Commander's Rounds

Entry 72: Mia Bella Signora

There were certain social expectations when it came to living in the Royal dorms.

One of the social obligations involved with living as a guest in the Royal Dorms was that when one was called to tea, one went to tea, and so Albert Kesler found himself sitting in the royal gardens with some of the more illustrious ladies of the Royal Navy, which, appropriately enough, included Illustrious.

Belfast leaned over a bit to offer him something from a tray, and he picked up one of the teacakes, focusing on the food rather than the eyeful that Belfast was giving him. "Thank you, miss Belfast."

Belfast smiled as she went on her way, and Hood spoke up. "You know, Edinburgh actually spoke to me about something. She said that it was strange to find a room where she hardly needed to do anything, seeing as it is so neat all the time."

Albert shrugged, and picked up his cup. While he was generally a coffee person, he wasn't opposed to drinking tea to be polite- he wasn't a snob who looked down on tea as some kind of lesser "leaf water". "There's really nothing about what I do that requires me to make a mess in the first place."

Hood pressed on. "Then it does make me wonder what the commander does that requires him to occasionally leave things over everything."

Albert had a quick and ready answer to that. "My own duties are relatively narrow, but the commander has a much broader set of responsibilities in front of him. While my neatness is part of a system that works for me, the commander's habits may be a part of a system that works for him, even if it doesn't look like a system at first glance. It may help him to keep things in mind if they're in sight."

"Hm." Went Hood. "Well, I suppose he would need his own way of doing things."

Rodney then took something from Belfast's tray. "But I guess the question I have to ask you is this. Now that you have been here for a little while, do you find that the job and climate agree with you?"

I had certain expectations when it came to my duties, of course." He took a sip before continuing. "But during my short time in national service, I performed my work mostly anonymously, so it's something of an adjustment to be suddenly surrounded by people who are intensely interested in who I am and what I do."

Valiant giggled. "That is something that happens to all new arrivals, essentially. People prefer their fellow ships to feel at home, and the same feeling is merely being extended towards yourself. It's hardly out of the ordinary. Around here, anyways."

Rodney looked over at Valiant. "There's also the other dimension of being an energetic young man who's now surrounded by ladies who'd like to spend time with him, even if it is in an innocent way. That girl from the shop, Melissa, didn't even work on the base, and her response to coming into contact with certain maritime affections was to move in."

"Now, I shall wonder about this," Duke of York began as she added something red to her tea that Albert hoped was something merely alcoholic. "He oft speaks to his mother, so I wonder what she might think of her beloved issue living so close to the precipice of a grand display of hedonism. Perhaps she frets every sundown that she may have to watch helplessly from afar as her son's innocence drains away to the bottom of the dark sea, never to see light again?"

"...Actually, she's fine with it." Duke of York was about to take a sip from her drink, but Albert's statement gave her a sudden pause. He did note this, and went on to elaborate. "In fact, I think she may even be subtly trying to encourage it at times. You see, while my mother did settle down, when she was younger she did lead a... Similarly adventurous lifestyle where she was the subject of the intense attention of men and women alike. She seems to remember those days fondly, so..."