with the Republic of Poland in the 1920s; the resultant Zapadoslavia was a democratic republic with a free press and a wide variety of civil and political rights. There had always been a degree of standoffish-ness between the two as a result of this, with the various Zapadoslavian political parties tending to adopt variations on the same policy of so-called 'engagement and containment' in regard to the authoritarian socialist state to the south; essentially, as long as Yugoslavia did not try to expand then Zapadoslavia was perfectly happy to leave them alone outside of some rhetoric. Yugoslavia's existence was an additional outcome of the regional instability that had resulted in the formation of Zapadoslavia, and so Yugoslavia was in some respects viewed as being another element of the region's political landscape, albeit a rather distasteful one. This type of policy had continued under the recently-elected Social Democrat government of Prime Minister Kryštof Zahradnik. As Zahradnik's stance was that Zapadoslavia 'had no right to condemn other nations for systems and practices which stem from their own unique cultural and political experiences', Belgrade had initially hoped for some sort of thaw in relations. Unfortunately for Yugoslavia, Zahradnik had not proven to be as friendly towards them as they had hoped; he had expended quite a lot of his initial political capital on winning a referendum on Zapadoslavia's potential application for membership of the Shenzhen Pact, and so he had maintained the traditional Zapadoslavian attitude towards the Politburo in Belgrade. While the Romanian government had been extremely vocal about the circumstances surrounding the Hungarian secession, the Zapadoslavian government had remained rather silent in comparison, only issuing a statement calling for the 'peaceful resolution of the dispute' and publicly confirming the agreement regarding Zapadoslavian or Romanian citizens seeking to leave the nations involved in the conflict. That silence was about to be broken with Prime Minister Zahradnik's urgent statement to the Chamber of Deputies, Zapadoslavia's unicameral legislature.

The Chamber was packed as every Deputy was in attendance for the Prime Minister's statement, attending out of a mixture of concern and curiosity (and in the case of the Social Democrats, party solidarity). The Chamber's floor plan divided the large room between the Deputies and the functionaries who ensured the smooth running of all sessions. Most of the Chamber was occupied by the five hundred and thirty-two seats for the Deputies which were organised in a semicircular fashion, each seat featuring its own desk and touchscreen. Three hundred and seven of the seats were occupied by the Social Democrats, who had scored a significant victory in the general elections earlier in the year, while their allies in the Green Party held twenty-three seats. The rest of the seats in the Chamber were held by the opposition Christian Democratic Party (one hundred and ninety-three), and nine independents. All Deputy seating faced the central rostrum at the front of the Chamber, where the Speaker and their various civil servant assistants sat to preside over proceedings. The ever-hawkish Speaker of the Chamber, Oswald Mirski, cast his sharp gaze over the assembled democratic representatives before gesturing towards Zahradnik, who was sat in the front row of the Deputies with the mass of the Social Democrats behind him.

"Urgent statement from the Prime Minister regarding the situation in Hungary. Prime Minister?"

Zahradnik rose from his seat to the assenting applause of his party, nodding respectfully to Mirski. The slim and bespectacled thirty-nine-year-old cleared his throat before beginning to address the assembled throng.

"Thank you, Mister Speaker. I am here to update everyone on the current situation on our southern border as well as the measures that we are taking in order to respond to that situation. Yesterday afternoon, there was a press conference in Budapest involving Archduke George of the Archduchy of Austria and President János of the General Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Hungary, a constituent state of the People's Republic of Yugoslavia. That press conference announced that Hungary would be seceding from Yugoslavia and unifying with Austria. Belgrade's response was to launch an incursion into Austria. The military conflict is now approaching its first full day, and we have reliable intelligence that Apilonian naval assets were engaged at some point late last night. We fully expect the Kingdom of Apilonia to officially enter the conflict as a result of this.

"I have spoken with Prime Minister Cordeiro of Portugal and President Yang of the Nanfang Republic regarding this situation and I have been assured that while we will not officially become an observer member of the Shenzhen Pact until later this month, the Nanfang Republic and other Pact members will throw their full diplomatic support behind us in our response to this crisis. As announced last night, we have reached a mutual arrangement with the Kingdom of Romania regarding citizens of Romania and Zapadoslavia who wish to leave those nations involved in the conflict. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Prime Minister Nicolae Petrescu for his initiative in this particular regard, as well as the ease with which our two governments have been able to organise things."

He paused to take a sip from the glass of water that was positioned on his desk. "I can now officially announce to the Chamber that we are deploying elements of the Zapadoslavian Armed Forces to our border with what is now apparently Austria-Hungary once again. These forces are being deployed purely for defensive purposes in case of incursions, be they accidental or otherwise. We are also continuing talks with the Kingdom of Romania in an attempt to form a common front calling for the cessation of hostilities and the commencement of peace talks. It is my hope that this conflict can be brought to a swift and peaceful conclusion with an absolute minimum of loss of life; this conflict could easily introduce increasing instability to our region, and this is understandably a significant concern for Zapadoslavia. My government will continue to work with all potential partners in an attempt to minimise the duration and impact of this crisis."

Zahradnik nodded to Mirski once more and took his seat to the supportive murmuring of his party faithful, at which point the Leader of the Opposition rose to his feet in order to respond. Arkady Pilarski had won the leadership contest in the Christian Democratic Party that had been triggered following their electoral loss; seen as a 'safe pair of hands', the fifty-nine-year-old had served as Minister of Family, Labour, and Social Policy under the previous Prime Minister, Igor Panek. Pilarski looked around with a thoughtful expression before addressing Zahradnik.

"Prime Minister, I would like to thank you for your statement and for the measures that your government is implementing. It is imperative that this crisis be brought to a swift end in order to preserve lives and regional stability, and the Christian Democratic Party will support the government in all efforts aimed at achieving this end. I would like to ask you what your position is regarding the idea that Austria and Apilonia eschewed the opportunity to build a regional consensus because they did not trust the nations of the region, including ourselves."

