NOTE: I'm so sorry part 2 is late! I just had to edit it, but I fell asleep.

Alessa walked into the Clinic with a box in her hands.
She made a beeline for
room 105—Faizah's room.

"Hey, Fiz..."

Her voice was quiet and laced with worry, although she did try her best to sound happier.

A clear dome rested on a large metal table.
Inside the dome, was Faizah, her knees tucked underneath her chin.
Green liquid flowed through a tube that was attached to her leg.

The soft groans of pain became louder and louder, until Faizah let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Faizah!", exclaimed Alessa.

She grabbed the lever and pushed down on it with all the strength she could muster.
The small compartment on the dome opened, and a giant purple button stared at her right in the face.
She knew what would happen when she pressed that button, but all she could think about was her best friend.

She interlocked her fingers, before slamming her palms against the button.
A high pitch alarm sounded, and Alessa took a step back.
She closed her eyes and braced herself for the wrath she was about to face.

"Agent Alessa Arden, what the h*ll do you think you're doing here?"

Alessa turned to face Aoife.
The older woman's glare burned into her skin, and Alessa desperately wanted to look away, but couldn't.

"Head Guard Aoife, Faizah started scream–"

Alessa was cut off by Aoife pushing her to the side and marching towards Faizah.
She knelt down and looked under the dome.
She emerged seconds later, a small bag in hand.
She opened it and pulled out a tube of luminescent white orbs.
She popped the lid off, before remembering that Alessa was still there.

"Agent Arden, you may leave."

"But Faizah–"

"Don't you think you've caused enough harm already?"

Aoife's words were like ice shards to the heart.
The last thing she wanted was to hurt Faizah... even if she was the reason she was in this condition in the first place.

"I-I'm sorry."

Alessa turned to leave, but stopped when Aoife called her name.

"Change back into your uniform."

"But, the wedding–"

"You're not welcome at the wedding, Agent Arden."

If Aoife's previous words were like ice shards, this felt like an ice cold hand had reached into Aoife's chest and pulled her heart out.

"B-But... Caia's my fa–"

"The next word to come out of your mouth better not be 'family'.
Do you really think that after everything you've done, you deserve your family?
Over the past few years, everything you've done has proved you don't give a d*mn about your family!"

Aoife shouted the last part, her voice hanging in the air like breath in cold weather.

Alessa felt numb all over.
Time seemed to move in slow motion, all her past decisions whirling around in her head.

As Alessa walked away, Aoife turned back to Faizah, her face softening.
She placed a hand on the dome and whispered reassuring words to her, like a mother does to their child.

♡
♡♡♡
♡

The guests and fellow agents sat quietly as the ceremony started.
Eila walked out onto the Training Grounds, her long red cape trailing behind her.
She smiled shyly at some of the guests.
Her smile shone brighter when she saw more familiar faces, such as Finian and Imelda.

"Yes, go on, Eila!", called out Imelda.

"Lookin' gorgeous, Eila!", exclaimed Astra.

"Marry me instead!", shouted Knox, making everyone laugh.

Eila relaxed, and the encouragement from the agents gave her the confidence she needed.
Calihan beamed as he she approached him.
He held his arm out, and a grinning Eila looped her arm in his.

The pair walked along the path, with Eila waving to several people along the way.
She scanned the area for Oren, Faizah and Alessa, surprised not to see them with their friends.

Eila leaned closer to Calihan and whispered.

"Where are Faizah, Oren and Alessa?"

"Faizah still needs to rest, but she really wanted to be here."

Eila smiled sadly and nodded.
"What about Oren and Alessa?"

"Oh, I'm sure they're on their way."

Soon, seconds of waiting became minutes, and Eila started to panic.
She frantically looked around, hoping to see a glimpse of Caia hurrying out of the building.

"Something's wrong", said Eila.

Calihan shook his head.
"No, nothing's wrong."

"It's been twenty minutes."

"I'm sure she's just putting the finishing touches on her dress."

Eila shook her head.
"No, both people are supposed to come out at the same time... she shouldn't be this late."

"Eila, I'm sure–"

"She's not coming", said Eila.

"Now, Eila, come on–"

Eila's breathing started to quicken, and, unable to think straight, she tried to swallow, in an attempt to stop her breaths from coming out so quickly.

"I-I knew it, w-we were moving t-too fast, w–"

Eila was cut off by the sound of Caia and Oren sprinting as fast as they could.
Caia kicked her shoes off, so that she could run on the grass better.

"I'm here!
I'm here!"

She sprinted down the path, before stopping when she reached Eila.
Her smile faltered when she saw the panicked expression on Eila's face.
She reached forward and grabbed her hands, pulling her closer.

"Hey, hey...what's wrong?"

Eila's bottom lip trembled as she looked into Caia's eyes.
Caia felt her heart break a little.
She gently cupped Eila's face.

"I-I thought you weren't coming", she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Caia's face softened.

"Eila... I'm always going to show up for you."

Eila smiled sweetly, and placed her hand on Caia's arms.
The guests and agents smiled as the pair embraced each other.

♡
♡♡♡
♡

The sun had melted into the horizon, with orange and pink hues taking over.
The fairylights glowed even brighter, and the music was louder.

Imelda pulled Finian onto the dance floor, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
He awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulder blades, making Imelda laugh.

"You don't have to be so awkward around me, you know", she said.

With a mischevious grin, she gently tugged on his tie, pulling him even closer to her.
She let her hands trail up, and she traced swirls along the back of his neck, with her fingers.

