Hiya readers,
Not much to say with this chapter. Heh. Happy reading though!
Kai tried to walk back out with as much poise as possible. He was such a fool. Dr. Erland had already warned him of the possibility of this happening. But he hadn't anticipated this. The coolness of her expressions, the polite vacancy in which she considered him, the cautious, diplomatic way she chose her words. Cinder was in a freak accident, he consoled himself. She can't help but forget what had happened. But it didn't make the growing ache in his heart go away. Cinder had forgotten him. Never mind that she remembered after a bit of prodding. She had still forgotten and it stung more than Kai could admit.
He hadn't seen her in years. The last time he had seen her was at President Vargas's annual Treaty Gala three years ago. She had been the president's special guest, companion, date. All the other world leaders were in attendance. It had become a competition of sorts. The first to gain the illustrious Luna Queen's attention. All other attempts for Queen Selene to attend social gatherings had been met with failure and everyone was curious to comprehend why...how the leader of the American Republic had talked Selene into agreeing to come as his personal guest. Kai remembered it was an elaborate affair. It had to be to persuade even the Ghost Queen to come out of hiding. Vargas was a careful, quiet man. He was the only one to speak against the way the other world leaders tried to manipulate the young, inexperienced Luna Queen when she first came into her sovereignty. Kai hadn't said anything about it. In fact, he was quite neutral about the whole subject. Kai understood the need for putting his country into Selene's good books, but he felt uncomfortable using Cinder that way so he did nothing.
The Treaty Gala had been an anticipated event since the signing of the Treaty of the Phoenix six years ago. It had been followed by the Phoenix festival hosted by Prime Minister Kamin in the African Union. Since then, the Treaty Gala had been transformed into an international holiday and celebration. Each year it was hosted by a different Earthen leader, all vying to outshine the gala the year before.
Vargas's Treaty Gala had truly been a wonderful observance. Kai hadn't wanted to, but was obligated to go. And after the president announced that Queen Selene was going to be in attendance there was such a rush for the elite invitations that the gala planners had to put the few civilian invitations up on the net to be bid to avoid angry officials and earthen citizens from complaining about favoritism.
Kai had gone through a complete one-eighty. He wanted to attend if just to see Cinder. How she was doing and... Well, just to see her again, even though his mind resisted the thought that she still had so much sway over his heart even when she was the one who left him so many years ago.
So he went and felt his gut wrench as Cinder was paraded in front of him. Vargas hadn't flaunted her exactly, but it was hard not to when he succeed where so many others had failed. Cinder had smiled at him vaguely. "Your Majesty," she said, her voice lilting. Cinder wasn't using glamour. It would have been suicide to, with so many eyes on her, so many lens and photographic equipment watching her every move. And besides, Cinder hardly needed to use her gift. Even with her cybernetic appendages, she was beautiful enough without the extra baggage.
Cinder had looked resplendent in her one shoulder sheer bronze dress that emphasized her gloriously tanned skin. One shoulder was partially covered by a gauzy gold strewn cloth that wrapped around her svelte waist once before being elegantly draped to the floor. A lengthy slit on the side of the diaphanous dress exposed quite a bit of leg, which she displayed without much fanfare. Kai got the distinct feeling that Cinder was trying to cover it up as much as possible already without calling too much attention to it, but people, men especially, were already taking notice of it. Cinder had a slightly annoyed tint to her face as she shifted again, concealed the slit.
"Is Her Majesty Selene not absolutely beautiful tonight?" President Vargas asked him, calling Kai's attention from Cinder back to the host. Cinder ignored the stares she was getting from the crowd and lowered her gold dusted eyes demurely.
"You are too kind, Mr. President," she said ducking her head shyly. Her burnished hair was swept up to the side and lay in curls over a shoulder. "It is an honour to attend tonight." Vargas patted her gloved hand on his arm. Kai looked down, clenching his hands into fists.
"It is our honour to be graced with your presence, Queen Selene," the president said winking at her and gesturing at his guests. "And I'm sure many of attendees would agree." Kai excused himself and went on to socialize with the other Earthen leaders. But he watched her all night.
Even now, Kai could feel Cinder's confused stare burning holes into his back. She had gotten through so many obstacles and still had come up on top. But now that she didn't even remember... What was the point of it all when he was the only one who knew?
Torin melted out of the shadows to join him. "Your press conference, Your Majesty," he reminded. Kai sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Of course," he deadpanned. "How could I forget?"
Torin snorted. "Just try not to say anything that will anger the Lunar delegates even more and alienate your fragile relationship with the queen." Kai gave his head advisor a look. Torin almost rolled his eyes. "I may be old, but I am not blind to your affections for Queen Selene. It has been six years, Your Majesty. There is a whole list of eligible women in your office that would be suitable for being Empress and you have not taken a single look at that list since I gave it to you five months ago."