Zahradnik rose as Pilarski sat, appearing to be rather pensive as he spoke. "King Cătălin of Romania brought this up in his statement last night. During my later phone conversations with Prime Minister Petrescu, I was provided with details of what the Austrian government's position is in regard to Romanian concerns and I must admit that I find the implications to be deeply troubling. Essentially, Austria believed that informing any other nations would be a security risk and that the chances of Yugoslavia discovering the plans would increase. I do not understand this viewpoint. Apparently, a constituent state of Yugoslavia was seen as less likely to leak the information to Belgrade than the likes of Zapadoslavia or Romania. They undoubtedly knew how Belgrade would respond as Archduke George openly admitted during the press conference that the Austrian military was prepared to face off against Yugoslavian forces, yet they decided not to provide neighbouring nations with any prior warning. This has resulted in Zapadoslavian and Romanian citizens being put at risk by Austria's actions, a possibility that they would have fully anticipated but I suspect that the safety of any non-Austrian or non-Hungarian nationals is an extremely peripheral concern for Vienna.

"There is also the matter of Romania being told that their 'sensibilities' were no reason to 'avoid doing what needs to be done'. Essentially, the Austrian attitude is that what they have done is completely justified and to hell with any objections from neighbouring nations." He sighed slightly. "I always prefer to avoid issuing judgements on other nations, but in this instance, I cannot do so. I have no issue with Hungary exercising a right to self-determination. I do have an issue with Austria showing total disregard for their neighbours and the effect that their actions can have on the region. We are supposed to simply trust them, yet they show no trust in us. I have seen nothing in this crisis that provides me with a reason to trust the Austrian government's actions. So I am now publicly asking Archduke George of Austria to give me that reason to trust the actions and intentions of his adopted homeland. The outcome of this crisis will be greatly affected by the disposition of the nations in the region, but thus far all Austria has done is to dismiss the concerns of those nations.

"Austria may currently be ignoring the opportunity to build a regional consensus, but we shall not. Genuine cooperation and respect between nations is the best path to take in international affairs, after all."

[The Kingdom of Apilonia]

His Royal Highness The Archduke of Austria
The Hofburg, Vienna
Archduchy of Austria
Thursday 5th November 2020, 1900hrs Local Time

---

There was equal parts concern and frustration in Vienna as the war in Yugoslavia entered its second night.

Concern that, in their attempt to challenge (and ideally neuter) the military threat to their south, they had created a whole range of diplomatic issues that would have to be dealt with in the coming months. Although the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was, undoubtedly, the most substantial and real threat, from a military and existential perspective, the alienation of the rest of the Archduchy’s neighbours was far from ideal. This was particularly true, given the increasing alignment of the second such neighbour to join the criticism, the Republic of Zapadoslavia, with the Shenzhen Pact. Although the Apilonian Commonwealth, which Austria was a founding member, was not deliberately setting itself up as a rival or competitor, the fact remained that as the only two major multinational blocs (in comparison to those states such as the Empire of Layarteb, the Realm of Cotland, or the British Empire, which were one big entity) they were inevitably going to interact across the globe in a multitude of different ways. As such, there was a genuine desire within the Commonwealth to foster positive relations with the Pact, rather than negative ones, which was already off to a potentially bad start by the nigh-hostility of the various African member-states of the Pact, not the least of which was Ostafrika, towards the Kingdom of Apilonia, the Commonwealth’s largest member and first-amongst-equals.

Frustration in the way in which their actions were being represented, either through genuine belief or for political gain, with regards to the fact that Austria had not brought the neighbouring nations into their plans, for various security reasons. This seemed to miss the point that the ‘circle’ was kept very tight, both within the Austrian Government and within Hungary, very few knew about the negotiations until they were complete. Whilst it was true that there was an arguably higher chance of compromise by the Yugoslavian Committee of State Security within Hungary, it was also infinitely easier to keep the circle tight and to enact various protective countermeasures, than it would have been if they had widened the circle to include the Romanians, the Zapadoslavians, or whoever else thought they ought to have been informed. After all, Austrian Intelligence would have had no way in which to protect the information once it had been divulged, and perhaps more importantly they had no idea of who might have been a Yugoslavian asset as was the case in Hungary.

Most Austrians could appreciate the situation that they had put their neighbours in, however operational security had trumped diplomatic niceties, and where some form of apology might have been forthcoming the way in which the issue had been raised, first in Romania and now on the floor of the Zapadoslavia Chamber of Deputies, had significantly hardened opinions in Vienna (and in Budapest) and for many in the Austrian Government only underlined the reason why the decision had been made. After all, neither the Romanians nor the Zapadoslavians had wasted any time in going on the offensive once the had the information, there was a very real sense in Vienna that such a response indicated a high likelihood that they would have opposed the effort in the first place and potentially even gone public with the Austrian plans, which would have had disastrous consequences. Besides, not only had the Yugoslavian military response not been a foregone conclusion, but it was not like these were the first secret negotiations in world history and they were unlikely to be the last.

In short, even as goodwill faded in Romania and Zapadoslavia it was fading in Vienna just as quickly. As a result, any calls by either of these parties for peace talks were going to fall on deaf ears, especially after what the Yugoslavians had done by invading the Archduchy itself (not just Hungary). Indeed, there was a rapidly developing consensus within Austria that the time was now that they had to remove the Yugoslavian threat once and for all. That was not to say that peaceful attempts would not be made, indeed some of the more distant and easily swayed constituent republics were already being targeted as likely to split away from Belgrade at even the smallest hint of a military threat, with the more isolated (thanks to the physical barrier Dinarides) republics of Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia) being prime targets, particularly if they were offered favourable terms. Indeed, it was here that the Commonwealth’s involvement would truly come into its own; as in return for denouncing the Politburo in Belgrade and enacting some democratic reforms, transitioning into social democracy, they would be offered a fast-track to Commonwealth membership.

Given that the three had been hotbeds for support for such a transition, it was generally hoped that, with a little military push to encourage the leadership to willingly give up their privileged position or be removed, thee constitution republics could be removed from Yugoslavia with comparatively little fighting. It was Bosnia and Serbia that were likely to offer true military resistance, and as such any diplomatic issues developing were both a serious complication, due to the proximity of the Kingdom of Romania to Serbia, and a potentially dangerous distraction for policymakers in Vienna. In short, something had to be done, however there was significant disagreement on what precisely ought to be done, and what was even possible at this point. Both the Romanians and Zapadoslavians seemed pretty set in their opinions, although the latter at least left the door open to some degree. The problem was that Vienna remained of the opinion that secrecy was essential, and as such were loath to concede otherwise, and the narrative that both the Romanians and the Zapadoslavians were pushing was not liable to make Vienna any more willing to do so.

