Chapter 4: Distorted Mirror

The radio blared yet another grand address from Estmarch's new "Grand General" as the blonde haired boy continued to lay out the silverware for dinner. He was mostly tuning it out – whatever Tonio had to say, it wasn't terribly important to him. One set of corrupt leaders switched out for another.

His simple black uniform, tanned shirt, and red ribbon around his neck in lieu of a tie gave away his station to anyone who saw him. His short ponytail was tied up high on the back of his head, held fast by a small black clip.

"Ah, Len, there's been a slight change of plans for this evening!"

He took a deep breath and placed a calm smile on his face for his employer. "Yes Duke Ueki?"

The duke was a middle-aged man in a crisp grey suit, his trim black hair puffed up into a small pompadour. "A most urgent cable has reached me… we are to be the hosts of the two most important guests we've ever had the pleasure of receiving in the entire Rhune Valley!"

"Oh? The new General is paying a visit already?"

Duke Ueki laughed politely at his butler. "Ah, we have someone else in mind, though they do hail from the capital. I'm afraid we must keep it to the utmost secrecy however. That's why I can only trust you to pick them up."

"Ah… well, I would be honored, sir," Len replied.

'If it's not the Emerald Dawn… it could be someone else… an aristocrat maybe? Someone the Duke wants to keep alive I guess…'

"I trust your judgement in ensuring they arrive safely. Show them our utmost hospitality."

"But of course, sir. Shall I finish setting up the table?"

"No no, I'll have Akiko take care of that. Bring them in through the servant's entrance when you arrive… discretely of course."

'Safely? Wonder if it's one of them. Maybe this is going to get interesting after all.'

"Are the Loyalists aware of them yet?" Len asked politely.

The Duke was already departing for the kitchens. "No, and we should be grateful for it! They're causing enough trouble with their antics in Jungenfeld! Fortunately, you'll be picking up our guests in Urntropp – far away from them."

Len drove down the streets of Urntropp. From what he'd been informed, the duo had needed to abandon their car before arriving. Apparently in their flight from the capital, they'd run out of fuel and found themselves walking the rest of the way.

Just hearing they were driving gave him some surprise – blue bloods driving themselves? Len would have joked that they'd be as good as dead if they didn't have butlers to chauffer them around.

'The girl has green hair and pigtails… the man is going to be wearing a white hood and blue scarf…'

He pulled up to the empty curb near the river port, as instructed. Idling the car, he left the vehicle and stood up front. The better to properly invite them in, like a proper butler. His eyes wandered the mostly empty street – at this time of day, the workers had left for their midday meal. Urntropp's metal refineries were their top industry, vital to the mighty Estmarch war machine, and much of it was processed in this part of the city. He understood the work was steady but brutal.

With Len's low class, he was lucky to have the relatively cushy position he had, rather than toiling away and risking injury or death as he was ground up for the good of the Empire…

He looked up as he saw his mysterious guests arriving. They stood out regardless of their appearance – both dressed in proper clothing instead of dusty overalls. Maybe they weren't that smart… or maybe they'd had to run so fast they couldn't spare better clothing.

The girl reached him first and Len gave a proper bow. "You are welcomed to Urntropp, my lady, my lord."

She certainly looked tired enough to have traveled from Heidlmont to Urntropp on foot.

He pulled open the backdoor for them and beckoned them to sit. Of course the Duke's commands earlier had been rather contradictory, but that was to be expected. He was quite tempted to glance under the man's hood, but that wouldn't be proper. Besides, he'd probably find out who he was later anyway. The Duke was so worried for secrecy that he'd dismissed all of his servants for the next few days save for himself and Akiko.

While the man entered first, the young lady stopped and stared at Len long enough to make him feel uncomfortable. "Ah… miss? Is something wrong?"

The young lady shook her head quickly. "I… I'm sorry, you looked familiar."

A blush came to her cheeks as she quickly slipped into the car.

Once everyone was seated, Len began the drive back to Duke Ueki's home, keeping an eye on the mirrors for any unusual activity. The guests remained utterly, frustratingly silent. What fun was there in this job when they didn't gossip?!

The girl stared eerily forward, as if focused on some grander task. But the man seemed utterly transfixed by the outside windows. Len didn't understand why - Urntropp's factories hardly felt like anything worth watching. The girl occasionally looked at the windows, but Len was somewhat unnerved by the way she kept staring into the mirror… watching him.

"I'd heard of the refineries out here, but where are the workers?"

"At midday? They go home for their midday meal of course."

"Ah, how silly of me… well I'm certainly glad they have the time to visit their families!"

'Blue bloods… never worked an honest day in their lives…'

"Ah, I don't mean to bother you, but could you tell me where they're living?"

"They call it the 'Rust District,' Naoto. It used to be a small city, Rosenstadt, but the industrial advancement of Zweissen sort of overtook it."

Len could make out a pair of inquisitive blue eyes under the man's hood. "Is our schedule quite demanding? I'd wish to see the Rust District myself if we can…"

The maiden seemed quite eager to put a stop to such a plan. "Yes it is."

Len could read a great deal of tension in her voice. "I can assure you there's nothing exciting about the Rust District anyway, sir," he tried to add, "It's quite a bit dangerous for people of our stature to be wandering around there."

'What kind of weirdo wants to gawk at the poor and the criminals anyway?'

For a while the drive returned to its silence, but Naoto still seemed obsessed with the surroundings. "As I recall… the Rhune Valley includes seven cities, and farmland between… I hope our entrance didn't cause too much damage."

