The Royal Resistance

Chapter 16 - Operation Britannica

Images started bombarding Maria, each appearing faster and faster than the one before, filling her mind. A sharp pain sliced through her brain as it mixed with the pulsing throb humming in her ears.

She saw the shadow of a feminine figure, her ringlet-style hair sitting still on her shoulders as her wrist was grabbed and twisted behind her back. I know what you are doing. The image morphed to the cascade of blonde curls leaning over a metal machine, plugging a V4 cable into the wall. She heard the sound of metal being pushed against metal, echoing across the cold room which was slowly fading, replaced by a dimly-lit street in the middle of the night. The darkness contorted taking on the shape of two cars, from which wisps of figures emerged. A devilish grin blocked her vision as she was lifted off the ground, the darkness slowly surrounding her. Her eyes focused behind the soldier on the blonde figure who landed a few blows sending the figures stumbling back, grinning. She saw the slight smile play on the blondes lips, as she winked at the other soldiers and they came charging at her. Her moves were sluggish, the royal realised, as the blonde blocked the various blows coming towards her: she was repressing her usually rapid strikes.

The darkness began to spot along the royals vision and the ground came up to her; the wicked grin of the figure in front of her replaced by the glint of dominance in the blondes eyes.

Suddenly the puzzle she had been trying to complete over the last few days became as clear as water, as the final piece slotted into place. The images disappeared as she looked at Atil once more.

Maria's voice was barely a whisper, "it's you isn't it?" It grew louder as the blondes lips drew into a smirk, "you're the mole."

Agent Atil let out a demeaning chuckle, slowly clapping her hands. "Bravo. You know the General didn't give you half as much credit as he should have." Maria's jaw hung open as she stared at the woman in disbelief. "So much potential and yet he doesn't seem to recognize it. In you, or in any of us."

The royal felt a knot start forming in her throat. "Potential?" Her voice shook as she spoke, "you're a liar working for the enemy side and you think you have potential."

Carlotta tilted her head, "not the enemy side Maria." She pursued her lips, "surely you would understand that by now. That in war one must do whatever is necessary to accomplish the ultimate goal. I am just doing what needs to be done."

"What you're doing is wrong!" The royals voice quivered.

"And what you did wasn't?!" The agent snarled as she approached Maria, "when you lay of all your mistakes, all of your murders on my people?! When you took away all. I. Had. Your glorious Britannica likes to prance around, condemning others for the conflict that they too were a part of." Maria shrunk back as the woman towered over her, her red eyes boring into Maria's. "They demonize all others who have different ideals than them. Who are becoming more powerful than them. You think I lied? That I am bad?" Carlotta spoke between gritted teeth, "then ask your precious Britannic government who is winning the war? Ask them how they got those soldiers back from Dunkirk? They'll tell you it was a great heroic operation. What they won't tell you however, is that 4,000 other soldiers lost their lives for them. 4,000 other soldiers were left to die as your government chose to save the others."

"You're lying!" Maria's voice broke.

"Then ask them!"

"I don't believe you! You lied!" The royal steadied her shaking body, lowering her voice to a whisper, "I had thought that the others had sent him to die. I thought that your kidnapping was all my fault. So I punished myself with guilt. I didn't trust myself, barely picked up a gun so that I wouldn't hurt anyone else. But for what when this was all planned?" Her eyes flashed to Carlotta's, storm clashing with fire. "You didn't need the enigma codes, you already had them and you used them that night when you showed me the machine. That's when you told them when to ambush us wasn't it? It was all planned." Maria paused as the ripples from the turbulent waters of her mind stilled, the night replaying once again, "they weren't supposed to take me. Just you. So that we'd follow you without you having to do anything. We... I fell right into your trap. You know Carlotta, if that's even your real name, you're right. I have realised something. I'm not a monster. This is not my fault. It's yours." The guilt she had been carrying around dissipated into the air, with her shaking breath.