Which, George, Archduke of Austria, thought wryly as he pinched the bridge of his nose sat in the private library of the Hofburg, was giving him a headache.

As an outside in Austria, even if he was now it’s Archduke, George had a unique perspective. As a student of history at the University of Washington, where he had first met Sophia prior to joining the Imperial Army, George had thrown himself into the study of Austrian history (and that of the wider region) when he had first been posted to Vienna. This desire for knowledge had only increased after leaving the Army and his marriage to Sophia, as he decided that he owed it to his adopted people to fully understand their history if he was to serve them as their Archduke. As a result, he was fully aware that there was a great deal of history, most of it not tremendously good, in the region and that there was a lot of bad blood. Austria, in time Austria-Hungary, had been the dominant power of Eastern Europe and the Balkans for some time and, as such, had a great deal of involvement in the histories of both the Kingdom of Romania and the Republic of Zapadoslavia, as well as Yugoslavia and even Greece. As such, although from an operational perspective he agreed with the decision to keep the circle extremely small (and indeed had been part of that decision), he understood why both the Romanians and the Zapadoslavians weren’t tremendously pleased.

For Romania and Zapadoslavia, Austria-Hungary had been the distant power from which they had sought (and won) their independence, either through violence or through the ballot box and a peaceful request. It was only to be expected that they would view, even many years later, still hold something of a grudge against their historic overlords. It was also understandable that they would fear a resurgent Austria, much less a reborn Austria-Hungary, and even before the secession of Hungary from the Yugoslavia it was obvious that Austria’s star had been rising once again, first by marrying into an alliance with Apilonia, whose own star was once again in ascendance, and then by joining the Commonwealth as a founding member, with all the advantages it would bring and implications that came with it. From a purely logical perspective, it was understandable why its neighbours would be fearful that Austria-Hungary would not be satisfied with its current territorial extent.

For Austria, the situation was largely reversed. Within the Austrian people there was a degree of resentment against their former subjects who had broken away from them, and the reduction in their nation’s power and stature as a result, and there was a very real fear that their former subjects would turn against them and punish them for any (perceived or real) excesses that might have happened under their administration. This fear had only played into the unenviable geopolitical and security situation that the Archduchy had found itself in. Whilst neither Romania nor Zapadoslavia had been openly hostile, relations had never become particularly friendly either, with neutral being the best possible descriptor. Nevertheless, and unsecured northern and eastern border, as far as friendly relationships were concerned, had only added to the headache that was the very real military threat from Yugoslavia. It had, after all, only been in recent years that the extent of the crumbling economy (and the damage that imposed on the Yugoslavian People’s Military) had started to become clear, and even then Yugoslavia had still posed a hazard, even to the more wealthier Austria and its qualitatively superior military.

The irony was now, with events proceeding rapidly in the Balkans, that further prosperity for Austria-Hungary, and its restoration as a true regional power, would only be secure if they were able to develop positive relations with its neighbours. But this was easier said than done of course, for both sides were currently holding mutually contradictory positions.

In short, Austria had feared that it’s neighbours would seek their revenge against them, or at the very least be a dangerous distraction to the Yugoslavian threat, whilst those same neighbours had been fearful that, should Austria ever regain its former position, it would seek to restore its lost territory. There was, it had become clear in the past few days, absolutely no trust on either side and that was the critical problem here. Indeed, more than one Austrian official or politician had responded to their neighbours complaints by simply asking why Austria should have trusted either of them with the information. If there was going to be any hope for positive relations between Austria-Hungary and its northern and eastern neighbours, then there had to be some form of trust built. It would not be easy, and George was all too aware of the simmering civil conflict in Greece, which Apilonia at least was committed to involve itself in if requested by the exiled Duke of Sparta, could potentially throw a spanner into the works of any diplomatic warming, but if anything that made starting to build the trust more important. After all, failing to warn their regional ‘partners’ of a resurgence of fighting in Greece would fatally damage relations, potentially for a generation of more, whereas even if they might not like what was happening if they were informed there would at least be a foundation to build upon, but that was only possible if some trust had been built.

Which meant that someone had to take the first step and, as an outsider in a position of great power within the Archduchy, George decided that had to be him.

“Klaus!” George called out to his chief of staff, who was working late in a room just off the library with George’s permission.

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“I need you to send a message to Kraków,” George said simply. “Please inform the Zapadoslavian Government that the Archduke of Austria would very much appreciate an invitation to a private, and low-key, meeting with their Prime Minister.”

[Freistaat-Ostafrika]

6 November 2020 - 08:00hrs [UTC+1]
Wielopolski Palace
Kraków, Republic of Zapadoslavia

Prime Minister Zahradnik nodded in thanks as a cup of freshly brewed tea was set down on his desk by a member of the Wielopolski Palace staff, and took a sip before getting down to work. The Prime Ministerial residence was a 16th-century Renaissance-style building and provided the Zapadoslavian head of government with a comfortable daily life as well as a fitting site for meeting with other dignitaries; on this particular Friday morning, Zahradnik was settled down in the wood-panelled Prime Ministerial office just as he was every morning at the same time, ready for the work of government. He began reading through a prepared summary of the headline stories featured in the nation's major newspapers when there was a knock at the door and Štěpán Kolowrat entered with a wry smile. As Wielopolski Palace's Director of Communications and Strategy, Kolowrat had the power to issue orders to civil servants and was well-known as the enforcer of Zahradnik's will when it came to matters of governance. Kolowrat had previously served as Director of Strategic Communications for Zahradnik while he was Leader of the Opposition and had helped Zahradnik forge the Social Democrats into the highly-electable party of government that they now were, so he possessed a great deal of experience when it came to ensuring that Zahradnik got his way. The thirty-two-year-old brandished a piece of paper as he approached the desk, handing it to Zahradnik and nodding approvingly.

"Archduke George of Austria would like to be invited to a meeting with you. Private and low-key if possible. Evidently your words in the Chamber yesterday struck a chord."

Zahradnik began reading the message and gestured for Kolowrat to sit, but rather than taking the seat across the desk from the Prime Minister, Kolowrat walked around and perched himself on the desk just to the left of his political master. "Could be a fantastic public relations coup if, say, word of the meeting was leaked by 'sources close to Wielopolski Palace'. Daniel Stolarz knows how to be discreet and would make it sound good."

