A chuckle left her upon hearing Théadan saying he would show his gratitude that she had managed to get some help saving some of his journals. It only made her wish even more that her family was acting so belligerently toward him so she could find out what he would do to show how thankful he was. At least Navia was the recipient of a few kisses to reward her, but their attentions both shifted to the dress she wore. They looked down at it together and Navia laughed upon hearing what Théadan thought of the beading. His comment about liking her in deeper colors was when she filed away to remember, so her focus was more on his comment about her dress. “I don’t care if it gets ruined,” Navia shrugged, glancing down and noticing the ends flowy skirts were floating in the water, “Nor do I care about these<i>khussas</i>. I needed to see you.”<br/><br/>The question of what Théadan could do to help their problem was one that Navia did not quite know how to answer. She was glad to hear he trusted her, and Navia knew she would continue fighting until he was released, but it felt somewhat like she was butting her head against a stone wall and expecting it to cave in. She just had to pray it would eventually crack or she had some help knocking it down. “After they took you away, I did my best to appeal to Kazim. I told him how you’ve saved my life and you’ve been hurt because of me…I told him that you’ve left your country behind,” she hated thinking of how much of his life Théadan had given up to be with her. It caused her to frown and look down at his chest instead of looking him in the eye.<br/><br/>“I think part of Kazim is angry I’ve moved on from Devam. He told me I was ruining myself by being with you,” Navia sighed, her gaze rising, “Even if I can convince him to release you, I worry he’s going to be difficult when it comes to our relationship.” Normally she would not care; but they were talking about the most powerful person in their country. It would be arrogant of them not to consider how Kazim would react to them. It did not mean they hid it, but perhaps they needed to remember to be more conservative around him until he was more amenable to them. She did not want Kazim lashing out at Théadan because he was not Devam. It was not fair and as far as Navia was concerned, it was not her cousin’s place.<br/><br/>“You’re right that they’ll come talk to you, but Kazim won’t visit you down here,” Navia went on, trying to think of what all she could provide Théadan with to give them a better chance of everything going well when the others chose to speak with him. “I know Kazim’s advisor agreed to come down here and talk to you. His name is Marek Bakar. He’s older, he was my uncle’s advisor and then Kazim’s until Kazim brought Devam in. He’s not someone you want to try to appeal to when it comes to our relationship. He will likely appreciate your honesty and I think he’s someone who will consider your desire to do good for the Khluri people. He might also appreciate you defending me when your family treated me like they owned me.” Eyebrows drawing together, Navia tried to decide what all she could say about her brother. “I don’t know if Yousef will come down to speak with you. So far he has refused to talk to me about you, but I’ll wear him down eventually. I always do. If he does come down, or if he requests to speak with you after you’re released, you can talk about us with Yousef. Tell him how happy we make each other and all the pain you’ve suffered because you chose to be with me. He’s a family man who wants his family happy. Eventually he’s going to figure out I’ll only be happy here if you’re with me.”<br/><br/>Sighing, Navia reached up between them to cup his cheek in her hand. She looked up at Théadan with a small smile, her palm rubbing along the scruff of his bear. “Whatever you do, don’t become sarcastic with either of them or bring up how often we have sex like you did to your mother,” she chuckled, knowing it was likely obvious but still wanting to tease him a little to lighten their spirits.