yuemiru | This is going Places

[It doesn't take him too terribly long to arrive; though the streets are far more narrow than he is used to; the architecture here is quite different. But still, a king asks you to come attend to some matter on behalf of your family and their corporation, you hardly say no.]

[And thus, enter Alejandro Calderon, junior representative at the Lords' Council of Nations, and one of the acting heads of the Calderon Foundation, a group dedicated to the proliferation of peaceful technologies and magitechnologies in this post-calamity era.]

[Or as Yue probably knows him, some foreigner, a westerner (judging by the tell-tale dark skin and hair, though his lightens drastically the further from the roots it gets) probably of some wealth and maybe title, who is currently looking rather confused why there is noblewoman sitting in a tree.]

Ah, pardon me.

Ah?

[Her own reputation is not nearly as politically impressive--rather, the Countess of Izumi isn't noticeable so much for her father being one of the King's (numerous) younger brothers, or the fact that despite the fact she has been given title and care over the borders, she adamantly refuses appearance in the Council of Nations. And all suitors.

It is all of that combined with the fact that Yue Long is a magus with the kind of talent that only comes around one a century. The sort of talent that makes stories of her walking into burning buildings and walking the fire out of the building and into a pond believable. The kind of power that makes the fact that the young countess keeps slipping her handlers and running off into the countryside to deal with problems in a hands-on fashion considered more of a 'shame' by the gossips in the council.

More immediately relevant, she just jumped down out of the tree and her dress is a mess. Petticoats weren't made for climbing, Yue.]

...Westerner? You get lost in the city?

Ah, no, miss. I do not believe I am lost, but, where are my manners...

[He will snap to the fact that from the way she's dressed and carries herself, if not her actual actions or words, that he's talking to someone of the upper class, and remove his hat as a show of respect -- of course this means his hair does just kind of fall out, but, hey.]

I am the younger Lord Calderon, Alejandro Lucero de Calderon y Guardia-Rojel. I was asked to come here today; I received message that my father had brokered some deal with his majesty the King and I was to meet him here as a representative of the family and our business to sign the papers. I was hoping that perhaps you could tell me where I should wait for him?

I...[She's distracted, momentarily...mostly by his hair but also by having to pause and process what he's telling her. She's heard of him--mostly through Hotaru--and what he actually looks like is throwing her, a little bit.

Stupid pretty nobility.]

I was sent here instead...[Frowning a little bit, and thinking this over.] Which...doesn't make much sense, I'm sorry, Lord Calderon. No offense meant, but I'm not...entirely sure what manner of business he might send me for.

[A beat, and then she remembers she forgot to introduce herself. And she...immediately snaps to military salute, instead of a courtly bow or curtsey. Yue.] Oh! I am Yue Long, Countess of Izumi.

[...There's a longer pause where she clearly sits there and wonders if she's supposed to rattle out titles to match the length of his name, and decides against it.]

It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, your illustriousness.

[Now she gets the proper bow. He knows his customs -- and she might remember that technically the noble lines where he's from top out at just Lord and Lady, which must make dealing with other nations odd.]

So you are the Royal Lord Marshal Canglong's youngest daughter. Prince Haruka has spoken well of your family to me, I just confess he didn't adequately stress how beautiful the Highborn of Izumi were. Though it is strange that both men, meticulous as they are, would send proxies with no explanation as to why.

[Apparently titles don't mean much of dick though, if he's on good enough terms with the prince to refer to him so casually.]

[Well, here's something she has in common with her cousins--she blushes amazingly. She doesn't step back, though, and he's now under the full heat of a scrutinizing glare that's terrified half the potential suitors that she didn't physically injure.]

Don't lay it on so thick. Did the Prince forget to mention how little patience I have for all these courtly circles, while he was apparently describing my sister and I? If it's the legendary beauty you're looking for, Zhen is unfortunately already married.

[...She takes a breath, and starts to calm down a little bit. Which means her hair stops flickering with flames which is probably. Good.]

I haven't the foggiest idea why he'd send me...His Majesty was very insistent. That is the extent of my knowledge.

