.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

The birds outside Cinder's window where she was sitting flew about so freely. The small little fish in the fancy pond swam around in the water as if flying. But they too were grounded. Like they could never leave their water. They were like her. Or she was like them. It didn't really make a difference because they were both trapped one way or another.

Cinder know that she promised, Kai, she'd stay in the palace and not cause any trouble. But it was becoming exceedingly difficult to keep to that promise. There wasn't much beyond the palace walls but the small courtyard and then New Beijing surrounding it. Behind the palace, there was only the sea.

"You sure look bored," Thorne stated bluntly from the corner of her and Kais' shared bedroom. Cinder didn't know when he snuck in here, only sensed his presence a while later.

"Shouldn't you be with, Cress, again?" Cinder inquired for what seemed like the billionth time. Thorne only smiles at her and stood up, only to take a seat beside her on the window seat.

"Nevermind her, how's Kai?" Thorne brushed Cress off so carelessly, it riled Cinder up, just the slightest bit.

"Don't change the subject. Why aren't you with Cress?" Cinder demanded, leaning forward in her seat all the while. Thornes' face began glistening with sweat.

"I may or may not, have blown another engine…" He trailed off, anxious for Cinder's coming retort. But she only sighed. Thorne looked deeply concerned.

"Hey, what's wrong? You seem stressed," Cinder felt his concern was unnecessary because her fiance was currently working his butt off so hard, she never got to spend any time with him before the wedding.

"Just thinking about the paperwork I'm about to inherit," Cinder joked to Thorne. It wasn't exactly far from the truth. Cinder had seen ai working in his office during one of the many times she had gone to bother him for a bit. It looked like too much, even for an Emperor.

"Well, with the new democracy on, Luna, and the new Lunar immigrants travelling down to earth, of course, he's got a lot to do!" Thorne did have a point there.

"At the very least, I snagged us a spot on his agenda for a nice outdoors picnic!" Cinder snapped her fingers, remembering her small victory.

"Oh ya! I've gotta tell Cress! She'll be so happy to finally spend some time with the person she helped us kidnap!" Thorne's last comment made Cinder laugh so hard, she toppled off of her perch on the window seat, bounding after Thorne who was desperately dashing down to the ship docks, all the while muttering under his breath. 'She has to forgive me, she has to forgive me' to himself. To Cinder, that sounded, dramatically speaking, like he wanted redemption. Carswell Thorne was an ex-convict. Criminal to the crimes of theft, an ex-cadet, and so many more, and he has never once wanted redemption. Call Cinder exaggerating, but that's what it looked like to her. Maybe Cress was a special case.

"Hey, Cress!" Thorne burst into the already loud docks and ran to the farthest end of the room to berth seventy-two. "Hey, Cress, I have some news for you!" he cried grinning like a mad idiot. Rolling out from under the belly of the ship, Cress only responded with a half concentrated glare, and proceed to reach for another tool. But before she could take hold of it, Thorne snatched it up and hopped playfully back a couple steps.

"Thorne! Give that back! If you didn't know, I'm trying to fix your ship!" She raved at him, and Thorne stood there with the arm holding the tool raised so she couldn't reach.

"I have some news for you, you don't want to hear?"

"I don't care about the poor girl you have probably flirted up again, give me back the pliers!"

"How could you just assume something like that?"

"What else am I supposed to think?"

The pair continued on like this for the better part of half an hour, when Cinder couldn't stand it any longer, and she pulled the two apart from each other.

"Thorne, calm down. She is fixing your ship. Cress, I give you permission to knock some sense into him this very instant," and without missing a beat, Cress jumped up high to grab her pliers from Thorne's grasp, and whacked him on the head with them on the way down.

"If you mess with my tools anymore, your ship might not make it off this planet," she hissed, strutting back to the ship.

"But don't you want to hear the news I have?" Thorne wailed after her. Workers around them cast them annoyed looks, some even amused, but most of them turned a blind eye to their ruckus. Maybe because Cinder was standing there with them. Watching, as if daring anyone to mess with her friends.

"Cress–" Cinder waved at her as she too walked over. "–we have to go. You coming?" Cress's face lit up with curiosity.

"Where are we going?" Cress followed Cinder but was skeptical about where they were going to go.

"I, as the most important being, in the Emperor's life, have secured us a place in his schedule for lunch." Cinder mock proudly strutted through the halls on their way to Kai's office.

"But will I be alright in–" Cress gestured to her attire. "–this?" She sounded skeptical. Cinder scanned over Cresses' outfit lightly.

It seems fine to me. The prestigious Emperor is about to marry practically a bucket of nuts and bolts. You're fine," Cinder joked. Cresses mood lightened, but a sense of insecurity overcame her.

"I think you look pretty nice," Thorne winked at Cress, who grimaced away.

