Kligenberg - Reiserová meeting in Prague
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The Archbishop's signature pink jet landed safely on the runway of Prague's international airport. After some time, the Archbishop finally stepped out of the jet alongside Inquistan EV (flop) artist, Nicki Minaj, who had joined the Archbishop on the flight. Nicki Minaj coincidentally happened to have business that evening in Prague (she was providing the vocals to a worker's song being produced by a Czech band), and so Mikaela decided to invite Nicki to accompany her on her flight. Mikaela’s gesture was the least she could do, after all, a few years ago, Nicki very graciously allowed Mikaela to feature on her track 'Anaconda' instead of Drake, who was ultimately cut from the final version of the song.
Mikaela and Nicki stepped out on the tarmac and studied their surroundings. "This is how bad bitches arrive from Saint Dominico to Prague. Like, you bitches, you bitches can't evens spell Prague!" Nicki Minaj announced aloud.
"Oh totally!" Mikaela rejoiced in agreement before then lowering her voice to a whisper. "P-R-A-G. Obvi," Mikaela confidently mumbled to herself.
The two esteemed women had to be at different places, so they quickly shared a tight hug, stated their goodbyes, and parted ways. The Archbishop was then met with a security detail who ushered her to a meeting point with the Czech delegation inside the airport.
The Archbishop let out an audible squeal as she was welcomed by former Prime Minister (but still current BFF) Slavomíra Černá, who was present with Dášenka. The Archbishop greeted Černá with great enthusiasm, and she gave Dášenka a soft rub around the ears. Mikaela affirmed Černá's wish to see each other more often, and she suggested that they should game online together again like they did in Saint Dominico, where Černá proved herself to a real gamer girl despite hitting the buttons at complete random.
Mikaela received Minister Karel Šín quite warmly, and she appreciated his compliment very much. The Archbishop responded by letting the minister know that she was a tremendous fan of the recent art movement coming out of Czech Slavia, and that she has since decorated most of the Archbishop's Palace with Czech pieces (what else is one supposed to do with 124 copies of 'Happy Flower'?).
Mikaela finally met President Albína Reiserová, who the Archbishop was very happy to get acquainted with. The Archbishop then followed President Reiserová's lead, and made polite small-talk as they proceeded with the day's events. The Archbishop thoroughly enjoyed catching glimpses of Prague, which she found to be a beautiful city, and she especially treasured the ability to visit Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral.
The Archbishop was completely unfazed by the street hawkers who were selling and promoting their goods. In a strange way, it comforted the Archbishop, reminding her of the canals which crisscrossed Saint Dominico's Square, which was a massive tourist trap where street vendors hassled tourists and visitors with their goods. Granted, those goods were pieces of glass jewelry and items of intricate Inquistan craftsmanship, not kitschy t-shirts.
Mikaela noticed quite a lot of t-shirts and other pieces of clothing, which not only featured her face, but some of which also either resembled her official merchandise or were blatantly clear knock-offs. Mikaela didn't mind these trademark infringements, but her legal team often took a liberal approach in sending cease and desist orders, as well as threats of multi-million euro court cases, to 15-year olds from Hampton City or New Birmingham, and others who replicated her official merchandise or violated her trademarked likeness. However, Mikaela thought it was best to never bring this up later in Saint Dominico, because she didn't want to risk creating an international incident over something she found to be trivial and (and in her opinion) strangely complimentary.
The Archbishop very cheerfully and sincerely greeted anyone and everyone who approached the car she was in. Mikaela smiled, waved and blew air kisses at all those who she could. Mikaela also accepted any gifts that came her way, and quickly stuffed them into her purse. Mikaela felt quite at ease, and found herself enjoying this trip immensely already. Mikaela's favourite part of any trip was interacting with the local people. Perhaps one day there would be a global pandemic where she'd wouldn't be able to do so anymore (as hard as that is to imagine). Thus, the Archbishop didn't take any opportunities to do so for granted.
The Archbishop was in awe of Prague Castle, and she was especially impressed by President Reiserová's decorative tastes. Mikaela didn't particularly understand why there were pictures of Santa Claus and other heavily-bearded men hung up besides pictures of historical figures, but she thought it was cute.
"Aww, your sons are so handsome and precious!" Mikaela commented sweetly as she viewed some of the personal pictures in the Czech President's office. Mikaela also appreciated some of the motivational quotes, especially one which read 'Live. Laugh. Love', which the Archbishop thought was staggeringly profound. "So true," Mikaela thought aloud.
"O-M-G! This is beautiful!" Mikaela gasped as she was presented with the painting. "I'm just stunned. Wowowow. I love the meaning behind this. Even though we're supposed to look alike, I think the figure on the left totally has my nose. Thank you so much for this, I will hang this up in a very special place."
Mikaela started to blabber as President Reiserová began preparing the tea in the kitchen. "Yes, I was an artist! I was a singer. I have 10 #1 albums, 17 #1 singles, and 8 world tours under my name, not to mention 5 Teen Choice awards and 7 Teen Pop Idol awards. I'm definitely most known for my strong vocals, that's for sure."
