Flight of Cendrillon

Chapter 16: Lonely Souls

"My lady... I'm... I'm sorry to report..."

Iroha tried to steady herself as she saw her mistress' mood sour. "They struck again," she finished for her.

Miriam's cold eyes turned to the girl. "I spent decades crafting these girls into the force we need, and now they're being dismantled, one by one... how did we waste such time on such useless little-!"

She clutched the stem of her wine glass so hard Iroha feared it would break in her hands. "My spies being silenced... my Cinderellas being handed over like wrapped packages to that infernal brat!"

Iroha flinched. This level of anger was uncharacteristic for the lady she knew. Then again, it was abnormal for her plans to be thrown so far off course. Her mistress had worked so hard to conceive of every contingency. Spies in the right places to keep passing information along. Cinderellas at every turn to cut down the upstart "Prince Charming" as he tried to take back what he felt entitled to by birth.

But now it was as if an unseen force knew where every one of them were...

"Miku can't possibly be doing all of this on her own. But he can't possibly... he can't..."

There was no need to explain who "he" was. There was only one person her mistress loathed above all else.

"There's... there's more... we've confirmed Teto disappeared at Sainte-Famille. If... if Luka was there... then... she must be part of this..."

She thought the mistress would only grow angrier but a strange calm settled over her, her grip relaxing.

"Ah. So this is merely revenge. And here I thought we could worry about him having unraveled everything."

"You're... okay with this?" Iroha asked in disbelief.

Miriam refilled her glass of wine with complete calm. "Luka is single-minded. I sent Teto there to be my 'canary' – Luka wouldn't have gone to Saint-Famille unless she was planning to settle old business. If Teto has disappeared, then Luka is trying to make her move. She can be easily lured out and disposed of. I'll have you deliver the precise orders... let's see..."

She stared thoughtfully into her reflection in the wine glass, her naturally silver hair shining in the dim light. "Ah. Stardust. She can handle our wayward 'Dove'. I'm more concerned with our dear Miku... she must be the other prong in this assault. Carefully staying ahead of her dear Prince, shielding him from even the slightest hardship..."

The mistress smiled slyly. "Twenty years..." she whispered, "Twenty years of waiting for the moment I'd finally strike him out. I've winnowed away everything he has – his home, his crown, his family. Even if Tonio falls, even if Vedunia falls... he's yet to escape the story I've written for him."

She raised the glass to her lips. "I leave Miku to you, my precious kitten. If Prince Charming is able to make it all the way to Vedunia, we must have our trump card ready. Miku is still the strongest and brightest of my Cinderellas, after all. My true Cinderella."

Iroha's heartbeats steadied as her mistress' confidence grew again. She would gladly do anything to see her dear mistress's grand designs come true. And now... now she would be doing more than just playing a servant.

She would prove her loyalty to the very end.

The first sounds of gun and artillery fire sounded out in the distance. A tension raced through the streets of the Rust District as its denizens understood what this would mean for them. The non-combatants tried to gather cover as quickly as possible while those drafted into service rushed forward to try and halt an advance.