AN: NB if you're easily squicked out, this is your warning that Pearl is about to suffer a slightly Grimm fate - horrible pun intended. She is a stepsister, after all...)

Despite the branches sheltering her from the worst of the rain, water was still streaming down Cinder's face. She blinked repeatedly, trying to stop the worst of it from getting into her systems. She didn't dare do any more in case she ended up rustling the leaves. From her hiding place under the tree, she squinted at Konn Torin, who was putting a hand on Kai's shoulder, doubtless trying to encourage him back into the palace. Kai shook his head, also swiping the rain out of his eyes. He took a couple of halting steps forward and bent down, picking up Cinder's battered metal foot, balancing it on his fingertips.

A comm floated across her vision. Why palace? What is happening? – Dr Erland. Swiftly followed by another: Linh Peony is awake. She remembers too much.

Cinder swallowed, jotting off the message as quickly as she could. Pearl snitched. Queen found me. They think she's me. Pearl unconscious. Am in tree. SOS help.

The message immediately displayed that it had been read. Cinder's screen display informed her that Dr Erland was typing. And stopping. And typing again. And stopping again. And typing. Cinder winced. For a man who usually replied so quickly and concisely, this was not a good sign.

He was still typing.

A muffled chime forced its way through the sound of the rain. The med-hover had arrived. The thaumaturge, guard and Pearl all boarded as Kai tapped something into the keypad, pausing a for a brief exchange with his advisor. Pearl's head was still lolling forlornly to one side. The doors clicked closed. Cinder took a shaking breath.

The response finally flashed across her vision. RUN.

And Kai's head snapped up. "Wait!"

For the last couple of days, Kai had felt as though he had been living in some sort of fever-dream. His father dying. Revelations about Linh Cinder. His coronation. Linh Cinder. More revelations. All leading to this moment where he was hunched over in the middle of the worst rainstorm he could remember, picking up the metal foot of the girl who had been making his heart lurch since she had entered the ballroom. The girl who was now bundled, unconscious, in the arms of a Lunar guard. Even unconscious, he couldn't bear to look at her face. Had it all been an illusion? A Lunar trick? Was this the other thing she had tried to tell him at the market that day? Oh, by the way I just so happen to control people for fun…hope that's ok with you?

Kai grimaced and swiped more rain out of his eyes with his free hand. He had thought she was being so honest. So open with him. The face she had made when she believed he was going to reject her flashed before his eyes again. Was that all fake?

Kai huffed out a shaky breath, trying to dispel the image but Cinder's face was still swimming before his eyes, the wariness in her face. Had it really all been an illusion? I can tell you're wondering, she had said, and Kai had flushed. He had been wondering. Left foot and leg too.

The med-hover arrived and the doors swooshed open. Kai, mechanically, began entering details into it and pressed finish. He dimly noticed that Torin was standing next to him. "You may want to add some details about that foot injury," his advisor suggested.

Kai shook his head. "Her whole leg is cyborg. There's nothing a med-droid could do."

Torin arched a polite brow. "Nevertheless, it appears to be bleeding quite profusely. Look at her skirts."

Kai snorted. "I hardly think a cyborg leg is going to be bleeding-" his voice trailed off. Torin was right. Even through the rain he could see the start of a growing dark red patch on the left side of the ballgown, doubtless from where her foot had snapped off – or something like that, anyway. From where her metal foot had snapped off…from her metal leg…her metal leg…which was bleeding? And if her foot had snapped off, well where was the foot?

Something was wrong. The doors snapped shut and Kai's head jerked up. "Wait!"

Torin pursed his lips. "Your Majesty, I-"

"Her cyborg leg is bleeding!" Kai persisted. "Don't you see? Why would her cyborg leg be bleeding?"

Torin looked confused. "Well, it wouldn't be, because-"

"Exactly." Kai cursed. "That's not Linh Cinder. Stop the hover!"

Torin was wearing an expression Kai was becoming increasingly familiar with. It was the face he made when he was suffering from a rapidly-developing headache.

