Rosellina sat on a stack of crates, her boots giving her purchase as the ship bobbed slightly in the waters of the harbor. She could tell a storm was coming in by the way the water was moving, and she'd need to get off the ship soon if she didn't want to be caught in it. Given that she couldn't swim, not being caught over the water in a storm was definitely on her to-do list.
She looked down at the clipboard in her hand, checking off another item with her gnomish pen as she counted the cargo that was almost done being loaded onto the ship. The shipment was bound for Darnassus, and she wanted to make sure all of the items that Lady Featherwind had arranged for transport were in place. Maintaining her appearance as a dutiful agent to the Blackleaf Trading Company was important as it allowed her to have a base of operations within the city. Rosellina knew that Faleseth suspected she was more than she appeared to be, but the Highborne didn't ask questions as long as Rosellina performed her duties adequately and both of them profited from the arrangement.
As Rosellina finished checking off another item and watched the men who were handling the cargo depart for the wagons on the pier, she slipped her pen onto the top of the clipboard and looked out over the ocean, her thoughts feeling as heavy as the rainclouds in the distance.
Her conversation with the Death Knight general last evening had left her feeling uneasy. Although she was not accustomed to speaking with such creatures regularly and she suspected that they were always cynical and ill-tempered as a general rule, there was underlying cause behind the animosity she'd experienced. The Death Knight had already told her that she'd had a run in with SI:7 operatives before; a run in that had not ended favorably. She felt she was the innocent party, and the truth of the matter lay buried between her words and a file that Rosellina would never be allowed to access.
Sometimes our actions are looked at in an ill light due to the things we need to do I suppose.
But that wasn't why Rosellina found herself recalling the conversation again. It was more personal than that. She could accept that the General would be upset over a run in with SI:7 operatives, even angry at the agency itself, but where the real problem lay was in the way Rosellina herself was viewed.
She thinks I'm a liar, and in many ways she's right.
It was odd to think that someone would have such a low opinion of her, but Rosellina could understand where it came from. If taken only by external appearances and random facts, her work would seem cold, brutal, and possibly even evil. She lied, she stole, she sometimes engaged in undercover operations that could result in fatalities. The methods employed by SI:7 varied and often depended on how dire the circumstances were, and Rosellina held no illusions that those who were caught up in those operations would be overly fond of the organization as a whole when they were finished.
I'm sure there are quite a few House Falconoak servants and men-at-arms who had nothing to do with Lord Falconoak's scheme that likely hate me now. Their home was burned down and their jobs forfeit due to my work. I cannot make them understand that what I did was necessary; that it saved innocent lives elsewhere. Nor should I have to explain it.
Then why did the General's suspicion upset her? Perhaps it was because in this case, there was no underlying motive other than a desire to understand exactly what had happened and uncover the truth. In this instance, there was no false front, no subterfuge. She simply wanted to come to understand the situation and the General's feelings on the matter. No matter how many times she spoke to the Draenei though, the woman would adamantly rebuff any friendly overtures. Rosellina understood it, but it still stung.
She can't see me through the mask I wear for my work. To her there is no Rosellina underneath. Anything I show her is simply another mask meant to begin a new plot. Perhaps I shouldn't have identified myself, but that too would have been a lie.
It was perhaps the first time that Rosellina came to the realization of the cost associated with her work. She would always be isolated like this, for how could anyone get close to someone that they couldn't believe was real? And yet that sacrifice was made so that the interests of the Alliance could be looked after. Someone had to do the job, and Rosellina knew she was qualified to be one of those people.
This is why they choose orphans, because we're used to feeling like this. We're used to not having a family, a home, and true friends to support us. Cast out into the world on our own, we are forced to make our own way. I've simply been guided on the right course unlike so many of the others.
Rosellina sighed and slipped off the crates, walking across the deck of the ship and leaning on the gunwale, looking out over the ocean. She murmured to herself, her mind coming back to the only conclusion she could draw from the random thoughts, "It doesn't matter if you trust me or not General, I am still trustworthy for as long as you are an ally to the Alliance. It doesn't matter if you don't care about the importance of my work; I'll still do it. It doesn't even matter if no one will ever see the commendation in my file; I know it's there and I will keep doing what I have to do. Not because I'm a tool of the King, but because I choose to do so. Because I do the right thing so that others don't have to face the threats we face."
She nodded to herself, firmly convinced of the words she'd said to no one. Trust was something that one earned, and the General would come to see that she could be trusted in time perhaps. If not...well, Rosellina would still do her job, even if she had to help the woman despite herself. It's not like she didn't know everything she needed to know about Rosellina anyway.
Out over the ocean a flicker of light reflected towards Rosellina. She looked into the growing gloom and fog of the incoming storm, watching as the signal light flashed in a complex pattern of signals; signals that were meant for her to see. She reached into a pocket, taking out a magical stone that flashed with light on one side, sending a signal back to the 7th Legion submarine that was waiting just outside of the harbor; waiting to pick up a certain SI:7 operative. Rosellina slipped her signaling device back into her pocket, smiling to herself and turning to walk away.
Well, she knows ALMOST everything about me I suppose. Almost.
With a confident stride, Rosellina disembarked from the ship, heading out to the shore and the longboat that would be there to pick her up in a few minutes. It was time to begin her next mission.
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