In order to demonstrate her vocal prowess, the Archbishop then decided to hit an A3 note. The Archbishop's vocals quickly went flat. Mikaela's tone-deaf and flat note rang through the room for three short seconds, before the Archbishop abruptly stopped in order to catch her breath. "Anyway, I need to save my voice for the rest of our discussion today."
"Prague is a gorgeous city! I feel so, so, so special that you showed me around a bit. I definitely feel like I've only scraped the top of the iceberg, so I will definitely need to explore more of it one day. My flight was fine. Nicki Minaj, do you know her? She was with me, keeping me company. I spent most of my time catching up with the latest news around Europe, though. O-M-G. Have you been following? Europe is in such a mess, girl. Not since Malboryan Twitter have I seen such hostility. I don't even know what to do. I will be keeping them in my thoughts and prayers, I can tell you at least that much. We need to stay strong.
A lot has also happened in Czech Slavia since I last met with your former Prime Minister. Please, catch me up on things! The last time, I heard from Mira that a lot of Czech politicians and ministers were kinda old and not good looking... have you replaced them with younger, better looking ones yet?"
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That's great, I'll make sure to listen to some of your songs later! I starred in some TV shows and some films, mainly romantic films, nothing too famous or anything. Or we could listen to some of your songs and watch some movie I'm in later together! And I am also glad you like the painting, I'll make sure to give a Hero of Socialist Labour award to the author." Reiserová replied to Kligenberg from the kitchen.
"No. Well not personally, of course I heard some of her songs." was Reiserová response to a question if she knows Nicki Minaj. However as the archbishops started speaking about the latest news in Europe and mentioned the happenings in Malborya, Reiserová simply told her guest to wait.
After a few minutes she returned with tea, but without a smile or a light in her eyes. "Do you have children Mikaela?" president suddenly asked. "I can't imagine losing them, or leaving them alone in the world, and I am certain other parents feel the same. We need to protect them. We are considering closing the country. Of course your country seems safe, we can be open to you, if you remain open to us." Reiserová once again smiled a bit and then fell silent for a few seconds while sipping her tea.
After these few moments her eyes slowly once again lit up "Oh pardon me, you asked me about the politicians! Well, we've certainly made the party thinner but that affected both the older and the younger. While we of course still try to recruit more young people among us, we are also more weary of who we confirm as a member of a party. And the age of the politicians in the top positions hasn't really changed. But it's good you brought up Slavomíra."
Reiserová opened one of the drawers next to her and put some files on a table. "One thing is certain about the former prime minister she is going into diplomacy. Question is where, she asked me to go into Inquista, but so many people want to go there, Sofie Čikarová also expressed interest of joining our diplomacy in Inquista. So, do I send Černá or Čikarová to Inquista? Čikarová could stay in the media, Černá could go to Nofoaga, or UNSR. You know Slavomíra, so I want to hear your opinion. Oh and also..." Reiserová hesitated before sliding a paper on which "Blind date of Bridges and Aguilar" "is that.. something you talked about with Slavomíra?" the president whispered not sure if the two women really talked about it and what will the reaction of the archbishop be.
She quickly retracted her hand leaving the paper before Kligenberg and continued. "I am glad you found Prague nice, and are you satisfied with our rare earth metals trade? You can go into the mine later, if you feel like it, you can even observe our penal laborers to see that they are treated well. Inquista stood behind Czech Slavia in these hard times, but other in other countries misinformation reigns and I'm sure that you can correct some of these misinformation in the world and influence countries like the United Duchies and Inimicus that everything is now stable in the country."
Reiserová turned her eyes to Kligenberg's cup "Would you like more tea, or something else to drink? And what is the situation in Inquista?"
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A worried and forlorn look washed over the Archbishop's face as President Reiserová discussed the importance of her family. Mikaela nodded rather solemnly, and gazed around the room with the corner of her eyes, eying the pictures of the President's children which were hung around the room. Mikaela fully understood the President's worry, and empathised with her.
"Yes, I have a daughter. Her name is Alexandra," Mikaela answered as the President took a sip of her tea. "She's my daughter. I used to be her godmother, but I'm her mother-mother now. Her other parents are... gone, so it's my duty to be there for her. She's the most important thing in my life, and I'd give up everything for her," Mikaela smiled, with some lingering sadness in her eyes. Alexandra, who was the biological child of Archbishop Craticus and Queen Aleksandra of Red Croatia, whose lineage was still a public secret, was adopted by Mikaela not long ago. Family tragedy was something that was deeply interwoven with the Archbishop's past, and Mikaela couldn't help but also think of her own mother, who passed away when Mikaela was six years old, and her father, who was assassinated in 2012 when Mikaela's own career was reaching a high point. Minding and fearing the safety of her family members was something that preoccupied Mikaela's thoughts frequently.
"Inquista will definitely always be open to Czech Slavia. The country will also always be open to you if anything bad happens. If you or anyone in your family ever needs a safe place to escape to, just give me a call," Mikaela nodded. "I know it feels kinda weird and crazy to suggest that, and make these escape plans, but you know, events in Europe really are up in the air right now. Always better to be safe than sorry."
When the Czech President offered some more tea, Mikaela's eyes lit up and she motioned approvingly. "More tea would be amazing, thank you!"
