A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Informal Audience Hall, Imperial Seat,
12pm noon, Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto

"Welcome, Mr. Rosenfeld," said the Empress. "We trust you had no problem finding us?"

The tall Vrassan, intellectual and teacher Elliot Rosenfeld, who had recently defeated Her Imperial Majesty in the Kalistani National Open Go Tournament entered the room and stood before the seated Empress, with his head lowered respectfully. "I had no trouble finding the Imperial Seat if that is what Her Imperial Majesty meant."

"Indeed," said the Empress. She looked the man over, and then invited him to sit opposite her at the table. It was a Sunday, and she had cleared her entire afternoon's schedule for this audience. It had been more than a month since Rosenfeld had defeated her, and she was very excited to see him and talk with him again.

"We hope you do not mind, but we have asked our Aunt to attend this Audience with us today. She shall arrive momentarily."

"If it pleases Her Imperial Majesty, I have no objection," said Rosenfeld.

"And, all of that stuff about the protocol, we can leave all that. We would like you to speak to us directly," said the Empress. "And don't listen to our Aunt when she comes in here and tries to enforce it. It is our desire that this meeting shall be truly informal."

"As Her Imperial Majesty wishes," said Rosenfeld again, unable to fully comply though he might wish to. Just then, the Princess of the Empire, Nicolette Ananto-Collins swiftly entered the large, empty room, politely bowed to the Empress, and then turned to shake Rosenfeld's hand. He stood up and bowed his head.

"Alright Mr. Rosenfeld, let's have a look at you," she said. She looked at him for a second and did not move.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness," said Rosenfeld.

"Yes, I am afraid it is," she said with a slightly audible sigh. She then invited him to sit back down, and pulled over a chair to the table.

"Mr. Rosenfeld," said the Empress, "Would you like some tea?"

Rosenfeld, who had been up most of the previous night, unable to sleep in his hotel room in Kaliburg due to the loud music in the club across the street that was playing thumping RF all night long, realized he might need something stronger than tea. "I would prefer coffee, but I can get it, if Her Imperial Majesty would tell me where the pot is."

The Empress looked at the Princess, who raised her eyebrow. The Empress then turned back to Rosenfeld and said, "We do not have coffee here at the Imperial Seat, but our tea is very excellent. It is Earl Gray, flavored with bergamot. Quite refreshing." She stood up and moved to the counter where Rosenfeld now saw a full tea service, a detail he had not known before.

Rosenfeld was a bit disappointed by the lack of coffee, but Earl Gray did have caffeine in it, so he reluctantly acquiesced. "I suppose tea will do then, Your Majesty." The comment drew a little glare from the Princess, but Rosenfeld did not notice. The Empress heated the water, scooped the loose tea into the cup, put in the strainer, and when the water was done, poured the boiling water over the strainer to steep the tea leaves. She then brought the platter with the three tea cups to the table, presented one to Rosenfeld, the second to her Aunt, and the last was for her. She opened a small jar with a very fine brown powder in it, and scooped a half of a small teaspoon of it into her tea. Her aunt waved her hand to pass, and then she asked Rosenfeld if he would like some.

"What is that," asked Rosenfeld.

"It is opium," said the Empress. "It's customary to add it."

Rosenfeld, who was blowing on his tea to cool it smiled, "Opium? You have got to be putting me, on Your Majesty," to which the Princess smiled, but in a way that suggested she was a touch annoyed. This time Rosenfeld noticed, and smiled back. He could tell she was a little agitated, but had no idea why.

"No, its processed raw opium," answered the Empress matter of factly. "We have the Growers Syndicate prepare is especially for us. They take the latex and more or less dehydrate it completely, so it can be powdered, and then consumed. It adds flavoring, but the effects are quite mild."

Rosenfeld squinted his eyes at the Empress, and kind of cocked his head to the side with a smile, as if to say, "really?" But then he straightened himself up and said "Thanks, Your Majesty but I think opium is the last thing I need right now. But I appreciate your kind offer." Referring to the Empress as Your Majesty for the third time was enough for the Princess.

"Mr. Rosenfeld," she said politely but a little sharply. "I am sure they went over the rules of protocol with you before you were permitted to enter this room. Please observe them."

Elliot looked at the Empress who had her back to the Princess as if he were saying, "what did I do wrong.". The Empress shot him a look and a smile that seemed to say "I know, I know, what a pain, but, go ahead and answer her." In reality, the Empress was waiting to see how he would respond.

"Madame," he said. "I was ordered by Her Imperial Majesty to treat this as an informal audience," he started.

"I see," she said. "You were no doubt given special instructions by my niece here?"

"I was, Madame," he responded, not exactly passing the buck, but explaining the extenuating circumstances. The Princess shot a look to Carolina, who smiled slightly and nodded once. The Princess thought for a moment. "Mr. Rosenfeld, please observe the protocol..." she started, "and use your discretion with regard to how far you bend it. She is your Empress, and when you violate the protocol, you disrespect the office." And then she added, "... and the law."

"Aye Your Highness," said Rosenfeld. "I will try to be more mindful." He looked at the Empress, who gave him another pitiful smile, as if to say she was sorry.

"Our Aunt is a very traditional woman," said the Empress, trying not to insult Nicolette, but signaling mild disagreement with the letter of the law thinking of the Princess of the Empire. "But perhaps she is correct. This is our first meeting. It is our hope it will not be the last."

Rosenfeld accepted her softy apology. "We appreciate Her Imperial Majesty's sentiment and will do as we are required by the law. But what would Her Imperial Majesty have to meet more often with me about? I assumed this had something to do with the Tournament."

