The Lunar Chronicles: One Shots

The Walls - (Winter x Jacin)

"...the palace walls have been bleeding for years, and no one else sees it."
-Winter Hayle-Blackburn, from Cress

       Winter sat on a bench, staring at the albino wolf. The ghost of Ryu. "And the earth is full tonight, tonight, and the wolves all howl, aa-ooooooooooh..." she sang, rocking herself gently. She absentmindedly traced her fingertips along the scars on her cheeks, still humming the soft melody. She was still doing this when Cinder came along, watching the girl as she stared into the nothingness.
       "Winter?" Cinder spoke.
       "Sel... Cinder," said Winter, meeting her eyes. "Hello."
       "Thought you might be here." Cinder sat down beside the girl. Moments passed before Cinder plucked up the courage to ask, "Is that... Ryu?"
       "Yes," she replied simply. "He is my wolf."
       Cinder bit back a chuckle at the word 'wolf', and immediately thought of Scarlet.
       Another pause.
       Cinder raked a hand through her silken brown hair (which was, for once, not in a ponytail, due to formalities and presentation and such), inhaling then exhaling deeply. "How've you been?" she asked.
       "I am happy." Winter responded, once again in simple sentences. "Ryu is happy, too."
       "You know..." Cinder licked her bottom lip before pressing both lips together. "Jacin is really..."
       "I know he feels guilty. But Ryu has forgiven him," said Winter, "and so have I. Haven't we?" She looked to the side where said man stood, holding back a smirk. Cinder nearly choked before muttering a soft, "I didn't see you there..." Jacin chuckled, his blue eyes lighting up with laughter.
       "Your majesty," he greeted with a grin. Winter was about to say something when they heard a beep. Jacin drew his brow and checked his port screen. At the same time, green text clouded Cinder's retina display.

EMERGENCY MEETING WITH EARTHEN OFFICIALS; PARTICIPATION IS MANDATORY.

       Jacin opened his mouth to speak, but Cinder cut him off.
       "Emergency meeting. I know." she said, standing up. She raised a hand as goodbye and flashed a smile before walking off, her walk becoming a steady jog.
       When she had gone, Winter decided she needed company. Looking to Jacin, she patted the empty space next to her, gesturing for him to sit. Hesitantly, he made his way over to the seat, sitting down almost cautiously. He stared at the empty cage, imagining the late albino wolf prowl about in its home. Winter found herself nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck, murmuring the next lyrics of the song.
Jacin almost smiled... before he felt a dampness on his shoulder. He heard a soft sniffle from Winter and immediately brought her to face him, his arms placed firmly on Winter's shoulders. Before he could even ask what was wrong, Winter stifled a sob and said, "I can't see him anymore."
That's right, Jacin thought, Winter had been the first to test Linh Garan's device––just the day before, too.
"He must be so lonely," sniffed Winter. Her eyes glazed over once more and swept over the cage, the habitat now changing as the workers gradually installed different biome features.
"But there are always good things, right?" Jacin whispered, almost to himself. Winter pressed her lips together and hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I... suppose," she started.
"What about the walls?" he suggested. "How are the walls?"
"... I don't know." she said slowly. "Can we go see?"
Jacin nodded, standing. Winter grasped his hand, to which he winced but accepted, and they began to walk.

And as they reached the grand palace walls, they balked and Winter's breath hitched. She blinked, once, twice... even thrice.
It was an event she wanted to remember forever: the sun, the all-natural sun had begun to set. In the near distance, in front of the lake, as Emperor Kai bent down on his knee, an item in hand to present to her dearest cousin Selene...
She saw the walls were dry. Not seeped in blood, not sticky with the crimson liquid, but dry and clean and shining.
      "Aren't they so much prettier when they're clean?" asked Jacin.
      "Oh, