<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic">...until we meet again, remember that I love you even more than your body consists of water.</span><br/><br/>The small, ever present smile on Nadya's face widened just a tad as she reached the end of her girlfriend's most recent love letter. She far preferred the quieter forest camp of the Red Leopards to the bustling city, but having a bit of reading material helped. It was necessary for her to go, though - linen did not weave itself, and they had agents who needed medical help in the city, too. Her sand-colored skirt fluttered around her ankles as she rose from the side of the fountain where she had been sitting. The water nymph was sad to leave the cool, splashing water behind, but duty called, and it was calling her down the herbalists' alley.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: black;background:black;"/></div><br/>Haeftin's head was sinking towards his desk when a knock on his door startled him awake. He shot up. Was Mezmoriia back? He hurriedly smoothed his hair and strode to the door, excitedly throwing it open. It wasn't Mezmoriia, but Lieutenant Caruthers. Heaftin suppressed a chuckle. Last time he had seen Caruthers, the slightly rotund Lieutenant had been drunkenly accusing a bar stool of being a Red Leopard. But he was much more sober now it seemed, and more interestingly, he was't alone. He had in his grasp a young woman, an aquatic nymph. She appeared mildly offended by the whole situation, but when Haeftin made eye contact she shot him a small polite smile. <br/><br/>"May we come in, Plitz?" Caruthers asked. <br/><br/>"Certainly. Who's your friend?" As Caruthers jerked the girl forward with more force than necessary, Haeftin noted that her wrists were held behind her with heavy shackles. <br/><br/>"Friend?" Caruthers guffawed, "Hardly. A Red Leopard. And we believe she has some connection to the spy Miss Mezmoriia went after today." This made Haeftin significantly more interested. <br/><br/>"How do you know?" With a proud flourish, Caruthers drew a crumpled sheet of paper from his breast pocket, and flipped it open dramatically before handing it to Haeftin.<br/><br/><div style="background-color:#FFFF80; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-family: Lucida Handwriting;"><span style="color: #000000">My wonderful Nadya,<br/><br/>I wish I didn’t have to spend so much time missing you. We both have important jobs, and I value that. If only I had more missions in the city when you’re on call, and an excuse to stay the night… But you’re reading this because we’re together. I’m probably sitting next to you grinning like an idiot, and now you’re probably laughing because I’m so good at seeing the future.<br/> <br/>I need to finish this letter quickly (I’m technically on a mission). I can’t wait to see you and not have to miss you for a while. You put the sun to shame the way you brighten my life. Until we meet again, remember that I love you even more than your body consists of water.<br/><br/>All the love ever,<br/>Fossil (You know, that girl who loves you more than anything and writes very silly letters)</span></span></span></div><br/>Haeftin grinned. How adorable. And how useful to him and Mezmoriia!<br/><br/>"Leave her here until Mezmoriia gets back and then we'll take her to an interrogation room. Caruthers gave a field salute and turned to go. "By the way Caruthers, very good work."<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: black;background:black;"/></div><br/>Mezmoriia, for her part, was rather cross. Retreating wasn't her style, and she didn't take losing well. Nor, for that matter, arrows.<br/><br/>As such, upon returning to headquarters, she was terrifyingly silent. Her subordinates never had any doubt as to when a mission went poorly, as it was always followed by her dramatically sweeping across the main hall and making a beeline for her inner sanctum - to the infirmary in particular, where she had the arrowhead removed and treated with as much efficiency as she could inspire. This was a failure, a disgrace - there was no time to waste making sure every bandage was perfect. Idiot doctors had no idea of the larger picture.<br/><br/>Still, the requisite pause helped cool her anger, and by the time they declared her good to go, she was back to her usual self enough to thank them with her usual formal politeness.<br/><br/>The next stop was her own chambers, where she traded in these stupid peasant clothes for something more her usual style - a long corseted gown in red and black with long sleeves, designed to play up her sharp and angular appearance and look all the more intimidating for it. A judicious application of makeup in the same style helped. No longer was she a country girl on the way to the fair - no, she now looked the part of inquisitor. She thanked her maid, then sought out her adjutant. Hopefully he'd have some good news.<br/><br/>...And, once he brought her to the interrogation cell and explained who this shackled nymph was, she had to fight back a grin. Good news indeed.<br/><br/>"Thank you, dear Haeftin. This is doing wonders for my mood."<br/><br/>She pulled over a chair - both taller and more comfortable than Nadya's, with actual cushions instead of bare splintery wood - and sat across from her. She took a moment to size her up - it might intimidate her into submission, but if not, it'd give her a rough estimate of the nymph's pain threshold.<br/><br/>"The question now is, what will it take for her to cooperate?"<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: black;background:black;"/></div><br/>Although outward the embodiment of innocence, Nadya's pulse was just a little bit more rapid than normal. She had been accosted by a couple of guards while haggling over a bottle of pure alcohol. The water nymph had struggled, of course, but she had struggled like an innocent bystander, wrongfully accused of the heinous act of helping the Red Leopards, and not like the rebel trying to get away that she really was. She thought she was doing well, even if the man who had shackled and frisked her most rudely was so unkempt that it made her want to gag and give him a lecture about the many qualities of soap.<br/><br/>The stone walls seemed to close in around them as she was led through the hallways. Did it have to be so dark down here? The few torches only lit the way sparingly, and it was almost a relief when the guard, apparently named Caruthers, propelled her into a room. Of course, the sense of relief was significantly lessened when he produced the letter from Fossil. Nadya's heart dropped all the way down her legs and proceeded through the stone floor. The chubby man had had lighter fingers than she thought. She stared at the crumpled parchment, genuinely at a loss for words as opposed to her usual taciturn ways. <span style="font-style: italic">Mezmoriia.</span> Nadya could not recall hearing the name, but the way the other guard said the name sent shivers down her spine. Did they catch Fossil? Impossible, she was an escape artist if Nadya ever saw one. Thoughts like that were her only comfort as she was once again lead out of the room, down the corridor and into another.<br/><br/>This room had two chairs. Nadya was not surprised when she was given the least comfortable one of them. The rough wood was distracting enough for her to not pay much attention to whatever else was around her, so when the door creaked again and a tall, imposing woman claimed the other chair, it came as a slight shock. Nadya's heart was racing. Was this Mezmoriia? She looked calculating enough to bear a name like that. The heavy shackles were dragging her shoulders down, but she raised her chin in defiance all the same. Even if they did not have Fossil as she feared, she would not let the obvious intimidation get to her.</div>