Flight of Cendrillon

Chapter 16: Lonely Souls

But in the heart of Zweissen, in the former domain of Duke Ueki, a different sort of tension was in play. Akiko slipped out of the house, dressed in thick clothing to handle the unbearable cold of December, under strict orders to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The Prince's forces could not succeed in taking the Rhune. His military adventures had to end now.

She heard the buzzing of planes above as Estmarch's planes, under Dawn control, swept forward... met by planes bearing the familiar Nordland battle standards as they swooped in to intercept as quickly as possible.

Just one Cinderella sent to stop an army with a sniper rifle. She would have to work quickly. The Prince knew her face; there was no chance of her sneaking up on him. She would have to deal with him at a distance.

The war would cease with the death of Prince Kaito. Even if Estmarch were conquered by outsiders in the aftermath, the Godmothers and their Cinderellas would still exist in the shadows to rebuild and reshape Uralia.

She would be a Princess.

If she could end him.

She spied the run-down clocktower near the walls marking the divide between Zweissen and the industrial Rust District. The only real vantage point to get a clear shot as the Prince inevitably pressed ahead on his assault and exposed himself.

Her training led her to scaling it quickly from the inside, until she was up and inside the clock face itself. She cracked open the maintenance door and laid low. Staring into the telescope, she scanned the field carefully for the distinct blue hair...

Footsteps behind her drew her from her position. In a flash she had her combat knife out, slashing at an assailant with turquoise pigtails. "I should have known it was you!" Akiko cursed at the girl, "You wretched traitor! You've sold your soul to a devil!"

Miku stayed ahead of her knife blows, dodging them carefully before reaching out to strike at Akiko's arm. Twisting it harshly, Akiko let out a cry as it bent so hard she thought it would snap. A blow to her stomach from Miku's foot caused her to recoil, just as Miku's elbow landed around her neck...

Akiko collapsed in her arms. Miku held her for a few moments, waiting to see if she was merely faking it... she wouldn't make this mistake again...

But Akiko stayed silent, confirming to Miku that she'd truly knocked her out. She pulled thick rope from her satchel and started tying Akiko's arms up behind her, keeping alert in case the girl sprang back to consciousness while she worked. "It works that she came up to the clocktower," Miku said, "This is as good a spot as any..."

From what little intelligence she had, Akiko was the only Cinderella active in Zweissen now. Miku had taken out one more when she crept into the Rust district a few days ago. She'd worried that might alert Akiko, but clearly their intelligence networks were breaking down.

The number of Cinderellas in Estmarch seemed to be declining... she hoped that meant she was getting close to her true target.

And that said nothing of what Luka might be up to on her own... She'd gotten some indications in some of the cities she'd passed through that her former mentor had taken on a similar goal to her own.

Miku took a careful step close to the ledge. She picked up the sniper rifle, staring through the telescope. For just a moment, she caught a glimpse of blue and her heart skipped a few beats. Kaito was right on the battlefield!

'Not yet... I'm sorry. But if I'm right... we'll reunite in Vedunia. Because I'm certain she is there.'

Miku slipped a firm hook onto the tight ropes around Akiko's wrists and began to dangle her slumbering body from the clocktower's face...