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"Grand-mere?" Scarlet asked in confusion, looking back and forth between Cinder and her grandmother. Michelle Benoit stood frozen on the spot, staring at Cinder in horror. Glancing furtively at her friend, Scarlet saw her expression of befuddlement mirrored back at her. Grand-mere and Cinder had never met, had they?
Watching her grandmother closely, Scarlet saw her blink a few times, seeming to be fighting some sort of internal battle. Then, deciding on what to do, she shook her head to clear it and backed away down the hall with a forced smile. "Looks like you'll be staying the night," she called to Cinder. "I'll just...go tidy up the guest room, and then - "
"Grand-mere!" snapped Scarlet. "We can tell something's wrong!" Cinder looked more uncomfortable than ever standing on the threshold, an intruder into their cozy household. Scarlet stared seethingly into her grandmother's eyes. Growing up with someone like Luc for a father, she had had to learn early on the art of detecting lies. I'll be back in an hour, Scarlet, meant that he wouldn't be back until morning. I'm going to go run some errands, and then I'll be back, was code for I have a secret, and I don't want you to find out, so I'm going to leave so that you can't interrogate me. She had never thought she would have to read between the lines with Grand-mere, her savior, her protector, her caretaker. Grand-mere told her everything.
Her grandmother looked pitiful standing there, almost silhouetted by the bright lights of the kitchen. Scarlet noticed with a jolt how much thinner she was getting. She wasn't the same woman who had once fought for her country in the air force or piloted a dangerous mission to another country. She was getting older, though still strong in mind and spirit.
"I'm sorry, Scarlet dear," she whispered. "But I can't tell you."
At once, Scarlet felt the fire spark in her chest, the same barely contained burning anger that had gotten her into trouble so many times in the past. "That's not fair," she said, cringing at the coldness of her voice and the way she was so openly defying her grandmother in front of Cinder. This had never happened before. Over the past few weeks, Scarlet had felt something shift between them. Normally, Grand-mere was the one who always fought for her and protected her. But now Scarlet, almost an adult, had taken on a new role of authority. They were equals now. Someday, Grand-mere would be too old and sick to work and it would be Scarlet's job to run the farm. She needed to get into the habits of thinking for herself and making her own choices, not blatantly doing whatever her grandmother said.
"I used to know you, didn't I," came a new voice, and Scarlet looked over to see Cinder staring at her grandmother in a new light. Her brow was furrowed as if she was trying to dredge up memories long forgotten. "When - when I was in the orphanage." Scarlet tilted her head in interest. Cinder seldom talked about her past. All she knew was that the younger girl had been in a terrible car accident, causing her to lose several limbs as well as her parents, and soon been adopted by the Linh family.
Something in Grand-mere's eyes softened. She was looking at Cinder oddly, almost tenderly. "You remember."
"I - I think I do," whispered Cinder. She took another step into the house, now fully inside. "You seem familiar."
Scarlet was thinking fast, attempting to connect the dots in her head from the limited information she had. "You told me you worked at an orphanage after serving!" she cried. "But...if you worked in the orphanage where Cinder was, why would you need to hide that from us? Why did you say you can't tell us?"
Her grandmother sighed. "I wasn't thinking about the part about taking care of Cinder when she was younger - for a very short time, bear in mind. There are...other parts to the story that I can't tell you."
"My parents?" breathed Cinder, fidgeting with a backpack strap. Scarlet realized at that moment that all of her friends were missing at least one of their parents - though not all of them had been taken in some tragic way. She felt much worse for Winter, who's parents had committed suicide, than for her, what with her incompetent swine of a father and promiscuous, flighty mother. To them, Scarlet was nothing more than an "accident." She didn't miss them in the least, but one could assume that Cinder would want to know who they were.
"I..." Grand-mere hesitated, and she looked older than ever at that moment, with the kind of bone-deep weariness only farmers get, a result of working from dawn to dusk every day. But her grandmother hadn't always been a farmer, Scarlet reminded herself. She had a whole past behind her, and Scarlet was determined to learn everything that had been hidden from. "I'll tell you as much as I can."
Minutes later, they were sitting at the simple wooden dining room table while Grand-mere bustled around the kitchen behind them, trying to make tea and bread but nearly smashing the teacups and slicing her finger off with the breadknife. Cinder wasn't looking at Scarlet. She seemed nervous too as if trying to brace herself for shocking information. Scarlet just felt restless. She often got that feeling when inside for too long. Growing up on a farm, being muddy and barefoot with the wind in her hair was second nature. She needed to be outside and running to the horizon, where there was endless space and freedom and no one to tease you for being yourself. Out in nature, no one was hateful or judgemental or jealous. It was a place she imagined her friends would want to be. A place Wolf would want to be.
Both girls snapped back to attention when Grand-mere plunked the platter down on the table, nervously serving tea and freshly made bread and goat cheese from their animals. Here at Benoit Farm, they didn't have as many high-tech appliances as other people, but they lived a comfortable life.
Cinder didn't take her cup of tea. She started in with the questions right away, peeling off her gloves. To Scarlet's surprise, Grand-mere didn't seem surprised in the slightest upon seeing her prosthetic hand. "Do you know who my parents are? Who took care of me after my surgeries? Who even decided to give me surgery? Why didn't they just let me die?"
Grand-mere closed her eyes. "I know very little that will interest you," she murmured. "And I don't - I can't give you all the answers."
