Chapter Text
"I have a feeling my sister would ask me, 'How is the undercover mission going?', but I guess the more correct question is 'How is having a steady job for the first time in your life going?'"
Izetta didn't have any energy left to give her a response and they lay, exhausted, on their bunk bed at night, several days after they arrived in Landsbruck.
They had forgotten that the royal guards were part-military, and they had a strict training regimen that ruined Izetta and Sophie's tiny stamina every day. That didn't count all the guard duties that they did, including all the mind-numbing night shifts. It didn't take long for Izetta and Sophie to experience a complete burnout, and Bianca was none too kind to give them any breaks. She wasn't the only one who wanted to become the Princess's personal guard, and she didn't know if she had any power left to jostle for that prestigious position. Before Izetta came to the palace, she never knew there were so many kinds of martial arts in the world. When she finally learnt what "judo" meant, she landed face first on the floor with a bleeding nose, and she associated it with the pain ever since. The royal guards also had driving lessons, and they were a complete nightmare. On her very first try, Izetta almost ran over a cat and she jammed on the brakes so hard that Bianca's forehead nearly hit the dashboard.
Clearly, this mission wasn't going so well for them.
"…We need to do something about this, you know..." Sophie drawled, her voice muffled by her pillow, "In this rate...we won't get any information...let alone obtain that stone..."
It was true. The Archduke was rarely seen around the palace, and although they met the Princess in a daily basis, they hardly did anything much around her.
Izetta did learn about her rebellious attitude and adorable quirks...like how she would go jogging around the palace while wearing jodhpurs just to confuse everyone, how she would watch Atlantian shows on TV and call everyone Joe Sixpack, despite knowing what it actually meant, and how she looked so happy when Izetta got her jokes.
However...
"Those are not why we're here for...!" Sophie shouted at her, "Those are all useless information!"
"Still, we get to know her better?" Izetta tried to reason with her.
"Yeah, right, we get to know the brat better but we're not getting any closer to our goal! Because, unlike you, I don't think that is time worth spent!"
"Unlike me? ?"
"You have this eloquent gaze when you're looking at her, and I have a knack for noticing these sorts of things. You like watching her doing all those silly stuff."
"But I don't!"
"Give it up already, Izetta. Showing that kind of interest to a human is like...so creepy. I know some witches who would suit you better than that dirty human."
"Stop teasing something that will never happen," Izetta snorted, "There's like, less than a dozen marriages between a witch and a human in the last hundred years. And all those couples were executed by the Council for revealing the secret of ley lines anyway."
"In case you've forgotten, we don't have a Council anymore. They're pretty much the first people that mad king killed. Not too early for you to join the club."
"What? A club of dead people?"
"Exactly!"
Izetta let her laugh to herself from the upper bunk, but after a few moments she was back to her old cranky self.
"…This is serious. We have to do something before we die here aimlessly," she went on, "What we need right now is...information."
"Which we have been struggling to get for a while now. They never seem to openly talk about that stone. It seems like a forbidden topic around here. Joining in any conversation doesn't help," Izetta sighed in exhaustion.
"Obviously. Since they seem so secretive about this...there is probably a direct order from the Archduke to never discuss it around the palace."
"Which means..." they said in unison, arriving together at the same conclusion.
"The only person who can tell us is the one who can freely defy the Archduke, with no repercussion, in a way that would never be suspected by him. So the royal guards are automatically out of question. Then the only person left is..."
There was an uneasy pause. Izetta heard Sophie scrambling up from her bed and her face appeared upside down over Izetta's bunk.
"...you do this," she said abruptly before gleefully vanishing back to her bed.
"Just me?" the redhead exclaimed, "Isn't this supposed to be a joint effort? ?"
"You tolerate her better than I do. And I'm using the term 'tolerate' very loosely here..."
"Can you please knock it off with the whole 'Izetta likes a human' thing..."
However, she knew from Sophie's chortle that she was not going to let that down so easily.
So they found a temporary way out...kind of...but how could they possibly accomplish that...?
Sophie's answer was simple, although Izetta couldn't help but think that she was half-joking when she said it.
"Your relationship with the Princess is not close enough. She is the key to our success. We have to do something to make you girls closer."
