Chapter Three: Traitors, Prisoners and Convalescents
(Conference Room, Royal Palace, Florence)
Shiho stood behind King Charles, her hand resting over the pocket of her robe. Shiho was trying to be coy, blocking a slight budge in her pocket, while keeping an eye on Tomoe, who was sitting across from her king. Tomoe reached out, taking a goblet of wine, and sipping from it before saying, "I thank you for your patronage good king."
"Quite welcome, Lady Marguerite. I must ask though, how long before my Otome are fitted with the Anti-IVW chip?" King Charles asked because the alliance between them was tense. The king didn't truly trust or agree with Tomoe, but his fear of her armies kept him in line. He knew until his Otome were fitted with a chip that blocked the intravenous waves that Tomoe used he was defenseless. True Garderobe had fitted all the GEMs with one after the attack on Natsuki Kruger but once again Schwarz had managed to crack it again.
"As soon as they swear to obey me, I will have them brought to my base, and they will return with a detachment each," Tomoe said while both Shiho and Rosalie flinched, though Rosalie hid it better.
"These are still my Otome. They are well-trained with their current GEMs; I'll not have them switched to your Dark GEMs," King Charles said sensing the unease in his Otome.
"Nor will they be, but they will come to me when I call them. I am the new Shinso. All will be my children; Fumi Himeno is a forgotten fossil of a forgotten era," Tomoe said in an eerily calm tone before taking another drink.
"Very well, though you may only have one for now," King Charles conceded. "I'll not leave myself unprotected from the Arian scum. They think the world is theirs to run. They'll not have Florence as long as I draw breath," King Charles said contemptuously.
"You needn't worry about them, Charles," Tomoe said angering the king, by referring to him so informally, though he tried not to show it knowing the power she held.
"Shiho, when Lady Marguerite leaves, you will accompany her." King Charles ordered decisively.
"Hai, Master," Shiho said bowing to her king.
"Well then, Lady Marguerite, enjoy some Florentine hospitality while you are here," King Charles said as he stood up and proceeded to leave the room, Shiho and Rosalie following behind.
"Fetch me some hand-maidens, onee-sama," Tomoe said standing to leave in the other direction, laughing as she left.
Shiho growled, and then turned down another hallway, stopping in an alcove. Shiho pulled the recorder from her pocket, along with her maki-maki notebook, hiding the recorder in the book. She didn't notice Rosalie come up behind her.
"Spiral-chan, what are you hiding?" Rosalie asked in a tone of mock concern.
She quickly slipped the recorder into her sleeve and started writing in the book, "Nothing you need to worry about, Rosalie."
"You've been so depressed, no visits from your little spider friend?" Rosalie asked mockingly, as she leaned over the book. Looking at the page, Rosalie noticed her name was written on one side and Tomoe's on the other. Both had quite a few spirals, though Tomoe's page had more.
"There is a bounty on her head, she wouldn't come here." Shiho said not denying her relationship with Nao. Truth was, Shiho didn't know where she stood with Nao, and she hadn't seen her since long before the war started. Nao usually visited once a month, if not more often. She didn't expect Nao to come now, but didn't know why she hadn't before the war. "You know that."
"None of my concern anyway," Rosalie said as she walked away. Shiho turned to walk the other way, dropping her hand to her side. Her thoughts of Nao caused Shiho to forget the recorder, in the pages of the maki-maki notebook, causing it to hit the ground. Rosalie pulled her whip out, snapping the length, bringing the recorder flying into her hand, "What might this be?"
"Give that back, Rosalie," Shiho said, reaching out for the recorder, but Rosalie pulled back holding it just out of Shiho's grasp teasingly.
"Why?" Rosalie asked, holding the recorder in Shiho's face, and then pulling it back.
"How many times do I have to tell you to leave my stuff alone?" Shiho hissed.
"Fine," Rosalie said throwing the recorder back to her. Shiho caught the recorder, turned away from Rosalie, and started walking.
"Spiral-chan, do try to hide it better. You'll get caught and quite frankly, even as annoying as you are, I rather have some company," Rosalie said to Shiho's back, noticing a slight flinch.
"Caught doing what?" Shiho asked, looking over her shoulder, seeing Rosalie still walking away. Shiho tucked the recorder into her pocket and walked to her room. Shiho immediately went to her dresser, slid it away from the wall, and opened a cabinet behind the dresser, placing the tape in there wondering how she was going to send it to her contact in Aries. She needed to do it before she left with Tomoe but didn't know how she would get into town without arising any suspicion.
(Kruger Family Winter Home, Twine Province, Aries)
Natsuki sat at the table, cleaning one of her pistols, it was late at night and she heard something. Natsuki grabbed her night vision goggles and went to the window, catching several Arian soldiers nearing the cabin.
