✨ Half my soul ✨ Kaz✖️OC.

Anywhere, I would have followed you

Aeolian was in the worst place, at the worst time. There were many more guards and many more guns pointed at her than the first time she'd come through this courtyard. If only the Fjerdans knew she was the princess of Shu Han, they wouldn't have treated her this way. But no matter how much she wanted, she knew, she had to stay in character as always.

The guards were moving too fast. For the second time that night, she made herself stumble.

The guard holding her arm gave her a shake. "Don't you want to meet our inquisitors? But you won't look so pretty after they're through."

They laughed, and her stomach turned. She had faced these type of situations before, but it wasn't easy for her, and she knew it'll never be easy for her.

She might be able to take them, despite their guns and even without her knives. Her hands weren't bound, and they still thought they had a disgraced prostitute on their hands. Because she was wearing the silks of the White Rose.

Just as she was considering making her move. She saw two more men in uniform striding towards them. Could she manage six guards on her own? She wasn't sure, she had never done anything like this before. But she knew that if they left this corridor behind, it was all over.

It was now or never. She hooked her leg around the ankle of the guard to her left. He pitched forwards, and she slammed her hand upwards, breaking his nose.

The others raised their guns.

"You won't shoot me. You need information." She winked.

Then the guard to her right crumpled to the ground. The soldier standing behind him gave a cheery wave. "Jes," she gasped in relief.

"I'm here, too," said Wylan as he pinned the third guard down.

Jesper gave the fourth guard a hard blow on his jaw with the back of his rifle, before the guard could even understand what was going on. Aeolian then gave a good hard kick to the head of the third guard Wylan had pinned down. He didn't move again.

"Wow!" Wylan marvelled at the sight. He never thought Aeolian could kick that hard. But the Shu girl was full of surprises as always.

The three of them embraced for a brief moment and they let go of each other. Jesper asked Aeolian, "did you manage to get hold of a big enough diamond?"

She slipped the massive jewelled bracelet from her sleeve. "We need to hurry," she said. "If the Empress hasn't noticed it missing, she will soon."

Though with Black Protocol in effect there wasn't much she could do about it.

"You mean the Empress of Shu Han?" Wylan looked at Aeolian in disbelief as she gave him a nod.

Jesper snatched the bracelet, mouth agape. "Kaz said we needed a diamond. He didn't tell you to steal the Empress diamonds!"

Kaz had given Aeolian two objectives: nab a big enough diamond for Jesper to work with and get herself into this corridor after eleven bells. There were plenty of other diamonds she could have stolen. But after everything she had been through and after what the Empress told her, it was the Empress she'd wanted to dupe. For all the secrets she'd gathered and documents she'd stolen and violence she'd done, it was Leyti Kir-Taban she'd needed to best.