"Well at least we drove through after the harvest when the stalks were already dead. It should be fine."

Len blinked. What in the world had they been getting up to before he arrived?! Had they had to escape from the Emerald Dawn or the Loyalists?

"I remember father speaking fondly of Zweissen… ah, young man!"

Len snapped to attention. "Have you lived here all your life? Could you tell me more about it?"

The driver wasn't used to being the subject of conversation. Was he being mocked? Well, an honest answer couldn't hurt anything. "No… I used to live much further. Out in the Grunebene. My parents were of very humble means."

There, that should bore him enough…

"Oh! Grunebene! We used to get fresh produce during the winter from them! A bit less the last few years though. Were they badly affected by the war?"

Now Len had to watch his tongue. He'd not had the courage to contact his family since he left Grunebene, but he'd heard of how much the food rationing had affected the people of that region. And this blue blood was talking about feasting on fresh fruit and vegetables when they were doing without?

He was saved from having to find a delicate answer when the girl explained it instead. "Naoto, Grunebene was tapped very hard to supply food for the army and to keep… ah… the aristocracy… from feeling too much of a pinch."

While "Really?! I… I had no idea…"

Len couldn't quite understand this strange pair of people. Did he actually care what happened?

Maybe he was a foreigner? But his Estmarchian tongue was flawless. "The poor… well, there are places for them to go. The factories always need the labor if nothing else."

"So there's employment… that's good…"

'Whoever this guy is… he's not going to make it a day in a place like the Rhune.'

He was worse than most aristocrats – he was an idealist.

Len almost felt a little sorry for him. "Hey… since you're new here… if you get a chance, Retzgen Street after dark is one of Zweissen's best sights. The whole strip has electric lighting now, we're quite proud of it."

"Really? Even Vedunia only has it around the palace!"

Len chuckled before catching himself, but neither of his passengers appeared offended by his laughter. "The Duke wants to spread it throughout the Rhune. At least in all the big tourist spots first. Zweissen is the biggest manufacturer in the country."

"So much progress! It must be wonderful to live here! Miku, have you ever been here?"

He watched the young girl clutch at her knees nervously. "I haven't… this is my first trip."

"Then I hope it's pleasant for both of us."

The man was talking almost as if he was on vacation and there wasn't a civil war breaking out around him. Len couldn't make him out…

'Another manor… another false name…' Miku thought to herself as she and "Naoto" sat in a fine lounge waiting for their host.

She couldn't banish her nerves – testing the loyalty of a Duke was asking for trouble, but she had no reliable way through the Rhune Valley herself. If she could at least use his power to get through a few checkpoints…

'Still, they won't all be like the Lord Mayor of Liesenfall.'

Kaito, despite being a tad too talkative, seemed to be holding up better. He was clearly relieved to be able to pull his hood back and his scarf down and being able to use his own name again.

Miku saw the butler from before beckon them into the dining room. "My Duke asks you to pardon the wait, but he is more than ready for you now."

Right now Miku was quite happy to at least have a solid meal to look forward to.

"Thank you! Ah, I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name…"

The boy blinked in surprise. Miku guessed most visitors rarely acknowledged him.

'That was why so many of us posed as servants… the ones everyone overlooks…'

"L-Len Kagamine, miss!"

And again as they passed into the dining room and Miku found herself with a good clear look at Len, she found his face unsettling. She was certain she had never met the young man before today, but the shape of his face, his familiar hair, the color of his eyes… they did recall someone else to mind. Miku turned away from him before drawing too much attention again – she worried that his familiarity was an omen.

She needed less omens if she was to protect the Prince.

"Ah, it is good to finally meet you in person, Your Highness! Your portraits don't do you justice."

Kaito looked surprised at the enthusiastic greeting from the Duke. Miku tried to observe his face, but his smile was polite and calm as he bowed before Kaito. The Prince rose to his feet. "I'm terribly sorry to only be paying Zweissen a visit now… and under such unfortunate circumstances."

Kaito was surprisingly diplomatic with his response. 'Of course, he's a prince, this won't be the first time he's been forced to play nice like this.'

"I wish I could announce your survival outside of Zweissen but there are currently rebellious forces within the Rhune Valley as we speak. As your young lady said, you're currently seeking passage out of Estmarch."

Miku interrupted. "Yes, my Prince and I cannot stay long. The sooner you can help us leave, the better."

The Duke looked rather perturbed at being interrupted by a commoner - a more common reaction than the one she'd gotten from Kiyoteru. But he didn't berate her – useful to know. "We can speak of such matters over lunch! I'm sure you'll appreciate having a decent meal in you."

"Ah… yes, Miss Hatsune and I had to make do with smoked meat sandwiches… but it was really a trifle given the circumstances."

She smiled just a little, remembering Kaito's awe and amusement at slapping two pieces of bread together around salted meat and calling it "lunch" before Miku took a nap in the back seat of the rickety car.

The meal started off with small talk – Kaito asking various questions about life in Zweissen, the Duke asking about his journey. Miku was never addressed – as she preferred. She wanted to watch and observe. But having a full stomach was helping to keep her focused. Especially more rich food like this… and here she'd thought her night at the ball would be the last time she'd enjoy a grand meal.

Then the Duke asked rather pointedly how Kaito had survived such a deadly wound and gotten out of the castle.

