A lot of you loved the car scene in the last chapter and I couldn't be happier.

I know Cinder's last arc had Channary as one of the underlying themes, but it focused more on Winter. This time, Cinder will have the spotlight.

Sifting Through Cinder: Part Two

Commonwealth, The Earthen Union

Torin's twins were having a sleepover so Kai got permission to spend the night at his old home.

Kai wakes up to noise coming from downstairs. He pauses, gripping on his sheets to make sure it was a sound from downstairs and not his dream ending in a bang. When he hears it again, he knows it's real. He throws his comforter and walks into his open closet. He grabs an empty hanger to use as a weapon. It's not smart but there's nothing else here.

Kai tiptoes through the upper hallway, holding his breath to soften his steps. He continues to listen to downstairs and hears many footsteps moving around. He quickly glances at his hanger and realizes he's a dead man. Whatever. This is his house and he will defend it till his last breath, which may be soon.

Kai quietly heads down the stairs. He peeks over the railing to see who's there and it's only his friends. Relieved, Kai joins them, putting the hanger down on a chair by the front door. He walks into his kitchen to see Thorne eating a bag of chips, Winter nibbling on some bread and jam, and Scarlet sipping a soda. It's as if they lived here and they're looking at him like he's the stranger.

"I gave you keys for this?" Kai questions rhetorically.

"Yes," Thorne responds.

"It was already noon and you weren't answering your phone," Scarlet explains, "so we came here."

That's when Kai remembers his plans for today. His father's tomb. His sleeping hasn't been the best since his father died and a part of him knew he would sleep through an alarm he didn't set, but his friends understand. They seem like they were already making themselves comfortable in his place, especially since nobody went up to wake him.

"Just give me thirty minutes," Kai says before heading back upstairs.

-o-

Artemisia, Luna

Cinder wakes up with her face planted on her pillow. She slowly raises her head, remembering to be aware not to fall over the edge of the bed. Cinder blinks a few times, adjusting to the dim lighting of the hotel room. She looks around. Cress is still asleep on the other side of their pillow divider and Wolf stepped out having made his bed before leaving.

Cinder turns around and grabs her phone to check the time. It's a little past noon, as she expected. After they got their rental car, they grabbed a bite to eat before sleeping. They didn't want to waste time dealing with jet lag.

Cinder opens her messages and sees a lot from Jacin. Too tired to read them, she calls him. As the phone rings, she checks the time and wonders if he's in class.

Jacin Kinda-Maybe-Hate-Him Clay: Afternoon.

"What do you want?" Cinder asks. "I'm not reading all those messages."

Jacin Kinda-Maybe-Hate-Him Clay: Be careful while you venture out.

"I got that message a lot, thank you very much. I know my hometown."

Jacin Kinda-Maybe-Hate-Him Clay: No, Cinder, I'm serious.

Cinder is taken aback by Jacin's tone. Unlike any other conversation they've had before, his voice doesn't have the same snark it always did.

"Why?" Cinder asks.

Jacin Kinda-Maybe-Hate-Him Clay: … you don't know what day it is?

"Should I?"

Jacin Kinda-Maybe-Hate-Him Clay: Cinder, it's the seventeenth anniversary since President Blackburn's death.

Cinder's mouth goes dry. Of course, it's today. Cinder's lived through today many times before. In their household, they'd acknowledge it because the rest of Luna did. The city would celebrate. Cinder never minded because she knew the woman who destroyed the country. She never really knew her and she's fine with that based on stories. But now, there's something different about today.

"Thanks, Jacin," Cinder mutters, taking a deep breath. "I'll call if I need anything. Good luck with your exams."

Cinder hangs up and sighs, running a hand through her hair. As she untangles knots, she hesitates on calling Winter or even Levana. But what would she say? Would they even remember it was today without Artemisia's buzz? She didn't. Should she remind them? Did they remember?

Cinder looks away from her thoughts when she feels a hand patting her leg. She looks over and sees Cress stretching over their pillow wall. Her eyes are sympathetic. Cinder only wonders how much Cress heard. Probably enough if she's patting her leg.

"We have a big day," Cinder says, hopping out of bed. "Happy -"

She cuts herself off when Wolf walks back in the hotel room.

"It's a zoo out there," Wolf says, closing the door. "People are marching the streets, rejoicing that they were free seventeen years ago this day. It's weird. I can't imagine how it might be for you."

Cinder shrugs. "Me neither."

"Cinder," Cress starts before Cinder pointing at her silenced her.

"Don't dote on me," Cinder says.

Wolf clears his throat. "I was concerned about your safety so I got us something to hide you."

"Oh no."

Cinder groans, sitting on the corner of the bed. Cress scurries over as Wolf opens the plastic bag in his hands. He pulls out Artemisia baseball caps and sunglasses, each a different set of colours. Artemisia's finest selfie accessories. If they wear this, they'll look like such idiots.

