Twisted Love

Chapter 2

Cinder

Cinder walked into the house with nothing in her basket at all. That may have been a bad idea. From the moment Adri heard the door shut, she marched up towards the maid, dress hiked up her knees. She eyed the empty basket.

"What were you doing out there?" Adri cried indignantly, grabbing the basket before Cinder could process what was happening.

"Um... I - I was..." Cinder stuttered. Adri held up a hand, silencing her protests.

"You obviously weren't doing anything productive," Adri drawled, tossing the empty basket to the side. Cinder waited for a long lecture, but Adri simply said, "Fine. As long as you weren't doing anything stupid." A picture of the Selection form flashed in Cinder's mind. She gulped.

Inching around her guardian's imposing form, she let out a nervous chuckle. "Right. Thank you, miss. I'll..." she hesitated, searching for an excuse. Then, finding one, she nodded vigorously. "I'll get to my room now. Have to, you know!" She barked out a fake laugh again, twiddling her fingers. "Fix some... machines, and... stuff!" With one last glance around, she dashed upstairs.

Rushing down the hallway and into her room, she slammed the door close behind her. Letting out a sigh of relief, she sank against the door. With a loud, mechanic whir, her android spun around. Its lights flashed.

Cinder sighed and sat down next to it. "You won't believe what I just did," she sighed, burying her fingers in her hair. The android's circular head twisted to the side. "I signed up for the Selection."

"Well," the android said in a monotone voice. "You're doomed."

****

With a loud fanfare, the show started for the Selection.

"CINDER!" Peony shouted from downstairs, hands cupped around her mouth. Cinder rushed out of her room, peeking over the banister. She raised an eyebrow. Peony smiled up at her. "Come! We're watching the Selection!"

A burst of excitement rose in Cinder's chest. Nodding vigorously, she basically jumped down the stairs, much to Peony's amusement. Once she reached the first floor, Peony latched onto her arm. "We're going to see Kai!" she sang. Cinder rolled her eyes.

"It's only on television, Peony," Cinder gently reminded her. Peony sighed dreamily.

"Right. But it's Kai!" She sighed once again and skipped towards the living room. Cinder let out a soft chuckle and sat down on a separate, uncomfortable wooden chair. From the look on Adri's and Pearl's face, it was clear that Cinder was only sitting here because Peony had insisted.

Adri turned on the television and sat back, letting out an ear piercing squeal with Pearl as the crown prince stepped onto the tall podium. Cinder winced at the noise but struggled not to rub her ears. Peony shot her a pitiful look.

"Hello, people of Commonwealth," Kai said smoothly into the microphone. The two annoying pair squealed again. However, this time, Peony barely kept in a loud shout herself. "We're gathered here today to witness the choosing of the Selection." The live crowd around him let out loud cheers.

Kai stepped smoothly to the side, revealing a gigantic machine. It was in the shape of a ball, a narrow slot with a swinging door the only entrance inside. He gestured inside of it, his hand faltering for one second.

Most people hadn't seen it, but being strangely perceptive, Cinder caught it. She narrowed her eyes at the seemingly calm and collected prince and looked into his eyes through the television. They were dancing around nervously, dull and bored. This made her wonder: Was the Selection his choice?

But his facade came back up again, and there was no crack in his mask. Cinder wondered if she were simply imagining things.

"I'll pick 35 girls from this. All of the entries are put in here!" He pointed to the machine again. The camera panned to the Emperor, who was staring at his son with a rather proud look on his face. Kai stepped away from the podium and next to the machine. He stared for a while, doing nothing but standing. He shot his father another flash of an uncertain look.

The Emperor glared at him sternly. Heaving a sigh, Kai put up a strained smile again. "Alright, subjects of Commonwealth. I will be choosing the 35 ladies now." He reached one arm into the slot. It came back out clutching a vanilla envelope. He opened it slowly.

"Jacqueline Francette Olivier. A four!" he announced grandly. A picture of a blonde girl popped up. She had sharp features and stunning green eyes with a bold smile. Kai handed off the form to a servant who was waiting nearby. Reaching in again, he took out the next envelope.

"Mirella Masi! A six," he continued. Another picture came up. It showed a brunette with unruly, curly hair. Light freckles dusted her cheeks and nose, displayed with a timid grin.

"Chiyoko Mori! A two." Cinder raised her eyebrows at that, but when the picture came up in the corner, she was truly stunned. The girl was gorgeous. She had shiny, dark black hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her nose was petite and her lips were full. Her complexion was smooth and light, but what stood out the most were her eyes. They were small and a bit pulled at the corners, narrowing into a suspicious glance, as if she didn't trust the cameraman. They were blue and dusted with golden flecks scattered around like bird seed.

"Tamaya Jacira! A three." This girl was also extremely beautiful. While the girl's features before had been soft, Tamaya's was sharp and harsh. She had high cheekbones and large eyes, long eyelashes casting shadows on her face. Her eyebrows were elegantly arched, and her lips curled into a shy smile. Her complexion was tan and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown.

Cinder was still gawking when the next girl was announced. "Scarlet Benoit! A seven!" Something about her name made Cinder snap up. She waited impatiently to see her picture. It showed a girl with messy hair. Messy, extremely BRIGHT RED hair, might she add. Her skin was pale, like you could see the veins underneath her. Her eyes were wide and her lips curled in a confident smirk, like she was daring you to come near.

Cinder cocked her head in amusement. Huh. Kai reached in once again, taking out a neatly sealed envelope. He proceeded to rip it open savagely.

"Pearl Linh!" he announced. Adri and Pearl jumped up, yelling and hugging each other. Adri threw her papers up in the air, which Cinder knew that she would have to clean up and organize later.

"This is the hot ticket, girls!" Adri crowed.

This went on for a while. Kai picked an envelope. They announced the girl, and their picture was shown. Finally, the last picking had come. "This is the last one," Kai announced. As if the audience didn't know already. They were strangely silent, everybody who hadn't been chosen crossing their fingers in hope that they would be the last one.

"And the special lady is..." He reads it, then looks up at the camera. A dramatic pause. "CINDER LINH!" The maid jumps up at the mention of her name. Pearl and Adri freeze up. Peony jumps up with her and hugs her, kissing both cheeks, congratulating her. The two annoying pair slowly swivel their heads to face her.

"You... entered the Selection?!" Adri asked, her voice rising with each word. Peony let go, finally realizing how furious her mother was.

"Mother, she has a right to," Peony warned. Adri glared at her with all the ferocity of a tiger. Cinder gulped. But even through Adri's blinding anger, something else showed up. Her lips curled into a dangerous, sly smile. Cinder didn't like the look on her face one bit.

"It's fine," Adri drawled, waving it off with one curled finger. "It's not like Prince Kai will choose a peasant like you anyways. You're just a measly nobody." She leaned closer and jabbed a finger into Cinder's chest. With one last snarl, Adri whipped around and stomped away.

Pearl walked out after her, nearly as mad. But Peony stayed. She threw a sidelong glance at Cinder, who still had a slightly dazed look on her face.

"You know what, Cinder?" Peony asked, face scrunched in concentration. She grabbed the girl by the shoulder and shook her around. "I like you better. BEAT THEM." With that, she walked away.

****

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