Miku gripped the edge of her fork a little tighter. She'd tried to come up with a lie in her head when this question inevitably came up, but then she'd find herself pulled back to the horrible night, to the bell tolling, to the moment the impulse struck her and she'd driven the knife into Kaito's body and…

"The assassin did deal me a cruel blow," Kaito said calmly, "but I have Miku here to credit for my survival. A young lady of most exceptional courage who spirited me away to a fine surgeon as we made our passage out of the city."

She tried to gather a little more courage again. "I'm sorry, I was only able to save the Prince."

"Well, you should be so lucky, my dear."

And just like that… she faded again as the Duke returned to only addressing a fellow aristocrat.

She kept watching the butler as he shuffled around performing his dinner duties. Clearly, the Duke must have trusted him greatly or he wouldn't have been brought in on Kaito's true standing and name. Now she felt downright silly using the fake names, but at least it was good practice for Kaito.

Nothing seemed entirely off about Len – he was mostly quiet except when explicitly addressed. Utterly invisible despite being a constant presence.

But the familiarity of his face… like a mirror of another person? She worried that this detail could be important… he wouldn't be a Cinderella, the Godmothers deliberately used girls. But that didn't mean he wasn't potentially working with another enemy.

'If I were to send an assassin… I'd pick someone like that.'

She never took her eyes off him as he refilled her wine glass.

Kaito finished his preparations for bed, lying down on the soft mattress. It wasn't his bed… but he supposed princes generally received only the finest furniture. It was still a far sight better than when he'd had to sleep in the car – he wasn't sure he'd recover from that kind of stiffness yet.

Plus the superior mattress was better for his injury…

He heard a knock at the door and quickly tossed on a proper robe, expecting one of the servants. "Come in."

But instead of a servant, he saw Miku meekly enter, still dressed in her normal clothes. "Miku?! Did you need something?"

She raised her eyes toward him as she closed the door. "Kaito… ah, your highness…"

Kaito didn't really feel there was a need to keep up such a pretense any longer. Surely Miku had at least earned enough of his trust back to dispense with pointless titles. "Kaito is still fine," he said calmly, "I'm not really the prince of anything right now, am I?"

She nodded her head softly, but her mood hardly seemed to improve. She looked so fragile all of a sudden. "Kaito, I thought I should… well… the Duke has been generous but… I thought you shouldn't be…"

Again her nerves seemed to be preventing her from speaking. Kaito was starting to notice certain topics seemed more likely to unsettle his unusual body guard. "… you shouldn't be alone!" she said quickly.

"Wait, you mean… in here?!"

And a little blush came to Miku's cheeks. "I promise, I won't be a bother! But we don't know when the next Cinderella is going to come for us! If we're together, at least I can fight her off if she… well… if she were to…!"

Now Kaito was blushing as well. Wasn't it just a bit scandalous to have a woman in his room like this? But he thought through her proposal with more care. They'd already visited one home with a sleeping Cinderella inside. There was always a chance the same could happen here as well.

He glanced over to the chaise lounge. "It should be fine Miku… there's plenty of room to change your clothes in the bathroom."

Kaito sat down on his bed again as Miku departed to prepare for 'bed'. 'She's really that worried?'

Maybe she had right to be. After all, Miku herself had easily infiltrated his own castle with the intent to kill him… even with some help doing so...

'My parents always told me our castle was impenetrable… so many soldiers and security measures… yet Tonio was able to slip her in with such ease.'

It did seem a little odd that Tonio could do that alone. 'He must have had more help to co-ordinate it… fake passes, removing security from around me… And keeping my parents distracted must have taken even more work!'

His thoughts ceased as Miku emerged in a long white nightgown. "You still have your weapons under that? Won't you be uncomfortable?"

A smile began to form on her face again. She did have a lovely smile… rare though it seemed to be.

"I've taken the knives off, and I'll put the pistol under my pillow. Do you have a spare I can make use of?"

Kaito glanced over to the chaise lounge as she realized what she was proposing. "Now wait just a moment! It's not proper for a lady to take the lesser bedding!"

But already Miku had taken a pillow from Kaito's bed and tossed it onto the lounge. Kaito tried to argue with her more forcefully. "I mean it! I'm a gentleman and I…"

"… you are a prince. I'm a servant. I sleep here."

She lied down on the lounge to prevent him from kicking her off. "Also, you're injured, and I'm not. At least think of it like that. You need to recover."

Kaito had to give up on this fight – Miku had outdone him. At least the lounge looked comfortable.

He turned off the lamp by his bed, casting the room into darkness as he slipped under the covers. He tried to ignore the fact another person was in the room with him, but it wasn't easy.

Especially when that person was Miku.

True to her word, she was utterly silent. But with her here, the two of them alone, and his mind wandering to certain topics…

"Miku?"

"Yes, Kaito?"

She didn't even sound remotely tired.

"Now that we're alone… there is something I wish to ask of you…"

He suddenly realized how odd his request sounded. "It's nothing indecent!"

He thought he heard her gentle laughter. "We… don't know much about each other, do we? I mean, I suppose you know everything about me, my history is public knowledge. But I know precious little about you. Who you were before all this business began."

He reflected on their brief evening at the ball, when Miku was still a Countess of a "fairy tale land." Of the sad story she told him about her family.

Miku's voice emerged from the dark. "I… I wasn't completely lying when we met…"

Kaito realized how callous he'd sounded. He wanted to reassure Miku that his intentions were friendly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend! I just wanted to know more about my companion. We're going to be travelling so far after all."

Was it just hard for Miku to talk about herself and her own wants? Whenever she spoke of the journey, she spoke with focus and strength. But soon her heard her voice again.

