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Though she'd been nervous upon entering the Podesta's office, the sheer size of him having done little to assuage it, she found as she continued to talk his demeanor and careful attention to her story made her feel more at ease.
“I was fortunate to be taken in by a family named Hollet in Abestat and thus the reason for the surname I chose to adopt. It seemed fitting to honor them with wearing their name when it was all I had to offer in return for their generosity at the time. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for their care. I think my spirit was broken. And 'tis the first time since I awakened in their cozy home that I've traveled away from their comforting overprotection.”
She continued with her story, smiling softly during moments as she remembered Cecilia Hollet acting as a stand-in mother to her. But of course she could now see that perhaps she had waited much too long to leave Abestat. Dara was realizing she could have begun her life anew some time ago. Already, she'd begun to blossom from just having been out to sea and arriving in such beautiful surroundings, like icing atop an already yummy cake.
“I did go to the Aedile there and rightfully he thought it best to wait and see if anyone would come to claim knowledge of who I am.” She didn't want to admit to the Podesta that she rather thought the man had been taken with her and had sought ways to prolong the issuance of her permanent visa so that she had to keep returning to his office. “But no one did, and the cycles just seemed to pass by until now.”
She offered him a smile and it lit up her youthful features, all traces of the nervousness she'd felt gone once he announced that he could indeed give her a permanent visa if she would but re-take the oath, swearing allegiance to the Empire. “My thanks seems inadequate...”
“I came here because I'd overhead someone speaking about this island while shopping in the markets one brightening. It seemed the perfect place to come and practice my art. I....don't know if it was something I loved to do before but sketching and painting seem to fill me with a sense of peace. And as for a place to stay and a job...nay I've not had a chance to seek either out yet as I came straight here at the behest of the Guard at the Porto.”
Dara was prepared to sign whatever parchments she might need sign as she leaned forward in her chair, her stomach doing little flips of delight that her life was about to begin anew. “Do you know if there is a place on the island that might have need of a waitress? I did some waiting tables in a tavern back in Abestat and I think that I was decent at it. I am quite in need of employment and would be grateful to be pointed in the right direction.”
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