Twisted Love

Chapter 1

"Really, I couldn't-" Wait. She paused. Adri wasn't here. Nobody was here to stop her from applying. And really, what were the chances, out of millions of girls from all over the kingdom, that she would even get chosen? With a smile, she nodded vigorously. "Thank you," she said, slipping one of the forms out from his hands.
He smiled again, nodding. Then he walked away, blending in with the gigantic crowd. Cinder stared in wonder at the paper resting in her hands. She couldn't believe it. Letting out a choked laugh, she sat herself down at a nearby table.

Slipping the form out of the envelope, she took out a black pen that was almost out of ink. She read it over.

"Name," Cinder read out loud. Linh Cinder. "Caste." She pursed her lips as she wrote down her caste, which was really down the ladder. 6. "Job." Maid? Mechanic? She put down both.

This went on until she filled out the entire form. Afterwards, she read over the entire thing, eyebrows furrowing as she kept reading everything she had written. She groaned at the end result, oil stained fingers tugging at her messed up hair. If this were a college application, she doubted any university would want to take her in.

Who said that they would even consider her after reading this? But it didn't matter. Cinder cleared her head of the negative thoughts and took out the seal from inside the envelope. It was blood-red and had calligraphy scrawled in golden ink on it. Commonwealth.

Cinder took the finished form and put it inside the envelope. As she stamped the seal onto the flap to seal the envelope, she couldn't help but think that she had also sealed her future. Well, if she got selected.

Whistling, she headed back to her booth to continue her work for the day. Chang Sacha had a broken air conditioner she had to have fixed before tomorrow. Besides, she usually got more work throughout the day, and she wanted to get home early so she could watch the Selection in the marketplace.

Sighing, she resumed her work on the dirty old air conditioner. It was covered in grease, and reeked of mold. Air conditioners aren't too expensive, and Sacha's shop was flourishing, so Cinder wondered why she can't just replace it. Thank the stars she actually had a legitimate excuse to leave the market early today.

***

Rikan

"She's what?" The crown prince's voice could be heard echoing through the corridors. "You've got to be joking. Now? When the Selection is about to happen?"

Rikan sighed. It had taken him long enough to convince Kai to hold the Selection. The boy insisted that he could find love on his own, though they both knew that as he barely got to leave the castle walls, it was impossible. "Kai, she wants to visit-"

"And negotiate some sort of a treaty. Yeah, I know." Kai glared at his father.

"Kai, you know that she holds a lot of power in her hands. It would be great to have her on our side."

"Father. We both know very clearly that she would like to achieve that by marriage."

"Yes. And since you see that so clearly, tell me why you're fighting it so much? What is it that you have against Queen Levana of Luna?" Kai's burning gaze pierced through the emperor, but he didn't seem fazed at all. Years of court training had certainly built up a wall.

"What do I have against her?" Kai hissed, his voice shaking with anger. He sighed dramatically. "Right, where do I start? She's manipulative, she cares too much about her appearance, she only wants to marry me for the power..." He ticked off the reasons on his fingers, throwing a side glance at his father. "Should I go on?" he asked sarcastically. Emperor Rikan pursed his lips.

Kai huffed loudly. "And might I add, she wants to form a treaty by marriage? For goodness' sake, the Selection is a program to get me to marry someone!" The emperor gave him a stern look, holding up a hand. Kai immediately shut his mouth, gazing at his father distastefully.

"She will come to visit us, whether you like it or not," Rikan seethed quietly. "You will put up with her, assume your courtly matter." He whipped around, luxurious clothes swishing around his ankles. "That's it. No more arguments." He marched out the door.

Rikan sighed again to himself. What is wrong with this generation? When he was a young prince, he had no choice but to hold the Selection. It was there that he found his princess. As for Levana, the only negative part about her marrying Kai was that she was at least fifteen years older than him. But she was a smart, beautiful woman, and she was always courteous to his court. She also took Kai out privately pretty often.

Which means she could be two-faced, said a little voice in his head. Maybe Kai saw her real side. But it was unlikely, really. But who knows? People in Luna were mysterious. 

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