Zahradnik cocked an eyebrow as he turned his attention to Kolowrat. "Yes, then cue calls for a leak inquiry over something of such a high level."

Kolowrat shrugged. "The civil service has never revealed the true source of a leak following a leak inquiry. Usually because it's either one of their own acting on orders from a superior or one of their own acting on orders from a minister. We have an opportunity to showcase your diplomatic credentials and international standing here, besides it's not as if he'll be able to arrive and leave here without someone noticing."

"Hmm." Zahradnik set the message down and sat back in his chair, tenting his fingers as he looked up at Kolowrat. "This does actually present an opportunity, but not necessarily for domestic kudos. I'm thinking more about Romania. Both Zapadoslavia and Romania are unhappy about the Hungary situation and resulting war being sprung upon us without any notice, but Bucharest is especially unhappy about it. So what I'm thinking is that I do indeed invite Archduke George to a private and low-key meeting but we inform the Romanian Prime Minister about it beforehand. That way we can show that we're honest and open with them, unlike Apilonia and Austria."

Kolowrat ran his hand over his neatly-cropped black hair and chuckled. "He'll be furious to hear that George is meeting you when Romania are the ones making the most noise about it all, but then I suspect that you're counting on that."

"Maybe." Zahradnik winked at Kolowrat before continuing. "Romania's angry. Austria kicked off a war with Yugoslavia, a war that Apilonia will undoubtedly wade into, and by all accounts, Austria has dismissed Romanian concerns out of hand. Romania could use a good friend right now. Zapadoslavia is cooperating with Romania on issues regarding citizen safety so we're already building on what's always been a decent relationship. If we keep them in the loop about everything that's going on, including George's visit, then we continue to build trust and potentially expand upon our existing cooperation. If we can help to strengthen the hand of the Romanian government in some way then it may well help Petrescu's chances of being re-elected come December. I don't think he's in any real danger of being unseated but this whole debacle has the potential to whip up some loud nationalist sentiment in Romania. While I have no doubt that Petrescu is capable of harnessing something like that for himself, any victories that his government can score will stand him in good stead when it comes to votes."

"Far better to have another five years with Petrescu in charge than have to deal with someone who got into power thanks to public sentiment towards the current crisis." Kolowrat paused momentarily. "Maybe after George's visit, we should think about the possibility of you visiting Bucharest? Make a grand show of solidarity with our valued Romanian friends. Both sides could spin it well, lots of good feeling spread about before the election. As well as, you know, actually discussing the current crisis."

"Exactly. Okay then, organise an invitation for Archduke George to a private and low-key meeting. Offer him the choice between meeting here in Kraków or somewhere a bit closer to home, maybe...Valtice. It's pretty much right on the border with Austria and it's on our home turf in the Czechia region, and it's small. Once we have confirmation that he's accepted the invitation, regardless of where he wants to meet, we'll discreetly inform Petrescu in the interests of keeping Romania in the loop regarding potentially important events in the region. It'll also give Petrescu an opportunity to demonstrate that Romania can indeed keep a secret. No leaking to the media though, Štěpán. It wouldn't look too good if the 'private and low-key meeting' was crashed by anyone from the Zapadoslavian media."

Kolowrat shrugged. "Fair enough. Do we tell any of the cabinet or do we keep it as a nice surprise for the next cabinet meeting?"

"Tell Zuzana. She is the Foreign Minister, after all, we should keep her informed. Since this is going to be a private meeting, we should keep attendees to a minimum. So on the Zapadoslavian side, it'll be me, you, and a couple of State Protection Service personnel."

"Understood, I'll get the invitation sent out quietly. If we arrange for the meeting to either be tomorrow or Sunday then it'll make it a little easier to keep it under wraps, no-one would question the idea of you heading out of Kraków at the weekend. You can drop in on Prague while you're in the area, I can arrange a few good photo opportunities."

Zahradnik grinned at Kolowrat. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Štěpán."

[The Kingdom of Apilonia]

A Joint Post with Freistaat-Ostafrika

His Royal Highness The Archduke of Austria
Valtice
Czechia, The Republic of Zapadoslavia
Saturday 7th November 2020, 1900hrs Local Time

---

A modest motorcade, made up of three specially modified black Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles of the Austrian National Police, swept up to the border post between the Archduchy of Austria and the Republic of Zapadoslavia. Although it was impossible to keep word of the Archduke’s meetings completely off the radar of those that made a living out of observing the Archducal Court, it was desirable that this was not a whole song and dance, for a whole host of reasons. As such, and given that as tense as relations with its neighbours were at the moment the likelihood of a threat to the Archduke was minimal, it would just be a small group of Archduke George and his immediate entourage, his chief of staff, two advisors, and a scaled-down protective detail provided by the National Police. There was a political risk to reaching out to Zapadoslavia first, that much was clear, but there was also an opportunity, especially given that the politics between Austria and Romania had only become more inflamed over the past few days; any sign of weakness vis-a-vis Romania would be seen as unacceptable by many Austrians, whilst the same concessions to Zapadoslavia would be somewhat better received.

At least for the moment.

As he looked out the window, noting subconsciously as they were waved through by the Austrian Border Guards, George knew all too well how much of a knife-edge the Archduchy’s diplomatic relations with its neighbours were. Although no longer a critical geopolitical consideration, as Austria’s sovereignty was now protected by its membership in the Apilonian Commonwealth, and all the assurances that came with that membership, it was nevertheless obviously desirable to have friendly, or at least congenial, relations with ones neighbours. It was not a position that Austria had truly had to consider before; after all it had been the dominant regional power for some years, and after it had lost that regional dominance it had steadily developed a deeply engrained siege mentality. As a result, previous Austrian Archdukes had viewed the Archduchy’s neighbours as threats, to be countered, rather than partners, to be befriended and cooperated with. It was, therefore, all very well and good for Romania and Zapadoslavia to say that they feared a resurgent Austria, but the reverse was true, for Austria had plenty to fear from vengeful former territories.

