[IC] An Outdoors Meeting

A leaf was flying, carried over by a soft breeze. It had fallen from a nearby tree and had been wondering for a few seconds over the tables below, unless the breeze stopped, and the small leaf came to rest on top of a hat. Laid over a table, the hat belonged to a man who was sitting in a quiet cafe, drinking a cup of tea and reading a book. Along with his black suit and purple tie, this man looked countless others all over the city. Indeed, business wear was expected for all adults in Byzantium, as a matter of tradition, especially for social activities like drinking tea, or going to the theatre.

So obviously nobody paid much attention to this man. All the better for him, since Justinian Kalominos had no intention of letting people notice he was no ordinary man, but rather the recently crowned Emperor of Selene. He had been Emperor for the past few months, after the demise of his predecessor, and in that time had overseen the last steps prior to the accession of Kalos, the last holdout in the once mighty Malaran League. In the midst of all his state duties, and he had countless of those, he had managed to set aside some time to dress like an ordinary citizen and go to the Artemis Cafe, where he was scheduled to meet and old friend.

A friend who was running late. Justinian checked his watch, noticing this person was three minutes late already. Still, he knew better than to let himself be annoyed, and instead had some more tea, until he saw a familiar figure approaching his table.

"Kalo! My friend! It's good to see you!" The figure exclaimed, with arms open. Constantine Lanbros was not a well known hugger nor warm greeter, but he knew the serious security implications if their true identity were known, and it was better to fake it.

He had been running for the past five minutes to get to the Cafe, since he was taking care of some business as the Crown Prince and had to change out of his favorite sleek clothes to be able to go incognito for the meeting. The suit he was wearing currently, though was so hastily purchased and garnered, Lambros didn't even realize it was two sizes too small for him, or the fact it was actually a suit laced with cultural knitted designs, or the distinct lack of a match for his pants, which he didn't have time to switch. Either way, he figured overt was the best covert, and he ran to the Cafe.

"Terribly sorry for my lateness, I had gotten hung up with my wife," he said, knowing he was single and not in the market. "You know how she is about everything being perfect."


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Justinian saw the Crown Prince, but he could hardly believe his eyes. Then again, as he looked at his own suit, very much in line with what was expected from any Byzantian, he remembered that Lambros had always brushed off the importance of proper attire.

He briefly shook his head, but then took another sip of his tea, as the Prince approached. Once he took his seat, Justinian said it.

"Lambros? What is...that?" He said, pointing at the colourful suit.

Lambros winced, as if in pain, and quickly make a hushed motion towards the Emperor. "Quiet, Stan. It's better to not say aloud," he harshly whispered. "I had a problem getting sufficiently dressed."

He made a motion for a server, and leaned back in his chair. "So, how's your family?"

"I suppose all is well. You are well acquainted with the joys and difficulties of life within the Imperial Family." Still looking at the suit, Justinian kept drinking his tea.

A few seconds passed, with people in surrounding tables drinking their tea, while reading newspapers or looking at the nearby City Forest. A marvel of the natural world, the City Forest had been built before the Peninsular War, on the personal order of the Prince. At the time, Kalos was boasting that its cities were architectural wonders, second to none in their beauty. In response, the Prince had ordered that parks be built in all important cities. In Byzantium, the capital, he built a particularly large park. According to many, it was larger than many medium-sized cities. In honour to its size, the park was called the City Forest.

Today, the Forest was a place where everyone could relax from the hectic life in the city, or hike and explore the vast roads and paths that could be discovered and rediscovered on any given day. One could be hard pressed to find someone who truly knew the Forest.

Taking a deep breath, Justinian finally spoke.

"As much as I do enjoy spending some anonymous time in the city, I assume you had a reason for asking that we specifically meet outside the Palace?"

Lambros sighed, and stopped leaning in his chair. Grabbing a napkin, he wiped his face off of sweat, threw the napkin to the table, and leaned in to tell the Emperor, "Chief Minister Cloe Agnelli was behind your attempted assassination. I know you'll want to know how I have come across this, but that question is best left unanswered for your own safety."

The Prince leaned back, and ordered a water when the server approached.

Justinian froze. He put his tea down, and stared at Lambros, as if he had gone mad.

"What did you just say?"

Constantine stated back, even more furiously than his Emperor. "Agnelli tried to kill you." He grabbed a sugar packet and stirred it in his tea.


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He had obviously heard the first time. One did not become Emperor without learning to listen, particularly when someone gave away the identity of a would-be assassin. But Cloe Agnelli? How could he possibly believe that the Chief Minister was behind the attempt on his life?

"Lambros, what are you talking about? Cloe Agnelli an assassin?"

Constantine sighed. "Yes. I don't know why."

He leaned forward and began stroking his foreword, as if it was incredibly stressful. Obvious to them both, it was.