Chapter 17: The Clock Tolls

Infiltrating Vedunia alone had been surprisingly simple. Miku still remembered the escape routes given to her by the Godmothers by heart. Slipping through a standing army was only slightly more difficult – to get attention away from her breach point, she'd had to resort to setting her car on fire.

She wouldn't need it anymore. If she was right…

… she was about to end the war herself.

She was about to save Kaito.

She carefully traversed the streets – at this hour curfews were still in place. Yet she noticed something strange – a lack of civilians entirely.

'I know there's a curfew, but shouldn't they at least be in the houses?'

But she saw the great Clocktower spiraling up into the Vedunia skyline and she returned to her focus. If the intel she stole from Akiko was true… then she knew where the Grand Godmother would be hiding out. She had to end all of this.

There was always a chance this information was planted. That Miku was walking into a trap set especially for her. But she couldn't ignore the opportunity when it presented itself. If it was a trap, she would just have to fight her way out of it. If it was real… she was willing to risk everything, including her life.

She breeched the tower, opening the doors and looking inside. The ticking of the great clockwork mechanisms sounded out a beat matching Miku's footsteps upon the black and white checkered marble floor. Vedunia's great Clocktower was a national monument of Estmarch and was thus dressed up on the interior as if it was a gorgeous manor. Even at such a late hour, illuminated candles hung along the walls. A great red rug spread out before her, framed by two curving white stairs. She could see glimpses of moonlight peeking through slit windows, casting silver light beneath them.

Clearly someone had ensured that even in the chaos of coups and war, the Clocktower remained immaculate.

Miku's soft winter shoes made no sound along the floor as she ascended the stairs, still watching for sudden movements. Now the ticking of the clocks felt like a pounding heart as she passed under rows of red velvet curtains, continuing her climb as she approached a great white spiral stair once she reached the second flood. She cast her eyes up, drew her gun and began her next climb, the hall silent and making her all the more aware of her nerves as the clockworks continued their march forward in her ears.

Her finger reached the trigger of her gun as she held her breath then ran up the last steps, rolling out of the stairwell and to her side to avoid a potential gunshot or throwing knife. Coming out of her roll, she took a crouching position to move quickly, her gun held out in front of her…

… and pointing at a red-headed girl in a red and white maid's dress with a skirt that hung just past her knees. Her red hair was tied by a black bow, the peaks of the bow almost reminding Miku of cat ears. Another smaller red bow was clipped to her temples. Her white gloves were tipped with red claws.

"Well, you weren't that stupid, I'll grant you that," the Cinderella purred as she curtsied to Miku, "I was hoping you'd provide a good fight. The Mistress has been waiting for you."

'She's here… she's really here!'

The Grand Godmother had baited a trap… with herself.

"I don't want to kill you," Miku said solemnly, "But I must reach the Grand Godmother. If I'm left with no choice…"

… she could accept just one stain on her soul if it meant ending the war.

The maid curled one of her gloved hands near her chin and giggled. " Well, Miku Hatsune, I'll dispense with facades." she said, "The Cinderellas know me as Catherine Noir, but my true name is Iroha Nekomura."

'She's bold… she must assume she'll win…' Miku thought, gripping her weapon tighter.

The other Cinderella dove at her, Miku firing off several shots that just barely missed. This girl was able to flip and dive out of her aim. It felt like she was fighting a real cat, the way the girl seemed to effortlessly circle and toy with her prey. Miku tossed the gun aside, drawing her knife as she saw the brief windup before the cat assassin lunged straight into her.

Miku successfully managed to make the parry, Iroha's pale gold eyes just inches from her own, a gleeful smile on her lips. "I hoped you'd be a good fight!" she taunted, "Luka spoke so highly of you… but then again, Stardust killed her with such ease I thought it was just more empty boasting from a fallen fake princess!"

'Luka!? Luka is…!'

But Miku couldn't let that news offset her when the cat was so clearly trying to kill her. She kicked her legs out to try and force Iroha away from her, the cat flipping backwards several steps. "You were both so easy to lure out! Like master, like student!"

Already the cat was dancing around her again, Miku forced into a defensive posture as Iroha made her second strike, her long red ponytail curling and lashing like a pouncing tail. She was ready for the knife this time, but she wasn't prepared to get scratched by the claws on the maid's gloves as they found Miku's exposed neck. But the position taken left an opening in her defense and Miku lashed out with her own knife, trying to jab Iroha in her side, but only managing to nick her. The girl leapt away again, running one of her gloved hands along the surface wound. "Ohhhh…" the cat said with a growing smile," It's been awhile since I've bled…"

Miku could not afford another chance for Iroha to get into an offensive posture. Though Miku's charge was far more brutal in comparison to the cat like leaps of Iroha, she had speed in her favor as she dove at her, taking a swipe at her chest and cutting the cat's bell off of her dress bow as she tried to get the blade into her chest. As the bell clanged and jingled along the floor, Iroha whispered something in her ear as Miku passed by. "Burn up. Burn up with them. Sleep in the ashes prepared for you."

Miku reached her hand out to the flames, seeing them reaching out to her to pull her in with them. She screamed and cried when her stepmother yanked her away from the fire, cursing her for taking them away from the only people that loved her and -

The sensation of Iroha's clawed nails running along her arm made Miku cry out in pain, yanking her out of the traumatic episode. No matter how Miku kept trying to fight it, Iroha had known exactly what to say to force her to freeze up.

'Did I… did I do this before?!'

'When… when I was trained?'

She shivered as she sat in the cold room, begging in tears to return to warmth. To burn up and become ash. But the older woman simply stared ahead. "Only when you are a Princess will you know warmth."

More lies about her past, more illusions she couldn't fight. She never could succeed because they constructed everything about her.

A numbing sensation raced through her body and Miku realized all Iroha had needed was a scratch. A little scratch of poison. Poison she had no immunity to. She tried to force her knife to stay in her hand, slicing outward even as her feet began to lose all feeling and she stumbled. The cat gripped her hand without Miku even getting another strike.

"Well, you landed two hits on me! That's why you're still so important. Well… your skill… and your charm."

Miku wanted to speak but her tongue and vocal chords had lost all feeling. In moments she couldn't move a muscle.

The clock tolled as the wayward Cinderella collapsed in defeat into her foe's arms.

Kaito stared up at a portrait on the wall in Kiyoteru's manor, illuminated by the mid-morning sunlight shining through the windows of the lounge. He'd barely had time to examine the premises in his original flight through Liesenfall to notice just one painting, but his experiences in the intervening time made the subjects impossible to miss.

It was a royal family portrait depicting the day of his christening.

"My mother had it commissioned based on the official royal photos."

Kaito almost jumped at Kiyoteru's voice intruding on his pensive silence. "I'm surprised it's still here," he continued, "I would have thought for certain they would have sold it off with the silverware or burned it when they commandeered the house. Perhaps they didn't have enough time to decide its fate."

