Diplomacy, a war of words. (Alex,Brea,Ben)

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

Santo-Luce, a miraculous country of culture, it is said that if you live in the borders of the country of the sun that you'd be blessed from the sun god himself for the rest of your life. At this moment? Benjamin felt pretty blessed, for once a country had finally answered Unda's call for a meeting and he was invited to the country.

What caused this? Was it the fact that Undian warship are on the other side of the world preforming a dire humanitarian mission for the people of Vuoto?

Whatever it was, this was going to be a big meeting, filled with radical ideas that would surely cause a stir amongst the world's leaders.

Benjamin looked over to his side, looking at Brea, who walked somewhat awkwardly as they stepped through the castle's halls, about to enter the throne room in mere minutes.

"Everything alright, Cao-Wei?" Benjamin questioned.

[Brea Cao-Wei]

"As far as I can tell..." Brea replied quietly with a small nod, if he was being completely honest? It put him on edge to be back here, in this castle, about to enter that exact same throne room that he had visited so long ago. It was almost like dejá vu, once again he was entering the Solar Castle on a diplomatic mission, although this time he was happy to say that he wasn't planning on killing any royals despite the outcome.

He was unsure on how he would be received here, at best, nobody would even know who he was, they'd completely ignore him and simply treat him as the captain of Unda, that was all fine by him. Another scenario was that they'd recognize him, but also realize that it was the swords at Brea's waist that had put the current royal family upon the throne, that was also an acceptable outcome, fear might even help the diplomatic process somewhat.

The worst case scenario is that not only did they recognize him, they fell into a blind panic of having a kingslayer within the ranks of Unda and turned them away, refusing diplomatic procedure. Although, Brea doubted this scenario, but he still feared it.

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

Benjamin laughed a bit, "Great, if you're tense then that says a lot about how this meeting is going to go..." He shook his head as the doors to the throne room opened up, revealing the large throne room that so many years ago Brea had painted in blood.

Benjamin stepped in, looking over at King Alexander Frexton. Benjamin was at first unsure how to greet a King, would he do it as if he was a King himself? No, this was a different type of Leadership and he needed to make it clear.

Doing what no leader has done to a King, Benjamin stepped up to the Alex and held out his hand to shake. The guards become tense, as it was very uncustomary for a King to shake someones hand.

Benjamin would be able to tell how the meeting would go just by this handshake, if he accepted it meant that Alexander was a flexible King and willing to accept this new change, but if he didn't it meant that this entire meeting would probably be a one-sided conversation.

"It's an honor to meet you, King Frexton." Benjamin said, his hand still hanging in the air, waiting for his response.

[Brea Cao-Wei]

Benjamin had reached forwards with his hand and Brea had understood what he intended by it at once, he was gauging how liberal King Frexton was going to be throughout this entire diplomatic mission, and as the guards around Alexander tensed, so did Brea. His hand was curled around the hilt of his red katana, not quite touching it, but definitely there, if any one of those guards made a move, they'd suddenly find themselves with no arms.

He narrowed his eyes, looking each guard in the eyes, every time his blue eyes fell upon one of the Santo-Lucian guards, they relaxed somewhat, but not enough to allow Brea to relinquish his grip on the sword.

[alexanderthegreat]

A couple of years ago no one, including himself, could have never imagined that Alexander Cornelius Frexton would ever take the throne, especially so early in his life. It had been even more surprising to many that the highly irresponsible and flighty young man during his country's weakest hours against Trucido Damnedblood was able to pull together a master plan to protect his people and aid in the fight for Allorum...with insanely satisfactory results!

And here he was now, dressed in his best coat sporting a very finely decorated gold-coloured cape that matched nicely with his blond hair and had waited patiently for his guests to arrive. His appearance would have thrown many off-guard--he was very young and had the boyish look about him, yet his apparel and demeanour showed a mature, charismatic individual that would have made his father proud if he were alive to see it today. His captains stood on either side of him - Alex, his good old friend on his left and Zeke Omoihake, named hero in Santo-Luce and good friend (and behind the scenes, something more) on his right. By Alex also stood Alexander's old, trusted advisor Holmes, and by Zeke sat a highly magnificent creature the shape of a golden, glowing fox who stared down the men, her enormously fluffy tail waving back and forth now and then as she seemed to take the time to analyze the strange, Undian men.

'Foxy' was the name that Alexander referred to her as. Watching Brea move closer to his weapon made her let out a highly audible, almost like a warning growl to him to keep it sheathed or she'd be forced to attack.

Alexander? Didn't like how this was going. He didn't like inviting people in only for it to cause unwanted tension--had they never been to Santo-Luce before? On top of that, what was this guy doing bee-lining straight for him and holding his hand out like that? What was that? Women did it and you graciously took it and gave it a kiss--he so wasn't looking for that, Alexander was sure! This was so informal for a formal meeting it was...awkward.

