The Martigueux Accords (IC|Private)

[Dutch-Empire]

Empress Anna Charlotte swept into the parlor of her Martigueux villa in the south of Derita with George Asbury following behind her. She personally privately owned several houses in Derita, as was her right through her father, the late Etienne, Sultan of East Derita. It was here in the beautiful country villa on the shores of Lake Saint Alanna that she'd agreed to meet with parties from Derita and Polonge. One was her rival, the other a newborn ally.

The Empress dashed over to a chair, taking her seat while she ordered servants to serve tea. She may not like the King-Emperor of Derita, but she was not meeting with him, and besides, she was still a lady, a queen and an empress.

[Kingdom of Derita]

Lord Variés stepped into the parlor of Empress Anna Charlotte’s villa in Lacmontagne, a region in southern Derita with the aid of a mahogany cane. Lord Variés was 67 years old and only a year away from retiring, leaving the office of Prime Minister. It had been eleven long years and the fire that had once filled his body was fading out of him. He was almost seventy and around him he was surrounded by the young new generation of leaders. Old men like him were being put out to pasture.

And now he could feel his own term in office slipping away from him. He was no longer the man in charge, instead so many thought it was his deputy prime minister, the Duke of Mousçron. But Lord Variés refused for that to be the case. Mousçron might succeed him as prime minister come March of next year, but for now he was the man in command. It was because of this defiant nature of his that he was meeting with Empress Anna Charlotte at all.

Lord Variés was eighteen years older than Anna Charlotte, though their political careers had taken off at the same time. Him as Secretary for the Emperor in Derita. Anna Charlotte as Empress of the Dutch. He regarded her with impression. Anna Charlotte was nearly fifty now, but still ever so beautiful. Lord Variés gave the empress a bow and sat down. Following him in was the Duke of Angoulême.

The Duke of Angoulême was one of those men who would soon be replacing Lord Variés, heck the General could be prime minister in four or eight years at his rate. The Duke of Angoulême bowed and sat down next to Lord Variés.

[Dutch-Empire]

“A pleasure to see you once again Lord Variés.”

Empress Anna Charlotte gave the Prime Minister of Derita her winning smile. She turned to the Duke of Angoulême, the famous general who had come to public attention ever since the Spanish Campaign twenty-two years ago. He had helped save her life from being killed during the Battle of the Royal Palace. He had also prevented her son Henry from reigning as King of Beliany.

“Your Grace.”

George Asbury smiled as well. As Prime Minister of the Netherlands he was the head of the government on the Empress’s behalf. He had become the Empress’s favorite subject as well, gaining him many favors on his way to his current office. He was a young man, only 36 years old. He reached over and shook the two men’s hands.

[Kingdom of Derita]

“Nice to finally meet you Prime Minister Asbury.”

The Duke of Angoulême smiled as he shook the other man’s hand. Lord Variés meanwhile pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time.

“I see that our fellow member is a bit late.”

[Dutch-Empire]

“Yes.”

The Empress of the Dutch took a sip of her tea. Hollande tea, from the Duke of Angoulême’s company in his homeland. They truly did produced the very best tea in the world.

“I would thing that the gentleman would be on time. Queen Adela spoke so highly of him. You should know that of course Lord Variés, Lord Hollande. You are harboring the Queen of Genes’ granddaughter.”

[Kingdom of Derita]

“A slight misinformation on your part Your Majesty.”

Lord Variés took a cup of tea for himself.

“While Charlotte de Condé and the Grand Duke of Lorraine did stay in Fontainebleau, we aren’t exactly harboring them. The Grand Duke is in Astraeus, and the Grand Duchess is in Gênes, with her grandmother.”

[Polonge]

Prime Minister Nickolaus von Hopfer stepped into the parlor alone. Unlike the Dutch, Maria Anna did not seek to intimidate with Imperial presence and unlike the Deritains, they did wish to intimidate with military strength. Hopfer was good enough on his own.

The prime minister was currently the youngest head of any government in the world, only 26 years old, but already he had made himself a force to be reckoned with with his recent victory in the Joskaiote War. It was so recent it was the key to Polonge’s imminent invasion of Estovakia, the army hadn’t even dialed back yet.

“I hope I haven’t kept you all waiting for too long.”

[Kingdom of Derita]

Lord Variés smiled tightly as the Prince of Dohány stepped into the room. The lion cub that had caused so much trouble in Polonge. Well. Him and that vulture of an empress Maria Anna. And now she was turning on Estovakia, a small and pitiful country that Lord Variés had no interest in. So the dictator of their little republic was running them into the ground, who was he to care for such affairs?

But then again, he did care about the affairs of Polonge and their vulture empress.

“Not at all Prince Dohány. We haven’t started yet, though I believe we should now.”

[Polonge]

“That sounds wonderful.” Hopfer said taking a seat. “As well as such, we should skip the pleasantries.”

He nodded his head towards Empress Anna Charlotte nonetheless. She was after all the aunt-in-law of the future Empress of Polonge.

“Now. We come here to you in hopes of reaching what you may call, a consensus. Prime Minister Variés, Prime Minister Asbury we are the Heads of the most royalistic and traditional empires in the world. Our nation’s are the embodiment of what proper governments should look like after all.”

He paused for a moment.

“And while we may have had our disagreements in the pasta, we are required by circumstance to be allies.”

[Kingdom of Derita]

Lord Variés and the Duke of Angoulême both raised their eyebrows suspiciously at Hopfer. Historically Polonge had been a long time ally of Derita. But that had been under Francis II and Josephine, and Maria Anna had made it abundantly clear that she was nothing like them. While she had never been outright antagonist towards to Derita since ascending the throne, she had held them at an arms distance and even attempted to encircle them with new allies before she truly understood their power. Not if seemed she was reeling back to try and befriend them once again.

“What exactly is it that you want Prince Dohány?”