As President Reiserová prepared Mikaela's tea, the Archbishop continued. "I'm so excited that you're a fellow artist! I would love to see some of your films later! Romantic movies are my absolute favourite. Have you seen the movie 'Love Wrecked' with Amanda Bynes? I cry every time. It's my favourite movie of all time. It's soooo good."
Once Mikaela's tea was prepared, she politely took it into her hands and sipped. "Oh this tea is a delight, thank you. Although, speaking of delights, Mira is like, a total gem! Selfishly, I'd obvi love if she was working diplomatically in Saint Dominico. The two of us get along great! She's just sooo sweet, isn't she? Čikarová is also a good choice, and she's very popular in Inquista, so if you're looking for a popular choice, she'd probs be the one to pick. Although, I've heard Čikarová might have a career in European politics in the future, so like, if she ever decides to run for Commission again, she probs wouldn't be in Saint Dominico for too long, which I think makes Mira a better pick in the grand scheme of things."
The Archbishop held the piece of paper which the Czech President had given her, and read it aloud. "Blind date of Bridges and Aguilar? Oh, yes! Gosh, President Reiserová... may I call you Bina? Bina, you wouldn't even believe. Have you been fortunate enough to meet President Aguilar of Spain and Prime Minister Bridges of Reitzmag in person yet? The tension and energy between them is out of this world. Rainbows. Sparks. Fireworks. I have never been so sure of true love in my life. So much of the tension in European politics is all the result of this lovers' quarrel. Do you know how many of Europe's problems could be fixed if these two finally let their true feelings be known and got together? European-wide peace. Getting these two together should be a totally important part of Inquistan and Czech foreign policy... for the sake of peace, obvi."
After gossiping, Mikaela was drawn back to something that President Reiserová mentioned earlier. "Earlier, when you mentioned that the Czech government got thinner, do you mean, like, through a diet? Or do you mean through like... an Eastern Haane diet? I mean, either way, a diet is a diet, so that's great! I'm so happy for your government!" Mikaela squealed.
"I would L-O-V-E to go visit a mine! Totes down for that. I believe Inquistans are feeling pretty satisfied with the rare earth metals trade between our countries. As you know, after my last meeting with Mira, Inquista removed all tariffs on Czech natural resources. Obvi, Inquistan businesses are now making good use of this opportunity and are importing more from your country. Inquistans love a good deal! Although, there are some things my cousin Silas told me he'd like for us to discuss on that topic today, once we're ready to get down to business.
Things in Inquista have been pretty good. The country has returned to a very strong sense of stability, which is really what the country needs right now among all this international mess. Inquista is also going through a lot of changes. Since becoming Archbishop, it's been important for me to really reform the Inquistan Orthodox Church, and we've done a lot of great things, especially in liberalizing our church doctrine.
I feel like there's a lot in common between us and our countries! After protests in Inquista last year, I was elected Archbishop, and I've been pushing through with some reforms in Inquista. Obvi Czech Slavia also experienced some protests, and you managed to come out on top of those, and now you've been leading some reforms. We're like twins! If you ever need any advice, I'm your girl."
One thing I will say, is that you deffo need to keep the men in your cabinet in check," Mikaela began, with worry starting to reappear in her eyes. "Oh gosh, ambitious men are the worst. Now that Firoux is back in Saint Dominico full-time, he and Silas are constantly at it. My cousin especially! He’s so threatened, and he’s always plotting. You can’t even trust them in-" Mikaela paused, thinking about General Juan-Bernardo Fernandez-Velasquez, who cheated on her and ruined their relationship while Mikaela was in Spain, "- err, never mind. Just don't trust men! Fill your cabinet with women. You can count on them!"
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"Really?" asked Reiserová, she still couldn't believe that a blind date of Bridges and Aguilar was an actual plan that the former prime minister talked about with the archbishop. "Well no, I haven't met either of them. I actually haven't met any foreign head of government, you are the first I had the pleasure to meet. I've also seen korojaunu Sanders once, but I wasn't in the office and you don't recognize him. But I trust your judgement of prime minister Bridges and president Aguilar. From what I've read in the document you are supposed to invite them both on a supposed meeting with you. If that is the case you can put that plan into action with comrade Černá, if I decide to send her to Inquista." Reiserová smiled.
"I am not yet sure if I'll send her there, your opinion is highly valuable to me, but I also need the opinion of our friends in the UNSR." Reiserová took these files and put them back into the drawer and put different files on the table.
"Oh and the party got thinner not the government, and yes it is on a diet but it also burned off some weight by a more active approach let's say. You know, when the government of Michal Plachta broke the agreement reached by the political parties and the Socialist Republican Party, which was called the Communist Party of Czech Slavia back then, could no longer support him, some opportunistic party members didn't stand with the party and didn't demand the resignation of Michal Plachta, despite their oath to stand with the party, they joined the other camp. The country was plunged into chaos and two people died as a result of their opportunism and treachery, the party can't have members like that so we had to expel them for that reason. And we need to make sure that the party doesn't accept any more opportunist into its ranks."