The young man was already looking much healthier having had a few days out of the cells of Fort Kahlgren, his color starting to return to him and his eyes looking much fuller.

Kaito returned to the portrait, a window into a strange past. His grandmother sat front and center with her infant grandson cradled in her arms. The smile on her face was exactly as Kaito remembered her – tender but strong.

Flanking her were two people that were as he used to remember them. His mother and father, filled with pride and joy for their child.

'Were they proud… really proud… back then? Did they have my death planned out even when I was so young? Or did it happen later?'

Neither possibility seemed entirely implausible for them.

"I'm sorry about your family, my Liege," Kiyoteru offered.

"I… I'm sorry too…" Kaito said, his emotions starting to get the better of him. He knew what Kiyoteru wasn't saying as much as what he was – that the people who died deserved their fates. That he couldn't properly mourn his beloved parents because he also knew how twisted and cruel they were.

But seeing them in this portrait concealed all of it. They looked as kind and caring as Kaito remembered them to be. Up until the fateful evening, he'd never been given reason to doubt their love for him. They showered him with affection, even as they smothered him with isolation. Until that night, he'd never truly seen the other side of their personas that everyone in his kingdom was all too familiar with.

'And even when we last met… even when they spoke of planning my death… they really did speak of it as though it were a form of love too, wasn't it?'

He gave in and allowed himself another moment of quiet mourning. As much as he wished to bury it all, he hoped that taking this moment to grieve them would release the vice around his heart. He needed a clear head to bring the war and rebellion stoked by his family to a close.

"I assume you summoned me for more than just reflections on my family's paintings," the former Lord Mayor said calmly.

Business would have the same effect. "Duchess Miriam Herthe," Kaito said, the name settling on his lips like a poison.

The Lord Mayor looked surprised to hear her name. "Oh my… she was a family friend. I hesitate to know why you're looking into her now of all times."

Kiyoteru seemed rather innocent, and Kaito had no reason to suspect otherwise given the amount of pain he'd experienced on the Prince's behalf. He chose to make his reasons clear. "All of this madness begins and ends with a Grand Godmother pulling the strings of Cinderellas across the kingdom. You already uncovered their existence, and I'm hoping your knowledge of their leader can finally put her ambitions to an end."

He looked back to the brunette who appeared quite shocked at hearing the accusation. "Miriam?! But… she and my mother were such good friends before… I never would have…"

The Lord Mayor took a moment to collect himself. "I'm sorry, my Lord. You must understand this is quite a shock. Before my mother passed and I inherited Liesenfall, she was one of the only people that the Duchess still maintained contact with. After her passing… the correspondences between us were quite rare and always brief. I realize this sounds suspicious but I swear-"

"I don't wish to imply anything about your family," Kaito added calmly, "I just know so little about her. Duke Ueki maintained a great deal of blackmail on many of the kingdom's nobles, but the Duchess was one of his greatest blind spots. All he knew was of her connections to your family. I'm hoping that in your years of correspondence she may have let slip some kind of clue as to what she's planning next. The safety of everyone in Estmarch depends on finally getting ahead of her machinations."

Kiyoteru seemed agitated as if a number of unsettling connections were forming in his mind. "That close… if she was that close… then how much of my life did she interfere with? My mother's death… Miki… Liesenfall never stood in the way of anyone's ambitions, we were peaceful! But… but… but if they stood in her way… if… if… and she didn't seem to pay any attention to me or Yuki until I started looking into the Cinderellas… she was so close to Liesenfall, she could have-!"

Kiyoteru tried to settle himself again, but Kaito felt empathy for his older colleague's panicked state. The sudden and swift realization of realizing one's life course was thoroughly manipulated. "I'm sorry, I should elaborate. The Duchess was something of a recluse for the last several decades. I don't know what she saw in my mother to make allies of her, but they still wrote and phoned often. She had some sort of falling out with your mother and after that… well, we thought she was simply humiliated after having been such a close confidant."

"A confidant?!"

Duke Ueki's blackmail paperwork had mentioned the Duchess had been integral in his parents meeting, but this bit of information had been omitted. "Please, anything you have."

Kiyoteru nervously adjusted his new glasses. "The Duchess was a social climber in her younger days. She always seemed to know the right people to aid in her ascension. She didn't seem to think of marrying to gain higher status – likely she didn't want to bind herself someone else along her way. But everyone knew she was close with the Queen in the period of her courtship with the late King… until sometime after you were born. After that portrait was painted in fact."

Kiyoteru tilted his head back to the painting and now Kaito was back to scouring it for clues. "She was there… when that was painted…"

'We've met.'

Now he could imagine himself helpless in a crib in front of the very woman that so thoroughly dismantled his life.

"What did she want?!" Kaito shouted.

The room became quiet for a few moments. "I… I don't wish to speculate but…"

He stared at the portrait even longer. "I was there. At your christening. I was but a child myself of course, and I didn't remember much but something odd stands out in my memory. Just because it's something I've heard of so much now, and because you're standing in front of me invoking fairy tales all over again…"

What in the world was the Lord Mayor getting at?! Finally his gaze left the portrait and focused on the Prince once more. "I can't say I can recall all the details perfectly but… I do remember hearing The Duchess speaking to your mother. She spoke of you as Prince Charming. That you should be raised as Prince Charming, kept alive to meet your own Cinderella one day. If she is this Grand Godmother as you say… then…"

The bile began to rise in Kaito's throat as he grasped what he was being told. That image of one day becoming Prince Charming had dominated his life. To be a fair and just man, even at great personal cost. To see that everyone lived in safety and comfort. To eventually court and wed his own Cinderella, saving her from a life of misery…

… to envision that guiding principle may have been just another one the lies and traps laid out for him made him feel a fraud…

Kiyoteru was still seizing on the idea as he laid out exactly what Kaito was thinking. "I never understood why Estmarch's sole heir was kept out of matters of importance. Your parents were such ruthless people, it would have only made sense to raise their Crown Prince to be the same way and take over. But if the Duchess had convinced them to shelter you from the world, you wouldn't be a threat to them… or to her machinations."

Kaito couldn't even speak as he tried to tamp down his emotions - e he couldn't lose his focus when so many lives were at stake!

"My parents were the ones that instigated my assassination," Kaito said wearily, "I didn't understand their choice in timing except now it's obvious. I was getting too old to be a fairy tale prince. I was making more and more demands. I couldn't be controlled anymore. When I last spoke to them in the Zellensea, they told me they saw more value in me as a dead martyr than as an heir… but…"

Now he had just an inkling of how deeply his life had been twisted around for someone else's ends. Why couldn't that have been the same for them? This "Grand Godmother" had built an entire conspiracy around a fairy tale, all with the goal of his utter destruction… and invoking names like "Cinderella" and "Prince Charming" would have made her efforts appealing to the late Queen. Enough to be willing to allow a stranger into the palace to kill her own son.

