And the Clock Struck Twelve: Perfect Version

Chapter Three: Move

Which, of course lead her back to her initial problem. The most recent report had come from the region around Inista Marsh, but there had been some other, less urgent reports of strange creatures in the less populated western regions of the country--right where the Princess and her cousin happened to be wandering.

She sets aside the report and reaches for a bundle of charts on her desk. After glancing back and forth between the squad deployment map and the roster of available forces, she sets both documents aside. Leave it to the disastrous duo to be wandering so far out in the wilderness that there is not a conveniently stationed garrison that could reach them quickly. By the time pigeon messengers arrived at the closest garrison and the soldiers were ready to mobilize, Cecille would already be there on foot.

Truthfully, there is no reason that she can identify that would lead her to think that the cousins were in any danger. The sightings had been sporadic at best and consequently had been dismissed by her superiors as unreliable. Even if she could have gotten orders out in time, could she really justify sending troops into the wilderness on what might amount to a wild goose chase?

But she is an old hand at surviving, and didn't survive as many battles as she did by ignoring her instincts. Something is wrong, and if it isn't wrong right now, it will go wrong shortly. She needs to find Luke and Natalia--warn them. Rather than trying to convince anyone else to go and check on them, it would just be simpler to go herself. If asked, she would just respond that she is looking out for the well-being of her country, because at the end of the day, that is exactly what she is doing. Protecting the future of Kimlasca.

She leaves her office,stopping only to make arrangements with the quartermaster for the necessary supplies before returning to her modest home on the middle-level of the city for a change of clothes and a quick meal. While heading out in full uniform is the standard on an official mission, doing so now would only cause more issues once her superiors realized she was gone. Hefting her rucksack on one shoulder, she checks that her sword is secured in the sheath at her side before heading for the lift to take her to the lower level.

As she heads for the main bridge leading out of the city, she resists the urge to look over her shoulder. It is by no means unusual for her to be absent from her office during any time of the day as she spent a great deal of her time handling minor matters in the city during the princess' absence. There is no reason any of her superiors should be suspicious of her absence now. Still, she can't shake the feeling that she is being watched. She can feel the pressure of eyes on her as surely as she feels the weight of her weapon at her side,

She resists the urge to reach for the hilt. Doing so in a crowd might cause undue panic and reveal her awareness of the pursuit to her pursuer. She continues across the bridge, shouldering past a pair of merchants who had stopped their wagon for inspection before entry to the city. As she does so, she hears a fragment of a shout that just might have been her name.

Her heart sinks. Of all times for someone to notice she is gone and actually need her badly enough to chase her through the city. Sighing resignedly, she turns just in time to spot a familiar figure cutting through the crowd.

"Cecille! Wait up!"

She blinks twice to make sure she is seeing clearly, but the image does not disappear. Truth be told, she'd been paying less attention to her communiques as of late given this business with the unidentified creatures but was certain she would have noticed if one of them had mentioned that the new Malkuth envoy would be visiting Baticul.

She continues walking until she is out of earshot of both the merchants and the guards and waits for her cousin to catch up. The last couple years have been good to him. He looks healthier and happier than she can ever recall seeing him during his time in Baticul even though he still wears plain worker's clothes instead of the finery typical of Malkuth nobility. Function over fashion, she supposes.