President Reiserová then looked at a window thinking about how she even got here in the first place "Speaking of the party, I thank you and really appreciate your offer to come to Inquista if there ever is a dire situation, Czech Slavia is of course also always open to you and your family, but I am mother of only two boys, the party is a mother of millions. And as a leader of the party that is also my responsibility. I think I am the leader for that reason too. So I don't think leaving would be possible."
Albína Reiserová shaken those thought of her mind and once again turned her head to Kligenberg. "But such dire situation surely won't happen anyway! And you don't need to worry about me and men. I've been divored for quite some time, I think I can handle few ministers. Oh and if somebody is causing trouble back home in Inquista for you know that you can always appoint them to embassy here." Reiserová smiled and finished her tea. "But if it's ok that I'm asking, how did you handle going from the world of artistry into the world of politics? How do you feel around those professional politicians, not just the men?"
After this talk Reiserová finally opened the files she put on the table before "Now I must tell you our aims. I am interested to hear what Silas Kligenberg is proposing, but our principal demand is the same as comrade Černá told you before, taking Czech Slavia off the Communist Refugee Program. Our second demand concerns our friends in the UNSR, they were the ones that helped us maintain stability, without them, we wouldn't have the meeting today. We can't turn our backs on them. We want to reintroduce them back into the market. Our proposition is to try and mediate a meeting between the representatives of the UNSR and the Nine Dominions of Icholasen. If we were able to reach a deal I imagine Inquista would reap many benefits. And hey perhaps these things could be done while President Aguilar and Prime Minister Bridges are on a date!"
Reiserová then closed the files "That's it for me. Tell me, do you want to visit the mines with me? It'll take quite a while to get there and back, but I am open to it. You can also visit them on your own at any time, I'll authorize you. In any case I'd like to invite you to dinner before you leave. But I must admit something. Since we opened our markets to private companies our most luxurious restaurants.... well they are all from your country. So we can dine in one of them, or some Czech restaurant..." Albína then raised her eyebrows "or if you want we can just cook something ourselves. Your call. And after that we can watch some of my movies and listen to your music." Reiserová smiled and leaned back in her chair.
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The Archbishop listened intently, smiled and nodded as the Czech President let her demands be known. Mikaela was fully expecting the first demand, and despite it, she still dreaded it, as the Archbishop was a total people-pleaser, and she knew it would be impossible to simultaneously and completely satisfy her Czech counterparts, her Inquistan colleagues, as well as the Inquistan people. Mikaela could never seem to bring herself to say no to anything, and it was ordinary for her to be indecisive about any decision that could potentially upset anyone. Thus, it wasn't that surprising that the Archbishop delegated most of her responsibilities and policy initiatives to the Secretariat, and allowed secretaries like Silas Kligenberg, Edward Firoux, Anja Emerett and JennaMarelle Johnson to freely run state policy on her behalf.
However, on this occasion, Mikaela was especially determined to reach a cooperative solution. She paused for a moment to think before answering President Reiserová. "Well, taking Czech Slavia off Inquista's the Communist Refugee Program is a very, very big thing to ask. I told Mira that I'd try it, but like, the political capital that it would need is a lot," Mikaela stated, feeling proud of herself for using a smart word like 'political capital', which Firoux had taught her.
"I don't even think you can begin to imagine how many arms I'd need to twist and how many people I would need to convince in order to get that done. It'd be a whole huge battle, and I'd really, really like to avoid that. The Communist Refugee Program was implemented by my Secretariat - obvi, they strongly support it - and it's pretty popular in Inquista, and Inquista now has a growing and pretty vocal Czech community who also support it."
"BUT!" the Archbishop exclaimed in a very animated tone, "I think I can get it done. It will need a lot of convincing, and so I will need some things in return if there's any hope in changing people's minds. I’d only ever be able to do this, though, if there was a fair exchange of some sort. As I mentioned earlier, my cousin Silas wanted me to further discuss the trade of rare earth metals. Inquista has removed all tariffs on Czech natural resources, and so there are already a lot of Inquistans who feel that my government has given Czech Slavia a total freebie with nothing in return. A lot of Inquistans are very disappointed with the Czech mining industry remaining completely nationalised. I know, I know, I know! This is a very sticky topic, and this subject caused some problems for the previous government, but hear me out."
"If Czech Slavia was to partially privatise its mining industry, and allow partial foreign ownership of mining companies, particularly in rare earth metals and iron, then I'd be more than confident that I could get Czech Slavia off the Communist Refugee Program. Czech Slavia wouldn't need to open up its mining sector to all foreign investment, and actually, it'd probs be preferable if it was only opened exclusively to Inquista, because besides good deals, there's nothing Inquistans love more than exclusive deals. You'd have Czech Slavia out of the Communist Refugee Program in like 5 seconds if you could achieve that. It'd be out faster than a change in government in the Syndical Union.
Obvi, I'm also worried what the public perception would be if Czech Slavia was removed from the Communist Refugee Program, just like you might be with what I've proposed. But, I think the benefits of the exchange would still be a greater win-win for both our countries over the current sitch. I mean, Czech Slavia would get to keep more of its workers, the Inquistan investments would come with their own capital which would flow into the country and create more jobs and opportunities, and you will have my assurances that Inquistans will respect and support any labour code that the Czech mining sector requires, not to mention also any environmental codes or regulations that will be in place. Does this sound alright?
