Silence.

Kai gaped. Torin stared.

"What?" Kai asked, incredulous.

"I'm Princess Selene," Cinder said again, willing him to believe her.

"You—I don't… what?" Kai stood aghast. He stared at the girl kneeling at his feet. Shifting, shifting, she was never the same, never what she seemed, never wholly, simply Cinder. Never the person he had felt might understand him. Now that her glamour had faded, he had regained control of himself. He saw her again as he had when her back was turned, as her eyes fell softly pictures of his mother, on his token of Cinder herself. She was the same girl that he had met that day in a shabby booth of New Beijing's weekly market. But what a façade. Who—what was she really? He was beginning to realize how little he actually knew.

"Dr. Erland told me when I was in your prison cell. He gave me this new hand and foot—" She gestured with her metallic limbs "—and since getting out I've found more. Michelle Benoit, Kai, she was involved, and she has a gra—"

"Your majesty, I would advise you not to get tangled in web of lies without being able to confirm them," Torin interrupted, "We cannot trust her."

"I'm not lying," Cinder snapped, twisting in Torin's grip.

"And we are supposed to take your word for that?" Torin threw back, "Haven't you done enough damage to this regime? You realize that relations with Luna have never been worse because of your actions? You understand that if the Emperor should die at the hands of Levana, the blame falls to you?" Cinder swallowed, her eyes growing large, but didn't dispute it.

Kai turned away, rubbing his temple. He had never seen Torin goaded into snapping at someone like that. He walked to the window and peered through the shades at the public alter that had been constructed in front of the palace so the citizens of New Beijing could watch the wedding ceremony. Beyond it was the edge of a small cliff and below that the city spread out in all directions. He thought about Cinder's claim. It had a certain logic. She was the right age. She was definitely lunar. Remembering Nainsy's descriptions of the princess's injuries, Kai realized why Cinder's extensive cybernetic repair might have been necessary. This would explain Levana's unexpected hatred of Cinder—she must have recognized her somehow. And Cinder's glamour… It was terrifying. Stronger than Levana's. Yet, different. It seemed less controlled, as though it wasn't quite sure what to do with itself. It did not empty him of his own thoughts and emotions as much as it seemed to reveal to him that he wanted what Cinder wanted.

Kai wasn't sure which of them was worse.

But did that mean that Cinder could actually be Princess Selene?

"Your majesty," Torin spoke up, "Perhaps we should involve the Queen in this discussion. Given that the cyborg is the reason for her anger and the necessity of your marriage alliance, it is more than likely we will be able to make a deal by using her. Levana will also be able to tell us if she speaks the truth."

Cinder froze where she knelt. Kai paused. "Are you serious? What if she is the Lunar princess? Levana would hardly let her live."

"She will be more valuable in negotiations if that is her true identity."

Kai stared at him. "What about all of our research? All the time we put into finding her? All for the hope that she could help us defeat Levana, not so that we could hand her over like some trophy—"

Cinder suddenly jerked her arms, wrenching them free and spinning around in Torin's grip. She stared into his eyes a moment before she ducked and twisted away, and they both landed hard on the carpet, each scrambling for purchase.

Kai could not comprehend what was going on. He watched Torin, Torin, the calm, collected man who had advised his father for so many years, wrestling with a girl on his bedroom floor. Calculating, with his many years of rigidly disciplined martial arts training, the best way to take her down. And Cinder was on the ground fighting him back. Kai's mind reeled. Torin's nails drew blood from Cinder's wrist as he struggled to gain purchase. She rolled away, knocking him onto his back with a kick. Cinder crouched and lunged at him. He shifted his weight so that she spun over his back.

"ENOUGH!" Kai shouted, stepping between them as they turned to continue the fight. Both stopped moving, breathing hard.

Torin began, "Emperor Kait—"

Cinder reach around Kai and punched Torin hard in the nose with her metal fist. He rolled, moaning in pain. Kai dropped his arms, exasperated, glaring at Cinder. "Was that necessary?"

Cinder glanced at Kai and moved to crouch near Torin, helping him to sit upright. "Are you all right?" She asked, "Can you think for yourself?" Kai knit his eyebrows together.