Was that why there were so many Cinderellas? All to find the one that would appeal to him the most?

And then a truly wretched thought crossed his mind at these implications.

Was even his love for Miku false?

Would he have ever loved her without the trappings of a fairy tale to arrange their meeting, without Miku being raised and shaped to meet his expectations of a perfect woman?

His heart ached as the seed of doubt took root once more.

Miku found her numb body strapped up in a soft, white chair with gilded wood arms and legs. She still couldn't talk or move yet. She could only look straight forward where her head was propped up.

When Iroha moved out of the way, Miku realized there was another person with them now. Sitting across from her in a similar chair was an older woman with cold silver eyes and long white hair tied into a neat, proper braid. Her long black and grey gown brought to mind that of a saintly matron of an orphanage, save for the obvious fine silk chosen for fabric. In one hand she held a wine glass. The expression she gave to Miku was one showing no particular fear or concern that the woman across from her would be capable of killing her.

Miku want to move, to say something. Anything.

Because she realized she'd met this woman before. Just once.

The day she joined the Godmothers.

So delirious with poison that remembering her unprompted would have been difficult years afterward. But drugs could only do so much – seeing the woman in front of her was such a strong reminder that memories of their last meeting began to creep forward.

"I must say, I hadn't expected this meeting to happen under such difficult circumstances. You were supposed to write an end to a fairy tale, and instead you've attempted to write your own."

'Cinderella.'

Miku started to feel just enough movement in her mouth to try and force a few words out.

"Why? Why… Cinderella?"

The Grand Godmother's icy gaze shifted all around Miku's form.

"Oh, you should ask the late Queen why. It was she that gave me the framework to keep her son from causing too much trouble. Creating a little cocooned Prince Charming instead of a proper heir. One that would eventually fall to the blade of the Cinderella, the one person he and his family would trust implicitly."

Miku had been right. This woman had spent a lifetime planning not just the demise of a single person, but the dismantling of everything he could use to defend himself.

For someone who had accomplished so much, the Godmother didn't even smile. "I went through so many girls… none of them were good enough for him. I was getting worried as he grew older that I wouldn't find the right one in time to train her up. But I found an exceptional use for the other girls who would never be good enough…"

Though she still didn't smile, the Godmother's eyes took on a shine of pride. "Miku, you were my true Cinderella… I knew it from the day we met. It was your fate, from the moment of your birth, to ascend to kill Prince Charming and-"

Just the mention of her task caused Miku's emotions to rise up. Even in her weak state, she managed to lash out with what strength she did have. "I changed fate!" Miku shouted, "I changed both of our fates!"

For a moment the Godmother appeared surprised at Miku's outburst. But then she relaxed her nerves. "If you had, then you wouldn't be back here, would you? It doesn't really matter when you do it, so long as it happens. Clearly, that night wasn't the night for you to kill him after all."

"If you think you can trick me into hurting him now…!" Miku threatened.

"Hmph. I'd hoped talking to you would provide me some insight."

The Godmother looked… disappointed? "But you're far too unstable to learn anything from now."

Miku's eyes widened when she saw Iroha return again, a syringe in her hand. "The Grand General is keeping the army at bay, for however long he lasts. I don't fear someone like the Prince, but his allies may yet find a way to strike down Tonio and seize the city. So I must prepare for Prince Charming to inevitably march into this tower looking for us."

Miku tried to move, to jerk herself out of the way, but her muscles were far weaker than her voice. She felt the pinch in her arm from the needle being inserted. "And so I must prepare you for one last ball and correct your mistakes."

She felt the toxin racing through her, her very will draining as it took effect. She couldn't fight the poison… she had no defense…

'What if… what if I can't change fate again?'

"We used to welcome her into our home… I always knew something wasn't right when my mother passed so suddenly! But nobody believed me… I let myself believe I was just delirious from having to inherit Liesenfall when I was only 15…"

Kiyoteru had taken to a chair, rubbing at his forehead as several complicated revelations were coming to the fore. Kaito felt similarly exhausted emotionally – this seemed to be his daily life for months now. But physically he felt like he had to stay on his feet. If he crumpled now… he wasn't sure he would still be able to stand.

Because somehow, deep in his heart, he'd had his faith shaken. Even as he spoke elaborately of saving lives, of preserving Estmarch's future… selfishly he knew he was waging this war because of his love for Miku. But now even that was in question…

By now Meiko and Len had arrived, ready to help him sort through any more discoveries from the Lord Mayor, and Kaito was grateful for their presence. Gumi was delayed in her dark room, and of course Rin and Gakupo had their patients to tend to.

"How well did you know her?" Meiko pressed, "We know what Tonio can bring to bear, but we're still in the dark about how Duchess Herthe might fortify him."

Kiyoteru tried to gather his strength up one more time. "I remember her coming several times when I was younger. Less as I got older. As I said, we'd heard the rumors. My mother was polite to a fault, so I doubt she would have addressed them… unless…"

Kaito recognized the soothing tones Meiko had adopted in her voice as she spoke to Kiyoteru. She could still unnerve him as he realized she wasn't just doing this to help him, but to ensure he trusted her enough to keep speaking. "Lord Mayor, it's no use worrying about the allegiances of the dead right now," Meiko said calmly, "We must think of those who are still waiting for the end of the war."

"Right, of course," he said, rubbing his damp forehead with a handkerchief. "Well, the Duchess was well positioned in the kingdom to grab vulnerable young women. We thought her activities were charity related. To think what she was really plotting…"

"Well that definitely confirms we've got the right woman," Len said, "It checks out too. I never met her, but the Duke was trying to blackmail her for the longest time. Heh, maybe that's why he thought he could doublecross her…"

Kiyoteru continued. "If Miriam is truly as ruthless as we've reason to believe, Your Highness, I would be very cautious about your operation in Vedunia."

Kiyoteru looked him straight in the eye. "Staying just out of sight, positioning others in your path to protect herself, total annihilation when she fears a loss. The only place remaining for her to hide must be Vedunia. She has interests there. And I would be extremely concerned that if she's bottled herself up there, the people of the city are in far greater danger from the Duchess than from the Grand General."

"Your Highness!"

Lily burst into the room, flanked by her soldiers. "There's been a complication!"

The timing was almost too perfect. "Commander, what's happened?" Kaito asked, bracing himself for the worst. He had known the commander to have quite a temper, but there was a greater intensity even for her as she began to explain. "We did a flyover of Vedunia this morning… and we saw the Fantasie is in their airspace, right over the city itself. There's massive crowds around the walls. They weren't soldiers. They were… they were just ordinary people."

"What?!"

Kaito couldn't believe it – was he wrong about the loyalties of the common people? "Are they amassing to stop us?"

