Parthevia Empire

Elsewhere, on the roof of the building, a pair of tall male figures stood to discuss matters of importance. The listener of these two was the purple-haired male whom Yasmin had encountered prior to her exit from Parthevia. The other man - the one speaking - was a raven-haired individual who seemed to be of noble upbringing. He wore kenseikan made of wood upon his head to tame his long, flowing locks, and his black kimono and hakama were worn beneath a silky, form-fitting, mostly white haori. At his left side was a katana with a purple hilt, baring the eight-pointed star of a Metal Vessel on its blade, shown through its sheath. "So, it's decided. Parthevia's monarchy will fall during the war. When that is done, the Kou Empire's rule will allow the two of you to remain Lords over the country. We expect you'll find two other candidates for the emperor to inspect."

When Fudo entered the building, he pressed onward until such a point that he stumbled upon a room with a very intricately designed door. Whatever, or whomever resided inside this room, was of great importance. So, Fudo did the sensible thing, and simply knocked on it.

Yasmin was following behind Fudo and when they reached the door which seemed to be hiding something she was a bit surprised when he knocked on it. She wondered why he'd bother with such a thing but was more immediately surprised by what followed the knocking immediately after. "Come in." a young girl's voice could be heard from behind the door. She hadn't bothered to look up she was seemingly immersed in whatever she was reading, and right at the moment she wasn't expecting anyone different so she didn't bother to change what she'd been doing prior to this. She was dressed simply in what appeared to be a bra and linen a small golden locket around her neck. Her purple locks toss up into a messy ponytail and her golden eyes alight with all she was presently reading. As she did this... "Just one second I'm almost done with this page." she said raising a finger but still not looking up immediately.

When he was given permission to enter, Fudo did so immediately. He took a casual pace into the room, taking note of the surroundings and the work of this purple-haired girl. It seemed she had yet to notice that he stood apart from the others in this building, but in fact, Fudo still boasted the appearance of a commoner, bar his general posture, demeanor and expressions. With a gentle smile, the man with dual-colored eyes replied to this girl. "By all means, take your time. There's no need to rush on my behalf. I could even come back later, if you'd like."

The girl was still reading as Fudo entered and Yasmin followed behind him at a most casual pace. Of course, the man's words to the girl as she held up her finger to finish her page made the pink haired young woman smile. She'd not expected him to be so nice, but she supposed they weren't initially intending to do anything with violence. In fact, she was generally opposed to being violent unless it was necessary, still it was always a bit surprising to find other people so like minded. Of course, the purple haired girl stopped immediately after hearing this man's voice as it wasn't one she was familiar with and when she finally looked up she saw two different colored eyes and a rather beautiful man standing before her and she was all but dumbfounded. "I... uh... hm..." she started seeming to lose the ability to speak a blush appearing on her face. "I'm sorry." she apologized though she had no idea for what.

All the while Yasmin giggled just a little. She couldn't remember if she'd ever laid eyes on this girl prior to this moment, but she'd seen enough of people throughout her time as a slave to know when people had become infatuated and it seemed to be the case for this girl. But to her credit the pink haired young woman said nothing and was content to simply see how Fudo handled this situation.

It seemed Fudo had gained the visual attention of the girl he'd spoken to. Her reaction, while not what he anticipated, could be considered one for the betterment of his case. As such, he continued moving forward, eventually having a seat on the other side of the desk she sat at. "Sorry? Why would you apologize during my intrusion, I wonder."

The girl behind the desk was even more astonished when this man sat down before her. Once he had he expressed a curiosity about her apparent apology. She had no reason for this, other than it was the first sentence she'd been able to utter since seeing the man. "I... don't know." she managed looking around the room and finally noticing the pink haired young woman adorned in various pieces of gold and a flimsy bit of cloth. Though she wasn't jealous of the young woman she wondered if she'd noticed the complete fool of herself that she was making, a subtle wink came from Yasmin which caused the girl's eyes to widen but again, the young woman soon turned on her heels and began to peruse the library this girl was apparently sitting in.

After a few seconds of recovery time, she seemed to be more able to focus and she managed a simple statement. "I'm Shadiya." she finally managed. She still had no idea what this man or his companion were doing here. "I wasn't expecting anyone but my brother... why are you here?" she asked. This girl seemed to be at least, a bit better tempered than her male siblings had shown themselves to be. At this point, it was kind of refreshing, and it gave Yasmin a bit of hope.

"Well, I guess that makes two of us. No matter," Fudo said following the girl's reply. When she introduced herself to him, Fudo thought it only civil to place his right hand upon his chest, and bow his head where he sat. "Ah! Forgive my manners, Shadiya. My name is Fudo. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." With that said, he rose from his slightly bowed position to sit upright. His expression never wavered as he sat in front of this girl. In fact, he seemed to be becoming more relaxed with the passing of time. "As for why I am here... my friends and I came on an expedition to abolish slavery in Parthevia. I am not from here, but I believe I am correct in understanding that you are a member of the Harron family, the monopoly on slave trade here, correct?"

This man seemed to be more relaxed and this helped Shadiya relax as well. Though she was still obviously quite smitten, his tone and general pleasantness made it very easy for the girl to become less tense and hide her obvious like of this young man at least in her own mind. After a few seconds he introduced himself and his name made her head tilt to the side. "I've heard that name before..." she muttered only to shove it away. Somewhere deep in her head, she'd read very recently about someone with that name, but she couldn't quite recall who that was at this very moment. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you too." she said giving the man a nod as he continued on. Once he gave his reason for his visit her eyes went wide. This wasn't something she'd at all expected least of all from someone not from here. Thought it was to be expected that slavery was generally frowned upon by those who believed in abject freedom she didn't expect a man who wasn't even from this place to care how it was run. "Yes, I'm a member of that family but that still doesn't make sense. Why do you care if slavery is abolished here, if you aren't from here?"

Fudo merely chuckled. He then went on to inspect this girl, bypassing her question entirely for the time being. Of course, a few moments later, he rose from his chair and leaned forward, eyes honing in on the locket Shadiya wore around her neck. He reached out for it, stopping his right hand several centimeters away. After all, Fudo liked to avoid being rude at all costs in situations like these. "May I?"

As the man chuckled the girl seemed a bit entranced. She had no desire to question why he'd avoided her previous question and simply blushed harder as she found herself under his gaze. When it was made obvious thar he was reaching for her locket she acquiesced to his desire to touch it, trusting him for no apparent reason. "Sure.. " she said fighting the desire to touch the item herself.