"Yes," Torin said thickly, "Whad…?" Cinder held out a hand to him, showing him a small twist of shining metal.

"This was in your nose. It's a chip. Programmed by the royal lunar programmer herself, who happens to be a friend."

Torin and Kai stared at the thing in Cinder's palm, Torin looking slightly sick. "Whad? Dhe royal ludar programmer?" He asked, a hand to his bleeding nose, glaring at Cinder. "A fried of yours, and she put dhat id my ndose? And you expect us to—"

"She's not for the queen! And she's the ex-royal programmer— it's a long—"

"All right." Kai said. He turned to Cinder. "What does this mean?"

"It means they know I'm here." Kai paled. "So can we move, and I'll tell you on the way? We have to give you some protection from Levana's gift before the wedding, which means we need to get to a surgeon right away."

"Surgeon? I—"

"Look, Kai," Cinder interrupted, "This is really urgent. Sibyl or someone is probably on their way now. Can we please continue this while verifying the device?"

"Emperor Kaido, I sdill—"

"And don't you think," Cinder continued, "that if I were untrustworthy I would have already glamoured you?" She turned to Torin, "Because you must realize I'm capable of it."

Kai hesitated. It was true he thought he could tell the difference between being glamoured or not, and his own instinct told him he could trust Cinder implicitly, but, still feeling the ghost of her pressed against him, he was not sure his thoughts towards her would ever be unbiased. He weighed the options. He did not think it likely that Cinder was here to kill him, but if he went with her, that she would take Torin and him hostage was a possibility. Certainly within her power. And he could not simply abandon his country now. Although, Kai suddenly realized, that that would prevent Levana from becoming Empress. He shot a suspicious glance at Cinder. On the other hand, even if he sent Cinder away, Levana had been appeased with the promise of marriage for as long as she could be. She would probably kill him as soon as she got the opportunity to seize the Commonwealth unopposed, or would at least brainwash him into giving her control. If Cinder could give him some sort of defense against Levana... Kai wondered, too, if he had the power to send Cinder away.

"All right. We'll go down to the research wing. But it will be challenging to get there. Every time I set foot outside my rooms I am swarmed with people—unless, is it possible for you to disguise us?"

Cinder brightened. "Of course. Let's go."

They started out the door, Torin looking wary but reluctantly following upon a look from Kai. Cinder walked ahead of them. Her clothes had transformed to a servant's to Kai's eyes. The guard at the entrance to the emperor's wing was startled to see the three come through the doors.

"See, now, who are you? What are you doing in the royal chambers?"

Torin stepped forward with his mouth open, but Cinder pushed him back and dropped a quick curtsey. "We didn't come from the royal wing, Shifu. We came through that door to the Eastern atrium, see? We are a bit rushed now. So thank you." She hurried forward, nudging Torin, who looked around, perplexed. All he saw was a palace servant following them.

"Where—"

"That's the Emperor, Torin," Cinder spoke low, gesturing. "We're all maids, you too. So don't go talking down to the palace guards." The other maid was staring back at Torin, disbelieving and mildly amused.

"Or flirting with them, I'd say," Kai said, his voice high and lilting, "You're rather pretty, Torin." Cinder laughed.

Kai quickened his pace to whisper to Cinder. "So what was the chip they planted? And how do you know Levana's programmer?"

"In a minute," Cinder said. They headed through another door and were in a stream of people in a main hallway, pushing carts of food, carrying decorations and flowers, rushing by with checklists. Kai's jaw dropped. He was quite used to a crowd parting for him to make his way through. This perspective of the palace was quite different.

"C'mon," Cinder said, ducking into the crowd. Kai paused, uncertain. This should not be the hard part. He looked at Torin, but the gruff, uncomfortable maid looking back at him was not the place to find reassurance.

"Let's go." They wove through the crowd after Cinder, trying to keep up, bumping into people and stumbling more than once.

"Watch it!" Someone said as a cart ran over Kai's foot, the obstacle sending a few fresh buns of bread spilling to the floor. Kai recognized Bora, a pretty and outspoken cook he knew from the kitchens. She stopped the traffic dead in the hallway, swooping down to pick up her buns before they were trampled. People stared at the two clumsy girls who had disrupted the chaotic flow of the hallway.

