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Cinder's POV:
An Impossible Rebellion
It's ten past nine in the morning. Classes will be underway in school right now. I should be sitting in Physics taking notes for the test next week right now, and no doubt tonight I'll be madly copying down the stuff the teacher sent me. But right now, I couldn't care less.
I'm in a living room. It's a nice room, not fancy but comforting in the way only worn, simple places can be. Normally the smell of the many books stuffed in the bookshelves or the natural light pouring into the room from the floor to ceiling window across from the sofas would be enough to relax me. But right now, nothing can slow my pacing on the faded rug spread across the floor.
Iko is sitting on one of the couches with her feet up on the coffee table and her arms splayed out on either side of her. She looks relaxed, apart from the concerned frown on her face. The short old man sitting next to her scowls at me, probably because he's annoyed that I'm tracking dirt all over the place (Iko and I took a short cut through the park to get here. It's not my fault this place is so far away from our homes!)
"Werewolves." I mutter aloud, "There were werewolves at that party last weekend!"
"Yes Selene, you have mentioned this 33 times and counting." The old man says with a roll of his bright blue eyes.
"Don't call me Selene."
"Well it is technically your name." Iko points out.
"I prefer Cinder."
The old man's lips thin with annoyance. "Very well then Cinder, you have mentioned the werewolf attack 33 times and counting."
I stop pacing long enough to shoot him a glare. "Yes, I heard you the first time Erland."
I always make it a point to call Dr Erland by his fake name. I hate being called Selene. Selene feels like someone else, someone refined and ladylike and confident, i.e. not me. Selene may be my name, but I'm not Selene. I am Cinder. Sadly, Dr Erland can't seem to get that through his old, thick skull.
"You shouldn't act so surprised." He says, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "We've seen this coming for years. It's a miracle the attacks didn't start sooner."
"Attacks, plural." Iko grumbles. "I take it that means there will be more?"
Dr Erland nods.
I resume my pacing. "I'm not sure I'd call it an attack. An invasion, definitely, but there were no casualties, or even injuries as far as I know."
For the first time since Iko and I barged into his house, Dr Erland looks properly interested.
"A scare tactic then." Iko says. "But why would a bunch of werewolves be sent to terrify a group of partying teenagers? It's not like anyone important was there. Well, other than Kai." Iko swoons a little as she mentions the mayor's son, pressing her hands to her cheeks and smiling dreamily. I roll my eyes at her antics. Seriously Iko, do you have to swoon over Kai every time he's brought up? Sure, he's handsome, and kind, and smart, and-ugh! Now I'm doing it!
Shaking off any thoughts about Kai, I force myself to look back on the party. Iko does have a point (about why the werewolves would be sent to terrify teenagers, not about Kai). There must have been some other reason that the werewolves showed up. They didn't attack anyone, but I did see them catch up to a few kids. They would just give them a sniff, and then let them go. I hadn't thought much of it at the time (excuse me for being more concerned about living to see morning!) but now that I think about it…
"They were looking for something." I murmur.
Iko's golden eyes widen with fear. "You don't think they were looking for…" Her voice trails off, but she doesn't need to finish her sentence. We all know who she was talking about.
Dr Erland shakes his head. "No, Cinder is still thought to be dead. They can't have been looking for her."
"Well, who else could they have been looking for?" Iko cried out with exasperation.
Dr Erland rubs his forehead. "It's possible… they could have been looking for Lunar refugees."
I curse myself for not considering that sooner. Of course.
Lunars are a group of people who live in a place called Luna. I'd say country, except I'm not entirely sure it is a country. It's not on Earth, at least, not on this one. Which is probably a good thing, since Luna has a lot of problems, but I'll get to that in a bit. On Luna, the nights can last weeks on end, same goes for the days. There are also no humans on Luna, but there are similar creatures. Werewolves are one of them, beings that can switch from looking like a perfectly normal person to gigantic wolves. There are also fairies, who can extend their souls out from their spines like wings. Elves, short, blue eyed creatures with brilliant minds. And finally, vampires. People with venomous fangs who possess the power to make anything and anyone bend to their will. Guess which species rules Luna? Give up? The vampires. And they don't like it when they are disobeyed. And Lunars running away from their dictatorship to live here on Earth? That is the ultimate insubordination.
