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[catherinestuart]

APRIL 2024

"so — are you gonna tell me what you're planning with max or not?" she has a scotch in one hand and a cigarette in another, staring at her friend with a playful little smile. "if you two are going to do a major political upheaval, i'm expecting for you to tell me, because he definitely wont until the very last minute." @giorxcci

[catherinestuart]

thought i would be too sad to say goodbye tbh but maybe one last starter call before the event?

[catherinestuart]

" do you have any more energy in you for another dance? this is my first new years with alcohol in a while. you owe me. " ( @maximiliians )

[catherinestuart]

" do you know them, the slovaks? " she hummed, canting her head to the direction of the princes. " there are four of them? i don't think i've seen much of them in the programme. " ( @yvsmins )

[catherinestuart]

dark blues squinted slightly , turning the phrase over and over in her mind . " surely it must be a name of a slope? or . . . is it a name for some new sex thing that's popular with the kids from le rosey? " her fingers closed on the cup of hot coffee in her hands . " either way , are you going to be joining them for it ? "

⁎  ╱  @catherinestuart.

｡  "Sometimes I forget how many flock here for winter break." The rich spoiled kids from private schools made the slopes look akin to an ant mound. Royals included. "One of those kids," head cocks towards a mixed group, "tried to convince me of trying a lemon drop. What the bloody hell is a lemon drop? Is it code for a type of slope?"

[catherinestuart]

END OF WAR IN BASEL

18 months after the troops of greater bavaria and rhine crossed the german borders by way for alsace, the king of germany has called for the withdrawal of troops from switzerland permanently. the german palace in conjunction with the swiss crown has issued a joint statement in lieu of the signing of the treaty of wiese — named after the river the separates switzerland and germany in basel — that includes the following highlights:

immediate withdrawal of any and all german military personnel in swiss soil

titles stripped from michelle soland (marchioness of basel, mother of the grand duke otto of rhine), and elias stolberg (duke of aargau)

as a gesture of goodwill, private property belonging to grand duchess wiebke wittlesbach and grand duke otto zielcke will not be seized.

it is believed that michelle soland has been exiled from swiss soil and is now currently residing in germany. the speed of negotiations surrounding the treaty is believed to have been caused by the movement of french troops through saarland and prussian troops in the north.

( @wicbkc , @maximiliians , @aurcls )

ELEANORA STOLBERG: DUCHESS OF AARGAU, MARCHIONESS OF BASEL, COUNTESS PALATINATE OF STOLBERG-ROSSLA, AND BARONESS VON SCHWARZA

following the exile of her father, eleanora stolberg has formally ascended to the role of duchess of aargau, as well as given the title of marchioness of basel. the title has been in the soland family since 1723 after the marriage of lady celia stolberg to lord nikolas soland. eleanora stolberg has been known to have a close relationship with the swiss crown, particularly king maximillian, and has publicly criticised her father's administration in squandering the region's once rich resources.

the new marchioness has vowed to uphold german and swiss relations even in the face of the prolonged conflict, and will continue to foster economic prosperity through further reform.

[catherinestuart]

she rolled her eyes, a snort of laughter escaping her lips . " it's a joke, gio . " oftentimes she forgot how inaccessible the dry humour of the isles could be for others . " it's nothing too scandalous, i believe . if it was then you'd definitely hear something about it afterwards . " perhaps later, after the news had turned over every single phrase and its innumerable meanings  —  for now he was safe . " who knows, exchanges of power aren't always this peaceful . " she nodded, although there was no doubt in her mind that the former princess regent would have planned several steps ahead ! " so does this mean you'll be staying in rome for a while then? attend to your new kingdom . i'm sure they're expecting you to make great strides . "

｡  "Hiding behind your husband's title? What happened to taking a stand against the patriarchy and all that?" He's well aware she'd scream queen of Scotts over being Swiss. A tennis-calloused hand scratches the stubble peppering his jaw. "I'm hoping no one catches Ale's wide eye when I replaced a few words in my speech." Words Ale advised him to keep neutral. "Who Vee? Yeah look at her. . these events are her forte. Her creme de la creme to mingle."

