Potatoes and Frog Legs

[PresidentDavid]

Ambassador Jules Meulnier was quickly granted access to the nearest airport to Dublin at the time. That afternoon began one of the constant rainy showers that had been plaguing the island for the past two weeks. A bright bolt of lightning struck not too far away as the ambassador was lead from his plane to a small assortment of Irish-made motorized vehicles. "Ambassador Meulnier, welcome to the Kingdom of Ireland. I am the Hand of The King, Maxwell O'Donovan. His Majesty is out confronting a few domestic issues outside of Dublin, but I thought it would be wise for us to meet sooner than later. Please, come with me sir. I'll get us to somewhere dry." 

 

A small assortment of cars with miniature Irish flags on the hoods were parked and ready to head off to the palace. Max handed the ambassador an umbrella and opened his own while they took the short walk to the vehicles. The Royal Guardsmen outside shut the doors and piled into the other cars. All three sped off back to the heart of the city. "I was very happy to hear that your government had sent a diplomat, Mister Meulnier. We are building our island up here, but there are also foreign fears that we believe could tarnish our plans for peace." Max felt he was getting ahead of himself so he offered the ambassador whiskey or water. "I am sorry we do not have more here, but there is wine at the palace." 

 

The vehicles swooped through Dublin in a diplomic-hurry. By the time they made it to the palace the storm was mostly gone. The Royal Guardsmen stood outside of Max and Meulnier's car. A small crowd had gathered near the road of the palace but none of them seemed to mean any harm. A few were underclass kids dressed in tattered clothing while a few adults curiously pondered where the Meulnier was from. The onlookers watched as they ascended the stairs and into the palace which was heavily guarded. The High King took the defense of the seat of government very seriously, even if the current palace was a temporary one. 

 

Maxwell led Meulnier into a small library with a fireplace, a side-table, and two comfortable chairs. They both took a seat while a servant asked both men if they wanted anything. Maxwell requested two fingers of whiskey and offered the ambassador to request anything he'd like to eat or drink. Within minutes they had their drinks and soon enough it was time to talk diplomacy. "As I said before ambassador, the Royal Government was pleased to hear that you were coming a few hours ago when we get the transmission. I have plenty to talk about, but you are of course my guest. Is there anything which the French government had a particular interest in?" The fire crackled in the fireplace, slowly drying off the men's shoes and clothes if they had gotten damp. Candles still lit some of the older bedrooms in the palace, but the library was lighted by the fireplace and a unique assortment of lamps.

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Meulnier had not always worked for the Quay d'Orsay. In his early years, he mostly had worked as an entrepeneur and Bankier. But as finances and diplomacy were not too far apart, he had found his way to foreign relations, which he pursued as a personal hobby, though with the (business) interests of France at his heart. "Well, as France does see Ireland as an independent state, it is only fair to send a permanent representant, no?"

[PresidentDavid]

This took Maxwell off guard because he thought that the Frenchman was simply a diplomat; but come to find out he was an ambassador intending to stay in the Kingdom of Ireland. Max took out a sheet of paper and wrote down the address of the former French embassy in Ireland and handed it to a nearby servant who was waiting to serve, "Please give this to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, tell him to get it ready for our guest, now" he said in his native tongue, Gaelig. The servant bowed obediently to the two men and scurried off. 

 

"Sorry about that. But yes, you are correct I believe it is most appropriate to do such a thing. When the High King returns he plans to appoint an ambassador to France, I will make sure he meets you before he heads of to Paris." A servant brought Maxwell a cup of tea and offered a cup to Meulnier as well. He sipped and closed his eyes for a moment while taking in the flavor before setting it back down. "I will take you over to your embassy shortly but there are a few foreign policy matters I wanted address with you first, just so that we are on the same page. In regards to war, the High King intends to keep Ireland at peace unless she was to be attacked or one of our allies, who we plan to make conservatively and sparingly, were unjustly attacked. As Hand of The High King I can personally attest that we have no massive ambitions of major colonization. What we are really focusing on is the exploding Irish economy in Belfast, Dublin, Cork, and maybe Galway too it seems. So many business ventures are opening up it's... it's unbelievable. 

 

"On the other hand, members of the Royal Government fear that the United Kingdom may attempt to take Ireland by force. We have been ruled by the English before, and needless to say it was a red splatter on Irish history that will never be forgotten. Either I or a diplomat will try to head to London soon, however I am worried that the English will have no interest in diplomacy.

 

"There you have it, our international plans and our greatest fear, ambassador. The Irish have nothing to hide from the French... Did your government give you authorization to negotiate a treaty? I was hoping we could discuss what kind of specific cooperation and military relations our governments can share."

 

Meanwhile hundreds of servants rushed with the Foreign Minister to clean and ready the former French embassy for its reestablishment. 

Edited September 17, 2014 by PresidentDavid