[So, Alex. Your father and the King of the north sent two people, around the same age, to a secluded garden about some deal, without telling either of them why.

You're a smart boy. We know you can figure this out.]

He did mention your temper as well. I shouldn't have taken it so lightly, I see.

[He considers, though. I mean she did blush, which isn't helping his smile and -- wait.

Waaaait.]

...I do believe I've figured out what's afoot.

...Slllightly worried now. What?

[Canglong didn't raise no fools. She knows that's a fucking ominous reaction.]

Funny, how our fathers and your uncle all made an agreement, something dire enough for two powerful men and a king to all come to be willing to make an official pact, and yet they send their children. Their youngest children at that, both of similar age and eligibility for suitors, to discuss these problems ere long in a secluded garden, without mentioning what the actual matter is, almost as if it were a pretense?

...

[Wait for it.]

...?

[Waaaaaaaait for it.]

...?!

[There we go. He can tell she just figured it out because there's a blast of pressure and heat while she tries to rein in her temper. With mixed success.]

Right you're coming with me I believe the king and I need to have some words.

[Yue you are never going to find him.]

You realize he's accounted for this reaction, and likely my attempting to ward you off it by knowing he would be expecting it, yes?

[He does raise his hat holding hand to try to block the fire wave, but. He has no magical talent to speak of.]

[It's harmless, at least, if intensely unpleasant. As for the source, she makes a frustrated growling noise, but she does get a tighter grip on it when she realizes he can't defend himself.]

...I know that, but what else am I supposed to do? I'd have thought my feelings on this had already been made perfectly clear.

And I have stressed repeatedly that I do not have time to pursue any romance, no matter how tempting a prospect, so long as I am to do anything with my political career but let matters slip further afield for my people. Yet old men do always seem to believe that they know best.

[He sighs, shaking his head.]

No offense. You are everything they say and more.

Violent, ill-tempered and rude?

[There's no edge to it, at least, and she...deflates a little bit.]

...I'm sure you're very...nice. But none of this gets sorted in a garden or anywhere not me throttling my king and liege lord around the neck with his own hair.

[The fact she's not immediately vanished for that kind of threat does tell a story that this isn't the first time she's lost her temper at Haruhi.]

A living flame. Fascinating, but dangerous.

[He smiles a bit, but it fades quickly.]

Well, it would be rude of me to not escort you to the castle, then. I may as well see this through to the end.

My father's daughter, I'm afraid.

[She sighs, and stares at him for a few minutes, before chuffing out a laugh.]

Oh. Goodness...we'll go the slow way. We're being watched, and the faster way won't be terribly pleasant or any good for those expensive clothes of yours.

Yours are not in particularly good shape, either.. I suppose such bussels aren't meant for climbing trees.

[But he will chuckle.]

Of course we're being watched. People such as us always are.

Point is, doing this the fast way won't do us any advantages, and singeing your hair might be honestly unforgiveable.

So, then.

[Gesturing for him to follow her.]

Come on, you'll get lost if I let you wander around on your own, won't you?

I made it here on my own, but I would not turn down your company to the castle, no.

[It's amazing how good he is at making everything sound completely innocuous and like a come-on all at once.]

...Would you stop that.

[Well, she's not hitting him, some something about it works. But, she's leading him off down the city streets. Her being who she is, she gets stopped by people, commoners and rich businessmen alike, asking questions about the border and various trade conveys and how are the silks this year, blah blah blah.

And she takes the time to answer all of them. Apparently, distaste for politics aside, Yue's kept a fairly close eye on trade and textile production in Izumi--which given that area is famous for it's artisan goods, is no surprise. But she speaks to the tradesmen like someone who knows the craft itself--and they speak to her the same way, without the trappings of station.

It means getting to the castle is slow going, and given she's gone right through the market quarter, it's slow going through a bunch of strange and fantastically delicious smells.]

[Well, this is intriguing to him, to say the least, that a noble would meet so easily and readily with the common people, when he himself has been given no small amount of grief for doing precisely that. Then again, in his situation, the gaps are simultaneously much narrower and wider, so perhaps it makes sense.]

