And it all Went Wrong

P A R T | 2

THORNE SIGHED, looking up at the oneway window at the top of the wall in front of him. He saw his reflection, which in a way was a good thing, but was also a bad thing. It was good, because it meant the eyedrops had really worked. It was bad, because he could see how bad of a condition he was in. There was a large cut running down from his forehead to his chin on the right side of his face, and a large bruise was forming on his left jaw, from where he had taken a punch. His light brown hair was a mess. Well, maybe that wasn't all that bad.

He had failed them. He had failed Cress, only proving his point. He wasn't a hero. That was bad.

"If you think this is torture," he yelled at no one in particular, "then you are wrong. Because it just happens that I, unlike you Lunars, enjoy being in the presence of mirrors." He paused, shifting in the chains. "Really gives me time to appreciate my physical appearance, you know. Reminds me of how lucky I am because I don't need to use a pathetic glamour to seem attractive." He coughed, saying Levana's name as he did so.

Nothing happened, no voice telling him to stop talking, no electric current running from the chains to his skin. He sighed and stretched as best he could with chains around his wrists, abdomen, and ankles, all while being attached to a wall.

An itch developed behind his ear. He rubbed his head against the chains, which were right by his ears, in an attempt to scratch himself. He sighed, not being able to take care of the itch. He looked towards the mirror again, where somebody was sure to be watching. "Hello?" he called out. He raised an eyebrow hopefully and tried again with a shrug. "Room service?" Nothing. "Listen. I've got a bit of an itch right behind my ear and I can't seem to get it because-- Oh! Look! I'm in cha-- Oh, gross! Aces. Some blood just trickled into my mouth." He spat the irony, salty, taste out of his mouth. "Thanks, Levana," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

He looked down at the floor, which was four feet below him, and frowned. "Don't make me give you a charming look. It can have very persuasive effects," he warned. Nothing. "Alright. I didn't want to do this..." He trailed off, took a deep breath. Making it as charming as possible, Thorne raised an eyebrow and winked with a sideways smile, showing his perfect white teeth. Nothing happened. "Really? Nothing? That normally gets me the ladies, you know."

He sighed again, the sound echoing off the empty white room and its walls. It made him feel like he was in prison again. Or worse, it reminded him of a quarantine room. Not that he would know what that looked like, since the only time he had been in one he had been blind, but...

Thorne cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I talk to myself?" He tilted his head, listening for a response. "No? Okay. Thanks." A pause. "I appreciate you not minding." He looked down, taking a deep breath. "Aces. Where do I begin?" He sighed, moaning in frustration and closing his eyes. "You had one job, Thorne, you had one job."

At the beginning, he had accompanied the emperor and Cinder. He was supposed to go his own way at a certain check point, to go find a copy of the first antidote so Levana couldn't use it to bargain with them, but the trio had been spotted too soon. Cinder, using her glamour, had protected Thorne and Kai both at first. But Thorne could see how much it was weakening Cinder, and he had told her to leave him be. She had refused to, at first, but even Thorne knew she was loosing control over some of them anyway. And so she had only saved Kai, the emperor, and herself.

Thorne supposed, looking back, that maybe that had been a heroic thing to do. Just maybe. He had sacrificed his life for the true queen and the emperor. But it was small compared to his many unheroic acts.

He had been brought by two of the guards to here- wherever here was. Even as Cinder looked at his disappearing figure in the hall with a look that had almost made Thorne want to cry. Almost. He let out a deep breath and looked up to the ceiling. "I'm hungry!" he whined. Nothing. "Aces. You Lunars are such a pain in the--"

Something kept him from talking.

He frowned, realizing someone was manipulating him. He cursed in his mind. Had he not been charming enough?

Aces, my wrists hurt. Maybe I could just-- that's better. He looked around again. This would be much better with a painting of the silhouette of a--

"--naked lady like on-- Oh. I'm talking out loud again." He looked at the mirror with a smile, smiling at the people behind it. "Thank you," he muttered, "Now can I get up and stretch?"

The chains opened up and he fell hard onto the white tiled floor. Groaning, he propped himself up on his elbows. "I didn't think you would actually--"

"Do you ever stop talking?" a woman's voice interrupted.

Thorne's head whipped to the door, where a woman stood, a fingernail to her chin in contemplation, a veil falling over her head and down to her elbows. He swallowed, sitting up straight and crossing his legs. He knew who that was. He knew he was as good as gone. But he had to act oblivious. "I stopped talking just a second ago, didn't I?"

"The question did not require an answer, you pathetic Earthen."

"Woah, woah, woah," said Thorne, putting his hands up in defense. "There's no need to be calling each other names here."

The queen didn't say anything for a while, simply looked at him through the fabric over her eyes. Even with the veil on, Thorne could see how beautiful the woman really was. With red lips, a heart-shaped face, and-- No. He couldn't get distracted. He saw her smirk, an amused expression in her eyes, as if she was simply experimenting with a new toy. Maybe that was all he was. A toy.