(2/3/02)
Strange, strange strange. And yet, despite how bizarre that letter was.. Margie really has come to the conclusion by now that there's really no choice she has in the matter. It's time to play good politics, eh? Even.. If it still worries her quite a bit and she'd really, really rather not do it at all. Even though that childish worry is really not enough to skip out on what needs to be done. Regardless.. Margie seems out of sorts today, as she sits mildly in the gun room. Looking worried and even a little frustrated, while she holds the perplexing letter, folded neatly, in her lap. Bleh. Messy, odd situation. She knows that she has to bring this up with Bart, and tell him about it so she can ask when she can go to Nisan to handle this, but.. That'd take the initiative of getting up and finding him. While for the moment she seems rather content to hopelessly try to figure out just what's going on. Even if she doesn't know a single detail that could help her reason this out. How.. Terribly annoying!
Bart meanders into the Gun Room, in a bit of a good mood. It's a bit of a surprise to walk in to a Margie who doesen't look quite like she's in a good mood at all. Rather curious (and in the dark) about what's bringing her down, Bart wanders over to the table she's sitting at, and knocking on it, a bit. "Er...hey Margie. You ok? You don't look so happy."
Hm, one just suppose luck likes to be ironic like that. If you don't feel like getting up and tracking someone down, the moment that you're trying to procrastinate in getting that important thing done, it'll just come to you. Sigh. So much for trying to put off the issue, hm? And yet, Margie blinks a little at that, glancing up at Bart a little dazedly before she yanks her thoughts away from the letter long enough to grant a little, albeit distracted, smile of greeting, "Ah, hello, Bart... I.." A small blink, "I'm all right, really. Just.. A little confused." Her grasp tightens on the letter that she holds. Ah, she might say that she's merely confused.. But it's blatantly obvious that there is worry in there as well, "I just got a very strange letter from home the other day.."
Bart blinks, "Uh...you did?" he was writing a letter from the nunnery as a practical joke earlier today, since he was bored again. He'd enveloped, and was ready to give it to her, but didn't get the chance. Did someone find it and give it to her?! "Ah, you did, did you?" he nods, his expression changing to a bit of a smirk. "It's probably not that bad! Can I see?"
...The prince should be forbidden to get bored. Really. Because, were this just the case of a practical joke, Margie would likely be forced to resort to un-Nisanian bouts of physical violence for all the worry that this letter put her, Sigurd and Gabriel through. But, thankfully.. This is a very, very real letter. And one that she is honestly concerned over. She nods lightly at that, handing over the letter warily.. The paper creased mildly along the sides from where she and other people have been holding it, reading it and re-reading it for the last day. For a brand new letter, it seems rather worn for it. "I'd like your opinion on it.. Sigurd and Gabriel already know about it, but..." She frowns just a tiny bit, "It worries me. It just.. Doesn't make sense.. There's an.. Ambassador coming to Nisan who wishes to speak to me, but.." But why and for what purpose, or even what country this person is from is completely a mystery. And that.. -That- is the worrisome and baffling part of this.
Bart sweatdrops. Well, she didn't have to go and tell THEM. Maybe Gabri was the one who gave it to her. How many times does he tell everyone to keep out of his Ygg room and hideout room? Ah, well. The jokes on everyone, he guesses. He didn't mean it to worry her that much. "Ambassador?" he doesen't remember writing about that. He opens the letter, and blinks slowly as he reads it. "...I didn't write this!" he responds in a reactionary manner. He caught that too late. Coughing, he replies. "What the hell? Unknown country? What's this all about?"
What on earth? Margie arches an eyebrow in resonse to that, a positively quizzical peer fixing itself onto Bart. Granting a rather even and stern low note of, "I should certainly hope you didn't." But whatever caused that little outburst.. The point is that he's just as surprised as she was about it. Albeit.. A touch louder about his confusion. And so that little peer falls back away into worry as she nods softly, a small frown fretting back onto her features, "I wish I knew! I've been trying to make sense of it ever since I got it... But an ambassador from an unknown country with unknown buisness requests my presence in Nisan for goodness knows what." And she crosses her arms losely, a rather frustrated little gesture as she adds, "I don't know what's going on, but something about it all just sounds -wrong-."
Well, Bart didn't...so don't come after him with a large stick. He scratches his head a bit, and reads the rest of the letter. "If they're doing whatever this buisiness is with you, they should at least give -YOU- their identity. I don't like this, either," he rolls the letter up a bit. Now HE'S worried, erk. "Maybe you should let the nun's handle it? Or a person standing in for you or something?"
