A Tale Of Two Empress'

[Beatrice]

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs had dispatched the details for Empress Ælirn's arrival to their counterparts: Empress Ælirn would arrive at Pyrena Castle via helicopter from Pyrettania International. Following a light lunch the pair would make their way to the Imperial Diet for the signing ceremony, after which a tour of the Imperial Capital would allow for Empress Ælirn to gain cultural insight into her new treaty partner. Entertainment at Pyrena Castle would round the night out, with a visit to Exuperia and Ashinxao following the next day. Only the arrival of her guest was needed for the visit to proceed, and she looked forward to her arrival, not just for the business before them but also the rapport the two Empress' were already building.

[Xaeth]

Ælirn was excited for today's events; she'd been looking forward to her visit to Rokkenjima every since planning had begun. Not only was she quite fond of Empress Beatrice following her first meeting with her, but Ælirn viewed the Friendship Treaty with Rokkenjima as her first real accomplishment as Xæth's Empress and the first real step to changing her nation's foreign policy for the better. Of course she could still feel her anxiety resting heavily in the pit of her stomach, but when she stepped off the helicopter at Pyrena Castle she was smiling.

Dressed in a long fur coat on account of Rokkenjima's chilly and snowy weather, her grin widens when she say Empress Beatrice. "Empress Beatrice, it's so nice to see you again," she said happily, giving her fellow monarch a quick and polite nod, "I can't wait to see more Rokkenjima; your country looks quite lovely!"

[Beatrice]

Empress Beatrice greeted the helicopter of Empress Ælirn personally as a blanket of snow had descended upon Pyrena Castle and the capital city of Pyrettania below. "Empress Ælirn, welcome to Rokkenjima," she said with a bow. "I'm pleased to see you've arrived safely and hope your travels were enjoyable. Please do follow me inside, the winds up here can be biting at times," she said as she motioned for the doors of Pyrena. Once inside she led Ælirn to the sitting room, where a light lunch had been prepared for the two enjoy prior to their departure for the Imperial Diet.

"Now I would introduce you to Emperor Alexander, however, he's taken the opportunity to take the children out. It keeps the Castle quiet for us," she said with a chuckle, motioning to the food before them. "Do start wherever you like, they weren't certain what to have on hand so I believe there's a little bit of everything present." Beatrice awaited Ælirn's selection before partaking herself.

[Xaeth]

Ælirn clutched her coat closer to her body as a chill struck her just as Beatrice's words about the wind left her mouth. With a nod and chatter of teeth Ælirn nodded, "Yes, please. Winter is lovely, but we don't need to be out in it." She quickly followed Beatrice inside, removing her coat once they had reached their destination. Although it had been there for months this was liable to be the first time Beatrice had, in person, set eyes on the design carved into young Ælirn's stomach. Like much of the iconography associated with Xæth it was heavy on the serpent and sun imagery, with the centerpiece being a great sun located right above Ælirn's navel.

Ælirn sat down, rubbing her hands as she looked out over the food. "Usually the only time we get to see winter up close is when we visit our sister-in-law. It's... peaceful," she said, picking up small sandwich to start, "And we appreciate the thought. Although we do have to admit that it would have been nice to meet your husband, and we do not really mind children if we are to be honest."

[Beatrice]

"You won't mind them until you have them," Beatrice chuckled. "Just yesterday Adriana wished her phone could summon a pizza all by itself, no delivery boy required. I had to explain the concept to her that human hands still had to bring it," she sighed. "This generation..."

"Oh but why do we speak of them as if they are in this room?" she continued. "The Diet will expect a statement prior to signing, do you have one prepared?" Beatrice asked. "I'd rather not deal with them but it is a necessary evil. If not I am more than willing to help," she continued.

[Xaeth]

"You know, our Aunts say exactly that. One of the few things the two of them actually agree on," Ælirn said with a quiet chuckle, "But even so, we still like children. We'll have them one day, but, well... Anyway. To business!"

"We do have a little something prepared. Believe me, if we hadn't then whatever we said would be a rambling mess," the young Empress sighs, "We're not the best public speaker. But is there anything we should know? What exactly are they expecting? Is there anything we should be expecting?"

[Beatrice]

"Wonderful," Beatrice replied, "As for what to expect, they should prove to be a welcoming crowd. Most seats are held by the party commonly referred to as the 'Imperialist Party', which in other nations would be considered the 'conservative party' I suppose. The second largest party, the Centre Party, has a history of working with the Crown, although they may be less predictable at times. Following the referendum which abolished the Office of the Premier, I have certainly noticed the sting in their eyes, as the vote was also a repudiation of their policies in a way."