I'm into your second demand. I would never ever, ever, evvvveeerrrrr expect Czech Slavia to turn its back on the UNSR. TBH, I'd be very disappointed if that was the case! The UNSR has been a good ally to Czech Slavia, and I think it's very smart that your government continues to keep them close. Just as in life, good friends are invaluable and irreplaceable. I mean, that's why I'm here today. I deeply appreciate and recognise loyalty, and I hope you do the same.
"I've heard Firoux complain so much about how Councillor Kohout has worked to repeal the Condemnation of the Coup in Icholasen in the European Council," Mikaela commented before then silently giggling to herself, remembering how Černá only rated Councillor Kohout a 4 out of 10. "Then you have Firoux, who has done everything in his power to support Icholasen in the Council, even going so far to block Ruthund's neutrality motion, which kinda alienated him even from his allies, because he's willing to fall on the sword for Icholasen like he is for Inquista. Loyalty recognises loyalty, and hopefully after today, Inquista and Czech Slavia can share similar bonds and expectations."
"Inquista and Icholasen have always been the closest of allies, and we too would never turn our backs on them. Ani - Queen Anastasia - is also my soul-sister from another mister and I'm the godmother to her children, so I would never forgive myself if I saw her lose her crown. At the end of the day though, I know this isn't my decision to make, and so I will put all my faith and trust in Korojaunu Whiteford and Ani, and if they can both agree to some sort of deal, then I'd support that deal too. If they objected to a deal, then I would have no choice but to object to it as well.
The current situation with Icholasen obvi isn't ideal for anyone, especially the Nicoleizian people, and so if a deal could be made, then that would be great. If you need any help bringing Korojaunu Whiteford or her deputy, Samantha Terrace, to the negotiating table, I could make some calls for you! I know Eilidh and Sam pretty well, and I'm lucky enough to also call them my friends. I can put in a good word for you so they trust you as a mediator."
Mikaela politely smiled and then took a moment to finish sipping the remainder of her tea. "I hope you find everything I've said to be alright. I'd really love for us to be on the same page. Also, I'd totally, totally love it if you took me to a mine! I really don't mind travelling at all. The more I see of Czech Slavia, the better. I think it'd be a little bit silly to come all this way just to eat Inquistan food, so I'd deffo like to eat at a Czech restaurant, or try your cooking. Are you able to cook any Czech delicacies? If you can, and if you could teach me how to cook them, that'd be double-y cool. If that's too much, then a restaurant would be more than ok," the Archbishop finished as her eyes beamed with excitement and delight.
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"Well I'm glad we agree on one topic, but since you want to see the mines, let's visit them first and then we'll continue. Come with me." Reiserová got up from her seat and led her guest outside where cars were waiting for them.
Mikaela could see life in smaller Czech towns and villages and how they were affected by the changes. While Prague was full of merchants desperately trying to sell their products, smaller towns usually had just one or two merchant stands but with the same dubious quality of their items. Villages seemed even less affected and to a person not familiar with villages in Czech Slavia it might seem normal, villages had one large collective farm and oftentimes a few private smaller ones. But this was actually a significant change as before the limited privatization and reparation, very few private farms existed and were much smaller.
After asome time the cars arrived at destination Lišov Mine close to a town of Rudolfov. Before Kligenberg's eyes was a large open pit mine witch some large machinery. The direcotr of the mines was waiting for both women and welcomed them. He was a rather short man with a thick brown mustache and a smile from ear to ear. "Please put these on for your safety" he pointed at safety helmets, googles and vests. They could observe the vehicles moving in the mine from above and were allowed to step in only when most of the work has been paused for them.
Many miners following both women and greeting them with shaking hands and telling them what they work was showing them the mining vehicles. They seemed generally enthusiastic to have such guests. Some however workers did not follow them and the Archbishop was informed that those are prisoners who work at the mine "They mostly package the materials and load the packages onto the transport or they mine manually in some corners, they are not allowed to operate vehicles, they work the same hours as normal employees and also have a lunch break. After work they are transported back into a prison" told her a young police officer, pointing on wall with working hours on them, to show her they are not being forced to work for a longer time period than any other worker. Finally the director took the women into his office showing them plans for modernization of the vehicles and machinery.
When Reiserová and Kligenberg returned to Prague Castle the sky was already dark and Klingenberg could see Prague at night. While it was quieter some of the merchants in the city centre remained on the streets trying to interest the few people that were still out.
"I hope you enjoyed the visit of the mine!" Reiserová told Kligenberg as she sat back in her seat. "Now, let's get back to our demands, because I feel you are demanding much more from us than we are from you. What we demand is a basic respect, we don't want any favoritism, any exceptions, we just want Inquista to remove the one barrier between our friendly relations. You in turn demand from us to change our core principle that crucial resources belong to the people." Reiserová started tapping the table with her pen and then pointing it at the Archbishop.
"And what makes you think that you are in a position to demand such a thing from us just for some respect? We have the resources and we have the mines, it is our decision how much will we mine and who will we sell it to and there is nobody else that can sell it to you. And as long as we don't sell the mines that decision is only ours." the president realized that she was pointing at Mikaela and quickly put her pen down and her hands on her lap.
