37 - Turning Tides

Turning around, Noctis spied the government official that had walked in. Needless to say, the probability of him being the mole had skyrocketed. Sending the man a sharp glare, he gathered up Petra and left the room; shoving the man aside. Obviously, porkers realised what this implied and chased after the prince, trying to convince him that he'd seen the girl in his arms switch off the lights.

The next day, a meeting was held. The governors were getting desperate and the man tried to convince everyone that the traitor they were after was Petra Fossor. One of the members had finally had enough of the man's outbursts.
"YOU KEEP YOUR TRAITOROUS TRAP SHUT! First you assist our enemy in butchering some of our top investigators, then you help the LEADER of Mors Atra escape arrest! We're within our rights to have you imprisoned by supper time!" The man whimpered, trying to keep his resolve strong. This was where brains were more than a little useful.
"We can't rule out any leads. This situation is dire and any chance we can take must be taken, even if we lose face in the process." Ignis had clearly been referring to the incident that occurred at the red-light district. He and Noctis looked more than a little humiliated as this subject was brushed again. The bespectacled gentleman turned his attention to the female council member.
"Miss Fossor, please take no offense to this, but I'm afraid we have to check every possibility we're given. We'll be researching you and keeping you under 24 hour surveillance. Please understand that these actions are for the good of the kingdom." Many of the council members stood up, offended by the young man's choice of action; only to be interrupted by the woman in question.
"Do as you wish, Sir Ignis. As you say, these actions are for the good of the kingdom." Her fellow council members continued to object, saying she had done nothing to deserve such suspicion. She only smiled and brushed a lock of her hair back.
"Peace, friends. That is exactly my point. As I am without guilt, I have nothing to fear. It will simply be like 24 protection. I won't object so our council can hold piece of mind knowing that I am not the traitor." Her fellow council members smiled at her. Sacrificing her privacy for the sake of her kingdom. How disgustingly noble.

-Elsewhere-

Unstable breathing could be heard as the lone figure moved in to the police station. While confident in themselves and the authorities, one could never be too safe. Moving along, they set their plan into motion.

1 Week

"I'll take only 15 minutes... You may time me if you deem it necessary." The two guards flushed, shaking their heads saying that such a thing wasn't necessary. Giving them both a sweet smile, she move into the bathroom, closed the door - not locking it as that privilege had been revoked right from the get go - and stripped free of her clothes.
Stepping into the shower and starting the water, she activated the com. device. She had nothing to hide from her sister. After all, they were both women and had seen each other in the buff before. Now safe and unheard outside, her eyes watered.
"Sister... I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get in touch..." She recounted the tale that had occurred in the past week. How her home, office and clothes had been searched and how she could only receive privacy when bathing or using the bathroom. As the memories came back, she reflexively covered herself.
"Th-the guards, despite how professional they were about it, were requested to see me stripped of all clothing. I was allowed to keep my back to them as I undressed. Thankfully, I didn't have the communication device on my person while I was searched. But, I still felt so vulnerable. They let me cover myself with my arms... So, they didn't see... That." She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to yell and screech about how demeaning it had been. She finished her report and turned off the device to actually shower.

The meeting scheduled for that evening started, the ones present all sat down and began to discuss everything that had come up. But, the climax of the meeting was something no-one could have prepared for.
"We successfully stormed the Mors Atra hideout! A turncoat came forward a week ago and ask for protection in return for the information. We've captured, what we believe to be, all of the members. They are currently being interrogated, but none are talking. We asked our tip off about the leader, but they said that nobody knows her name." Once this was said, Ignis stepped up.
"We have reason to believe that he's telling the truth. He's already taken a big risk coming forward; why withhold information?" Everyone agreed. Now, it was porky's time to speak up.
"Wh-what about Lady Fossor? Has any information come up regarding her?" The council murmured about this while the woman in question just smiled. Ignis sighed.
"Alas not. So far, she's in the clear." After a little more discussion, the meeting dispersed.

As she and her guards left the building, Petra had a mental fit.
'DAMNIT! One of our own betrayed us!? How dare they!? Heh, so this must be how the government feels; it's a terrible sensation.' Hearing someone clear their throat, she turned to see the dark haired prince himself.

The two sat in the gardens as they had many weeks prior to all of this mess. Looking over the young woman, Noctis could tell she was rather shaken up. Not knowing what else to do, he awkwardly drapes an arm over her shoulder.
"If it gives you any solace, I believe in your innocence. It isn't fair that you have to go through with this." She glances up at him as he stares ahead, his cheeks heating up. Her eyes soften before she wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his shoulder.
"Peace, Noct... I agreed to this. Please, don't work yourself up about it. Soon, my innocence will be proven and everything will go back to the way it was." She giggles and leans up.
"Don't tell me you're... Interested in me~?" His cheeks darkened further before he pulled himself from her arms. She laughs as he pouts, smirks and messes up her hair. A cry of shock leaves her lips before the two end up in a playful wrestling match. However, it ended on a rather awkward note when he'd pinned her back against the ground.
Leaping up, he stammers out an apology as he helps her up; only for her to plant a kiss on his cheek before walking away.
"Thank you, Noct... I needed something to cheer me up."

