"Xalini."

Xalini Vayulaya, at first, didn’t even know her name was being called. She had not heard anyone call her by her name for almost 8 years now.

Eight long years…

"Xalini, you are getting this mission in-house for your work for our country till now."

Now that the Chief of National Security started talking, Xalini realized that his whiskers had a rather odd tinge of orange. She listened to him talk as she wondered if he was using henna to color his mustache.

"Varu Alak has become an invaluable asset to our country. He has been having problems with attempts on his life. People who are trying to attack him are all traced to having taken money from the country of Nahik. Nahik’s economy has been directly affected by the expansion of Alak Corporation. We need to make sure that he is safe, but we also can’t have Nahik think that they have us worried about his safety. You are getting assigned to marry and protect him."

Xalini gave a nod to the CNS. She had to stay close to a guy and protect him from random assassination attempts. This will practically be a vacation!

"The Kingdom of Panja has agreed to give you a cover. They were grateful for your services to their King and have hence agreed to lend us this favor. You lived in the Panjian countryside, where you received most of your education. You came back to Daini to be home in your motherland. You will be using your original name, that is, Xalini Vayulaya."

After Xalini was dismissed from the office, she decided to roam around on the lawn. The soft, dewy grass under her feet cooled down her racing heart.

How long has it been since she was allowed to be home? It has been around 4 years, right?

Usually, even her missions were given to her through a relay.

But few have to sacrifice for the good of many. Her country has developed in the years she has been away from it.

Xalini heard soft meowing from near the roots of the tree she was walking towards, so she increased her pace. Under the root was a tiny black baby cat, looking at her with completely black beady eyes.

Now that I have to stay in one place for a while, I guess I can request to keep one liability to myself, right?

Xalini carefully picked up the small squirming body, which let out a long meow, as if giving a distressed farewell to the tree.

"Maybe the mother is still around?"

Xalini whispered and was about to put it back when she heard, "That baby has been there for a couple of days now. Mother forgot about her."

Xalini quickly turned to sound and came face-to-face with one of the spies she had done missions with before.

"Agent A! How come you are here as well?"

Agent A had an affinity for fire, which complemented her healing abilities during the missions. They were both a good hypothetical match because they were the strongest magic users among the agents.

There were not many people with magic strong enough to show itself, and even if some people were able to manifest magic, it was usually of smaller ability. Agent A could create a few sparks or redirect an existing fire, but not stop forest fires or something big. Xalini could cure a viral fever and remove poison and infections, but she couldn’t cure cancer or other deadly diseases.

Agent A came closer to Xalini and scratched the kitten’s nose. The kitten returned the favor by nibbling on the finger. Both agents were busy looking at the kitten with a smile.

"So, how come you are suddenly here? Aren’t you usually out of station?"

"Yeah. It’s like a vacation of sorts."

"Seriously? These old farts have been denying my vacation for years now!"

Xalini laughed. "Ask, and you shall never receive."

***

Xalini arrived at Varu Alak’s office for an interview with him, a front to creating a story about how they met. Varu had already been briefed about the story and had agreed to play along to make things look natural.

Varu Alak had all the money in the world, so it was odd that he was agreeing to have a government agent stay near him at all times. Businessmen were not usually so trusting of the government when it came to spies knowing their secrets. Either way, Xalini didn’t care. She was going to carry on this easy mission and enjoy her vacation.

Varu was sitting back in his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

If you are that filthy rich, what care will you have?

"So, Miss Vayulaya. You had your education in Panja? Why are you leaving your life in a developed country to come and live in ours?"

Wait, why is this an actual interview?

"It is a matter of being in my homeland for me. Although I spent many years there, Panja always felt like..."

The interview went on for half an hour. Xalini originally felt that she would probably be bored waiting for an appropriate amount of time, but she felt drained. She couldn’t remember talking so much, and her throat was already chalky.

After coming out of the office building, Xalini went straight to a nearby jaljeera stall in hopes of parching her throat.

As the cool, spicy liquid went down her throat and started working its magic, Xalini wondered if the reason she was told that Varu agreed to this was because he didn’t know that she was sent in by the government.

She didn’t have to wonder for long when she received a call from Varu: “Great job, Miss Vayulaya. I wasn’t expecting you to be good at faking things. So, when are we supposed to meet again?”

Xalini felt her mouth fall open at the audacity of this guy. “Mr. Alak, if you have such a hard time trusting my capabilities, then why bother with asking me to work for you?”

Being a spy for 8 years of her life, Xalini hated when someone questioned her abilities. Why ask for favors when you don’t trust the person to be effective at getting the job done?

“You lose your cool very easily for someone who is said to be an experienced spy.”

Varu cut the call before Xalini could respond.

To think I will get this sort of disrespect in my own country!

Needless to say, this job suddenly started feeling more like torture than a vacation.