Bianca knocks on the door, earning a soft, "Come in." She enters the room to see Finé at the computer with piles of books open around her.
"Princess, have you been in the study this whole time? Do you know what time it is?" Bianca presses.
"Hmm?" Finé mumbles. Her eyes flicker to the side to see the time on the computer, raising an eyebrow in return. "Oh…"
"Princess, you really should stop now. It could affect your concentration tomorrow if you don't rest enough."
"Give me a few minutes to finish this video, it's analysing how politicians win debates," Finé disputes.
"Come on, it's late. You should retire to your room immediately, we can clean up here," Bianca offers, referring to herself and the other Royal Guards outside.
Finé pauses the video to look at Bianca. "What are you, my nanny?" she smirks.
"Actually, I am," Bianca returns the gesture. "I don't care too much about my position, but as the Head of the Royal Guards, I am notified if you are not where you are supposed to be." She relaxes her shoulders as she recalls, "And I did babysit you when you were young, it's just natural for me to continue to look after you, even disregarding our positions."
Finé sighs as she clicks at multiple points of the screen. "Alright, alright, I'll go to sleep," she resigns as the whirl of the computer's fan tapers off as well. "It's just that we've hit a rough patch while negotiating with the British so I wanted to see what I can do to help."
Bianca smiles at Finé. "I don't really know what's going on, but I know that tough negotiations are not that rare. I'm sure your father has a plan. There's no need to rush things, you've only been back for a few weeks. Nobody expects you to be ready this quickly."
"Yeah…" Finé trails off as she walks towards Bianca, "But I still want to give it my all."
Bianca's hand suddenly jerks to her ear. She taps the communicator, her eyebrows furrowing as she focuses on the message. Finé stops and looks at her with concern.
"Get the King to the room. I've got the Princess." Bianca lowers her hand to look at Finé whose eyes are wide. "There's an emergency," she explains, "Our air traffic controllers detected that the British Prime Minister's plane crashed into a mountain nearby. We need to go to the meeting room now. Our ministers will be there soon and the British will join via video to discuss the situation."
Finé sharpens her gaze. "Got it, let's go," she acknowledges as she sprints to the door. Bianca follows close by, calling for a maid to come by to clean up the books while the guards outside join them in heading to the meeting room.
As Finé runs through the usually quiet hallways, people start to spew out, causing a commotion in the palace. "How bad is it?" she asks Bianca who keeps pace beside her.
"We have visual of the crash site but we don't know how many trapped, injured or dead there are. Our rescue choppers are getting ready to go now but we're dispatching some of our forces as well to be safe."
Finé skids to a stop at a door, resulting in Bianca and the other guards stopping to look at her. "This is Izetta's room…" Finé mumbles. She then lunges forward to press the doorbell, causing the Royal Guards stationed to jump and look at each other.
"Princess, what are you doing?" Bianca questions as her eyes harden.
"We don't need to worry so much if we send in the White Agent," Finé answers without skipping a beat while pressing the doorbell again, "This is a rare chance to get the British into our debt and ease future negotiations."
"Princess, with all due respect-"
"Did she already go out?" Finé talks to herself as she reaches for the door knob. Since Izetta did not lock it before falling asleep, the door opens without protest. "Izetta! Are you here?"
Light from the corridor spills into the dark room. Izetta, who was half awake because of the ringing, lets out a whimper as her eyes flutter towards the light. Then her vision refocuses and her eyes go wide. Jumping out of bed, she almost screams, "Yes, sorry, Your Highness! I'm up!"
"Princess I don't think we should-"
"This is an emergency, isn't it?" Finé cuts in. Seeing Bianca take a step back, Finé turns back to Izetta to reveal, "The British Prime Minister's plane has crashed into a nearby mountain. It'll be a piece of cake for you to go and secure them, right?"
"O-Oh…" Izetta processes as her eyes drift to her phone that remains silent and dark. She then realises her slightly deflated posture and quickly straightens up to look back at Finé's sparkling eyes. "I mean, yes, of course, Your Highness. I will get ready immediately," Izetta answers with a smile.
"Great! I'll leave you to it then," Finé cheers as she turns to leave. Bianca takes a moment to peek at Izetta whose smile falters as she turns towards her phone. Wordlessly, Bianca turns around to follow Finé.
Izetta grimly turns her phone on to confirm her suspicions that there were no notifications, much less any from the Secret Service. Her hands drop as her eyes fall to the ground. 'What was I thinking? How could I become so lax just because Her Highness rewarded me?' Izetta's hands clench tightly to the point that they start to shake. 'Of course she's giving me all these luxuries so I can do more for her! How could her most powerful weapon just be lazing around?!'
Taking a breath, Izetta raises her fists slightly. With a muffled grunt, she swings them back down to expel the emotions consuming her. 'I resigned myself to fighting for her sake before, so why…' Izetta's breathing becomes erratic as she asks herself the question plaguing her, 'Why do I feel so hurt now that Her Highness is sending me out there…?'
Izetta takes a few deep breaths to calm herself. Then she transforms into the White Agent and taps her helmet. "White Agent to Command."
