DISCLAIMER: We do not own The Lunar Chronicles and the lovely characters. All rights to Marissa Meyer.
Cinder
Cinder was bored out of her mind.
Currently, she was sitting in the living room with Adri, Pearl, and Peony gathered around the glass table. They were chatting loudly, and Cinder wasn't quite sure why she was here to begin with.
"I've picked up the forms," Adri said excitedly, waving the vanilla envelopes around in the air. Pearl and Peony squealed loudly and took it in their hands. Pearl snatched up the paper immediately. Peony smelled the crisp, cream-colored envelope and breathed deeply, letting out a sigh of content.
"The Selection," Pearl and Peony breathed in unison.
Adri nodded. She clapped her hands together, brisk manner back. "Right. Chop chop, dears. Fill out the forms."
That was the first time that Adri seemed to notice that Cinder was sitting there. She glared over at her, lifting up her bizaare, green colored dress. She made her way towards Cinder gracefully.
"Cinder," she said with clear distaste. "Why don't you... go out to the market to get something for us?" The real message was clear. We don't want you here. Cinder pursed her lips, trying to keep her anger in check.
"But... I want to witness the Selection," she mumbled quietly. Adri cocked her head towards her.
"You have no place here," Adri snapped with a razor sharp tone. Cinder winced away from the unpleasant noise. She leaned forward until she was eye to eye with the maid. "Don't you dare think, even for a second, that you will ever be in the Selection," she hissed.
Cinder felt a boiling rage rise up inside of her, roiling in her stomach and making her fists clench. If she didn't walk out now, she was sure her hand would end up slapping Adri's face. So she stood up abruptly, head lowered. Grabbing the basket from the nearby table, she growled, "Right. I'll be going now."
She stomped past Adri, who had a feline smile plastered on her face. When Cinder walked out the door, she was able to catch an apologetic glance from Peony. She offered a small smile and shook her head. Closing the door, she made her way down the sidewalk.
Finding the market was easy. It was filled with people bustling around, busy trying to buy things and sell things. It also helped that Cinder worked there. As she walked towards the fruit section, she spotted her mechanic stand, squished in between two obnoxious clothing shops. The curtain was pulled down over the window.
In addition to the people here to buy products, there were also the people who were here to watch the Selection on television. Most of them didn't have one handy at home, so they flocked to different stores to watch it.
It stung for Cinder to see it. She couldn't even sign up, for goodness sake. Another burst of anger made its way to her chest. She stifled it, taking deep breaths.
Stopping in front of a fruit stand, Cinder set down the basket and picked up different apples, searching for bruises and discoloration.
Suddenly, she felt a nudge from her right shoulder. Glancing over, uninterested, her eyes brushed over a familiar golden badge. She did a double take, eyes wide and settled on the badge that signified the court of the kingdom of Commonwealth. Slowly, she looked up until she saw his face.
It was a court official with kind, gray eyes and a bright smile, wrinkles crinkling up around his eyes.
"Young lady, would you like to join the Selection?" he asked. His gloved hands held dozens of the familiar envelopes. Cinder shook her head immediately, hands up and waving back and forth.
"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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