There is a plan then? on At Home

Nausicaa Scapetello

December 01, 2022 7:05 PM

There is a plan then? by Nausicaa Scapetello

The cafe was... quaint. Nausicaa thought as she took in the surrounding atmosphere. It was thankfully a place that catered to proper, respectable clientele and not just anyone off the street. It was also nearly empty, there was an elderly couple at a table on the far side of the room, two wizards at a table not far off to their left and another witch and wizard at a table not far off to their right. One from each table kept their eyes roving over the front door and the glass windows showing the street beyond. The witch kept her eyes on the couple at the far table while the last wizard kept tabs on the few employees of the business. Amidst all of this, Nausicaa's mother sat across from her at the table.

The young girl thought her mother still looked a bit pale and perhaps showed just a tab bit of exasperation. The healer had cleared her to travel to the U.S. and visit, but perhaps Nausicaa had 'asked' to be taken back home one to many times since her arrival. "I'm sorry Mother," she apologized mostly sincerely, "But this school is a nightmare. Did you know they actually made me ride on a broom? It was humiliating." It didn't seem like her mother thought it was the disaster that it was. She was well aware of the fact that her mother did or at least should have known about it. The fact had been part of one of her early reports on the place.

"Nausicaa," her mother began, but stopped when a witch brought over their tea. It made Nausicaa think again about the tea house she had designed despite interference from certain teammates late in the year. "Thank-you Cecilia," her mother continued to her handmaid, "Everything looks okay?"

"Yes ma'am." the witch bowed slightly, "I tested the batch myself."

"Very good, see that Emilia is not being overwhelmed." With a wave of her hand she dismissed the woman to return to the kitchen where Nausicaa's own maid was also keeping an eye on things. Father wasn't taking any chances apparently, between the goons sitting around them and the two in the kitchen watching over the food preparation, nothing much would happen to mother again while she was here. Nausicaa began to raise the cup to her lips, but a motion from her mother's hand made her pause. "It will not hurt to let it cool a few more moments."

Mother liked her tea as hot as possible, so..? Ah. Nausicaa understood and set her cup back down. If there was something added that perhaps acted a little slower, a few more moments for Cecilia to 'discover it' wouldn't hurt them at all. In the meantime perhaps she could try something from a slightly different angle. "Mother, if you have not come to take me back home, could you at least assure me that Father has some reason for condemning me to such an existence?" She really hoped it wasn't just to hide her away in the middle of nowhere to keep her 'safe' or some such nonsense. True, Father had enemies, but surely other schools could be made as safe with the proper incentive.

A smile crossed Mother's lips, "Good girl. Now you are asking the right questions. It has come to our attention that you may not be perfectly happy at this Sonora School." Nausicaa only responded with a withering look. Her mother's smile continued unaffected. "He does have a reason, and a rather important one. One that he did not wish to trust to owls, one that required the only person he absolutely trusted to deliver. Which is why I am here dear."

Mrs. Scapetello picked up her spoon and idly stirred her tea before tapping her cup three times with it. Cecilia emerged from the kitchen nearly immediately. "Yes Ma'am? What can I do for you?"

Nausicaa noted her mother giving her maid a quick once over before casually responding, "This sugar has been tested?" She gestured at the sugar pot near the middle of the table with her spoon. Nausicaa knew it had been, she'd watched as it had been replaced with some they had brought with them.

"Yes Ma'am." Cecilia replied promptly and then darting quick glances at the goon tables to see if she was missing something that had happened. They paid her no mind.

"Thank-you, that is all." With another wave, Cecilia was once more dismissed back to the kitchen.

Once the help was gone, Mrs. Scapetello picked up her tea and sipped from it without adding anything to it. A slight grimace resulted and she pulled her wand to bring her tea back up to it's 'proper' temperature. "How is yours?" The mother asked her daughter. "Do you need to warm it up?"

Nausicaa was practically 'chomping at the bit' as the lower classes would state, wanting to know what her mother had to say. However, she also knew that there was no rushing the woman and all she could do to get what she wanted was to play along. Mother had all of the cards at the moment. Fine. She could play this game. "It's fine Mother, I prefer it a bit cooler." She picked up her cup and sipped it as well. It was surprisingly good for a place outside of Europe. "You were saying Mother?" a minor prompt wouldn't hurt and was part of the game after all.

