Sorry guys, I feel so bad. Usually, I try to get in at least two chapters a week, but this week has been pretty busy. Christmas is coming and my teachers are all trying to cram my tests all in two weeks. So sad. School is ruining my life.

Ahem.

Anyway, I tried to fit in my writing my schedule and it worked, barely. So one chapter a week now. I'll try to write more during winter break. Without further ado,

Chapter 8!

Getting to the restaurant was slow going. And awkward. It was acceptable at first. Kai walked behind them, occasionally making small talk with a bubbly Carrot, Cinder staying quiet. He tried to include her in the conversations, but she always looked away deliberately or pretended not to hear. Kai let out a growl of frustration. Carrot peered back at him and smirked. Was he that hard to forgive? He merely misspoke. So, he mostly followed them, observing without comment. Which was absolutely ridiculous since Cinder didn't even know where they were going on this 'date'. Cinder and Carrot swung their clasped hands as Cinder indicated items and locations of interest she recognized from her time in the Commonwealth.

Cinder was strangely cheerful as she tapped on Carrot's shoulder to direct her gaze to the large golden roofs of the New Beijing palace. Smiling at Carrot's awestruck expression, Cinder hugged Carrot close and kissed the top of her head. It was rather cute. Kai felt... Well, he didn't know what he felt. He just knew that he wanted Cinder to look at him like that. Like he was the only light in her world.

The queen had kept her glamour on under her hood to keep people from staring. Kai wasn't sure it worked. Cinder wasn't that inconspicuous. She and Ginger were probably one of the most well-dressed patrons trolling the shops and were the recipient of many envious stares. Cinder seemed immune to the special attention though. Kai's hands twitched and for a moment, he wondered what would happen if he yanked down the hood covering her flawless face.

Carrot squealed and scampered to a grocers stand. Her green eyes lit up as she spotted the array of fresh fruits and vegetables imported from the tropics. She scanned through the foods until she spotted the tomato basket. Carrot snatched up the red fruit and turned to go. Walking away, she reached up for Cinder's hand only to realize she was groping at thin air. Confused, Carrot spun around to find Cinder leaning against the stand with the storekeeper, their eyes regarding her with disapproval. Carrot slumped back to them.

"Aunty?" she asked hopefully, holding up the tomato in her small hands as a peace offering. Cinder shook her head and pulled back her hood. Everyone within a ten step radius turned to gawk at her as they ambled by, their hands stuffed in their pockets and breaths clouding in the frigid air. The grocer gave her a double take, as if he couldn't believe such a beautiful woman was at his counter. Cinder gave him a self deprecating grin and inclined her head toward Carrot. She plucked the red fruit from the girl's hands and placed it on the counter.

"Sorry, about that. I'm babysitting for my friend and her daughter can be kind of a handful. " Cinder shot the cashier another embarrassed smile. He was putty in her hands.

"No, it's totally fine." He smiled back at her shyly.

"Thank you so much. Please allow me to pay and apologize for my wayward charge," said Cinder, her voice lilting, a symphonic sound. The grocer nodded like a bobble head, a glazed expression sweeping through his face as he held the scanner out to Cinder's wrist.

"No problem at all," he slurred. The scanner blinked green and Cinder waved. "Thank you for your purchase. Please come again soon," he said smiling vaguely.

"I'm sure," Kai muttered. Cinder shot him a dirty look and pulled on her hood. She grabbed Carrot's hand and marched her forward. When they were finally out of earshot, Cinder pulled them into a small, shadowed alcove. She tapped her foot impatiently and held the tomato out of reach of Carrot's grabby hands.

"Do you know what you did wrong, Ginger?" Cinder asked, looking down at Carrot. Kai tried to blend in with the shadows. He had no part in this argument. Carrot's lower lip trembled. "No, don't cry," Cinder said patiently. "What do you think you did wrong?"

"I took the tomato..." Carrot said reluctantly. Cinder cocked her head and clasped her hands together, waiting. "I stole," Carrot said at last. Cinder exhaled, her eyes shining with disappointment.

"And what would your mother say about that?" she asked. Carrot's green eyes filled with tears.

'I'm sorry, Aunty," Cinder stared down at her.

"And why is stealing wrong?"

Ginger sounded like she was reciting a passage from a book. "Because stealing is when you are taking something that is not yours. You didn't do anything to deserve it and didn't give something in return." Cinder nodded.

"You understand then." Carrot dipped her head in a contrite manner.

"I won't do it again."

"You make sure of that," Cinder said sternly. Her eyes rose to Kai's shadowed form by the opening. "Where did you want to eat?"

Kai blinked. "Oh, well, I was thinking of going to Takazumi's, but you guys started walking so I just followed." Cinder looked at him in askance.