She waved her hands and a blonde woman in a ragged white dress stepped forward, scars and stitches across her body from recent injuries. "My… My name is… Ann…" she said nervously, shaking from fright as she handed the Prince a telegram. He grabbed the paper from her hands and read it out loud.

"VEDUNIA'S LOYAL CITIZENS ARE READY TO DIE FOR THE DAWN.

ANY HOSTILE APPROACH WILL BE MET WITH THEIR BRAVE SACRIFICE.

WE DEMAND THE SURRENDER OF THE CURSED SCION BY THE STROKE

OF MIDNIGHT."

Kaito stumbled a moment. "I can't just sacrifice so many innocents…" he murmured.

"But you can't just surrender to him either!" Lily argued, "This coalition is built on the premise that you, and only you, can stabilize this region. If you give in… then even if the rest of us stops the Dawn, there's nothing guaranteeing the other nations we've recruited won't occupy what's left."

"She's… not wrong…" Meiko said wearily, "Nordland wouldn't hesitate to snatch up a chunk of the mainland if it was up for grabs."

"The Confedere would never allow for it!" Lily declared, "We'll strike out on our own again! We won't be party to another usurper-!"

"ENOUGH!"

Kaito didn't desire the decision before him, but he wasn't going to let someone else decide for him.

"Please… Prince Kaito…"

He turned his attention to the strange messenger. "My… my husband is out there, right now, in the city. My sons just barely escaped and I've still no word if they survived. I… I don't know how to tell them what's happened if…"

Her blue eyes pleaded for help. "They said… you were full of compassion… that you always had a way…"

Kaito tried to clear his head of the political chaos around him and focus for a moment on how to help this woman and her family. This was a trap for him, of course. But something about the strange phrasing. 'The stroke of midnight? That's not exactly a military term, now is it? It's just like… Cinderella…'

That wasn't important right now.

"It would appear… at the moment, the simplest method to save the lives of the people in Vedunia would be to do what the telegram says," Kaito finally said as he became surer of his strategy.

"Your Highness, after everything we've done, you're giving up?!" Len shouted.

"Far from it," Kaito continued, "Miss Ann, please tell me truthfully… what's the morale on the ground in Vedunia? How loyal are the people that remain?"

She tried to buck up for him. "The citizenry is quite tired of Tonio. He stole in and made everything so much worse, without us even having a say. There might be some Dawn loyalists left, but…"

"If they had no leadership, would they follow an order to stand down?" Kaito asked firmly.

"I… I think… there's a chance…" she whispered hopefully.

Kaito knew he was taking an amazing gamble with his life at this moment. He didn't necessarily have a guarantee he knew what was coming. "They wrote this threat knowing how I would behave. If we confirm that belief, then it gives us a very small window to breech the city since they'll believe they've already won when they have my surrender. Tonio and his Keeper clearly don't see me as a threat, and that will let me get a lot closer to them than anyone else might."

"Oh…. OHHHH!"

Len snapped his fingers. "It's like what we did to break you out of Fort Kahlgren! Only… I guess now we're breaking you in."

Lily looked from the Prince and across the assembled group. "A daring maneuver, but respectable given the delicacy of the situation."

She nodded her assent. "I'll help you put this into action. Make sure the military is convincing in giving you up."

"You can't sneak a squad into the surrender vehicle," Meiko announced, "But they will be likely to focus on you first. Gumi and I know how to sneak into Vedunia, we could follow you in…"

"We still have Dawn uniforms!" Len volunteered, "From the people we've taken in! If it's just a few of us, we'll blend right in!"

"I'll do whatever it takes to save my home." Ann sounded a lot braver now that a plan was coming together as she stepped forward to volunteer. "I'll deliver your response… but they don't have enough soldiers to watch all of us. They'd notice some of us leaving, but if a few of you come along with me… in disguise… I can connect you to sympathizers to your cause within the crowd."

"Lovely! You have room for medical help then I take it?"

Kaito did a double take at Gakupo's entrance. "Wait, how did you get back here… Gumi?!"

The green haired spy was close by the doctor's side, taking the lead. "I was suspicious that Luka would choose a book to send photographs," Gumi explained, "And especially… especially to pick something like macarons when Gakupo kept jabbering on about them to her! So I had him look at it more closely and…"

The violet-haired doctor cut her off, danging a small vial with a clear liquid inside. "Well, let's just say I'm no chef but even I wouldn't pour 100 ml of potassium iolide into a recipe for macarons!"

Despite how tired the doctor appeared, Gakupo was full of cheer. "I don't know what it's for, but I'm certain there's some kind of poison we don't know about that we need to cure. If Luka sent me a hidden message, one that only I would find, then it must be critical. You'll likely need my help to administer it."

"Gakupo… I can't ask a civilian to keep risking his life like this…" Kaito started to say, "I can't guarantee that when we go in there, you'll be able to protect your vows."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Gakupo said, his voice surprisingly steady given what he was pledging himself to.

There was no talking him out of this. "I trust Rin to run the hospital in my place."

As the others began to break to plan the next operation, Kaito was stopped by Kiyoteru calling for him. "My liege…" he said somberly, "I wasn't sure this was appropriate when everyone was still in the room but…"

Kiyoteru seemed quite grave. "I'm sorry if my speculation caused you grief," the Lord Mayor apologized, "Whatever you do with that information, I only mean for you to use it to protect yourself. Especially given the extent to which the Duchess has been working to keep you away from your birthright."

Kaito tried not to focus on the doubts he was feeling – he only wanted to focus on his plan. And not worry about what any of Miriam's plans meant about the legitimacy of his self-perception. To try not to think of Miku and his fears of being "forced" into falling in love.

'But Miku is why I've been fighting! I wanted to make the kingdom safe for her… I wanted to…'

The Lord Mayor clapped one of his hands to Kaito's shoulder. "This woman has spent far too long trying to keep you off the throne. If you can take the capital… if you can become the King and set everything right… you'll have defeated her. I'm prepared to back you – and all of these people following you are as well. Just prepare yourself for whatever the Duchess's final plan is. I'm certain it will tie back to this story one more time."

Kaito tried to broaden his stature. "Of course. I won't fail at this, Lord Mayor," he said, projecting confidence in his voice, "I will put an end to the war, to Tonio, and to the Godmothers."

Miku saw herself in an empty garden, her rags her only comfort as she sobbed over a pair of gravestones.

The cold night chilled her to the bone but she couldn't bring herself to go inside and warm herself. She would have to leave them, and she didn't want to leave them.

She wasn't a creature that deserved warmth.

White feathers began to land upon the gravestones and Miku turned her head upwards. "Little Cinderella, why do you cry?"

"I… I am alone…" she whispered.

"But there is a ball tonight. Prince Charming will choose his bride."

"I cannot go…" she pleaded.

Why?

There was… danger?

"I have no clothes. They will laugh at my rags."