"Basically I feel most will be interested in what your nation sees as its future in this relationship; they wish to know what to expect. After that, the celebrations may continue."

[Xaeth]

"Well that is understandable; nobody likes to see the rejection of their beliefs. Even moreso for those involved in politics. Although, we have to say that it's very fortunate for Rokkenjima to have a centrist party. Xæth's politics are rather... polarized," Ælirn says,nodding befoe she gives a short chuckle, "Of course, we are assuming they're actually centrist. You know how political parties can get with their names sometimes."

Then the young empress straightens up, "But, we did have another question. Is the Diet going to... Ask us questions? We would like to know beforehand so we can... mentally prepare ourselves."

[Beatrice]

"Parties can call themselves whatever they wish," Beatrice chuckled, "but as I've seen the only ideology parties hold is that which is true to their own interests. So-called democratic states don't get it, ultimately, they are temporal while you, and I, we're here for the long term. We don't have loyalties to one ideology over the other, no party to call our boss, only the People." Beatrice took a moment of pause, "Now, to prepare you, imagine me as some stone-faced member of the Diet, I'm sure I can imagine a question or two they may throw your way."

Beatrice stood and cleared her throat, "Your Majesty, until now your nation has had no connection to the First Empire, why should we trust that our interests are rooted in furthering relations?" After a pause she presented another question, "You've questionable history with the Iwi, what are you doing to rectify these historic issues?"

"At the end of the day," she continued as she sat down, "such questions shouldn't be expected in great quantity; the meeting with the Diet is mostly a formality. The power to sign treaties and engage in foreign policy is under the remit of Chrysanthemum Throne, I've allowed the Diet the privilege of review but I believe they understand the origins of such an arrangement. The measure, you can say, is one of future proofing, to ensure a future monarch would be able to be checked effectively if they strayed from Rokkenjiman tradition and values. We shouldn't expect great difficulties, nor a hard crowd so to say, before the Diet."

[Xaeth]

"Ideals over ideology," Ælirn said, nodding at Beatrice, then she took a deep breath as she listened to Beatrice speak. She didn't like the question; those sorts of questions were always the most difficult to answer, she found. But she didn't wait long before she composed herself and spoke up, "Truthfully, we believe there is very little we can say to truly sway you. We are still young and our reign short; we have yet to have time to do much proving of anything. So all we can give you is our word; unlike some of our predecessors, we truly believe that the way forward in the world is mutual cooperation. Partnerships of equals, working together for the betterment of both nations. And, should Rokkenjima ever decide that our partnership is no longer for their benefit, the Friendship Treaty does have provisions for altering it for exactly that situation."

"Xæth's history with the Maori of the world is one of the most unfortunate and regretable things about our nation. And the Diet can rest assured that the Xæthoon government has several plans in motion to rectify the issues; however they are still in their earliest stages and at the risk of sounding dishonest should plans change in the future, we are not at liberty to discuss just what steps are being taken at present."

Ælirn sighed as she finished up; that was not the best of answers. But what was she supposed to say? She still had no idea how far her reforms would go, and sounding like a liar later in time would be even worse for her image; not to mention she wasn't going to tell Rokkenjima of her plans before Xæth. "Well, at least it's good we won't have to worry about them refusing. A pity Xæth isn't like that; we understand the need to allow the people a say but sometimes democracy is just an obstruction."

[Beatrice]

Some time later...

The arrival at the Imperial Diet went as had been choreographed, the signing ceremony without issue, and a majority of the questions proposed to Ælirn had been quite soft, perhaps softer than Beatrice had expected. With most questions out of the way Koizumi, former Premier of Rokkenjima, was granted time to ask a question. "Your Majesty," he began respectfully enough, "Many of us remain concerned that the development of relations between our nations comes at an inappropriate time; the wounds inflicted upon the Iwi by your nation as well as the blatant disrespect the First Empire has shown to them leads us to believe that the Empress would have better used her time approaching the King to see what, if anything, could be salvaged. What is it that you offered the Empress which made her pursue such a course over rectifying historic wrongs against the Iwi? What, if anything, do you have planned to rectify the actions of your nation?"

