Bling.
The phone on Jeanne's office table lit up. She turned her head from the computer screen down to the phone and picked it up.
Jeanne had been writing endless reports and emails to inform and clear up the situation in the tunnel. She went through multiple sleepless nights in order to get all the work done. Her face was pale and she had dark rings under her eyes. The desk was hidden under countless unorganized, messy papers. Multiple empty coffee cups were standing around, waiting to be thrown away.
She pulled her phone up in front of her tired face. It was almost 10am. As she unlocked it she saw her background picture. It was a selfie, which she made a long time ago. The three young Commanders stood side by side with Filian in the middle. All of them had big smiles and threw up V signs.
A wave of nostalgia hits her.
She unlocked her phone, with a swipe of her thumb and noticed that Incarceratus wrote her a message:
Hey! I'm awake again and feeling way better. I heard you had to fill in for me? Sorry for all the work that was piled up. Hope you can go through them without much trouble. I'll come to the office as soon as I'm discharged. See you later!
Her heart skipped a beat. He had finally recovered and was ready to work again. She exhaled with a deep relieving sigh and slumped down into her chair.
She reacted to the message with a simple heart emoji and finally decided to take a break from her multiple nights of work to visit him.
She stood up but then saw the mess she made.
Jeanne picked up all of the empty coffee cups and dumped them into the trash.
Then she sees the mess of unorganized papers stacking on top of each other and decides to quickly sort them out. After a while, her desk finally came to light again.
As she stepped out of her office, she saw Lieutenant Vage walking down the corridor.
He halted before Jeanne and saluted her.
"Commander, where are you going?" Vage asked, with an exhausted tone.
"I'm going to visit Commander Incarceratus. Could you please hold down the fort for me here?" She asks him.
Vage's expression clearly showed annoyance, but he accepted the request with a sigh.
"After I visit him, we both deserve some days off" Jeanne smiled at him. "I will put in a word for you."
Vage's face instantly lit up and his eyes sparkled with life once more.
"Thank you Ma'am!" He said, this time enthusiastically, saluting her.
She saluted him back and went on her way.
***
Jeanne was standing at the receptionist desk. She looked around the place to see if anyone was here, but the whole hospital seemed empty. The only thing that was heard were the humming of machines and other technical instruments in the background
After a few minutes of standing at the desk, she decided to loiter around and check the hospital out.
Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice someone approaching her. As she turned around to walk back to the receptionist desk, she accidentally hit someone.
A tall man with wavy snow white hair stood before her. Jeanne looked up and saw his well defined face, chiseled jawline and his well groomed moustache. Her eyes met his forest green eyes.
Then it hit her.
She immediately straightened up and saluted him.
It was the General Superbia.
"Commander Ancora reporting for duty, sir!" She said loudly, almost yelling at him.
The General's eyes sharpened and he saluted back.
"Ancora." He said with a calm but strict voice. "What are you doing here?"
A shiver ran down Jeanne's spine. Did she do something wrong?
"I-I came to visit Commander Incarceratus." She stuttered.
"Who is replacing you from your post?" The General asked demandingly.
"L-Lieutenant Vage, S-Sir." She answered with a trembling voice.
The General's eyes finally let up and glanced down at the ground, his eyebrows furrowed.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
It was the General's phone.
He pulled the phone out of his pocket, answered the call and pressed it to his right ear, all the while observing Jeanne.
She could hear a faint voice of a woman come through the speakers but couldn't make out who it was.
Suddenly the General's expression switched up. His gaze softened, his eyes calmed and his mouth lifted up into a small, polite smile.
"You are here for Incarceratus right?" He asks her with a soft voice. "The doctor just called. He is ready to get discharged now."
But then his expression shifts to a sad look. He inhaled a deep breath.
"The doctor told me that…" He exhaled, "He's suffering from Amnesia."
Jeanne's eyes widened.
"Oh…" She looked down at the ground. "Oh no…."
Just then a man enters the room. He was clad in a uniform. His face was pale, his restless light blue eyes had dark bags under them. His beard looked unshaven and poorly groomed. His gaze was shifted down to the ground and as he was walking towards them,he mumbled strange things to himself.
Behind him a nurse followed him, escorting him to the exit.
His eyes shifted upwards and then met with Jeanne's dark blue sparkling eyes. His pupils widened, taking in the beautiful woman in front of him.
Her long blonde hair, that was tied up into a bun, sparkled in the sun. Her fair skin complemented her cute nose and her charming smile stirred up something inside of him.
Even though he had never met that woman before, his stomach had butterflies.
"Daniel." Jeanne approached him carefully. "How are you?"
His heart skipped a beat. How did she know his name? Did she know him from somewhere?
"I-I'm sorry miss…" He stammered. "Do I… know you?"
Her gaze cast down to the ground. "This can't be…"
Her heart sank. A clump formed in her throat. The dark blue sparkling eyes were now looking tired.
She slowly stepped back, her gaze still lingering on the ground and stood still.
Superbia cleared his throat loudly.
"Commander Incarceratus. You are to resume your duty at the post with Commander Ancora. The doctor will send you a report on his Amnesia in due time. I wish you two the best of luck and success."
They both saluted the General and stepped outside the building. They made their way to the car to drive back to the post in an awkward silence.
"Do you really not remember who I am?" She asks him, her eyes still holding onto a little hope.
"I'm sorry…" He sighed with a heavy heart. "I don't remember a lot…"
He looked into Jeanne's eyes with a pitiful look.
"That's okay." Jeanne said warmly, her gaze softening up. "Then all I have to do is either make you remember me, or get you to know me once more again.
She put on a faint smile.
As she was stepping into the car, she took the phone out of her pocket.
Then she remembered.
He sent her a message this very morning.