And the Clock Struck Twelve: Perfect Version

Chapter Three: Move

Four Days Earlier...

Cecille pores over the single page of the scout's letter as though doing so might somehow clarify the vaguely ominous sightings of "unidentified creatures" he had reported in Inista Marsh. Even though the marsh was off-limits to civilians, the thought of anything "unidentified" and thus potentially dangerous so close to Baticul was enough to raise concern in a normal situation, but it was even more worrying to think that the creatures--whatever they were--might not have merely emerged from the fetid depths of the marsh but rather had migrated towards the capital from Kimlasca's far borders.

Suspicions that these creatures might somehow be linked to Malkuth rose in the back of her mind only to be quickly quelled. There was a time in the not too distant past when such an assumption would have caught like wildfire among the ranks of the Kimlascan military. To Cecille, the thought felt more like a bucket of ice water poured over her head. With the treaty negotiations suspended as they were, it would be far too easy for suspicions alone to destroy the tentative peace between the two long-time enemies.

She glances back at the letter in her hand, wondering if she should reach out to the Malkuth envoy to see if he had been receiving similar reports. After all, in a situation such as this where suspicion might naturally fall on a former enemy, it would likely be best to keep both parties involved. But the thought of having to deal with Colonel Curtiss again gave her pause. Even when they were technically on the same side of a matter he managed to come across as adversarial. Despite his being a genius, or perhaps because of it, he made handling even the most mundane of situations unpleasant.

She remembers the early days of negotiations when General Goldberg and Minister Alpine who had then headed the Kimlascan delegation first crossed paths with the Colonel over the negotiation table. She had been part of Goldberg's envoy at the time, and her only intended value had been as an ornament to underscore the General's importance. She was to have no active role in the negotiations herself, and as such had spent most of her time observing the proceedings.

Goldberg and Alpine had been arrogant, excessively so, yet Colonel Curtiss had remained unruffled by their constant demands and accusations, reminding Cecille of a cliff that stood unmoved despite the raging of the sea. Negotiations had stagnated for quite some time after that with neither side refusing to give an inch. Kimlasca's people were suffering while the nobility quibbled over details.

So when Natalia had finally returned to Baticul, it had been Cecille who hinted to her at the terrible state of the negotiations, more so to give the princess something to throw her energy into than with any hope of her making a difference. Though not a skilled negotiator by any means, Natalia was notoriously stubborn when it came to the welfare of her people; in the princess' eyes, everything came second to her people-- especially pride and political maneuvering. By no means did she ever bow and scrape to get what she needed but rather was open to unconventional and sometimes controversial compromises that left the staunch Kimlascan nobility shaking their heads in dismay.

"It must be her common blood showing," some of the less tactful nobles whispered once the princess was well out of earshot. By now, the story of Natalia's true parentage had made its way through both all levels of Kimlascan society. While the truth drew the people closer to the princess, it also served to estrange her from the bloodline-focused families of Kimlasca's top tier.

But rather than let the poorly disguised scorn deter her, Natalia seemed to draw strength from their animosity, pushing even harder towards her goal. Even so, something was wrong with the young princess. Everyone who knew her could tell, but no one mentioned anything about the problem. Cecille took that to mean that it was a personal matter and hoped that someone closer to the girl would, at some point address whatever was the matter. Now that she was traveling with her cousin, she could at least hope that Luke would say something.