"Let's be even more touristy," Wolf says as he watches Cress beam as she puts on the pastel pink cap. "It'll help with you going incognito."

"I'm a dead ringer for my dead mother," Cinder states. "Please, if there's anything I'm a master at, it's hiding in plain sight."

"I'm serious."

"I know."

"Cinder," Cress says, "at least for today."

"Don't worry." Cinder slips on a dark blue cap. "When in Artemisia."

-o-

Commonwealth, The Earthen Union

Kai shuffles down the stairs once he got dressed. He took longer than usual to pick an outfit, likely from stalling. The only reason he settled on his current choice is because he thought that his father's tombstone wouldn't care if he rolled up in his pyjamas.

"Alright," Kai says, grabbing his keys and approaching his friends. "Are you ready?"

"Are you?" Winter asks.

He isn't but he wears a smile they can still see through. Kai doesn't think he'll ever be ready,

-o-

Artemisia, Luna

The hotel had a delectable room service menu. Every meal looked delicious and, for a moment, they thought they should order one of everything and have a breakfast buffet. They settled on the biggest and fluffiest pancakes and buckets sausages the kitchen could make. Today was a big day, despite not having any real plans yet, so they had to be energized for it.

Cinder turns on the television, flipping through channels. She isn't surprised to see every channel having a marathon about her late mother and the Blackburn dynasty.

"I've seen some while growing up here," Cress says. "A lot of information is repetitive. There was nothing else on television during this time of year."

Wolf nods. "I've seen some online."

"Levana never let us put them on," Cinder says.

"Because they're fake?"

"Other way around."

Cinder puts down the remote and settles for a documentary that's just starting. On the screen, she sees archived footage of her mother and Levana as small girls, a few years younger than she is now. They walk behind their parents, her grandparents. They all look like porcelain dolls come to life. It's eerie. Cinder can never picture herself in that family.

"The Blackburn dynasty … they were beautiful and ugly at the same time. They're a storm of beautiful roses: dangerous, but beautiful. They possess a magic that's anything but soft. Glamorous, yes, but it's neck-rolling, finger-snapping, backbreaking. One of the reasons why Channary and Levana were born was to carry the Blackburn name. Their parents, Marrok and Jannali Blackburn were said to have been disappointed by having two girls since they wanted their name to continue. Caregivers for the girls said that they were raised to be assertive. They were trained to use their dominance to make their names known. And Channary succeeded in carrying the name because it will forever be a part of Luna's history."

The montage of past photos appears on the screen. They mostly consist of Channary and Levana growing up, never having a bad fashion or beauty day. Their gowns were always designer, tailored to fit them perfectly.

"Has Levana ever been, I don't know, natural?" Cress asks.

Cinder shrugs the more she thinks about it. "That," she points at a glamour shot of Levana on the screen, "is her natural state."

"They have thick swirly hair and naturally plumped lips that were dipped in rubies, but it was an elaborate and methodical costume. President Blackburn, for instance, used her status and beauty to gain power, which was her justification for being a monster. There's a certain mystique that surrounds them because they're so intensely private, rich, and glamorous. It was a gamble to admit the harsh realities of being a Blackburn. It softened some people with pity unless they'd also been dragged by hair through Channary's tragedies. Maybe that's what status and prestige do when combined with politics. It corrupts everything around you until your own family sees you as more than their blood."

And now, people were being interviewed. From what Cinder's heard, it was rare to see someone come out about her mother's regime. Most of it would have been done anonymously to avoid getting their aces bitten.

"How terrifying was it to work for President Blackburn?" The interviewer asks.

The interviewee is behind an opaque screen. A shadow is barely seen. Their voice is disguised, sounding robotic. "If she called you into her office, she was either firing or fornicating you. I didn't like it. I concentrated on my work to support my family. I had to be tough to withstand anything. I couldn't be sad or unhappy, just busy."

Cinder is unsure of how to take that. She knew all that about her mother but it's still surprising her for some unknown reason.

"Okay, but we knew all that," Wolf says. "Why are we acting so shocked?"

"Artemisia magic," Cress reasons.

"Do you believe that Levana could've been a better president?" The interviewer asks.

Cinder scoffs at that concept. "Oh, stars, no."

"She was so smart," the former deputy press secretary shares. "She double-majored in political science and economics and was in the middle of law school before she dropped out to work as her sister's senior advisor. I think she eventually finished her degree but I never followed. She was a beautiful fool for staying with her sister for as long as she did. She should've left the moment Channary was inaugurated. If anything, Levana should've been president instead of Channary."

Cinder shakes her head. "Again, oh, stars, no. Let's finish up and get out of here before we get brainwashed by all this."