A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. I'll spare you all my excuses and get to the story. All Cresswell shippers know these two chapters. Chapter 70 is the one where the Lunar girl manipulates Thorne into kissing her. In the next chapter, they fight but of course they make up. I wanted to see what Thorne was thinking so enjoy! Italicized words are going to thoughts most of the time.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lunar Chronicles. Also there is a tiny bit of swearing, and I'm just being paranoid. (It's literally two words.)
Chapter 70:
Thorne wanted to shield his eyes from all of the glitz and glamour. Literally all of the glamours.
Damn those Lunars
He was relieved that he and Cress weren't the only ones who looked like idiots. There was animal fur, crystal everything, and just a ton of glitter. He knew that most of it was completely fake, but he couldn't trust his own eyes. Just like when they were in the desert. And he hated being at a disadvantage.
A sigh from Cress shook him from his thoughts. Thorne looked down at the short blonde girl. She was biting her bottom lip as she walked next to him. He felt like such a cad. Of course she was terrified. He remembered how she cowered in the desert at just the sight of the moon, and now they were walking straight into its heart. The thought of Cress alone in a satellite for seven years…It made him want to punch a wall. He wanted to be the one to comfort her, to protect her.
He cursed at himself. Thorne knew that it was impossible. He had to think about what was best for her. And that was any man besides himself. So he settled for placing a hand on her back. It seemed that Cress stiffened and relaxed from the touch, and he had to withhold a smirk.
"Pretend you belong here and everyone else will believe it," he whispered in her ear. She took a breath and stood up straighter.
"I am a criminal mastermind, and I'm here to take down this regime," she muttered to herself.
"That's my line."
"I know. I stole it."
Thorne smiled at her bravery before guiding them to the back of a group of Lunars so they wouldn't seem too out of place. They continued to walk towards the giant doors until they were inside the palace.
Not many things shook Carswell Thorne, but the sheer opulence of the palace shook him. Everything was made of marble, and there were columns everywhere he looked. After they passed an impressive statue, a man walked up to greet them. His appearance was certainly…interesting. His hair was dyed green! These Lunars needed some serious fashion advice.
Once Thorne got over the servant's hideous hair, he tensed slightly, searching to see any distrust or suspicion in his face. Luckily there was none, and he relaxed slightly. The man was rattling off a slew of "comforts" the palace was providing their guests. It was sickening to remember how the people starved in the outer sectors, and there was enough food in one room to feed them for a year. The only thing that caught his attention was the mention of "companionship rooms", but he scolded himself. He couldn't be that person anymore. Not if he had a chance with Cress.
"What do you suppose he meant by 'companionship rooms'?" Thorne asked before he could stop himself.
Cress glared at him, and he had to say, "Not that I'm tempted to…or … this way, right?" He continued to pull at his collar until a silky smooth voice said, "You two seem lost."
He turned and put himself in front of Cress. They were suddenly cornered by two women. Both were gorgeous with long, perfect hair and revealing outfits. Normally he would have loved to go after them, but he knew they were Lunars. They probably were ugly behind the glamours they were hiding behind.
One of them spoke, her voice like honey, "Maybe we can help you find your way?" As she asked, she let her glasses drop to the end of her nose.
"Flattered ladies," he replied, turning on the charm. "We're on something of a covert mission right now, but we'll keep our eye out for you at the coronation."
Thorne silently cursed at himself again. He was close to blowing their cover.
The other one replied, "Ooh, a covert mission. I will want to hear that story later."
"I will want to tell it," he replied, winking. Thorne put an arm around Cress and led them away from the two women. Once they were far away, he whistled softly. "Holy spades. The women in this place."
"You mean the glamours in this place. One of them was a man?" Cress countered back.
That surprised him. He never realized how lifelike those glamours could be. "You don't say. Which one?" he asked as he glanced down at her.
"Um… the one wearing glasses?" she answered uncertainly.
Thorne looked back, hoping to spot them, while mumbling, "Well played, Lunars." He turned back around, focusing on their mission once again. "Jacin said to take the third hallway, right?" He guided them to yet another grand hall before Cress piped up again.
"Try to keep in mind that they can make themselves look however they want to. No one in this palace is as beautiful as you think they are. It's all mind control."
He wanted to laugh at how wrong she was. Thorne never thought a short blonde Lunar girl wearing an orange butterfly-costume-party- dress- thing could even look good, but Cress made it work.
Because stars, she was beautiful.
He wanted to thank whoever made that skirt because yes he was checking her out earlier. Don't judge. Sure her outfit was weird, but it suited her. When Cress raised her arms, she looked so whimsical and adorable but strangely… sexy. Thorne smiled at her before pulling her closer.
"I'm fairly certain there's at least one exception to that rule," he said.
"Yeah. Thaumaturages." Cress rolled her eyes, and he couldn't help but laugh. The thaumaturages were definitely not the person he was thinking of.
Another group of Lunars walked past them, but Thorne kept walking, trying not to draw attention to them. He looked down to check on Cress, but was surprised when she disappeared.
Fear coursed through himself as he tried to inconspicuously search for her. Then he saw her, and he was confused.