"We decided to sell an overwhelming amount to you and we want to continue deepening our friendly relations. You claim the same thing but at the same time claim there are people wanting to escape our country, because of our system of government. We opened many sectors to Inquista, if you demand preferential treatment in those sectors we have no problem granting it to you, but you can't expect us to change some of our core principles, that is not partnership."
"Look Mikaela, we are willing to compromise, we can make a deal making it easier for Czechs to get job in Inquista, but how can you say you respect us and have us on a list of countries people are escaping from? We are open to you and hide nothing from you and we treat you with respect. Do you have any other demands?"
Reiserová once again smiled "On our second demand, I am happy you agreed, we want Inquista to act as a mediator in the potential meeting too, so that both governments of Icholasen are feeling that the meeting is balanced with the mediators not being in favor of one side."
Reiserová smiled and stood up after finishing. "I hope you don't mind eating cow stomachs, because I am gonna make a tripe soup with you, Czech main meals are pretty heavy, so we will make just a small amount of pork with dumplings and cabbage and finally for a desert a strudel! Pick a filling, we can make a sweet one with apples or poppy seeds, or a sour one with spinach." and with that Albína led Mikaela into her kitchen.
Planned dishes:
Tripe soup
Pork with dumplings and cabbage
Strudel -
The Archbishop thoroughly enjoyed seeing life in smaller Czech towns and villages, as well as the chance to see pieces of the Czech countryside. As the Archbishop was being driven to Lišov Mine, Mikaela spent most of the time taking pictures of the scenery and vistas that passed by. Mikaela was obsessed. The Archbishop thought the towns and villages were especially quaint and charming, and the countryside to be enchanting. Mikaela uploaded the pictures onto various group chats, and even uploaded some onto her Instagram stories. The Archbishop was pleased that she didn't even need to add any filters to her pictures.
Upon arriving at Lišov Mine, the Archbishop was slightly disappointed when she was instructed to wear a safety helmet that wasn't as fashionable as she had hoped. The safety helmet wasn't pink or glittered, but Mikaela accepted the fashion crime for what it was an obeyed the orders from the mine director. Mikaela did appreciate the safety goggles though, which she felt really accentuated her eyes.
Mikaela adored all of the miners who greeted her and the Czech President. Virtually all of the miners were speaking in Czech, and so the Archbishop didn't understand what they were really saying. Mikaela has picked up on some Czech words and phrases from her Czech palace staff (such as Eliška, her esthetician), but she still couldn't quite yet hold a basic conversation. However, a very small few of the miners were able to speak in extremely broken and highly-accented English in order to engage with the Archbishop.
The Archbishop was very (and easily) impressed by the mining vehicles and machinery. As Mikaela was admiring her surroundings, she tripped as she stepped backwards, with her high heel shoes failing to support her in such a hazardous environment. Luckily, the Archbishop was caught by someone standing behind her. Mikaela was quickly positioned back up, and she then spun around to thank her saviour. A tall, built, handsome man with blonde features and light blue eyes looked down at her, and released her from his grip. Mikaela stared at the miner for a second, before then proceeding to thank him. Mikaela was taken aback when the miner responded in decently fluent English. The Archbishop began to banter with the miner, asking him about his work and the machinery that he operated. After a polite exchange, Mikaela prepared to bid him farewell.
"Well, thank you so much for catching me there," Mikaela laughed with embarrassment.
"No problem at all," he smirked.
"What's your name?"
"Tomáš. Tomáš Krejčí."
"Hope you have a great day, Tomáš. Keep up the great work!" Mikaela said smiling, before then grabbing Tomáš by his arm and kissing the air beside his left cheek. "Thanks again," she reiterated before waving him goodbye.
Some of the miners surrounding Tomáš looked on in disbelief, while some of his other colleagues laughed, with one slapping him on his back and congratulating him. The Archbishop turned to President Reiserová to follow her lead, and apologised to her for her clumsiness.
The Archbishop appreciated the remainder of the tour around the mine, and before she knew it, she was whisked back into a car and was on her return trip to Prague Castle. On the way back, the Archbishop ruminated in deep thought as she looked out of her window, gazing at the surroundings. The Archbishop was in deep thought about the day's events, the handsome miner she met, and about dinner, as she had not yet eaten since before noon. It wasn't until Mikaela arrived back at the castle that she suddenly realised she was no longer in possession of her cellphone. She must have dropped it somewhere along the way.
As the two ladies resumed business at Prague Castle, the Archbishop was about to crack a joke when President Reiserová began asserting her demands. Mikaela sat and listened intently as the President spoke to her in a sharp tone and pointed towards her. The Archbishop grew increasingly uncomfortable as the President went on. If there was anything that Mikaela disliked more than conflict, it was feeling that she had somehow upset someone. By the time the President finished talking and asked the Archbishop if she had any other matters to bring up, Mikaela sat speechless for a second as she collected her thoughts. The Archbishop wanted to diffuse the situation as much as possible, and she decided the best course of action was to apologise profusely and put an end to any further negotiating.
