Scarlet tugged at the bird mask covering her face, accidentally poking her hand on its beak.
"I can't believe we're doing this. In costume."
Wolf shrugged, the fake fur draped around his shoulders making him look even more wolflike and less like the squirrel the costume was going for. It had been a long shot to begin with.
"The beak makes it hard to breath."
"And hard to recognise."
"True. I guess we don't have a choice." Her hand flew absentmindedly to her waist, where a smooth, thin gun rested against her hips. She couldn't wait to take the cursed mask off and get some action.
Wolf offered her his hand, the small ears poking up from the top of his head making her smile. Now that wasn't very wolf-like.
"Ready?" he whispered.
"You kidding?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
Cinder woke up. At first she couldn't tell she was awake, for all light had now left, leaving only a pitch black behind. It was the cold that told her otherwise. She shivered, wishing they had at least been given a blanket.
"Kai," Cinder whispered. She didn't have a good reason to wake him up, but she didn't like the thought of sitting in this darkness alone. Selfishly, she was glad Kai was here; at least she could die knowing that wherever they were going, they would be going together.
He groaned, raising his head. "Mmhm?"
"I don't know."
He smiled. "You woke me up for no reason?"
"Um, no. No, I woke you up so that we could get planning done." The orange light blinked, but she knew it didn't always have to be a lie. They did need to figure something out, because Levana would most likely execute them sooner than later.
His smile faded. "Right. You have any... ideas?"
Levana wanted her dead. Badly. There were royal guards everywhere, watching, keeping tabs on their prisoners. Probably had technology that not only far surpassed all of the nothing that they had, but perhaps even that at REV itself. One could never tell with Lunars.
But they had been trained their whole life for this; the first thing to do was to contact any potential allies. And there was nothing like a portscreen in your eye that allowed you to contact people faster, and more stealthily.
"One second." Cinder shut her eyes, though the darkness behind them wasn't much different. Starting a comm for Scarlet, she quickly thought out a message.
Kai and I have been caught. Currently in Levana's jail. Not sure where. Please send help.
She paused, then added, Quickly, and sent it.
"What...?"
"I just sent a comm to Scarlet."
Kai tilted his head, confused, until his eyes brightened in understanding. "Right. I forgot about..."
Cinder nodded.
"Well, tell me if—"
A ping sounded in her head. She accepted the comm instantly, eyes closing. Text scrolled across her vision.
Two words.
We're coming.
Never in all her years had Scarlet been to such a party. After the ball only the night before, she thought that the citizens of Luna would have be out of sleep and money by now, but they seemed in good spirits, talking and gossiping and flirting as if everything were normal.
As if Cinder weren't in prison, as if she weren't about to die.
Some of the costumes made her sick. The one that bothered her most was a man wearing animals skins, mud crudely rubbed on his face. A sign around his neck read "Prince Kai." The people around him talked and laughed, as if the shaming of the crowned prince of a place not even their own was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
It was wrong. All of it. This place. These costumes. These people.
Scarlet's stomach twisted. Why had Cinder been sent here in the first place? She hated it. Hated it so much that when Wolf asked if she wanted to get a drink all she could do was clench her fists harder and nod, trying not to give away her internal struggle.
Luckily, as hard as the mask made it to breath and see much to either side, it also made her unrecognizable, and she could make whatever expression she wished without anyone noticing. It also meant that when Wolf came back with two glasses of wine, all she could do was point to her face in the obvious, I'm wearing a mask, idiot, how did you think I'm supposed to drink anything?
He simply nodded and downed both glasses in seconds. If she didn't know him any better, she would've warned him not to to get drunk on the mission. But she did know better. And Wolf didn't get drunk.
Except on me. Scarlet smiled, trying not to laugh to herself. It was good no one could read her thoughts.
Then she felt Wolf's shadow, and his breath by her ear.
"Let's get some fresh air." Code for: Let's get the hell out of here and go bust some criminals.
Finally. Some action.
Wolf took her hand, smiling at her in longing. At least, that's what it seemed like to everyone else. To her it only spoke of escape, to the real start of their mission.
They walked out of the room, straight past the balcony and down the hallway to their left, slipping into a poorly lit stairwell. She wanted to pull the mask from her head, but as it was, it was also the only thing hiding her startling red hair. She'd have to wait.
Plus, the black fabric of her raven costume melted perfectly into the twisting darkness of the stairs, as if she weren't even there.
Perfect.
She had a cyborg and a prince to save, after all.
Iko went for the clothing. When she heard Scarlet and Wolf were going to the Lunar's costume party (for no given reason), she knew she must come along. But when she asked to attend, they said it was "much too dangerous for an android. You know how they feel about them."
So she got her own costume, own disguise. She'd owned the dress for months, since she spied it in a small boutique with similarly strange fashions. Earthy colors and ruffles and a corset (a lucky fit, considering her metal was not flexible to any shaping from clothing) gave off a dark, daring look.
Iko looked stunning, and she knew it.
