Anlesa was working to complete the final objectives remaining before she could comfortably leave the country. There were too many things that needed her attention elsewhere, even if the small pleading expression in a few of the residents' eyes would’ve liked her to stay.
She ended up becoming a little popular. Not as popular as the royals or Maca. But a positive reputation wasn’t unwelcome.
The rumour mill had done its job, and with a bit of clearing done by a certain butler to ensure things didn’t get too out of hand, most people who needed to know knew Syrus had gone through shit before the Crimson Avenger attacked the parliament.
Crimson Avenger was the nickname that had stuck. Anlesa had heard many, and the one chosen ended up being one of the more neutral options.
There was a mix of respect and pity for Syrus, who had to deal with the attacks. Her combat prowess had already made her a wanted member of the armed division of Lord Hall’s staff. Besides that, she had been a pleasant enough individual during her stay at the manor. While rude at times, people found her honest, if not a bit blunt, but it had made her a good talking partner for some who needed to be whacked in their own face.
There was also the small friendship she had with Mary. This had ended up being a strong reason for people wanting her to stay longer, if not permanently. Not because Mary herself had suggested it, but because people didn’t want the former lost princess to be lonely. There were concerns that she had never been properly trained in politics, and now, being forced into a position of somewhat authority, people didn’t want her to break under the pressure.
Friendship and hobbies were the two great known cures for the pains of dealing with paperwork and bureaucracy for members of the parliament. Some people had hobbies of cards, while others planned mass murders.
Still, none of the above reasons was going to actually keep Anlesa around, and the ones who understood that best were the people she had travelled with.
[Time to finally meet the boy?] (Syrus)
[Yes… it has been a long time coming.] (Luna)
[It hasn’t been that long.] (Syrus)
[Silence.] (Luna)
[And so with a happy expression, the trio went to visit the boy who knew but a fragment.] (Eva)
[Narrating our actions now?] (Syrus)
[...Figured it would be a good way to lighten the mood…] (Eva)
Whether it was out of a small sliver of personal responsibility, or just the idea of making sure Alba was safe… Anlesa wanted to meet the child to ensure he was okay after everything, but there were also people who wanted her to meet the child for other reasons. Which at least made for a good excuse for any personal curiosities.
For one of the few people who had contact with Rose, there were some suspect elements. However, none tied her directly to Rose. Even the hidden team connections were disproven by Syrus’s ‘age’ and ‘history’. The mystery that surrounded her past would be concerning, but Maca basically gave Syrus the all clear, especially after he found out from Ethan that she brought a bunch of orphans to Arisea Station for safety.
Anlesa made their way to the quarantined room. There, waiting at the entrance, was a girl who was speaking to her professor, who hadn’t left the room.
[Small country.] Syrus looked over the two who had been put in charge of investigating the sickness plaguing Alba. Nuana and Professor Aalmost. The original break and enterers.
[Makes sense considering what we knew of them.] Luna figured two individuals who were willing to break into a property that was deemed illegal to enter, just to learn about the past, were also the type of people who would work with a potentially contagious child.
Anlesa knew everything would be fine, but it was very much justifiably due to the arrangement used to keep the boy separated. With over a week having passed, the worries had died down substantially.
“Ah, hello!” Nuana noticed Syrus walking towards them and quickly stood up straight. “We heard you were visiting. Sorry… we just need to complete some final touches.”
“All good.”
“Sigh! I just need one minute!” He yelled from the door as they heard his feet dash around the small room.
[They are both more lively than they were before…] (Eva)
[Is this more in line with your memory of the professor?] (Luna)
[...My memory of him isn’t the best.] Eva decided to trash the idea instead of accidentally bringing up any embarrassing memories. Aalmost had been a good professor, but she had made more than one silly accident in his classes before. She wasn’t sure how but understood that if she began to speak, Syrus would find some way to drag those incidents out of her.
“Has everything been well?”
“Yes! You shouldn’t be in any trouble of catching—”
“Just in general." Luna corrected. “I’m sure everything is fine with health and safety, and from what I hear, you two were some of the first to raise your hands for this.”
“Ah!” Nuana scratched her head and winced. “Yeah… I mean… It was an opportunity too important to pass up. Aalmost kind had a backdoor to the information after he requested assistance after… our own little hiccups.” Her eyes went dark as she glanced at the corner of the room.
Luna replied, “I see… well… I guess I hope you enjoyed it?” She kind of wished she had left this talk to Eva, as she would’ve bonded with the kid. Syrus had kind of just dumped the role of taking onto her on today. Mostly because it was turning into another case of ‘Luna being a loner’. Luna had gotten good at mimicking Syrus's tones and pronunciations, but there was always something about her words that tended to be colder.
“Oh yeah, it has been great!” Nuana's eyes swap to sparkling dazzle. Completely oblivious to the awkward tone of Luna’s response. “I mean this in a good way. This has been the best practical of my life.”
[Wow… I have a feeling the two of you would be very good friends.] (Syrus)
[I don’t like what you are insinuating.] (Eva)
Nuana's eyes went dark again, as her mood swung in the opposite direction. “It is almost too good of a time. So many massive reveals in every panel of life. And I am only able to analyse one of them…” She let out a deeper sigh. “History and Attributes are two of my favourite subjects, and both are currently being explored with ruthless efficiency, and I am completely unable to be a part of the studies for health and safety purposes."