"Your Majesty, might I suggest we search the grounds?"

Everything was dark. Dark and warm. How had she ended up back in bed? She wasn't sure. Her limbs felt – too much. Felt like she was floating. Floating in a kind of jostly way. Back and forth and back and forth and –

No. That wasn't right. Someone was shaking her.

Pearl cracked an eye open. "What's going-"

There was a woman in her face instantly, red fabric swishing around her. "Where is Linh Cinder?" she snapped. "Where is the traitor?"

Pearl felt impossibly groggy. Was this a dream? Was this real? She wanted to sleep. Her foot hurt. The woman looked vaguely familiar. There were hands on her shoulders holding her in a sitting position. Not the woman's apparently. Pearl tried to twist round. It didn't work.

"I don't-" Pearl slurred. The words felt sticky in her mouth. "Steps? Weren't we both?"

There was a sharp, high-pitched crack and everything came into focus as Pearl felt her head jerk backwards with the impact. "Fucking stars," she hissed.

"I really – must – protest," came a mild, inhumanly stilted, voice. "This is a – space – of healing. Non-violent – action – is mandatory – on all med-hovers."

The woman's hand was raised again, threateningly. "I will ask you to refresh your memory, Earthen. Tell the truth."

Oh right. The ball.

"I said, I don't know, I don't know!" Pearl repeated more distinctly this time, shrinking back from the thaumaturge. As far as she could, with hands still restraining her shoulders. "I remember being on the steps with Cinder, and now I'm here. That's all, I swear! Please don't hurt me!"

The woman scoffed. "Oh, she's useless. Trust an Earthen to give no useful intel whatsoever. Jax, leave her."

The hands left her shoulders instantly and Pearl stayed in a sitting position only with difficulty. She watched as the thaumaturge and a brown-haired(? It was difficult to tell – all three of them were soaked) guard left what she could now see was a med-hover. The doors clicked shut behind them and there was a whirring noise as the hover soared into the air, leaving the palace behind.

The grogginess was fading, but so was the adrenaline spike. And there was a horrible dull pain at the base of Pearl's left foot. She peeled aside the sodden layers of ballgown and dark stains (her dress was absolutely ruined. Not even a rental would want it now), ignoring the jerkily polite protests from the hover's med-droid. Like it had been of any use so far.

Pearl hauled up the final layer of tulle. She gagged immediately, her body registering what had happened before her mind started to catch up. Her golden sandal could now more accurately be described as 'gold with dark red blotches.'

There was…blood in her shoe. No, scratch that. That implied there was blood only in her shoe. Far from it. There was blood in her shoe and blood on her shoe. Blood around her shoe. Blood on her dress.

There were maybe a couple of centimetres of skin still attaching her heel to the rest of her foot. But most of it had simply been sliced off in one clean stroke. Sliced away by the Lunar guard's knife.

It was too late, Cinder realised with dull horror. The rain was stopping. There were guards filing out into the palace grounds. She wanted to run. She couldn't run. It was too late. Even now, the guards were rebooting the security droids.

Cinder shuffled further back towards the other side of the willow tree. Maybe if she crept along, sheltered by the foliage. Maybe if she just hid long enough, then she could make a run for it, and then she could –

"Commander, that tree is moving!"

There was a crackling noise and a whoosh and Cinder's heart slowed. Darkness was eating around the corners her eyes. Peony had forced her to watch enough trashy netdramas that she was very familiar with what a stungun sounded like. She had just never expected one to be aimed at her.

Hi people. Hope you're doing great :)

Soo it's been a hot minute...life has been BUSY - my bad. Thanks if you're sticking with this fic & hi if you're new here! Great to see you - expect VERY sporadic updates.

But...we're likely nearing the end of 'Saving Linh Peony' (my original plan was to take it to the end of 'Cinder' & I think I can *finally* see how events might be shaping up...so yaknow *maybe* I'll finish this in 2025 *sweats*)

Anyway, Happy Holidays & stay safe,
Laure :)