Gabriel seemed a little confused as to why Enma was smiling at him initially, perhaps it was because of perceived kindness? In any case he returned her look but with a neutral expression to represent that he had no personal investment in the situation. Since nobody had said anything to him directly he would remain near the room's entrance, silently making sure that nobody was skulking around outside or attempting to come in without authorization. When the conversation eventually began to concern the GC, he decided to give some form of input.
— They might be fanatics, but they understand who their betters are. And if all notions of sense go to waste, they aren't exactly bulletproof.
Enma's comment about crying cut deep, and Claire couldn't really retaliate since it was completely true. She didn't know what else to do - her title was lost, so was her home and most of her family. Who knew how many DeFrances were left, besides her sister and herself. Her life and future is in the hands of an Outcast who murdered the ship's captain, physically abused and degraded her, addicted her sister to Cardamine and probably acted similar towards her, too. And now she either faces death at the hands of criminals, slavery or a nigh-impossible attempt of overthrowing the Council and rebelling nobles with the support of just one influential Outcast. Of course she couldn't stop herself from crying.
She turned her head towards the armoured man by the entrance, her voice turned quiet and barely audible from a distance.
— I hope you're right, for all our sake.
Claire didn't feel hungry at all, despite having barely eaten the past few days. It was probably the stress and exhaustion that threw her body out of order. Even then, she likely wouldn't be happy with Maltese food, knowing that these people were mainly pirates and probably had meals fitting for savages.
— I don't think I'll be eating much, if at all. I just need rest.
She grasped the blanket tighter, expecting some sort of retort.
Zoe had received the message to meet up with Enma quite late. Or rather, she'd not noticed it in time. This lead to her arriving slightly out of breath as she'd done her best to arrive as quickly as possible. At least she'd been ready to leave though wearing fairly casual clothing, her worn white jacker over a simple shirt. Luckily on an Outcast installation and with her background she would always carry at least a small handgun though it was in a traditional handgun.
Unlike the man she saw when scanning the room though, she didn't feel the need to carry anything heavier. After him she noticed Enma and gave her a warm smile before her expression was replaced with obvious questioning. The woman wrapped in a blanket on the couch looked absolutely miserable and uncomfortable and she wondered who she might be. A friend of Enma certainly if she was concerned with having her comforted like that. A real friend of Enma?
— I'm sorry, I got here as fast as I could.
She hoped Enma wouldn't be upset with her arriving late or anything else she could find for that matter. Though she didn't know what that could be as she also had no idea why she was here in the first place. Not knowing anyone but her... employer in the room added to her discomfort and feeling out of place. And hadn't she heard the woman under the blanket deny food? Enma hadn't called for her to deal with that had she? She seriously hoped she didn't.
The latest entry into the room came as a mild surprise, but he didn't do much besides turn his head to verify who it was. The manager kept a regularly updated roster of personnel, so all Gabriel had to do was cross-reference people he saw with their relevant group profiles. A process of verification that was simple enough so far as identifying colleagues was concerned. Claire's protest against eating was understandable but not ideal. If she wasn't strong enough to keep pace when being relocated in a high stress situation, then she was putting everyone else's lives at stake. The more she trusted him, the better. So he'd make yet another conscious choice to ensure operational efficiency. Pressing a finger against his left thigh, which seemed to cause a hidden compartment up pop open, it had four slots for magazines, but one of them had a fruit bar in it instead. The sound of him pulling the plastic wrapped snack free was clearly audible, and the rich smell of raspberry and blueberry even more so when he offered it to Claire.
— If you fail to take care of yourself, you'll just end up with more reasons to feel stressed.
He was quite persuasive for someone that typically dealt with people from a distance and with a high powered rifle. But then again his profession required a certain kind of focus and attention, you couldn't just be rash and aggressive. At least not unless you actually intended to die early. He also felt his boss understood what he was trying to do by now.
What was that with Bretonian accent sying that they are late. Of course Zoe... Well, it could be worse, she used capable of aiming and doing some generic work. Hopefully, she won't be harmful or say anything stupid. Rising her hand, letting Zoe know that she's noticed, while keep dealing with something more important. Then again, Gabriel is getting more successful at calming down Claire than she does, this is getting somewhat annoying, but there's no way she can dismiss personnel during this operation.
