This or That (TYP & Achkaerin)

[The Young Pope]

At least she could escape the realities of studying, for just a few weeks at most but even then, a student on a university level ought to be grateful for the amount of time she'd been given. It was the first visit to the Holy Empire of Achkaerin that Princess Gloria undertook by herself, well with the exception of a mandatory bodyguard who'd keep a close eye on her from a distance, according to standard protocol. Being probably the northernmost country close to Hrothgar, it didn't immediately pop up as a recommendable travel destination to begin with, but that open-minded curiosity of the Princess compelled her to make this journey across the Great Northern Ocean, right before spending Christmas with the family back home. Gloria didn't exactly have a good plan as to how she would explore this maritime empire, though spending a few days in the capital city of Valtheim seemed to be the logical choice and this was the second day since her arrival. She decided to stay in a mid-ranged hotel with acceptable customer reviews located in the city centre; it wasn't too fancy nor too shabby either, since the Royal Court would've probably picked something over-the-top if they were given the permission to handle everything, as to which she denied them this time around. Her room was located on the upper levels of the building, overlooking the ancient skyline of Valtheim that reminded her of Vaguzia for some reason, which was probably due to the overall architectural style, with the bodyguard's room located right beside hers.

The Princess realised that she totally forgot her guidebook, whilst browsing through her luggage in the room on the first evening as she arrived at the hotel...so now after eating breakfast rather quickly, she found herself in a local bookstore located not far from the hotel she was staying in luckily speaking, as she really didn't want to waste the entire morning frantically seaching for one. There was hardly anyone in the store from what Gloria could notice upon entering the store, with a door bell signalling her presence; save for a young mother or babysitter moving around with a bunch of kids, but at first she didn't pay any particular attention to them. The bodyguard conspiculously took a look at a few newspapers and magazines in one section of the store. The Princess however headed towards the 'travel' section, where various guidebooks and maps of Achkaerin and other countries were standing tall in the shelves, translated into English and Achkaerinese alike.

"ooh, such difficult options..." She told herself, grabbing two pairs of guidebooks that she had no clue about as to which of these proved to be the best one. It was then she spotted that young lady looking a few years older than her standing a few meters away. "Excuse me, apologies for bothering you, but I was wondering if you could recommend either of these Achkaerinese guidebooks?" She asked with a slightly nervous smile. The bodyguard still kept his distance, though he heard Gloria's conversation with the lady at hand.

[Achkaerin]

A female voice penetrated the music that was playing through the headphones that Maki Hamer was wearing as she leaned against the end of one of the shop's bookcases glancing at one book on sport, deciding whether or not to buy it while keeping a careful eye on the two young girls looking around the children's books section - Maki herself wasn't a mother but she was a close friend to Achkaerin's Crown Princess Serenity and following the loss of Prince Isaac, Maki had done a fair bit of the babysitting including this little trip out there was someone else helping, the children's reward for good behaviour was they got to see Maki do what she did best when it came to sport. Maki removed her headphones when she noticed the person who was speaking.

"Depends what you want." Maki said glancing at the two, having spent a fair bit of time around the Achkaerinese Royals she'd picked up a thing or two "Lockhart is good if you want general covering all your bases sort of thing, he's very touristy." she paused "But if you want to delve a little bit below the surface then Saunders is better. Really it's all about whether you want to learn a bunch of niche history or not."

[The Young Pope]

"Hmm...I can clearly notice the difference, for sure." Gloria said, swiftly flipping pages back and forth in both books to confirm the lady's recommendations. This Saunders reminded her a bit of Rick Steves, whom she held a certain respect for even if his political views didn't exactly align his with hers, considering the latter encourages tourists to become "temporary locals", encouraging his followers to visit not just major cities but also cozy villages away from popular tourist routes. "Saunders seems to appeal to my senses in regards to travelling. In my view, it would show the host country and her peoples a certain amount of respect and courtesy, if foreigners didn't just rely on the usual stereotypes and expectations when visiting...Well cheers by the way, much appreciated." She smiled, initially thinking that this conversation with the lady would only last for a brief moment. Placing Lockhart's book back on its spot in the case whilst keeping Saunders', the Swastrian princess was about to leave happily contempt with a guidebook at last before coming to a halt and turning her head towards the feminine acquaintance she'd just met.

"Excuse me once more, but..." Gloria could've sworn she'd recognised her face from somewhere before, if only her brain could dig deeper into the memory bank. "Aren't you Maki Hamer, Princess of Nueva Ardia?" She chuckled, managing to figure this person out in time before the regular silence turned into an awkward silence. "Pleased to meet you." Gloria stretched out her hand for a shake, whilst revealing a smirk. "I dare say that I became rather impressed by that ANS article detailing your views of a corrupt society Nueva Ardia has truly become; it's good to voice strongly-minded opinions and calling it out when injustice and indecency prevails." At this point she could've revealed her identity as well, but decided to remain silent on that bit considering she might've pointed out the obviousness, as well as giving Maki the chance to figure it out by herself, for a bit of challenging fun. "Don't worry, I'm not one of those creepy, die hard fans that want to dig their claws into the flesh of their favorite celebrities and well-known personalities, unless you're receptible to such admiration as to which I can happily oblige to." The Swastrian princess chuckled.

"Ah, on some sort of babysitting duty?" She referenced to the two girls who were accompanying her, keeping to themselves in the children's section. "Oh my..." Gloria momentarily bowed her head and looked straight down facing the floor, raising it later to its original position, when she realised who these girls were. "I can only offer my most sincere condolences, on behalf of the Swastrian people and my family...No child deserves to have their parent ripped away from them, especially at an delicate early age in their development, through such a barbaric, cowardly act that is unacceptable in a civilised society...One can be sure that this period in life, no matter how tragic it is, can only make those affected by this stronger to carry out their ordinary lives as they see fit." She may have not been an ardent follower of religion anymore and certainly not a believer in the power of prayer, but she understood the value in adhering to faith in times such as these, especially in how much comfort and reassurance of a better future it could give to those who'd like to believe in a higher power watching over them.

[Achkaerin]

"Exiled Princess yes." Maki said half smiling "It's no secret that myself and Melos don't agree on much though I suspect he needs to check with the Nueva Ardian equivalent of a border agency if he wants to discuss just how often I visit the country." she glanced at her watch "Girls Roslyn's outside we need to get going." she glanced back at the woman she'd been speaking to "Sorry but I've got a solo football game to get to, can't really be late for it." she went to pay for the books the girls had picked "Of course you could come and watch thing and we could continue this afterwards, Gloria."