"I mean, the business of my father passing, my stepmother, my stepsiblings… my mother… that was all true. It's just, father was only a merchant, not a count. We were well off when I was younger, but the third Rose War brought hard times upon our town. My father dealt largely in exports and many of our trading partners were blockaded… and then my father died on the front lines."

Kaito clutched his pillow tightly. The third Rose War took place just six years earlier, when he himself was only 14. He guessed Miku to be in her late teenage years now… so she would have been even younger.

"Was he drafted?"

"Most of the men in my hometown were. They didn't have a choice."

He felt that familiar knot pressing up inside his chest. He couldn't have done anything about the events, he was only a naïve teen… and yet… it was still done in his name…

"When I said we did without, Kaito… it was really more myself. My stepmother pressed me into taking care of the home. I did most of the chores…. So she and my step-sisters could live in something close to the luxury we used to have. It didn't matter to her, I was just… an extra mouth to feed. I didn't even have the luxury of heat, so I slept in front of the fireplace to keep warm… I'd wake up covered in soot and have to start working all over again…"

Didn't this story sound familiar?

"The Godmothers came to my home and bought me for… well, I imagine they would have paid my stepmother off pretty well. She was an exceptional haggler. And that's how I wound up becoming…"

"…Cinderella."

Kaito couldn't help but finish the sentence. Was this why Miku was sent after him, because of how perfect her story sounded? 'To just prey on an abused child like that though… how utterly vile.'

He tried to gently lay on his back but the shot of pain told him that wouldn't be wise. He bounced over onto his uninjured side, hoping that would be enough.

"You know Kaito, while the Duke is arranging our passage out of the city, we could actually go and see Zweissen."

"Are you sure?!"

He tried to contain the excitement in his voice. Being cooped up for his own safety wasn't something he was terribly interested in after all. That's how he'd spent most of his life up until now. But he hadn't dared wish to impose trying to preserve his safety long enough to take an actual day trip through this fascinating city. "Of course. I'll be with you to keep you safe. You'll need to stay disguised, but as long as I'm with you… no harm shall come to you."

He could already imagine the electric lights, the busy workers, the many types of shops and parks and the river and…

"I'm sure the Duke won't mind! If anything, he should be honored the Prince of Shion wishes to partake of his luxuries."

He laughed at his own ridiculous posturing. "I've never seen it up close… I've only heard stories of its marvelous industrial accomplishments."

A trip out could do the both of them wonders… a brief respite from their grim journey…

A chance for him to see a large, bustling city as he'd always wanted to…

'Great. The Duke gives me babysitting duty to this guy?!'

Len naturally kept his annoyance to himself – outwardly, he was all polite smiles. The Duke had basically tasked him to keep the Prince and his strange bodyguard out of trouble while he handled "business."

'Hope he's not selling him out already…' he thought to himself, 'I know the guy has no survival instincts, but that's a bit cold…'

Indeed, even though the Prince was properly covering his face, and in the chilly October cold nobody would think him anything but sensitive for wearing that long scarf, his behavior was anything but normal for an aristocrat. Len had at first suggested driving up to the "Gilded Strip", where most of the high-end fashions and jewelry were sold, but the Prince wanted none of it – he'd seen so much to find it common.

So Miku had suggested taking Kaito to a proper street market. While the well-to-do certainly patronized such establishments, it was a place they generally only sent their servants into. Len had been so surprised he'd even asked if the Prince wanted to wait in the car… but Kaito insisted on going as well.

Their walk tended to get stopped by the oddest things grabbing Kaito's fancy. Len had taken him an easy mark for the more aggressive street vendors, but lucky for the naïve Prince, his bodyguard was always ready to dive in the way and protect him from being taken in by false promises. 'He's lucky to have a girl that sharp with him!' Len thought to himself.

Even so, Kaito couldn't take his eyes off the craft work on display in so many of the stalls. Walking amongst the common folk seemed to only charge him up, though he always seemed out of sorts when spoken to, stumbling through easy questions. He'd insisted on a trip into a clock making shop, where he marveled at the artistry of what Len knew to be simply common clocks. Len had been given a small allowance by the Duke to keep the young man happy, and sure enough, the Prince had purchased a pocket watch before they left.

Even so, he had to admit that he appreciated the Prince's manner when dealing with the non-moneyed classes. He approached every shop keep, every worker, every vendor at a cart as if they were equals. A far cry from what was expected of someone of his station, let alone the Shion house he hailed from.

Len meant to offer the young man advice on a nice restaurant before the Prince was lured away by the fresh scent of sausages from a small pub. Now he would hear of nothing else but common bratwurst. Miku didn't even stop him this time as the two of them went inside, dragging the confused butler along with them.

Len wouldn't have minded something a little fancier – after all, the Duke was paying for it and he never got to eat any of the fine foods prepared for his boss and his guests aside from a few scraps. But still, fresh meat was fresh meat.

Miku watched as Kaito kept staring at his lunch in awe. "We don't eat anything like this back home!" he said with a smile as he poked at it with his fork.

"Shhh… 'Naoto', you're going to draw too much attention…" she gently scolded.

Her eyes darted around the pub for anything out of place. Truly, while the Prince was having some much-needed diversion from the horrible events he'd escaped from, for Miku it was causing a great deal of paranoia and work. Checking every person in the crowd, trying to work out their allegiances. Keeping the very innocent Prince from getting into trouble. But even with that going on… she was starting to, just a little, find something pleasant in her life.

She hadn't been allowed to do this for years.

