Cinder POV
"This whole Queen thing is exhausting!" I complain. The crew and myself are sitting in the lounge watching the net. This past week, I've decided I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing. Stars, I walked into a meeting, yesterday, in jeans and a t-shirt. They have all learned to not mess with me.
That explains why I'm lounging in my pajamas. Sure, they're fancy silk pajamas, but oh well. Good enough.
I pull my hair up in a sloppy bun and make my way over to the mini fridge.
"Hey Princess," Thorne calls, "Bring me a Coke?"
He's taken to calling me Princess when he wants something.
I reach for a cold, red can in the back and a brown bottle for myself. I'd been drinking a lot of these, lately.
I passed Thorne his soda and easily popped open the bottle with my unnaturally tough hand. I curled up in an overstuffed armchair with a fuzzy blanket and sipped the caramel-ey drink.
"Cinder, you really should stop drinking those cream sodas. People will probably see it and think it's alcohol!" Scarlet scolded.
"It's also extremely bad for your health," Dr. Erland chimed in. Once a doctor, always a doctor.
"Don't worry. This is my first today. I'm trying to taper off." I sat the drink on the coaster and stuck my hand in Thorne's bowl of popcorn. He didn't object. I suppose he was tired of arguing with me over food. I was eating a lot lately. I blamed it on stress.
A cute black and white TV show about a man and a talking horse was playing. I believe it was popular in the late 1900's. This channel was dedicated to those type of programs. Yesterday we saw one about a witch who married a regular mortal man. How absurd!
I dozed off into the first sleep I'd had for a few days. All too soon, I was being shaken awake.
"Hey Cinder, you're on the net. Haha!" Thorne snickered.
I looked up and saw a short clip of fifteen year old Cinder under a hover, shirt stained and dirty, hair splayed about her face, pulling the engine out the bottom. How did they get a video of me, and why?
"It appears they did a documentary on you." Wolf grunted.
"Volume up," I commanded the screen.
"And here we see exclusive photos-" the narrator droned, "in a club about two miles from her former home."
I saw a fuzzy picture of me drinking a bright red liquid and talking to a tall kid seated beside me at the bar. His right wrist was encased in metal with a portscreen imbedded into it.
"I remember him! He was in an accident involving some kind of chemicals and was burned badly." I say with my mouth half full. "He was jealous of my built in port."
"And here is Miss Linh accepting a dance with the same gentleman."
The kid was holding out his hand to me, and the next picture showed me being pulled into the crowd.
"I thought you couldn't dance?" Cress said.
"You don't slow dance in a club, Cress. You just.. I don't know how to explain it. Thorne and I will just have to show you sometime," I winked at Thorne. "I'm sure you've been to a club or two."
Cress looked up at him.
"Actually, I'm more of a Casino man. Dancing isn't one of my strong points." Thorne explained.
"Yeah, I can see that."
I loved all of this. We were just talking, acting like normal young adults, except there was something off. Everyone here had a date. Thorne and Cress were together, Scarlet and Wolf, and here I was, alone. Dr. Erland doesn't exactly count. Plus, there was always that knowledge that I was a Queen, and I was to be respected or feared. I hated that part. Everyone kept a certain distance and were cautious with their words. It left me feeling isolated.
The narrator dragged along, showing some pictures that weren't very comfortable. After all, I lived a shady life. No one liked cyborgs. People liked to take advantage of the laws and use us for punching bags.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a photo of a girl being slammed against a brick wall by a large man flicked across the screen. The bright moonlight cut through the alley and shone perfectly on her furious face. It was me! My teeth were clenched in pain and blood streamed down my neck. I remember throwing a punch at that man and hearing the sickening crunch of bones as his jaw gave way. About a month later, I saw him again in a cyborg club with a new, shiny jaw.
Served him right.
The next picture showed the man on the ground, my face looking towards the camera in terror, and a blonde girl with a cyborg arm running in my direction.
"Whoa Cinder, you took that brute out yourself?" Wolf asked.
I shrugged, "Sure. You get used to it. That particular man ended up with a metal face after I was done with him. He was plain drunk and thought I was easy game, I guess."
Thorne's face was priceless.
"Come on Thorne. Don't tell me you go to Casinos and don't have to deal with someone every now and then."
"Yeah but.. Wow Cinder."
I allowed myself to blush. The tingling felt awkward, so I shut it off.
"We don't know what the man's intention were. Some suggestions include kidnapping and r-"
"Volume down!" I shouted. Thorne snickered. I leaned over and smacked the back of his head. I sipped my soda again and got up to get an apple out of the fruit basket that got sent up to us every morning.