Interesting... they treat you as one of their own.

Of course they do, I know what I'm talking about?

[She's briefly confused by the remark, before her brain catches up with her. She's heard a little bit about this, from Haruka and Hotaru...]

...I guess it's not like this in the west? But I think it was grandfather, or maybe grandfather's grandfather, who thought that a nation ruled by demihumans, and mostly populated by demihumans, should shelter together. A strong bond between the rulers and the people they must protect can't be bought or traded or broken...in a population full of people who can tear you in half or drown you with a wiggle of their fingers, it's a more practical lesson than idealistic.

[She smiles, a little lopsided and sardonic, before handing him some manner of street food. It's probably some sort of meat on a stick. It's delicious and probably clogs arteries just by looking at them funny.]

But aside from that...Haruka didn't tell you a lot about the way succession works here, huh?

We have no concept of it; nobility's only a loosely applied term -- those who can trace their lineage back to founding members of our nation, those who've done great heroic deeds, and those who have effectively greased enough palms have their lines declared noble by petitioning, and petitions can have those rights stripped. But outside of the halls of government, it means little, and most forget we serve at the leisure of our peers, who should be looking out for the common man.

[He will pause and take a bite of what's been offered.]

So no, I cannot say I understand how succession works in foreign lands.

Well, I don't know how they do it anywhere else, but...around here's it's traditional for an heir to a family to go out into the land to prove they're fit to take over. Populist uprising used to be pretty common but these days you don't see that unless something went really really wrong. Most of the time, they go out and start governing more hands on, until they eventually wind up in charge of all of their family's lands under their predecessor's noses.

It's more complicated for the royal family, obviously, and nothing stops someone not the named successor from doing that--that's why I have a county, but my sister is still the Archduchess...not that I did any of this for the county, but, they saw fit to give it to me.

[The meatstick is glorious.]

But, that very roundabout explanation is to say, the people here are used to us being out among them.

You would have to be, in fact. Otherwise you run the risk of losing it. An interesting system, and surprisingly bloodless given it's implications...

[Then why do you look so troubled, Alex?]

...What's the matter? [Tilting her head, slightly. They're mostly out of the market, now...the neighborhoods leading towards the castle are, unsurprisingly, fairly affluent, and also rather quiet, even with the traffic up towards the castle itself.]

I just... I wonder if a similar system would not lead to further breakdown in my homeland. There must be some way to bridge the gap, but it is difficult when most want just the opposite.

[He's a bit taciturn on the rest of the walk.]

I'm not sure it could work without the sort of crisis and uncertainty our foundations were laid on. Not the way we do things, at least.

[She watches him for a while, considering, but--well, she doesn't have any suggestions, and they're here.

Which means, first she pauses, picks up his hand, and draws some symbol on his wrist with a pen. And then she marches down the audience chamber to yell at Haruhi, and has actually literally burst into flames as she does so.

The reason for the symbol is immediately obvious that way--not even the heat touches him, now. As far as the yelling, Haruhi's just very calmly letting her rant herself out. And then, just as calmly, asking if Alex isn't to her taste? He's a very handsome young man, and he just thought, surely, they'd have plenty in common...

...Which sets Yue off again. Calmer minds may reflect on the idea that Haruhi literally set this up because he thought they'd be cute together.]

[You reach a point where you realize, no matter what you do, you're never going to beat the master.]

[To wit, Alex is just staring a bit in awe that he literally feigned international incident to put two cute twenty somethings in the same room.]

[Mibu Haruhi gives absolutely no fucks. This is further demonstrated by, when Yue's finally burned herself out, him looking around her to smile at Alex and apologize for the ruse but there are some further trade arrangements and sundries that Lord Calderon the Elder felt Alex could easily navigate, and in the meanwhile he is of course a guest of the palace and would he prefer a room at the embassy or one arranged here or elsewhere? He's sure that, all this business aside, Yue would be willing to help guide him around some, seeing as how she's supposed to be keeping an eye on the numbers for these agreements, anyway.

