Cross Ange: The Knight of Hilda

Chapter 3: Masks

(If you can spot all the Gundam references, you deserve a cookie. You won't necessarily get one...but you'll deserve it.)

At the foot of the Dawn Pillar, workers raced back and forth to hurry the construction of the gallows ordered by Holy Emperor Julio himself to be raised at its base. A short distance away, another crew had begun erecting barricades, floodlights, and guard posts along the central promenade. News of the capture of the former Princess Angelise had spread throughout the Misurugi capital like wildfire and a huge crowd was expected to turn out for her execution along with the entire media to broadcast Emperor Julio's cleansing of his kingdom.

What a mess, Tusk thought. From his hiding place in the trees, he surveyed the grounds through his binoculars. The entire area surrounding the Dawn Pillar was a massive park almost half as big as the main metropolitan area. Plenty of trees to provide good cover for a surprise attack, but not very many vantage points. Also, depending on how many policemen and imperial guards Ange's brother had enlisted, it was going to be difficult to escape once the operation began. The fastest way would be east towards the beach but that would mean crossing what was possibly the most dangerous ground in the entire world. The Rising Dawn Foundation was within spitting distance of the Pillar and if that man chose to get involved Tusk wasn't sure there was much of anything he could do about it. He'd just have to hope that Embryo was occupied elsewhere or so self-absorbed that he couldn't bother to notice one Norma being lynched in his backyard.

"Ange," he said aloud. "I hope you and your maid are okay." The thought of the beautiful, passionate girl he had met being locked up like an animal infuriated him in a way that he hadn't felt in years. How could Julio do something like that to his own sister just because she was a Norma? But even worse was that Jill had ordered him not to rescue her until the last minute. From what he had heard, prior to the execution, Ange was to be paraded from the castle all the way to her gallows for a public "shaming." He didn't even want to know what sort of things the people of Misurugi had planned for her. Jill, I know you want Ange to toughen up so she can pilot Villkiss for Libertas, he thought. But is this really the way to do that? He could still remember back when he had first met Jill, when she was Alektra and his father Istvan had been chosen to be the Knight of Villkiss. She was a lot like Ange back then, or at least when Ange was in a good mood. But in the years since Libertas failed, Jill had gotten colder, harder; as if a vital piece of herself had been ripped apart and the rest was slowly dying in its wake.

With a glance to his watch, Tusk saw that he needed to head back to the apartment. Hopefully, the others had finished their surveillance and they could form a plan of attack. Jill may have told him not to act as immediately as he would have liked, but she never said he had to do it alone.

It was almost noon by the time Rio had finished his rounds of the various sensors scattered throughout the nearby woods. If anything larger than a squirrel came near the cabin, he'd be ready to move Hilda out before anyone could get the drop on them. He just hoped that whoever the Norma Management Board had sent after them hadn't brought along a small army.

"Knock knock," he called to let her know it was him. No answer so he opened the door and found her laying on the couch, her head resting on one of the arm supports. On the coffee table in front of her, the breakfast he had left for her lay half finished. "You really should eat. I know I suck as a cook but you need to keep your strength up."

"I'm not hungry," she murmured. Rio scratched his head and realized he really had no idea what he was supposed to say to her. Well, according to Boss they were now stuck together for god knew how long so one way or another they were going to have to learn to get along.