Somehow this was the best bratwurst she'd ever tasted.

It seemed that way for Kaito as well given how fast his disappeared.

"Ah! Len, is there anywhere around here that sells ice cream?!" Kaito asked excitedly, "I'm sure a place like Zweissen has access to it!"

The strange look on the butler's face kept amusing Miku. Kaito was an unusual person, and the poor servant seemed to be having trouble wrapping his head around the odd requests. "Ah yes, 'Naoto' has always had a soft spot for ice cream," Miku said coyly.

As Kaito blushed with a little embarrassment, Len stumbled to compose himself. Frankly, even if Kaito weren't a noble, it was still odd for a grown mad to covet sweets like he did. "W-well, there is the shop on Jungenstrasse..."

"Eh? There hasn't been any rationing in Zweissen?" Miku asked.

Len averted his eyes. "My lord the Duke tries to secure… resources… for the downtown… so the shop keepers aren't hit too hard."

"Well… that's quite kind," Kaito said as he politely patted his face with a cloth napkin.

Miku wondered whether she should try to explain what she guessed the truth to be given how uncomfortable Len's answer was. 'No… for just a day… Kaito deserves peace… we haven't had any of that yet.'

She knew it would weigh heavily on him.

And soon they were paying for the sausages and off to the ice cream shop. To Kaito, the many people in the streets must have been energizing – he seemed to love the sensation of others around him. For Miku, they represented hundreds of dangers. Any one of them could hurt him… any one could be a Cinderella… or worse…

The white masks at the ball had been Miku's silent tell that the higher ups of her organization were at the event, ensuring everything would go off properly. At least that night Miku had some guess of who to trick and escape from… she didn't have that now.

There was only one person she knew for certain was a Cinderella like herself. Her old handler.

'She… she would know my habits best… even if I knew her face, it wouldn't matter if she surprised me… and…'

The ringing of the shop bell pulled Miku back out of her thoughts. She was back in the present, trying to make Kaito happy. At least when he was happy… it was selfish, but somehow she could steal some of that happiness for herself.

As the two of them wandered down the sidewalk eating ice cream cones, Miku watched the Rhune River flowing through perfectly manicured concrete streets. None of the buildings here looked more than a few decades old – a city built up on progress.

"How's yours, Len?"

Of course Kaito had insisted even the butler get something for himself. Len looked so young, surely it was okay for him to have something sweet? The way the servant seemed to savor it, Miku guessed it was quite rare. 'I'm sure he's paid well… I wonder if he just doesn't treat himself very often?'

Kaito leaned against the cement railing and watched the water flow as he finished eating. Miku joined him along the side, watching the butler settle nearby as he tried to enjoy his little snack.

"What I said last night… it wasn't all terrible times in the past…" she said quietly to the Prince.

He stopped eating for just a moment. "I'm sorry to have made you relive that…"

"It's your right to know me. All of me. You're trusting so much to me."

'I don't deserve it.'

She watched the gentle water flowing, and part of her wondered how the city would look when the winter frost came and turned the river solid. Did the people skate on it? She used to do that, a long time ago…

"In the summers, father would take the family on vacation. I think my favorite trip was the year he took us to the ocean… that was the last time I really remember having ice cream…"

Kaito perked up on hearing about the ocean. "It must have been wonderful filled with people, swimming in the warm water… the salt spray and the sand…"

That was the only time she'd ever seen the sea, and Miku was struggling to recall all of the details properly. Whenever she thought about her past… the time before her joining the fairy godmothers was always distressingly dark and jumbled. But as Kaito described the ocean in his dreams, Miku could just barely conjure up that lost vacation that she'd held so deep within her heart.

"When Estmarch is peaceful again… I'd like to see the ocean for myself."

Kaito had already finished his sugary snack. "It sounds fantastic when you describe it!"

The trio of unlikely visitors were down to simply wandering in the streets. Kaito continued to watch the people around him with a broad smile on his face. "I have to admit, I was kind of worried at first… after what I saw back in Liesenfall, and Kiyoteru said that most of the country was in that kind of shape… but it's good to see Zweissen is still humming along. Everyone seems so well off."

Upon hearing Kaito's words, Len slowed his pace. He was trying his hardest to stay quiet, but this man was being so utterly insensitive... he bit his tongue lest he say something completely out of line…

"I'm certain now even the workers are happy in a city like this…"

"Do you just… are you completely blind?! Are you just that easily fooled?!"

Len felt his patience peak as he spoke out of turn, his voice raising along with his tone. He regretted it at once – this was the Prince and he'd just screamed at him. But now that he'd certainly thrown his job away, he had to finish and make it worth it. "These streets are built by those with less, for the enjoyment of people like you! Even the sausage we had for lunch was rationed out, taken for Zweissen lest the nobility out here spend even a day feeling the hunger that the rest of the country suffers through! The glass on our table was built by children getting paid pennies!"

He dared to raise his eyes up at Kaito again. "There are people dying out there right now for the sake of your family while this stupid civil war is starting! And you just wanted to play around in town and hide from it?!"

"STOP IT!"

It wasn't Kaito who interrupted Len, but Miku. "You… you don't know anything about us! Where we came from or what we've gone through!"

She was trembling, though Len couldn't tell if it was from anger or fear. "This outing was my idea… he deserved a day in the illusion of happiness because he's lost everything… I just wanted to give him that…"

Finally the Prince spoke for himself. "First of all… I'm sorry if my words seemed callous, Len. I assure you they were born of ignorance, not malice. My existence has been far more sheltered than I wanted it to be."