"Why didn't you just tell us to stop then? I figured we were going in the right direction since you didn't try to correct us or anything." Kai heated up, and he knew he was blushing.

"I just thought that you wanted to..." he trailed off. "Never mind." Cinder eyed him curiously and Kai cringed inwardly. She opened her mouth, but then closed it and shrugged.

"Lead the way then."

Takazumi was one of the only Japanese restaurants in the city. The intricate art of creating sliced rice rolls almost didn't survive the world wars since the Province of Japan was one of the hardest hit of all countries before the Union. Takazumi tried to preserve the feeling of the old Japanese culture though, with its polished bamboo walls, lightweight portable furniture and rice paper sliding doors. Cinder had obviously never been here, demonstrated by the blatantly perplexed look on her face. Kai almost laughed.

"Takazumi is new," he murmured, close to her ear. Cinder stiffened, but Kai pretended not to notice. "The head chef here, Tosco, used to work in the palace, but he retired and began his own restaurant." His breath stirred the small hairs on the back of her neck as she pulled her hood down. Cinder shivered and glanced back at him, eyes wide. He saw himself reflected in their depths. Kai leaned closer, closer, clos-

"Your Majesty!" a familiar voice boomed out. "You honor us with your presence." Cinder jerked back to a respectable distance immediately. Kai cursed. Tosco had such impeccable timing. Eyebrows rising, Cinder glanced to Carrot who witnessed the whole thing. Carrot merely blinked at them innocently, a small grin gracing her lips. Cinder grimaced and avoided his gaze as she tilted her head toward the man behind Kai who cleared his throat. Stifling a groan, Kai turned to greet his old friend with a smile. Tosco cocked a bushy, white brow at Kai and bowed. "Welcome to Takazumi's." His gaze went to the beautiful woman beside him and the little girl and his brows rose higher. Cinder touched his arm. Kai tried not to think too much on it. Tried not to linger on how warm her fingertips were even through his coat and how it would feel if...

Let's not go there.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Cinder asked, her voice as smooth as silk. She held out a hand for Carrot and the girl dropped the take-out menu she was holding at once. Carrot started sucking on her thumb again. It was a nervous habit it seemed.

"Cinder, Ginger, this is Tosco, an old friend of mine and a former employee of the palace kitchens. Tosco, these are my friends," here he paused and faced Cinder with a questioning look. Cinder hesitated and gave the man a onceover.

"Is he trustworthy?" Cinder murmured, so only Kai could hear. He nodded. She shrugged. "It matters not to me then, as long as he doesn't blab." Tosco frowned, seeming to get the gist of the conversation even though he couldn't have heard. Waving them forward, he walked deeper into the restaurant with the practiced ease of someone who was familiar with the place. Kai, Cinder and Ginger followed. He ushered them into a private dining room and slid the rice paper screen doors shut.

"What is this about, Your Majesty? Why the secrecy?" Tosco asked, his voice rumbling in his chest. "And why did you lead random Lunars into my restaurant?" He scowled at Cinder and cracked his knuckles slowly, one by one. "Are they bothering you? I heard that the Lunar envoy came today." Kai shook his head frantically as Tosco took a menacing step toward the Luna queen.

Cinder stood her ground and tilted her head up to cast Tosco a challenging stare. For a moment, Tosco paused, and Kai knew it wasn't because Cinder was utilizing her glamour. Few of his patrons could withstand Tosco's scowls. Probably had to do with his muscular build and highly defined arms. Comes with pounding dough and other miscellaneous ingredients for forty years. Tosco considered the woman in front of him carefully, an almost impressed look flashed across his features. Cinder's face flickered like a defective netscreen and her glamour dissipated like an unseen fog.

Leveling a mock offended glare at Tosco, Cinder spoke lightly, "Random Lunars?" Tosco's jaw dropped and he inhaled sharply, as he looked through her glamour at the young queen.

"You!"

"Yes, me," said Cinder with an embarrassed laugh. She ducked her head, flustered. "I know what it looked like on the netscreens, but-"

"There is no need to explain, Your Majesty," Tosco said with a deferent bow. His teeth flashed bright as he gawked at her amazed. "I never thought I would have the honour of encountering you in real life. Or is this a dream?" Cinder sent bewildered look to Kai at Tosco's complete one-eighty. He shrugged and raised his hands palm out.

"No, you are not dreaming," she said hesitantly. "I arrived here today and ran into His Majesty at the market with my goddaughter." She gestured to Carrot. "This is Ambassador Scarlet's daughter, Ginger. Say hello, Ginger." Carrot peeked from behind Cinder and waved shyly. Tosco laughed.

"A little one."

Cinder shook her head. "Ginger is Scarlet's first child. She also has a son named Tobias who just turned one." Kai felt invisible as his friend and Cinder exchanged pleasantries.