She was wearing the same outfit, wasn't she? But there was something different about her.
Cress's hair seemed fuller, softer. She had a newfound poise in her stride. She was slowly walking towards him, peeking up at him through her lashes. Her smile wasn't the shy but confident one Thorne was used to; instead it was a suggestive smirk.
We don't have time for…Woah, what is she doing?
"I thought I sensed an Earthen boy."
She was closer than she had ever been. And Cress was lightly trailing a finger over his bow tie and then down his chest. Thorne was really confused now. Sure he may have sort of dreamed of something like this happening, but she never did stuff like this. Somewhere in the back of his mind, her words raised an alarm. Something told him this was probably a glamour, but he was helpless.
Thorne leaned in even closer. Deep inside him, he felt that this yearning wasn't mind control. He wanted to kiss Cress. No Lunar needed to tell him that.
Once she wrapped her arms around him…he was done. Thorne didn't care for a moment that this was probably a Lunar; he just wanted to feel her lips on his one more time.
Chapter 71:
At first Thorne felt nothing. Really, nothing. A part of him told him it wasn't real, but he ignored it. Instead he pulled her closer, forcing as much passion as he could in the kiss. 'Cress' responded, and in his mind he tried to pretend it was her with everything he had. Even with a Lunar, just imagining the girl, who was currently threading her fingers through his hair and pressing her body even closer to his, was Cress turned out to be enough. Maybe wanting to be manipulated strengthened a glamour's power?
Because Thorne soon forgot where they were or what they were doing there. All he could think about was her in his arms. They parted after what felt like hours and both were breathless.
Cress fluttered her lashes and whispered, "You've been wanting that awhile, haven't you?"
He couldn't stop himself from saying, "I think I'm in love with you."
Thorne couldn't believe he said that. This girl wasn't Cress, but he thought…no he knew, he loved the real Cress. He had never been surer.
"Oh, aren't you just darling?" said Cress. Except now 'Cress' was tall, with long wavy brown hair.
"And not a bad kisser, either. Maybe we can enjoy more of each other's company later?" With that and a wink, she left himself standing alone.
For a moment, Thorne was frozen from shock and desire. He smoothed down his hair before remembering he didn't come to the palace alone.
"Cress?" he asked softly, looking around for her. When there was no reply, he tried again, "Cress!"
A small voice answered, "I'm here."
Spinning towards the voice, Thorne's body filled with relief and he walked over to her.
"Spades. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. That was..."
"I don't want to know," Cress interrupted and stormed off.
"Whoa, hey, hold on. Are you mad?"
"Why would I be mad?" She swung her arms and there was venom in her words. "You have the right to flirt with and kiss and proclaim your love for whoever you want to. Which is good, because you do. All the time."
Oh…Damn it!
Thorne was an official idiot. Of course she heard, and he crushed her heart. He knew he would do this. He really, really screwed up. It wasn't like she was very good at hiding her feelings. He knew that Cress still thought he was a hero, and she was so wrong.
"So…," Thorne teased. "You're jealous?" Seriously, what was he thinking? Why did he have to say that? Now she stiffened. Spades he was just making things worse.
"You do realize that all she wanted was to get a laugh at your expense, right?" Cress retorted.
Thorne really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut because he laughed. Who laughs at this kind of stuff? He had to try to fix this. "Yeah I get that now. Cress, wait." He grabbed her arm, effectively forcing her to stop walking away. "I know they can't do it to you, but the rest of us can't choose not to be controlled by them. She manipulated me. It wasn't my fault."
"And I suppose you're going to say that you didn't enjoy it?" Oh, this girl could see right through him.
"Er. Well…" And with that, Cress ripped her arm out of his grasp. He did enjoy it but only because he thought it was her.
"I know it wasn't your fault. But that doesn't excuse everyone else. I mean, take Iko!"
Iko? Why bring her up? "What about Iko?"
Suddenly Cress's voice got deeper. "'I really know how to pick them, don't I?' " Thorne guessed it was a really bad imitation of him.
Another chuckle escaped as he remembered how excited Iko was. "It's the truth, isn't? Her new body is gorgeous." Yep. He was an idiot. A complete idiot. It was confirmed when all Cress did was glare at him.
"That was clearly not the right thing to say. Sorry. But I'd just gotten my eyesight back."
"Yeah, and all you wanted to look at was her."
Cress was so wrong. All Thorne wanted to do was look at her. He had to literally force himself to look away.
"Never mind. Let's just…" she started talking, only to be cut off by two guards.
"Pardon me." Cress gasped and she held onto him.
"We are asking that all guests begin to make their way to the great hall so the coronation ceremony can begin without delay. Please proceed this way."
Thorne could practically feel the ripples of nervousness coming off Cress. He simply led them to where the guard was nodding to. "Of course, thank you. We must have gotten turned around." Once they turned around a corner, Cress started to storm off again. He didn't even try to stop her. But he couldn't stand the look of anger on her face.
"Stop here," Thorne said. He was surprised she actually did stop. He stood closely in front of her, but she wouldn't look him in the eye. He let out a sigh.