"I told Haruka..." Natsuki said quickly putting her pistol back together to give them a warning shot.
Natsuki didn't get the chance as a dark figure crashed through the ceiling, looking at her with deep yellow eyes. "You're trespassing." Natsuki said noticing the figure was a woman, not in an Arian uniform, but rather a robe. The robe looked quite a bit like the Valkyrie uniform that Nagi's Dark Otome wore. Natsuki took a couple shots, hitting the figure twice in the leg.
"Stop wasting rounds," the Valkyrie said wavering a little on her feet, as she extended her halberd to Natsuki's throat, the soldiers entered the house.
"You think I'm going down without a fight? Ask your mistress, I'm not an easy one to kill," Natsuki said as she knocked the halberd away with her pistol, and then rolled off to the side. She grabbed a shot gun and shot towards the soldiers, two of them falling as she continued her roll into a trap door.
When she hit the ground, Natsuki took off running down a tunnel, turning every so often to fire the shotgun. While she was firing a shot, Natsuki didn't see that a Valkyrie had appeared in front of her. The Valkyrie reached out, grabbed Natsuki, slammed her into the wall, and knocked her out.
"Target acquired." The woman said.
The first Valkyrie limped over followed by several soldiers. "Secure the prisoner," she stated as the soldiers bound Natsuki's in full chain restraints. First, they attached leg irons, next came the handcuffs, and then finally the collar around Natsuki's neck where the other two chains hooked and locked into it. The Valkyrie that had been shot leaned down, looked at Natsuki's ear, and noticed she wasn't wearing her GEM.
"No GEM," the Valkyrie said as she waved smelling salts in front of Natsuki waking her up. "Get up."
Natsuki stood up feeling unbalanced she said, "What does your 'lady' want? Shizuru isn't here!"
"She wants you, Principal...." The Valkyrie replied with a laugh.
"I am not that person anymore," Natsuki defiantly stated.
"I would have delivered your head on a pike if she asked. Not that person anymore? I guess none of us are. You don't even remember me, do you Principal?" The Valkyrie said slamming Natsuki into the wall.
"No one important enough to remember apparently," Natsuki said spitting at the Valkyrie, "Nothing, but trash follows that lunatic."
The Valkyrie slammed Natsuki into the wall again, "You are the trash…dirty liar. You promised me the fourth Column position and then threw me out on the word of a twit."
"Fourth ... the only time that post was on the table was... oh, you were the whiny one from Annam," Natsuki said as she remembered a promising young pearl from several years ago.
"Come on, Principal, you remember my name. Took me under your wing, tutored me in unarmed combat, and even said I was one of the best you had seen in years." The Valkyrie said pushing Natsuki harder against the wall making her cringe not from being forced against the wall but from her accent being so similar to Shizuru's accent.
"Wells...Alicia," Natsuki said bitterly remembering the feeling of betrayal.
Alicia Wells was a former number one pearl that had been caught cheating. She was a fine student, but the number two pearl had been better until Alicia threatened her. The threat promised failure of several important tests that would then make Alicia the higher ranking student. When Natsuki and the others found out, Alicia had been striped of her rank and expelled.
Alicia spit on Natsuki and turned to walk down the corridor, "Come on, trash, Mein Dame wants to see you."
"So much potential wasted," Natsuki said in disgust as she waited to be forced to move, "You know, the one who eventually got the fourth Column position… was only ranked number three." The soldiers tugged on the chain around Natsuki's neck, knocking her to her knees, dragging her along roughly until she found her footing.
"I suppose I should thank you. If you had never betrayed me, I never would have become a general in the fiercest Army Earl has ever seen." Alicia said laughing as the soldiers pulled Natsuki's chains.
"I don't care." Natsuki said, "Your mistress, this war, all of it has nothing to do with me."
"You should… when my mistress is done with you, she'll no doubt make your execution public and very painful," Alicia threatened a bit perturbed that Natsuki wasn't fazed by the threat.
"Whatever." Natsuki said in a flat uncaring voice, continuing her shuffling walk.
(Valkyrie Headquarters, Tomoe's Palace, Florence)
Several hours later, Natsuki was dragged into Tomoe's throne room, and thrown before the green haired woman. "We've captured the Principal as you requested." Alicia said as she forced Natsuki back to the ground, kneeling before Tomoe, with a hit to the back of her knee.
"They really don't make 'Otome' like they used to," Natsuki said with a laugh as she looked up at Tomoe.
"Silence trash," Alicia said reaching over and backhanding Natsuki.