[catherinestuart]

catherine felt her sister's presence before the familiar voice registered in her ears, and took another long sip of her champagne before answering . " i don't know what you're talking about, i'm extremely happy for gio. " there was no reason for her not to be ! and as far as she was concerned, the happiness and excitement was plainly visible on her features . " hm? oh you mean our sister-in-law? " it was such an improbable situation that the thought had given her pause . " have you said 'hello' yet? i'm more surprised that anyone would willingly join the programme after what happened, it's still so fresh. " the news channels only had just decreased its 24/7 coverage of royals and pax aeterna to merely 9 to 5 .

           only once euphemia had come to the painful conclusion that any crown prince of good stature and standing she deemed worthy was not in attendance did she succumb to the dreadfully long stride through important figures alike to the familiar scowl of an icy blonde with a penchant for always one-upping effie in the end, her sister. “ aren't you supposed to be one of the happy ones here? ” euphemia observed with a judgment induced once over of the crimson red garment. “ he is your friend, but you look like this is a coronation for . . . ” an impish gesture, hardly noticed in delivery, waved at a raven haired woman latched onto the arm of catherine's brother-in-law. “ her. ” the almost duchess of cambridge. ( @catherinestuart )

[catherinestuart]

" but will you give him a different one ? " the only thing worse than a disobedient sibling was an idle one . catherine frowned slightly, shooting him a little warning glance before taking his arm with her free hand . " what could she possibly be jealous of me for ? " surely all of her negative emotions will be focused still on antonia and the new english court . catherine took another small sip of champagne, patting his arm as she nodded at the swiss twins on the far side of the ballroom . she stifled a slight sigh . " i gather that they are doing well ? sometimes i feel like i should be making more of an effort. "

"Hmm," he took a sip of his own champagne, eyes searching out his brother and wife. "I told him to let Nora take the lead on that particular project," the recovery and revitalization of Basel should, of course, be led by the Duchess of Aargau - and Max trusted Nora enough to keep Hans engaged whilst ensuring the Swiss crow received due credit. "Perhaps she was jealous," he gave Catherine a knowing smirk, hand settling lightly on her waist in the bit of affection they would show in public. "Let's hope her presence provides the necessary encouragement."

[catherinestuart]

" did you see pippa had arrived? " she murmured as lithe fingers accepted the flute of champagne that max offered her . " it must have something to do with that talk you had with johannes about taking on more work... i had no idea that he relies so heavily on her. " ( @maximiliians )

[catherinestuart]

" oh ! we are finally of the same rank, yet again. " she hummed flatly, the corners of her lips quirking upwards imperceptibly. as if catherine would ever place her swiss title above her own scottish ones ! " ah no, if you managed to grab your sceptre just slightly wrong... i'm quite sure that the whole of italy will implode and the pope will definitely excommunicate you. " her gaze flickered quickly throughout the room, amongst a sea of celebrating savoys, one towering figure had caught her eye. " and your aunt... is she doing well? "

｡  "I'll take my greeting in the form of a curtsy. One from Yasmin as well " A breathy baritone laugh fled past his lips. He could only wonder where the Moroccan princess was hiding if she had not been by Catherine's side. "I don't get stage fright, Stuart not with so many of my fans waiting for a slip-up." He definitely meant Italy's handful of enemies in attendance.

[catherinestuart]

her spine stiffened at the name , although no protest slipped passed her even smile as she leant forwards to return the favour . " how awfully lucky for hans to have such an attentive wife . " it certainly was not a thing she could possibly say so publicly herself . her eyebrow nearly twitched at the thought . " we thought all of your patronages in bern needed your full attention , i heard good things about your last charity gala for the swiss opera . " was it really the opera? it had merely been a short sentence amongst a sea of others .