It was this fundamental difference in positions that would, in George’s opinion as both a history graduate and a former geopolitical analyst with the Apilonian Army’s Intelligence Corps, be the biggest obstacle to a peaceful and productive relationships with their neighbours. It was also the reason why it had to be George, as an outside who had become Archduke of Austria, that would have to try and build bridges and mend fences. After all, every senior (and many junior) official in the Austrian Government, up to and including the Chancellor, had spent their entire career in that boxed-in mindset, and as such it was very difficult for them to see their neighbours as anything more than a potential threat. Indeed, although George had agreed, from an operational security perspective, that there would be less chance of a leak in purely practical terms by keeping news of the developments strictly to senior Hungarian officials, the Austrian Government’s position had been largely driven by a complete lack of trust in any of their neighbours. Even Sophia, younger and exposed to an entirely different mindset thanks to her education in Apilonia, had still been brought up in an establishment that viewed everyone that was not in the Archduchy, or long-standing allies like Apilonia, was potential threats.

In short, no one else could go to Zapadoslavia, or indeed Romania, with a realistic chance of any sort of success.

It was very much a crossroads moment; George was sticking his neck out for the first time as Archduke, and it was not just a symbolic moment as, although the couple had privately agreed that Sophia would have the final say, which was only fitting, George did have actual power within the Archduchy, and could speak on its behalf with authority. However, and part of the reason why he had wanted to keep it as low-key as possible, there was every possibility that either Zapadoslavia or Romania would rebuff him, publicly, which would be a significant public relations defeat for George. It was for that reason, aside from anything else, that relations stood at a crossroads; if Zapadoslavia, in particular as Romania seemed to be a harder prospect, came to this meeting and it was productive then it could lead to positive relations, however if George was spurned after offering the olive branch then it would almost certainly lead him to back the traditionalists in their view against Austria’s neighbours, with all of the implications that meant.

George’s hope was that the Zapadoslavian Prime Minister would understand the implications behind the meeting, and what he was going to say, and approach it with that in mind, and they could have a productive conversation. It was also the reason why he had reached out to Zapadoslavia first, even with the potential risk of going to them before Romania, in that it was far more likely that a positive outcome would be forthcoming from them, rather than the Romanians, and that success was important before moving on to tackle Romania.

“We’re almost at the meeting site, Your Royal Highness.”

George glanced up from his intelligence briefing and nodded at the head of his National Police protective detail.

“Alright,” George smiled wryly. “Let’s go meet the neighbours.”

---

The meeting site selected by Prime Minister Zahradnik was one that combined convenience with a degree of subtext. Kolonada Reistna was an honourific monument situated on a hill overlooking Valtice, between the small town and the Austrian border. This meant that the Archduke’s motorcade would not have to drive through any potentially populated streets and therefore reduced the chances of any bystanders observing his passage. Built in the 19th century by an Austrian nobleman to honour his deceased brothers and father, the Kolonada had found itself in Czech territory following the Austro-Hungarian collapse and had become something of a tourist attraction within Zapadoslavia. The monument featured a rooftop viewing deck that was accessible via an internal staircase, allowing visitors to look out over the border and into Austria, but there were no visitors around as the site closed to the public at 17:00hrs. This had given Zahradnik and his own entourage plenty of time to ensure the security of the site in anticipation of the Archduke’s arrival. The arrival of the Austrian motorcade was easily observed by two members of the State Protection Service who were positioned on the viewing deck, and word of the Austrian arrival was quickly relayed to the other four black-suited protective personnel positioned at ground level. Zahradnik stood under the impressive central arch of the monument with Štěpán Kolowrat at his side, and nodded as one of his bodyguards informed him of the Archduke’s imminent arrival. Kolowrat cleared his throat as the bodyguard headed off to return to his patrol.

“Here we go then.”

Zahradnik nodded and clenched his jaw slightly. “This could either be a diplomatic breakthrough or an affirmation of the differences between us. Ultimately it all depends on why he wanted this meeting, so the ball is very much in his court.”

George stepped out from his vehicle as soon as his protective detail gave him the okay, having completed a quick visual sweep of the surrounding area for any sign of a threat. The majority of the detail would stay with the vehicles, close enough to be called upon quickly but also to prevent them from being bugged or mined, whilst just the detail leader would would accompany George and his chief of staff, Klaus Fiedler, towards the Zapadoslavias.

“Prime Minister,” George said warmly as he approached, offering a hand to shake. “Thank you for agreeing to this meeting.”

Zahradnik shook George’s hand, raising an eyebrow as he did so. “Well it’s not every day that the Archduke of Austria requests an invitation to visit Zapadoslavia, Your Grace. So now that we are here, could I find out precisely why we are here?”

“No, I suppose it’s not,” George agreed, hiding a grimace at the Prime Minister’s immediate tone behind a well practised smile that came easily to royalty. “Of course.”

George gleaned up at the monument for a moment before continuing.

“You may be aware that, before my career in the Apilonian Army, I studied a bachelors in history at the University of Washington, and that upon my posting to Vienna, and my subsequent marriage to the Archduchess Sophia, I have availed myself of the extensive historical archives of the Hofburg and the Austrian state,” George commented, looking back at the Prime Minister. “As such, I am well aware that Europe has a deep and complex history that the New World of my native Apilonia does not have to contend with… I am therefore cognizant of the long and difficult history between Austria and Zapadoslavia, and indeed all of its former territories, and the lingering entanglements that result.”

George paused.

“I am therefore well aware the reasons that Zapadoslavia, and indeed Romania, is less than thrilled with Austria’s actions in Hungary, particularly the fact that we did provide you with forewarning, whilst I also understand my adopted countrymen’s mindset, beyond purely operational security, in doing so, in short, there is no trust on either side,” George continued. “The history explains it of course, but it also makes it incredibly difficult to change; you don’t trust Austria’s intentions, and Austria by no means trust yours… however, as an Apilonian Prince that has married into the Austrian Archducal house, I have a unique perspective and opportunity, as an outsider with authority in the Archduchy, to try and change that.”

“This meeting is my first step, I hope, towards building some trust.”

Zahradnik made a ‘hmm’ that sounded as though he was impressed, before exchanging a nod with the nearby Kolowrat that, once again, gave the impression of being impressed.

“Well, that all sounds lovely, Your Grace. I would just like to remind you of the words uttered by Prime Minister Barnes of Apilonia during PMQs yesterday. He said, and I quote, that Romania was a ‘paranoid third party’ that has chosen ‘to be a prisoner of the past’. He also suggested that Romania’s response to this situation could be used to justify not informing them beforehand. So please, do not try to present yourself as a potential bridge. Your homeland has publicly sided with Austria and proved to be completely tone-deaf to this region in the process.