An apology. From the Prince. "You don't make any sense…" Len muttered.

"I can't help that, unfortunately. But… thank you for being frank with me. I'd far prefer a harsh truth than a polite lie."

The Prince turned to Miku next. "It wasn't all bad… I know this may have been an escape… but I thought you needed it as much as I did. It was a learning experience, right?"

The sun was already tinting the sky a red shade. "Len, we should probably head back to the manor. And while we go… I want you to spare me no details about the true state of the Rhune Valley. The Rust District… child labor… all of it."

"What would it matter?" Len murmured.

"Because I intend to bring it all up myself with the Duke at dinner."

Len choked in surprise. "The Duke profits handsomely from this arrangement. He won't just let anyone tell him how to run the Rhune."

Now Len finally saw an emotion he'd yet to see on the Prince's face. Anger. "I'm not just anyone. I'm the Prince of Estmarch. Perhaps that will count for something."

As Miku and Kaito returned to the manor, parting ways with Len, Miku was wishing she could make Kaito see reason. The stories Len told him about the way the lower classes suffered in Zweissen had upset his sense of justice, and while before Miku had found that Kaito's most admirable trait, right now it was terrifyingly close to undoing him.

"Kaito… I know you're upset, but I think it would be wiser to think of such matters later," Miku said, "We're still relying on the Duke's kindness!"

"I can't just stand by and protect myself while others are suffering!" Kaito argued as he strode inside, "This must stop!"

They brushed by the only other servant aware of his presence – Akiko, who was in charge of serving meals. "Kaito, you have to survive all the way to Westheim! If you upset him, he might not support you any longer! We'd be on our own!"

She worried she'd have no other way to reason with him. "Kaito, it doesn't matter what your title is right now! Not in the middle of a coup! 'The Prince of Estmarch' is dead..."

Her throat hitched up at saying that…

"... if you want to restore your power, you have to accept that you might need to work with people like him to get it back!"

Kaito stopped his marching. "You're asking me to accept that my survival might come at the expense of others…"

He turned to Miku, his eyes seemingly burning with his passion. "If I let the Duke have his way now… then what happens when I come back to power?! Will he accept my meddling if he had a hand in my ascension?!"

She didn't have a solid answer for that. "I'm… I'm only saying…"

The Prince took a deep breath, calming himself. "I at least need to know how much my parents supported this. Right now, they're both still alive. If they come back, my title will mean very little. This is the one chance I have to make any kind of change with the Duke."

Miku found herself trying to come up with a proper response. She didn't like the option in front of her – of supporting the structure of Estmarch that preyed upon the weak. She also didn't want Kaito to get killed. And he wasn't wrong either – she didn't have much faith in the King and Queen of Estmarch to press for change, regardless of what Kaito wanted.

"If it will ease your worries, then I'll try and be diplomatic about it. Regardless of how strongly I feel, I'm sure there's a way to broach this without insulting him."

It wasn't long before the two were set up at the dinner table awaiting their host… Miku feeling like she was waiting for a bomb to go off. Akiko laid their food out, along with three glasses of wine as the Duke entered, his housemaid departing.

"I do hope the two of you have found Zweissen to your liking!" he said, with that odd smile on his face.

He seemed to observe Kaito's face and already noticed the Prince's dour mood.

"Oh dear, I'm afraid something isn't entirely to your liking, is there? Was Len not a good host? Sometimes he can be rather quiet…"

Miku examined the food on the table and found something odd about the arrangement. The meal didn't seem anywhere near as fancy as the one the night before. 'Is he trying to save money?' she thought, 'Last night he was trying to impress us…'

She started to examine the food more closely.

"No my lord, Len was an exceptional driver and very informative about Zweissen's history," Kaito said calmly. He seemed to be trying to keep his promise to stick to diplomacy. "I was most impressed to see how well your central district is holding up given the hard times around Estmarch."

"Well certainly you have that experience as well, my Prince?" the Duke responded, "I doubt you ate grains and water at the palace."

There weren't many servants around either… originally that had been done to keep Kaito's identity a secret, but even then Miku had found it strange for such an extravagant man to forgo his staff for an unknown period of time. There were only the two people she knew… Len… and Akiko.

Akiko prepared the dinner tonight, but she was nowhere to be seen… and… neither was Len.

"Indeed, but I've been thinking about the need for a change at home given the circumstances in the capital slums. Actually, I didn't see any such arrangements today, but I've heard the workers live in… what did I hear it called… the 'Rust District?'"

Kaito and the Duke were so absorbed in conversation neither seemed to take notice of Miku testing a small bite of food from his untouched plate. She waited a few moments as they continued talking to try and rule out any side effects.

"Oh, that's just a colorful name! Because so many of the workers spend their days in the factories!"

The Duke seemed to find the conversation utterly hilarious. "I can assure you, if you're concerned about their housing, their accommodations are provided freely to them…"

Kaito tried to avoid being pinned down in the conversation. "That may… well be… but are they there by choice? Could they ever hope to save enough money to leave? Can they even leave at all?"

As the Duke let out a calm laugh, he looked towards a painting on the wall depicting the very central district of Zweissen that Miku and Kaito had visited earlier that day. "Why should they ever leave? They have what they need! And surely it's better that they stay where they can be of use then roaming our streets?"

While the Duke was looking away, Miku slipped Kaito's wine glass away from him and took a long sip.

After a few seconds, a tingling sensation crept up the back of her throat.

"Kaito, the wine is poisoned!"

