Finé sets down the newspaper on the bed table. The paper has a portrait photo of the White Agent standing at full height with the article itself reporting that the royal children who were missing for years have all been found and rescued. Most of the credit was given to the White Agent that infiltrated and stormed the fortress single-handedly, to which the terrorists were unable to react to at all. It ends with a quote by him, "I want to see a world where everybody can choose their own tomorrow. If anyone or anything threatens to disrupt the peace, I will be there to protect it."
Finé puts a hand to her chin as her brows furrow. 'He addressed me as 'Your Highness'… Usually people just use Princess if they mean to be respectful. He even briefly rubbed my shoulder as he was sending us off. It means that either he's much older than me or there's some familiarity between us. He doesn't look that tall so if I assume the latter, it points to just one person. Yet there are other facts that contradict who it could be as well. I even told her to leave it all behind so it can't be her… Can it…?'
As Finé is deep in thought, the other people in the room go about their business. Some children are talking to adults who are representing their country, while others are resting as they patiently wait for their country's representatives to arrive. Occasionally nurses come in to check on the children while doctors go over the medication and answer questions by the representatives.
Out of the corner of Finé's eye, she sees a familiar blot of dark blue outside walk towards the door. Her heart picks up as she focuses on the people in blue. While they let the numerous strict security guards verify their identities, Finé makes out the tinges of dark yellow and red on their uniforms. Her eyes widen slowly as her hand falls back down to the bed. The group in dark blue enter the room and break off, some of them heading towards Finé, causing her heart to pound even harder.
The women approach Finé, kneeling on one knee when they get close. "Princess Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt, we are sorry for making you wait," a woman with black hair apologises.
Finé's hands shoot to her mouth as she lets out a gasp.
"We are the Royal Guard of Eylstadt. We will see to it that you are safely brought home as soon as possible. You may not remember us, but we solemnly swear that no more harm will come to you."
Memories flood back to Finé. As a child, they Royal Guards had served her, doubling as her nanny when her mother had passed away and her father was too busy. Compared to years ago, their outfits are slightly different but the resemblance is uncanny.
Finé's lips tremble. "Please, rise, all of you."
The guards slowly stand at full height. Finé throws herself at the black hair woman who catches her as the other guards step back in shock. "It is so good to see you again, Bianca," Finé whimpers as her arms wrap around the woman.
Bianca returns the hug. "I cannot apologise enough to you, Princess," Bianca laments as her voice cracks. "I should have been there. If only more of us were there, maybe something could have changed, maybe we could have saved you right there and then. If only-"
"How many guards from back then are here now?" Finé cuts in gently. "I don't recognise anybody else but my memory may be hazy."
Bianca is silent for a moment. Her hand strokes Finé's head. "None. Everybody who was there fell."
Finé sniffles yet a small smile creeps up. "Then I'm glad you weren't there. I know that the Royal Guards, then and now, will fight to protect the crown until they draw their last breath. If you were there when I was kidnapped, you would have died as well."
Bianca's eyes start to water. "You still think so highly of us? Even when we failed you? Even after you suffered so much because of us?"
"Mhmm," Finé hums. "I trust you, all of you. Everybody made a pledge to serve Eylstadt with their lives and I will not make light of that vow." She looks up at them, taking in their sunken features. "I'm sure that many of you were doing whatever you could to save me, such as searching for me day after day and taking part in the raid last night."
The guards behind look down. "We weren't the ones that found the fortress. We also only made up a tiny fraction of the forces last night. It's like we didn't do anything."
Finé unwraps herself from Bianca, softly pushing herself back. Bianca takes the hint and lets go of Finé, looking at her with moist eyes. Finé sits back on the bed and puts her hands on her knees. With a bow, she expresses her honest feelings, "Thank you for doing everything you could. I am safe and sound now, so I couldn't ask for anything more. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all and those back home."
The guards look up in shock. Bianca rubs her eyes with her arms, letting her sleeve get damp. Some other guards lose their composure as well, rubbing their tears away. The few that maintained their composure did the only thing they could think of and bowed back in respect. Regardless, all of them had the same thought, 'The royal family is truly magnanimous. This is why we can serve them with all our hearts.'
