[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

(Joint post with Lauchenoiria)

Undisclosed Location, Geminus Province

A pair of heavy black trucks pulled up in front of a nondescript office building, the tinted windows glinting in the sun. Numerous guards in black suits filed out, examining the empty parking lot before opening the rear doors. A group of wary Kerlian asylum seekers slowly exited the secure vehicles, trying to get a good look at their surroundings before they were escorted into the building in front of them.

Inside, a number of soldiers in purple uniforms stood guard at the front doors and an elevator across the room. A soldier was seated at a large wooden desk in the middle of the room, and at the sight of the group entering, she stood at attention. "Kuois nejan?" She asked, her tone crisp and neutral. What do you all need?

The guard closest to the desk began to answer in Eirian, before glancing suspiciously at the group of Kerlians. He then decided to use rudimentary Eirian Sign Language to convey his meaning, occasionally shaking his head apologetically. The desk soldier gave a curt nod. "Identifkacōn?"

The lead guard reached into his pockets and produced a set of ID cards, each of which the desk attendant examined carefully. After what seemed like an eternity of verifying cards and typing on her computer, she pressed a pair of buttons on her desk, and the elevator opened. "Percateo, Kaptena. Poivan alet."

With a gruff acknowledgement, the lead guard led the group of Kerlians into the cramped elevator. As the doors shut and they began to ascend, the group stood in tense silence, the mood only broken by the sound of lighthearted pop music radiating from a single speaker in the ceiling.

The doors opened again, revealing a more elegant meeting room. A few modest chandeliers provided fair lighting across the room, and a handful of small paintings lined the walls. Perhaps most notably, Chancellor Leah Stendē and Minister Alice Lancaster, two of the most influential women in Caxcana, sat on the other side of a large hardwood table, wearing sleek business Halarei. They stood as the Kerlian women entered, and Stendē gestured to the chairs on their side of the table. "Please, take a seat. May we get you anything?"

“No, thank you,” Carmen Robinson replied. “We apologize for the disruption our arrival has caused. We would have liked to give advance notice, but for reasons which I hope will soon become clear, that has not been possible. If certain people in Zongongia had discovered our intention to leave, it would have put my daughter Natasha in danger. I will allow her to explain further.”

When Carmen turned to Natasha, she froze, her eyes darting around the room between all the humans present. She tried to speak, but her mouth just kept opening and closing. Her mother nudged her in encouragement, but all Natasha could do was stare at the Eirians like a rabbit caught in headlights.

Stendē gave her a reassuring nod, donning a look of sympathetic understanding. "It's alright, Kurena. We are in no rush. And as far as safety goes, this is one of the most secure places in Eiria right now. I promise that, unless there is an urgent need for it, anything said in this room shall be kept between us." She examined the rest of the Kerlians, before turning back to Natasha. "How was your flight?" Her tone was light and cordial, projecting an air of calmness.

Natasha took a couple of deep breaths. “Fine,” she answered in a whisper.

“It was great,” Imogen piped up. “Super comfortable, and the food was really good! It was nothing like flying with Kerlian airlines. Those are so terrible sometimes. Well, more like cheap. But anyway, there was…”

“I think that’s enough detail, Imogen,” Carmen interrupted before her youngest daughter could start describing everything about the plane in intricate detail.

“I’m pregnant,” Natasha blurted out all of a sudden, before standing up, walking over to a nearby wall and placing her head on it, her back to everyone else in the room.

The two Eirian women gave each other a confused glance. Lancaster spoke up first, her tone neutral and diplomatic. "Well, congratulations." She directed her gaze back at Carmen. "I don't mean to pry, but I'm afraid we'll need some more context, especially for a claim of asylum from Zongongia. Given your current situation, claiming political asylum from Kerlile would've been fairly easy. However, you all already had protection in Zongongia, so there would need to be an explanation as to why you left that protection." The Minister glanced over back at Natasha. "But given the expressions you have, and the fact that you willingly left a nation that gave you asylum, I have no doubt that there is a good explanation."

