A Royal Hoinom Problem

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Imperial Kingdom of Hôinôm | Fein, 1595

It was 1595. The war had raged on too long but was now over. Unfortunately the side James wife backed was not quite successful. James in prison was scared , what would happen? Would he be found guilty? What was his future? . He had tried not to get involved in the civil war as much as possible, he just wanted to make sure his little boys were safe.

The Goldecian government was now concerned , one of their princes was in danger and they had 2 young citizens who needed help. They decided something needed to be done, they had tried to get the kids out before and James for safety but it had been too late once they realised they had a problem. A message was sent from the Prime Minister:
To the government of Hoinom

We write to you today with regards to Mr James Lloyd-Jones-Lâm, Peter Phúc Lloyd-Jones-Lâm,Estelle Quý Lloyd-Jones-Lâm and Mrs Tuyêt Lloyd-Jones-Lâm. We write today asking you to come to the negotiating table in neutral territory that we may discuss a deal over our future relations and the safety and security of members of our royal family. We would seek to establish a basis on which we have future relations and ties that benefit both our peoples. But for this to happen we need to ensure the safety and security of our citizens.

We would like to discuss arrangements to transfer Peter Phúc Lloyd-Jones-Lâm and Estelle Quý Lloyd-Jones-Lâm to Goldecia to live with relatives in the palace. We believe since they are children of the royal family this is the most appropriate setting as this would place them in the care of the family that very love and care about them. Furthermore we would like to discuss a possible deal in regards to James and Tuyet that could see them have freedom in return for conditions. We understand if you desire they do not oppose your government or want them involved in politics and suggest maybe these could be part of the terms of such a deal and diplomatic settlement of the issue. We would be open to negotiations in regards to helping with the rebuilding of your nation and society through our Foreign Aid Programme and even possibly a deepening of trade ties which we believe would benefit both our nations. We would like to meet with you to discuss in more detail in a neutral territory. We very much hope for a positive resolution to this issue for both our governments and nations.

Yours sincerely Marianne Stewart Adler

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Mandavine Union | Septem, 1595

Vàn Quang Dinh, former ambassador in Kortoa, became Hoinomese Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1590, serving already for two Prime Ministers, Vuong Hùu Ngôc and Thuong Thành Minh. A veteran diplomat without previous diplomatic experience, Minister Vàn focused his job as top diplomat in the main priorities during the conflict, mostly the isolation of General Lê Công Thuân's government, diplomatic support in the conflict with Tieguo, and negotiating financial, economic and humanitarian aid to Hôinôm. However, with the conflict far from over but without active fighting, it was maybe time to give a bit more of attention to other issues.

One of those issues were the future of Goldecian national James Lloyd-Jones, married to Princess Lâm, who were currently under arrest. Although reestablishing relations with Goldecian government seemed inevitable at some point, it did not seem an easy issue to solve, but Thuong Thành Minh's government conceded to meet Goldecian representatives to discuss this problem. However, it was still not a priority for Hoinomese government, as the main focus of Minister Vàn Quang Dinh's last diplomatic tour -which included HLE, Nyland and Millerainia before arriving to the Mandavine Union- had been to find funding for the reconstruction of Hôi Luỳên and other towns affected by the conflict.

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Felix Underhill made his way to Quentin where he met Tzion Wassermann upon entry who had also been in pre-meetings with Hoinom. They met at the State Departments modern headquarters.It was a nice sunny day in Quentin as was usual during this time of the year but they would be indoors today. Felix Underhill was looking smart in his dark blue suit , a trademark of his image in the press. He walked into the lobby where he saw Tzion and Minister Vàn. He approached shaking his hand. The group then proceeded after greetings to one of the side meeting rooms. Once in the room after drinks had been ordered they got started. Felix started "How is James and his sons. We are very much interested in their welfare?" .

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"Nice to meet you, Mr. Underhill", Minister Vàn Quang Dinh said. "I hope we will be able to correct...the mistakes of the past".

"As you were probably informed", Vàn answered, "Mr. Lloyd-Jones and the Princess are currently under arrest, as they are facing serious charges. It is certainly an unexpected situation for them, as you may imagine, but they are being treated well. The children are under the supervision of a relative in Hôi Luỳên, and certainly they are as well as they can be. It is our priority to offer the kids the best well-being we are able to, as they are not part of this unfortunate situation".