" ah ! goodness gracious ! this isn't something i could have missed. besides, hans and i've been apart so much. i've been missing him so much... " her hand softly cupped catherine's elbow as she leaned in to exchange cheek kisses. " it's truly lovely to see you, cate. "

[catherinestuart]

" well, well, well... " her grin was unmatched, a burst of genuine happiness and pride at the sight of her friend. " and you didn't trip or anything, quite impressive." a hand came up to straighten a military badge that was only a fraction crooked on his suit. " i think every single bloody savoy ever is gathered in one place. " ( @giorxcci )

[catherinestuart]

" pippa ! " catherine's faux - warm smile felt ill-fitted on her face, despite it being an easy — not to mention familiar ! — enough costume for her to slip into. " how lovely it is that you've decided to join us, i haven't seen you at since ... well — since the wedding, at least. " ( @philippvs )

[catherinestuart]

dahye isn't wearing a tiara, ariel, ireti, and catherine's tiaras below.

ireti's:

catherine's:

ariel's

[catherinestuart]

the words gnawed at her — it was hardly the first time that someone accused her of being far too much of her mother's daughter, but to hear it in connection to something bigger than her petty personal problems felt jarring. "no, you shouldn't have." especially when had made such a fuss about it before! catherine took a calming breath, both hands tightly clasped on her lap. "listen to me," she gave him a steely gaze, harsh and soft all at once. "you shouldn't worry about that anymore. i know you think i'm first and foremost my mother's daughter, but i don't think i should remind you that my own interests will always win in the end. we both want this war to end. we both think that wiebke and zielcke had overstepped. but i need you to understand that the reason why i refuse to encourage your show of strength is so that one day — when we are all dead and gone — freddie would be able to look to the north and find kinship with his cousin anna, and anna would be able to remember that being allied to her cousin will yield much more profitable results." she reached a hand to squeeze at his arm. "don't punish them by being stubborn. not only will you just continue to hurt your people, you'll damage what ever relationship freddie and elsie will have with their cousins in the future. the position of monarch is precarious enough as it is, we don't need to give our children enemies in their own family."

He gave her a look that said enough - of course she had to get in the last word, he expected nothing less from his wife. Max let out a breath and ran his hand across his face. She had a point, as much as he hated to admit that - he couldn’t say he trusted her and still keep things from her in the same breath. Max did not apologize, it wasn’t who he was and she knew this about him by now. So instead he would offer her the truth. “It wasn’t really a meeting,” he insisted, then sighed. “I was concerned that you might tell your mother,” a pointed look, “But I do not wish to fight and I should not have kept it from you.” There, as close to an apology as he could offer. Max felt a sudden, unexplainable need to touch her, so he reached, gently turning her face to look at him. “Would you like to hear about my conversation with Giovanni or are you going to pout until dinner?”

[catherinestuart]

maximiliians​:

He wanted to scream that he had not started the violence, he wanted to make her understand that she deserved better than this from her family, that she should not bend again and again for someone who did not give her a second thought. But Maximilian did not yell and they’d had variations of this argument before. He wondered which would be the last time. He wondered why he kept fighting with her when she seemed so determined to blindly serve, when this was supposed to be just a political arrangement, when he wasn’t supposed to care– “Enough, Catherine,” his voice was like ice. “The diplomatic channels remain open, and I am committed to peace. However I will continue to defend my home against violent invaders, regardless of who they might be.” His eyes remained distant, hard, his tone even. There was more he could say, a counterpoint to each and every point of hers, but he’d made those arguments before and she did not seem to understand. Max sighed, running his hand across his face. “I didn’t ask for this,” quieter, and more like himself. “Look, I trust you, alright? Even when we disagree, I trust you - do you understand?” Unspoken - do not make me regret that. 

she wanted to scoff in anger, but settled in turning her chin away from him completely. catherine quieted, and it was a welcome silence, she already knew that the next weeks and months will not be nearly as peaceful. “you did.” — ask for it, as it were. to the princess, being monarch meant embracing all aspects of the position and not just enjoy the comforts. however, she did not elaborate her thoughts further. “well, if you really did trust me then you would’ve told me something about your meeting with arnauld d’orleans, or maybe something about your cousin sending prussian troops to berlin.” did he really trust her? it hardly looked so. “you said once that we shouldn’t keep secrets from each other... i might be wrong, but those certainly look like secrets that you’ve kept from me.”