"The father of Natasha's baby is Prince Kristofer," Carmen began. "You may have heard rumours about their relationship; I know several gossip-focused media outlets have run such stories. They were true. However, the Zongongian nobility frowns upon childbirth outside of marriage. There have been stories of forced marriage within the Zongongian nobility, which I have on good authority have their basis in fact."

"Plus Olivia sent me this," Natasha said, turning around and handing her phone to the Eirians. On the screen was an email with an opened attachment. The attachment was a document marked with the seal of the Kerlian Intelligence Service, detailing with evidence the story of the King's late sister-in-law. The body of the email read 'do with this as you wish'.

The Eirians read the document, their neutral expressions fading into a look of serious sympathy. The Diplomacy Minister shook her head, her lips pursed in disgust. "Metdi. Blackmail, forced marriage, practically kidnapping. If the royal family was willing to do this, they would've almost definitely exploited your family's exile status in order to keep Natasha there. There are multiple levels on which that would be illegal here."

Lancaster handed the phone to the Chancellor, who shared a similar look of distaste. "Even though immigration and asylum law aren't my specialty, I can say without a doubt that you have a valid case for asylum. And regardless of political difficulty, we aren't exactly in the business of turning valid asylum seekers away. I assume you'd like the asylum process to be as discreet as possible, given the circumstances?"

"Yes, if that is possible," Carmen nodded. "We do have sufficient funds to pay for our own housing and whatnot in various accounts, so I can assure you we have no intention of being a financial burden on your government. The only other thing I wish to raise immediately is Camille here. I am uncertain of the process for her, since she is not a blood relative."

Camille awkwardly waved, as if they wouldn't know which one she was: despite being very visibly the odd one out in the group.

Alice Lancaster thought for a moment. "Eiria has plenty of mechanisms in place for immigration with a child not related by blood. Adoption and fostering are quite important to us here. As long as one of you has legal custody of her, it should be relatively simple. If not…" She contemplated her word choice. "It may be a lot more complex, with a few more roadblocks and a much longer time span. So, is one of you her legal guardian under Kerlian or Zongongian law?"

"Under Kerlian law I have temporary custody," Natasha said. "It's a long story, and technically could be revoked by the Council at any point. I don't think they will, though, but you ought to be aware of the situation. The reason I don't think they will is that…" she paused, to gather her thoughts but was interrupted by Camille herself.

"I'm more trouble to them in Kerlile than I am here," Camille interrupted. "If that's not enough then I can tell you all about what happened in that horrific Alternative Education Centre. It's like a Kerlian brainwashing place where they try to make you loyal to the government," she explained.

"Um, basically that," Natasha shrugged. "The Zongongians honestly never specified if they recognised that themselves or not. Like, the actual Zongongian government, the non-royal ones, kept their distance from the whole matter as much as they could."

"The issues," Carmen said, attempting to summarise the chaotic phrasing of the two younger Kerlians, "are primarily two: one, that the Council could indeed revoke the custody order at will, as they can do most things in Kerlile. The second is that most countries would not, under their own laws, grant even temporary custody to someone of Natasha's age. Even in Kerlile it is highly unusual and only occurred because, well, I myself am barely considered human under Kerlian law nowadays."

"'Alternative Education Centre'?" Stendē adjusted her glasses. "Being sent to an 'alternative education' camp would actually give Camille an even stronger claim to asylum. Despite being a minor, it would classify her as an oppressed dissident. Even if the custody was rescinded, she alone could apply for what's called an Ozolina visa. It's usually given to victims of trafficking or other crimes, or the children of dissidents who could not come themselves. It's very unusual that political oppression is used as a reason for an 'Ozo' visa, but depending on the treatment in the Alt Ed facilities, she'll likely have a very strong case for it. It would require one or more citizen, resident, or asylee guardians, however, that role could be filled by you all, with occasional checks from a welfare officer."