“Argh! Sorry about that.” Aalmost pulled himself out of the room. “We just need to give you the final safety instructions before you can meet the child.”
After being given a talk on all the possible risks. Syrus was given permission to see the boy.
Entering the room, the boy was awake and resting on the medical bed. Everything from the sheets to the equipment had clearly been replaced recently, which brought on Eva's curiosity about what they did with the old ones. Did they try to clean, or was everything destroyed?
They looked at the boy, and he seemed… alive… worse for wear, sure, but at least he was alive.
[Remember, do not use information only Rose would know.] (Luna)
[I will be safe with it, I promise.] Syrus took back the reins. She was the one who had the most interaction with the boy last time when they looked like this.
“Hey, kid.” Syrus pulled out the chair underneath the table next to the bed and sat down.
“I remember you…” Alba’s weak voice mumbled. He pushed himself up in the bed to look at Syrus better. Their encounter had been short, but he had been poisoned by Lavender and had been given a potion which gave him a lot of energy… It was hard to forget about the experience.
[He looks… well…] (Eva)
[The best that can be done at the moment.] (Luna)
His treatment, which had been a combination of Anlesa’s initial healing and the constant support from the doctors, had helped him reach a stable state. There was still no confirmation that what infected him was a strand of the ‘plague’ that had wiped out part of the city's population before, but the current consensus among the doctors who tried treating him… was that they hoped it was.
It would mean there was a variant, whether it was due to it being made purposefully weaker or the boy’s own constitution, hadn’t immediately killed the individual. This version had the potential to be studied, so in case the worst happened and the plague came back, they could potentially have a cure or at least a medicine to support the body’s resistance.
The truth of the plague was still a mystery, but Abla, once he had regained consciousness, he was fully willing and supportive of the doctor’s effort to study him.
“Yeah, can’t say I expected to see the boy who peeked around the corner to be here, but the world can be a strange place.” Syrus nodded. “But it is good to see you are alive. You weren’t in great condition when I first met you, but yeah, can’t say I expected this.”
The boy’s eyes glanced up and stayed focused on Syrus. “Do you know where Rose is?”
“No.” Syrus kept the response simple.
Alba tried to argue, “They told me you worked with her—”
Syrus interrupted, “That is a bit of a stretch.”
[They really just told the boy everything they knew.] (Syrus)
[It is an effective approach. They wanted more answers on Rose, so being completely honest with the boy was their best chance at getting an accurate series of events.] (Luna)
[Digging our own grave again.] (Eva)
[Eh, if the hole was in another town over.] (Syrus)
Before Syrus said anything else, Alba used the moment of quiet. “You must know something–”
“No.”
“Then has Rose–”
“The red-haired chick who did a number on the country's armed forces came to drop by? No, she did not.” Syrus continued to be blunt with her replies to the boy. “No one has seen her since the incident. And she basically rescued me, which is why I said the fact that we worked together is a stretch. Because it is a stretch.” She sighed, acting exhausted from the repeated question.
“Do… Do you know where she could be?” Alba’s eyes were pleading.
Syrus sighed again, and her eyes shut. “She probably left the city. She is now a wanted individual after all.”
“Why is she wanted?” Alba’s eyes widened.
[Oh, now that is interesting. They didn’t tell him everything.] (Syrus)
“Despite what technically good she might have done. There was a lot of destruction and death involved in her actions. At a bare minimum, the remaining government body wants to question her about who she is and what exactly happened. Will that ever happen? Who is to say?”
“So she just left…”
“From what we understood. Though who even knows.”
“…Can her wanted status be lifted?”
“Probably? I don’t know every law in this country but I have a feeling they won’t keep it up forever.” With every piece of evidence that piled up, it made this Rose look more like a justified avenger. Not that people would every call her actions correct in history, but Anlesa felt she understood from the murmurs that people were debating removing the wanted status as a method to get Rose to reveal herself.
Alba’s eyes glanced down. “I see… thanks…” Even before he started talking, he seemed more downspirited, but knowing Rose was nowhere only worsened his mental state.
Syrus sighed and scratched her head. “Man, I have really been a kids therapist recently…"
“I can tell you want to see her, but there is probably a reason. No idea what that is, but at this rate, you will never see her again.”
Alba looked up, confused. “Huh…?”
“Well, if you are dead, how are you supposed to see her again?” Syrus shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing. “Look, I have no idea about your history besides what I’ve been told, but kid, you are a kid. Plenty of life to live, and perhaps after enough time you will see her again.”
Anlesa stood up. Their mind went back to the moment they last saw Alba as Rose. Even in pain while dying, he showed determination. They chose to trust what they saw that day.
Feeling that she was about to leave the room. Alba asked, “Why did you even come here?”
“Partly because I was asked, partly because I wanted to do a visual checkup on you. I heard the kid I met from before was sick but recovering, but I like to see rather than just trusting what people say.” Syrus flicked her head away. “Good to see you alive. If I ever meet her again, I will give her a knock on the head and tell her to visit.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Thanks. I might need it.”
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