Cinder
Cinder chewed the inside of her mouth, desperately wanting to tinker with something at the moment. As Iko did everything for her, she felt immensely useless. And that was not a great feeling, considering the fact that she was one who did everything back at home, if that's anything close to what it is.
She was sitting in front of the mirror as Iko was doing her hair.
"Today is your date with the prince!" Iko excitedly chirped. Oh, right. Iko was also one of Prince Kaito's fangirls. Cinder rolled her eyes to the sky, letting out a breath but not interrupting her personal maid. "When you come back, you're going to have to tell me all about it, okay?"
Iko elaborately twisted Cinder's hair into a braided bun, tight atop her head. Her eyes filled with tears from the pain as the maid tugged at her hair. Tying it off and adding a crystal hairpiece, Iko stepped back. "Perfect!" she squealed, satisfied with her work.
Cinder slowly stood up, not used to having all of her hair off of her neck. Her baby blue dress flowed out around her, hands rubbing together. At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.
"That'll be the prince!" Iko squealed, rushing over quickly and yanking the door open with no abandon. Cinder straightened her back and cleared her throat, not wanting to look like a weak girl. Prince Kaito stood on the other side of the door, hair swept to the side with gel.
He shot a shy yet dazzling smile to Cinder. Iko almost had a heart attack, but Cinder was not impressed, although she did feel a strange feeling rise momentarily in her chest. "Hello, Miss Linh," Kaito started timidly.
He held out his arm for her to take. Cinder stared at it hesitantly before looping her arm through his. This seemed to give the prince some level of confidence. With another lopsided grin from the prince, they started off down the hallway. The walk was silent most of the time before Cinder decided to break the ice.
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously. The prince looked surprised that she even asked.
"To the palace gardens," he explained, smiling fondly. "They are truly beautiful." Cinder's spirits rose a little at the mention of going outside in the sun.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked with a hesitant smile. Kaito chuckled at her enthusiasm (or lack of, really) and walked faster to lead her along. After turning a corner, they finally reached the giant doors leading to the gardens. With a nod, the guards stepped aside, opening the doors for the couple.
"Wow," Cinder breathed once they stepped outside.
"Indeed," the prince mused. The sun was warm, lighting up the garden with a warm glow. The garden was filled with exotic flowers and tangling trees, vines neatly trimmed and climbing up the walls. A neatly paved path led the way through the maze of plants. Butterflies flitted through the garden. Critters skittered through the plants and birds created a beautiful symphony.
The entire place seemed to be glowing. It was magical.
While Cinder was staring in awe at the sheer beauty of it, Kai wasn't looking at all. Instead, he had his eyes focused on Cinder's face. The way her lips parted a little in awe, and her eyes that had widened so incredibly gave her the look of an amazed child. Kai chuckled at the thought.
Cinder glanced over at Prince Kaito at the sound, and saw him staring at her. Quickly, she averted her gaze, staring instead at the flowers again.
"Let's go," she murmured, stepping into the separate world. Immediately spotting some flower that she loved, Cinder ran forward, cooing at the soft petals. She was playing with her hands nervously, fiddling with her fingers. This was a bad habit that she had acquired over the years.
Seeing this habit, Kaito glanced down.
"Hmm," he hummed quietly. "Have you always done that?" He gestured to her fidgeting hands. Cinder chuckled awkwardly.
"Yeah…" she answered, hiding her hands behind her back, forcing them to stop. Kaito cocked his head to the side, and the conversation temporarily paused, creating an awkward silence.
They followed the quaint, little rock path, leading to an beautiful, open area. In the middle was a marble fountain, water spewing from the top and spilling over the edges, cascading downwards and spraying mist upwards.
In front of it was a small bench, black wire twisted together in an elaborate design. The prince tilted his head towards the bench. "Shall we?" he asked. Cinder's lips pursed at the thought of being squished on a tiny bench with the prince, but it would be too rude to refuse.
"Of course," she answered instead in a slightly strained voice. They moved forward and sat down, Cinder leaning towards the outside, leaving a considerable space between their two bodies.
Kaito, being oddly perceptive, noticed this. Curiously, he asked, "Was it your choice to enter the Selection?" At this question, her body turned rigid.
"Um…" she stuttered. "Kind… of?" The prince cocked an eyebrow. "I sort of joined… just to spite my guardian? Step-mother? I don't know what to call her." Cinder looked down. "I didn't think I would get in though."
Prince Kaito looked half amused and half hurt.
"To spite her? Not because you wanted to meet me?"
Cinder laughed. "No offense, but I wasn't one of those girls who squeal every time you're on TV. That was for Pearl and Peony." She sighed. Might as well tell the prince her story once and for all. "My parents died in a car crash when I was eleven. I've been living with the Linhs ever since. Mr. Linh died the very year I went to them, and Adri just blames me for everything that happened."
"Adri is my step-mother, or guardian, or whatever you want to call her," she added. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I must be boring you with the life story of a common Six."
"Miss Linh, stories that come from your lips will never bore me," said the prince, winking. Cinder felt a large amount of heat rush to her face immediately. "Please, call me Kai. I don't wish to be strangers with a pretty girl."
Cinder blushed again, but raised an eyebrow at the prince. "Are you flirting with me, you- Kai?"
Kai was expecting Cinder to still call him "Your Highness" even after he told her to call him Kai, and was surprised that she would say his name so casually, but he grinned at her nevertheless.