Finé slowly gets back up. She takes a close look at the Royal Guards gathered and then looks at the outside of the room. Her eyes widen slightly in realization. "Do any of you know where is my father? I thought he was just hidden to surprise me but I don't see him at all."
Bianca clears her throat. "It pains me to say this, but he has become sickly after you were kidnapped. He is now bedridden."
Finé gasps as her body jumps. "Oh no… Is he… going to… you know…?"
Bianca rubs Finé's shoulders. "Don't worry, he's still fit enough to attend to his daily duties. Just like you, he is a fine ruler. The ministers are all pitching in to help him out of respect."
Finé lets out the breath that she was holding. With a smile she remarks, "Then I'd better on the plane to go back to him soon. Can I go now?"
"No need to rush, Princess," a Royal Guard comforts as she reaches into her backpack. The others move aside to stand at attention. The Royal Guard pulls out a laptop and sets it on the bed table, placing the bag in front of the bed. "We can connect the two of you with this."
Finé blinks a few times as the laptop starts up and shows menus that she does not remember after being imprisoned for years. "Thank you," she appreciates as another Royal Guard takes out the charger and mouse from the bag and goes about plugging them in.
"Our pleasure," the first Royal Guard replies without taking her eyes off the screen, typing in the password. The mouse powers up and is passed to her to browse through the desktop. Finé marvels at how they are working together without talking. Even for such a simple task where one person could do it, they break it up into smaller tasks to be done in parallel so that she can see her father just a little sooner.
The screen flashes and Finé sees her own face. Her heart starts to pound at the anticipation. The first Royal guard checks the settings of the application while the other slowly adjusts the laptop's camera to show Finé's face properly. The other guards take their positions around the bed, forming a makeshift curtain.
The window with Finé's face shrinks to make way for another window. Finé's heart beats even faster as the window loads in. When she can finally see the other side, her heart nearly stops. Finé sees her father laying in bed. The two of them jerk towards the camera, taking a closer look at the other through the computer screens. Although they had not seen each other for years, their bond has never wavered. They just knew, that the person on the other side is who they've longed to see for years.
"Father…" Finé chokes out with tears welling in her eyes.
"Finé… My baby…" her father sobs. He traces the screen with his finger as tears roll down his face. "Look at you, you must have suffered so much…"
Finé lets her own tears flow freely. "You don't look so good yourself. Are you resting enough? Did you find a successor? You should just take it easy for now."
Her father chuckles. Patting his chest with a frail hand, he quips, "I've still got some fire left in me. Especially now that you're safe and sound, I feel a hundred times stronger."
Finé giggles back, "I feel like I can just jump out of bed and rush over to you too. I can't wait to come back and see you for real. Speaking of which, I should be able to in…" Finé looks up at the Royal Guards and asks, "How many days?"
The Royal Guards look towards another person in a similar outfit to them but he has some crosses on and a looser outfit. He is jogging towards them after finishing a conversation with the doctor. A Royal Guard whispers the question to his ear as he joins them.
"3 days, Princess. In the mean time I, a Royal Doctor, will oversee your treatment with the Royal Guards helping so please rest assured that we will help you recover as fast as possible," he responds with a bow.
"You heard him Finé," her father fusses. "I'm sure you know that our Royal Service is top notch so just follow what they say and get your strength back."
"Oh Father," Finé sighs with a smile as she rolls her eyes, "Already nagging at me in less than five minutes."
"I know how rambunctious you can be," he teases.
Finé and her father continue to chat for a while. They do not say much nor about anything important but just take the time to bask in the presence of each other. For years their minds have always had the heavy weight of worrying how the other person was doing with no way of knowing. Now that they could see and talk to each other through some miracle, they were genuinely happy.
Finé's father lets out a series of loud and painful coughs. Finé's face falls as she starts towards the screen. "Father, we should stop for now. You need to get some rest."
He struggles to clear his throat as a Royal Nurse brings him some medicine. He gulps it down and falls back onto the pillow. "You're right," he hacks out. "Let's continue tomorrow, okay?"