Kaito sprang up in surprise as Miku promptly drew her pistol… as the Duke followed up as well. "Well at least I don't feel quite so guilty turning the Prince over now," he said, still with that infuriating smile on his face, "I'd hoped this wouldn't be so messy, but I'm sure my benefactors won't be upset if I have to bring a corpse back…"

Miku cocked the hammer of her pistol at him. "You tried to have this both ways, didn't you?!" she shouted.

"Well the Loyalists weren't willing to offer me anything… and there were certain parties that offered me everything in exchange for cooperating."

The pistol began to shake in her fingers as the poison raced through her faster than she expected… Miku had taken so many poisons to build up a tolerance to many of the common ones, but that didn't mean they had no effect… only that she could expect not to die from one.

Before the Duke could fire, a loud metallic bang sounded out from behind him. The pistol fired in his hands, harmlessly damaging the chandelier above them. As Duke Ueki slumped forward, Miku could just barely make out Len standing behind his now-unconscious boss, holding a massive metal serving tray that now bore a rather large dent from slamming into his boss's head.

"Well… that's one way to tender a resignation I guess…" he muttered, looking up to Miku and Kaito, "We need to get out of here! I locked Akiko up in the kitchen! Wherever you want, I'll drive you there!"

Len nearly jumped as he heard a loud pounding from the kitchen door. "Crap, she must be one of them! Let's not escape that way!"

Miku had so many questions for the now-former butler, but her hands started to shake again. She felt Kaito grab her hand. "Miku… I'll help you escape…" Kaito said softly.

He sounded so frightened… of what had happened? For her?

As Kaito and Len threw his and Miku's bags in the back of the Duke's car, he cursed his own ignorance. To think that a few stern words would change someone so set on an abusive course… 'And it didn't even matter, he was already plotting against us well before I arrived…'

He felt like a fool, speaking of things he couldn't possibly understand, to yet another person that was willing to let him embarrass himself to lower his guard and kill him…

Miku looked so pale, ready to fall over. She'd even taken poison for him, because he was so stupidly naïve…

"Kaito… I'm so sorry…" Miku said, "This is all my fault… I shouldn't have taken you anywhere near someone the Godmothers had told me about…"

She stumbled so suddenly that Kaito reached out and grabbed her to keep her from collapsing. "Why would you take that anyway?! Do you care so little for your own life?!"

Len looked up nervously at the house. "We'd better go before he wakes up and calls the police…"

"Because I can survive poison… you can't…" she mumbled.

Kaito let Miku fall into his arms, setting her up in the back seat before he followed her inside next. Len began to speed away from the wretched manor, but all Kaito could focus on was the sick girl so close to him. "I… I'm so sorry…" she murmured again, "I've brought you nothing but misery…"

As the car sped through the lit streets of the evenings, Kaito couldn't assuage his guilt. Had Miku even had the chance to enjoy what precious little time they had where they could pretend there was no danger after them? He just wanted to give her some small comfort as her body fought off the toxic substance. "Miku… it's fine… the Duke didn't work out but… we found Len…"

The driver let out a hearty laugh. Apparently, Len had been suppressing a more robust personality as a servant. "I don't know what I can do for you, but getting you away from the Godmothers? Ha, it was worth it!"

He swerved so suddenly that Kaito and Miku slid around the back seat and Kaito let out a cry as he smacked right into his stitches. "Crap, you okay?! I didn't think it was that sudden!"

Kaito tried to brush off the throbbing from his injury. "I took a rather serious wound escaping the capital… I think I may have bumped it…"

"Oh, crap, really? I'll try and go a little easier on you then!"

Miku's color didn't appear to be improving and Kaito spotted beads of sweat along her face. "Miku… is there anything we can do to treat you?" he asked helplessly. Trying to be positive was all he could do… he couldn't take the poison out of her…

"Ch…Charcoal tablets…" she whispered, "I have some on my left thigh pouch…"

Kaito tried to maintain his decorum as he slipped his hand underneath Miku's skirt. He wasn't trying to ravish her, he was trying to help her! As his hands touched a thin leather bag strapped tightly to her leg, he couldn't believe how good Miku was at hiding valuables and weapons. He undid the bag and felt several odd glass vials inside… and two smooth chalky tablets, just barely big enough to fit in her mouth.

"It won't be very pleasant… my apologies…" he whispered as he handed the black lumps to Miku. She didn't even complain as she slipped them into her mouth, chewing on them and fortunately successfully swallowing.

"Hey, if you need more… where we're going, there's plenty of it!" Len said, "You wanted to see the Rust District? Well that's the best damn place to hide out, even from a guy like the Duke!"

Kaito wished he could have some of Len's energy right now as she tried to keep Miku safe. 'To care about the life or death of the woman who tried to kill me…' he thought.

As Miku's condition seemed to stabilize, Kaito had just one more question for Len. "I must know, did you work with the Fairy Godmothers? You seem to know a lot about them."

For several moments, Len stayed silent as the car continued its journey through Zweissen. Kaito even caught sight of the ice cream shop where he'd shared such pleasant stories with the shaking girl who was now resting on his side.

"The Duke did from time to time. I kind of suspected Akiko was one of them, honestly. I was always just waiting for my chance to get back at them, honestly. They… They took someone precious to me… and she didn't make it."

The bright lights began to fade in brilliance as Kaito gathered the trio were now departing the finer parts of the city. "I can't make her come back from the dead… but I can get some measure of revenge by taking away their prize target."

"I'm sure… it's what she'd have wanted…"

"How's that leg feeling tonight?"