"And besides, as long as the custody order isn't rescinded, she could be part of your family's asylum anyways. Once we get your initial asylum approved by a judge, her custody will be based in Eirian law, not Kerlian, and as such, it won't matter as much if the council rescinds it later. And since she could qualify for an Ozolina visa as well, you could always apply to have the benefits of the visa added to her asylum status. If I recall correctly, it would make it easier to apply for citizenship down the road, if that's what she would want to do."

“Yes,” Camille said.

“I don’t know if that will be necessary,” Natasha said simultaneously. The pair looked at each other awkwardly.

“I’m never going back there,” Camille said firmly to Natasha. She folded her arms. “I don’t care, I’m never going back there. Not after that. The rest of them are stupid, ever going back once they get out! I will NEVER go back there!”

“That’s not strictly what I was saying,” Natasha swallowed, looking to her mother for help.

“This is all, of course, a discussion for the future,” Carmen said, attempting to smooth over the possible argument. “Right now, let’s just focus on the initial claim. What do we need to do immediately?”

"Well, after this meeting, you'll be taken to an office of the Ministry of Diplomacy, where you'll fill out Form I-A-POL-1. You'll have your rights and the asylum process told to you by an immigration attorney, and then you'll need to find housing accommodations." Alice Lancaster grabbed a nearby legal pad and jotted down a few notes on the process for the Kerlians. "Your case will be brought before a judge, whom we will convince to seal your case records, for your own safety. There is also another possibility, if you'd like even more discretion. Alas, it is an extreme change, so it's completely your decision."

"What is this possibility?" Natasha asked.

"In English, It's called the 'Cloaked Life Program.' You'll be given new identities, your assets would be recycled to be as traceless as possible, and you'll have full cover stories made up for you by the Ministry of Intelligence. You'll have some say in this, of course, as it has to be a convincing identity. I'm not saying that this is the best plan of action for you, however, if security is ever a concern, it's an option. You don't have to decide right now either, you could join the program any time down the line. I just wanted to inform you that you have alternate options that give you more security."

"No way!" Blurted out eleven-year-old Imogen. "I'm not doing that!"

"Think about it, Imogen," Natasha said. "Both Kerlile and Zongongia will be after us for various reasons, probably for the rest of our lives. This might be safer."

"I said no!" Imogen shouted, slamming her hand on the table.

"Imogen!" Carmen snapped. "Behave yourself!"

"I'm, uh, also not keen on the idea," Camille piped up. "I never ever want to go back to Kerlile, but I don't want to never speak to my family again. My sister, Olivia, she's the whole reason I got out of Alt-Ed and… well."

"I don't think that will be necessary at this time," Carmen said slowly, addressing the Eirians. "And I apologise for my daughter's outburst. She appears to have forgotten her manners."

Stendē smiled. "No worries at all. I have three young nieces, and I can assure you they've been far less polite many times. And again, the Cloaked Life Program is certainly an extreme measure, and it will be an option for you in the future. I also must warn you, despite Eiria's reputation as a pluralistic society, there may be some here who aren't so friendly towards Kerlians, especially after the deal with Xiomera and the embassy withdrawal. The fact that you are asylees will help, as that's seen more sympathetically. Still, trust may be harder to earn, and I wouldn't exactly recommend flying a Kerlian flag in public. I'm sorry to say it, but that's an unfortunate fact of life right now."

"Don't worry, we certainly don't intend to go around broadcasting our association with the Matriarchy," Carmen assured Stendē. Natasha and Camille nodded in agreement, while Imogen only scowled.

"I had assumed so." The two women stood and gave the group a shallow bow. Stendē adjusted her Halar as she spoke. "Thank you all for your patience. You'll quickly be brought by the Solar Guard escort that brought you here to the nearest office of the Ministry of Diplomacy, so you can begin the arduous forms and interviews. The process will be as confidential as possible, and all documents will be sealed on my authority until a similar measure is approved by a judge. I'm sure that Minister Lancaster will be supervising the whole process and making sure that everything happens in a timely manner."

The Chancellor gave all of them a polite smile. "Well, I can't think of anything else to say. Welcome to Eiria, ladies. I hope you enjoy your time here."