The Royal Palace

As the sun peeks over the horizon the door to the ambassador wing swings open. A group of servants enters the room. They have trolleys laden with an impressive breakfast spread which is laid out. Primarily fresh fruit, cheeses, croissants, hard boiled eggs, a selection of jams, and a few sweet pastries. After the food is laid out the king enters the room. He takes a seat grabs a croissant slathers it in jam and begins to eat. He does not speak it is clear he is waiting for Naoki to join him.

As the door is swung open for her, Madame Naoki rolls her shoulders and mentally and posturally prepares herself for the events ahead. The presentation of the letter of credence would most likely be a fairly formal affair in the royal court. Her first public appearance before the Gauldish nobility, it would be of the utmost importance for future relations to make a good impression. To that end, she calls upon her mental aid for good posture, taught to her many years ago by one of the older girls. Something good came out of that brothel, at least. She imagines a thread, running from the top of her head between her ears, all the way down through her center of mass to her feet, and adjusts herself to pull that thread taut, straightening her spine and holding her head high.

However, as the door opens fully, Naoki catches sight of a man… who would seem to be King Renaux himself. Just sort of… sitting there at the table… spreading jam on a croissant.

Madame Naoki blinks a few times, performing a mild double-take. She had expected their procedures to be perhaps a bit lacking, but not quite as unabashedly casual as all this. Not a feather of official procedure or ceremony. Simply breakfast. Hm. Well, suits her fine, she supposes. She works best in a heavily casual environment anyway.

Letter of Credence in hand, she advances with confident, refined steps. As she moves across one of the braided rugs that litter the floor, the bottom of her gown drags slightly, but doesn’t seem to impede her movement. Once she is within a respectable distance of King Renaux, she performs a mild curtsy, and intones, “Your majesty.”

Technically, as direct representative of Ildesias Xen Torsal , she stands on essentially equal footing with Renaux. However, she thinks it unwise to discard all formality. With any luck, he would address her first as “Your excellency,” and they could continue on a first name basis from there.

After returning to an upright position, she offers her Letter of Credence in such a way that Renaux may choose to accept it, or simply motion for her to sit down. Before she can begin acting in an official capacity as Plenipotentiary Ambassador, he must accept the letter.

Madame Naoki listens to Renaux’s words, before nodding quietly and retracting the hand holding the letter. She moves silently over to one of the couches, and seats herself. She reaches first for a napkin, and spreads it across her lap as she begins to speak in Gauldish.

“Fair enough, I follow. I’m no stranger to the inefficiencies of the bureaucracy myself. I’m not at all opposed to reaching informal accords here to be officially ratified in the courts later.”

Finished spreading the napkin, Naoki reaches for one of the pastries on the table, and delicately takes a bite.

“Mmm. They also probably don’t have croissants in court, so this is more than acceptable with me. With that said, how would you like to begin? Or shall I?”

“Well, to put things plainly, Isra is looking for essentially whatever mutually prosperous and beneficial agreements you’re willing to make. I’ve come here with no misgivings, no caveats, demands or conditions. If Gauldin is willing to forge a series of trade agreements related to enabling, regulating, and providing the infrastructure for trade with Isra, then you’ll hear no complaints for me. A trade alliance rests at the top of my list of priorities, and I have no reason to not to provide full support for any arrangement related to mutually beneficial trade, on both the independent merchant or inter-governmental fronts.”

After she finishes speaking, Madame Naoki leans forward to grasp and take a sip from her glass, before settling back into her seat. Her left ear twitches slightly. Strange that King Renaux isn’t reacting in any way. Perhaps he’s better at self-control than it would seem. Or perhaps he’s an eunuch. That might explain why Arianne took such a vacation. Speaking of- though, also interesting that he hasn’t mentioned her. Probably a deliberate choice. But for what reason?

Renaux was not entirely immune to the effects of Naoki's dress. He did have to admit to himself she was an attractive woman. Still the Crown of Wings dampened outside magical influences, he was also a fiercely dedicated man. Entertaining inappropriate thoughts of anyone, but his recently returned wife was not something he was capable of. He takes a glass of orange juice and sips at it.

"Very well. Before we go in depth into hypothetical trade agreements, I'll mention the other points I wish to discuss. I think a joint intelligence sharing agreement and agency maybe worth discussing. There is already an agency that could fulfill that role, in addition to their original function. The Black Tower, which I am certain you are aware of. There is also potential for military alliance. This point bears particular relevance given the final point of discussion for the morning. Now that we have the overview I think we can delve into specifics. Speak freely the palace is warded against scrying and I activated the noise dampening wards when I entered."

<Non-Sexy Fade to Black.>

<Entirely un-sexy fade back in.>

Renaux completely clothed and still sitting in his chair sips at his orange juice. Their talk had been productive and would provide an excellent guideline for the official meeting. The king gets to his feet and brushes off a few errant crumbs. Servants march into the room and begin tidying up. All this done and the presentation ceremony was still three hours away. Enough time to get cleaned up and properly dressed. He looks at Naoki and inclines his head.

"Thank you for sharing breakfast with me minister. It was most enjoyable. The ceremony begins in three hours, I send someone to escort you to the throne room when it is time. After the ceremony there will be a meet and great, followed by a light lunch, then the formal meeting. If you have any questions just send for Gaspar. He knows more about what is going on then I do."

With that the king walks out of the room.

Artemis curtsies as Renaux stands and departs, then grabs the bags and follows Naoki from the room. She snags a pastry from the tray and begins munching on it idly as she retrieves a sheet of papers from one of the trunks. It lands on the table with a heavy thunk, making the crystal ball rattle slightly in its stand, and she gestures to it meaningfully with half of a croissant as she heads for the inkwell. Naoki may be the ambassador, but her work in Isra is no respecter of that position.

Having already taken the time to prepare mentally, Madame Naoki adjusts her posture as the doors open, shoulders back, chin pointed slightly downward, spine straight. When the moment is right, she begins her walk across the throne room, keeping her eyes forward, maintaining posture, and allowing her gown to do its work. The manner in which the fabric shifts and undulates with each movement accomplishes nothing but flattery of her figure, effortlessly radiating sex appeal despite the fact that even the most conservative elements would be hard pressed to justify calling it risqué. Through her peripheral vision, and judging by the flavor of the silence, she knows exactly where the room’s attention is focused, causing a slight satisfied smirk to make itself known on her face.



Ambassador Naoki ascends the stairs up to approach the throne, and halts her advance just before King Renaux. Raising her right hand, and with it, the Letter of Credence, she presents it to Renaux, still smirking in her signature manner.

Over the course of the next week or so, between the Royal Courts and Naoki’s Embassy, the terms of the Isra / Gauldin agreements are fleshed out and signed into legitimacy.

First and foremost among the agreements, and official alliance is signed between the two nations. The extent of the alliance extends into the general fields of military assistance, trade, and sharing of information and technology.

The extent of the military alliance includes a non aggression and defensive pact, each nation agreeing not to wage war or interfere in the affairs of the other, and to lend aid if the other is attacked. Full and almost entirely unrestricted trade (outside of the regular trade laws of the two nations) is established, and sea lanes are established. The extent of the information and technology sharing is kept strictly private, but it is implied that a high degree of cooperation will be present going forward.

Additionally, Madame Naoki and King Renaux swap prima nocta rights for their respective kingdoms.