The implication in that sentence almost made Izetta blush. She was glad Sophie was lying on her top bunk and didn't see how embarrassed she looked now. "I think her proposal to make you her personal guard would definitely come in handy. You can spend lots of alone time with her."
"The problem is everyone else doesn't seem to approve of it."
"Who cares about that? She's the princess, if she likes you enough to make you her personal guard no matter what, everyone will back off," Sophie pointed out, "You just need to make that happen."
"I...don't know if I'm likable enou-"
"Remember what I said about you having this eloquent gaze when you look at her...?" she cut her off, "Well...if I'm not mistaken, the Princess also looks at you in exactly the same way."
Every time Izetta thought about having a closer relationship with Finé, there was this painful lump in her throat.
Even after everything Sophie said, she couldn't deny that everyone in the castle, including Finé, thought she was just an ordinary human girl.
She couldn't imagine the look on Finé's face if she found out that Izetta was a witch, assuming she was not going to do anything to stop her father.
"He said a witch killed my mother...
Do you believe that...?"
There was doubt somewhere in there...mirroring the uncertainty that grew inside Izetta's mind.
But that was not important now.
Lives were on stake and Izetta didn't have time to wonder about the Archduke's true motives. All Izetta knew was that if she didn't do something, there would be no witches left on Earth. As long as Finé believed that Izetta was a girl from the countryside who came to sincerely protect her life, Izetta wouldn't have trouble approaching her.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Princess also looks at you in exactly the same way..."
Sophie clearly didn't say that as a joke...but an honest observation to push Izetta to get closer to Princess.
Deep inside Izetta's mind, and locked away so tight that she didn't need to think about it...was the possibility that Finé felt an attraction for her, no matter how little.
"That just makes it easier for you," Sophie would say, "You have to take advantage of this."
Beyond ill-minded jests, it would never occur to Sophie that a witch could ever fall in love with a human. It was just unthinkable morally and socially, a witch had a duty to continue and preserve their ancient magical bloodline, and like the white witches said, as the last of hers Izetta was obliged to survive this whole ordeal. If a witch marries a human, then she would be committing a taboo against a sacred tradition that had persisted for hundreds of years. They said it was extremely bad karma, an act so wrongful, so foul that they would never had a witch as a daughter. The punishment for such transgression was the worst of all: having their bloodline severely cut off forever.
However, sometimes when Izetta looked at the Princess, she wondered why there was never a witch as beautiful as her.
Sure, she could be playful at times, but when she was off doing her princess duties, meeting important people from all over the nation with that professional, elegant smile of hers, or taking care of paperworks as her father's replacement...Izetta couldn't help but gaze in awe. And when their eyes met and the Princess grinned shyly at her, she thought that her heart was going to leap out of her chest.
She's just a human...
A dirty human who probably bears a grudge on your kind...
Nothing would ever come out of this...
So Izetta shut away those thoughts, and focused on the task she had in hand.
Sophie probably disagreed with her, and Izetta knew she was racing with time, but in her opinion she had to go slowly and carefully.
If her attempt to approach the Princess was too obvious, Bianca or the other guards would notice and it wouldn't be good for them.
She had to wait for a chance, for the time when the royal guards believed in her enough to let her be alone with the Princess.
That chance didn't come too often...but days turned into weeks, and they all slowly got used to each other's presence. Anna in particular seemed to like spending time with Izetta, giving her tips about using weapons and handling royal customs. Little by little, the royal guards began to let Izetta stay with the Princess alone in a room, but never long enough for them to have any meaningful conversation.
Little did they know that Izetta already found a way to get closer to the Princess behind their backs, although it didn't work as well as she thought it would.
Like she said, Finé continued to have her midnight walks, and once in a while, when Izetta saw her in the gardens outside her window, she would come down to see her.
"Ah, Izetta. I've been waiting for you."
Izetta gave her a confused blink. "...Princess, you are not supposed to be waiting for me. My duty is to keep you safe, and the other royal guards would've probably told you off by now, but-"
"But you won't," Finé said with a knowing smile, "And in case you're wondering, I said that so you know that you are not intruding on my privacy...Izetta."
