Daily Life and Diplomacy (Jygeria Only, IC)

[Kallist]

A roleplay recounting the daily lives and political manueverings in the Free Lands of Jygeria; this is a story of not only machinations and mind games, of plans and international liasons, but also of the little people - the everymen and everywomen who are affected by what goes on upstairs. Welcome to the inner lives of Jygeria. Enjoy the ride.

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Presidential Suite, Grand Republican Hotel, Kagetori, 8:00 am

Eris XIII slowly drifted out of the hazy, oceanlike state of dreaming, taking a few minutes to get her bearings straight. She was no longer in the Eristocratic Palace in Kallist City, as she had been dreaming of the previous night. No longer the Prettiest One, fair leader of the Democratic Republic of Kallist. What she was now was a political exile, overthrown by a bunch of political insider hacks calling themselves the Establishment, led by a scheming, purselipped tart named Hilary Smoonchnger.

The Presidential Suite was practically a palace unto itself, complete with a massive kitchen filled with decadent foods and beverages, a massive queen-sized bed (upon which the fair-skinned rainbow-haired woman was splayed, barely dressed, with quite a few bottles of wine surrounding her), and practically with whatever Eris desired. After all, she was intimately close to Kagetori's leader; so of course she'd been offered asylum, though it practically felt like house arrest with the Kagetorian officers stationed outside and by the door, watching her every move. Not that there wasn't reason for it - there was the not entirely unfounded fear that agents of the Establishment were out to silence Kallist's former leader, so Eris had been kept under lock and key 24/7, her whereabouts unknown to anyone outside Kagetori's government and the survivors of what came to be known as the Concillum Massacre. Eris attempted to get the idea out of her mind by turning the TV on and channel surfing. News? Not happening, it'd just remind her of her fuckup. Cooking? Nah. She eventually found something that interested her, a simple soap opera. James' evil twin brother James was attempting to marry their sister under a false identity for money!? This was the sort of escapist trash she needed right now.

[Lower Wardandian]

Eris' enjoyment of this trashy TV show was interrupted by her phone ringing. The area code identified it as a Lower Wardandian caller, and there was only one person from that country who could be contacting her: Sophia Mendes, the Merchant-General of the Board of Directors.

[Kallist]

Eris turned down the volume on the TV, looking at the caller ID on her phone, eyes wide. No, she thought. How could Sophie know I'm here? Then she mentally slapped herself. See, Eris, this is the lack of foresight that got you into this mess to begin with. Taking a quick puff from a joint, Eris answered. "Hi, Sophie. What do you want?" A follow up question sprang from her lips: "Is this call being tracked?"

[Kagetori]

An aide from outside the door piped up. "All ingoing and outgoing phone traffic from this location is on secure lines, ma'am!"

[Lower Wardandian]

"No. At least, not by the Establishment." Sophie replied. "They aren't on your trail. At least, not yet. You can thank me for that. I've started a disinformation campaign. As far as the public is concerned, you're a continent away. It won't keep your enemies fooled forever, but it will buy you some time."

[Kallist]

Eris breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sophie. I really do mean that. Damn that Hilary. Damn them all. How could I be so stupid to trust them like that?" She sounded like she wanted to cry.

[Lower Wardandian]

"You always tried to see the good in people." Sophie replied, lighting a cigarette. "...Even me."

[Kallist]

"Especially you." Eris replied, a small smile on her face. "You and the Board of Directors might be authoritarian asshats, but you're my authoritarian asshats." The sentimental saccharine-sweet moment was immediately broken by Eris loudly ( and deliberately) farting then laughing hard about it. Once her fit of immaturity passed, she immediately put on what she called her 'serious bitch face'. "How did you even know where I am? President Bird didn't give my location for a good reason."

[Lower Wardandian]

"My dear Eris, did you really think I would lose track of you? I have eyes everywhere. It is partly thanks to them you survived the Massacre." Sophie said, exhaling smoke rings. "President Bird and I may have our disagreements, but keeping you safe is one thing we can both agree on."

[Kallist]

"You didn't just call to check on me, did you?" Eris asked, taking a long puff of her joint. "You mentioned a disinformation campaign targeted towards the Establishment?"

