Dragon Lady
"I thought you would abandon me as soon as we reached our destination," Aisling commented with a lifted brow.
The three soldiers looked a little embarrassed because of their initial attitude towards Aisling. However, when they had seen her in pain, their fear and concern had been aroused. So, they had decided to check up on her.
"We don't know what you are talking about." Little One said cheekily.
"How are you feeling?" Little Two asked with a frown.
"I will live. I even got a free tattoo from the whole ordeal." Aisling paused and looked at them with gratitude. "Thank you all for your efforts. I was almost a goner."
The three soldiers smiled with a hint of shyness.
"We are glad that you are alright, Ms Flynn." Little Three said.
"So am I. It would be a shame not to explore the hidden continent after making the journey." Aisling laughed.
Before anyone could respond, two more people appeared at the door of the hospital room. The five pairs of eyes looked at the newcomers with interest. The woman standing at the front was tall and beautiful, and her figure was accentuated by the black military-style jumpsuit she was wearing. Behind her was a shorter man in similar clothes.
Naturally, Aisling did not know the identity of the man and woman, but they were not strangers to the other people in her hospital room.
The three soldiers stood in a standard alert military pose and put their right fists over their hearts in salute. The woman nodded in acknowledgement of the gesture, allowing the soldiers to be at ease. Then, she turned her eyes to Aisling.
The searching gaze did not make Aisling uncomfortable. She did not mind being the centre of attention, and the scrutiny did not register as hostile.
"Ms Flynn, I am Premier Lussa Drakon." The woman paused.
She seemed to be waiting for some kind of acknowledgement after the announcement. Aisling looked away from the woman and glanced at the three soldiers. They were looking at her with prompting and meaningful eyes.
Aisling smiled and looked back at the tall woman.
"Good morning, Premier Lussa Drakon." Aisling responded.
The woman felt like Aisling was mocking her, but she could not find any fault in her words. Moreover, she had heard from her Counsellor that this woman was of great importance to the king. She could not do anything to her.
The Premier turned to the three soldiers. "Have you neglected to guide Ms Flynn on the workings of Farallon and Panthalassa?"
The three people looked at her with confusion. Their mission had not included providing any information to Aisling. In fact, they had been cautious not to reveal too much because they had not been briefed on how to treat her. They had only received a mission to transport her back.
"We apologise. We have neglected our duty." Little Two admitted fault because it would not be in anyone's best interest to embarrass a Premier.
Lussa Drakon levelled a glare at them before turning back to Aisling.
"I believe that these three will not waste time in helping you understand Panthalassa. The mission that we must handle is sensitive. It would be best if you had a clear grasp of the continent." She glanced at the three people again.
Aisling nodded. She did not know the specific mission, but she had known from her divination that she was needed in this hidden continent because of an urgent matter.
"You have been assigned a residence in the 13th Eastern Residential District. You can settle in there for now before you receive further instructions." Lussa paused and indicated at the man who had not spoken. "This is my assistant, Heben. I will send him to you if there is a matter."
Lussa spoke without significant pauses, and she did not give anyone a chance to ask a question or add their input. Aisling felt that she had the personality of a bulldozer.
"These three have been assigned to provide you with assistance for now." She looked at the three before turning to leave.
As soon as she and Heben stepped out of the door, Little One, Two and Three took a deep relieved breath. When Premier Lussa was there, they felt like they were suffocating, especially when she levelled that draconic gaze with the eerie narrow pupils on them.
Even Dr Parvana seemed relieved to see the forceful woman leave.
"So, who is this dragon lady?" Aisling asked with a lifted platinum brow. The motion made the clover at the centre of her forehead look more charming like it was alive.
"Sshhh… Walls have ears." Little One immediately shushed her.
Aisling laughed. Not only did the walls have ears, but they also had mouths. She could hear the natural whispers around her about Lussa. However, it was difficult for her to understand the mutterings about the dragon lady because she was not familiar with this world.
In essence, listening to the nature spirits in Panthalassa was like being given access to the Sentinel database. She could see the information, but it might as well be unintelligible scribbles. Without background information, she would continue to be lost.
Parvana looked at the group and felt the warmth of humans that she rarely felt in her laboratory. She liked her work in medical research, but it had taken away all her chances of socialisation. Since she was a child, it was already decided that she would continue the thousand-year legacy of the Haema medical prowess.
"If you would like to keep having this discussion, I would encourage you not to do so in a military hospital." She said with an amused smile.
"Does that mean I can leave this place and go to the 13th Eastern Residential District?" Aisling said in a mock shocked manner, putting her beautiful hands over her cheeks.
The soldiers muffled their laughter because it was unbecoming to mock a superior. Parvana had no reservations. She laughed out loud without scruples.
"Indeed, you can." She finally said.
"Are you sure?" Little Three asked with concern. "She was in pretty bad shape a few hours ago."
Dr Parvana did not take offence because she understood the concern.
"If anything goes wrong, you can come to my office at the Haema Tower or call me." She smiled as she tapped lightly on her smartwatch.
The three people felt their smartwatches vibrate and found the contact details. They saved the information quickly with a little sense of wonder. Since they had met Aisling, it seemed that their lives had changed.
In the past, their lives consisted of training drills and patrolling.
At that time, they could never have dreamed of talking to the heiress of the Haema legacy. Now, they could tell people that they had interacted with her, and she was as pleasant as she was beautiful.
Moreover, they had talked to a Premier. Granted, the superior did not have a good impression of them, but they still had bragging rights. Mid-level soldiers were miles below Premiers in rank that even a sighting was rare.
Their eyes glowed as they looked at Aisling.
It seemed that the mission to the secular world which had seemed like a dead-end in their Order careers was already pushing them to a greater height. Who cared about being errand people anymore? Aisling was their lucky star.
Aisling's lips twitched at the strange gazes. She did not mind being stared at, but these people seemed like they were about to bring offerings and burn incense. She refused to acknowledge them and turned to the other sane person in the room.
"Dr Parvana, can you find me something else to wear?" She asked.
"I can find you a white jumpsuit like mine. They are usually worn by people in the medical and scientific professions, but there are no restrictions against anyone wearing one."
"Thank you. I can't keep wearing a sarong. Without a beach, it's just tacky." Aisling sighed.
When Dr Parvana left the room, Aisling turned her silver eyes to the three people. "Where is my luggage?"
Little One and Little Two looked at each other with awkwardness. They had forgotten about the bags after Little Three had left. They had directly gotten into a compact train and travelled straight to Farallon City. When night came, they just went home and slept.
"We will get the luggage right away." Little One promised with a solemn smile.
"I hope I will find everything in the 13th Eastern Residential District." The eerie words echoed in their ears and reverberated in their minds as they rushed out of the room.