2 Nausicaa Scapetello There is a plan then? 1561 1 7

Jolanda Scapetello

December 03, 2022 6:44 PM

There always is dear by Jolanda Scapetello

Signora Scapetello did not like the current situation. It could be possible that she liked it less than her daughter did, and that was mainly because she knew more about it. She also knew that, if she knew her daughter, Nausicaa's feelings about the situation might improve once she learned what Amadeo wanted her to know. Jolanda did not like that at all. She had hoped to keep her daughter out of the family business for at least a little while longer. At least directly out of the family business, there had been no option to keep her out of some things. That was the way of things, and the girl did need to learn how things worked, she was just a bit to eager for a girl her age. That, she supposed, was her father's fault. Amadeo was not one to keep things from his princess.

Ignoring her daughter's very obvious prompt for the moment, Jolanda took another sip of her tea. It had been far to long since she had enjoyed an nice mother-daughter outing. "Is Uncle Franklin treating you alright when you are with him?" Franklin was the 'black sheep' of the family. He hadn't wanted anything to do with the family business and exiled himself to the Americas. Amadeo hadn't liked loosing his brother in such a way, but that did make some things easier. Personally she had never been a big fan of Franklin's, he had no ambition, no real drive to be someone important. If he was happy enough out of their way doing whatever it was that he did, then so be it. As long as he didn't put any crazy ideas into her daughter's head.

"Uncle Franklin is fine Mother." Nausicaa responded and Jolanda could hear the impatience in every tone of the response. The statement alone also betrayed the girl's eagerness to get back onto the topic she wanted to discuss. There had been plenty of complaining about Uncle Franklin in the letters they had received. Now he was 'fine'?

At that moment, the thing finally occured that she had been waiting for. Rosalia, at the table to their left, watched as the other couple at the cafe got up to leave. She gave Jolanda a slight nod once they were out the door. The time had come, Jolanda doubted that the couple had been spying on them and she also doubted that the next patron to the cafe would be either, but it was always better to play things safe when possible.

"Very well Nausicaa. You father has a job for you while you are at school." They had discussed just how much to tell their daughter and decided to keep it as simple as possible. "As you know, your father has associates all over the world. Some he gives orders to, a few he takes orders from, and many that he works along side with." Jolanda could feel her daughter's rapt attention now that they were talking about something 'important'. It was good, but at the same time she still knew it might kill off some of her little girl that remained. It would turn her more into the woman that she would need to be someday, but there was a motherly part of her that wasn't quite ready for that to happen just yet. It was sentimental and unhelpful, the rational part of her mind did it's best to eradicate it.

"A few years ago one of those associates attempted something foolish. He attempted to use a school in Greece as a short-cut towards some of his goals. It did not go the way he would have liked." She paused and enjoyed the face that her little Nausicaa made expressing the obvious contempt for someone trying to find an easy way, instead of using the 'proper' way. "That associate has fallen onto hard times and lost some freedoms he previously enjoyed. Having heard about all of this, your father began his own investigation to ensure that nothing led back to him or us. The people dealing with this associate have been working on his connections and thanks to your father, they haven't looked our way. However he did turn up some interesting information." She paused to sip her tea again.

Nausicaa looked ready to burst, but held herself together properly. That was a good start. "The school in Greece specialized in Seers." At that Nausicaa let out the smallest snorts of derision. Jolanda couldn't blame the child, Seers were the biggest farces in the magical community. "Amidst the chaos a prophesy orb was lost. There was quite a stir over it among the Seers at least, and before you ask," Jolanda interrupted her daughter who was starting to open her mouth, "I don't know what it was about. I'm not sure if anyone does. You father discovered what happened to it. The Seer that started all of the trouble mailed it off to Sonora Academy, and then joined the school itself, as a teacher."

She watched her daughter process the information for a moment before speaking. "Professor Duell? The Divination teacher?" The statement was something of an incredulous guess. "The woman can't even dress herself properly." The girl frowned again, thinking. "The crazy, blind divinations teacher masterminded an assault on an associate of Father's to cover up the theft of a prophesy orb?" The disbelief was clear on the young girl's face.

Jolanda had to suppress a chuckle. "Never underestimate people." It was a good lesson to learn. "We don't really know, that is the simplified version, but we just don't know. Your father is quite interested in that orb, and he would like you to get it for him. It is possible it is worth more than anything else we have seen so far." The mother watched as a new sparkle glinted in her daughter's eye. "Do not be rash daughter. You only get one chance at this. He would also prefer if your involvement continued to be unknown."

The glimmer died down just a bit. Good, she had taken the hint. Grabbing the orb was not a ticket back home. She had a job to do and time to do it right. Nausicaa's face set, "I understand Mother. I will do my best."

"I know you will dear. Your father and I are counting on you. We wouldn't have given you the job if we didn't have faith in your abilities."

2 Jolanda Scapetello There always is dear 0 Jolanda Scapetello 0 7