Kai protested. "I have! They just didn't suit my requirements."
"And what would suit your singular preferences, Your Majesty? A former cyborg Lunar mechanic turned queen?" Kai gritted his teeth.
"I shall take a look at the list again if it pleases you, Torin, but I give no promises that I will select a bride from that... that blasted thing." Torin scowled.
"Watch your language, young Emperor. And I suggest you hold your tongue during the press conference. You know how you can talk without filter when your emotions run high." Kai took a deep breath and held it. He wanted to listen and he knew that Torin was right but when his advisor talked about him like that, as if he was an adolescent, it gave him the childish urge to plug his ears and hum, drowning him out. Torin bowed and opened the door to the palace pressroom. "Keep that in mind, Your Majesty. You will do well to listen to my advice." Kai let out the breath he had been holding and entered the large conference room.
The press room had been designed like a small theater, with a small stage and podium at the front of the room and chairs arranged in neat rows. There was space for both android and human journalists and their photographic equipment. Large netscreens studded the walls, live broadcasts blaring. It was Kai's idea to install the netscreens. It made it easier to talk to a large crowd when he could see how he looked during the live broadcast. It gave off the feeling that he was merely talking to himself.
Torin walked to the podium and tapped the microphone to get the attention of the press. The journalists quieted. His advisor cleared his throat. "I'm sure the Eastern Commonwealth and the rest of the Union is wondering about the events of the past few hours. We hope this conference will enlighten you on the inner going-ons of the palace and give you an update on Her Majesty, Queen Selene's condition." A smattering of applause. Then Torin nodded at him. Kai stood up and made his way to the podium. He was mildly disconcerted under the blinding lights.
"To start off, I would like to give a heartfelt apology to everyone for this incident. I never meant for all this to happen. I met Queen Selene while taking a walk around New Beijing. She had come to the Eastern Commonwealth on vacation and I brought her to lunch at Takazumi's. The fire at the restaurant started without much warning and Queen Selene was trapped." The first journalist raised a hand.
"Why did Her Majesty come to the Eastern Commonwealth after all these years? Does the Blackcrest problem have something to do with it?" he asked, his pen poised on top of his writing pad. Kai's hands gripped the podium tightly. That was an answer he really wanted as well.
"I'm afraid I am not privy to Queen Selene's secrets. Thaumaturge Blackcrest and Thaumaturge Danto arrived today to discuss the renewing of the reciprocity treaty. There is big possibility that Queen Selene arrived at the same time." A woman in the third row stood up.
"Queen Selene has not been on Earth for three years. What ulterior intentions would she have to appear here at this time?" Kai sighed sharply.
"As I said before. I am not privy to the queen's secrets, though I'm sure she has her own reasons for coming to New Beijing so unexpectedly."
"Are there other updates on the fire? What started it?" fired another reporter.
Kai checked his notes. "The law enforcement officers believe that someone started the fire. They have not found any evidence yet due to the high level of destruction. The fire started in a storage room, the same storage room where I found Queen Selene, which leads to the belief that this fire might have been an assassination attempt." Furious writing.
"You and Queen Selene must be very close. You even risked your own life to save her. I believe you and the queen were friends before she became queen? What exactly is your relationship with Her Majesty?" Kai opened his mouth and paused.
"We are friends," he said after a moment of hesitation. The journalist pounced on his uncertainty. Kai brought a hand up to tug on his hair before catching the nervous tic and he brought his hand down. He could see Torin standing stoically behind the platform on the netscreen at the back of the room and tried to calm his own panic by taking comfort in his advisor's confidence.
"You don't seem very sure, Your Majesty," the journalist said. "Perhaps there was another reason for the Luna Queen's arrival in New Beijing. A less diplomatic reason." He smirked. "After all, you did invited Her Majesty to lunch." Kai tried not to wince. The reporter definitely wasn't making this very subtle, was he. His partner elbowed him and cleared her throat.
"What my co-worker means is whether you and the queen are just friends," she said putting a clearly discernible emphasis on 'just'. The others murmured and shifted, their curiosity piqued.
"We are just friends," Kai said firmly. Another reporter stood up.
"When you invited Her Majesty to the ball six years ago, did you have any feelings for her? After all, nobody would randomly invite a cyborg to the ball." Kai rubbed his temples. Why out of all days did they have to mention this?
"I invited her to the ball as my personal guest as a way of thanking her for fixing my android," he said tiredly.
"Are you sure?" the reporter said sceptically.