"Mr. Speaker, if I may," Beatrice said as she stood, "While I am certain Empress Ælirn is fully capable of answering your question there was nothing which she offered which led me to pursuing a relationship with Xæth at this time. Relations with the Iwi have nothing to do with the spirit of friendship which Rokkenjima and Xæth have found, that is an issue which must and is being pursued separately. For the Honourable Member to suggest that Empress Ælirn has somehow unduly influenced my judgement is disrespectful, inappropriate and has no bearing upon the Treaty we have signed today." With a motion of his hand Koizumi requested to retort, which was granted.

"Your Imperial Majesty, I mean no manner of disrespect, allow me to request an answer to the later part of my question. We may strike my previous remarks from the record." With that he sat, and awaited an answer.

[Xaeth]

Despite her nervousness at first, Ælirn found herself not minding the signing with the Diet as much as she thought she would. Perhaps it was the lack of any overtly difficult questions that might throw the young Empress for a loop, or perhaps she was simply getting used to this sort of thing as Empress. It didn't matter either way. Then the former Premier asked his question and as the words poured out of his mouth Ælirn couldn't help but feel downright insulted by the man's insinuation. She was used to the politicians of Xæth, where even the literal fascists in the Assembly chose their words carefully when speaking of the Empress to avoid insulting her in any way. She managed to hide it of course, the only indication being an angry clenching of teeth that only someone nearby would bother to notice. Ælirn appreciated Beatrice coming to her aid; she wasn't sure she would have been able to put things as diplomatically as Beatrice had.

"The actions that our nation and our people took towards the Maori people in the past are a black stain on the long and storied history of the Most Serene and Celestial Empire, it is true. It is most unfortunate that the number of things in our nation that have required our attention since our Enthronement last November have been manifold; you can rest assured that Xæth does, in fact, have plans for rectifying the atrocities of its past," Ælirn said, the coming slowly from her mouth as she made sure everything was exactly what she wished to say, "But at this moment they are simply that. Plans. If we were to lay out everything that has been discussed to the assembled Diet today then were the situation to change and our plans to change with it, we would seem dishonest. Furthermore, we are certain that you understand the impropriety of sharing the designs of the Xæthoon government to a foreign legislature before the nation's own people. Yes?"

[Beatrice]

With Koizumi defeated in all senses of the word the two departed the Imperial Diet and returned to Pyrena Castle. "I never figured Koizumi would be so bitter in his loss of the Premiership, but, well it's obvious in his conduct. Please do not allow his personal issues to leave a negative impact beyond his own issues," Beatrice sighed. "I believe after that something of a lighter note is demanded, yes?" she continued, leading Ælirn to the Castle's theatre. "Are you a fan of the classics?" she asked. Although Rokkenjima was known for its heavier music, classical was an area which drew the Empress' fondness and she had arranged some guests for the evening.

[Xaeth]

Ælirn was absolutely relieved that everything with the Diet had gone well, and she let out a great sigh of relief once she was away from the assembly of foreign politicians. The young Empress hadn't even realized how tense her body was until she was away and consciously forced herself to relax. There was still a pit in her stomach, but experience told her that once she got her mind off of things that'd quickly dissipate. She certainly hoped so; the last thing she wanted for the rest of this visit was to feel sickened. Once she met back up with Beatrice she waved off Beatrice's explanation for Koizumi's behavior, "Oh it's fine. That's just how politicians are. We suppose we'd better get used to people like him, shouldn't we?"

At Beatrice's question about 'the classics' Ælirn spent a moment thinking before she answered, "We are... Unsure? Your classics are probably very different from what we would consider the classics, if we are to be honest." It was true; Ælirn was quite fond of certain traditional musics from her homeland but she doubted Beatrice would be able to name a single song that Ælirn would consider a "classic".

"But we are sure we will enjoy it nonetheless," she added with a smile.

[Beatrice]

"On that note, do excuse me for a moment," she said as she rose from her seat, taking a position upon the stage with the Pyrettania Symphony Orchestra, sitting at the harpsichord. First would be Bach's Harpsichord Concerto No.1 in D Minor, after which the Empress would rise to her feet and transition to Pyrena's pipe organ and, with a grin on her face, opted to play some Chopin and, to conclude her time, Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Following her time performing upon the organ she would rejoin the Empress, after which the Orchestra would perform a variety of music from around Mundus.

"My apologies for any surprise, however, to allow them to have all the fun wouldn't be right, yes? Playing and performing is most therapeutic, and I can only hope I've entertained you well," she continued with a grin as the orchestra continued to play various pieces from across Mundus.