“WINSTON!” Jean shouted as she woke up and immediately took her seat.  She looked around. Where is she? She’s not familiar with this place. Was Fienes able to confine her? She lifted her hand. It’s not chained. She’s free! But where is she? And Winston? Did Winston helped her hide? She was startled when the curtain flew open. It was an old lady. As soon as she saw her, the old lady knelt on the ground.
                “Oh dear saint, you’re finally awake.” The old lady said. She can sense her sincerity. But who is she calling a saint?
                Jean immediately stood from the bed and went to help the old lady stand.
                “W-why are you kneeling, ma’am?” Jean asked as she held the old lady’s arms to help her stand.
                “How are you feeling, dear saint?” the old lady asked again.
                “W-why are you calling me saint, ma’am? My name is Jean and I am from Statson.” She introduced herself.
                “Grandma, you must be mistaken.” A voice behind them said. She looked over her shoulder to see who it was. It was a man, probably her age. “I’m sorry. It’s probably because of her old age. I found you lying on the ground near the farm I till, so I carried you home and my grandma took care of you. You had been sleeping for 2 days.” The man said.
                “Oh Matikas, I may be old but I know that she is the saint I have been waiting for my whole life.” The old lady said. “Oh dear saint, come now. I know you are hungry.” The old lady said and led her out of the room.
                The food was already on the table and suddenly, the smell of it made her stomach growl.
                “Come now, take your seat and I will tell you an old tale.” The old lady said and led her to a chair. The man grabbed a plate and spoon and put it in front of her.
                “T-thank you for taking care of me. And thank you for inviting me to eat.” She said and she felt her tears on the side of her eyes. She remembered what she had injured in that awful facility.
                “Please don’t cry, dear. Eat to your heart’s content. These are all the produce that Matikas grew on his farm.” The old lady said, proud of her grandson’s natural green thumb. “You can call me Grandma or Apong, whichever you are comfortable with.” The old lady smiled.
                “If it’s okay with you, call me Jean, Apong.” She said.
                “But…”
                “I am not a saint, Apong. Just like what Matikas said, you have probably mistaken me with someone else.” She argued.
                “Then it’s time I tell you the old tale of this whole place, before it became what we know now as Statson, Dagras, and Ordinarius.
                Long ago, this place was called Sagrado as it was ruled by the Gods. There was no Ordinarius nor Statson. Statson was known as a part of Patag, while Ordinarius was a part of Catalunan. But even though this place was ruled by the Gods, their followers wreak havoc to conquer each realms. Bakir was the most peaceful among the lands as it was ruled by the Sorceress Karnilla. And even though it was the most peaceful, Karnilla wrote a prophecy which was discovered after her disappearance, many years later. It was believed that when she wrote the prophecy, she had been looking after the saint herself. But she hadn’t live long enough to see what the saint had become.”
                “If Karnilla was a sorceress, is there a possibility for her to die?” Jean asked.
                “Same thought.” Matikas agreed.
                “These two unbelievers… she didn’t die.” Apong answered.
                “But you said, she wasn’t able to live long enough to see the saint she raised.” Jean argued.
                “Would you like me to continue the old tale, to answer your question?” Apong asked.
                “Oh, okay. Sorry for the interruption Apong.” she apologized.
                “It was said that she didn’t die. She disappeared but living among us.”
                “If she’s living among us, then she might be the Saint.” Jean concluded.
                “That could be true. But the ancestors have told that the Saint was a child when Karnilla disappeared.”
                “If the saint was 9 years old, surely she didn’t just disappear on her. What exactly happened?”
                “Now you’re curious. You might believe me now that it is truly you.” Apong smiled.
                “Depends on the story, Apong.” She laughed.
                “Don’t justify her.” Matikas whispered.
                “I heard you, Matikas. As the old tale goes, it was said that Dirraas ambushed the peaceful Bakir as the Erdamians went to the battle of Gukayab. Before Karnilla disappeared, the sky was enveloped with darkness and lightning and thunderstorms. When it passed, Karnilla disappeared and the saint was banished.”
                “What’s the prophecy, then?” Jean asked.
