Scene 52 - Undercover: Part I
Their footsteps echoed down the hallway and Brianna attempted to make small talk with Kaldur, "You received orders to head to the meeting room too?"
The blonde was a little surprised; she wasn't the type to strike up a conversation so readily… not since their mutual agreement about being just colleagues. "Yes, I received it on my communicator not long ago." Aqualad replied and the brunette pressed on, "How's your arm, by the way?"
He moved his elbow around, demonstrating its flexibility, "I'm completely healed. Thanks for asking."
A small smile graced Ember's face and soon, they entered the meeting room and were greeted by Black Canary, Captain Atom, Batman, Superman, and an unknown red-headed male dressed in a dapper navy blue suit. "Ember, Aqualad, this is Prince Leon of Valenria," Dinah addressed to the two young heroes and the royal prince walked towards them, giving Kaldur a firm a handshake but kissing the back of Brianna's hand.
The brunette blushed slightly and said, "A pleasure to meet you, your highness."
The prince's blue eyes looked towards her with warmth, "Please, both of you can just call me Leon. I'm not on official duty right now."
Aqualad was unfazed by the red-head's gesture towards Ember; it was quite common for nobles to do so when they encounter a lady. The Atlantean smiled, "What can we do for you, Leon?"
"I need your help with a summit coming up near Christmas," Leon replied and Batman took over, drawing up a screen with pictures. "Valenria is a small kingdom rich in oil and because of that precious resource, many organizations and some royal families are interested in its wealth. Queen Bee of Bialya has been quite aggressive in her attempts to match make Prince Leon with her niece but they've never been able to physically meet the Valenria royal family in person due to the League's protection."
Ember frowned and asked, "Bialya already has oil though. Why would she want to acquire land much smaller than her own?"
Superman interjected, "It is highly likely she just wants power to expand her rule. The Christmas summit for charity is going to bring in numerous royal houses from all over the world and we suspect Queen Bee is going to send her niece to participate as a final and desperate attempt to seduce the prince. Security is going to be very tight. Only people of royal blood would be allowed to enter the function room and all of their bodyguards would be left outside. We would love to send in either Martians but if word got out that the Justice League was involved, let's just say a lot of people won't be happy."
Kaldur listened attentively and pointed out, "How would the both of us be able to help though? We're Leaguers…"
Captain Atom gave a confident smile and immediately the screen switched to a picture of Brianna with an image of a crown beside her, "Ember is of royal blood and she would be able to enter the function room to protect Prince Leon. Aqualad will be her bodyguard, under disguise of course."
The brunette's eyebrows rose up high, "You want me to go public with my family's legacy?"
Black Canary nodded, "We've already come up with a cover story for you. Don't worry; it's going to be low key enough that you won't be hounded by paparazzi but with enough impact to convince people that you are indeed descended from the Adrinz family line."
Brianna deliberated on the decision for a few moments, furrowing her brow as the Atlantean looked at her with concern. He was about to reach out to comfort her when she finally said, "I suppose it is time for me to embrace my heritage. After all, it is the source of my powers. Ignoring it would be turning my back on the Guardian. I accept the mission of protecting Prince Leon."
With that, the brunette stood up and walked towards the prince to shake his hand as a sign of accepting the partnership. Leon returned the handshake with a soft look in his eye and Kaldur, while a little confused at the prince's behaviour, still supported his friend's decision with a smile.
She stood behind the curtains, nervously smoothing out her dress and jacket as she listened attentively to what Leon was saying. The prince was talking about Valenria's pledge to continuously contribute to charity. Brianna's heart pounded in her chest and the woman felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at Kaldur who was dressed up in a suit with sunglasses perched on his ears.
"It's going to be alright. Just breathe," The Atlantean whispered and he squeezed her arm reassuringly. To her, the League, and the Team, he was still blonde but to strangers, he had jet black hair and his neck was free of gills. Zatanna had conjured up an even better glamor charm which was a thin arm band that could be worn under clothes. That way people wouldn't be able to pull it off easily.
"In addition to attending the Christmas summit, the Valenria family has also extended its partnership up with a relatively new royal family. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Princess Brianna of Adrinz." That was her cue and Ember inhaled a deep breath as Kaldur pulled the curtain aside and ushered her out. It was a relatively small room with a few journalists and photographers but the atmosphere was still quite serious and it was slightly unnerving.
The brunette set down and the prince smiled at her to calm her nerves. Brianna exhaled quietly and reached up to pull the script towards her with one hand and adjusting the microphone with the other. When she was ready, the pyro spoke, "Thank you, Prince Leon. I am honoured to be able to use the Adrinz royal name to help the less fortunate."
There was a small pause as she looked at the confusion on everyone's faces and she gave a friendly grin, "Many of you may not be aware of the Adrinz royal family line. I too, had no knowledge of its existence until a few years ago. It took me quite a while to come to terms with my ancestry but after helping out patients at Sage Hill Hospital in my hometown, I found that I couldn't deny what was a part of my life and it would be a disgrace to my ancestors to turn my back on people. Therefore, I have decided to embrace my past. The old kings of Adrinz readily opened up the town to the needy and while the kingdom is no longer here today, I would like to follow my great-grandfathers footsteps to contribute to society."
Brianna then gestured to the red head and continued her speech, "Thanks to Prince Leon, he has agreed to help me with my cause. Both of us look forward to helping the charities involved. More information has already been given to the reporters concerning the Adrinz royal family. With that, I thank all of you for your time." The mini press conference was over and he stood up to walk away and was followed shortly by Kaldur, Leon and his bodyguards.
When they were safely away from the media, they adjourned to a private room where the brunette let out a huge sigh of relief, "That went better than I expected."
Aqualad couldn't help but beam at her, "You were a natural, Brianna. Poised and elegant like a true princess." Ember looked up at the Atlantean with a smile and the prince added on, "I concur. You were very calm and confident. Much better than my first press conference where I fumbled."
"Thank you for the praise, your highness." The pyro replied earnestly and they were soon joined by Dinah and Nathaniel who were in civilian getups.
"Excellent work, Ember. We've given the press evidence of your heritage and hopefully the general public would accept you. I suggest that you prepare for the charity summit soon. I'm sure both Kaldur and Prince Leon would be great teachers in the subject of royal protocol."
Brianna smiled, working undercover with Aqualad didn't seem so bad after all.
Author's Note: It's currently Nov 2017 in this chapter. Which gives Brianna a month to prepare for the Christmas summit.
And you can see potential love interest coming from a mile away. Will Kaldur and Leon clash? You'll see. ;)
To murdercrowther: No worries. Thank you for your praise.
To Anime hotty lover.18: Indeed. Our deepest secrets spill out.
To Eszra: :)
To Molly Grace 16: Yup, poor girl is so torn between her heart and mind.
To piggythelaw: Thanks!
To LadyAmazon: It'll get better. :D