Cinder's Story: a Lunar Chronicles Fanfic

Chapter Sixteen: The Chill Dill

The first objective to be executed in Kai's android's program was to engage her personal panic mode.

"NAINSI REBOOTED! I JUST SAW MY LIFE FLASH BEFORE MY EYES! At least, I think it was my life... DID I EVER SLOW-DANCE WITH AN ANDROID NAMED LUPE?!"

"Woah! Hey!" Said Cinder, who waved her arms in front of the android. "It's alright! You're safe!"

Nainsi, as she was so called, looked Cinder up and down, and gave a beep of recognition.

"AH! PRINCESS SELENE! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! NO ONE'S EVER BEEN ABLE TO SUMMON HER!"

"Shut up!" Cinder wacked her with the pliers again. "I can't return you to your master, acting like this!"

The thrashing seemed to return Nainsi to normal. Word of advice? Do not attempt on children.

"Forgive me," said she, "but for a moment I thought you were someone else. Where is prince Kai?"

...

Cinder watched the crowd turn from their anger like a hipster moth turns away from a candle. The contrast in their attitude sent a chill down what was left of Cinder's spine. What was more; queen Levana had recognized that Cinder wasn't responding to her charm as readily as the rest of the Earthens were. To have been singled out like that, while escorting an android that could supposedly save humanity, was not something Cinder had been keen on dealing with. It was a Tuesday, however, so she supposed that these kinds of setbacks should've been anticipated long before now.

At the castle door, Cinder was confronted by the two guards stationed on the front porch.

"State your business." Said the one named Dillan (as Cinder gathered from her retinal readout).

"I've come to return an android belonging to prince Kai, Dillan." Said Cinder.

"There are no guests permitted inside the castle." Said the one named Chillan. "Unless you have valid identification, you are forbidden to venture beyond this point."

He pointed at the point; a small, white dot between Dillan and Chillan.

Cinder shrugged. "That's fine by me, Chillan, Dillan. I'm sure the android has valid I.D."

Chillan knitted his eyebrows. "What about me?"

Cinder looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Chillan folded his arms. "Just because Dillan is chillin', that doesn't mean I can't also be Chillan, like Dillan."

"I agree." Said Dillan. "Chill has every right to chill like Dill."

Nainsi took a photo of Cinder's face, before addressing the dilemma.

"I believe I know what's going on, here." she stated. "For you see, Dillan is chillin' like a villain standin' still, and while Chillan isn't chillin' like a villain Dillan, he still gets a chill from the thrill of standin' still, so Chill knows the thrill from a still chill, just as Dill."

"See?" Chillan spilled. "She gets the chill dill!"

With time, Cinder realized how much she didn't care, and left Nainsi to deal with the two guardsmen.

"Maybe I should've accepted payment, after all." She thought out loud.