— Yeah, Gab, but I sort of promised to not cause trouble. Pointing guns will clearly cause some diplomatic incident and somewhat fail the purpose of going vie Kusari anyway. I know you are good at that, but please do not escalate the situation without a real need. Basically act in self-defense, if something bad is to happen.
Enma is getting a beep at her pocket device, scrolling it carefully for a long time, reading something, Zoe would just stay there and wait because things this seemed to be more important. Nodding to herself, she's forwarding a recent message from GC with movement plans to one of the displays. Leaning back, she would look at Claire, hoping for her attention.
— Looks like we are having a lot of options. I would choose one with the pit stop at Ainu. Then either Tohoku or New Tokyo, I'll see..., you should study it as well, I might need some feedback. As for the dinner, your loss.
Enma then turns back to Zoe, finally finding some time for her. She would sound with a fair share of neglect, clearly not considering Zoe to be a valuable asset at this point in time. She's open to considering for it to change, but as of now, Zoe gave her not a lot of reasons for reconsideration.
— This is Her Highness Claire DeFrance, Gallic princess. I am serving at her pleasure.
Loyola said, sounding sarcastic. Though, it was partially true.
— Please bring me snacks from a table over there and bring some cooled drinks from the fridge. Then my neck hurts, you can massage, right? If not, better not try. We will depart once everyone is ready, I don't know, maybe a day or to.
Enma leans back at the sofa again, doing for her device she would start playing some Kusari animation series at one of the screens, beside one with GC plans. Crossing her legs and generally looking for relaxation, waiting for Zoe to bring stuff.
— Anyone else watching Kusari animations? I hooked up on those when I was a teenager. I even learned some words from there, so it wasn't all worthless. And that show seems to be good anyway, it's only a third episode, so you did not miss a lot.
Hearing a Bretonian accent made Claire feel concerned. She was never directly in the presence of Bretonians, and she imagined they'd have a lot of hatred for Gallic nobility. Then again, what was a Bretonian doing, working for the Outcasts? She nodded after being introduced, saying "Bonjour" and was then interrupted by the man offering a fruit bar.
She uncoiled her arms from under the blanket and took it, in order to avoid being rude to what seemed to be the only welcoming person in the room. Only then did the smell of fruit take berries take over, surprising Claire with the quality of the snack.
She slowly snacked on the bar while listening to Enma, reading through the communication as she explained on what to do next. She kept looking at the travel details as the conversation trailed on, but the foreign names of locations and points of interest in systems she's never traveled through before was way too confusing.
— What's inside Tohoku? I've never heard of that system besides you mentioning it once and in one of the maps here. It doesn't seem that they mention it at all in their communication.
Perhaps it wasn't the best time to ask that with Enma now watching northerner cartoons, but she figured it's best to focus on the task at hand.
She should have been far more focused on the unexpected presence of Gaul royalty on this hidden Outcast installation. But her focus was on Enma and her request. Was she for real? That's what she requested her presence for?
She clenched her teeth for a moment and then drew her breath in sharply before turning to pick up food and drink as Enma had requested. She put both of it on the table in front of Enma with force before stepping behind her but she couldn't get herself to do anything further. Enma had her fly out all the way here only to serve her snacks and request... a massage? Was she back to step one being treated like a slave?
— This... wasn't what you called me here for, right?
Enma first turned on Zoe, a little annoyed because the girl wasn't doing what she was told. Being tired only get her annoyed much easier. Clearly not seeing what heck is the freaking problem with that sort of payment Zoe gets. Hell, she's a Bretonian and she's allowed to work here, that's an ultimate kindness on its own, and now she dares to double question the orders.
Enma lifts up, grabbing Zoe by the chin, staring at the girl with steal cold eyes. Her voice would fit the look, the only thing that would be off point right now is often messed up hairstyle.
