Festival for a New Era (Meillur Only)

[Great New England Confederation]

The Stellar Kingdom has existed as a power in the far frontier of space, however it has been one in constant conflict with its alien neighbors, a war which has cost millions of lives and led to a near collapse of the New England economy, and led to a disaster which nearly put an end to the Colonial aspirations of the kingdom. However the nation has recovered, lessons had been learned, and the errors of the past are being corrected. Despite the minor fighting in Scotland, the nation, and its colonies out on the frontier finally find themselves in an era of peace, and many in the Kingdom now look to the future. To this end, the Colonial Parliament has decided that a holiday would be celebrated each year, one which would promote peace, exploration and technological development, while remembering the sacrifices of those who died fighting for that very cause, this day is now known as the Festival of Enlightenment, and is to be held on the station Orbit in the New England Capital World of New Boston, the station now known as Stardock One, the center of Political, Economical and Military power within the Stellar Kingdom, a station which gives service to hundreds of New England vessels, both military and civilian. The Parliament has extended an invitation to the galaxy to join New England in this celebration, so that New England may hope to spread this new era to its neighbors

Stardock One
New Boston Orbit
21:00 Hours
King William Julie

William watched as the ships filled with people attending the gargantuan festival surrounded the station, either eagerly awaiting entry to the stations massive internal Dockyards, or awaiting approval for their shuttlecraft to land in one of the stations numerous smaller hanger bays. He had only once seen such a large gathering of ships, and it had been for a very different, and more violent reason. It gave him a certain sense of pride and joy to see such a gathering of vessels, and he only hoped that he would count foreign ones amongst them eventually, after all, he hoped to share this grand occasion with the galaxy, human or otherwise, even if he had his suspicions of the galaxys nonhuman inhabitants, as did every New England Citizen, especially after the wars. However, he knew that he would eventually have to overcome that suspicion, particularly if he wished to continue his colonial ambitions in the future.

He could only watch and wait for those whom had been invited to arrive, and enjoy this display of the future of the Stellar Kingdom

[Aellyria]

Lord Daemion Valtheon fixed his tie as he and the two other Aellyrian representatives stepped off their Astrolabe Class carrier, aptly named the Rama after one of Aellyrias many gods, it was an older vessel, designed and built when the Triumvirate was still in power, Lord Valtheon remembered those days fondly, he was one of the old lords, the class that had ruled with the Triumvirate over the Imperium. Many of his kind had not survived the years of civil war when the Triumvirate fell apart, however he had been a conquerer, one of the elite of the elite, and he still bore those scars. He was here now on a mission of prosperity, to show how far the Aellyrians had come, and how even now, while ruled by the Padishah instead of the Aeylgarns how far they would go.

Lady Kira studied the station and all the people that she saw, it was an honor for her Queen to send her on this trip, she was after all supposed to represent the bridge between the Aellyrians and the Thule, she focused her attention back to the festival and the man in front of them, King William of New England, she had studied him aptly, the Royal Intelligence Service, a secret branch of the government that she was a part of had quite the file on him, it contained all the information about him necessary, including his unclaimed son with Nesaenna. She curtsied as Lord Valtheon bowed, 'Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Alexandre gazed at the screen that acted as the window for the sleek star-yacht as the captain set the luxury leisure ship down into the hanger bay of the New English station that hung over New Boston. It was a marvelous view, the small cameras that dotted the silver chrome outside of the bird like ship, with its smooth wings and low profile, gave a photo-realistic point of view of the ship's surrounding for the Duke of Alençon to gaze at.

It was the first time that Alexandre had ever traveled interplanetarily for purely peaceful and diplomatic reasons. A nice change from the years he'd spent jumping from one far flung colony to another in space with the goal of either capturing it or defending it and seeing millions upon millions die in close guerrilla combat in planet-wide battles. Perhaps ten years ago t young Alexandre would have scoffed at peaceful international festivals, and while he was still fiercely militaristic and would never shy away from a fight, he found peace equally appealing and a better and strong long term goal. International cooperation and friendly was his motto now, and what better way to display that than to attend this event that celebrated peace.