Kai knew they wouldn't be satisfied with another 'just friends' answer no matter how truthful it was. So he closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. He hoped the Union wouldn't blame him, or Cinder. And he really, really hoped Cinder's friends wouldn't kill him for this. Because Kai really couldn't unsay what he was about to say next.
"Selene," he said. Kai waited for the scandalized gasps to die away. It was improper of a man to use another woman's first name unless they knew each other very well. "Selene and I are seeing each other." It didn't take very long for the news to sink in. An uproar ensued. Torin dragged him away from the podium and ripped off his headset.
"What," he hissed, "was that?!" Torin flung a hand toward the chaos. Kai rubbed his brow. "You were supposed to answer their questions, not create more of them!"
"They wanted a story and they wouldn't have been placated with another 'just friends' explanation," Kai snapped. "They already knew that I- oh, no." His wide-eyed gaze looked past Torin to a group of enraged Lunars. "Oh no." Cinder didn't even bother to look at him. She avoided his searching gaze, hands clenched together, knuckles white. Cinder had changed into a tunic and leggings which suited her better than the hospital gown she was wearing before. Thaumaturge Cress stepped in front of her queen.
"We heard about the press conference and Queen Selene wanted to listen in and offer her own apologies and explanations," she casted a cool glare at the pandemonium Kai had just exited. "Apparently, they are not needed because an utter imbecile decided that he could just invent his own." Torin stiffened.
"What are you-"
"That's enough, Torin. I know." Kai said wearily. Cinder was still not looking at him.
"Your Majesty," Cinder said in a calm voice. "A word?" She swept off, down the corridor not waiting for Kai's reply. Scarlet started after her, but Cinder shook her head. Kai followed her.
"Queen Selene, I-"
"Don't," she snarled spinning around." Don't try to give a reason for your blunder, Your Majesty."
"Cinder-" But her glare silenced him.
"What will they think of me now, Emperor," she asked mock sweetly. "First Blackcrest and now...you."
Kai took her by the shoulders. "Listen, I didn't mean to say those things-"
"And that makes me feel so much better," Cinder cut in sarcastically. He shook her.
"Listen!" he growled. "We could just pretend we are a couple for a while. Doesn't have to be long. A couple of weeks or so will suffice. Then we can just break up. No hard feelings, no strings attached."
"No hard feelings," Cinder said slowly. "You've got to be kidding me, right? Pretend to have a relationship with you? I can't believe you would stoop to that level. You're just using me like the other Earthen leaders have been trying to. Why do you think I disappeared off the face of the Earth? Pun intended."
Kai threw up his arms. "What would you have me do? They wanted an explanation. And you don't have to say 'you' like it's dirt in your mouth." Cinder ignored his complaint and growled.
"And you just had to choose this reason, didn't you. What were you thinking? Oh, wait, let me guess, you weren't!" Kai spun away from her, now facing the wall. He was afraid that if he looked at her for another second, he was going to explode. How dare she fling these accusations at him. She was all he had been thinking about for the past few hours! He turned back.
"You were all I had been thinking of for the past few hours. Did you know how frantic I was when I found out you were still trapped in that fire?" Kai shook his head as Cinder opened her mouth to retort. "You wouldn't understand what it was like for me."
"No," she said softly, "You're right, I wouldn't understand. But you could have been worried for many reasons. You could have been distraught because my death would led to the destruction of the Eastern Commonwealth. You could have been worried because you knew that if I were hurt, my people will go after you. So don't tell me that you were worried about me because we both know that you would just be lying to save yourself, just as you did in the press conference."
"It was just a heat of the moment thing," Kai said weakly, knowing that she had a point. That there were many things that went through his mind and both of her reasons, he admit, did cross his mind when she was unconscious, though it wasn't the dominant reason. Cinder laughed bitterly.
"So when I declare war on the Eastern Commonwealth and bomb half of your cities after this I can say that it was just a 'heat of the moment thing' and you wouldn't be mad? Do us both a favour and just-" Cinder's breath caught and she looked away. When she had composed herself she faced him again. "Please don't tell me you care. Don't tell me you were thinking of me when you made that decision to say those things. Because you would be lying and we would both know it." Kai stepped closer, his expression imploring.
"Cinder..." She backed away from him.
"You know what hurts the most?" she choked out. "The fact that you want me to act," she spat that word like poison. "as if we were in love. The fact that this would be fake. The fact that whatever I do in the next few weeks won't mean anything to you. The fact that I didn't get a choice in the matter. But I guess it would be easy for you, wouldn't it. After all, you did a pretty good job pretending six years ago." Kai gaped at her.
"What? No, Cinder. Listen to me." She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I have to go," she said. Ambassador Scarlet watched from the end of the hall. Cinder fled. Kai watched her go with a sick feeling in his stomach. What had he done?
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