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Thorne's POV:
Searching
Aces and spades, when I volunteered for this revolution, I was expecting fighting, near-death situations, sneaking through buildings evading detection from every guard by the skin of my teeth. And at first, it looked like that was exactly what I was going to get when I got told we were infiltrating the Big-Bad's castle, her home-base practically. But my expectations were completely and utterly dashed when what was at first a thrilling infiltration (that I expertly conducted with my brilliant lying skills) turned into a search mission. A boring, fruitless search mission for a classmate.
Seriously, we've been searching for Wolf for days, in some very uncomfortable places (if I ever step foot into those dungeons again, it will be too soon). Honestly, you'd think a guy like him would be easy to find. He's basically made of muscle, has more scars than your average street fighter and is so tall he has to duck under doorways. And he's only nineteen! Oh, and there's also that thing about how he's supposed to be a prisoner after attacking the Queen. Honestly, I'm surprised that the entire castle isn't in uproar over his sudden disappearance. But nope, everyone seems to be going about their daily lives like normal. Or, what passes for normal in this place. I just hope that doesn't mean they've recaptured Wolf already. That would mean I have to go back into those bloody dungeons! Two words: Hell no.
Still, one good thing has come off of all this fruitless searching, I think to myself smugly as I turn the corner down a hallway, finding myself in an out-of-the-way circular chamber with a staircase leading to the upper levels.
I know my way around the castle pretty well.
"Thorne!"
I turn and grin as a familiar short girl comes running towards me, long blonde hair flapping behind her like some sort of superhero cape. The thought makes laughter bubble up in my chest, but I squash the urge. Pretty sure it would just make the poor girl self-conscious if I told her what I found so funny.
She came to a slow stop in front of me, panting slightly from the run. "Have you found anything?"
I spread my hands helplessly. "Unfortunately, no. You?"
She sighs in frustration, shaking her head. "Nothing. It's like he's vanished into thin air."
"Hey guys! Any luck?" a familiar peppy voice calls over to us.
Both Cress and I shake our heads, and Iko's bright smile instantly collapses into a frustrated scowl. "Ugh, seriously? Where could he be hiding?"
"Not in the science labs, I can tell you that with unwavering certainty." Dr Erland says, his words sharp with disappointment as he makes his way towards us. "I'm starting to think he isn't even in the castle. If I were him, I'd have gotten out of here as fast as I possibly could."
I throw back my head and groan. "If that's true and we've just wasted the past few days, I'm going to lose my spades."
"How could you have wasted days?"
I feel my muscles tense up and whirl around to face the intruder, fists clenched at my sides, ready for a fight…
And my jaw hits the floor.
I'm looking at, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. Skin the colour of dark chocolate, shimmering black hair, and eyes the warm colour of caramel. In fact, there's only one thing separating her face, and absolute perfection: three, long, uniform scars, tracing down her right cheek. They are the only blemish in her otherwise pristine face. And, as contradictory as it may sound, they somehow make her even more beautiful.
But that level of beauty is absolutely impossible to attain. How do I know? Because she's better-looking than me! And that can only mean one thing: we're dealing with a vampire.
I finally pick my jaw off the floor and raise my fists slightly. "Who are you, and how much of that conversation did you hear?"
The girl tilts her head quizzically. "I know what it is to waste food: It is when you don't eat it when it is still good. But how can you waste a day? A day is meant to be spent with you living and breathing during it. As long as you stayed alive the whole day, that means you used it as it was supposed to be used. And all of you are still alive, I think. So how could you have wasted days?"
I blink, lowering my fists slightly out of sheer confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about?" she asks in reply, appearing genuinely confused.
Dr Erland breathes a heavy sigh. "Princess Winter. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Wait, this girl is the princess? We're so screwed.
Winter smiles brightly. "Oh, I was simply following your fairy friend here. She has a spark in her eyes that not many fairies have. It was so nice to see that I followed it. It is a flame, and I am a moth, flying around the hallways, hoping no-one will swat me out of the air." She turns to look at Iko, who can't seem to decide whether to look angry or bewildered. "Though I suppose I should also hope that, now that I'm so close to the flame, I won't be burned by my curiosity. Are you on fire?"
Iko stared at her. "Uh…"
"You do not appear to be on fire." Winter leaned in to the blue-haired girl and took a sniff. "Nor do you smell of smoke." She grinned. "You must not be on fire then! That's wonderful. I'd hate for you to burn away right in front of me."
Okay, it's official: I'm very creeped out.
Cress, who'd somehow manage to follow that train of nonsense, makes an important observation. "If you followed Iko here, then you must have arrived at the same time as her."
Winter shrugs. "Thereabouts."
"So, you heard everything we said from that point onward?"
Winter nods cheerfully.
I desperately root around my head, trying to piece together a plausible explanation as to why a guard, a scientist and two servants were talking about searching for someone, a feat not helped by the obviously… unique way Winter sees things. And it's not like we can fight her. She's a vampire! One bite and we're under her total control!
As I try to collect my thoughts, Winter asks yet another nonsensical question. "Have you lost your puppy? That's what it sounded like. I can help you find him if you want."
I try for a polite smile. "You're offer is appreciated Your Highness, but we-"
"He's in the menagerie." Winter suddenly says helpfully, "I had to paint him white, because my stepmother only likes white. I find it to be a quite a cold colour, because it is the colour of snow, but some animals are coloured white to blend in with the snow, so we painted him white to blend in with them."
For the second time, my jaw fell open. I exchange stunned glances with my friends, and I can tell they're all wondering the same thing as me: did this crazy girl just tell us exactly where to find Wolf?
A/N: Whew! Feels like forever since we've heard from these guys.
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