Tapping her heeled boots on the floor, she smiled at the mirror. Oh, she was gorgeous. Just wait until Cinder heard about this.
It didn't take long for the clicking of heels to bother Scarlet. She knew there were other people in the palace, and most definitely a lot of people in heels, but it seemed too close. She didn't knowexactly where they were (this was a rushed operation, after all), but she was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be there. And other people weren't either. At least not other party goers.
It grew louder. Scarlet stopped, tapping Wolf on the shoulder and putting a finger to her lips when he looked back at her. He'd probably heard it before she had, but hadn't mentioned anything.
Her heart beat quickened. What if this was the queen? What if she knew about their mission, if someone betrayed them, told her about their plans...?
Then someone burst into her line of sight, straight above her, only ten or so feet away.
She noticed first that the person wasn't breathing, and did not look tired or sweaty at all for someone who ran down the stairs in heeled boots. The next thing she noticed was the blue, braided hair pulled to the top of their head, and the shiny grin that greeted her.
What the spades was Iko doing down here?
"Where are you—" Iko started, but Scarlet cut her off with a look. "Oh. You're on a mission, aren't you? And I just—oh no. Did I just blow your cover?" Even at a whisper, Iko's voice carried more than Scarlet would've preferred.
"No yet," Scarlet said, glaring pointedly. "But you will if you don't stop talking. And keep walking in those heels. And continue following us. What are you doing here?"
"I just... I just wanted to go to the party."
Scarlet felt a twinge of pity. Iko spent most of her life in a small, metal frame, dreaming of being human, of fitting in. Now was her only real chance to walk around in public, showing off the body she'd spent so long looking for.
Any other party. Any other party but this one.
"I'm sorry, Iko. Really. But... this isn't the right time. I don't think we can let you go back up there, since they might see you coming from this hallway, and, well, stealth isn't exactly your strong suit." Iko didn't object. "So I guess just take off your heels, carry them—so anyone who passes by doesn't find any clues—and follow us. But be quiet. And if we run into anyone, hide."
Iko nodded, slipping her shoes off. As long as she didn't have to leave such fine boots behind, she was okay. She would have preferred a night at the party, and she certainly didn't like where this was going, but if this was how the night was going to go, this was how she was going to act.
Wolf nodded, a smile his only greeting, before facing forwards again and continuing down the stairs.
Cinder sent another comm, not too long after the first, but either Scarlet hadn't heard the ping or she was no longer in a position to check her port screen. It wasn't logical to wish for a reply back, not when they were on a mission, but she felt lonely again, knowing that her friends were out there, and yet not close enough to see her.
Not close enough to rescue her.
Kai had his eyes closed, and while she doubted he was sleeping—they had to stay awake, in case Scarlet and their team burst in at any second—she didn't feel the need to disturb him.
Then Kai's stomach grumbled, and it reminded her just how hungry she really was. She hadn't eaten anything since before the ball, and the clock in the corner of her eyes informed her they'd been been down here almost a day. No one brought food the entire time.
She wondered if the Lunar queen simply planned on starving them to death.
But the hunger pains were the least of her troubles, after her bruised ribs and possibly chipped tooth and the gash on Kai's forehead, which had luckily stopped bleeding. Not after the knowledge that she was princess Selene, that a throne waited for her somewhere, if she even escaped, and it would taunt her until she claimed it.
Oh, what a mess this world was in. What a mess she was in.
Then the sirens went off, and she promptly forgot all about princesses and hunger pains and bruises.
Scarlet and Wolf were in. And it seemed like they were about to get into trouble.
It was only now that Scarlet pulled out her gun. Before, the sound of a gunfire would have completely messed up any stealth they'd been trying to maintain, but now that the alarm had gone off, there wasn't much to lose.
Holding the gun in her hand was a relief, especially since, while Wolf specialized in hand to hand combat, Scarlet's marksmanship was not only impressive, but downright legendary. At least, that's what she told herself.
She thought of her grandmother when she shot. She didn't aim to kill—the leg or arm would disable most soldiers just as well as a shot to the heart, if not because of the pain—but it didn't hinder her firing. In less than a minute, she and Wolf cleared ten royal guards and were on their way again, fighting to keep their breathing even. Iko popped back up from behind the boxes she hid behind during the fighting, and along they went, sprinting. They were outrunning time now; the more seconds passed, the more Lunars there would be to fight. And while she felt confidence in her gun, she didn't feel the need to test it against anything more than eleven guards at a time. Heck, even more than five, at such close range. It was a good thing Wolf was there. Only together were they strong enough.
Scarlet knew they were close now. Empty cells passed her this way and that—at least, she assumed they were empty. She didn't bother to check. She assumed Cinder would be near the end, and that if they did pass by hopefully one of them would alert Scarlet to their presence.
She turned around the next bend, and stopped. Finally, the end. Three cells. One empty. Two not.
And there, right before her, the queen herself, smiling as she held a gun up and pointed it straight at Scarlet's forehead.