"I'm so sorry Bina-" the Archbishop began informally, before quickly switching to a much more formal tone, "-err, President Reiserová. You and your country have shown great respect to both me and my country. I'm so sorry if it doesn't seem like its being reciprocated. My Church and I respect your country greatly, and I'm sorry if I said anything that offended you. Sometimes I say silly things without thinking, so I think it's probs for the best that we - or really just I - stop talking about politics there. Hopefully that's everything. I hear what you've said and I will take it with me," Mikaela concluded while nodding sheepishly.
When the Czech President offered to get started on cooking dinner, the Archbishop felt relieved and eager to move on. Furthermore, the Archbishop was absolutely starving. Mikaela practically bounced out of her seat in excitement.
"I've never had cow stomachs before! Don't cows, like, have... a lot of those?" she questioned. "Oh I don't mind heavy meals. I was on a keto diet for like 3 months at one point, so I'm used to eating some pretty heavy foods. Although keto isn't worth it, lemme tell you. As long as you're just eating less calories than what you're burning, you're okay," Mikaela continued, off-topic.
"But O-M-G! I love a good dessert. I have, like, such a sweet tooth. It's so bad. Apple filling would be amazing for a strudel!"
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"So these are tripes from a stomach of a cow, you can be the one to cut them into slices once they are cooked. If you don't like tripes you can make the soup with some types of mushroom, but since you said you want traditional czech meal we will make it with real tripes." Reiserová commented as she prepared the ingredients for the soup like onions, paprika and garlic and put the tripes to cook.
"For the main dish we will just cook the pork, we won't make our own dumplings, that would take us too much time, instead we will use the one the castle's cook made, I hope that is ok. It will still take some time." president commented on the main dish and then turned around and extended a bowl with apples to Kligenberg, she breathed in some air and then stopped herself as she realized she is speaking to a head of another state and wasn't sure how to continue. She thought it was a stupid idea to offer to cook and bake with her, what would the other high ranking party members say to dragging the Archbishop of Inquista into her kitchen but soon she reaffirmed herself that the other party members are not the president of the republic and she is "Would you like to peel these apples Mikaela? Oh and you can certainly call me Bína." Albína smiled not realizing there were almost thirty seconds of silence while she presented the bowl with apples to the archbishop.
After a few hours the two women could finally dine, it certainly was a late dinner and the president once again got a bit stressed over how much the dinner was delayed thanks to the cooking and baking themselves. "I am not the best cook, but I really appreciated cooking with you, Mikaela." president said after finishing the soup.
Finally after finishing dinner Resierová played the most recent film in which she starred to her guest. Albína Reiserová starred as a woman from a big city that moved into a small town and fell in love with a local firefighte. The movie was almost an hour and a half long and before Reiserová became the SRP candidate for president critics saw the movie as mediocre. Since then however, many of those critics performed public self-criticism for failing to realize the genius of the film and changed their rating accordingly. Such was the case with many film in which president Reiserová previously appeared.
"So this is the last film I am in, and the last I will ever be in, I can't really act since I am now in this office." Reiserová smiled after the film has ended but her eyes expressed some sadness. "Excuse me if I overheard you, but did you respond to my question from earlier about how did you handle going from the world of artistry into the world of politics?"
Reiserová then got up and walked away for a brief moment, after she returned she held another file in her hand. "I've heard that you proposed signing a friendship agreement between our two great countries to comrade Černá, my position is the same as my predecessor, once Czech Slavia is removed from the Communist Refugee Program I will gladly sign it. And if you showed the great courage and friendship towards the Czech people as to remove our country from that from that program you can also pick a street you would like to bear your name. Beside this, rather personal, point we would of course agree to deepening our REM trade, we could build entire new cities close to the mines and we could direct our state companies to always prioritize Inquistan products over other foreign products and if needed, we could pass such required quotas for Inquistan products to affect even the private businesses. You don't need to comment on that now if you no longer want to discuss it, but I want you to take these things into consideration."
Reiserová put the file beside her on a small table next to the sofa and turned at the archbishop once again with a happy expression "I am dying to hear some of your music, could we please listen to some of it now?"
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Mikaela very carefully observed President Reiserová begin to cook. The Archbishop had very little cooking experience, but her cooking skill was something that she was eager to improve upon, especially since becoming a mother. Mikaela still struggled with many basic cooking principles, such as whether to pour the milk in before or after the cereal. In one of her latest cooking ventures, the Archbishop managed to start a small grease fire, and she attempted to put it out by throwing water onto it, which only made it worse, leaving the Archbishop in a state of confusion, panic and with a newfound skepticism of science. The incident was one of many accidental fires which Mikaela had ignited in the Archbishop's Palace.
In truth, the Archbishop wasn't excited about cooking with tripes. However, it was an ingredient foreign to Inquistan cuisine, and therefore rather exotic in her eyes, so she felt that it would make for an interesting ingredient to at least try. Mikaela was looking forward to the meal, and she was thoroughly enjoying cooking with the Czech President. Mikaela keenly accepted the opportunity to peel the apples for the dessert, although the Archbishop peeled the apples so poorly and with such clumsiness that the Czech President might as well have given the apples to a young toddler to peel using a butter knife.