"A bunch of jealous little girls, there isn't a single 'Otome' in this room," Natsuki said spitting at Tomoe's feet, receiving another smack across the face in the process.
Tomoe stood up and walked over to Natsuki. "Not even yourself?" Tomoe said inquisitively, grabbing Natsuki by the ear, lifting her off the ground, and looking for her GEM.
"Looking for something?" Natsuki said as she smirked.
"No GEM, so the rumors are true then. The Great Ice Silver Crystal has turned her back on Garderobe and her Otome." Tomoe laughed.
"I like to think of it as an early retirement." Natsuki said surprising the others with her mirth.
"Ha, if you can last that long, take her to my quarters, and chain her to the wall." Tomoe said as she returned to the throne. "Keep the collar; it's fitting for the filthy mutt that she is."
"How colorful," Natsuki said allowing the soldiers pull her along.
(Tokiha Villa, Cat God Mountain Park, Formally the Black Valley)
Mikoto sat on Sara's chest looking down at her, poking Sara in the chest a few times, "Not soft like Mai," Mikoto said frowning.
"Mikoto, why don't you try sitting next to Sara?" Mai asked taking a rag and rinsing it out in some warm water.
"Because it's waking up," Mikoto said still sitting on Sara as she stirred.
"Mikoto, she has a name," Mai said realizing what it was that Mikoto had just said.
Sara had been here for a while, she had been found in the deserts near the mountain. Mai had been taking care of her, while Mikoto watched, not entirely sure why Sara wouldn't just wake up. Mai quickly turned around and said, "Sara's what?"
"Ow... my head hurts and my chest feels heavy..." Sara said feeling her head with her hand, covering her eyes, and not realizing that Mikoto was sitting on her.
"Mikoto is not heavy!" Mikoto said as she hopped off and a cat dove onto Sara's stomach knocking the wind from her.
"Owwww," Sara whimpered as three more cats pounced on her.
"Out of here, shoo!" Mai said batting the cats away from Sara. Mikoto whistled and then chased the cats out, leaving with them.
"Mai-onee-sama?" Sara asked weakly, sitting up with Mai's help, and coughing as she was upright.
Mai laughed softly and blushed, "Excuse Mikoto."
"How did I get here? Last thing I remember is being in Aries, trying to get to the Hexagon, but it must have just fallen." Sara asked still rubbing her aching head.
"You've been asleep for about three months. Prior to being here you were wandering in the desert for who knows how long." Mai said handing her a glass of a strange purple liquid, "It smells bad and I don't know what it tastes like, but Mikoto says it will give you strength."
"What? How?" Sara said taking a drink slowly, afraid it would taste horrible, but she was surprised that it tasted a little like Cardairan mead, "The President, was she in the Hexagon?"
"No one can find her or Haruka-onee-sama," Mai said, wanting to say more, but Sara cut her off.
"They got out though? If only I had my robe I could have warned them in time...." Sara said remembering that day. She and Itsuko had been on their way to the Hexagon, to warn the President of an attack, but had been too late. They found out about the attack only days before and rushed from Cardair to Aries. Sara wished she could have used her cell phone, but the line had gone dead the day before they found out about Tomoe's plan.
"They were able to escape," Mai said taking the empty cup from Sara and setting it back on the table. "They travel around Aries in the Suzushiro. The country is in ruins and they are fighting on every side."
"The Principal, Garderobe…" Sara said thoughts taking shape, "Tomoe no doubt would attack them."
"All the other Columns are missing. Natsuki and Shizuru-onee-sama never returned." Mai said looking down, "Tomoe attacked Garderobe in conjunction with Aries."
"Nao and Itsuko?" Sara asked wondering if the block on her cell phone had been Tomoe's doing.
"Nao has been sighted a few times but that was months ago. Itsuko is in hiding, we think. She could be dead, but we don't know. Natsuki was in Aries," Mai said stopping Sara from trying to get up.
"Garderobe?" Sara asked, trying to patch the holes in her memory. "The Principal's still holed up in Aries?"
"The rumor is that she was captured and is being used as bait for the Archmeister," Mai said, news was slow reaching round Earl.
Most of the countries were in such poor state, news was infrequent, but news of Natsuki's capture had spread like wildfire. Mai couldn't help but think it was a trick to lure Shizuru out of hiding. What she couldn't understand was why Shizuru had done nothing. She knew that whatever had happened between the two of them wasn't so great that Shizuru wouldn't come after Natsuki.
"Any sightings of Shizuru…?" Sara asked as Mai shook her head. "I need to do something..."
Mai pushed Sara back down again. She was trying to sit up and Mai made her lay down saying, "No, you are in no condition to do anything. Not yet anyway and until then, stay put."