"Mhmm. I love you."
"Love you too."
The window showing her father's face blacks out. A Royal Guard gestures towards the laptop and probes, "Princess, may we keep the laptop?"
"Hmm, hold on," Finé answers. She looks at the doctor to question, "Is there anything I need to do now?"
"Just take the medicine for now. We'll do a check-up later to see your progress but that's much later."
"Good," Finé nods as she looks back towards the group as a whole. "Then please tell me all of your names. I'll be remembering each and every one of you anyway so I should exercise my brain as soon as possible."
The group looks at each other except for Bianca who chuckles.
"Oh, and then teach me how to use this 'laptop' as well. There must be a whole trove of information accessible if it could connect me to my father while we are miles apart."
"Of course, Princess. So, who wants to introduce themselves first?"
The White Agent is sitting in at the corner of a cargo plane with his hands on his lap. There is a group of soldiers sitting across him but they keep their distance. A few of them have their heads hung with their eyes closed while the others mutter to each other, inaudible to Izetta. The only thing that breaks the silence between Izetta and the soldiers is the whirl of the engines as the plane flies.
A soldier softly clears his throat which makes Izetta turn towards him. "So… you the same guy that was on the news?"
Izetta takes a moment to ponder to herself. She remembers that Command had told her about using the media to spread the message about her but since she had never read a newspaper or watched a video, she did not see the actual reports about herself, or himself. "If you mean to ask if I'm the White Agent, then yes that's me."
The other soldiers murmur among themselves more at her answer. The first soldier continues, "We noticed that you were sitting still the whole time. If you had just finished that incredible mission less than a day ago, surely you must be tired. You could at least rest while we are flying to the drop point."
"No, I'm fine. I should be alert in case something happens."
Another soldier's eyes widen slightly in realization. "If you're worried about us taking off your helmet and uncovering your identity, we were given very strict orders not to disturb you. If you want some peace we'll shut up as well," he reassures.
"No, no, please feel free to talk. I did rest enough before this so there's no need to worry about me."
The first soldier rubs the back of his head. "Well, okay. But I don't think somebody of your calibre should have been bothered about this. We're just going to deliver supplies to the village."
"It's no bother, I wanted to do something to help others, to make this a better world. And my mission is different from yours. I'm going to unblock the stream while you still drop off the relief supplies."
The soldiers break out into excited murmurs upon Izetta's revelation. The ones that were resting groan and shush them, lowering the noise level back down. The first soldier whispers the question on their minds, "Unblock it? They said multiple trees had fallen during the thunderstorm and clogged the stream. They would have to find a way to get construction vehicles there to remove the trees which would take days at least."
"Which is why it would be better if I did it," Izetta responds. "I should be able to clear it within an hour, or a few at most."
"White Agent," the intercom cuts in, making everybody look up. "We are approaching your drop point in three minutes. Please prepare."
Izetta looks back down and undoes her seatbelt, followed by strapping on a parachute.
"If you pull this off, I bet the village will look to you as a god that restored their water supply," the first soldier quips.
Izetta stops at the door and turns to face him. "I'm no god. Just somebody who wants to help others, just like all of you. Thank you for your service, I'm sure they will be very thankful for the supplies you drop off first while I work on this."
"White Agent, the door will open in fifteen seconds. You are clear to jump when you are ready."
The White Agent salutes the soldiers who take a second to salute back. They look in wonder as he turns back to face the cargo door. The sounds of gears grinding can be heard as the door reclines, followed by the howling of the wind. As soon as the door fully opens, the White Agent runs and jumps out. The pilots see him leaving through the surveillance cameras and press the button to close back the door.
Izetta looks around her as she falls, locating where the blockage of trees is. She finds a patch of grey among the forest of trees, signifying the trunks of the trees that have fallen. She dives towards the patch to set herself in the correct direction before pulling the parachute. She sails down towards the blockage, landing a few meters away from it. She swiftly unhooks the parachute, lays it down on the ground and jogs to take a closer look.