Moments of silence pass before the soft static breaks it. "Command here. Go ahead White Agent."
"Is there an ongoing mission to rescue the British Prime Minister? He crashed into a mountain near Eylstadt right?"
"Yes. What about it?" the voice on the other end asks with the slightest bit of hesitation dripping through.
"Please put me on it," Izetta implores as she runs out of the room, heading towards the pod station. "I can get there faster and secure him for sure."
The line is silent again. Just as Izetta thinks that they did not hear her, it crackles back to life. "White Agent, didn't the Princess of Eylstadt bring to her palace?" the voice checks without its usual monotone, "The rescue is being handled by the Eylstadt air force so there's no need for you to go. How about you take a breather while you're at the palace?"
"Don't worry, Her Highness is the one asking me to go," Izetta responds as her lips tighten.
The people at Command start talking among themselves, unheard by Izetta since they had let go of the transmit button. "The Princess is asking for the White Agent?"
"Did the situation escalate?"
"Surely they would asked for help from other countries first?"
"We don't have time for this. If the worse case scenario is happening right now, then we have to send in the White Agent. We can talk to the Princess later if it turns out she overreacted."
A jet roars across the sky. It heads towards a mountain which is covered by a blanket of snow. The pilot flashes a look to the passenger in the back seat before looking back at the target. "White Agent, we are approaching the drop off point. Please prepare."
"Affirmative," Izetta acknowledges as she undoes her seat belts. She reaches forward to sling a big bag in front of her and then puts on the parachute on her back. Then she puts her hands on the canopy. The jet turns upside down, allowing Izetta to lower herself onto the canopy on her knees.
"Drop." The canopy slides open from under Izetta and she falls towards the mountain. Spotting the wreckage, she streamlines herself towards it. Although there are harsh winds blowing from so high up, Izetta's magic keeps her safe and warm. As she nears the crash site, she flips upright and pulls the parachute. The strong winds immediately slow her descent but also carry her away from where she was going to land. In one swift motion, she generates a knife and cuts through the strings of the parachute, immediately detaching it from her.
Izetta then drops straight down with her fists and feet outstretched. Magical blades protrude from them and dig into the mountain, allowing her to get an easy grip. Izetta looks up at the mountaintop, making sure that there is no rumbling. The quick pull of the parachute should have been enough to slow her down so that she does not cause an avalanche by crashing into the mountain, but she had to make sure. Satisfied with the result, Izetta unslings the parachute one arm at a time, brings the supply bag to her back and then scales towards the crash site.
Izetta spots a huddle as she nears the wreckage. "Hey," she calls out while raising her voice to be heard over the winds, "I'm here to save you."
The group look towards her. "The White Agent…" a few of them gasp to themselves, the sound lost to the wind. A few hands wave to her.
Izetta gets onto their footing which lets her stand without her blades. Even though the plane had crashed into the mountain, there was no sign of an avalanche and they had managed to create a makeshift platform with the debris to sit. "Is everybody safe?"
"Yes, thank you for coming though," a big guy speaks up. "The President is unharmed and we managed to pull out those that were stuck. We're just sharing our body heat now while waiting for rescue."
"I owe you all my life," the President speaks through a slight shiver.
Izetta unzips her bag and takes out packets. "Here, these should keep all of you warmer. I also have food and water as well as a first aid kit."
The group graciously accepts the heat packs. Izetta looks around as they help themselves to the supplies. A few bottles are already strewn around, no doubt their water supply from the plane itself. Even a cut from a crewmember is already bandaged with clothing. Izetta breathes out under her helmet as she takes out her flare gun.
"Do you want some as well?" the big guy offers some heat packs to Izetta who turns to look at him. "I know you're much stronger than us but you still look smaller than most of us. Does your suit keep you warm enough?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Izetta respectfully declines. "Just wait a little longer, the rescue helicopters should be here soon." Izetta looks over the flare charges, selecting the green one which signifies that everything is under control. Stepping away from the group, she fires the flare into the air.
A few minutes pass. Then the whirling of helicopter blades rumble from above. The group of men stand up energetically to wave to the helicopter as Izetta looks up at the snow. Members of the rescue squad descend from the helicopter with ropes tied to them, their hands reaching out to the group. Izetta sees out of the corner out of her eye that the President is getting secured, followed by the injured. 'Good, seems like there won't be an avalanche.'
The last of the group gets tied to a rescue member and hauled up the helicopter. Izetta steps towards the final rescue member and lets him tie the rope around her. "Thank you," she says as he finishes and they get pulled up.
"No need," comes the curt reply.
Izetta falls silent. She would have been able to pull herself up via rope or even jump onto the chopper, but that did not mean that she did not appreciate the efforts of others. She felt the same frustration as him, that they did not need to be here. Even though she had gotten there faster than anybody else could have, there was nothing that needed her powers to take care of. She lets out a long breath mentally.
They get onto the chopper and the door is shut. The man undoes the rope from Izetta, bows, and shrinks away. She looks around to see the medics tend to the British, leaving her with nothing to do. She decides to go to an unoccupied corner and leans back.