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Mr Underhill replied " I understand that and am happy that the children are safe. My job here today is to settle on a solution to suit both parties , the Goldecian Royal Family and your government. What we propose is perhaps a pardon of some sort and agreement not to get into politics of the nation or back legitimacy of current government and monarch. I am certain we could get the royals to agree to that as this unfortunate situation needs to end and at the end of the day they really didn't want to get involved on one side or the other if they could help it. At the end of the day having spoken with James many times in the past his loyalty was to all Hoinomese and it pained him that the country he loved and considered a 2nd home was so divided. Hopefully today we can come to some arrangement that facilitates this and helps both sides reconcile.In terms of relations we would like fully normal relations going into the future, there is no sense in conflict between our nations"

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"It is our wish to build more constructive relations between our nations in the coming future as well", Minister Vàn Quang Dinh said. "However, as you may underestand, I can not give your government assurances about the future of the children, as it is role of our government to decide on such issues".

"And while we have the will to find a solution, which is not only the best for our diplomatic relations but for the children as well", Minister Vàn continued, "it is certainly a complicated issue - and find a solution will not be that easy, unfortunately. As you may know, our government is facing right much more serious problems regarding the future of our nation. And we are certainly constrained by what is possible legally and what is possible politically".

"Technically speaking", Vàn said, "there can not be legally a pardon until the trial -and certainly there should be a trial-, and that may take still some time. Not too long, as we are trying to solve the situation as soon as possible, but it can not be done in one day, obviously. Regarding the political side, I am forced to ask your government to have discretion and secrecy in any negotiation regarding this issue, as the future of Mister Jones and the Princess may be controversial in our country".

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Underhill listened to the diplomat as he responded. He understood their dilemma, politics was a complicated beat to negotiate. He decided to put an offer on the table , he knew he couldn't do anything about helping Jones except to help his defence and ensuring he is okay in custody. He said "I understand , it is indeed a very difficult situation. Can we have a guarantee that Mr Jones have access to Goldecian counsel and visits. This would give our royal family confidence that he is indeed being treated right and with full rights. In regards to the children can we make sure the royal family have the right to visit as family until a permanent resolution is found. I think we can all agree its important to have access to all family during these trying times.We 'd in response like to develop an aid package into Hoinom to encourage investment into Hoinom and help with rebuilding of infrastructure through our foreign aid funds. This would benefit your nation very much."

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"Mr. Lloyd-Jones has the right to choose the legal defense that he wants to represent him", Minister Vàn Quang Dinh replied. "Besides that, the visits that he may recive would be limited under his current pre-trial imprisonment, as any other prisoner in his legal situation, as you may understand. In any case, my Ministry is willing to cooperate with the Goldecian representatives to arrange those visits".

"Regarding the children", Vàn continued, "the children are under the supervision of a relative. As you may understand, we are trying to have them isolated as much as it is possible from this process, as they are too young to understand it. However, under the current circumstances, I must say that it is not possible for them, neither legally nor politically, to leave the country. In any case, we hope this situation is solved positively as soon as possible".

"Your offer is generous and welcomed", Minister Vàn replied. "Such help would do a great help to our nation and certainly we hope that Goldecian-Hôinôm relations could be restored as soon as possible and a more constructive relationship could be build in the coming future. However", he continued, "for good or for bad, much of the situation does not exactly depend on the will of our government, although we are willing to cooperate as much as possible under the current circumstances".

"In any case", Vàn continued, "I will give orders to my ministry to have a permanent diplomatic communications until this problem is solved. We are willing to assist in any activity that Goldecian representatives may require to do in our country as consequence of what we discussed above".

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Mr Underhill listened to the Hoinom representitive. He considered the best options so he came up with a proposal regarding access to children "Could we possibly for the royals let the grandparents see the children by visiting when it is safe to do so? They accept there may be certain security arrangements involved. They have no qualms which it would be. I understand the safety of the children being paramount. The royal family feel regular contact with the Goldecian side of the family like they had before is important to the children and wish to have some form of communication remain.As for the permanent diplomatic communications we definitely believe that it is the best way forward. We could also arrange for some aid to help regions most affected by the war so that Hoinomese shall be able to get back on their feet such as replacement of power sources if they were destroyed, help with infrastructure or providing of supplies temporarily where food shortages exist. "