"Move, get out of the way," an angry, shrill voice called. Kai stiffened. "What is the meaning of this?" Sibyl, the head Lunar thaumaturge came into view, stopping behind the cart and the press of people blocking the way. Bora looked up.

"An accident, A yi. In the crowds, I knocked into a maid, and… my rolls…" She trailed off, her pale skin growing paler as Sibyl glowered.

"It was my fault," Kai stepped forward, unwilling to let Bora take the blame. Sibyl whirled on him. "I am unused to the castle and I got in the way of her cart. She isn't to blame."

"Insolent…" Sibyl stepped towards Kai and Torin when Cinder melted out of the crowd, stepping between them.

"Please, A yi, pay her no heed. She is a new hire, of no importance…" Kai lowered his head, suddenly shamed. What had he been thinking? Addressing Thaumaturge Sibyl when he was not worthy of her attention, not worthy of anyone's attention, and when the woman was in such a hurry to leave this hallway... Kai suddenly realized he was catching the effects of Cinder's glamour as she willed the Thaumaturge to move on.

"Yes, fine, just move! I must get through." Sibyl turned her attention from them, and Cinder pulled Kai forward, this time keeping her hand in his as she expertly maneuvered down the hallway. Torin followed closely.

"How do you know the way?" Kai asked. Cinder tapped her temple.

"Map of the palace." Right. Cyborg. And now they were all glamoured like Lunars. This was insanity. He was probably on his way to be kidnapped. They finally broke out of the hallway and soon were down in the research wing. The halls here were deserted. Kai stopped moving.

"Cinder, please. You can't expect us to keep following you on this crazy race. You need to explain, or I am going back."

"Wait. Dr. Erland is down here, with the new lead researcher, he said. We'll need your own doctor to verify the device so your advisor will allow it when Dr. Erland places it in your spine."

"Wha—I—ok, I don't know about that… but Erland is here too?" Kai tried to regain his mental balance and failed miserably. "OK, I'll take you to Dr. Hamdi, but you will talk on our way there."

Cinder sighed and spoke low. "I think Sibyl was on her way to your quarters. I'm sure she knows I'm in the palace. This device—" She held up the chip that she'd taken from Torin "—has a microphone. The person who put it plants it can hear anything close enough to it, in this case probably anything Torin said, through a direct link." They hurried around a corner and down another hall, Kai leading. "It also acts as a sort-of router. Having the signal so close to Torin gives the owner a focal point for bioelectric manipulation, meaning they could glamour Torin from a distance, and that no one else could glamour him when they had control."

Kai stared at her. "They've been controlling my head advisor?" He shook his head. Levana was always a step ahead of him.

"Mostly listening, I would guess," Cinder said, "It would be pretty obvious if they glamoured him, especially because you two know the difference."

Torin stepped up beside them as they reached a set of doors. His appearance had gone back to normal, and it matched his unhappy expression much better than had the maid's. "I suppose you were right, then, Your Majesty," he said, "Levana was able to spy on us, and I was how she was doing it." He sounded a little defeated.

Inside, Dr. Erland was standing in a laboratory with a doctor Cinder had never seen before. They both turned at their entrance. The doctor eyed Cinder curiously, recognition flashing in her eyes. Cinder supposed she recognized her from her disastrous mis-escape from the Coronation Ball.

"Your Highness." Dr. Erland smiled and swept a deep bow to Kai, removing the cap he wore. "It is so good to see you well. And almost a married man, eh?" He chuckled.

Kai stared at the doctor he had known almost all of his life. He, too, was not what he appeared. Was not who Kai had thought he had been. "Dr. Erland," he said, and nothing else came out. Finally, Kai managed, "You left," somewhat accusingly.

"Ah, yes, well, I did not think it would be looked highly upon that aided in the escape of our little Princess here." Cinder scowled at him, and Kai glanced at her, unsettled to be reminded of her new – supposed – identity. The doctor continued, "I went to Africa to research the first instances of the Letumosis contagion. But all of that later. You are late, and we have only 110 minutes! Let's make it so your bride-to-be does not control you every thought, hm?"