3 Weeks

The council reconvened, all looking rather grave faced, excluding the youngest. Once the council was seated, the meeting was started by Ignis.
"As we all know, there's a traitor in our ranks. We've been following two leads. First is governor Joan Lucrum..." He went over scams to gain money and power as well as every piece of information about the pudgy governor's childhood, right down to his favourite boxers.
"...From this information, we can conclude that he would have nothing to gain from trying to topple the government." The man sighed in relief. Now, the strategist turned his attention to Petra.
"Onto Lady Petra Fossor." He recounts her living quarters, her relationships with different people and soon reached the topic of her education.
"Having received a scholarship from her high school, she attended the best university in the kingdom. Now, therein lies the problem..." Now, everyone was a little on edge. Everyone leaned in, preparing for the next pieces of information they'd receive.
"While searching through graduation photos from every university class of her year, we found something very interesting." A screen was lowered from the ceiling, displaying two photos from the same year for three different universities. There were enlarged areas that, vaguely, displayed the woman they knew as Petra in each photo. The council looked baffled, as did Noctis.
"The first is Petra Fossor. She graduated top of her class with a Ph.D in Politics, having devoted her entire university life to her studies. The next is one Miss Lorrana Kentin who graduated in the top 10 of her class with a Doctorate in Medicine. Finally, the last picture depicts Morgane Nexus who graduated top of her class with a Doctorate in Theatre, acting." Everyone's eyes went to Petra who was gazing, wide eyed, at the screen.
"We searched the records and found that all leads on Kentin and Nexus end up dead ends. So, we pursued out lead on our government official." He went over how she'd had a normal life and grown up the way any normal girl would, then he got to her birth.
"Now, this was the interesting part. We found the original copy of her birth certificate at the hospital she was supposedly born in and searched for the parents named on the document, only to find they don't exist. Delving further into the records, we discovered the document to be a forgery; a good one at that. So, Lady Petra Grandine Fossor, care to tell us who you really are?" The bespectacled man gave her a hard gaze, that she met calmly and serenely. He took that as a no and put up another slide. This made her gasp as her eyes widened. Tears welled in her gray orbs; the image all too familiar.
There, on the screen, was a charred photograph of what appeared to be a happy family. Two young girls and their very happy mother and father. One had long, slightly unkempt hair, wore a shirt and shorts and had golden eyes. The other was far more familiar. A bright smile on her face, with two little beauty marks sitting beneath her large, sparkling eyes of grey and a sweet sundress adorning her body, revealing a strangely detailed birthmaker on her right shoulder.
"Well, from the reaction we've gauged, I believe we have our answer... Don't you agree, Levis Nefira?" The government officials erupted into shouts and panic, many commanding for the guards at her sides to seize her. Acting on instinct, she shot from her seat as one reached for her.
"KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" Within moments, the point of her parasol had enter his jugular vein. She tore it out and moved to the back of the room, staying as far away from everyone as she could. Noctis looked as if he'd just been smacked across the face. The man's body collapsed to the ground as he desperately tried to stem the blood flow.
Many plans and scenarios entered her head, almost all of them having very sticky ends. Deciding on the best course of action, she lowered her parasol, keeping her grip on it strong.
Ignis moved forward, now that she seemed calmer. Stepping in front of her, his hand slammed down against the wall beside her head. He leaned closer, staring her down.
"I believe we have all the evidence we need. After all," His free hand reached up, grabbed the collar of her dress and tore it open. The women in the room screamed, along side Levis as her unmentionables were now on display. The bodice-like, cream undergarment beneath her dress was all that kept her half decent as the strategist pushed the right side of her dress down her arm.
"how many people have such an intricate, oddly coloured birthmark..?" Holding her dress closed, she pushed him away from her; flustered and teary eyed.
"Sir Scientia, you could have just torn the sleeve of my dress! Have you no sense of decency? Or, at the very least, you could have ASKED me to show it to you!" Her hands clenched the fabric of her torn dress as the council members fell silent. At least until Lucrum spoke up.
"Y-you would have shown us?" She nodded and explained that she'd only killed the guard because he was acting as hostile as she had. This lead to them asking if this meant she was confessing. She nodded, releasing her dress, standing tall and proud.
"Yes. My name is Levis Nefira, I am 18 years of age and I am Mors Atra's tactician. I'll come quietly, if you meet my conditions..." Explaining her wishes in return for her quiet arrest, they came to the conclusion that her terms were reasonable.
That sorted, one of the guards gave her their jacket to hide her indecency as they escorted her from the room. As they did, she threw another playful smirk over her shoulder to the prince.
"I'm sorry, your highness. Your faith was misplaced."