Once the Archbishop and President finished cooking a few hours later, Mikaela complimented the Czech President and affirmed her cooking skills. "No, Bina, you really are a great cook! They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I'm pretty sure you could apply that same principle to the nation. I think if you started a national cooking show - for the people, obvi - and you cooked some traditional Czech dishes on there, you'd have the hearts of the entire nation," Mikaela commented before making a Chef's kiss.
The Archbishop was absolutely obsessed with romantic movies, and she could barely hold herself together as she watched President Reiserová's film. After only recently being cheated on, the Archbishop was especially in her feelings, and so she had spent several evenings in recent weeks binging every romantic comedy she could manage. Halfway through the movie, when Reiserová kissed the firefighter for the first time, Mikaela began to silently sob. The Archbishop grabbed President Reiserová's hand and then proceeded to hold it tightly for the remainder of the movie. By the time that the credits began to roll at the end of the movie, Mikaela began to shed a few tears of happiness and joy. "O-M-G! Bina, that was so good. I loved that movie! Girl, your acting is just so well done. Next time there's an international film festival overseas, you gotta make sure that Minister Šín has that movie shown to the world. Amazing."
As the conversation returned to politics, Mikaela felt that President Reiserová made an offer she couldn't refuse. "Well, with deepened REM trade, prioritization of Inquistan products, and some fair quotas for Inquistan products, then we'd deffo have a deal and agreement there, so I will take you up on that offer. I think what you've proposed could change a lot of the minds of my Inquistan colleagues. Though, like I said earlier, I'll need to do a lot of persuading, so that might take a week or two of time. After hosting a few get-togethers and events, I should be able to get the College of Bishops to remove Czech Slavia from the refugee program. Once the College of Bishops has done this, we can hopefully announce the declaration of friendship between our nations," Mikaela answered before then smiling.
Despite the Czech President dismissing her street naming offer as a 'rather personal point', it was probably the most convincing point, which directly appealed to the Archbishop's vanity. The Archbishop has never had a street named after herself, and so this seemed like a very generous offer. After spending a few seconds in deep thought, in which Mikaela pondered what kind of street she'd pick to be named after herself, she bounced back to reality when the Czech President propositioned her to play some of her music.
"O-M-G. You're in for a treat. Ok, let me play you some," the Archbishop announced, beaming with excitement. Mikaela suddenly remembered that she had lost her phone earlier in the day, and so she asked the Czech President if she could borrow her phone to play her music.
"Oh gosh, I have sooooooo many good songs to choose from. I guess I'll just show you three, because otherwise we might be here all night! Ok, ok, let's begin with probably my biggest hit, which is 'Fight For This Love'. After listening to a 15-second toothpaste ad on YouTube, Fight For This Love began to play.
"We gotta fight, fight, fight, fight, fight for this love! We gotta fight, fight, fight, fight, fight for this love. If it's worth having, it's worth fighting for, oh!" Mikaela sang along, giving the Czech President a live performance. "Aren't the lyrics just so... deep? Emotional? Moving? I can't believe I came up with this. My mind."
"Okay, this second song is actually so interesting. There's a funny story to this one. I originally wrote this song for Adele to perform when competed for Inquista in EuroVoice, but then she, like, she didn't want to sing it because she wasn't sure that she had the vocals for it. Adele then came in second place by one single point! If Adele sang this song she probs would have won - but, hey - I got to record it as my own single and it became a total bop. Anyway, here's 'Under The Sun'," Mikaela explained before playing Under the Sun aloud.
"Last but not least we have 'Crazy Stupid Love', which I wrote about a certain boy who ended up becoming a European Commissioner. I was so proud that I managed to get a really big-time rapper like Tinie Tempah on this track," Mikaela blushed as Crazy Stupid Love then began to play.
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"Are you an angel?" Reiserová asked as they were listening "Because your voice sure is angelic. But, you know, regarding the movie I am pretty sure I couldn't get it shown on any festival. The more traditional party members would not allow it, they are not willing to take any risks that could show the leadership as not respected. Šín himself is more courageous, but the best films according to Šín have Šín staring in them. He is not in this movie so I think he wouldn't agree to showing this film on festivals." Reiserová let out a little giggle. "But I like the idea of a cooking show, that could be done!"
"Well that is all from me. If you want to say something or ask about anything feel free to do so" Albína said as she poured a glass of red wine, her favorite drink, to her guest and herself. "I am glad we were able to reach an agreement. We have very ambitious plans for our industry, even greatly expanding the town of Rudolfov near the Lišov mine, I am certain that would provide many opportunities for Inquistan businesses. just as the talks between Icholasen's if we manage to get them to negotiate. Of course it also presents new obstacles for both our countries, but a true friendship is like a journey without an end." Reiserová said and looked at a wall of her room where the motivational quote "A true friendship is like a journey without an end" was displayed.. She nodded in agreement with the quote.
"Your driver can take you to your hotel room. Recently a few non-stop hour services have opened here, we didn't really have that before. I am telling you this in case you are interested in looking around the city at night, the scenery is beautiful. Goodnight Archbishop." Reiserová extended a hand smiling. "And say hi to Alexandra for me."