As such Alexander hesitated and tried to figure out (albeit over-thinking it a little) what Benjamin wanted him to do; it ended up with Alexander raising a hand to almost meet his but stopping short--he had no clue what to do and his confusion clearly showed even though he was trying to look highly confident. Something about older men and strange customs easily flustered him, it seemed.

"Grab it!" a soft whisper came from Zeke, trying to keep a formal guard look about him but at the same time highly amused at Alexander's flub with a greeting that was so common to him back on Earth. Alexander tried to cover up his humiliating screw-up and smiled almost a little too widely as he grabbed Benjamin's hand (finally)...and did nothing else in terms of hand-shaking. How was this a greeting?

"Ah, gentlemen! Welcome to our beautiful country and to my home. Please, relax and let me know if you'd like anything to drink..." he decided to let his words speak for him instead seeing as how his actions made him look stupid. He glanced at Foxy and then at Brea as he added, "...I apologize for her, she gets anxious with strangers with weapons around. We are pacifists so we are all better at ease when we..."

He looked back up at Benjamin and gave him a warm smile as he ended with, "...agree to put them away and speak like men rather than obtuse barbarians." Not that he meant anything by it, he just wanted both ends to ease up, his own guards and their guests.

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

Benjamin watched as Alexander awkwardly took his hand and shook, clearly had never done this form of greeting before. It was fine, his goal had succeeded and there was no further need to set himself apart from being a royal than that one action did.

It was an interesting thought, Unda (a surprisingly militaristic history) and Santo-Luce (a country which had always wanted peace) were about to sit down and take on some series domestic issues and he hoped Alexander would treat him as a equal, for Alexander was dealing with a representation of his entire country.

"Of course, we mean no harm," he glanced over to Brea, even without his blade he was a formidable opponent, "Let the guard take your blade, Brea."

He caught himself and quickly warned the guard, "And please be very careful with it, that blade is more than just a piece of steel."

Benjamin was given a chair to sit down on and he did just that, sitting in a most casual manner he leaned across and looked at the young King, "I thank you for accepting the request for a meeting, I do hope we can work for a better outcome for both our countries."

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander almost jumped as their hands shook together and then released grip--that was it? What did that mean? Zeke seemed to have an idea of what to do, maybe he could explain it to him later...

Until then Alexander merely kept his smile up and assured Benjamin and Brea, "I promise you no damage will come to any weapons you've carried here, in fact..." he paused for a moment to give his hand a very elegant wave above his head which seemed to be the general sign for the guards around to exit the area, it appeared they took their places by the outside of the door instead. Only Alexander's captains remained and even he preferred they keep at a safe enough distance. Foxy invited herself over, sitting by her master who ran his fingers through her soft fur on top of her head. She seemed to be a lot happier now.

"I wish the best of this meeting as well. I'm really curious to hear your concerns and possibly make some ties overseas with each other, something that could strengthen us both in a multitude of ways," he said it simply but Alexander was already thinking of the ripple effects of working closely with a country like Unda, economic and even military-wise.

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

He nodded, "Indeed, I believe our two countries could prosper in an incredible way if we can work together." He sat back in his chair, first thing was first, it was time to get a very sticky issue out of the way.

"If I may start..." he said with a small sigh, "It appears that your country is still holding onto some vital fishing grounds of ours, while we appreciate that your Navy had looked after it in a very difficult time of ours... it would be in your best interest if you let Unda take back control of those fishing grounds."

He meant it as no threat, and this was a sticky subject for those fishing grounds (counting also the ones that other countries seized) accounted for an astounding 20% of their GDP (Gross Domestic Product). No doubt Santo-Luce has benefited from those fishing grounds, but it was time for it to be returned to Unda.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander sat back in his own chair, hands clasped together, fingers entwined, and sitting under his chin with his face giving a serious look as he listened to the proposal of giving the fishing grounds back to Unda.

"Ahh yes, the fishing grounds..." Alexander started but easily trailed off, his calm and collected air turning into confusion and slight panic as he immediately whipped his head around to his advisor.

Their eyes met and Holmes sighed because the look Alexander gave him was the one that screamed, 'What the hell is he talking about--help me!'

"Pardon me, Sir," Holmes cleared his throat and gave a polite nod to Benjamin, "I know Unda has been going through some...developments, and where I'm sure you've had your plate full I'm not sure if you're aware that King Alexander inherited the throne from his father about a year ago. He's had a lot of cleaning up to do and even now is still just getting formally acquainted with this country's history with some of the others." Despite how polite Holmes put it he couldn't help but think to himself 'This is why he should have been doing the reading all of those years as his father told him to!'