The Duke of Alençon, tall, dark and gorgeous as various magazine sights gushed, much to Alexandre's own personal annoyance, was dressed in a suit and beret that werejet black, the color of the Empire and power in Derita, with only the darkest blacks being reserved for members of the Imperial Family. It was striking against his brown skin and made his eyes, a rarity even among his own family, look a steely gray color. The only fleck of color was a gold stud earring in his left ear.

Adrian touched Alexandre's hand, pulling his attention fully on his husband. Adrian, tall at over 6 feet was still shorter than Alexandre and looked not at all meek or delicate. Which he wasn't. Though Adrian was, undoubtedly the more polite and diplomatic of the two of them. Alexandre was a talk or kill kind of man. Adrian was a talk first, kill if needed. Adrian, pale with stunning eyes like the azure domes that populated so much of Deritain architecture in twin miniature and hair as black as Alexandre's suit, was far more stunning that Alexandre, at least in Alexandre's opinion. Why the magazine columnists seemed blind to Adrian's beauty, he would never know. Adrian was dressed in a similar black suit, black tattoos written in Asakurese and the like peaking up from beneath his collar. Notably, Adrian wore a blue tie and scarf that Alexandre had picked out years ago because they matched his eyes, though only in color and not in their stunningness.

As if the two men, who'd known each each other since they were mere children, had a telepathic link, they got up and made their way down to the disembarking point, Alexandre immediately understanding Adrian without the need for words. The Dukes of Alençon cut their way through the set up of the station towards their host, King William of New England. Adrian slipped his fingers around Alexandre's arm, which still, despite years of being married, still sent butterflies through his stomach and up his chest. It was in part this feeling that pushed Alexandre to champion peace. This feeling could not be found in on a battlefield.

[Les Etats Connuriste]

Princess Charlotte felt like she must have met King William before, and after a couple of seconds of thinking about it clicked that she had seen the man that one night in Cinyras a few years ago. William, for all the tales New Englanders told about his heroics, didn't seem to match up in person with the man in these tales, though to be fair, she had not exactly ever had particularly close proximity to him or prolonged exposure enough to really judge. It was hardly as if she had been focused on him that night.

Charlotte had been to a festival before, though she did not expect this one to be remotely like the occasion she had experienced in what could only really described as the grand Genoise celebration of sin, where she and her partner Margaret had first properly crossed paths. But something similar to that would not really be appropriate given who she expected to turn up. It was fair to say then, that the Princess was not wildly excited about this occasion, in truth it was an assignment that acted as the prelude to what was going to be more of a real celebration, an interstellar vacation for her and Margaret. Charlotte had heard from others that space was full of great beauty that made home look like a wasteland, though the greatest beauty would of course be by her side. Or beneath her. Or on top of her. The point was that there was so much to see and do amongst the stars that you couldn't really experience elsewhere, and she looked forward to sharing that with someone else.

The vast frontier of space was still relatively new to her, and she felt that it might even grow on her. It was a place of untapped and limitless potential, sparsely populated planets afforded both peace and tranquility yet also the freedom to treat it as a playground. Therefore she felt that it certainly warranted further investigation on her part ; as Charlotte matured she could feel her fiery edge begin to cool off (although naturally, that was still intact) and the pursuit of knowledge begin to become as satisfying as the pursuit for action and excitement.

The ship made a steady and smooth descent into the designated landing zone, a small and sleeker design than many of the huge vessels that seemed to be quite popular throughout the stars, which afforded it impressive agility. Charlotte was not immensely fond of not being the one behind the wheel (or whatever the proper term was for that sort of thing), not because she wished to do all the hard work herself but rather that in any facet of life she was not keen on relinquishing control. However, on this occasion at least, it was more than tolerable with Margaret at the helm. Trust was almost certainly the key factor behind the desire to be the one in charge - royalty had good reasons to be distrustful of others, and in general given human nature, anyone had good reason to be distrustful of anyone, not to mention that one should be able to trust themselves more than they would another person. For Charlotte, who was not especially talented at connecting with other people, there were few people she would want to do something for her that she felt she would be able to handle herself.

