Golden Leaf Ball

Chateaux des Fleurs, Noveaux


          As Satine took her brief break from greeting arrivals since those arriving now were only Noveans she noticed the Chairman and his guest seemed to be having a bit of a tiff.   The young woman went off on her own while the Chairman seemed to seek out the young du Veer who was mingling with a rather large group of other corporate leaders along with the Republican Lords. Satine remembered how she had done that to her husband after becoming Empress a few times, such a thing usually drove a rift between the and if they hadn’t resolved that she would always put him first or their children then the Empress might now be a widow now but instead a divorced old woman. She sighed inwardly knowing that if she approached the woman she ran the risk of seeming rude but at the same point she knew all too well what the woman was going through. She slowly but surely made her way over to the young woman but was stopped as someone approached her. As she turned around Satine’s face lit up much like it had for the Director of Eraphalia, the aged man before her was the President of Sekia.

          The pair had shared his three presidencies as she had been on the throne for some time. The relationship they shared was a close friendship and one that Satine did indeed truly cherish. As he approached and greeted her she embraced him in a familiar hug and kissed each cheek as was customary among close friends in Noveaux. “Zhulis!” She exclaimed excited to her friend. “It’s a wonder that you’ve made it, Director Fieldspeak is here as well, likely stirring up some trouble somewhere.” She said looking around, scanning the surprisingly thick crowd. The three nations, Noveaux, Eraphalia and Sekia had been working in close cooperation for the better part of two decades and it was going to become something more formal midway through next month. Mid-Novtide, after the Novean election was concluded the three states would convene in Sekia to sign what was dubbed the Prosperity Accords. Forming a close alliance, economic cooperation zone, cultural and education standards and research partnerships between the three nations creating what was the Tripartie. Each of the three stood to gain assistance in areas they were otherwise not focusing heavily on, thus augmenting their national security and other aspects of society. Truly it would be one of the greatest legacies for the three long after they passed on or retired. None of Satine’s likely successors were opposed to the move and indeed it even had near unanimous support from all the major parties in the Imperistarium and the Realm Lords. For Noveaux this was a natural step in the right direction. Satine would be in attendance at the ceremony but it would be signed by her successor.

          That’s when Satine made eye contact with the young representative of Oscad. They had been invited but initially it seemed that due to their ongoing civil war crises they would not be in attendance here this night. Satine however was pleasantly surprised and excused herself from the company of Zhulis to greet these guests. A good hostess would never allow them to simply waltz in without being properly greeted, while the rest of the group that had been greeting guests had broken up and moved off to mingle it left it all to Satine to make the good impression now. As she approached she stuck out her hand to shake those of these two and introduced herself, “I am Satine and welcome to Noveaux.” She said with a beaming smile turning her attention directly towards the woman’s dress. “I think you look quite ravishing tonight my dear, please by all means mingle about and introduce yourselves to whomever. Oh…” she said before departing back off into the crowd to find that woman she had been going to console in the first place. “On behalf of Noveaux we are sorry to hear about the situation in your nation, a terrible thing really but please try to enjoy this respite.” She said before bowing her head and striking off towards the woman.

          Meanwhile Sebastien was pleased to see the Chairman of Nonfreesonia had taken up his invitation to join him and some others. “Ah gentlemen this is the Chairman of Nonfreesonia and Mr. Chairmen this is Hegemon Venatori of Balenos, Doge Thyri of Eltore and Grand Prince Allistrom of Ferelda.” He said introducing the three Republican Lords present, each shaking his hand and such before returning to their previous conversation about the Prosperity Accords that were to be signed in the coming weeks.

          “About damn time we had closer cooperation with those countries, I’m surprised we’re only now making this more formal of an arrangement.” Hegemon Venatori said before sipping some champagne. He was a senior man with white hair and a finely trimmed and kept beard. He had somewhat of a grandfatherly disposition though his eyes spoke of a much darker time of conflict through the halls of the Hegemony. He was a seasoned politician having come up in the absolute nightmare that would be Balenese politics. His own father was a Patrician and his mother one from another family as well. Being raised in such an environment was difficult as expectations were always high and if you fell short, even by a little, the admonitions were large. “Balenos stands to gain from this quite a bit, for us at least it means an increase in foreign opportunities.” He added much to the agreement of the others present.