"So what brings you to the Eastern Commonwealth?" Tosco asked finally. Cinder snorted.

"For the obvious reason. To disappear while pretending to be on vacation." Tosco's laugh rumbled through him.

"Must be hard to be Queen. My wife adores you." Cinder smiled modestly at the mats underfoot.

"It's quite busy most of the time, but I have many dedicated people working for me." Kai cleared his throat. Tosco glances at him, his mustache quivering with humour.

"I'm afraid His Majesty is getting bored with our conversation."

Cinder smiled at him and a burst of light fluttered over his heart. Kai involuntarily smiled back. "We were supposed to have lunch here. I haven't been here before, even when I lived in the Commonwealth so Kaito volunteered his time to show us this place." Cinder sat down on a plush pillow at the black lacquer table. "What do you have?"

Tosco droned on about the specials while Kai's mind drifted. Kaito. Cinder called him Kaito, Kai thought giddily. Well, it wasn't as satisfying as if she had called him Kai, but baby steps, right? Cinder tapped him gently. "Your Majesty," she said, concern welling in her tone. "Were you listening?"

"Kai," Kai blurted out. Cinder's forehead wrinkled.

"What?" Out of the corner of his vision he could detect Tosco smirking. Kai flushed hotly, but he blundered on.

"Kai," he said. "Call me Kai." Cinder drew back slightly, her face closing off. She eyed him warily. Kai cursed himself and his running mouth. He said the worse things when she was around. Tosco interrupted the awkward silence, redirecting his attention. He felt Cinder's stare burning a hole in his temple.

"Would you like your usual, Your Majesty? Queen Selene and Ginger have already ordered." Kai nodded faintly. Tosco shook his head at him sympathetically. "It gets easier," he mock whispered. The room seemed to be sweltering. He tugged at his collar as his flush spread from his neck to his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Cinder avoided eye contact with both of them. Tosco closed the door behind him.

Awkward silence.

Cinder shifted uncomfortably. She opened her mouth, but the paper doors slid open again. Their eyes all shot to the doors. A woman about Tosco's age stood at the opening, gazing at Cinder awestruck. Her white hair was cropped into a bob and her wobbly legs carried her to the edge of the table. Cinder stood, her eyes narrowed in thought. "Are you-" The woman dropped to the floor with a low bow.

"Your Majesty," she murmured in a warbling voice. Cinder took her arm, her eyes wide with alarm.

"There is no need-" The woman stayed kneeling. Cinder bent and brought her up. "Have we met?" She asked curiously. "I recognize your face from somewhere-"

"Yes!" The woman said eagerly. "I was one of the shells that traveled back to Luna to register for the interracial marriage contracts." Cinder's eyes widened in understanding.

"You are Tosco's wife, then?" The woman laughed happily and nodded.

"My name is Sasha. Me and Tosco were together long before the law was established, but we had wanted to make it official in Luna as well. I also had to obtain a Luna I.D. and register my children and grandchildren." Kai flicked his gaze from Cinder to the woman before him.

"What law?" he demanded. "How can I not know about this?" Both women gave him displeased expressions. Kai felt like he had failed a test. Cinder raised an eyebrow.

"And I would have thought you would know these things. You mean you call yourself the Emperor of one of the most influential empires in the Earthen Union and you don't have the Treaty of Phoenix memorized?" Cinder asked scandalized. "For shame, Your Majesty!" But she was smiling.

"According to the Treaty of Phoenix, Article 13 of Interplanetary Relations, Section 22, all former Lunar fugitives are obligated to register themselves and their families as Lunar citizens though they might not inhabit their mother country anymore. They are required to get a Luna I.D complete with bioelectricity disrupters. If you are married, the former Lunar and their spouse must sign an official Lunar marriage contract for our archives. A royal must always be present for the signing to give approval." Kai blinked at the onslaught of information.

"So you were present for the signing of their marriage contract?" Cinder nodded.

"Technically they were already married, but that was just to make everything official." The woman beamed.

"Yes, and we are forever grateful, Your Majesty. You are a great ruler."

Cinder laughed. "Compared to my predecessors, yeah, probably. But they aren't much to compare to, are they." The rice paper doors glided open and Tosco slipped through. He balanced ebony trays of rice rolls and miso soup. Tosco frowned as he saw his wife.

"Sasha, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the kitchen." Sasha glared at him.

"When were you going to tell me about our esteemed guests?" she asked waving a hand at Kai and Cinder. She finally spotted Ginger. "And Ambassador Scarlet's young daughter? Hmm?" Tosco scowled.

"I was going to tell you-" Sirens rented the air, the unholy love child of an ambulance hover and the ridiculous clanging of a large bell. Sasha and Tosco exchanged wide-eyed glances.

Fire.

So... clifthanger. Mwahaha. See you guys around!

Please review!

-Silverleaf