It shut her down instantly. The Princess always made her feel all sorts of strange things. Even now, when her figure covered in an oversized coat and a thick long scarf seemed to dazzle her under the gentle glow of the moonlight.
It made her secretly happy that she was a royal guard, that she had an excuse to watch Finé closely, to observe every tiny movement she made and every little detail of her gorgeous face.
No matter how much she hated herself for even feeling those things.
Even when they were alone in the gardens like this, those emotions stopped her from taking another step. She just stood there and kept watch as she followed the Princess around the gardens, breaking into small talks here and there. It was like if she went too far...everything would spill out and she wouldn't be able to restrain those emotions in the back of her mind anymore. She decided that she was just marveling at the beauty of that single lavender flower from a safe distance, never intending to come any closer.
She didn't realize her body was shivering in the cold until the Princess pointed out, "Izetta...? You okay...? You're shaking."
When Finé decided to walk closer to check on her, deep flush immediately spread across Izetta's face.
"No! I'm, I'm fine...I'm..."
"You look so tense..." her head cocked curiously to the side.
Probably because your face is right in front of mine...!
"I'm okay...!" she exclaimed, now trembling as much as the pine leaves around them in the wind.
It was followed by a loud sneeze, convincing the Princess that she needed warmer temperature.
"...I'm sorry, Izetta," she chuckled, and goodness that was the prettiest chuckle Izetta had ever seen, if only she wasn't so distracted by the Princess finger rubbing her red nose, "I made you go down here in such a chilly weather."
"It's nothing at all, Princess...!" she denied, but she couldn't hide her runny nose.
"Seriously, you can go back up no-"
"I want to be with you."
When she saw Finé's eyes widening, her hand immediately jumped to her mouth.
She was just saying that because she needed to stay with the Princess.
She was just saying that because she needed to get closer to her no matter what.
She was just saying that as a part of her mission.
And then why...
"...You want it so much that you would go out in a freezing weather in this time of the night...?"
...did the Princess's nervous laugh made her heart beat so much faster...?
The painful lump in her throat returned, and it stopped her from pondering over it further.
However, it all fell apart when warm wool was thrown around her shoulders and wrapped around her neck, making her blush darken considerably. She was completely speechless when the Princess wrapped it tighter around herself. Clutching it, Finé inhaled and smiled softly at the witch, who seemed to have lost half of her brain power from their close proximity alone. She could smell Finé's scent straight away...that intoxicating smell which reminded her so much of the lavender flowers that used to accompany her sleep every night.
No matter how much she tried to resist, she found her body involuntarily snuggling into the scarf, her shoulder brushing against the Princess's.
"This feels much better, doesn't it...?" she sighed, nestling into her and Izetta's shared scarf, "It's really warm..."
It was not just "warm" for Izetta. It was scorching, although in a way that made her feel so comfortable, so addicted to it. Then she felt the slight and fleeting touch the Princess's hand made on hers, and she had to bite her lip to stay calm.
Please...my heart...stop it already... Izetta thought desperately, fixating her eyes on the pond that reflected the silver gleams among the floating clouds, She and I will never be together...
Everyone is relying on me...
My ancestors are all watching me from the skies...
I don't have any excuse to justify myself...
She's an enemy...and she won't be this kind to me if she knows my true identity...
I don't have time... for this nonsense...
However, she still took a few more moments to soak up the extraordinary feeling of sharing the long scarf, before directing the Princess to a friendly conversation as they walked around the gardens. Izetta asked her a random question about a detective TV show they watched together just now, and the conversation took off from there.
Sometimes it surprised her just how...normal talking with Finé was.
Finé never forced her to reveal too much about herself, she listened to her talking about her hometown or childhood experiences, and asked innocent curious questions that never made Izetta uncomfortable. They would sit for hours in the living room, watching the news or Finé's favorite shows on TV, and never once did Izetta feel strange around her, despite them being practically raised in completely different planets. Finé was patient, and she would explain to Izetta stuff that would make the other royal guards laugh, because there were a lot that Izetta needed to learn of the human world (or as Sophie said it, "modern city life" as they were disguising themselves as "country bumpkins"). Many times, Izetta had to remind herself, that Finé was not her friend and she would never be one.