Rin hobbled around on her crutch through the street behind Gakupo. She stuck her tongue out at the doctor playfully. "It feels exactly how you'd think it does!"

The "Rust District" was certainly living up to its name – the houses and buildings were neat and orderly, built proudly from now rusty Estmarchian steel. Perhaps at one time they'd been far more livable, but time had damaged them to the point that the familiar color was everywhere. Which meant, as passage out of the Rhune Valley clamped down, there was plenty of work to do for a traveling doctor and his nurse. Within hours of their arrival in the far reaches of Zweissen via the cargo train, Gakupo had caught wind of a makeshift medical camp trying to treat the desperately ill and injured workers, as well as the refugees of the increasing violence.

'So much of Estmarch has people that slip through the cracks…' Rin worried, 'If we hadn't turned up here… who knows what would have happened to some of them…'

Rin handed her crutches off to Gakupo as she tried to pull herself up the rail inside the ramshackle boarding house they'd chosen to make their current base of operations. The last step gave her some trouble, but Gakupo was quick to catch her before she fell, handing her the crutch along the way. "Now now, let's only have one leg on crutches, okay?"

Rin made it up the last step with Gakupo's help, and he rushed ahead to get the door for her. "I'll get the supper started… we wouldn't want you burning down the boarding house, right?"

Gakupo grunted in annoyance, but he let Rin work her way over to the tiny stove. He sat in front of the window, tinted over by age, as Rin grabbed for a pot and stuck it under the sink. "I suppose we're fortunate that Luka person hasn't come back, aren't we?"

Rin felt a shiver slip through her. She'd been so frightened to see a Godmother in front of her. The one who'd given her orders, who'd overseen her development into the frightening killer she'd once been.

Yet in the moment… she'd realized that Gakupo was in so much more danger than her. He wasn't a fighter at all, and Luka was so good at fighting, she could have cut him to shreds if she'd wanted to. Her urge to protect subdued her fear…

But Luka wouldn't let her go. None of them would. Sooner or later, they'd seek her out again.

"Such lovely eyes she had… I wonder who she used to be?"

Rin nearly dropped the full pot of water in shock. "GAKUPO! She's not just… she's not like a 'girl' girl! She's a killer! The next time she sees either one of us, she's going to cut our throats!"

Gakupo had a lot of good points. His surgical skill obviously, but also his huge heart and endless understanding. But he could also be too understanding.

Especially for people he found attractive.

"Ah, well, I mean, I don't expect to run into her again…"

He definitely expected to run into her again.

"But let's say I did… what was she like?"

Rin sighed as she the water. "Look, you know how we are… how I… was…"

She leaned on one of her crutches and started to make her way to a chair at the same table. "When I first knew her, they hadn't completely squashed all of 'Luka' out of 'Luka' yet, but she was… intense. Dedicated to the cause. I don't think they needed much work to get her to join, and less to make her kill."

Rin could recall her early days of training. Luka wasn't her only mentor… and she was the only one she remembered having that didn't beat or starve her.

"She still had… mercy… then. She was more focused on teaching me techniques, focusing my mind… but it was a hard rule that who we were before didn't matter anymore, and they did anything they could to get that out of us. So Luka's been with them even longer than I was… there probably isn't much left of what she used to be."

"What a tragic affliction…"

"ACK! Gakupo, no!"

If he was already seeing this as a disease…

He turned to Rin and gave her that dopey smile that he thought made him look charming. "Now now, Rin, I don't like to think in terms of possible and impossible."

His smile grew more controlled. "I'd rather not forget when I took you in, and how you were that night. You're not that person now. So is it not correct of me, in my capacity as a physician, to keep an open mind in the face of even afflictions of the mind and spirit?"

Rin sighed and picked herself up as she saw the boiling water. "I just want you to be careful, okay? Don't get yourself killed if she doesn't turn out like me, okay?"

She reached for the pasta noodles. "Well, you certainly set the bar quite high! You're an incredible nurse, a talented cook, a studious housekeeper, and I dare say my clinic would fall apart without your cheer!"

Rin felt an odd tingling around the corner of her eyes. She was only the way she was now because Gakupo had been so patient with her then.

No wonder he thought he could simply do that for every damaged person he met.

'Treat it like a disease.'

But she couldn't stay with him forever. She had a life to live for herself as well.

'Well… I can do that once I find my family.'

She still had such faded memories of them. She was young when she was picked up. She vaguely remembered money changing hands, being told that her family cast her off… that she was worth nothing to them but the coin and the release of the burden of a useless child…

… but Rin didn't believe that anymore.

And every time she looked in a mirror, she could always see not only her own face… but her brother's as well.

'Len, wherever you are… I'll keep looking for my knight.'

A/N:

Ha, I'm only four chapters in and starting to realize maybe pulling all my chapter titles from the same song is going to cause a little trouble. Then I remembered "Oh yea, Adolescence exists and this is Len's big intro!" I already got asked if Adolescence would come up. Don't expect a swarm of twincest in this story though, I don't actually ship Rin and Len like… at all, let alone as siblings.

This chapter may well be me including two of the most obscure Vocaloids ever made. Both Ueki and Akikoloid are private vocals, and really you only tend to know about them if you're a super nerd or you're someone like me scrambling to find more male Vocaloids to include in your cast and boy is it convenient Ueki is based on a much older person! I didn't want to create the impression in this story that only female Vocaloids are dangerous, even if the Fairy Godmothers and Cinderellas are all women.