Choosing outfits was another thing that had never truly been one of Charlotte's strengths either, and though she had models for siblings it was hardly as if she was going to ask Adela about what she would do in the same situation. In the end she had chosen an asymmetric pink dress made of silk, which one way or the other would likely catch the eyes of attendees - not even in the sense that people would probably think it was either nice or not nice at all, but rather that the absence of symmetry might prompt a second or third glance just to get a clear view of what was going on.

[Polonge]

Queen Karola stood next to her husband, dressed in a bright cyan pants suit with shining opals serving as buttons on the outfit. They matched the heavy earrings and necklace, set in silver that was woven together in a thread like design. The Queen of New England had taken to following some of the fashion trends of her homeland, and was never one to be behind the curve. As a new fashion statement as well, in this statement of the start of new eras of peace, Karola had left her blond hair grow out from its usual iconic bob into long locks that fell over her shoulders. She was excited to show off her new look, as well as to jump onto the train of peace. Finally, after a half a dozen years, New England was finally, finally on the path to peace that she had always dreamed about. Warfare, however necessary had always been so distasteful to her. Smiling brightly at the various pairs as they arrived, Karola was in a brilliant mood, it was the perfect day for a festival.

[Great New England Confederation]

Stardock One
New Boston Orbit
21:00 Hours
King William Julie

William gave a nod to Lady Kira, and after taking a quick mental note of her, he said

“It is a pleasure to have you here as well, I do hope that your journey here was enjoyable, and that security was not too much of an inconvenience, we had to ensure that everything was properly taken care of”

He had approved of his wife’s new appearance, if slightly puzzled by her sudden desire to change it. However he had of course supported her, no matter what reason she had for the change. He then noticed the Deritian attendees, taking note of the two

He then noticed a new vessel arrive out of warp, a small ship, no more than eighty meters in length, and dwarfed by most of the other ships present. He gave his mental approval, the Captain was just in time, as his vessel was planned as part of one of the major portions of the event, though the ships involvement had been very much kept a closely guarded secret, least someone get curious about was Starfleet was calling ‘One Tough Little Ship’

[Polonge]

Margaret was all grins as she landed the craft. A pilot in the Imperial Airforce and a certified pilot of star ships, she handled the small vessel carefully and with ease. Heights were nothing to her, and the dangers of space were ones that she’d learned to laugh off in the ever buzzing metropolis of Gênes were she had lived in skyscrapers taller than the clouds. This wasn’t her first trip off-world either, though admittedly it was only her second. She had enjoyed a brief jaunt to one of the Gênoise planetary colonies alongside her step-grandmother, the Princesse de Condé, but this was the first such trip like this, one of her own agency and with someone she cared deeply about, who wasn’t her family.

Margaret was up from her seat immediately after she’d successfully docked. Her body buzzed with excitement. Margaret practically skipped her way to Charlotte. She knew that Charlotte was far more interested in the vacation that would come after this, but Margaret was able to be just as invested. Margaret lived for parties. She’d spent her entire teenage jumping from one party to the next. Festivals and celebrations were her natural habitat. The clever usage of such events to get to political or economics means were lost on Margaret, nor did she have any desire to host one or organize it. She merely loved being an attendee. It was so much fun. Margaret, like Charlotte had somewhat met William, he was her Uncle, but by marriage to one of her dozen aunts. And life in Gênes and then back in Polonge after her aunt had departed for New England had left little time for Margaret to know him.

Further thoughts on Uncle William and their relationship, or rather, General lack of were washed away like a child’s sandcastle at the ocean. Charlotte looked stunning. Charlotte always seemed so unsure of her fashion sense, but Margaret suspected that she just wasn’t aware of her own striking talents. She suspected that all the Pearsons had a natural sense of style that was somehow hereditary. How so? No clue. But it had to be there. Margaret found herself staring at Charlotte, her eyes soaking in her asymmetrical dress and the way it fit against her body. At least the admiration of the dress was perhaps a secondary reason for Margaret’s long and intent gaze.