“Yes, there is a bad history. As an example, my great-grandparents lived under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As they were Czech, they were subjects of the Austrian Crown. Hungarians were subjects of the Hungarian Crown due to the equal status of the Austrian and Hungarian Crowns. When it came to the idea of the Kingdom of Bohemia being recognised as equal and therefore Czechs receiving more recognition, the Hungarians opposed it. Vehemently. Now, I made it clear that I do not oppose the idea of Hungary’s self-determination. What I oppose is having a war erupt on our southern border and the region plunged into uncertainty without warning[\i]. You say that you want to try to build trust? You could have done that before Hungary’s secession. Instead we are here now, with you asking me to trust you when you had no trust in me or my government. Let’s not forget that you were the one who went to Budapest to proudly announce the event that precipitated the current crisis.

“I find it difficult to believe that there is trust to be built when both Apilonia and Austria react to the concerns of Zapadoslavia and Romania by telling us that we are ‘prisoners of the past’. Surely Austria is just as guilty of being such a prisoner, so why must we be the ones to move first?”

“I don’t disagree, and that is precisely why I am here,” George replied bluntly, having listened to the Prime Minister’s words and considered them carefully. “For all my status as an Apilonian Prince, and thus an outsider, I am still Archduke of Austria so I was, perhaps, the only person in the Archduchy who [i]could move first.”

George paused and sighed.

“My homeland issued a full-throated declaration of support for it’s ally, and its partner in our new Commonwealth, one that was admittedly tailored towards an Austrian audience over a Zapadoslavian or Romanian one, which is only to be expected; Apilonia would support its ally’s position, as it follows it’s partners leads in their respective regions,” George conceded. “But that is my point; it is Austria’s position that needs to change, Apilonia is supporting it’s ally rather than conducting an independent foreign policy in the region… it is not my connection to Apilonia that makes me a possible bridge for better relations, but rather my power in Austria because I am an outsider and not a party to the same history.”

George considered his next words for a moment, before deciding that if they were to start building trust then he might as well be open and honest.

“Unlike the Austrian Establishment, the Chancellor, or even my Archduchess Sophia, I do not have the same innate distrust of you, Romania, or any of the neighbouring states that were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire… The military intelligence officer in me agreed with the OPSEC benefits of keeping you in the dark, but I did not truly consider the diplomatic implications, due primarily to the fact that I am a soldier at heart, not a politician. In truth, I deferred to the judgement of Sophia, and she to the teachings of her father and the beliefs of her Government, as I did not think it my place to take such a contrarian position. Yet, I don’t have that same predisposition and I believe in an alternative route of trust and cooperation, and the fact of the matter is that I do have a great deal of influence over Sophia, of course, and power over the Austrian Government, so I can be the agent of change that is needed in Vienna, now that the old way has only caused more distrust and problems.”

“I cannot promise that you will like everything that we choose to do, especially as we deal with Yugoslavia, but I can offer you a promise you that there will be more engagement moving forwards, on my personal authority if needs be,” George concluded earnestly. “I have grown fond of my adopted home, Prime Minister, but they are stubborn and have viewed all their neighbours as threats for nearly a century now, so they need a push, and I am the only one in a position to give that push, which is why I come bearing an olive branch now.”

Zahradnik listened to the Archduke’s words and could not miss the sincerity behind them, a fact that led to Zahradnik expressing a sigh of disappointment as the Zapadoslavian responded.

“Your Grace, as much as I would like to believe you to be the ‘agent of change’, I suspect that you are being a little naive. By acting as the face of Austria during the Hungarian announcement, you have tied yourself to this current crisis. You are seen in many quarters to be proof of Apilonia’s influence over Austria. Romania is currently in the midst of an election campaign that is now dominated by the idea of Austrian perfidy, and you are seen as proof of Apilonia’s involvement. During my recent conversations with Prime Minister Petrescu, he has told me about his concerns regarding the far-right in his nation as this situation has fed into their particularly anti-Austrian narrative. The Austrian ambassador in Bucharest apparently told the King that it is Romania’s problem if the far-right gains influence. As Archduke, that ambassador is deemed to be expressing your opinion. You may wish to change the relationships in this region but I fear that you are viewed as being responsible, or at least complicit, in Austria’s attitude towards their neighbours at this time.

“If you truly wish to demonstrate your desire to change Austria then, as the old saying goes, ‘actions speak louder than words’. If you went to Romania with the same message that you have brought to me, I suspect that they would laugh in your face and brand you a liar. I don’t think that you are a liar, and as you are being honest with me, I shall be honest with you. Your actions thus far have given rise to the idea that Apilonia is guiding Austria through you, and it will require further actions to successfully dispel that perception.”

It took all of the etiquette training that George had received at the Beaufort School, an elite private school in the Kingdom that catered to the specific educational requirements of the nobility, as well as his professional experience to this point, to keep the scowl, frustration, and offense from showing on his face. Truth be told, he was rapidly becoming more and more sure that although he had tried to take the first step, Zapadoslavia was not going to meet him halfway, or even take a step of their own. It was obvious that they were already convinced that Apilonia was calling the shots here, even if that was simply not the case and was in fact the exact opposite. It was disappointing, but at least he would be able to say that he tried. None of this showed on his face, of course, although his smile would grow a little strained.

“Austria is a sovereign nation-state, Prime Minister, and upon my marriage to Sophia I gave up all my Apilonian titles, save for the style of HRH, prerogatives and even my position in the line of succession, to avoid any appearance of undue Apilonian influence over Austria, and what’s more, our membership in the Commonwealth no more makes us an Apilonian puppet than it makes you a puppet of Nanfang by being a part of their Pact!” George replied, a little sharply before taking a calming breath. “The reason I came here today was to take the first step, in the hopes that it would allow us to start moving forwards in a different manner, however it is obvious that there is still a great deal of distance between us, but I would bear in mind that if I am unsuccessful it is unlikely that another will, as my unique position in Vienna as an outsider gives me the opportunity, and the inclination.”

George sighed.