Miku became aware the bird was no longer a bird, but a kind white haired woman with a beautiful smile. "But your fairy godmother can transform your rags into dresses, milady. You should go to the ball and meet Prince Charming. Why… you can even become a Princess."

No, she didn't want to be a princess!

"I… I don't…"

"Of course, you do."

The godmother's tone became more insistent. "Being a Princess means never being cold. Never being lonely. Never becoming ash."

But Miku wanted to become ash… because they were…

"Cinderella. It is your fate to go to the ball. And even I cannot change fate."

Fate.

"What price must I pay?" she asked wearily.

The godmother's eyes sparkled at this weakening of her resistance. "When the midnight clock tolls, you will stab the prince in the heart."

Then this was fate.

She was born to suffer, have a brief moment of love… then destroy it with her own hands.

A Princess was born through ultimate suffering.

"Cinderella, there is no one that can change fate. Not you or I."

Miku lowered her head. "I accept."

"Then you must remember. When the midnight clock tolls, you will stab the prince in the heart."

The Godmother repeated the instructions again and again.

"When the midnight clock tolls, you will stab the prince in the heart."

It was as if every repetition of the order was a dagger stabbing Miku's own heart. She wished she could die here, where her parents rested, and never participate in this fate. If she had become ash as she wanted this would be another's fate.

"When the midnight clock tolls, you will stab the prince in the heart."

Iroha watched the sun falling nervously. They had received word already – the Prince was already on his way to surrender himself. As expected, he was too weak to resist them.

Even so, she expected resistance. He may have been a weak-willed man, but he had plenty of allies around him that benefitted from his presence.

'He must be brought to the clock-tower by midnight. He must. That's my lady's plan.'

The Grand Godmother had shut herself up with Miku for hours, utilizing the Midnight Tears to tear down her will and give her the unbreakable orders. It was so vital to her that Miku be the one to deliver the blow that she was resorting to far more brutal methods to bend the disobedient girl. Iroha had seen the results of the testing though. No matter how pesky Miku had been before, she wouldn't be able to resist now.

Iroha wondered what would honestly happen if Tonio got trigger happy and offed the Prince himself. Surely it wouldn't really matter if the Prince was dead either way?

'But my Lady always has a reason for why she conducts her plans as she does… I musn't question her.'

But even so… if Tonio fell, she'd ensured Prima would be able to force the Prince to the clock tower.

She heard the phone ringing and picked it up.

The darkness began to pull back from her sight and the first sensation Luka felt was pain in her chest. Yet she forced her eyelid open and began to examine her surroundings.

"Catherine Noir, the stars are shining over Vedunia."

She knew that voice… that woman, Stardust. 'Catherine Noir… she's talking to Iroha…'

She'd never actually experienced the after effects of her vial of death poison before, but no matter how badly her body wanted to rest, her will wouldn't allow it. She turned her eyes to see the white-haired girl watching an outside window with a pair of binoculars.

"Ah! I see him! I see the Prince! Should we go ahead and-"

From the wincing expression on her face, Luka expected she'd just be dissuaded from sniping her target.

"Oh… it's such a waste, though! We could kill him now and be… well, if she's certain. I'll report at once if anything is out of line."

Luka closed her eye, trying not to stir from her position as she heard Stardust pass by. 'Okay… I'm in Vedunia… and the Prince is here as well… why is he alone? Why isn't he storming the city?'

As if she needed an explanation. By now she could easily deduce that the self-sacrificing Prince had encountered a circumstance where his surrender was necessary. She heard Stardust approach the window again and Luka opened her good eye again. 'He wouldn't give up by himself again, not after the Zellen Sea. So somehow this is a breach operation.'

She twitched her fingers, ensuring she still had strength in her arms. Quietly she rose to a sitting position. She felt strong enough for this… but she would have to be quick.

'He doesn't know he's being watched from the stars above. Time to put them out.'

Luka lunged forward and grabbed at the silver haired girl, getting her arms around her neck. She heard the girl coughing and her arms rushed up to Luka's, trying to pry her loose. Shooting pain rocked her chest – the injury she'd received had barely healed in her deathly slumber. She tried to force herself ot fight through the pain, but her grip was already slipping. Stardust was reaching out for her pistol, strapped to her right thigh and that was when Luka thought of something wild…

She managed to grab for a familiar vial of liquid near Stardust's pistol holster. Quickly she pried it off, sending the cap flying with her thumb, and dumped thick liquid into the silver haired girl's opened mouth.

"Sleep. When you awaken, the nightmare will be over."

The girl went so limp in Luka's arms it felt like she was carrying a corpse. She gently released her grip and positioned the girl out of the line of fire. "We all have one…" she whispered, "You must have been cocky to keep it so visible."

But she didn't have to kill the girl. However deadly she was, however desperate she'd been to kill Luka… she was just one more lost Cendrillon.

Luka grabbed for the binoculars and peered through one of the lenses. She saw rows upon rows of civilians. All unarmed and weary from the exposure to the cold. The she spotted the familiar sight of a car under guard and was able to make out a blue-haired passenger in the backseat.

She didn't need the full explanation – she understood what a prisoner trade looked like.

She kept her eyes on him, examining his retinue, but they were hard to make out in their uniforms from this great distance. She would have to simply take a chance the prince knew what he was doing. 'At least with Stardust out of commission, they've lost one line of sight on him.'

And as he was approaching the ostentatious gates of Vedunia, Luka had a strong perception of where she was and where she needed to go next. She couldn't anticipate where Miku was – if she was safe, if she'd run away… or if she'd been turned.

But she could predict Kaito's destination. And he would lead her to the last thread she needed to cut.

She spied a nearby watchtower nearby. If she could be quick about it… she could ensure that no alarms interrupted the Prince's plan.

Kaito sat calmly, his cuffed hands folded in his lap next to the guards intended to escort him into Vedunia as a prisoner of war. Today he wore a simple white military uniform with a blue sash and gold epaulets, indicating his prestigious rank lest anyone think him a common soldier. He glanced out the windows as the car passed through the great Amber Gates of Vedunia, waiting for his chance to strike out on his own. But he was unnerved as a path was made for the vehicle through the crowded camps of his own subjects being held hostage in exchange for his surrender. He tried to examine their faces for signs of neglect or ill treatment, but there were just so many…

Kaito tried to comfort himself with the knowledge that Rin had their humanitarian effort waiting for the first sign of Tonio's defeat to swoop in and treat the injured and sick. He swallowed, then looked out once more into the miserable, war-weary faces as a reminder of why he was taking so great a risk.

He'd run over the plan several times before his departure – exactly which intersection would be ideal before his vehicle would be driven too far in to be easily retrieved. Ann had already done her part and disappeared into the crowd to smuggle in his allies. Assuming all went well, he was to be intercepted before his vehicle arrived and met a larger escort force. Then he would lead his allies forward into the castle using a breech point known only to members of his family. Hundreds of years old, built during the era of city-states when Vedunia regularly suffered sieges at its walls.