The Empress sat up, almost as if she had never considered the question herself. Why would she want to meet with him? Why did she want to meet with him this time? She scrambled for an answer, suddenly flustered. She took a sip of her tea and then responded. "Well, we were going over the notes for our match... and... that battle at the end, that sealed things for us... We should like to try that one again with you, if you are willing. We have been studying it and think we understand what went wrong, and would like you to speak with us and tell us what you were thinking in that moment so we can... rather improve our play."

Rosenfeld sat up. The answer was unexpected, and certainly a more mundane request that he was preparing to hear in that moment. "Her Imperial Majesty wants to play go?" he asked incredulously.

"Well..." stammered the Empress. "... yes, it is our desire to play go and to learn how and why you did those things in the match."

Rosenfeld couldn't believe that the Empress had asked him to fly all the way back to Kaliburg to play go. "Surely Her Imperial Majesty could find any number of players here in the capital to play go with. Why not ask any one of them? I am sure it would have been far more convenient, especially for Her Imperial Majesty, to do that. But I can't just, you know... uh drop everything to fly to Kaliburg to play go whenever she summons me."

The Empress was taken aback. She was unaccustomed to people refusing her. "We could command you, Mr. Rosenfeld, but would prefer that you would want to play a rematch willingly. Were we not an acceptable opponent?"

"It's..." he laughed. "Your Majesty..."

Princess Nicolette immediately interrupted, "Mr. Rosenfeld!"

He shot her a glance and she had a very stern and frighteningly beautiful look on her face. Though her dogmatic adherence to the tradition of the Protocol was incomprehensible to him, he could tell she was dead serious. These people were crazy, he immediately thought. But then shoved that idea out of his mind.

"I would say to Her Imperial Majesty, that she was one of the finest opponents I have faced yet. She was graceful yet daring. She attacked confidently and defended bravely. She never backed down but her touch was so light it was almost difficult for me to even approach her structures. But I have a life, in Razar. I have a job. I have students. I can't just come to the capital and play go every time Her Imperial Majesty wishes a game, whether she commands me or asks me and I comply willingly, and to expect that from a subject is itself quite disrespectful."

The Empress sat up straight. "Well, will you consent to a single game then?" she asked, more frustrated than sad that he didn't agree immediately to visit her more often.

Rosenfeld thought for a moment. He looked at the two women each in turn. The Empress had renewed hope in her eyes, while the Princess of the Empire shot daggers at him from hers. And his heart melted a bit. He nodded slightly and said "I will play a rematch against Her Imperial Majesty."

The Empress broke into smiles and stood up immediately. Both Rosenfeld and Princess Nicolette jumped to their feet, as protocol dictated. "Good," she answered. "Give us a couple minutes to get the board and the stones. We shall return. Meanwhile, if you require more tea, our Aunt will get it for you. We will be right back." And with that she exited the room leaving Princess Nicolette and Elliot Rosenfeld alone.

"Your Highness, I did not intend to be rude. It was just... unexpected... that's all."

"Will you need more tea, Mr. Rosenfeld?" she asked curtly.

"Your highness, you shouldn't be serving me," he answered. "That is beneath you. Let me get it."

Her face softened in that instant and she forced a little smile. "You have no idea, do you?"

"About what?'' he asked.

"You don't know what this informal audience means to her."

"To whom, Madame?" he asked, not following.

"Who else?" she asked.

"Oh you mean the Empress?" he said.

"Yes, idiot," laughed the Princess. She didn't mean it in a cruel way. But she has always been rougher around the edges than her more refined relatives. "She's been waiting for this meeting since she lost to you in the tournament."

"Wow," he said. "Is she that upset about losing? I mean what was I supposed to do? I'm not going to throw the game, after all, and besides, she beat me on points. I won on a technicality. She knows it and so do I. So what? Is she gonna try to take revenge for her bruised ego in a rematch here? What's the story."

The Princess stepped closer to Rosenfeld, in case the Empress should burst back into the room unexpectedly. "No, you fool. She's flirting with you."

Rosenfeld laughed. "Yeah right," he said. "Excuse me your highness, but I didn't just fall off the turnip truck last night, you know."

Suddenly they both could hear her approaching from down the hall. Was it, singing? The both listened again. Sure enough, the Empress was singing, albeit quite out of tune, so much so in fact that neither of them could make out the song.

"I know, she's not a good singer," said Nicolette, with her first genuine smile of the afternoon. "But before she comes in here, if she wasn't just giddy as a schoolgirl that you are here today and have agreed to spend time with her, what would cause her to do that? All this month its been Elliot this and Elliot that. She's fascinated by you. Why do you think I am here?"

Rosenfeld realized that it had never occurred to him to ask why the Princess was here. "I just thought the law required it,"

"No, Mr. Rosenfeld, she is the law. I was asked to serve as a sort of chapperone. She doesn't talk to a lot of men who aren't bowing and scraping and asking her for things. So, I'm what you might call a baby sitter of sorts."

"But she's a grown woman," said Rosenfeld, incredulously.

"Yes a grown woman with no experience in men. I'm here to make sure she doesn't completely blow it with you. So be cool and be kind to her. You'll find that whatever you two end up as, she's the person you will want to know. Trust me on that."

"Well, Madame, what do you think about me?"

"I do not," answered the Princess. "But I am not Carolina."

"I mean am I acceptable for her to be friends with?" he asked kind of haughtily, as if he was slightly offended that he was being interviewed for a job he didn't know he applied for.

"Not yet. Keep disregarding the protocol though and it won't really matter." she answered, losing her friendly vibe immediately as the Empress re-entered the room.