“Regardless, although you have not been as open to my overtures as I would have liked, I will be ensuring that Vienna is more communicative with Zapadoslavia, and indeed Romania, with regards to our future actions, and I will be authorising our Ministry of Defence to provide you with unclassified, but detailed, briefings, which will obviously be on the condition of confidentiality, and a breach of any fledgling trust by leaking would be unwise. However, for any sort of long-term change in Vienna, so far as Austria’s engagement with its neighbours is concerned, will require some reciprocity, as even if the majority of Austrians are dubious about my chances of success they will still react poorly if we reach out and you do not reciprocate. Quite frankly, Prime Minister, you firstly asked why Austria expected you to take the first step, but then when I take the first step you still rebuff me, I understand that you have reservations of some of what I have done as part of my official duties, but to be blunt, you are unlikely to find anyone else in Austria willing to even try, and I doubt that any Austrian would be without some form of taint as far as your people are concerned.”

George managed to hide a wince as a little of his frustration and disappointment bled through into his words, if not into his expression.

“I will also be discussing the matter of the Ambassador in Bucharest with the Diplomatic Corps, as well as reviewing our missions in both Bucharest and Krakow, to ensure that the senior diplomats are more in line with my way of thinking to encourage informations haring at a fundamental level and not just driven by myself. However, as I said, if you truly want a different attitude from Vienna you need to work with me on this, to allow me to have the political capital to make the changes that we both want, for you do not have anyone else in Vienna who is willing and able to work with you.”

“I am not rebuffing you, Your Grace, merely explaining the magnitude of the task you are taking on while expressing what I believe to be a healthy dose of skepticism. While it would certainly be advantageous for our nations to be more cooperative, I suspect that any true advancement in relations will be contingent upon what happens during and after the war with Yugoslavia. If there is genuine engagement with Zapadoslavia and Romania in regard to any post-war situation then it will go a long way to silencing even the most ardent critics. In the meantime however, I can assure you that we would not leak any briefings provided to us, as doing so would not only be an embarrassment for us but it would also justify the attitude of your potential opponents within Austria. I will also be willing to discuss your objectives with the Romanian government, as they may be more willing to begin listening if the approach comes from a nation already cooperating with them.”

Zahradnik paused for a moment, removing his spectacles and rubbing the bridge of his nose before replacing them.

“Don’t forget that you are not the only one with a domestic audience to placate. I cannot simply wave a magic wand or issue orders to ensure that the Zapadoslavian people embrace the idea of cooperating with Austria. I’ve only been Prime Minister for just under five months, after all.”

“A fair point, Prime Minister, that is after all part of the problem isn’t it, both our peoples view each other with distrust and suspicion, which is why it’s all the more important that we take the initiative, although granted that I have an easier time of doing that, as I don’t have to worry about re-election as you, or indeed our Chancellor, does,” George conceded gracefully. “I would very much appreciate if you could reach out to Romania, as you say they may very well be more inclined to listen if it is you that passes on my intentions… with regards to Yugoslavia itself, and the ongoing conflict, I suspect it may be several weeks before we have a better idea of the post-war situation, as much will depend on how well the cohesion of the Yugoslavian state holds up when threatened… and when other alternatives are offered to the constituent republics.”

George paused thoughtfully, before deciding to make another key gesture.

“In the spirit of increased transparency, I also want you to know that we have reason to believe that the Duke of Sparta, heir to the deposed Greek Crown, is intending to take advantage of the likely fall of Yugoslavia to launch a renewed campaign to liberate his homeland from the Yugoslavian puppet government in Athens,” George explained carefully. “You will doubtless be aware that Apilonia has, for a prolonged period of time, guaranteed the survival of the Greek Rebellion, and they have advised their Commonwealth partners that they intend to provide material support in the event that it is required, as the Duke is said to be highly interested in Commonwealth membership for Greece.”

“Given everything that we have discussed today, and that the situation is tangentially related to the Yugoslavia situation, I wanted to make you aware of what was likely happen with regards to Greece, in hope that it will help to confirm my genuine intentions for increased communication and engagement. In truth, the Duke of Sparta’s faction was increasingly moving towards a position where it could challenge the regime in Athens anyway, the fall of Yugoslavia actually reduces the scale of any conflict in Greece, as there will not be Yugoslavian forces intervening in this scenario. Indeed, if Apilonia did not have its own link to the Duke of Sparta, being a grandson of King Francis III, it is highly likely that Austria would have supported him himself, for much the same reason. You can, and indeed I would encourage you to do so as it arguably affects them more than yourselves, feel free to pass this information onto the Romanian Government with my compliments, but as with the daily briefings in Yugoslavia I would request that it not be widely divulged.”

Zahradnik’s demeanour shifted at the mention of Greece, clearly clenching his jaw before emitting what was undoubtedly a sigh of frustration.

“While I appreciate the forewarning, I hope you realise that Apilonian or Austrian intervention in Greece will only help to justify those who are suspicious of your motives. The Apilonian Commonwealth has only been in existence for a few days but it is already involved in a war that has some question marks surrounding it. If the Commonwealth intervenes in Greece to help the Duke of Sparta then it will appear as though the Commonwealth has no hesitation in overthrowing governments that it doesn’t agree with, especially if Greece then joins the Commonwealth. This region has a history of not appreciating outside powers imposing themselves upon it, and your native homeland is coming increasingly close to appearing to be the next outside power to try shaping the region to their own design.

“Given Apilonia’s previous form of responding to genuine criticism by questioning the moral right of their critics to question them, I must admit that what you’ve just told me makes me more concerned about the future, not less.”

George’s shoulders tightened and just the shadow of a scowl appeared at the edge of his otherwise neutral expression. He was getting more than a little irritated at the Zapadoslavian Prime Minister’s apparent desire to take everything that he said as another reason to object, or saw every action by Austria, or indeed by Apilonia, as some form of grand master plan for regional domination. It was particularly grating that, rather than taking the information in the spirit in which it was shared, in an attempt to mitigate any negative implications, it had instead been thrown straight back in his face.

“Prime Minister, I would remind you that the regime currently in power in Athens unlawfully overthrew the legitimate, constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Greece, with Yugoslavian backing I would add, and rather than exiling the deposed monarch they instead not only executed the King but also his wife, his adult children, and his pre-adolescent grandchildren, in an act of gross barbarism! This was before implementing an authoritarian regime in Greece that has not allowed free and fair elections in decades. If you’re asking whether the Commonwealth opposes authoritarian regimes and will support an alternative, then we absolutely will stand by the principles on which the Commonwealth was founded; democracy, amongst others, and we will stand by those principles on the first day, or the thousand and first day of our existence.”