'Why didn't I use it to escape?' he thought to himself with a hint of melancholy. All those long days of feeling trapped and frustrated. He could have slipped out and gained a few precious hours of freedom had he wanted it…

'Because Prince Charming wouldn't betray their trust, would he?'

His heartbeat quickened a moment as he recalled the last conversation he'd had with the Lord Mayor in Liesenfall.

The great gate behind the car began to shake as it creaked closed. He tried to focus – he couldn't hesitate, he couldn't lose his nerve! With regret, the prince tried to close off his heart and only focus on his plan.

'It's almost over. If I do this right… Miku will be safe. And… and I'll know for sure… when I see her again.'

The car rolled through the streets at a steady pace as the gate cut off Kaito's vehicle from the larger armed forces outside. He held his breath. Any moment now…

Gunshots sounded outside. "Dammit! Where did that come from?!"

Kaito found himself shoved roughly to the car's seat. "Nobody should have been able to fire! Hit the gas and get him to the castle before Tonio flips out and blows us sky high!"

So even his most loyal soldiers were controlled only by fear.

The tires exploded before the car could pick up much speed, careening along the street and the front bumper smashing into a wall as it came to a stop. The doors burst open as the soldiers opened fire. Kaito hoped they weren't drawing too much attention…

The soldiers dropped quickly, met by a ferocious assault. Meiko poked her head inside the car, clad in a familiar white Dawn uniform. "Not too worse for wear, are you?!" she said, holding out a hand, "I'll pick those cuffs right off you!"

Kaito pulled himself out of the car with her aid, glancing around as Len approached. "Wait, where's Gumi and Gakupo!?" he called out.

"They had to split up from us, we almost got caught coming through here!" Len explained quickly, "It's just me and Meiko for now!"

Kaito noticed a lack of worry on Meiko's face. "It's Gumi," she said calmly, "She should be able to find her own path in."

The cuffs came off surprisingly easy to Meiko's lock pick. "Okay, toss this coat on!" Meiko said, throwing him a coat for his uniform to disguise the adornments, "There… now you look like a foot soldier."

The Vedunia Clock Tower tolled the coming of the 10 o'clock hour. Kaito glanced up at the clock face. "Two hours… if we can get rid of Tonio before midnight, we'll have saved the city."

He glanced up at a watch tower in clear sight of him, curiously unmanned given the circumstances. 'Have the desertions been so high that even the watch is being rationed out?'

For a moment the ten tolls of the bells drew Miku out of her drug-induced hallucinations. She was aware of her rags being replaced by a white gown, to hide her stained soul with false innocence. Of her weapons being replaced where he'd never see them.

"He will only fall for Cinderella. Even in your rebellion, you never ceased charming him. Because of you, he still has one fatal weakness."

Her fairy Godmother lovingly brushed her hair until it shone.

She wanted to cry. In her innocence, she'd fallen in love. In her naivety, she'd allowed him to fall in love.

The very event she'd tried to prevent was coming true.

And she couldn't even move. She had a knife so close, she knew where the Godmother was. Just one quick stab and it would all be over.

"When the clock strikes midnight…"

She tried to will everything into her right hand. To reach for the knife. To get her fingers around the hilt.

But it was as if a spell had been cast over her.

"My dear Cinderella…"

The Clocktower faded as Miku felt like she was falling back into that lonely garden, where her parents slept under the dirt…

"When the midnight clock tolls, you will stab the prince in the heart."

"How much further, Kaito?" Len asked as he, Meiko, and Kaito worked there way through near pitch darkness, a small flashlight their only illumination forward in the dark stone tunnel. The strong scent of mildew nearly overwhelmed his senses as Kaito kept a hand to the wall to judge his distance. "Just up here… I think we're almost at it!"

Then finally he saw his opportunity – a familiar black switch in the darkness, jutting out of one of the walls. "Grandmother showed this to me… it should still…"

Kaito reached his hand out to the switch, giving it a tug. The sound of rust gave him some worry, but it eventually came down when he applied further pressure. The wall in the tunnel slid open and moonlight cast down into the underground tunnel.

"I'll go first, Kaito," Len said, stepping ahead of him, "I know how to stay out of sight and I'm a little more expendable than you."

Kaito held his breath as the blonde boy crawled up the stairs, careful to duck low. "Coast is clear!" he whispered harshly, beckoning his companions forward.

And so, for the first time since the night of his attempted assassination, Kaito stepped into his grandmother's beloved rose garden once more. He took a quick stock of the plants – the lovely red blooms had died off since his last arrival, but the plants still looked safe.

Unyielding but pure. The blossom that banishes the calamity.

His grandmother's words from his childhood briefly drifted into his mind.

"We're not far from the throne room… do you think Tonio will be there?"

Meiko's pointed question drew Kaito back into the present. "I can't imagine he'd be anywhere else," he responded, "In addition to the vanity, it's also an excellent place to fortify himself."

"So guards then…" Len said with a sniff, "We need to do something about them. I'll handle it. Create a distraction and draw them out."

The blonde looked over to Meiko. "You're the better fighter between us. Make sure the Prince doesn't do anything too crazy in there, okay?"

Meiko winked at Len. "I think I can handle him!"

"You're taking a massive risk…" Kaito said out of concern.

Len waved over his head as he stepped out into the garden proper. "We all are, Your Highness," he said as he departed, "Just do your part and it'll be worth the risk I'm taking."

Gakupo was gasping for breath from how hard he'd been running trying to keep up with Gumi as they'd raced through the streets.

On foot.

They'd taken a route through Vedunia that Gumi recalled from her initial escape with Meiko, but she still wasn't sure how safe it would be to break into the castle this way. They'd already missed their rendezvous with Kaito after all.

"There! Those are the gates!" Gumi hissed to him as they reached the end of an alleyway, "We can still catch up!"

Gakupo leaned over and clutched at his thighs as he gathered his breath again while Gumi checked over the exterior for a way inside. "I don't understand though… we should have had more resistance going through the city… it's like their entire communication chain was down…"

"Perhaps there were more deserters than we thought?" Gakupo said as he recovered, leaning back up to his full height.

"FREEZE! HANDS UP!"

The sharp voice in the night panicked the doctor momentarily but he tried to keep his calm as he watched Gumi about to draw her pistol. His heartbeat quickened – if he let the green-haired spy shoot their assailant, then they'd be done with everything…

… he'd cause another death just due to his own failure…

"Gumi, no," he said in the most commanding voice he could muster.

"What?! But-"

Gakupo turned to face the man at the end of the long rifle pointing straight at him. He thought he recognized him – a man with brown hair tinged with shocks of white.

"Wait… you're…"

He tried to keep his rifle steady as the soldier seemed to be aware of him as well. "The slum doc… Gakupo, isn't it?"

The doctor tried to keep his cool a little longer. "Indeed. I think you were… Big Al, right?"

