[Diana]
After ordering some takeout, we finally arrived home.
"Hey, mom? Dad?"
"What is it, sweetie?" Mom asked.
"Is it alright if I ate my dinner in my room? I still have some homework to finish," I lied.
"Sure, just make sure to bring it down once you're done, and don't make a mess up there."
"Alright, thanks!"
I grabbed my food and ran up the stairs to my room, closed the door behind me, and tossed my food onto the desk. I plopped onto my bed and checked my holo-band and did as Sam had told me. In a flash, Sam answered my call and we were now ready to reveal what lay hidden in my holo-band.
"So, what does this left button do?" I asked.
"It opens up a registry, like, where the band was made and who owns it."
"But doesn't the holo-band have, like, its own personal information tab somewhere?"
"Yes, but that button isn't customizable. The registry tab that's accessed in the home tab can be edited but not the registry on the left. It's like... a safety measure of sorts just in case the band gets stolen," Sam explained.
"Oh-h-h, that's smart actually. Alright, I'll press the button. Are you ready?"
Sam nodded and I pressed the button.
A voice suddenly erupted from the holo-band and said, "Genetic sample required to view registry."
In an instant, a small needle emerged from the gem and pricked my arm, a small gasp escaped my lips as my brain interpreted the sensation. A few drops of blood trickled down my finger and onto my bedsheets, leaving tiny dots of red.
"Is this necessary?" I asked Sam, concern etched on my face.
"Some holo-bands... do have that feature... but it's only used by top-ranking officials or noble families."
"This is getting more confusing by the second-"
"Sample analyzed. Retrieving registry." The voice announced.
"Shit," Sam cursed.
"What was that for?"
"Nothing, just... just focus on the registry," Sam started moving, seriousness carved into her face.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Just focus on the registry!" She exclaimed as she started to run.
"O-okay..."
A loading bar appeared on the projection, it was already halfway through. The voice dictated the percentage the bar had reached every time it increased by five percent. On Sam's end, I could hear a couple of voices in the background. She was still running but the voices became frantic and were getting louder.
"Sam, are you sure you're alright?" I asked.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. How long until that registry pops up?" She screamed.
"Uh-h-h-h..." I checked the projection and replied, "Twenty-seven percent left!"
"Okay, just... don't worry about me!"
Sam was moving from side-to-side on her end, as if dodging attacks and people. At certain times, the projection would just turn white or black but would eventually stabilize and return to normal.
"Ninety percent," The voice announced.
"It's at ninety percent!" I exclaimed.
"Shit," Sam leaped into the air and another burst of white interrupted the call. Once the screen was back to normal, she was back on the ground and still running.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I'll... I'll discuss it with you later," she panted, exhausted from all her running, "How's it coming along now?!"
"Oh, hold on, hold on..."
I checked and the registry had loaded, a small pop-up blocked the view asking if I wished for the registry to be read aloud.
"Sam, do I let the band do the talking?"
"Can't you just read it out loud?" She asked as she dodged what seemed like a sword.
"O-okay!"
I closed the pop-up and the registry came into full view.
"Okay, let's see here, personal information... name, Dayastra Ferandrochna Levochtoch?"
"Keep going!" Sam cried, she was now in a well lit area, a street presumably.
"Okay, okay, uh-h-h, date of birth, Lenhasha 17, 1 BBP; gender, female; place of birth, White Lotus Palace, Lumin Paloffia; status, missing."
I continued to read out the registry, stating the names of who delivered the person and the exact time.
"Skip to the family section," Sam panted as she turned a corner and leaned against a wall.
I nodded and scrolled down, "Ah, here it is... father, Ferandroch Mariavolen Levochtoch; mother, Alessandra Adasavna Stanniv-Levochtoch; brothers..." I paused, contemplating if I should state the full name or not (I did not), "Leonard, Alexander, Yonathan, Dara, and Dayos; sisters, Alexandra and Amelia. Should I continue?" I asked.
"Could you check if there's a section which describes why she's missing?"
"Alright," I nodded and scrolled further and came across a section entitled, "Search and Related Issues." I tapped on it and various articles opened. I looked through the titles and chose the one that fit Sam's request the most.