"Cress. I know you're upset, but could you pretend not to be for a second?"
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Cress's face was happy almost flirtatious. He really was amazed, "That's uncanny."
She was still on the verge of crying when she said, "I'm a girl took you know. I may not be as pretty as Iko, or brave like Cinder or bold like Scarlet…"
"Wait, Cress…" You're perfect.
"And I don't even want to know what dumb thing you said when you met Princess Winter for the first time."
At least now he knew to shut his mouth. Because he did say something stupid to her.
"But I'm not invisible! And yet you flirt with every single one of them. You'll flirt with anyone who so much as looks at you."
If only she knew how hard he had to resist flirting with her. "You've made your point."
"This is what you were trying to tell me, wasn't it? In the desert. When you were going on and on about how I'm so sweet and how you didn't want to hurt me and…You were trying to warn me, but I was too much of a…a naïve, hopeless romantic to even listen to you."
This was what he was waiting for. She was finally realizing what a terrible person he was. Thorne didn't think it was going to hurt so much. He wished he had prepared himself better because her words hit him. They hit him hard.
"I didn't want to hurt you." He really didn't want to hurt her, but he was bound to. Everyone knew that.
"I know. It's my own fault I've been this stupid." Ouch. It was like rubbing salt onto a wound. Thorne looked around, searching for anyone who was watching. He opened a door that led to a room filled with plants and sofas.
"Good," he said. "I thought I remembered seeing something about an atrium. We'll wait here until the halls and avoid any more run-ins with guards for a while."
Cress took a deep breath and walked away from him. "Cress…listen…" He tried to grab her wrist, but she strode away.
"Don't. I'm sorry. That wasn't fair of me. I shouldn't have said anything." Yeah it was official. Thorne made her cry. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated with himself. He wanted to explain himself but she wouldn't look at him.
"How long are we waiting here?" Cress asked. Right. This was a complete mess, but for now they needed to complete their mission.
He took out a portscreen and answered, "A few more minutes, just to make sure they've rounded up the slower guests."
Thorne turned to look at her. Her eyes were red from crying, and her nose was running, but to him she was more beautiful than that random Lunar out there. Not because she was physically perfect. Because he… he loved every part that he learned really mattered. Her personality, her laugh, her smile, her voice. All of it. He had to tell her.
"Cress?" She turned to look at him, those wide blue eyes staring into his.
"I'm all right. I just don't want to talk about it."
Thorne stood in front of the door, his hands in his pockets. Normally he was a pro at these kinds of things, but not with her. This was probably another bad idea, but he wanted to kiss her again.
"All right. I don't want to talk about it, either."
Thorne could see the surprise on Cress's face when he pushed himself off the door and strode over to her.
"What…?" He effectively silenced her with a kiss. He had to lift her on a desk so they would be closer to the same height. Thorne could feel that she was scared, but he coaxed her on with his lips. This kiss, there was something different. Maybe it was because it wasn't just a favor he was fulfilling. Maybe it because, Thorne knew that he loved her. But there was passion now, replacing the uncertainty from before. He wanted to close the gap between them, and he pulled her even closer. Cress let out a whimper before Thorne kissed her harder. There was a moan, but he didn't know where it came from. They continued for what felt like forever, until she had to pull away to take a deep breath.
Somewhere, he knew that they probably had to get going, but instead he put his arms around her. "Cress," he said with an almost reverence. Cress shivered from the touch. Surprisingly she untangled her hands from his hair and put some space between them.
"This…" Her voice broke. "This isn't what I wanted."
What? Did Thorne misread her?
"I mean, it is. Obviously, it is." He physically sagged from relief, and he gave her a crooked, knowing grin.
"But…not to be just another girl," she said quietly. "I never wanted to be just another one of your girls." Cress really couldn't have been more wrong. She was most definitely not another girl. What he was feeling, he had never felt before.
"Cress…" He took a deep breath, getting ready for the very real possibility of him screwing up again. "She looked like you."
Cress met his eyes again, hers filled with disbelief. "What?"
"The girl in the hallway, the one that kissed me. She looked like you." There, he said it.
"That's ridiculous. She was brunette, and tall, and…"
He cut her off. "Not to me." He tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "She must have seen us walking together. Maybe she saw how I looked at you or something, I don't know, but she knew…she made her glamour look like you."
To say Cress surprised was an understatement. Thorne could see it in her face along with a twinge of doubt. He needed to erase any uncertainty in her mind. "I thought I was kissing you." He pressed his lips to hers again, and she pulled him closer to her. Just before he could deepen the kiss, she jerked away. He was about to protest when…
"But…you told her you loved her."
…
Shit.
That was not the way he wanted to confess. They were silent for a couple of seconds before he tried to take back what he said. "Right. That. I mean, I was…we were…"
No one would ever know the end of that sentence, because the beginning of the biggest nightmare of his life started with a door opening behind them.
A/N: This chapter was kind of hard to right, but it turned out pretty well in my opinion. Please tell me what you think and review! And if you're curious, I've been busy with a family emergency so I haven't had time to write. I still need to figure out what scene I'm going to do next, so if you have an idea please tell me.