I watched some more of the documentary. It got to some pictures of me fleeing the jail with Thorne and tramping across the world with the Rampion. I was impressed that the facts were very close to correct. They were showing particular interest in the photos from Rieux, France. I made sure not to make eye contact with anyone. We all know that my surgery took place on Scar's farm. Maybe now was the time to announce it to the public. I'll think about that.
Soon it was over. I looked at the clock. It was almost dinner time. I sighed and got up to go get some clothes.
"I'm feeling sporty. I think I'll wear a dress." I shut my bedroom door behind me and reached for a simple, gray, and floor length dress. I took off my warm pajamas and slipped in the dress. I left my hair where it was with a messy bun with a few pieces falling out around my face. I tossed on some simple mascara since Cress insisted on it every time we went somewhere outside our quarters.
We all got ready and trudged downstairs to our first regular meal in days. Lately, we'd been having food delivered upstairs.
The guard nodded at me and held open the door. I thanked him and stepped in. The crew was chatting around me. I joined in here and there. We were alone for about five minutes until Kai, Torin, and some other officials came in. All of them stared at me.
I was very confused until Thorne poked me, "Five American dollars that they watched that documentary."
Face Palm.
"Hi," I said sheepishly.
"Hello," Torin answered. He probably got voted to speak first.
I raised my hands in the air, "I tried to tell you the real world is tough."
Kai swallowed. It was loud in the silent room.
"Especially for me." I sighed and shook my head. "Well, sit down. I promise I don't bite."
They all shuffled to a seat.
"Hey Cinder, what was the name of that club they had pictures of you at? I think I've been there." Thorne asked.
"Oh, it's the Purple Pickle. It's exclusively for Cyborgs and Lunars. That's the only reason I went; to mix in with my people." I smiled.
Thorne snorted, "Purple Pickle? And I thought the Lotus Casino was strange. I mean, who names a crazy dangerous casino after a pretty pink flower?"
"You haven't seen anything until you've seen a LSOP base in an old French opera house in the middle of Rieux. Last thing I expected," Scarlet grumbled. She went on ranting quietly to herself.
I leaned forwards and spoke to the Earthens, "Excuse us. We're still surprised about the documentary ourselves. I'm wondering how they got all those pictures and clips. I certainly didn't take them. The only possibility is that someone knew about my true identity and was taking the videos as evidence of my existence."
"Who could it be?" Kai sat forward, suddenly interested.
"The only people I can think of would be my surgeons or someone who knew my father. Perhaps even someone sent a representative from a Lunar base to be sure that I was still alive and well." I pulled on my hair band and let my hair fall to my back in it's naturally wavy state. I attempted to comb my fingers through, but I hit so many kinks that I gave up and just let it hang.
Three women and one man walked into the dining room with carts of trays. I could smell perfectly cooked rice and seasoned meat and vegetables wafting up from the carts. My mouth watered.
The man picked up a large covered dish and walked to my left side. He sat it down elegantly. Everyone else was given a silver tray.
In sync, the lids were lifted. I wasn't greeted with the juicy Japanese dish everyone else was, but a reflective white surface.
I looked up at the man who served me and smiled sweetly, "Very funny. For your information, Lunar Queens don't eat mirrors."
I lifted up the small oval of glass and looked at myself. Thankfully, I looked just how I thought I would, a girl with messy hair in a long grey dress. I caught the waiter look in the mirror as well and smiled at him.
"I don't use my glamour very much, as you can see." I dropped the glass onto the platter and shut the lid on top. I lifted it up and handed it behind me to the trembling man. "I'd like my food now, thank you."
He nodded and ran out of the room.
"Now, I wonder where I've heard this story, before. Déjà vu." Thorne looked at Kai and Torin with his eyebrow raised.
"I apologize, your majesty!" Torin said.
I shook my head. Wolf sat back with his arms crossed, "Earthens."
The man ran back in with a steaming plate of food. I reached for my chopsticks and pulled a shrimp up from the mound of rice. Up until a month ago, I'd never eaten anything as luxurious as seafood.
I watched everyone else, and noticed them all dip the food into a creamy sauce beside the plate. I stuck mine in as well and took a bite.
The sauce was amazingly sweet and savory at the same time. I picked up the dish and drizzled some on my rice.
Stars, this sauce makes everything taste better! I was trying to eat properly, but it was hard to keep from shoveling it down.
Next came a sherbet that apparently was supposed to cleanse the palettes. How could ice cream possibly clean those things they ship large boxes on?
They took away the tiny bowls and brought out tiny pieces of sushi. I politely asked my waiter to take it away. One thing I cant do is eat raw food. All I can see is the pieces being tacked back together and swimming off again like nothing ever happened to it.
"Your Majesty, don't you like fish?" An officer asked me.