"On the night of the Battle of Palov, Princess Katerin, the sister of the late Emperor Ferandroch II, along with her husband and son, disappeared with Princess Dayastra. No traces were found to suggest or pin point their exact location until now; however, recent reconnaissance and espionage operations in Crusavia have brought back intriguing news. Our spies have located possible numerous young women who match or seem identical to the missing princess. The generals of the Imperis Battavyesch have narrowed down the search to two possible candidates, the first one being Folonia von Batelstoft, the daughter of an incredibly successful half-Lumin businessman. The second one is the daughter of the Secretary of the Interior, her name is Diana Saschka. Her parents are both pure-blood Luminarii and seem to resemble Princess Katerin and her husband. Both targets have older brothers, the age gap between them being roughly the same, around four to five years. The operation to extract these two girls from the Crusavian state has been called Operation: Black Orchid and shall be led by the Black Orchid himself, Prince Dayos, under the order of the Empress Regent. The operation shall commence during the Empress Regent's goodwill tour of Crusavia, accompanied by the heads of the Great Houses and their respective families. This intel is only accessible to those in the highest ranks of the Imperis Battavyesch, to the councilors of the Imperial Council, the Chancellor of Levelia, the High Magistrate of Levelia, and to the immediate members of the Imperial Family. This information is not to be disclosed to the public, nor to any of the Great Houses, noble houses, senators, representatives, or any government official below the station and rank of the councilors."
I put the band down, processing what I just read. Questions were racing around in my mind, names and institutions I only heard of on the news were on my holo-band; and apparently, this band belongs to the lost princess of Levelia. What happened to her... did my mom and dad steal it from her? And most importantly, why is my name there? Why am I a target for this... operation?
"Diana," Sam called, "What you just read... I know you have a lot of questions."
I expanded the projection and looked at her, confusion, concern, fear, and anxiety were all etched on my face.
"Of course I do, I mean, this band belongs to Princess Dayastra and I have it? How in the galaxy does a band this valuable fall into the hands of broke refugees? And why am I a target for operation- whatever? This doesn't make sense Sam, how does my mother resemble Princess Katerin? That woman's been dead for as long as I could remember! We're just a small family, sure, my dad works in the government but he's not a bigshot like the others. I mean, we're all just normal people trying to live normally!"
"I know... I know..." Sam sighed, still catching her breath, "But it's safe to assume or hypothesize three things. One, you're the lost princess. Two, your parents stole the bracelet and someone else could've kidnapped her. Three, your parents kidnapped her, stole the bracelet, and gave her away."
"The second one seems the most probable," I scoffed in reply.
"No, the first option seems the most likely." Sam declared.
"And how so?" I crossed my arms in disbelief.
"I've only met your parents once, and it was by call. I noticed when they learned I was a Levensyek, your mother curtsied. Mind you, the curtsy she did was only done to close family friends and we have never met before!"
"Maybe she only did that on impulse, or like, she saw it on a Levelian TV show?" I argued.
"No, no, listen, her curtsy wasn't the curtsy those humans make, no. Her curtsy was quick, and she didn't ask if what she did was correct or not. The common folk would always ask if their curtsy was correct, only nobles don't ask, they never ask."
"I mean I asked if mine was correct when we first met... but then, Mom taught me to curtsy to any Luminarii or Levelian I met."
"She taught you three, correct?"
I nodded.
"Only nobles are taught to curtsy thrice. Also, the way she holds herself has an air of authority and elegance only the daughter of a Levelian noble would have."
I sat there, lost and confused. If what Sam was telling me is true then, that would mean my whole life, up until now, has been a lie.
"One more thing, if your mother really is Princess Katerin, then your father is the former Duke of Lanesif, Duke Orsem Palvos," Sam added.
"Okay, okay... let's summarize what we've been theorizing," I got up from my bed and grabbed my food on the desk and sat back down on my bed, "So, our main theory is that I'm Princess Dayastra and that my mom and dad aren't my real parents but they're my relatives... right?"
"Correct," Sam nodded.
"Okay, and so, there's this Operation: Black Orchid, that's supposed to kidnap me to Luminaris Prime or something, right?"
"I don't know how the operation's going to proceed but yeah, sure."
"Alright, and it's being led by Prince Dayos, who is my brother?"
"If our theory is true, then yes," Sam agreed.
"Okay... that's still a lot of info to process," I replied as I took out my food from the paper bag and laid it on my lap.
"It's okay, you can read the registry anytime, now that you've proven your identity, it should be accessible at any time to you alone," Sam tried to reassure me but all it did was fill me with dread.
I nodded and took a bite of the fried leg we ordered, now cold and soggy but still delicious.
"You haven't eaten?!" Sam exclaimed.
"Nope," my reply came out muffled due to the food in my mouth.
"Go eat first, I'll call you again tomorrow to check up on you. I also have to get back home... man, those Bordrois really are tough to handle..."
I almost choked on my food when Sam mentioned the Bordrois.
"D-did you say 'Bordrois'?!"
"Yeah, that's why I was running... I found out about the Operation and immediately contacted you. They also found out and sent out the Bordrois to apprehend me..."
"It's a good thing you're still alive!"
She scoffed, "They can't kill a menyott's daughter that easily."
We both chuckled as I continued to eat.
"Alright, eat your dinner. I have to get back home now. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
I nodded and waved goodbye, she waved as well and the call ended.
As I munched on my dinner, I couldn't help but wonder...
"How the fuck am I going to sleep now?"