Awww, no assaulting with the large stick? How much fun is that? But, to be serious... This is actually accutely worrying. So much that Margie really can't bring herself to nag more at that previous slip. Sorting this out seems a little bit more important. "It.. I'd really -like- to do something like that, believe me. But it would be really dishonest.." And also.. it would be a huge insult to whomever these people are if they ever figured it out. Can anyone say 'potential international incident'? Not good, not good at all. "And if this is an honest offer from an innocent country, who just.. Chose a really -unique- way to contact me, then I don't want to mess anything up. I just wish I knew -who- was doing this." Despite all of that.. Margie has already come to a decision on how to handle this. And she intends to be strong on her resolve to do this -right-.. Even if she's obviously worried and a little bit unsettled by it all, "I'm going to go and do this, and Sigurd and Gabriel agree with that, but.. They both want to sit in on these talks, just to make sure. I don't know if that's allowed, but.." She pauses. And she adds, rather quickly, as if she'd rather not say it at all, "I'm just a little worried that this might not be what it seems."
Bart sighs, "Innocent country? Unique? It makes no sense! I don't trust them already, if they can't even give me the luxury of their name. And if it's not Aveh or Solaris...Urgh," he shakes his head, walking over to another part of the room. He looks over at Margie, "I don't like this at all. But if you want to go...I guess I can't stop you," he pauses, "...Can I?"
As utterly cute as that is, and despite how that last question rises a little fleeting smile to Margie's features, she nonetheless shakes her head lightly, "I'm afraid not. Regardless of what's going on, this is such a bizarre thing that... I assume that there's something important behind it. And if it's a piece of information or a situation that Nisan needs to be aware of, I can't not go.." Ah, obligation. As noble as it sounds, at times like this.. It seems akin to a suicide wish. "I don't like it, either. And not knowing who it is.." Is just cause for worry. And lots of it. Which is why she drops off into silence, and.. Suddenly seems rather accutely awkward. As she pauses, trying to force out a sentence, "Which is why I would like to ask if.. Er.." A pause, "This is going to sound so utterly childish, and I -know- that I have to be overreacting about all of this. But could you drop me off in Nisan and maybe.. Stay a while? Just to make sure that it doesn't turn out to be a trap or anything like that?" And her voice is a little quieter at that, and she's broken eye contact for the moment. Erk. She really, -really- does not want to seem helpless. But in the same vein.. She really, really doesn't want to put Bart back through the stress of having to rescue her from anything again, either. She's -done- with being an inconvenience or a trouble. But at the same point, she's obviously really, really worried about this entire issue.
Bart crosses his arms, "...Well, I can't stop you. I can't force you to stay, and it's too rude to just not go or make someone go for you." He sighs, closing his eyes. "Whelp! I guess that leaves one thing left to do. This' gonna sound so unlike me, it's not funny, ok?" he smirks and looks at her, opening his eyes. "I guess i'll just have to do that! If it's a trap, then i'll go and beat up, like, 10 soldiers if I have to. Well...not alone, but I will! You'll see. What can they do against my whips?!" to that note, a lot. But Bart seems to be fueling his ego nicely today.
Ah, that might be just that, and it might be nothing but another excuse to leap into an ego boost, but Margie nonetheless glances back up to him with a positively grateful smile. Admittedly, she still had to go -through- with this odd talk with this bizzare unnamed country, but it was still so entirely reassuring to know that everyone was going to be there making sure that everything went all right. Even though.. She didn't want to be that sort of a bother. Paradoxical, isn't it? And yet, it's better to be safe than sorry. Margie knows that far too well. Which is why she smiles so at that, even as she laughs a little at his boasting, "I hate to ask for you to spend that sort of time just because I'm worrying too much, but still, thanks so much!" If it's got to happen.. She'd rather know that someone will know if something goes wrong. Right. "I know that I'm going to feel absolutely stupid when all of this turns out to be unnecessary, but it still means a lot."
Bart waves it off. "Don't worry about it, really! I don't mind keeping you safe at all, and besides, I think Gabri might point that gun he's got at me if I don't try to," of course he's not serious, but it's poking fun of how serious Gabriel is about protecting her sometimes. "So don't worry about it! If it's nothing, then it's nothing, right?"
Ironic, isn't it, how the sentiments of this conversation can go from wanting to harm Bart to wanting to hug him? This so-called ambassador meeting, if it's that at all or innocent at all, is certainly a delicate subject. And Margie is not about to admit how reassuring it is to know that someone will be in the area if things don't go right. Even while she peers mildly at him in response to the poking fun at Gabriel, "He just takes his job really seriously." A pause, before that peer softens to something more just mildly amused, "..Really, really seriously. But you're right.. if it turns out to be nothing, there'll be no harm done." Ee. Well, then.. Now that all of that is done, soon she's actually got to, ah.. Go and.. actually do this. Geez. For all she can be grateful that everyone's as worried over this all as she is, she obviously is reluctant to actually get to the topic and deal with it. Which is why a little of the volume drops out of her voice at that, "I guess.. That I should be brought to Nisan as soon as I can be, then... I shouldn't make whomever this person is wait too long, even if this did come out of the blue.."