"Nice job out there," a voice compliment.
"Yeah…" Izetta lets out absentmindedly. Then she straightens up to see where the voice came from. She had wandered into the view of the pilots and one had his head half turned to her. "Sorry, I mean, thank you."
"Not as exciting as your other adventures I bet," he laughs off. "You look like you need a vacation. Why not take one? I'm sure the people up there can work something out if nothing big's happening."
"I… I was just thinking about something else for a moment," Izetta confesses, "Maybe later."
"Well, don't let me hold you up then. We still have a bit before we land so just take it easy."
The pilot turns back to face forward. Izetta waits for a moment and when nothing else happens, leans back onto the helicopter's walls. Her eyes look upwards as she scolds herself, 'What am I doing?'
The White Agent briskly walks towards his room. Seeing light from the door, Izetta picks up the pace. 'I didn't turn on any lights as I left, that means that somebody is in it right now.' The Royal Guards stationed at her room step away to let her enter. 'The guards didn't react to the light either, which means that somebody they recognise is in the room. Could it be…?'
Izetta almost leaps into the room to see nobody. She turns to the other source of light which comes from the bathroom. As she walks towards it hesitantly, Lotte pops out from it. "Oh no! I didn't think that you would be back so fast!" she exclaims, "I thought I could check if you were missing anything by doing an inventory check…"
Izetta looks around the room. Her luggage that was left open has been closed and shifted back into a corner. Her bed has been made, now in the pristine condition it was in before she slept in it.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Lotte blurts out, "I'll leave immediately, so please use your room as you wish."
"No, it's okay. Thank you for cleaning the room so quickly," Izetta stops her, "I'm going back to bed so you can continue what you were doing."
"Won't I be disturbing you then? If you're going to sleep then all the more I should leave."
"It's fine, really. Just turn off the lights and close the door when you're done," Izetta waves off as she goes to the table. Lotte looks at her as she transforms back to normal and pulls out her phone. With a slow turn, Lotte goes back into the bathroom to check on the supplies.
'I slept for a few hours before the mission, so I should have enough energy by just sleeping a little more. Maybe three hours,' Izetta reasons to herself as she sets the alarm. Then she turns back to the empty bed and trudges towards it. 'Why was I expecting Her Highness to be in here? Did I think she was going to praise me again? Do I really need her to pat me on the back for everything I do?'
With a loud exhale, Izetta drops onto the bed. She sluggishly turns over to cover herself with the blanket before she passes out on her back.
"We have confirmation that every member on the plane has been admitted to the hospital," the King of Eylstadt announces to the room, "You can rest assured that they will be treated as our own and will be flown back home once they have recovered."
The British on the projector screen visibly relax. "Eylstadt, thank you for the speedy response," a Brit expresses their gratitude as they start to bow. "Not just for rescuing the Prime Minister, but for rescuing the other men who are just as important."
"Eylstadt is always happy to help those in need," Finé cuts in with a big smile, "We hope that this incident has shown that Eylstadt is capable of being an asset."
Some of the British faces harden while a few smirk. They know where Finé was leading as both sides have been unable to come to an agreement for the past few days, mainly due to the small size of Eylstadt compared to the British empire.
"So please reconsider your stance towards us. We don't have to be friends right of the bat, we can start by scratching each other's back first. But I'm sure that we'll be able to see each other's true value in time, we just have to take the first step."
The King clears his throat. "I'm sorry about the Princess, she's just young and overzealous." Finé shoots her father a look and he puts a hand up to silence her. "I'm sure that all of us are tired from this, how about we reconvene on another day?"
"Agreed," a Brit acknowledges. "Do not worry though Princess, we are not so ungrateful to just forget who saved our people."
Finé's smile returns though her eyebrow twitches. With the final goodbyes, the projector turns off and the ministers start to fan out of the room. Finé swiftly heads over to her father to question him, "Father, what was that about? Should we not have pushed our advantage immediately?"
Finé's father gestures for her to sit next across him. Puffing out to calm down, Finé takes the offer. "There are some situations that call for that, yes," he grants, "But we would be at a disadvantage as well if we continued immediately. Many of us were pulled out of bed and you yourself have not slept at all. Compared to the British timezone where it's still early for them, our concentration would fall off much faster."
Finé blinks a few times. Then she rubs her head with a sheepish smile. "I can't believe I didn't think of that until you said it."
"Like I said, you haven't slept at all," he chuckles, "Let's go to bed now then. I'll teach you more tomorrow after we're well rested. I've cancelled your tutors' lessons tomorrow so we can spend some time together and I can guide you personally."
"Oh, sure, that sounds good," Finé agrees as a big yawn escapes her. The Royal Guards escort them back to their rooms as Royal Maids enter to clean up. As the King is wheeled back, his lips tighten as he remembers the report of the White Agent being sent out for this mission.
"Do you know if Izetta has returned?" Finé asks Bianca who walks beside her.
"She came back as Lotte was checking on her room. She told Lotte to finish her tasks as she fell asleep."
"Oh, I see. I'm sure she's heard many thanks by this point but I'll still give her mine when we meet."