"...I can't believe they just end that episode with a cliffhanger like that! They seem to make us believe that the guy with the journalistic background did it, but I think it is an inside job. What do you think, Izetta?"
"I agree, they gave a lot of subtle hints that pointed toward the latter..."
"Did you see the mark on that doll with jointed arms? Didn't it remind you of something...?"
"That's...! That's an amazingly sharp observation from you...!" she gasped.
"Fufu...call me Detective Finé."
Izetta let out a laugh. "By the way, Princess, the sceneries in that show are marvelous, aren't they?"
"They are," Finé agreed, "Ah, how I wish I could visit those places..."
Izetta saw how Finé's eyes wandered to the star-filled sky. "...what kind of places do you want to visit...Princess...?"
"Definitely not somewhere jam-packed with tourists..." she replied, "I want to be somewhere quiet and beautiful, somewhere that can steal my breath away..."
"Alone...?"
"Alone," she repeated with a smile, "I love my people, but sometimes I just wish I could fly up high or climb up a mountain right now and immerse myself in the splendor of this country in peace..."
Izetta remembered when she first experienced that as a child.
One night, she was racing on a broomstick to the top of the mountain with Sophie, exchanging taunts while speeding past the thickets, letting their untrained sense of direction lead the way.
Then they burst out of the forests, landing on one of the mountaintops and for a while, they could only stand there mesmerized.
The brightly colored houses looked like tiny cakes from such a high place, and the streetlights and window illuminated the villages like birthday candles, slightly obscured by the mists that flowed down from the tall mountains. There was plentiful greenery as far as their eyes could see, and they could see a train making its way through the plains, puffs of smoke coming out of its chimney.
From that distance, everything felt insignificant.
Humans, witches, they were but children in the immensity of nature.
Why does it matter if we're different...?
"Izetta...?" The Princess asked her when she didn't respond for a while.
Against her better judgment, the witch flashed her a warm smile. "...Let's go out there someday, Princess..." she said, "Up high in the mountains, or somewhere else where you can enjoy the scenery to your heart's content...!"
It was Finé's turn to be silent, and Izetta felt like she had crossed some line there.
"Ah...w-what am I saying...Um...but it's okay if you want to go by yourself...I'm just..."
"No," the Princess quickly said, her eyes lighting up, "No, let's go together, just the two of us!"
"Just the two of us...?"
"Yes. It's a promise, Izetta..." she held out her little finger, "...When my father has finally ridded this world of witches... I want to travel together with you."
Those words sounded louder in Izetta's ears than the gunshots she heard during her royal guard training.
It reminded her of who this person beside her was, a violent wake-up call that darkened the shades in Izetta's eyes.
How foolish they were for even thinking that any of these would ever come true.
"Sure...Princess..." she said, raising her finger and entwining it with Finé's. She felt how soft and smooth the Princess's finger was compared to hers, which was rough from her lifestyle and training for magic.
We can't be more different...
There was not a jot of sincerity in Izetta's voice when she said to Finé with a sweet smile, "...It's a promise."
Izetta spent the rest of the night sitting on her desk, windows open wide as the moonlight shone on her downcast eyes.
She felt like waking up from a long slumber. She mumbled her resolution there, over and over, until the sun finally rose and Sophie was awoke. They had a small, drowsy talk about their mission again when they changed into their uniforms.
"Wouldn't it be much easier if we could point a gun to the Princess's head and demand her to spill all the secrets of the stone...?"
"Sophie, you know we cannot carelessly use force in enemy grounds."
"I'm aware of that, but don't you think it'll take too long for us to-"
"Leave it to me."
"What...?" Sophie said, missing a button of her shirt.
"I think I have a chance to do it. Please give me time."
"Wow," she whistled, "Is it just me, or you sound more confident than before...?"
"I will definitely make her reveal those secrets," Izetta said, putting on her white royal guard uniform and gloves, "For all the blood of our kind that they have spilled, I would not stop until that stone is safely in our hands."
Sophie let out a chuckle. "It's great that you are ready to go all out," she said, tying her hair into a long ponytail, "Since we are among the guards chosen to accompany Princess Finé on her diplomatic mission to the country of Westria."