'Command said to remove the trunks slowly. The stream could be backed up so if I remove them too fast, it may result in a burst of water which could flood the village,' Izetta recalls. 'I should also remove the smaller ones first so when the stream does flow, they won't get swept away and end up stuck at a narrower part of the stream.'
Izetta steps onto the biggest trunk connected to the land with her feet generating magic blades to let her keep her footing. From there she surveys which trunks are best to extract first. As she makes her way to a target, a green glow envelopes her body, immensely strengthening it with magic. Her hands dig into the trunk and she lifts it up, bringing it to the side to be set down.
Izetta repeats the motion continuously until only a massive trunk is left. Water is flowing past it already but the flow is still constrained. Izetta squats down, gripping onto the trunk with her hands. She tries to lift it but it does not budge. Izetta tries again and again, her whole body squirming with the effort but it is just too heavy to be moved.
Taking a deep breath, the glow around her gets brighter. With a burst of strength, her hands tear into the trunk, burying themselves in it. She screams as the ground beneath her feet caves in. With a mighty yell, she heaves the trunk over her head and slams it into the ground beside the stream. After a few breaths to collect herself, Izetta pulls her hands and feet out and pushes the massive trunk away from the stream.
Once she gets far enough, Izetta looks back down the stream to see the water flowing smoothly. She taps her helmet to communicate, "White Agent to Samaritan."
"Samaritan here. Go ahead White Agent," the captain of the cargo plane from earlier responds.
"I've removed the blockage. Please confirm that water is flowing to the village again."
"Hang on, I don't see anything. You're quite far from the village so it will probably take some time for the water to reach us. Let me fly a drone to see if it is coming." The captain grabs a controller, using it to launch a drone from the plane and fly it upstream.
Izetta goes back to where she left the parachute on the ground to fold it back into its bag. She is almost done when the line crackles back to life.
"White Agent, I have visual of the flow of water. It is flowing steadily and we will ask the locals to check if the water level is the same as before."
"Copy that. I will be on standby here then." Izetta finishes packing the parachute back in before sitting on the ground. She looks at her hands and feet to find that there are no splinters or dirt on them although she had just buried them into the trunk and ground. Although she had meant to protect her hands, she was expecting her boots to get dirty. It was just that her surge in magic made her shield strong enough to filter out finer particles as well, including dirt.
"White Agent, we have confirmed that the water level has returned to normal."
Izetta stands up and is about to tap on her helmet to reply when another voice comes in, "Can he hear me like this?" Izetta's eyes look to the side as she does not recognise this voice.
"Yes Sir, go ahead. White Agent, the village chief wants to say something to you."
"Oh White Agent, thank you so much for restoring our water so quickly. Of course we are immensely grateful to the rest for bringing us supplies on such notice as well, but you must know that we have been through so many disasters where we don't know when help will come again. For you to solve the whole problem this fast, it is a great burden off our backs. Please, do come to us where we can personally extend our thanks."
"They have exquisite delicacies as well that they're offering to us. You can eat in one of the cargo compartments if you don't want people to see your face," the captain chimes in.
Izetta pauses for a moment. She then taps her helmet to reply, "No thank you, I only did what I should have."
"Oh… I won't force you then…" the chief trails off.
"Are you sure?" the captain probes.
"Yes. I appreciate the offer, but there should be something for me to do back at base."
"Alright, Samaritan out."
Izetta taps a few buttons to change channels, this time contacting Command. After reporting on the completion of the mission, Izetta asks, "Please arrange for extraction. I am at where the blockage was. I can be sent on another mission directly from there as well."
"Copy that. A helicopter will come to pick you up. The next mission will start in ten hours so you will be brought back to your apartment first."
'Ten hours? It can't take that long to set up, can it? If it was that complex surely they would have given me the mission right away.' Izetta opens her mouth to voice her thoughts, but then decides not to. 'I'm sure there's a good reason for it. I don't know about this logistics stuff so I shouldn't butt in.' In the end, she just verbally acknowledges and waits for the helicopter.
In actuality, Command was just going to give her the mission that is ranked the most difficult in ten hours. With this roundabout method of telling Izetta to wait ten hours, they hoped that the girl underneath the suit would take the time to get some rest.