The gun didn't lower, but the man on the other end seemed less likely to pull the trigger. "You patched me up four years ago… I was able to go home to my wife and boys again because of you… and… you didn't even take any money…"

"What, for that little thing?" Gakupo said lightly. 'Little' was an understatement – Big Al had been working in a construction site when he suffered a grievous injury that nearly cost him his life.

And left to die for having no money to afford treatment.

"I never turned down a single patient. And… well, tonight I have a very important patient to tend to."

Gakupo wasn't sure if his smile was convincing enough, but the lumbering soldier seemed to catch his implication. "I would have seen you out front if you were in the quarantine zone… wait, did you sneak in with the hostage? With my wife?!"

'Of all the people to run into…!' Gakupo thought to himself.

"You're… that Sweet Ann's husband, aren't you?" Gumi answered as she made the connection.

Now the gun began to lower. "Damn that woman, she's a crafty one!" he said with a small, sad smile, "But if she trusts that Prince now… then… I'll play dumb and pretend I didn't see you."

He looked up to the walls into the castle. "If you're doing what I think you're doing… Tonio sent most of the soldiers to the front of the walls to fortify in case the army came in from Liesenfall. I think a little bird might have told me they didn't leave anyone on the east delivery entrance tonight."

With that, the massive soldier turned his back. "Better get back to keeping the rabble in line!" he said, disappearing back into the dark.

"I never thought someone like you would have connections like that," Gumi said, sounding as close to awe-struck as she could.

"That man trusted me because I treated everyone like that back then…" Gakupo mused out loud, "I had the power to save lives, why were any lives more important than another?"

He let out a long sigh as he reflected on his life in the war. "I suppose I've lost my way, haven't I? In a war I have to choose who to save based on allegiances… based on hostility…"

He remembered fleeing a battlefield with Luka in his arms, letting her and Gumi gun people down in a field of death. "How many men like Big Al did I leave behind since this all started… how many didn't go home because nobody thought of them…"

Gakupo felt Gumi grabbing his wrist. "We all have to make these choices in a war. Right now… we're choosing to end it with as little bloodshed as possible. That Big Al gave us a chance to do it without killing anyone. You can decide how to cope with the rest of this when the war ends."

That was a surprisingly emotional statement given the speaker. "Gumi…" he murmured.

"Come on! You're slowing me down!" she barked at him, far more like her old self.

"Ah! Right, east delivery entrance, on the double!"

"Where'd that little runt go?! After him!"

Kaito and Meiko hung back as they heard the last of the guards getting peeled away from their path by Len. The path to the throne room was finally clear. "I'll take care of whoever's guarding him in there…" Meiko whispered, eyeing the soldiers posted inside the throne room's entrance, "Tonio's all yours."

The prince held his pistol tightly. He didn't want to kill Tonio. He needed him to find the Grand Godmother's location. But he might not have a choice.

The brunette snuck in first, Kaito holding his breath. But soon he heard the chaos inside… the sound of gunshots… then nothing.

Meiko appeared in the door. "Now!"

Kaito rushed in behind her. The last of the guards charged forward and Meiko tilted her head to indicate the time was right. Kaito held his breath as she engaged the men, pulling their fire away so Kaito could break in swiftly and deal with their leadership.

He immediately pulled behind a grand pillar as gunfire came his way. "Dammit, where the hell is Prima?! Where did she go?! She was supposed to handle this!"

Tonio's panicked voice gave away the source of the bullets. Kaito held his own pistol close to his chest.

"You can't hide any longer Tonio! I'm here to claim the throne of Estmarch and end this violence! I've no interest in killing you, so please surrender in peace!"

Kaito tried to peek around and get a line of sight on his foe, but Tonio was clearly making use of the same elaborate pillars as he was to stay in cover. "What makes you think you've earned it?!" Tonio shouted in the darkness, "The people of Estmarch loved me! They gave me everything! It's you who's poisoning them with your FAILED ideas!"

'He's completely unhinged…' Kaito thought to himself. He remembered Tonio being a proud man and dismissive of those he saw as beneath him, but not insane. This was the behavior of a cornered man with nothing left to lose.

"What gives you the right to rule?! You're a charming little brat that grew up with a crown planted on his head!"

'Charming? Does he know?!'

Another bullet flew by as Kaito tried to stay out of sight, but the randomness of the shot gave Kaito the opinion that Tonio was simply trying to flush him out and hadn't located him yet. Kaito leaned back, trying to listen for the madman's footsteps. "I've gone to the people to ask their support!" Kaito shouted back, "The people of conquered lands and the people of my home! And every one of them has gotten me here to put an end to the war!"

Kaito ducked his head down as a bullet flew dangerous close. Talking like this wasn't safe – it would give away his position too easily. But that meant Tonio couldn't be that far from him either…

Gakupo slipped through the open-air halls with Gumi close by. He heard shouting from far away and caught sight of his ally, Len, rushing through an atrium on a higher floor and deliberately causing chaos as he knocked over valuables. "What is he doing?" Gakupo asked aloud.

"Distracting," Gumi explained, "And seems like he's doing a good job of it…"

She began to slip ahead as Gakupo tried to keep up his pace with her – he didn't wish to be a burden. Out of practice he scanned the area for any bodies to ensure there were no severe injuries, and to his relief there weren't.

The calm intrusion broke when bullets fired, Gumi leaping forward and slamming him down to the floor behind a large sofa. "Get out of the way!" she hissed at him, "I'll deal with this!"

Before he could protest, Gumi had already leapt over the sofa to engage the soldiers, surprised to see a woman charge out at them so daringly. "Get her! Shoot her-!"

Gakupo winced as he heard the punches connect, glancing over briefly to see Gumi dodging every bullet that came her way. 'You'd think she was a Cinderella…' he thought to himself, 'Aside from the lack of trauma anyway…'

He saw a shadow pass by one of the open doors. A young girl in a maroon gown. A sinking feeling in his stomach as to her allegiance caused him to grab the pistol in his coat. He slipped out in hot pursuit of her, hoping to stop what he feared would be a Cinderella's attack. When he caught sight of her, he called out his threat. "S-s-stop!" he shouted at her, trying to point his gun at her and shout in a commanding tone.

The girl lazily turned to him, her black hair bouncing around her headband. She had to be around Rin's age.

You can't compare them. She's not Rin.

Her hazy green eyes seemed to be sizing him up. "You're hardly a soldier," she said calmly as she observed the way his hand shook while holding a pistol, "But if you want to pretend to be one, I'm willing to oblige. I haven't had a real fight anyway."

Her little maroon gown, with a fluffy light pink tutu at her waist, along with her rounded slippers, made her almost look like a doll. He searched her eyes for emotion but was chilled at not finding any.

Don't come another step closer or I'll kill you.

The words rose up in his throat but he felt ill even trying to utter such a threat. What was he doing here?!