"Yes, but not raw. My appendix doesn't function the way yours does, so raw food is questionable." It wasn't a lie! Most humans had evolved into having a functional appendix, but mine never fully worked.
I watched Thorne explain the foreign food to Cress. She glanced at me. A quick agreement passed between us, 'Ew!'
I sat back and looked out the window. Every view in this castle was breath taking. Finally dessert came. It was a fancy bread filled with a raspberry cream. I pulled the fruit off the top and popped it in my mouth. After a few bites, my plate was clean.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Kai get up to leave. I was looking at the tall glass that was filled with a dark red liquid. I was positive that it was wine.
I picked it up and sipped the drink. It had an odd taste that I wasn't sure whether I liked or not. I had a few quick flashbacks of times when I drank alcohol. I only did when I was desperate, but it still pained me to think that I could resort to something so terrible. I sat the glass down and asked for my plates to be cleared away.
I decided to walk back to my room. Along the way, I stopped to think. Fortunately, this castle had lots of art that I could pretend to be interested in.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by a giggle and a girly shriek. It came from around the corner, Kai's quarters. I quickly glamoured myself into a servant carrying a stack if clean linen. It took at least five minutes to locate the sounds. I finally came to a door with bright markings and the name "Emperor Kaito".
"Kai!" A voice squealed and laughed. I silently opened the door a tiny bit. Kai was sitting on the edge of his bed. Each of his arms were slung around a girl, one of which was kissing him furiously. I hardly held back a gag.
Both of them were wearing dresses that were just about useless. More skin was showing than cloth was covering.
I would have spurt out some colorful words, but I was beyond speechless. Is this Kai? I can't believe he would..!
"Suppose we have some alone time, tonight?" The non-kissing girl ran her finger down Kai's arm. I glared daggers at her.
"Darling, I would love to, but I have tons of paperwork to finish." Kai pecked her on the lips. Gross!
"Aww! Well, at least you haven't fallen for that nasty Queen! I heard everyone wants you to marry her. That isn't true is it sweetie? If you get married, you won't have as much time for us ladies that truly love you." Her lower lip stuck out in a pout.
What does she know?
Kai seemed to ponder it for a moment. Maybe here was when he was going to declare his love for me. He would kick them out and run to speak with me. "I'm not sure." He said.
One of the girls looked up and stared at me, eyes wide.
My glamour!
I backed up a few steps.
I'm just passing by. I'm just passing by! I'm passing by and peak in.
I chanted that to her until her eyes became unfocused for a second. She got up quickly, "Your Majesty!" She called out.
I put on my best surprised face and look at Kai. His expression is surprised, but he almost looked- excited? The other girl smirked at me. Her image flickered for a second. She's Lunar.
Her face morphs into embarrassment. She jumped off of Kai's knee and rushes in front of me to curtsy. I scoot back awkwardly. "Hi." I mutter.
"My Queen! Hello!" Her smile is blinding. I force a smile back. "Hello-" My retina identifies her as a 18 year old named, "Sara."
I turn to the other girl, "I'm sorry, but I can only identify those with Lunar blood." I lied to her, "What's your name?"
She showed obvious disappointment, "Ashley. I'm delighted to meet you!"
I nodded, "Well Kaito, it appears you're quite busy. I'll let you get back to your work,"
I lifted my head up and walked out. Once I reached the end of the hall, I ripped off my crown, hiked up my dress, and ran.
Artificial tears started to drip down my face. Why was I even crying? I, Linh Cinder, upset over some guy? Especially Emperor Kaito, the man that every woman drooled over and I laughed about it.
Besides, it's not as if he completely rejected me. It's the fact that he was unsure. The fact that he was freely seeing other girls. The fact that he doesn't actually care the way I thought he did.
I ran into my room and locked the door. I tore off my dress and undergarments and stepped into a cold shower. I scrubbed my skin until it was numb. I felt dirty.
Once I felt slightly cleaner, I sat on the seat in the tub and let the water run down my chest and puddle in my lap.
I felt the metal joints in my left leg begin to stiffen from the cold. My human hand felt the smooth skin grafting. I felt more human now than I ever had all the way down to my breaking heart.
After twenty minutes, the water didn't feel cold any more. I missed the distraction.
I shut the water off and stepped out of the tub. A stack of fluffy towels waited for me. I wrapped one around my body and tucked the ends under my armpit to create a temporary dress.
My reflection in the mirror was startling. I looked plain exhausted.
I walked into my room to look for a night gown. Each of them had something I didn't like about it, itchy, hot, too long, too short. I ended up deciding on a minty green one that was a little above knee length. It showed way too much cleavage for my liking, but it was a night gown. Hopefully no one but me or someone in my crew would ever see me in it.