For her part, Margaret was far more confident in her fashion choices, as she didn’t give a damn about the standards of others. She just also happen to have very high personal aesthetic standards. The ends of her long blowout blond hair were curled, large hoop earrings dangling from her ears. She wore a simple white top with a jewel neckline, over which she wore a navy blue blazer. A pair of matching navy blue suit shorts stopped about halfway down her thighs, showing off her legs. Shining four inch heels gave the petit Margaret just enjoyed height were she wasn’t totally towered over by Charlotte.

[Selesburge]

The Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, representing a nation that had upheld its principal of neutrality and remained at peace for almost two hundred years, had naturally taken to attending the New English Festival of Enlightenment. Antoine, the heir to the Selesburgish throne thought that it was not necessarily that warranted a celebration, that is, New England catching up to the truth that Selesburgers had known for decades, war was a distasteful and shameful evil. He would say such a think, he knew from experience that that would only have the New English drone on about the necessary evil of it, or how they were forced, etc. etc., all excuses that Antoine found unconvincing. And he had no desire to be left forced to be bogged down in some pointless conversation with some pomped up New English official. So the Hereditary Grand Duke would smile and stand as a symbol of the friendly neutrality of Selesburge, there to be nice and kind in business and peace, but distant if the New English ever started to drift back to their frontier conflicts.

The Hereditary Grand Duchess, Juliet-Alexandra, originally a Princess of Wied, Netherlands and Atmora, for her part held a similar attitude of that of her husband. This was a diplomatic affair, not one of treaties or agreements, but one of presence, were her and Antoine's presence was enough. Sometimes that was all that was needed. It set one into another's mind. And Juliet-Alexandra knew that Antoine would use that presence in the mind of others to further advance the dreams of Selesburge. Juliet-Alexandra smiled brightly, holding a red Polimeni clutch purse and in her signature light purple Violante Cannistraci suit dress with black buttons that had made so many in Selesburge become enamored by her adoptive subjects, her red hair pushed over her shoulders, showing off a pair of small pearl earrings. Antoine walked with his hand on his wife's back, gentle and tenderly at her side. The future sovereign Grand Duke, his curly brown hair carefully styled and his tailored blue Ruocco pinstriped suit with a purple tie and Seidanese aster pinned to his chest.

Together the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess admired the great armada of ships around the New English station over the exoplanet, both the crowd of New English ones and the others of the various guests that had their attendance. As they walked up to the King and Queen of New England, Antoine took note of the other attendees, curious about the interesting selection of people who had come to the festival.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Alexandre and Adrian making there way to the King and Queen of New England, spotted Antoine and Juliet-Alexandra, the future Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Selesburge, though more importantly, Adrian’s sister and brother-in-law. The two men diverted slightly, approaching their fellow couple. Adrian gave his older sister and second favorite sibling a small smile, though Alexandre was more reserved. Alexandre has never been particularly fond of Adrian’s family, who he found cold and even cruel.

“Hello Juliet, Antoine,” Adrian said softly falling in step alongside them. “It is a surprise to see you two here.” He has not yet decided if it was a pleasant one.

[Selesburge]

Antoine smiled brightly at his brother-in-law and his husband. Antoine liked both Adrian and Alexandre, though that was in large part because the latter was good friends with his own younger brother Philippe. Juliet-Alexandra also smiled. Adrian was also her second favorite sibling, she believe both of them liked William-Frederick the most. Whilst Zoë had fallen to the least favorite of the Wied siblings, for... various reasons. Juliet-Alexandra touched her brother’s shoulders and lifted herself to kiss Adrian’s cheeks in a polite faire la baise.

“It’s quite the pleasure to see you too Adrian,” Juliet-Alexandra said, providing the politeness that Adrian was, perhaps justifiably hesitant to provide himself. She turned to Alexandre. “You as well Your Grace.”