“It also occurs to me as more than a little hypocritical to impugn the Commonwealth’s motives when we are, at least, standing for the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and self-determination, when the multinational organisation that Zapadoslavia is in the process of integrating itself has been far less principled in its membership! If you want to criticize the Commonwealth, or any of its members, opposing authoritarianism and supporting democracy, by whatever means necessary and wherever in the world it may be, then by all means go ahead, I assure you that is a hill we are willing to die on.”

George took a calming breath and sighed; whilst it would be unfair to say that he had lost his temper a nerve had certainly been struck, and quite frankly the young Archduke had had enough of veiled insults against his native and adopted homelands. They were not perfect, he knew that all too well, and he knew that a significant portion of this was a factor of the very past he had been trying to start to move past, but it was still aggravating to say the least.

“As I said earlier, you may not like some of the things that we, or our partners, decide to do, and that is only to be expected as we have very different geopolitical considerations. But I would caution you against assigning motivations beyond those which are actually the case. I had hoped that explaining the Commonwealth’s reasons for getting involved in Greece, supporting a democratic faction, removing an authoritarian one, and supporting a long-standing ally, related by blood no less, would be sufficient to dissuade you of the notion that it is all some grand scheme to assert Apilonian domination over the region. Regardless, I will action the original increased engagement that I said I would foster in Vienna, to be more transparent with what we are going to be getting up to, however I do not think we will make much more progress this evening without proof, on both sides, especially given the ongoing challenges of Yugoslavia and, in due course, Greece, so how about we pick this up again in a few months, once what has happened will happen and see where we stand? How events play out may be very different from what you fear.”

Zahradnik and Kolowrat both smirked at George’s mention of the Shenzhen Pact, and the Zapadoslavian Prime Minister responded more directly by tutting loudly.

“The people of Zapadoslavia voted in a referendum to apply for membership of the Shenzhen Pact. I was elected by a free and fair election, so I find it entertaining to be lectured about democracy by someone who holds his station by dint of family bloodline and noble privilege, rather than any genuine popular mandate. I prefer the idea of engaging with other nations and finding common ground upon which to build a firm and fruitful relationship, and I do my best not to judge the political systems of others because their systems could have come about for any number of cultural or political reasons. I seek consensus. You see that as lacking principles and that I should be championing the overthrow of any governmental system that does not match my own. The phrase ‘by any means necessary’ is a very dangerous one, Your Grace, and to hear it from someone as obviously idealistic as yourself is concerning. The Apilonian Commonwealth does not have the right to overthrow any government that it deems to be unacceptable. Exercising that right can have knock-on effects for nations bordering so-called ‘unacceptable regimes’, effects that the Commonwealth has no interest in helping to resolve. Instead you believe that we should all be thankful that the Commonwealth is cleaning up the world, one unacceptable regime at a time!

“Zapadoslavia is joining the Shenzhen Pact because that organisation does not judge. It does not claim the right to intervene in any nation that they choose to target. It does not hold itself up as the moral example for the world, and it does not believe itself to have the moral right to overthrow national governments. How long will it be before the Commonwealth decides to ‘clean up’ the Pact, if they are as distasteful as you appear to believe?

“I completely agree with you that we are not going to make any more progress this evening. By all means continue with your intentions to soften Austria’s stance towards their neighbours, if your intended reform is successful then you will be applauded for it. I shall still pass on your ambitions to Bucharest as promised. However, I shall also continue wholeheartedly with Zapadoslavia’s accession to membership of the Shenzhen Pact because that is what the electorate of my nation voted for. Zapadoslavia has been promised full diplomatic support by the Nanfang Republic and other members in regard to this crisis, and I have no doubt that they will keep their word. They may not be the ‘glorific beacon of democracy and justice’ that all nations have to be in your eyes, but they keep their promises to their friends. I believe that friends like that are a genuine asset. They may have their flaws, but they can be relied upon.

“So if there is nothing else, Your Grace, I think that this meeting is concluded.”

“And yet, the privileged blue-blood is more of an advocate for the spread of democratic ideals than the elected representative, just because they are not your people does not mean that you shouldn’t have a moral duty to encourage it wherever possible. You may do as you wish of course, that is your god-given right, but if you choose to consort with tyrants and authoritarian strongmen that is your business, but I would just remind you of the parable of the fox and the scorpion; to sting is always in the nature of a scorpion, even when it seems like it's put that aside to cooperate. Regardless of our disagreements, on principle and on practical matters, I wish you and your nation luck, peace, and prosperity. Good evening, Prime Minister.”

George turned and began to make his way back to his vehicle, his chief of staff and protective agents falling into position around him. It was only once he was back in the Mercedes-Benz that he allowed his mask to slip and a scowl immediately covered his face.

“Condescending, hypocritical, bastard,” George commented bitterly. “Asks for a first step and then does everything he can to avoid reciprocating and uses the opportunity to trot out old and new grievances.”

“You tried, your grace, it was always going to be like this at the start,” Klaus replied with a shrug. “At least until they see that we don’t swing into Romania once we’re done with Yugoslavia, or whatever else they seem to think we’d do!”

“Just so,” George sighed. “Issue a press release, all the usual platitudes; some refreshing progress, still significant differences, intend to continue working towards more open ties, etc.”

“Will do, Your Grace,” Klaus nodded.

---

As they watched the Archduke’s motorcade pull away and begin heading towards the Austrian border, Zahradnik and Kolowrat turned to one another and exchanged a shrug.

“A little naive, isn’t he?”

Kolowrat chuckled at Zahradnik’s statement. “Naive? More like just another privileged blueblood with a saviour complex. I suppose his heart is in the right place but the same can’t be said for his sense of reality.”

“I think he’s just lucky he didn’t trot that rhetoric out to King Cătălin, or he might have channeled his ancestor and impaled him on a spike. Anyway, we’ll inform Bucharest of what was said and we’ll put out a press release. ‘Constructive meeting, yadda yadda’, the usual.” The Zapadoslavian Prime Minister paused for a moment. “Might as well go ahead with trying to arrange a visit to Bucharest too. They’ll never accept what he had to say and they’ll likely want to make new friendships in order to ensure their security.”

“The Pact?”

“Well, stranger things have happened.”