Finian wasn't usually awkward around her.
He was when they first met, but they had known each other long enough for him to feel at ease around her.
The song playing was a slow one though, and Finian didn't want to let his growing feelings for Imelda make things awkward between them.

Imelda looked up into his eyes.
Normally, she found comfort in his gaze, and could stare at his eyes for ages, but something felt different now.
His expression was still soft and welcoming, but it was the first time that looking into his eyes brought out an uneasy feeling in Imelda.

She felt her face heat up and her palms get sweaty.
Possibly sensing her discomfort, Finian pulled away.
Instinctively, Imelda reached out for him again.
She couldn't explain it, but she found herself having to fight the urge to kiss him then and there.

"Wow... Imelda and Finian are getting close", said Sophia, who was approaching Astra.

"Sophia!", exclaimed Astra, a little too loudly.
"Uh, I mean... Sophia", she said, lowering her volume.

Sophia grinned.
"Hey!
Is it me or does Imelda actually look... nervous around Finian?"

"Oh, yeah, she's falling for him big time", said Astra.
"Give it a month and they'll be a total power couple."

"I uh, I love your dress, by the way."

"Oh!
Thank you.
You're looking as pretty as al–uh, you're hair, I meant.
Your hair looks pretty."

Sophia beamed, before running her fingers through her hair.
She looked out at the people dancing, a wistful look in her eyes.

"Um, w-would you maybe wanna dance?
You know, it might be fun."

Sophia's eyes lit up.
"Really?
I-I'd love that!"

Oren smiled as he watched everyone dance.
His mind wandered back to the conversation he and Caia had earlier.

"I think I've made a mistake", said Caia.

"What?
What do you mean?"

"We can't get married."

"Caia, that's just the nerves–"

Caia reached forward and grabbed Oren's shoulders.

"We can't get married, Oren.
It's too soon."

Oren's face softened.
He took a step back, before taking Caia's hands in his.

"Ok... why don't you tell me what's worrying you?"

"Everything!
What if people give her grief for not being from here?
What if we get into a big fight we can't come back from?
What if she wants to move back to Agoraville?"

Caia's worry seemed to increase, but Oren just looked at her, a small smile on his face.
Caia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you smiling at?
It's not funny!"

"Oh, no, I'm not laughing!
It's just... can you not see the one thing that's at the centre of all of your fears?"

Caia shook her head.
"What?"

"Well, not 'what'.
Who.
It's Eila.
You don't want her to be hurt by people saying she doesn't belong here.
You don't want to fight with her because then that means you'll lose her.
You're willing to think about the possibility of uprooting your life and moving somewhere else for Eila.
Look, no one is saying that you have to be the perfect couple.
But the fact that your only goal is to protect Eila's heart... it shows that you'll both land on your feet, no matter what."

♡
♡♡♡
♡

Caia and Eila stood by a tree stump that had been there for years.
Red pieces of thread were wrapped around it.
Another agency tradition for agents who married each other, was that they had to unstitch the red agency emblem on their jackets, and tie the thread on the tree stump.
Then, they'd get new emblems stitched into their jackets.

Caia carefully tied her string around the tree stump.
She felt an unexplainable surge of power rush through her body, as she touched the tree stump.
She ran her finger along the different pieces of thread.

"So many marriages... I wonder what's become of them now?"

Eila placed her hand over Caia's.

"I'm sorry I couldn't join in with this tradition."

Since Eila wasn't actually an agent, she didn't have the uniform, so couldn't participate in the tradition.
It was more than that though.
A part of her felt like she was betraying  her roots by following all of the agency traditions.

Caia reached under her sleeve and retrieved a tiny clear jewel with a few strands of grass in it.

"I almost forgot, the ring I gave you... it's missing a jewel.
That's because I wanted to get you something that was more personal to you, and add it to your ring."

"Caia... you didn't have to do that.
What is it?"

"It's a jewel called Zelmur.
It's made my taking soil, dousing it in a special liquid and then putting it into a machine.
It's all too technical for my brain, but Knox helped me make it."

"Wow... you put a lot of effort into it."

"That's not all.
I made sure the soil used, and the bits of grass in the jewel, were from the same patch of land you used to live on."

Eila's eyes widened.

"W-Wait... you mean, it's from my home?"

"You've had to adjust to so many different rules, and to a whole new way of life.
I didn't want you to think I loved you because you were doing all that.
I want you to know that I love you for who you are.
And being an Agoravillian... is who you are."

At a loss for words, and completely overcome with emotion, Eila surged forward and connected her lips with Caia's.
The kiss was intense, and had a sense of urgency to it.
She kissed Caia like it was all she ever wanted to do.
Caia deepened the kiss, moving her hands to gently cup her wife's face.
Eila climbed into her wife's lap as they continued to get lost in each other's touch.

_________________

I am awful at writing romance scenes, so I'm cringing so much re-reading the last scene😂
I wanted to try and be a bit detailed with it, because I felt like I wasn't getting the balance between backstory and romance quite right.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Was there anything particularly surprising about what life was like back then?

I wanted to highlight how important family is to the agency, so I really hope that came across!

Caia and Eila are one of my favourite previously established relationships.
I think it's interesting to note that they weren't always the strong couple that they are now, but that despite their doubts, they cared about each other so much.
The reason they work so well, is because they genuinely care about each other, and never want the other to be hurt.
This means that they communicate openly and talk out any problems they have.

What did you think of the other little romances/crushes—Imelda & Finian, Astra and Sophia, Oren liking Faizah?

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

-ruesbennett

SoniczurcX

bardsarethebest