“Indeed,” the Hereditary Grand Duke said, “it is a rare thing that we get to meet on a space station and actually get to celebrate peace. Isn’t it a great change of pace, don’t you think?”

[Kingdom of Derita]

Adrian held back a small laugh at Juliet. She was always one to be so well put together. Though Antoine had seemed to have if nothing else smoothed her harsher and sharper edges of her personality. Still, it was not exactly the confirmation of pleasantness about this chance encounter, but it was a step in the right direction. Alexandre waved a dismissive hand at Juliet-Alexandra at her formal addressing of him, an improper one at that.

“Please, call me Alexandre.”

He then looked at Philippe’s older brother, nodding his head in agreement.

“It is a shocking rarity indeed. I hope to enjoy the festival of these New English. Perhaps it shall become an annual thing. I do hope that the mandate of peace will be something that more people join. Otherwise we shall forever be held back by our own stupidity.”

[Selesburge]

Juliet-Alexandra raised an auburn eyebrow at Alexandre. Juliet-Alexandra had never been terribly close to Alexandre, why on earth would she be? He was little more than her brother’s love, or the handsome face she found on magazines, or, seen she’d moved to Selesburge the face of military theme merchandise and action figures. She found herself confused with actually hearing him speak and it not being about crushing his enemies or punching his man or that man in the face.

“That,” Juliet-Alexandra said, “is quite the statement for one who is the face of the Celestial Empire’s military. Especially one who is so famous for conquering nations in the same casual manner that the rest of us take our afternoon tea.”

[Kingdom of Derita]

Alexandre was not blind to the confused, even better perhaps skeptical look that his redhead sister-in-law gave him, he was no stranger to such glances in the last few months. The world knew him as the teenager soldier who’d toppled republics, killed presidents and conquered entire coalitions. He blamed himself for that perspective. He had not created it, nor intentionally at least, but he had let men like Régis de Rochette usage his visage as the figure head of the ship of propaganda that so many had leaped onto. Alexandre was not sure that he would ever be able to fully get around that image. Alexandre met Juliet-Alexandra’s eyes with a steely look.

“I’m afraid that you will find, dear Juliet, that the Conquistador Prince that so many naïve young readers have fallen in love is one that exists only in the words of penny novels, carefully crafted photographs, and the confines of history. Though I am often mistaken for him. I am at my heart, a prince of peace.” He paused. “I also assure you, Your Royal Highness, that the conquest of Seidang or Mantara’s, or any nation or world I brought bloodshed to, was by no means an easy feat. Physically or emotionally.”

[Polonge]

Karola purses her lips tightly at the alien half breed masquerading as if she were a human, equal to them and adopting their mannerisms. How difficult it must be for her. Being half barbarian and half animal. What a horrible life to live. She pitied the poor thing, though she couldn’t understand how William could be so cool around her. It was a feat she never could have hoped to accomplished with such ease. Karola opened her mouth as if to say something and then closed it again. She looked to the Deritains and Selesburgers, anyone she would much rather talk to but they seemed to have stalled, chatting with themselves. She could sight of the ship arriving and smiled, as if the halfbreed before her weren’t there.

“Oh look at that ship there.”

[Ryurik Rossiya]

Ever since she met her beloved "mother" in a previous event, Catherine found herself unable to resist socializing with her newfound neighbouring leaders, all united under one flag and goal.Anyhow, such event like this would be the first for the tsarina in outer space but luckily her provisions were easily available, precipitating her graceful arrival one of the station's landing docks.

As she slowly made her first steps onto the landing tarmac, she was surprised that it was relatively easy to breathe.Catherine wasted no time in standing still and immediately went "scavenging" her nearby surroundings."Undeniably amazing, just spectacular", those were the young tsarina's inside thoughts as her eyes capture the spectacular build of the landing dock.