“Madanun to ti aldaw nga agsipnget iti lubong ket agsisinnupadinto ti gurruud ken kimat. Addan tu ti maysa a balasang a sumangbay iti kataltalunan ket isunto iti pagrugyan ti pammati. (The day will come when the world will plunged into darkness, and lightning and thunder will take over. There will be a maiden who will come in the farmlands and it would be the start of faith). This prophecy happened before, 20 years ago. But the maiden didn’t appear. And now it happened again, this time, you were there.”
“If Karnilla was living among us, wouldn’t she be able to know her prophecy? And wouldn’t she be able to recognize the saint? Because surely, it’s just a coincidence that I happen to fall asleep on the farms. As I said a while ago, I was kidnapped I came from Statson, Apong. I don’t mean to be rude or to be disrespectful but I didn’t fall from the sky.” Jean stated. “Unless, you are Karnilla.” She continued.
“Oh dear, I may be old and I may know about the prophecy, but I am not Karnilla. Karnilla is immortal and a healer. She might look younger than her age.”
*****
                Freeman visited the AEGIS Infirmary where Marina and Gary had been recovering. They are both conscious but still not capable of fending for themselves.
                “Nightingale, what’s their status?” Freeman asked
                “They are currently under sedation but they are already conscious. We just put them back to sleep since they wanted to look for Jean. Eagle was assigned as their legal guardian so he approved of the sedation.” Nightingale explained.
                “Keep me posted. Where is Eagle?”
                “He’s back at the office. Asked me to call him immediately if they wake up.”
                “I’ll meet him there, then.” Freeman said and left.
*****
                Winston was doing his usual job: checking possible leads for Jean. The MARVELOUS traveled to Arreis Erdam to talk to Diiconsentes about a prophecy, so the least he could do is send them coordinates from nearby Districts on Jean’s whereabouts since he cannot join them for the Search and rescue Opts.
                “How was the eagle eye mission?” Freeman asked.
                Winston was startled and immediately stood up to salute. The chair fell down.
                “Ease up, Agent.” Freeman commanded.
                “Yes, sir. Sorry sir. I was just on the edge lately.” He answered.
                “Would you like to take a break?” Freeman asked.
                “No sir. This is the only way I could help find my sister. I won’t disappoint my father and Ms. Marina by being a bad brother.”
                “I don’t think taking a break means being a bad brother. You’ve been taking care of them for the past few days.”
                “I’m sorry but I will politely decline the offer, sir.”
                “I can’t afford to lose another capable agent in the field as of the moment.”
                “I will take that as a compliment sir but I will still decline the offer.”
                “Very well. Keep me posted if anything pops up on the radar.”
                “Yes sir.”
                Freeman left and Winston released a sigh of relief. He is exhausted, yes, but he is Eagle for a reason. He won’t let Jean down.
*****
                The MARVELOUS team arrived at the Golden Palace. Upon reaching the center of the hallway, they all knelt down on their left knee and bowed
                “I apologized for this abrupt visit, Diiconsentes, but we are humbly requesting an audience with you.” Tin stated.
                “Rise and move forward.” Diiconsentes ordered.
                They all stood up and went ahead. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
                “What is the purpose of your visit?” Diiconsentes asked.
                “About the prophecy.”
                “Have you find the existence of this prophecy and why the people are in chaos?” he asked.
                “We might have a lead but…”
                “Speak.”
                “We need Leinth.” Tin said.
                Diiconsentes did not respond.
                “Mighty Diiconsentes, we highly regard your omnipotence. Without your consent, we cannot do the task without the help of someone knowledgeable about the prophecy.” Benedict seconded.
                “The people knew about the prophecy. You are bestowed with more than what you could have. Use it wisely.” Diiconsentes said and motioned the way out.
                They knelt and bowed, stood up and went out of the Golden Palace.
                “So what now? We’re not allowed to bring Leinth in.” Benedict said.
                “As Diiconsentes said, we have something on us we can use. We’ll use it to our advantage.” Aiden said.
                “Let’s split the group then. Let’s stick with the teaming up last time but Nash will be with Vera and Jon since Leinth cannot be here.” Anthony stated.
                “We’ll ask about the prophecy, send the information you gathered directly to the Eagle. Eagle will send us the coordinates and we will meet wherever it is.” Aiden commanded.
                “Copy.” They all said and set off by their teams.