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Post by starrea on Jan 28, 2020 16:37:32 GMT
Roman stalked down the castle hallways in search of Alister. Everything that had happened - from the Wolfgang clusterfuck to Caspian - had him extra irritated and edgy. There needed to be control and order and he was determined to make Alister see that. Not to mention Bram was sort of AWOL, which was a whole other issue in itself. Roman made it his business to know what everyone else was up to and Bram hadn’t even tried to hide his descent into revenge. It bothered Roman that his actions were unprofessional, but he couldn’t be one to judge right now (even though he definitely was). Nevertheless, he didn’t interfere. The Nadia situation only added to his stress, combined with the fact that their homeland had sent over a representative to investigate. Alister needed to do something soon or everything was going to fall apart. He knocked on the King’s door, waiting for it to open impatiently.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 28, 2020 21:37:01 GMT
Alister was hard at work reviewing legislation when Roman knocked on his door. Of course, the last few weeks had not been kind to his nerves either. Nevertheless, he had decided he would give Wolfgang a trial, to be decided by the king and princess of Nethilor. He had Nadia at his side, and he had rid himself of Yasmin. All things considered, it wasn't a total waste. "Enter," he called, looking up to see who it was. When he saw Roman, he sighed. No doubt the man had some very strong opinions to put forth. All the same, Alister would be grateful for his counsel. "Roman. Would you like a glass of wine?"
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Post by starrea on Jan 28, 2020 22:58:17 GMT
Roman had already knocked back a few shots of whiskey before coming to see Alister but he nodded his head in regards to the wine. He usually didn’t drink much but everything was such a clusterfuck that he needed something to take the edge off.
He took a seat in an empty chair near Alister, leaning back and running a hand through his hair. He could see the stress was weighing heavily on Alister as well.
“So what problem do you want to talk about first? Because it’s all gone to hell.” Roman said tiredly. It did the burden more bearable that Alister was sharing it, though. Roman has always respected Alister, even going as far to consider him as one of Roman’s only friend.
His thoughts flickered to Caspian. Maybe he would go talk to him after this. He hadn’t been gone long but he often found his thoughts returning to his secret prisoner.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 29, 2020 18:03:56 GMT
Alister sighed and poured them each a healthy glass of red wine, handing the cup to Roman. He raised his in a silent toast, and took a long, deep drink before he answered. "It really has, hasn't it? And this time, not by my own hand. The fallout has been immeasurable." Alister sighed, glad to have his adviser here to help him wade through the mess. "Shall we talk about Tjadmir first? Regarding Yasmin's death, I have begun to put things in motion to help ease relations with them. No one from Tjadmir, minus Nadia, knows what truly happened to her. I have written her family with news that she committed suicide, that living here was too much for her. Hopefully that will take care of that. I do intend to marry Nadia, once a proper grieving period has been observed." Alister knew Roman probably wouldn't like that, but he didn't care. It was something he wasn't going to change his mind about.
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Post by starrea on Jan 29, 2020 18:26:59 GMT
Roman took a generous sip of wine, focusing on the lingering taste as Alister got down to business. He scowled at the mention of marrying Nadia, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to change the King’s mind conventionally and a combination of respect and not wanting to land himself in trouble kept him from persuading him with his abilities. It didn’t matter because in the end, Nadia was least of their problems.
“Well, that wasn’t the end of that. There is a representative that got here and I believe he already spoke to Nadia. I disagreed with that decision, by the way,” He said flatly, but Nadia had thrown a minor bitch fit and Roman and too caught up in his own business to really fight it.
He took another long sip of wine. “Not to mention, how will it look to them when you marry their handmaiden? They are a very... traditional and conservative culture. We need to keep positive relations with them. We can’t afford to take them on in war. And I’m not just saying this because I don’t approve of your affair, which I don’t, but that’s just the way it is. As a King, you can’t justify going to war over one person. You have a responsibility to your people.”
Roman’s gaze flicked to the king to watch him absorb his words. While Roman didn’t like Nadia, he also wasn’t lying. The situation was a pile of dynamite and all it needed was one match to send it up in flames.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 29, 2020 18:54:55 GMT
Alister was willing to listen to Roman, because he truly did value the man's opinion. And he wasn't saying anything he didn't already know, deep down. He curse as Roman told him that a representative was here. This complicated things significantly. "It was my hope that they would never know that I married Nadia. But if a representative is here, I will have no choice but to meet with him to discuss what has happened." He mulled it over, "I don't fancy a war with Tjadmir. We are already on thin ice with Nethilor." And if they found out about Eve... it would mean certain war with Nethilor as well. A war on two fronts was a problem Alister did not have the resources to deal with. "Do you have any suggestions on what I should say to this Tjadmir snoop?"
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Post by starrea on Jan 29, 2020 19:09:40 GMT
Roman has momentarily forgotten about Eve and now that she had been brought up, he took another long sip of wine. When his glass was empty, he reached forward to refill it.
“Speaking of Eve, I thought Destrian was done with her for the most part. I was surprised that he visited her recently. What is your plan for her?” Eve hadn’t been Roman’s problem, it had been mostly Bram’s - another problem Roman had to bring up. The amount of problems on their plate was overwhelming.