[Makonia]

King Kresimir V of Makonia had become the first Makonian monarch to take to space. He was fascinated by the adventure of it all. It was still a wild frontier for the mass majority of the world despite colonies having been settled and some even growing. The King and his wife, Queen Charlotte stepped onto the space station with a sense of youthful awe so rarely seen in adults their age. Their ship, one of the Gênoise star yachts that were so fashionable these days, and Queen Charlotte was nothing if not fashionable, lowered them down to the docking of the station.

They were dressed simply for the occasion, Kresimir in a pinstriped suit and pastel tie, while the Queen wore a Baga pastel yellow and white dress. The King and Queen murmured themselves as they walked a together. “My god,” Charlotte said, “imagine how far we shall go.”

“To thé ends of the stars my dear,” Kresimir provided, “to the ends of the stars.”

[Les Etats Connuriste]

There was a spark in Charlotte's eyes as Margaret had skipped over to her, which was actually somewhat impressive given the nature of her heels, which Charlotte couldn't imagine feeling so agile on. Of course Charlotte had never had any need to ever get used to wearing any footwear that tall, like many talents she imagined that it would be something that came with practice. Even still, she enjoyed a couple of inches over Margaret, but not so many that they would have to strain looking up and down at each other. That was perhaps maybe one of several things that made them an unlikely couple, thought Charlotte, along with her own tendency to typically see the worst in people more than she saw the best in them. And because she was the type to look for the bad in others, it meant she could count on one hand the people in life she genuinely had real and proper affection for, and Charlotte felt lucky that she could count Margaret on that one hand. Maybe there just wasn't much bad to see in Margaret, maybe there was and Charlotte's judgement had been blinded by those affections. Either way, whether they were indeed an unlikely couple or not, she was determined to make the most of their time together. She had a sneaking suspicion that they would, at least for their upcoming vacation, as it became clear that her outfit had caught the attention of at least one person today. Staring at Charlotte for such a period of time was a dangerous game for a stranger, but Margaret could look as much as her heart desired.

As they disembarked and approached the gathered guests the Princess of Connuriste immediately noticed the Duke of Alençon, and then his partner. It seemed that they were already engaged talking to Adrian's sister and her partner. Charlotte then diverted her attention elsewhere, though the ultimate responsibility for where they went rested with Margaret. After all, she was the more sociable of the pair, the one who was actually supposed to enjoy these kind of things.

[Aogau]

Sa’ea took a hesitant step onto the gangplank of the star ship a few moments after it landed. She was still not quite used to walking on her own two feet. Spending the first fourteen years of one life being constantly carried around from place to place had adverse effects on one’s ability to accomplish what was to most, a minimal and trivial, even unconscious task. Though that was not the only reason for her hesitation. This wasn’t earth. This wasn’t even earth beneath them. This was something entirely different. It truly was something so totally unique and different. A girl of seventeen of average height, Sa’ea carefully took a few more steps in her simple flats down the walkway onto the floor of the station. She wore a simple white blouse and purple jacket with puffed up shoulders, her long dark brown hair in a formal bun, amethyst earrings hanging from her ears. Her royal escorts followed out after, though Sa’ea didn’t particularly notice them. The young girl found herself stunned. Sa’ea’s lavender ankle length skirt swirl around her as she came to a stop and turned in a circle looking up and around at the Majesty of the station. It certainly wasn’t Masefau. She could not wait to see more. The teen Queen of Aogau couldn’t wait to see the rest of the night of the festival.

[Imarati]

Princess Shushanik followed Sa’ea and her royal escorts, glorified guards of tradition from what Shushanik could tell. Princess Shushanik dan Abakelia was a princess of the blood of the Tsar of Imarati, Kaikavus I of Imarati, his first cousin through her mother. Princess Shushanik was Fifth in line for the throne, and likely to never sit on the throne, so she had been allowed from degree more freedom than her cousin. With this freedom she had travelled to the Aogaian kingdom and found an unlikely friendship with the Queen of Aogau who was near her age. Shushanik had practically begged to accompany Sa’ea in this trip to New Boston’s Stardock One for this strange new foreign festival that was being held.