[Lower Wardandian]

"Yes. You know how effective Wardandian media is at spreading stories. Every newspaper, channel and website is running the same story: Exiled Prettiest One Eris XIII has fled the region to parts unknown." Sophie said. "The Establishment has fallen for it, too. Lower Wardandian spies in Kallist have reported massive troop movements in the opposite direction of where you are actually hiding."

[Kallist]

"Excellent." Eris said with a laugh. "As long as they're distracted, we can pour resources into resistance movements against the Establishment politicians. It's thanks to Mistress-I mean, President Bird that my final message to my people managed to get out the way it did. Speaking of, how many of my darlings heeded my warning?"

[Lower Wardandian]

"Hard to say. Those who've been vocal about it tend to disappear. There could be many more with the sense to keep their mouths shut, at least publicly." Sophie replied. "Either way, there's no revolution happening. Not yet."

[Kallist]

Eris let out a dejected sigh. Of course it wasn't. This wasn't like the whole marriage issue; that had easily been fixed within a day or so. This was a far bigger issue than marriage being illegal or not. This was a seizure of power. Those couldn't be fixed easily. They took time. "I just want to go home, Sophia. I miss my people. My palace. Of being the Prettiest One."

[Lower Wardandian]

A pause. "I know." Sophia replied. "And, if I'm honest...I miss you, Eris."

[Kallist]

"Finally, you admit your crush on me." Eris tried to joke. It wasn't exactly working, and probably felt a little awkward. "I'm kidding, Sophia." she tried to backtrack.

[Kagetori]

Walking in just as Eris says she misses being the Prettiest One, Bird closed the door behind her, sidled up next to Eris, and said, "You need not be concerned about that last one, dear. You're always the prettiest one to me." She kissed her beloved fellow leader on the cheek, then continued, "Also, hello, Sophia. I apologize for the last ambassador I sent; they were considerably more stern than I would've preferred."

[Lower Wardandian]

"I know." Sophia replied. "There's more we need to discuss, but it would be better if we did it n person. There's a cafe near the Grand Republican Hotel. Meet me there at noon, okay?"

[Kallist]

Eris nodded. "Make sure no one listens in. Goodbye, Merchant-General." The former Prettiest One of Kallist hung up, then went back to watching her trashy soap opera. She smiled at Bird, wrapping an arm around her lover's waist. "Hello, dearest."

[Kagetori]

Bird made note of the show Eris was watching. "Really? 'A Fair Portion of My Descendants'? You're watching that?" she playfully teased, giving her colleague and lover a big hug.

[Lower Wardandian]

Four hours later, Sophia Mendes arrived at the cafe, escorted by three bodyguards in plain clothing. They sat away from the Merchant-General, with Sophia herself taking a seat by a window. She was dressed in a sleek grey suit, with freshly shined dress shoes. Her hair was brown, cut to shoulder length, and her eyes were light green. Sophia ran a finger over a long scar on her right cheek, the mark barely noticeable on her pale skin.

[Kallist]

"I am." Eris replied. " James' evil twin brother James is marrying their own sister for money."

----timeskip----

4 hours later, Eris arrived at the cafe, wearing what most in Kallist would call business attire, but others would call a college toga. It barely covered her chest, the midriff for all to see. The rather see through miniskirt showed off more than enough leg (and apparently Eris was going commando). Sitting down across from Sophia, Eris ordered coffee and a hot dog with no buns. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

[Lower Wardandian]

"Indeed." Sophia replied, pointedly ignoring the skin Eris was displaying. "The Establishment seems to have little interest in diplomacy. I've tried many times to open negotiations with them to get my people there home, but to no avail."

[Kallist]

"They're isolationists." Eris said matter-of-factly. "They closed the borders under the pretense of disease control. No one can get in or out of Kallist now. If I didn't know better, they probably cut off ties with the Board of Directors to institute autarky. They're likely to put in policies I already had planned in the long run and claim them as their own anyway."

[Lower Wardandian]

"Well, shit." Sophia said, sipping the coffee she had ordered. "You knew Hillary, right? What can you tell me about her?"