Just as I began to climb into bed, I heard a shuffling outside my door. A bang. A whisper.
I snuck to my door and listened. Nothing. I turned my door knob and peeked out. There was no light except a single candle a few yards down the hall.
"Selene." Kai's voice bounced to me.
What could he possibly want?
I growled and stalked back in my room. I slammed the door, but Kai's foot caught it. He walked right in. In my room!
"Get out!" I snarled. "What if I'm not decent?"
"You wouldn't have opened the door would you?" I could hear his smile.
"What do you want?" I sighed.
Hands wrapped around me in the darkness. I put my cyborg hand up near his head and loaded a dart. Kai's body froze at the sound of the click.
"Either I'm dreaming or you're drunk." I squirmed away from him.
"Cinder, put the gun away," Kai's voice trembled, "Please!"
"No."
"Cinder, what's the matter?" His voice sounded sincerely concerned.
"I'm not one of your toys. Get out before I do something you'll regret later." I shoved him towards the door.
"You're jealous!" Kai shouted.
I spluttered for a minute, "W-what's that got to do with you invading my bedroom?"
"I just needed to to talk to you."
Next thing I knew, my back was against the bathroom door with lips pressed against mine. I started to struggle. He gripped my arms and pinned them to the door. His lips forced mine to respond. I didn't know what was happening to me anymore.
Something about him seemed desperate. "Cinder," he murmured, "I think I'm in love with you."
I gasped. Kai's mouth locked onto mine again. Red words boinked across my vision, notifying me of new hormones and chemicals increasing. I forced my net screen to shut down.
My hand reached out and felt around until I found the light switch. I slid the bar up until a dim light filled the room.
I gently pushed Kai back. My heart nearly broke at his expression. He looked on the verge of tears.
"Cinder, I'm in love. I love you. Just let me explain! I promise, I have an explanation for what you saw today!" He held my chin in place to make me look at him.
My breathing was fast and scared. I was sure he could hear my heart beating. I reached up with my human hand and hesitantly touched his cheek.
"O-ok." I nodded, "Ok."
Kai's beautiful face broke into a smile. He pulled me to my lounge area and sat down. I sat about a foot from him. I would run if I had to. Kai moved closer to me and took my cyborg hand in his. I leaned back.
"Cinder, I was testing you." He stated.
I frowned at him.
"I've been attracted to you ever since we met. Since you became Queen, you've stopped responding to me. I wanted to see if you would be jealous of me seeing other girls."
I could have slapped him right then.
"You what!? Kaito!" I stood up. "What kind of dumb idea was that? I thought you were some player!" I faked a gagging motion.
I turned my back on Kai. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and nuzzled my ear. I tensed up. My back was completely stiff.
"Would that happen to mean you do like me?"
I turned my head, "Do you really want to know?"
He nodded. I turned around and put my hand on his cheek. I threaded my other hand in his hair and pulled him down to kiss me. He pulled away and held my shoulders at arms length.
Kai's eyes caught on my chest. His eyes widened as he realized what I was wearing.
I smirked. This would be fun.
"What is it? Am I not showing enough? I noticed those two girls weren't wearing much." Kai blushed bright red.
"N-no."
I pushed Kai back on the couch and sat on his lap. "Kai. If you want to impress me, don't bring half naked girls into your room."
He nodded. I laughed.
"I love you!"
"Really?" Kai whispered.
"Maybe. You'll have find that out on your own wont you?"
"Come on Cinder, just tell me. Please?"
I shook my head no. His eyes drifted down again making me extremely self conscience.
"Cinder, could you- erm, put a robe on? Or something?" Kai stuttered.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "If you kept your eyes up here," I gestured to my face, "you wouldn't have a problem, now would you?"
I walked to the closet and reached for a floor length silk robe, anyway. "Help me put it on?"
Kai visibly swallowed and took the robe from my hands. I turned around. I felt Kai hesitate. He put my arm through the right sleeve, the left, and over my shoulders. I turned to face him and had him tie up the strings for me.
"S-so, you don't have someone you're planning on marrying?" Kai asked.
I laughed, "Stars, no. No one wants to marry a cyborg Queen. And you? One of your fangirls hasn't struck your fancy?"
He shook his head, "All they seem to care about is money or just hooking up. It's disgusting, actually."
I nod. We sit in an awkward silence.
"So. What now?" I ask. "I'm new to this, you know."
"Well, I guess I'll begin a courting process." He blushed.
I sighed, "Everything has to be a process,"
He smiled a sad smile, "Unfortunately."
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Ahhh! My longest chapter yet! Pleeeaaassseee tell me what you honestly think! Was it a bit much? I want to know so I can make the best story I can.