"This could affect Cress." Dr Erland murmurs, though I can't tell if he's speaking to Iko and I or himself. "She's half-elf and living here with me will only make her scent stronger. I'll need to keep an eye on her to make sure she stays safe."
"You know…" I begin, "there is another way to make sure she stays safe…"
Dr Erland gives me a tired look. "Cinder, we've had this conversation before. Many times!"
"But the stakes are higher this time! Your daughter's life is at stake, as well as any other Lunar refugee out there! If we can just get the werewolves on our side-"
"That doesn't change the fact that the werewolves' current alpha is under the queen's control!"
"So let's overthrow the alpha!" Iko cries out.
"What, you want to ask some random werewolf to risk their life trying to gain a role they most likely won't want? Come on, there's a reason the alpha is still in power."
"Yeah," I mutter, "a reason in the shape of a murderous power-hungry vampire."
Dr Erland sighs and massages his forehead in frustration. "Look, I agree with you that we are in need of allies, but you are too fixated on the werewolves."
"They are the ones who've suffered the most under the queen!" I shout back, "They're also the most physically strong and are naturally gifted in fighting! They would be the perfect allies!"
"Which is why the queen made sure to secure an alliance with them as soon as possible."
Iko sits up in her armchair. "Well… we can always use humans."
Dr Erland opens his mouth to answer, but I beat him to it. "No, it is vital that the humans remain unaware of the existence of Luna." I mimic Dr Erland's voice as I speak, ignoring the sharp glare that gets sent my way. I've heard his "keep the humans ignorant" speech many, many times. I know it by heart, even the extended version when he goes on a long tirade about the witch hunts and something called "the beast of Gévaudan".
I take a step toward the old man and fold my arms. "We can't wait any longer. Now that Levana has started sending werewolves to attack, that means she's perfected the method of moving between worlds! We have to stage the rebellion as soon as possible!"
Dr Erland sighs. His blue eyes, usually bright, now seem dull with exhaustion. "I wish we could Selene, really, I do. But we don't have enough allies, enough resources. We don't even have a plan! I want to overthrow Levana just as much as you do, but right now, any rebellion is doomed to fail. I'm sorry."
I turn away, shoulders slumping in defeat. He's right, Dr Erland usually is. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Levana Blackburn is the current queen of Luna. All the other monarchs' biggest concerns were fancy clothes and sleeping with anything that moved. But not Levana. Levana is cold, calculating, sly, and power hungry. It is thought that she murdered her sister and predecessor, Channary, as well as her niece, the heir to the Lunar throne. It is also thought that she orchestrated the death of her own husband in a fit of rage. And, if rumours are to be believed, she scarred her own stepdaughter when the girl was only thirteen for the simple crime of being more beautiful than her.
Levana is ruthless, selfish, and merciless. She has no compassion for her underlings and lets them live in utterly horrific conditions. No wonder some have risked sneaking into elvin research facilities to sneak away to this world, even though living here without proper protection would leave any Lunar incredibly ill, same goes for an Earthen living in Luna.
Nothing and no-one can take her down. Except her niece, the true queen of Luna and daughter to Channary Blackburn. If only she wasn't dead… oh wait! She isn't dead! She's alive! How do I know? Because I'm her. I am Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn (and yes, I do struggle to call myself that without rolling my eyes. Mom had a weird idea of what makes a respectable name). It is up to me to usurp Levana and take my place as the ruler of Luna. Only problem is, right now, the only way to do that is with an all-out rebellion. A rebellion that has been, is, and will probably continue to be, impossible.
A/N: SO SORRY I'M LATE! THE DREADED TIME OF NON-STOP STUDY IS UPON ME!
We've got a bit of insight into those supernatural species I mentioned, and we finally hear from Cinder! I know I haven't been giving her much spotlight, but as you can see, her role in this story is huge!
How will Cinder overthrow Levana? Is she really as starved for allies as she thinks? And why is there hardly any Kaider in this chapter?
Please review!
