Diplomatic Tensions (Under Editing)

Salif Bakar II

Salif Bakar III

Prince Bakar did his best to maintain an image of composure after his meeting with Empress Zhou Li had ended. Masking his anger was something that he had become accustomed to after years in the complex field of foreign diplomacy. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and continued to proceed down the long and extensive hallway that led to the guest commons of the Xi Imperial Palace.

Koulibaly and four spear wielding troops of the royal guard escorted him to a large and intricately decorated golden double door. The four soldiers remained in the hallway as Prince Bakar pushed the doors open and entered with Koulibaly following closely behind him. The guest commons of the Xi palace were as luxurious as they were vast, the walls were painted in a bright and beautiful jade green, with intricate gold patterns littered across them. The floors were carpeted with soft, jade green silk rugs that bore the same intricate gold designs as the walls. The guest commons were large enough to house up to 100 people quite comfortably and presented a very impressive image overall, it did well to show off the wealth held by the Zhou family.

Prince Bakar and Koulibaly proceeded down one of the corridors and found Menna standing at a doorway that led into one of the many lounges within the imperial guest commons. He was flanked by two of Koulibaly's men, both of whom towered over the young servant boy. They quickly snapped to stand at attention when they saw the Crown Prince and their commander approach. Menna spoke up.

"G-Good e-evening m-my prince, I-I'm glad to see that you have returned safely." He stuttered out while bowing his head in respect. "Lord Ramses and Lord Massinissa are inside, awaiting your return." He used his hands to gesture to the room behind him as he stood aside to allow his future king room to enter.

"Thank you Menna, I'll see them now." Prince Bakar gave the young servant a soft smile and reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately.

"M-My Prince!" Menna exclaimed, feeling slightly embarrassed from his gesture.

Prince Bakar grinned at Menna and gave him a pat on the shoulder "Come on Menna, lighten up a bit, I'm not going to bite your head off you know." He slung an arm over the smaller male's shoulders "Besides, you don't want to end up like old man Koulibaly there do you ?" He said, jerking a thumb in the direction of the guard commander.

This earned a chuckle from Menna and caused the two soldiers standing guard to snicker, however they quickly fell silent when their captain shot them one of his famous glares.

"Would you like for me to bring you some palm wine my prince ?" Menna asked, doing his best to suppress his laughter.

Prince Bakar let out a heavy sigh "No Menna, water instead. I have a feeling that this is going to be a long evening." He said with a weary voice, giving Menna a soft smile.

Menna's such a good lad, always so thoughtful. Prince Bakar mused, he always manages to lift my spirits. He gave Menna another pat on the shoulder and entered the lounge with Koulibaly following close behind him.

The lounge was a room of reasonable size, it like every other room in the Xi palace had its' walls painted in Jade green, with gold patterns. In the centre was a coffee table that was surrounded by three armchairs and a large sofa to each side. Across from the entrance, on the other side of the room, was a doorway that led to a balcony that gave a view of the palace's water gardens.

Massinissa was seated in the armchair at the left side of the table while Ramses leaned against the doorway, gazing at the sunset. Four spear wielding Askiyan soldiers were also in the lounge, one standing at each corner of the room.

Massinissa noticed Prince Bakar's arrival and got ready to stand before the prince waved him off.

"Don't bother Massa." he said as he plopped down onto the sofa. Koulibaly stood behind him, quiet and vigilant.