Regardless, Holmes flashed Alexander a proud smile as he continued, "Young and unexperienced he is, though undoubtedly wise. Seizing control of Unda's fishing grounds was something that our former king, Bradley Frexton IV would have had a hand in, though as his advisor I mean to not force my views but it is my job to at least inform his highness that those grounds in the years we've had control over them have treated us exceptionally well. We've cared for every inch of them to the edges of our border and they've provided us plenty of entertainment, resources, and jobs for the people of Santo-Luce--"

"And they belonged to Unda first," Alexander cut in Holmes's spiel, the look on his face a serious one, his eyebrows furrowing as he began to let this information sink in, "you know it'd be the right thing to do."

Holmes tried to remain neutral on the subject. He folded his hands together just behind his back and glanced at his king and spoke slowly with a tone that seemingly emphasized everything that came out of his mouth as he said, "Of course, sire, though if we lose control of that area we not only lose economically as the fishing is one of our highest forms of income but there's a sure chance we'd be forcing people out of jobs."

"Ahh, true that is," Alexander also replied slowly, not as enthusiastic as he was before--he forgot that the 'rippling' effect of decision-making as monarch could dish out negative results down the road that had a much larger impact than the sweet, positive little change he made earlier on. Holmes was such a killjoy.

"As much as I respect Sir Benjamin here and feel for his cause, I don't think this is something we can really afford at the moment," Holmes stated, watching Alexander carefully and quickly throwing in, "though where that's my view of it in the end the choice is yours, sire."

Alexander fell silent and remained that way for a long moment, looking away from Holmes and finally resting his stare on Benjamin across from him. Where he hadn't a clue what other possibility there could be for them he felt that it wouldn't be right to necessarily say a straight 'yes' or 'no' to this question.

"And what if it doesn't have to be that way?" he finally spoke, losing himself to a million thoughts he was trying to sort out, "what if control of the grounds were returned to Unda? Who said we have to suffer from it? Because of our location by the ocean and our reputation of having highly-esteemed seaport towns and the hospitality that can challenge the world there has to be something else we can offer that can give our economy a boost and keep the people happy."

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

Benjamin sat back in his chair as he watched the King and his adviser trade words. Things were going better than he had expected, he had expected them to say outright 'no'.

"If I may add..." Benjamin said sitting up in his chair, "On an average, somewhere between 6,000-12,000 boats work in those fishing grounds each month, some of those are large commercial boats, holding at the very least 50 men while some are the small fishing boat with 5 or 10 men. If you were to open your ports up to these men, there would be a great deal of money pouring into those Port cities, not to mention our people would be able to interact with each other on a new level, bringing our nations together."

"Not to mention I'm sure there are many Undian fishing companies looking for some quick cash, I could set it up so that Santo-Lucian companies have first choice and may be able to buy out their stake in the sea." He couldn't actually tell the company to sell it to another company, but he could set up lucrative benefits for said company to sell to other said company, "We could even set up a trade deals and sell a fair amount of the fish to Santo-Luceso that your people never have to experience a bump in the food supply."

He was rolling out a lot of offers and he had many reasons for doing so. For starters, he famously lowered the unemployment by putting many of his civilians to work rebuilding impoverished villages and making the first steel fleet of ships, these were all temporary jobs and he needed to open up a new route for a more stable form of job. Another reason was that Unda desperately needed a friend in the world, Santo-Luce was a strong, highly influential Kingdom and would prove to be an excellent ally.

[Brea Cao-Wei]

Brea's hand had long let go of his blade, but he felt comfortable with it at his side. His stance was no longer as rigid either, his hands sat comfortably by his side as he watched the two rulers converse, and admittedly have to stifle a chuckle at Alexander's attempt at a hand-shake, but if he was being honest, he had being expected such a reaction. Brea himself had slowly had to get used to not bowing to Benjamin out of the usual respect between a newly-appointed captain and ruler, and adjust to his hand-shakes and informal mannerisms.

Currently the conversations were on the subject of the economy, admittedly not one of Brea's strong points, he had some basic training in handling supplies but in the end it all came back down to him knowing mainly about military matters, which is where he would effectively come into his own. For the meantime, however, he simply observed events.

[alexanderthegreat]

Alexander listened carefully and then immediately became lost in his own thoughts. Food, jobs, money, a little integrating...

The young king clapped his hands together excitedly and grinned at Holmes.

"We need a resort!" he announced, highly randomly. Holmes smiled shortly at Alexander but then gave Benjamin a bit of a sympathetic look.

"He um...does this a lot..." Holmes said apologetically, "your majesty, if I may we should probably get back on track just for a moment..."

