GCI appeal to Samantra

[DaveIronside]

To:- Princess Ludmila Godunov

As you may no doubt be aware over the last few weeks I have dedicated a great deal of time and effort into trying to promote the work of the Global Childbirth Initiative and have been pleased with being able to bring onboard some new national patrons to help promote the work of what I'm sure you'll agree is a very worthy organisation. I would like to see a national patron in every nation on Mundus and believe that you would be perfect to promote and support the work of the GCI in your homeland. With this in mind I wonder whether we can find a mutually agreeable time for us to discuss the matter and hopefully take the GCI from strength to strength.

I look forward to hearing from you.

May The Gods Watch Over You and Your Nation Know Peace

Queen Stasya Ironside

[Markus]

TO: Queen Stasya Ironside

Your Majesty, allow me to congratulate you for the birth of your son Prince Llewellyn as well as your work with the Global Childbirth Initiative. It’s noble work that honors you and your family.
Please allow me to invite you the Saint Gregory the Illuminator concert hall in the Calfa, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Belgravia, to a concert by our great artist Havasi that it will give you a glimpse of our culture. My niece, the crown princess Eleonora Godunov, will also be attending and if you do not mind I would like for her to attend our the after concert meeting.

With the greatest of respect,
Princess Ludmila Godunov



The setting, why Ludmila accepted the invitation

Princess Ludmila as head of the Godunov House enjoyed a great deal of prestige. While the monarchy had been abandoned in Samantra many Samantrans longed for a return to monarchy. For them it was not just about a return to a prestige they believed Samantra enjoyed before the Great War Era when the monarchy in Samantra was at its peak but seen as a something natural in a world where half of Mundus had monarchies including the most powerful of countries.

Still Ludmila knew that if the monarchy was ever to return to Samantra it would not be within her lifetime since she was already 65 and the theocracy in Samantra saw little weakness or willingness to return to a monarchy. So she did her best to keep the name Godunov fresh in the memory of Samantrans and to keep the prestige alive. That is why when she got the letter from the Queen of the Morelanders she immediately jumped on it. Having her by her side in a semipublic event was a way for her to get publicity and prestige, to show the elites of Samantra that she mattered. Well actually not just those in Samantra but also Belgravia. That country had not seen such an important non Samantran figure visiting ( even if it was a private, informal visit) in decades.

Belgravia was an independent country but it gravitated in Samantra’s orbit. However, that was not why it was important for Ludmila, it was important because it was the last remaining country where the Godunovs still ruled. House Godunov had a complicated system for leadership but suffice to say that Ludmila has head of the house because tradition mandated it that the Samantran side rule the house despite the fact that the Godunovs in Belgravia actually had power as monarchs. That is where Crown Princess Eleonora came in and why Ludmila invited her.


Day of the visit - Calfa, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Belgravia

As this was a private, informal visit, there was no welcoming committee waiting Queen Stasya at the airport, at least not one that involved Belgravian authorities in a meaningful matter. The government of Belgravia contacted the Morelander embassy in Calfa and offered to provide a police escort to help with the traffic as well as coordinate with them should they need security support. Belgravia was a safe country but the authorities didn’t want to seem like they were snubbing the Morelander Queen.
 

Saint Gregory the Illuminator concert hall in Calfa

One of Boris Havasi’s best pieces, the Christ Trilogy, was played during the concert which Queen Stasya attended. The piece was named after the three large biblical paintings by Andrei Belsky, one of Samantra’s greatest painters. Those familiar with Christianity could identify the biblical scenes, those were very familiar with Christian art could see the Ardian influence of the paintings, a testimony to the fact that in the late 19th century Samantra was under a massive cultural influence of the Ardian Empire despite contemporary efforts that downplayed this.

A time to relax in a private room

Since all three women Ludmila, Eleonora and Stasya were high profile figures they had little time to talk until now when the concert was finished and they were in a VIP private room in the building of the concert hall. Until then they had to smile, shake hands with various local elites, stand for pictures and act their best since, despite the best efforts of the authorities, this was still a public event and thus privacy was at a minimum.

The room where the three women finally had some privacy to talk. Servers were present to cater for their needs as well as any security required by the Morelander guests. Ludmila didn’t not bring her husband since Stasya came alone and Eleonora was not married.

OOC: I will assume they made the presentations etc before the concert so I will skip that.

“Finally some time for ourselves, Your Majesty” said Ludmila trying to start the conversation.

“Please tell me if you had issues on your way here or if there is something we can do to make you more confortable” added Ludmila.

Eleonora on the other hand said nothing. She was content with observing Stasya, her looks, her accent and her demeanor. She remembered her private history lessons about the Rus’ countries and to her at least it always seemed like Lodja was the peculiar one. So she was curious to see how “a Lodjan” acts. 

Pics of how the two Samantran characters look are here: Ludmila and Eleonora