Checkmate, motherfuckers.]

Uncle!!

[That is the cry of someone who knows they've lost.]

I have no preference, your majesty. Whatever you believe would best suit my tasks in this city, I will take humbly.

[Because unlike some people, Alex knows when he's licked.]

[Well then, palace it is, they'll have a room prepared, in the meanwhile, please do go explore the city you will be called for when it is time for business. Do enjoy yourself until then yadda yadda.

...Once they're shuffled back out of the audience chamber, Yue's just standing there, face in her hands.]

I cannot believe this.

I am sorry, your illustriousness. I hadn't a clue that we were going to be involved in something so complicated... but unfortunately we both stepped into this snare.

[He does seem almost more bemused than upset.]

Call me that again and I am shoving an illustrious sock in your mouth.

[Pouting does not help, Yue.]

...I really should have expected he'd pull something like this. He practically raised Seijirou to be his son-in-law...I fear what will happen to all of us when he finally retires and has more free time.

A king whose consort was chosen for love. Not really often heard of, and yet, he does exist, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that he wishes to play matchmaker. And as for my own parents, I have theories. Though the Calderon bloodline is poor in magic, the Guardia and Rojel are anything but... and more personally, my parents have expressed concerns that I would work myself to death before I considered anything resembling a personal life.

[Of course you can piece it together now, Alex. Hindsight's a hell of a drug.]

...I'm honestly not sure whether His Majesty is paying you a compliment or insulting you with this, then.

[Sighing, faintly.] There are advantages to how he's chosen this, I'm sure. He never sets up anything for just one reason...Hotaru and Haruka are the same way. But I don't think I appreciate that any better than I appreciate he and Papa meddling in my lack of a love-life. No offense, but I wasn't precisely looking, either.

None taken. Complacency among the ruling class has already cost this world so much, and though I honestly can tell you gravely undersell yourself from just this short meeting, I hadn't really considered letting my love life come to the fore, here.

[He sighs.]

I suppose we've nothing to do but grin and bare it for the moment.

Undersell nothing. I'm not unaware of what's said about me, Lord Calderon.

[She shrugs a little bit.]

Well, I was basically leaned on to provide you a tour, so. Have you had much opportunity to explore this city?

No, I've only been here twice - once with my father, as a child, who took my older sister and I to with him on a business trip, and once last winter, where I had to negotiate trade routes with the Crown Princess -- it seems both our fathers want us taking the business over sooner rather than later.

I remember last winter. You, ah. Left an impression on her.

[And some perforation in Yue's eardrums. But she seems like she's considering something.]

We're unlikely to be called on until the evening, unless I miss my guess...do you have any hobbies besides political intrigue, or shall I improvise?

I have a few, but I am curious to see what you come up with. And as you are well-acquainted with my last trip here: in my defense, she attempted a much more severe renegotiation than I was at liberty to accept, and well, I felt it prudent to prove I wasn't going to be a soft sell for anyone, even a beautiful princess.

Careful, Seijirou will hear you.

[Snickering a little bit.] You don't have to defend yourself to me! I know her temper better than anybody save that fox, after all. But if you're leaving it up to me...well, come on. It'll be a bit of a walk unless we take one of the trolleys, and they crowd fast this time of day.

[COME FOLLOW THE ~~PRINCESS~~ COUNTESS.]

Very well, then!

[He will be glad to follow her, then, wherever she is leading them. One assumes the trolleys, but given how she's been he's not entirely unsure they're not about to be fired out of a cannon.]

[Cannons are for the second date, Alex.

Trolleys it is...she's taking him to one of the larger commerce centers. Or, rather, the kind of place where musicians and artists and entertainers hang out. There's live music, people dancing in the streets, and if he holds still too long someone's gonna try and draw him.]

Watch your hat and your wallet.

I'm familiar with this sort of place, actually.

[And true, he's never really been to the city in any meaningful way, but put him anong musicians and he suddenly is a natural, it turns out. Hell if he weren't a foreigner and dressed so nicely he could easily blend in here.]

This is going Places

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