"I have told you a thousand times, Thorne, if you're going to flirt like that, at least be original. You say that to every girl you see," rolling her eyes, Cress stomped ahead of Cinder and Thorne.

"I take it she doesn't really want to talk right now." Cinder rose a single brow at the slowly shrinking figure of her friend.

"Yeah, but that's the thing," Thorne looked sad at the moment, "I don't even mean it half the time when I say it to other girls, but when I say that to her, I actually mean it. But she just thinks I'm playing another game with her." Thorne sighed.

"Ever heard of the boy who cried, Wolf?" Cinder asked Thorne, only to be interrupted by yelling in front of them.

"Wolf! Where are you! Get over here!" Scarlet's face was as red as her hair, flushed and crimson against the black and white crowd of servants.

"Or, the girl who cried, Wolf?" Cinder corrected herself, making Thorne double over in laughter.

"Hey, Scarlet, what happened?' Cinder called her redheaded friend over from one side on of the four-way hall.

"Cinder! Have you seen, Wolf? He was just with me a second ago…" Scarlets' eyes continued to wander the halls, scouting out her husband. It shouldn't have been that hard to find such a large, bulky man even in the crowded Palace halls, but Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, Scarlet, you told him about the lunch, right? I'm sure he'll just meet us at Kai's office," Cinder assured her friend. Scarlet sighed.

"That's true enough. Let's go." Down the hall, they went, and up the stairs and around the corner. On, and on, and on, the halls went, twisting and turning at every corner.

"Hey, Cinder, now do you even remember the way around here?" Scarlet moaned in exhaustion. Cinder laughed at her and touched a finger to her temple.

"Remember? I'm not exactly human," Cinder didn't mind talking like this about herself anymore. She was around her friends, and they embraced her as any family would.

"That's not true, you're as human as any of us,"Cress's innocence was adorable.

"You called?" Wolf out of nowhere stepped out of a random hallway they had just passed, Scarlet reflectively smashing her fist to his face.

"Wolf! Don't go wandering off again like that! And you're just as human as the rest of us, too." Scarlet let out a huff and sped up her pace.

"Yes, I am very human…" Wolf scratched his biceps, reminiscing about the time he spent in Queen Levavas' army.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

"Kai! Let's go!" Cinder was whining directly into Kai's ear, making him flinch in his seat. They had only just gotten to the office minutes ago, and Kai had been asleep at his desk. Not a moment's hesitation, Cinder dropped beside Kai's desk and woke him up with a shriek in his ear.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, just chill," Cinder pulled Kai out of his desk and made way for the door. "Hey, Winter isn't here yet," he observed, counting the heads of everyone in the room.

"Oh, she said she'd be a little late today. She flew over from Luna this morning so she should be here soon," Cinder said.

"Let's go already, I'm starving," Scarlet scoffed.

There was already a blanket set up under a large oak tree. Plates and food spread across the red and white plaid blanket. There sitting in the midst of it all, was a dark-skinned girl with black bouncy locks whipping around her in the light wind.

"Winter!" Cress looked delighted to see her.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Cinder asked casually. Winter looked up at her from the ground.

"I just got here a little bit ago. Jacin will be here soon, too," the last part made Thorne stiffen a bit.

"Why does that dude have to come?" He complained. Kai glared at him.

"Thorne, it's not nice to say things like that about people," he lectures.

"Say things about who?" A jolt went down Thorne's spine as Jacin stepped behind him.

"When did you get here?" He jumped terrified behind Cress, shaking her head. Jacin childishly stuck his tongue out at him.

"I'm not telling."

Cinder was shaking her head in dismay. "Calm down, guys, let's eat?" Cinder was already biting into a cupcake she found in the twine weaved basket on the blanket.

"Yeah, Jacin, this isn't what I brought you here for." Winter's face held serenity, but when she opened her eyes, Jacin sat down immediately and did what he was told. Something told Cinder that if he didn't, he would be very hurt later that day. But none of that mattered right now. because they were all spending time together as the Rampion crew again.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

"So, Kai, how is work?" Cinder asked casually. It wasn't exactly a question you could ask your fiance every day since he was literally the ruler of your country. And soon enough, Cinder was going to join him.

"Hmm–" Kai took a nite of his sandwich. "–It's a lot of work, but I'm alright," he took another bite of his sandwich. "And you'll help me out soon, right?" He just had to add that last part, Cinder hissed.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Cinder flicked Kai in the forehead, and everyone around the tree giggled.

"Hey, we're still here you know," Iko, who had joined them earlier, waved a hand in front of each of their faces. Kai's cheeks lit up a bright crimson and, Cinder only laughed.

"I have to go now, see you all later," Kai waved Iko away dismissively.

"Bye, I'll come visit you later," Cinder munched on Kai's forgotten sandwich. An inaudible kay from Kai before he walked back to the Palace.