Selene

23 | Everything

Selene sat down on the bench, Winter taking a seat next to her and tentatively wringing her hands in her lap.

"Who was that boy?" Winter asked, looking at Selene as her gaze trailed along the ground. Selene glanced up at Winter.

"That was Prince Kaito," Selene said, swallowing a painful lump in her throat. "The crown prince of the Eastern Commonwealth."

Winter turned her gaze to the gardens. "I see," she said softly. "Um- Selene, I know I haven't been awake for everything that's been happening, but- the marriage alliance. Is that what that was about?

Before she knew it, Selene adamantly shook her head. "No. No, no. But I wish that's all that it was. Oh, Winter, you don't know-" Selene was cut off by her own sob, rising up her throat and releasing itself before she could stop it. "You're the only thing that's kept me sane all these years. The only thing. The only thing I've actually felt emotion for through all this time. I thought I was going crazy when you were asleep. I would-" Selene broke into desperate sobs, burying her face in her hands. Winter's eyebrows knitted together and she drew Selene into her arms.

"I've never seen you cry so much, Selene," she murmured."What's going on?"

The uncontrollable sobs wracked Selene's body until they turned to trickling tears. Selene had always been an ugly crier; her eyes were swollen and her cheeks tear-streaked when she finally pushed away from Winter.

"I don't know how to explain it," she sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "So I guess I'll start from the beginning. Since we arrived- Prince Kai was the one who found us, when the podship wrecked. He got us to the hospital. I had to have my hand amputated, and you've been asleep for days-" Winter cut Selene off with an unbelieving, "Wait, amputated?!"

Selene pulled back her sleeve and held her steel hand out to Winter, who gasped and stroked it, perturbed. "Wait... Metal? You're one of the earthen cyborgs now?"

Selene snatched her hand away and shifted her eyes to the koi pond in front of them. "I had no other choice, Winter. Not really. I would've died had my hand not been amputated."

Winter pulled her hand back, trying to speak a few times before saying, "I- I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."

Selene nodded, the movement a little bit pained, and watched a colourful fish dart its way around the pool. "Anyway. After that- well- Prince Kai... He..." Selene trailed off, grasping at the right word. "He likes me, Winter. A lot. Any fool could tell. And- it's so strange. I've been taking advantage of him, and those emotions of his. I've taken advantage of others before, but I've never felt like this. It's never occurred to me to feel bad before, but now I feel awful for exploiting him. It's like- it's so scary. There's too much emotion, everywhere, since we've came here. I've never felt this much for anything, and now I have so much guilt and remorse and anger for my entire damn life- I feel like I'm slowly going crazy, and I have no idea what's going on!" Selene pulled her knees to her chest and buried her hands in her fine brown hair, grabbing her aching head and squeezing her eyes shut. A single tear squeezed itself out again before they stopped once and for all.

"I- I'm not good at this. Um-" Winter placed a hand on Selene's back. "Why so much about the Prince? He's not part of the picture, is he? The emperor is the one you'll have to marry."

Selene turns her dead, swollen eyes to Winter. She felt sick inside. "Winter, the emperor is dying."