It was early January, 1071 when Queen Lavinia gave birth to her and Georgios' 3rd child, a daughter named Xanthe.
Everybody was so happy to see the new born. Her older brother and sister, both toddlers by this point, were also excited to see their new sister. Everything seemed to be going well.
But everything was not as well as it had at first seemed. The kingdom's treasury was still very empty, as Georgios had been funding the repair of some ancient roads. So once again, the council was called.
Everybody knew that the only way to raise money was to call the Estates General. And Steward Xene tried her best to persuade the young king to do so, "Your Majesty, I know that you dislike the idea of calling the Estates General, and I want you to know that we also dislike such an idea. However, we do find it to be necessary at this time. Your causes may be good, but they are depleting the royal coffers, and it is never good for a young kingdom to have no money in its pockets. I urge you to call the Estates General and ask them to give you money. Your people are very loyal, and I'm sure that they would not deny you this request."
Georgios was obstinate, "As I have told you before, I will not take more money from my people! We will live off of what little we have, for now. We have loyal vassals, who would surely send us troops to support us should the need arise. And we have strong allies in Apulia and Croatia. I will not call the Estates General unless it is absolutely necessary to raise funds immediately, and I see no dire need to raise funds quickly at this time. Council dismissed!"
After that meeting, the people of the Morea began to see that their king was indeed just, and they loved him for that.
There was also the concern about expanding the borders of the kingdom. Georgios reasurred his council that for now, conquest was not necessary. His father was the Prince of Butrinto, and even thought Georgios had two half brothers, Isaakios and Alexios, he was still the eldest son of Nikephoros, and his father had not bastardized him in favor of Isaakios, so he was confident that when his father died, he would inherit the principality, thus expanding the borders.
In november, young Princess Theodora, who was only 1, began to show stress symtoms, presumably because she was frustrated about being slow to learn Greek. Georgios and Lavinia were worried for their daughter.
In February, 1072 the roads that Georgios had ordered to be repaired were ready, and trade and travel in the province of Achaia were increased. Although this had few short-term benefits, the long-term benefits were more than worth the investment.
In May of 1073, and emergency council was called. Neither the king, nor any of his councilors, save for Chancellor Helena, new was the meeting was about. When they had all been seated in the "Echo-less Hall" as it was called, she explained to them the nature of the meeting, "You Majesty, lords and ladies of the court, I bring grave news to our beloved kingdom this day. Only yesterday, I received word that our sister-kingdom in the Orthodox Faith, Georgia, had fallen to the heathens of the Volga River. In effect, this reduces the Orthodox kingdoms to Rome, Nubia, and ourselves."
Georgios was shocked, "You mean, there is no one else in the world that shares our faith now?"
"You Majesty has misunderstood me, I believe," Helena replied, "There are now only three Orthodox Kingdoms, but there are many Russian principalities, such as Novgorod, Kiev, and Vladmir, that follow our faith, as well as a few independent counties."
Georgios was somewhat relieved to hear of fellow Orthodox Christians still out there, but he did not like the idea of Georgia being ruled by those Volgan heathens, "Is there anything we can do for our brothers and sisters in Georgia?"
Marshal Petros answered his question, "At the moment, I am afraid not, Sire. Our army is just too small to fight the Volgans and their allies. I doubt that Emperor Konstantinos of Rome would be willing to help, he is too busy bolstering the defenses of his empire to worry about fighting outside his lands."
Georgios wasn't satisfied, "But what about our allies? Apulia and Croatia? Surely Duke Robert and King Stepjan would come to our said!"
Petros shook his head, "I am afraid not, Sire. They are Catholics, and probably do not care or even know about Georgia, and would not likely spend coin and men for her. If we were to fight, it would be alone."
The young king sighed, "Very well. But let it be known that we are going to prepare for war in the future. I want to save up money in the coffers, I want more soldiers trained, I want better armour and weapons developed. I vow upon the honour of my family's name that I will liberate Georgia from the Volgans!"
"Yes, Sire. We shall spread the word at once!"
In July, Princess Theodora was no longer showing signs of stress, and Georgios took this as a sign from God that when he attacked Georgia, it would go well for him. But he knew that it would be many years, many many years, before he would be ready...
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