He sighed as Alister switched tracks back. He wasn’t too surprised that Alister didn’t even know about the representative, but was a little irritated that Nadia had definitely made it seem like he had known. She was turning out to be a little manipulative so it seemed. “I don’t know much about him, I didn’t even know he was coming. I don’t know what Nadia told him, but if you talk to him before her, then definitely get him to tell you what she already said. You don’t want to contradict her. And just say whatever you need to say in as little words as possible.” Roman considered talking to the representative himself, and maybe he would if he proved to be too nosy, but didn’t offer it right now. The representative would need to speak to the King regardless. He took another sip of wine - it was going to be a long night.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Jan 30, 2020 19:35:18 GMT
“I’ll speak with Nadia first then, and I will invite him to dine with me.” It seemed like a good choice for him to make, to posture himself as a gracious host. “As for Eve... I had planned to break her, to make her forget who she was entirely. I knew Nethilor would be weakened without her leadership. I had hoped to use her eventually as either a bargaining chip, or to cleave away some of Nethilor’s lands if they became unsatisfied with the grief of their king.” Alister rubbed his jaw, “I will need to meet with Destrian soon to be updated.” So there, he had three meeting set up now, the first of which was Nadia.
“Anything else?”
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Post by starrea on Jan 30, 2020 23:01:34 GMT
“Anything else?” Roman repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow. There were too many more things to count. “Let’s see... I’m not sure if you’re aware that Bram seems to be unstable. He’s got some girl down the dungeon for whatever reason doing who knows what. And Wolfgang? Something has got to be done to monitor and control potentially dangerous people. There isn’t even a registry in place to monitor these people, let alone protective measures. This massacre might have taken care of a problem, but it won’t always work like that.” Roman knew that Alister wasn’t mourning the death of his Queen and it hadn’t been a secret that Roman didn’t like her either. Her death had been a relief to both of them and they didn’t have to pretend otherwise in each other’s presence.
“An example needs to be made. There might be tensions with where ever the fuck your dead queen came from and things are icy with Nethilor. We need to do something to show that we are strong and united, now is not a time we can afford to seem scattered, weak, and out of control.” Roman ended his rant with another long sip of wine.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Feb 1, 2020 19:55:33 GMT
Alister sighed. Roman was right- there was still much to be done to clean up the mess. "I had asked you and Bram to create a registry, and the new legislation. Had you forgotten?" The king snapped, a little annoyed. He had tried to put measures in place but the people he had asked to be responsible for it hadn't done it in a timely fashion. "Wolfgang will have his trial and will be judged by King Alaric and Princess Evolet. They will decide his fate and we will oblige. I would expedite the legislation and have it on my desk for my approval within the next few days." He stared at Roman with dark, intense eyes before he looked away.
"As for Bram... I will speak with him. We can't have him snagging people off the street right now. We don't need more enemies, and that includes our citizens." He refilled their glasses, grateful for Roman's guidance.
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Post by starrea on Feb 1, 2020 23:23:37 GMT
Roman only narrowed his eyes when Alister snapped but didn’t say anything. It was true that he hadn’t gotten around to it yet and now with Bram being slightly unhinged, all of the work would probably fall onto him. Which was fine with him because he had specific ideas and didn’t need anyone getting in his way.
He ran a hand down his face. The alcohol had given a solid buzz and was doing a good job at masking the irritation and stress. “I’ll work on it and leave it for you to review within the next few days.” Roman took value in his work and when he said he would do something, he would.
The legislation wouldn’t solve all of the issues but it might solve a couple of them. He still couldn’t believe how quickly everything had gone to shit.
Roman leaned back and took another sip of wine and studied his friend. “How did you feel when you first saw Nadia?” Roman hadn’t meant to ask the question but the alcohol had apparently made his lips loose. And he was curious to compare whatever he was feeling with Caspian to someone else. Not that they were romantically involved.
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Post by rightasrain19 on Feb 4, 2020 17:11:16 GMT
Alister relaxed as Roman agreed to his terms for the legislation and he leaned back in his chair, recalling the day he’d seen her disembark from the ship. “I felt like my head was clear in that moment. That I had no greater desire than to learn more about her, and that I was determined to have her.” Perhaps it had been physical for him in the beginning. Alister had always loved the chase, and until Nadia, had comforted himself with a handful of women. “I knew I didn’t want anyone else in my bed but her. I grew to love her after that.” Alister tilted his head, studying his advisor. “Do you have someone you fancy?” He couldn’t imagine his stoic, dutiful friend being involved with anyone.
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Post by starrea on Feb 5, 2020 23:15:37 GMT
Roman might have been teetering on the edge of drunk, but the chances of him blacking out were higher than him mentioning his little secret he had locked away. Anyway, Alister’s words made him feel better because his encounter with Caspian hadn’t started out at all as Alister described. Sure, afterwards there was intrigue and a need for control, but nothing else. Not that there was a even a hint of a chance at there being anything more than what they already were. Roman lifted the glass to his lips one last time and finished the remaining wine and stood, stretching.
“Nah, I was just curious. You know I have no desire for... that.” It was a lame excuse coming from Roman and he didn’t wait to give Alister a chance to question it. He moved to the door, opening it. “I think I’ve had enough to drink. I’ll get you that legislation soon. Don’t forget to take care of the foreigner from where ever Nadia is from.” He said as his parting words and disappeared down the hallway.
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