It was disappointing to Kazim to hear Marek confirm that there would be no hiding the fact they now housed a Mes’Mo’Tanian, but he had already figured it was unlikely. While the advisor moved to sit in one of the two chairs poised before an extravagantly carved desk, Kazim took to pacing, his<i>khussas </i>padding against the plush carpet that had been laid upon the floor to cover the white marble. With red and gold the colors of the king, much of the room was done in such hues. A round table opposite to the desk housed a map of Khlurios and figurines that had been used to strategize the placement of armies during the war. It was a room they spent much time in, especially when they had been trying to beat back the Mes’Mo’Tanians, so there were also a pair of comfy sofas at the far wall, resting beneath the windows giving a view to the gardens outside. Kazim saw none of it though; he was too busy processing all of Marek’s information so he could make the best decision possible for his country.<br/><br/>Marek was right that they needed to try to use the presence of a Mes’Mo’Tanian prince to their advantage. The problem was that Kazim could not think of a way that they could when the prince was also unwanted by his home country. If there was something they wanted from Mes’Mo’Tan, they could use the<i>Avezana</i>but Khlurios was not faring poorly in rebuilding after the war and they were still trading with other nations. It was also proving to be difficult to ignore the fact Navia was twisted up with this man, making removing him even harder. As frustrating as she was, as much as he butted heads with her without her bringing the damn enemy home with her, she was his family and Kazim did not want to cause her pain out of malice. Even so, the mention of his closest friend’s memory brought a darkening expression across Kazim’s features as he thought of what a slap in the face to Devam it was that his widow had brought home someone directly tied to his death.<br/><br/>Kazim’s gaze adjusted to land on Yousef at the same time Marek’s did and Yousef sighed heavily, shaking his head as he went to take a seat in the chair opposite to the elder advisor. “She is likely more stubborn than all of Khlurios combined,” he joked humorlessly, “I’m not sure she would even listen to me. I agree that she has spent too much time with this man, and therefore has this idea in her mind that she can have some sort of life with him, but that simply cannot be so. He has done too much to harm our country in the past that it does not matter he has returned her and whatever else he claims, as grateful as I am to have my sister back. I can speak with her and attempt to convince her to realize whatever she has with this man has to stop, but…” Yousef paused, frowning to himself before looking back to Kazim, “I don’t think she’s going to listen, Kazim. She claims to love him.”<br/><br/>“Impossible,” Kazim answered instantly, shaking his head and turning back to scowl at his cousin, “How can she? After what she had with Devam…no. See if Sainan will speak with her. She has a soft spot for him; maybe he can set her right.”<br/><br/>“I think that would be asking too much of Sai,” Yousef shook his head, wanting to protect his brother from being used against their sister, “If he knew what we were trying to do, he would likely also refuse. He's more loyal to Navia than to me. What if we sent her away until we deal with the prince? She is going to resist his execution, which I think is what the best course of action is in this case. He’s too much of a liability and I don’t think Navia is going to stop unless we permanently remove him.” What she had tried to do while the prince was taken away had scared Yousef; he would sooner have Navia sent away for a couple weeks where he would know she could not do anything stupid than have her in the palace. He was certain she would forgive them eventually.<br/><br/>“The problem there is that now she has returned, the city will likely want to celebrate,” Kazim pointed out, “She has always been a favorite among the nobles and the commoners. Sending her away again could upset people. What do you think, Marek? We could also keep her so busy she has no chance to try to be around this man again. Perhaps we even revisit that list of suitors we had created for her after Devam died and introduce her to some. We could then dispose of the<i>Avezana</i>quietly without her even knowing. We could wait a few days though. Maybe we’ll think of something we could use from Mes’Mo’Tan before then or at least spend a couple days collecting information about Rhodon from him.”