The dawn was pale gold, the mountains in the distance wearing halos of mist. A few locals were already awake, sipping coffee at early-morning cafés, trying to piece together what had just unfolded overnight. And walking among them, as if nothing had happened, were the Null Handmaidens.
Rielinne, Naelle, Iserra, and Syraleh strolled down the cobblestone street like four friends out for a casual morning walk. Their dark, combat-ready suits had been swapped for simple but sleek streetwear.
Naelle broke the silence first.
"You know, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly we did last night. We just shut down a whole country's travel system for… what, a vacation?"
Iserra snorted, brushing crumbs off Naelle's shoulder, who was having doughnuts.
"Pretty much. Geneva's Fast Travel network is fried for days, maybe weeks. And judging by how panicked those government fools looked, Switzerland's about to experience the biggest logistics meltdown in history."
"Mhm," Syraleh hummed lazily, adjusting her sunglasses. "Flights are grounded. The press is calling it a terrorist attack. And yet…"
She smirked and looked at Rielinne.
"You're walking around like you just bought us ice cream."
Rielinne's lips twitched into a faint smirk. She didn't look at any of them, her eyes were on the horizon instead.
"Because I did buy you something better. Time."
Naelle frowned, stopping mid-step.
"Time? We're assassins, not philosophers. What the hell do you mean?"
Rielinne turned to her.
"I mean that by locking down Switzerland, we've ensured no one, not mercenaries, not the Houses, not even the Swiss military, can pin down the purpose of what we came here for."
Naelle blinked, half in disbelief, half in awe.
"So you're saying… we basically made the entire country our vacation home?"
Rielinne's smirk deepened.
"Exactly."
Syraleh chuckled, running a hand through her hair.
"You're absolutely insane."
"She's brilliant," Iserra corrected. "Insane comes after you realize the math checks out.
Naelle threw her hands up, laughing.
"Oh, I can't believe this. You locked down an international Fast Travel Building so we could extend our holiday? You really went, 'no work, no problem,' huh?"
"Well, you said you wanted a few days off. I gave you a few weeks."
Naelle gawked at her, still laughing.
"You're dangerous, you know that? Not just with daggers but like, mentally dangerous. Who even thinks like that?"
"A professional."
The four of them turned down a quieter lane. Iserra adjusted her beanie, glancing sideways at Rielinne.
"Still… two hundred and sixty-four mercenaries. That's not a body count, that's an eradication. We didn't just lock the country down. We erased every trace of the infiltration."
"Good. That was the point. Although, as Master said, I made sure they would realize that the Null Handmaidens did this. I don't know why he wants us to be seen as a hidden terrorist group but we can't question his methods."
Naelle shook her head.
"You're seriously cold. We could have just distracted them, but you decided to purge an entire facility like it was a chessboard you didn't like the setup of."
"Distraction leaves trails," Rielinne said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Erasure leaves peace."
"Peace?" Syraleh raised a brow. "You call that peace?"
Rielinne finally smiled.
"For us, peace is when no one remembers we were ever there."
Naelle burst out laughing again, tossing the doughnut box she was carrying into a trash bin.
"You're insane! No wonder Master made you the leader."
Syraleh grinned.
"And now we're stuck in Switzerland, living off our Master's funds until the Fast Travel system is repaired. Iserra, did you already reroute the expense tracker?"
"Of course," Iserra said with a smirk. "He'll think we're spending modestly. Meanwhile, we've got a chalet, three reserve accounts, and a week's worth of spa bookings."
Naelle gasped dramatically.
"Wait, spa? Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because you were too busy bragging about slicing mercenaries in half," Syraleh said dryly. "Priorities, dear."
Naelle placed a hand over her heart.
"Excuse me, killing efficiently is self-care. I was concerned for the mission."
That made all of them laugh that echoed down the narrow Swiss street. People turned to look, seeing only four fashionable young women enjoying their morning. No one could have guessed they were the reason for the nationwide shutdown on every news channel. As they neared the city's edge, Rielinne paused, looking up at the digital billboard showing breaking news:
"Geneva Fast Travel Center: Terrorist Attack or Security Breach?"
"Over 260 confirmed casualties. Swiss military and international Houses investigating as a group who call themselves the Null Handmaidens managed to infiltrate..."
Naelle tilted her head, grinning.
"We're famous now."
Rielinne gave her a side glance.
"Of course we are."
They crossed the final street leading toward the snowy road that would take them back to the chalet, their temporary home in the Swiss highlands. Rielinne walked a few steps ahead, her voice softer now.
"Enjoy the next few weeks. You've earned it. Let's just enjoy this peace. It's been years since we last came to the Fluxer world."
Naelle smirked, slinging an arm over Iserra's shoulder.
"You hear that, girls? Our boss just gave us paid leave."
"Technically," Iserra corrected, "she gave us illegal, internationally criminal paid leave."
"Semantics," Syraleh shot back with a grin. "Either way, we're drinking hot chocolate in luxury."
The four of them continued walking, the cold morning breeze ruffling their hair, their boots crunching softly against snow and gravel. Behind them, Geneva was still in chaos. Ahead of them was peace, or at least their version of it.
The mission was over. The country was under was locked down and for once, the Null Handmaidens had all the time in the world to enjoy their silence.
All because they wanted to enjoy vacation for a few weeks.