Clearly the girl sensed his hesitation as she lunged straight for him, easily knocking the gun away and pushing him to the ground. Despite her youthful and whimsical appearance, she fought with an inhuman savagery, slamming his head down to the ground again and again until he could barely see straight. He saw the gun nearby his hand even in his blurry vision from the pain as she pressed down with all her strength against his neck, cutting off his breathing and crushing his throat…

Kill her and save yourself.

His finger retreated. He couldn't place one life above another, even if it meant sacrificing his own…

In seconds the girl was yanked off him by the hair, a black-garbed arm wrapping around her neck. He gasped for air as his vision tried to settle, coughing and wheezing as he tried to get his breathing back. He could barely make out the savagery of the fight in front of him due to his current state, but his heartbeat quickened at a large wave of pink. "Tell me where she is!" Luka shouted at her, "I won't relent!"

"You're too late!" the Cinderella shouted, "She's doesn't need me anymore! She has her real Cinderella! And I'm going back to her to start over!"

Gakupo's vision finally cleared up enough to see his assailant fall. He crawled over to her and checked for vitals.

She was still alive. Unconscious, but alive.

His rescuer leaned down to him and Gakupo finally glimpsed that familiar sky blue he'd been waiting for in Luka's solemn gaze. She ran her gloved hands along his face. "I should have caught her before you did," she said, "You're not a soldier. And that is the best thing about you."

Gakupo tried to give her his most charming smile, but he doubted it had much effect given the beating he'd just taken. He hoped the attacker hadn't given him a concussion…

But then his medical sense kicked in as he spotted blood along Luka's chest. "When did this happen?!" he said, trying to examine the wound more carefully.

She covered her wound with her hands. "I'm fine," she said flatly, "I made it this far-"

"- no, you're hurt. That's why you ended the fight quickly… didn't you?" he interrupted.

She glanced over to the fallen girl. "She wasn't expecting me. It was fine."

Gumi came out of the previous room, looking winded but relatively uninjured. Her green eyes showed only momentary surprise at the addition of Luka. "As expected," she said, "I should only ask what delayed you."

The doctor took Luka's hand to help steady himself as he stood again. "I was blinding the sight of the Dawn," Luka said nonchalantly, "They had watch towers set up along the streets. I made sure they were dealt with."

She cast her gaze to the fallen Cinderella again. "I knew there had to be one more of the Cendrillons here… sorry I didn't deal with her before she nearly choked you to death."

Gakupo ran a hand along his throat, then patted down his pockets and pulled out a short syringe. To his relief, everything was fine. "We got your message! But you never said what I'm doing with this!"

He saw a brief smile on Luka's face. "I knew you'd understand… if I hid it in a place only Gakupo would find it. But first… let's ensure the Prince is safe, yes?"

Kaito kept trying to creep out and peek at Tonio. He nearly pulled the trigger when he saw a statue getting knocked over as the latter fled him. Dangerous though it was, Kaito wondered if he could try the same tactic of forcing the boastful soldier to speak to him and give him some kind of clue to his position.

"You and I both know who's really running this kingdom!" Kaito shouted, "You're just a tool of the Godmothers-"

"That damned bitch!"

The furious anger of the "Grand General" echoed through the chamber. "Told me she'd arrange for everything! Her goddamned Cinderella was supposed to create the platform I needed to step into the light! Miserable little green-haired who-"

Kaito's anger flared and he shot blindly in the direction of the voice, only managing to shoot apart a priceless vase. He cursed himself for being so easily led.

"Ha… so you are just as naïve as I thought… you know she was prepared for you, right? The girl that you would never be able to resist!"

Kaito tried to reign his temper in – even if Tonio was repeating his fears, it felt vulgar the way the Duke treated her. But he wasn't here to kill people for offending himself or the absent Miku. He wanted to take the Grand General alive. To try and stop the war without resorting to his brutality.

The sound of nearby footsteps heightened his attention. Kaito tried to react, but when he saw the flash of silver from the barrel of a pistol…

Two gunshots rang out…

Tonio fell to the floor, gasping from the lethal wound Kaito had inflicted on him. Kaito's fingers twitched around the trigger of his own pistol. 'I acted on instinct… I…. I didn't even try to…'

The dying "Grand General" coughed and tried to reach for the gun that Kaito kicked away from him. "Heh… I didn't mind… I knew I was just a puppet, but I had everything I ever wanted… glory… adoration… fame… and she took care of everything!"

Blood began to pour from his mouth. "I never thought a… charmed brat… would have the nerve…"

Kaito tried to regain control of the situation. "Tell me where the Grand Godmother is!"

Tonio gave one last labored laugh and took his secret to the grave as he breathed his last.

Kaito's question remained unanswered.

But he had ended the war.

Vedunia was safe.

He stepped out of the pillars as the gravity of the moment fell over him. He had taken back his home. His war had ended. The Shion family's Throne of Roses stood silently in front of him – it was his throne now.

'I'm King.'

He approached somberly, ready to take on the responsibility that awaited him. He began to holster his pistol when he noticed a gleaming object resting on the cushions. The familiarity of the shape made his breath catch in his throat and his solemn march became a nervous sprint.

Upon the throne sat a glass slipper.

Miku's slipper. The lost twin to his only memento of Miku.

'Did Miku leave this?! Is she here?!'

His heart leapt when he saw the note underneath. Eagerly he tugged it out, hopeful that it was a missive from his lost companion…but the unfamiliar handwriting gave him pause…

Prince Charming

You must come to the Vedunia Clocktower by midnight.

Before Cinderella turns to ash.

The Prince didn't need to be told who sent this missive. Her fingerprints were all over the text, whether she realized how close he was to her now or not.

He felt a sinking feeling as he realized how selfish he'd been. Doubting his heart, worried about the Duchess' effects on his own temperament as she wove the Prince Charming story to trap him. He'd let himself become so obsessed with his own life that he'd lost sight of the true crime committed against his kingdom.

The bloody, tortuous quest to find "his" Cinderella and the victims left behind.

'Miku…'

He tenderly gathered the slipper in his hands as the clock tolled eleven times.

A/N:

I'm going to keep this short because you just got through nearly 12,000 words of prose. I kept looking for a good cut off point, but I just wanted to stop dragging out the grand finale into another chapter and most of the places to cut the chapter short would have been deeply unsatisfying. So just treat this like a double chapter to make up for the six months it's been since I last released one!

But hey, I am back, and like I promised, I wouldn't come back until I knew I could get the final chapters out all at once. I'm going back to a weekly update schedule just to give people time to read all of this, so come back a week from today and you'll find out what happened to Miku properly. Also you'll understand just why I broke up the confrontation with the Grand Godmother into its own chapter after this one. The next chapter is a bit more experimental, but it's worth it.

And thanks, once again, from the bottom of my heart, for continuing to read this story.