— You are here for the escort mission, it's a real princess and you shall be proud that you are being trusted to participate in something like this. But I am sure that you won't have a problem fulfilling my kind request in full as soon as possible. I think there are no objections,
Enma slightly pushes Zoe's face as she's letting her chin go. It means to show that Bretonian is dismissed and now can go and do what she was told. Loyola then sits right next to Claire, subject of Tohoku and following may be sensitive, so she would love for people to hear it less than anything else. That is naturally denying the princess' personal space and any means to relax properly. Going for that anyway, because of this what she wants.
— Tohoku is a system between Kusari, Sigmas, and Omicrons. it's having one of the most beautiful installations ever built in the sector of Sirius. And the system is beautiful by itself. Sadly the control over it hasn't been established by anyone. There are a not of anomalies and certain alien activity. Strange things to happen there, but it's a good shortcut.
Loyola hugs Claire, pulling up her pocket communicator, showing Claire pictures of Heaven's Gate and surrounding beauty. This is yet another act of absolute denial of Gaul's personal space if there's anything left of it at this point. Though Enma just wants to stay cool with this girl and keep her close, this may be a key to her future policial influence. As Charlotte, as beautiful she is, even despite having a special place in Enma's heart is not workable material.
— At least you will see our sector, Bretonia and Taus are not exactly the places to take good pictures. If we will get not too busy times, there's a tourism potential. I hope we will have a good understanding so that could happen because with Charlotte it was more complicated which got her locked up. It would be a shame if you share your sister's mistakes. As a loyal vassal, I will keep Your Highness safe and in conditions as close to Royal as possible. But there are options, and I really don't want to go on a negative route.
Claire was surprised by her treatment of the Bretonian, dispelling any assumptions that the Bretonian was anyone important. Was she a slave, or just one of her "employees"? She didn't get long to think about it as Loyola got way too close, hugging her.
She glimpsed at the pictures seeing the beautiful Heaven's Gate, but the noble couldn't really focus with the woman so uncomfortably close. Having her nearby reminded her of the first meeting they've had, bringing in anxiety as she tried to ignore it as best she could.
— The negative route? My sister's mistakes? What did she do? I thought you captured her as yet another slave, as with the rest of the Calliope's crew.
Remembering the old communications between them, she could only recall small details. It made her unnaturally upset when she received messages from this woman the first time, with offers to bargain over her sister's livelihood. If only she knew what kind of trouble that would have led to, she would have probably ignored it out-right and requested an assault to intimidate them into returning Charlotte.
And now she's stuck here, about to suffer a similar fate with no one to turn to. She hoped that the man guarding the entrance would intervene, should Loyola start acting the same way as she did on the Belisama.
Loyola is gently embracing Claire, looking at how tense she had become from her words. Enma just wanted this girl to think of the consequences of not being nice, but Her Highness is overreacting as usual. Now she somehow feels a motherly thing, it's weird considering a situation and Enma's personality itself. For her, it's even somehow stunning, though she knew that it was time for her to bear a child to continue the glorious line of her family.
Getting Claire's head on her breast, Enma stroked her gently, something changed in her eyes and for a moment she doesn't even look like a bitсh. Something bright and good has just woken up inside of her, something that Enma is actually trying to avoid to not be weak and vulnerable. For some reason not it feels good and deep inside Enma only hopes that it's a short occasion and she won't actually have that sort of protective feeling towards Claire. Princess meant to be used in the political game, not become a legitimate object of care.
— Shush, I was telling the truth, she is living inside of expensive mountain estate with her beloved Gallic servants. She is having her freedom of movement limited because she never considers me... an actual person. Super arrogant and... You know her better than me, right? Imagine how she behaves in such a situation. I admire her as a person, but it works only one way. I don't mind letting her go if I would have a good reason to, but there wasn't any at the moment.
Kissing a top of Claire's head, Enma thinks what the ***** is she even doing now. That's just like her political career, unpredictable and she does more harm to herself than no enemy ever would. Still, she always feels like she's doing the right thing and abusing her position to torment a poor girl is just not right. Though then again, she can always get into her mood swings.
— I see that you dislike me, even hate to a degree. You better talk it out, I am not a monster, I wish Your Highness the best and just hoping that return of your family to power will improve my position.