"Maybe, maybe not. But please, tell me more. I want to learn more about life outside the castle walls."
"I'm a mechanic by day and a maid by night."
"A maid? That's quite a different job. Aren't maids Sevens? And mechanics Sixes?"
"Indeed. I'm officially a mechanic and unofficially a maid." Kai looked confused.
"Unofficial? Who is your master?" Cinder looked away.
"Mistress, actually. And you wouldn't want to know. Especially after you find out what she did to me."
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. Do you mind telling me who it is?" Cinder was hesitant, but her mind wandered back to the slim chance of marrying Kai, and being away from Adri and Pearl forever. If she was going to marry the prince, she'd eventually have to tell him everything, right?
"Um...her name is…" Cinder still couldn't bring herself to say it. The thought of Adri made her cringe. Panic was quickly rising in her throat, and she felt like her air supply was being cut off. Soon, she was hyperventilating.
"Her name is…" repeated Kai.
She could tell he was desperate to know, but shook her head. "I don't think that's information that I can trust you with yet, Kai. Maybe in the future though?" Cinder laughed nervously.
Kai gave her a small smile. "I wouldn't push you to say something you don't want to tell me, Miss Linh, though I certainly hope that one day I might gain enough of your trust that you should confide this story in me."
Cinder smiled. "Thank you, Kai. But please, call me Cinder if you consider us friends.
Kai smiled in return and gave her a two-finger salute. "Alright then, Cinder. I apologize if I've brought up something unpleasant. How can I make it up to you?"
Cinder pondered this for a moment. "I can think of two ways."
"Well, go ahead and shoot. I'll do both."
Cinder smirked. "Suddenly very princely, are we? But my first idea was that you give me a friendly hug and pat on the back."
It was Kai's turn to smirk. "Oh, a friendly hug? Not anything else? I would love it to mean more," he said while wiggling his eyebrows.
Cinder slapped him. "Yes, a friendly hug. Hurry up or you will lose your chance to make up for your wrongdoings."
"Yes, a friendly hug she says. Hmm. But I shall give her one." Kai slid over and wrapped his arms around her. Cinder, much to her dismay, found that she quite enjoyed the feeling of being pressed up against Kai's chest. He patted her a couple times on the back and sat straight again.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. Then his flirtatious grin came back. "Want to do that again anytime soon?" Cinder blushed. Kai laughed. "Oh, I can tell you do, Miss Cinder. There's no need to pretend you don't want to end up in the arms of the crown prince of the Commonwealth. But really, Cinder," he continued with a sparkle in his eyes, "can you allow me to give you a peck on your cheek? I can't resist your lovely face much longer, prince I may be."
Cinder blushed harder, but stood her ground. "Really, Kai, I would like for all of the Selected to have a fair chance at winning you over. Promise me you won't do this until you've dated at least two other girls and are sure that you want to do this. Besides, you haven't done my second request yet. We must settle our little dispute first before anything else."
Kai sighed dramatically. "I can't make any promises, my lady. But I am willing to hear you out first."
"Well, my prince," said Cinder half mockingly, "you know that I have two stepsisters, Pearl and Peony. You can meet Pearl and decide what you like about her, but Peony is by all means a sweet girl. She is very much in love with you, just like every other girl on the planet, and I would like you to send her some flowers and write something to her too. We can send it to her with my next letter."
"Sure thing, my lady." Then he smirked. "So, every other girl? Does that include you?"
Cinder huffed, but played along with his game. "That's for me to know, and for you to find out," she retorted, grabbing Kai's hand and standing up from their bench. As much as she would hate to admit it, Cinder was starting to like Kai and felt tingles run up her arm from his hand. "Let's go find some peonies. Her namesake, yes?"
Kai grinned at her. "Sure. I know where the best ones are."
They started back down the path, and soon, Cinder could see beds of lovely flowers in the distance. They were pink and puffy with layers of flowers. "They're beautiful," she breathed, bending down to touch the delicate petals.
"My mother planted them with me when I was young," said Kai, staring off at the distant mountains with a tinge of sadness in his gaze.
"I'm sorry," Cinder whispered. "I know how it feels to lose a loved one."
What she did next surprised both Kai and herself. She hugged him. What was even more surprising was that she felt Kai hug her back and slump his head onto her shoulder. "I miss her a lot," Kai mumbled into her shoulder. "But everyone wants me to be brave, like a prince should be, but how can I when there's no one who can comfort me? When Mother died, Father locked himself in the office so often that I didn't see him much. I know that he was mourning, but couldn't he have done it with me?" Kai was shaking now, so Cinder rubbed his back comfortingly.
Cinder sighed. "How about this? Any time you need someone to talk to me. Maybe... press two fingers to your brow? I'll do it back to confirm it."
Kai stood straight again and smiled at her. "You don't know how much this means to me, Cinder." He tilted his head to the side. "And if you ever need company, you could do the same."
"Good." Cinder bent down again. "Now let's actually start gathering peonies."
At one point Kai had to call for a maid to bring a basket because they started picking other flowers to send to Peony.
At noon, the two headed back towards the palace, hand in hand and with a basketful of flowers, one of them blissful and content for the first time in forever, and the other almost sure of his choice of princess.
They were so happy while outside the palace that they didn't notice the disapproving glances from inside the palace.
Kaider, at long last! What do you think?
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