"Why not?" Scarlet asked, at the same time Cinder said, "I don't care! I just need some answers!" She seemed to have worked herself into agitation during those long moments sitting at the table pondering what Grand-mere knew. She leaned forward across the table, eyes narrowed and metal fingers splayed on the table. Scarlet could understand why people who didn't know Cinder would find her disgusting, maybe even scary. "You have no idea what I've been through these past ten or so years, living with Adri. I've been tormented for my prosthetics for years, physically and verbally. I've been abused and used inside Adri's household. I have a right to know about where I came from and - and who I am."
"I know," whispered Scarlet's grandmother. "I can guess what you've been through. And yes...I did know your parents. Well, your mother, to be more specific."
Cinder sucked in a breath excitedly. Scarlet watched the two in curiosity and apprehension. She didn't want Cinder to learn anything that would hurt her.
"But I can't tell you about her."
Cinder let out her breath, her angry and frustrated demeanor returning. "This is ridiculous," she fumed. "I suppose you have a very important reason why you can't tell me anything?"
"I do," Grand-mere put in. "My dear, you are in danger here in Commonwealth City. I am too. And many others...Scarlet, the Linh family, Sage, Logan..." She let out a wince at the last name. "Of all the places we could end up living...of course it had to be in the same place as her..."
Scarlet and Cinder exchanged a glance. Neither of them understood a word of what Grand-mere had said. "Ms. Benoit," Cinder started tentatively. "By her, do you mean my mother?"
"Of course," Grand-mere said, regaining her usual brisk and snappish manner. "And I am choosing not to tell you her identity for your safety!"
Cinder huffed. Scarlet rolled her eyes at the way the conversation kept going in circles. "All right, if you can't tell me that, can you tell me about the car accident? Because I know you have information."
"That was no car accident."
Cinder stared. "What do you mean?"
"It was a fire."
"No, it wasn't. The workers at the orphanage told me it was a car accident."
Grand-mere looked like it pained her to explain further. "They told you that because Logan and Sage told them that."
"Who the hell are Logan and Sage?" snapped Scarlet. The name Sage seemed to ring a bell...where had she heard it before?
"Men," responded Grand-mere. "They helped me with Cinder."
"Helped you with me?" Cinder asked incredulously. "What does that even mean?"
Grand-mere took a deep breath. "Cinder, they were the men who performed your surgeries."
Everyone froze. The only sounds in the room were the crickets chirping through the open window and the crackle of the fire in the sitting room. Scarlet inadvertently glanced at her friend's prosthetic. Grisly images of men cutting off the remains of limbs and fusing metal with skin flooded her mind, and she shuddered.
Cinder, who had seemed shocked for a moment, was having different thoughts. "What do you have to do with it, then?" she asked Grand-mere. "Scarlet told me you worked in the air force, not as a surgeon." Another thought seemed to occur to her. "You knew my mother, right? Are you my godmother?"
"Goodness, no," Grand-mere said, emitting a chuckle that sounded forced. "I simply took care of you in the orphanage. That was before Scarlet came here, and I was already too old to have kids. It was nice to be around children."
"But there's more." Cinder stated it like a fact, not a question. Scarlet was sure she was right. Her grandmother had damn near fainted at the sight of Cinder, it didn't make sense for her to simply be a girl from the orphanage where she had used to work.
"Do you ever wonder why you went to the orphanage, Cinder?"
What an odd question. Cinder responded in confusion, "Because my parents were dead?"
"What if your parents weren't dead?"
"But they are."
"Yes, yes." Grand-mere looked older than ever. "I think it's time for bed, girls." She stood up, clearing the tray of untouched bread and cheese.
Both Scarlet and Cinder immediately exploded with indignation. "You can't just stop there!" Scarlet yelled while Cinder desperately asked more questions. "Please, Ms. Benoit! I need to know!"
Grand-mere's face had hardened. "I have told you all I can. Please just trust me." And she turned and trooped up the stairs, leaving the girls standing there in confusion with more questions than ever.
"That was a complete waste of time," Cinder fumed. "All we learned was the names of the people who did the surgeries on me. She is one heck of a stubborn woman." The fire sputtered and shrank, the last few dying flames catching the light of Cinder's prosthetic hand. Scarlet peered out the window to the spot in the sky where the full moon gleamed like a giant eye, almost taunting them. I am wise and all-seeing. You insignificant midgets know nothing.
She let out a frustrated huff of agreement. "I know. But we can figure it out ourselves. We can try to track down these Logan and Sage people...interrogate them...I know I've heard of someone named Sage before..." At Cinder's raised eyebrow, she blushed, realizing she sounded like a secret agent in a movie. "All right, fine, we'll just forget about it and you'll never understand the mystery of your past," she retorted sarcastically.
Cinder snorted. "I wouldn't call it a mystery, but it's definitely something." She paused. "You will help me, right?" A new seriousness settled into her face, along with something like determination. "I want to know the truth."
"Of course."
In the light of the moon, standing inside the cozy little house, Scarlet suddenly reflected on how far they had come. Just a month or so ago, they hadn't even known each other. She smiled. "We make a good team."
Hahaha...I'm still withholding the truth about Cinder's past. Obviously, it's based on the book, but with a little bit of a twist. Stay tuned for some Wolflet in the next few chapters!