Shushanik smiled as she fell in step a slight pace behind Sa’ea, a respect given to her as onevof them reigned over a nation. “It’s so out of this world,” Shushanik said through a thick Imaratian accent. “Though I suppose this isn’t our world anymore, is it?”

[Selesburge]

Juliet-Alexandra found herself stunned by Alexandre’s response. That was not what she had expected, she hadn’t truly known what she had expected, but it certainly hadn’t been that. Juliet-Alexandra bit her lip and looked away from him, feeling slightly embarrassed at her assumption.

“Forgive me for my assumptions... Alexandre. I didn’t realize you’re one to hold such dramatically different views from the ones that are peddled.”

[Kingdom of Derita]

Adrian squeezed Alexandre’s arm a bit too tightly. A not so subtle message to his husband. Be nice. He would have liked to give a similar squeeze to his sister. The two sides of his life always seemed to just barely escape falling past the tipping point, and neither side was any good at preventing said catastrophic events. Alexandre let out a soft sigh. Perhaps he had been a bit too firm in his words.

“It is not your fault Juliet. I simply wish to correct the sentiment that has been developed.”

Adrian smiled at Antoine, not wanting to letting his sister and his husband dominate the conversation.

“I think we all must prefer peace to warfare, non? After all your family had been ones to do so well with promoting the idea.”

[Selesburge]

Antoine resisted the urge to shrug.

“I do believe that war, historically, has been enjoyed a bit too much by the human race. And not without reason. The pessimistic and Hobbesian would point out that humans are violent creature by nature and that peace is an unnatural artificial construct. And there is something to be said about the military industrial complex and the profits to be gain on it. That being said, I think the era where those profits out weighed the negative affects are behind us, and I must admit that these days, well, peace is just better for business.”

[Polonge]

Margaret, having returned to her natural habitat, that of the party, started searching for who to talk to, her eyes scanning over the guests who’d already arrived. She considered going over to her Auntie Karola and Uncle William, they were the hosts of the festival so that would be natural. But she didn’t wish to seem too eager to catch the attention of them, one should always draw the host towards them, it was part of the power plays of parties. She also considered the King and Queen of Makonia, the latter being her cousin from the Lüneburg branch of the Lorraine Dynasty. But Margaret didn’t particularly like Charlotte. Her cousin Charlotte. Not her partner Charlotte. Her cousin always had this... vibe about her that made Margaret glad that they’d grown up in different countries. Besides, she and her husband were one those couples. Margaret entertained the idea of going over to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Selesburge, and Duke of Alençon, but she decided that there were two too many Wied siblings there for her to come over with a Pearson princess.

And thus Margaret set her sights on the young Queen of Aogau and her companion who she did not recognize. Queen Sa’ea had to be only a couple years younger than her and Charlotte, and she was most likely a safe choice. Besides, Margaret knew so little of the Aogaian monarch that it could prove to be an enlightening experience. Margaret took Charlotte by the hand and made her way over to the pair of young women. She gave a friendly smile and bowed her head in lieu of a curtsy.

“Your Majesty, I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure to have met before today.”

[Ryurik Rossiya]

Passing through the magnificent built walls and hallways, Catherine quickly found herself in the main room, where all the other guests are present, socializing with each other.Though she knew that she was allowed to freely talk to anyone there, her "mother" is still a priority."Where are you..", expressed her softly.She then began pacing her steps quickly among the crowd, with the hope of at least stumbling upon someone who can help her.

[Aogau]

Sa’ea, used to meeting people who knew nothing of her or her nation, a problem that she was faced with only with foreigners, as her own people worshiped their Queen as a living deity, despite the recent flooding of Protestant missionaries and Sa’ea own realization of her mortality. Sa’ea has to consider this when she was not greeted with the a uma, the prostrating of one’s self before the Queen of Aogau, but a simple bow of the head. Sa’ea, picking at her index nail with her thumb looked over the two women and pressed her lips into a half-smile as she spoke. Her voice was as soft as a mouse and as light as an ocean breeze off Paga Paga.

“No, I don’t believe we have. And you would be?”