Captain Blake's Home Archive

She sighed and shifted uncomfortably. Her hands tangled into the apron strings and struggled to untie before they slipped free. The garment dropped and she shifted again, curling up. The apron on the seat, it no longer draped over the round shape. Her gown was almost too tight, showing that she was a bit bigger than the former garment allowed, but nothing blatant. Obviously other parts were bigger too, and her face was puffy in a way that pregnant women puffed. Her feet were puffy too, but it hardly bothered her since she preferred being barefoot.

And then Camilla snored lightly, cheeks ruddy and lips parted.

Cam slept until the younger of the two boys climbed onto the couch and snuggled up to her, "Momomomomom. *Wet raspberry.*" The elder boy mimicked the younger, then went, "Dadadadada! *Delighted grunt before lifting a bare foot and dropping it.*" Camilla yawned sleepily, hugged her younger boy and said, "What is this? Is our home being invaded by imps?" She lifted the boy's leg and pretended to bite his chunky thigh, causing him to laugh riotously and wriggle free.

She let him go and lifted herself off the cushion, launching after the elder boy and scooping him up to get his belly, then deposited the child near his adoptive father. She knelt then and gave a sleepy smile to her husband, "I thought you had a busy day, darling?"

"Mmm, I was trying to get some work done too. In the kitchen. Did I doze off again in my chair?" She asked and rubbed at her back, arching a bit and causing a seam to strain. "I need to have some gowns altered but I am so tired. But never too tired for this." She gestured toward them all, then joined them on the floor. She pulled the younger to her and wrapped her arms around him, setting her chin on his downy thatch of curls that had darkened to am auburn color, like his mother. The chubby boy gave a scrunchy smile, showing off his tiny teeth.

Little Devrin looked the same but was a slight bit bigger than his twin, and he was definitely going to be a trouble maker when he got older. He was currently going red in the face as he strained, and tooted loud against Blake. His brother giggled and Camilla tried so hard to keep a straight face. "Oh my."

Then he got up and toddle-ran out of the room, feet loud in the hallway as gleeful giggles erupted - thump-thump-thump-thump!!

The younger one giggled and toddled after dada, prompting Camilla to chuckle and follow after. The little cherub darted in front of Blake's legs after he had opened the door and burbled. Camilla stopped behind her husband and peered curiously over his shoulder, eyes upon Naoki first and then the other. She smiled and reached to grab the two cherubs to take them back to the nursery. She hoisted the younger first as the toddler stuffed his hammy fist into his mouth. She extracted the older from Blake.

She was still kind of... feeling burned after what her cousin had said, so she was a bit more reserved, only smiling slightly and hesitant before turning and quietly tending to her sons.

"Why ever for?" she wondered out loud as she finished getting the twins ready for bed, putting fresh nappies on them and then tucking them in for their nap. Her eyebrow was up in obvious bafflement, especially given that she had only heard of Isra just recently through Jun. "Did she say why?"

She sighed, hoping this whole thing wasn't about the shameful business that happened at the luncheon, gossip was pretty wild. "I'll talk to her... You should come too... just in case." she said kind of flatly, not wanting to be rude either way. She headed in the direction of the parlor and stopped about halfway into the room, curtsied out of habit and then stood with her hands clasped together, raspy voice saying, "I am Camilla, and I understand you wish to speak to me."

The princess looked rather serious and wary, somewhat tired... She hadn't stopped to pull on a courtly gown, which meant she was not out to impress. The gown she wore was not fancy or brand new, but nor was it old. There were grass stains midway up the skirt, and the hands that were clasped together were calloused. She regarded the two with guarded caramel eyes as she waited for a reply from either.

"I have no idea."

Blake answers Camilla's barrage of questions. Maybe it was relevant information he should have gotten but he was somewhat overwhelmed. He follows her into the sitting room and guides her into a sofa across from the high lady. When Naoki reveals her purpose in being here his jaw drops. Then he quickly snaps it shut. This was something on a scale he was in no way fit to deal with. So he decides to stay quiet and let Camilla handle this one. Like it or not she was the one who understood politics on some level. He was still just a ships Captain at heart.

Nodding quietly, Naoki is somewhat surprised that her understanding of House Eremae was inaccurate but opts not to say anything further on the matter. It ought to be understandable enough, she thinks, considering how many name changes have occurred. As Camilla mentions her sons, however, Naoki nods more vigorously, intending to imply that she had been informed of such, and she wouldn’t really be here if not for that.

“The Usque?” Naoki raises an eyebrow at the barrage of inquiries, apparently caught off guard. Naoki had come into this conversation under the assumption that Camilla had already been told- perhaps by Renaux, what there is to know about the events following the coup, and thought that she could jump directly to her own questions. However, it seems like the poor woman is starved for information, and Naoki feels obligated to oblige, even though it really shouldn’t be her responsibility to tell Camilla these things.

After taking a moment to consider, Naoki begins, “Allow me to preface as such. In regards to your questions, there is a lot that I know, and a lot that I do not know. I will attempt to answer your questions as best I can, but realize that the scope of my knowledge is limited, as scrying deterrents have been implemented, and I have had… problems inserting spies.”

After allowing her a moment to process that, Naoki continues, voice low and heavy, “Unfortunately, I don’t have very much good news to offer.There was… a few months ago at this point, a large battle in The Usque. It involved at least two dragons, and there was a fair amount of fire involved. … And by that, I mean that my scouts saw the smoke billowing from miles and miles away, outside the border. … I would hypothesise that a portion of The Usque was burned down during that battle.”

“The people of Medan…” Naoki trails off, considering for a moment how to best choose her words.

“The people of Medan live, for the most part, but that’s about it. Shortly following the coup, a large group of refugees escaped and made their way to Isra. There, they were received warmly and have since settled in well. However, for those that did not manage to escape, things seem somewhat grim. The new government is- as I hear, highly totalitarian. I have heard secondhand of slavery, unjust imprisonment, and torture. … The rumors are much worse.”

“Additionally, I am aware that a figure called ‘Empress Jill’ has replaced Zephidel. I know nothing of her or how she came to power, only that she is currently. If you have any specific questions, or would like me to elaborate…” Naoki shrugs slightly in what she intends to be an apologetic and sympathetic manner. This isn’t what she came here to do, but if she can tell Camilla what she’d like to know, it seems as if Naoki is willing to.