Alexander interrupted him however, waving his hands dismissively at the older man and sitting forward in his chair towards Benjamin to throw out his newly, just-concocted, crazy idea.

"No no no no! I like where Sir Benjamin is going with this! But you see, Holmes, if we build it seaside and make it a fancy-like hotel to attract tourists and provide exclusive beach access we easily have jobs, money, and something else to tack on to our list of 'what Santo-Luce has that you all wish you did!'. It'd be fit for a king but made for the public! We'd provide only the best food like exotic Undian fish and--"

"Sire, please..."

"--yes! I'm okaying Unda take its fishing grounds back. Santo-Luce will gladly open its ports up to your fishermen and maybe if you're up to it you can get in on this 'private, expensive but worth it vacation' place I've got going on on the brain!" Alexander laughed heartily. Holmes remembered this kind of behaviour from the boy's mother--once she had an idea, nothing was able to stop her no matter how silly it sounded. He didn't say anything else to try to discourage his king or shove him back on track but he sighed as he waited to see how the rest of this meeting was going to go...he and Alexander would have to have a talk about it afteward.

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

Benjamin stayed cool as Alexander traded words with Holmes, it felt a little awkward for this to be going on during a meeting of this sort, however the proposition of a joint project intrigued him.

He placed his hand on his chin, thinking through his reply for a moment, "It's an ambitious project, we'd have to make sure my people and your people could afford it while we must also advertise it correctly so that it intrigues Undians and Santo-Lucians. Why don't you get a number for the price tag Unda would have to pay and then we can explore this project further?"

Actually, this was the perfect time to roll right into the second part of this meeting, "But you know, for such a massive project to happen Santo-Luce must recognize Unda's new government's legitimacy." No country had done so yet, everyone simply thought that it would quickly implode and fall into a history of failed governments, "A simple public statement by any high official would proclaim such and would open up a road to all sorts of opportunities."

[alexanderthegreat]

Advertising and budgeting. Right. Alexander glanced back at Holmes.

"We have people who do that, right?" he asked Holmes, already knowing the answer but Holmes still replied with a simple nod and partially amused smile anyway. Alexander's own response then was a big smile and a, "wonderful!" Who knew such awesome things could come from a serious meeting that Alexander only years before would have declared "stuffy and boring"?

Then Benjamin brought up something that came across as odd to Alexander, the whole 'Unda's government legitimacy'. It was to an extent a little upsetting now that Alexander reminded himself that in the last while there hadn't been a decent ruling in Unda.
And here was this old guy in front of him right now who wasn't royalty, king, prince, whatever he should have been. He was a normal guy just like the others were, the others before him who'd failed and left the country to pull itself together. And now Alexander was already promising this new type of government all sorts of things with no assurance whatsoever that it would work.

Oh great, this is exactly what Holmes always told him (and now he knew he was going to hear about it again after these men were gone), to never jump to a decision because of the rewards but to remember who you're doing business with. Yeah. That. Alexander didn't know him.

However he could empathize with Benjamin to a degree. With the death of King Bradley Frexton IV there were a lot of people who weren't convinced that even his successor, Alexander, would even be able to mind the throne let alone do something for the betterment of the country. The few he had took a risk on him and nowadays those who had were glad they made the decision. Santo-Luce was doing better than anyone could have imagined...

"So you mean I give the news that our borders on the water are shortening to give Unda its space to reform under its new..." Alexander paused and stared at Benjamin, trying to find the right way to word it, "...type of government?"

[Benjamin Kírix-Unda]

He closed his eyes, letting an air of silence hover between the two leaders before saying one simple sentence, "I am not Duo." That name, a name so many people regarded as vile and disgusting, to say the name was offensive in itself. He went on, "I am not all the failed Monarchies that have come after, I am not Suisei. My name is Benjamin and I am the President of Unda."

He once again let the silence hang before continuing, "I understand why you're nervous, and you rightly should be, but I am not a failed leader and I believe that our government can make a difference in the world. Just look at Vuoto, two weeks ago nations were fighting over if they should intervene or not in the civil war going on right now. Unda acted, we opened up a port and flooded it with food and aid for the hurt and starved. I have put my people back to work, generating a surplus of money that Unda has not seen in centuries. I had proved my government's worth to the world, a stronger Unda is a stronger world."

He leaned in, looking over at the King, "So tell me, what is keeping the world from saying 'Yes, I can accept this'? Is it my title, 'President', or perhaps is it the blood running through my body?"

He wasn't trying to be pushy or rude with the King, but if Santo-Luce wasn't able to accept the new rule than what nation would? To be turned back now would be unacceptable. So all Benjamin was trying to do was to reassure Alexander that the Democracy that stood on Unda today would be here tomorrow.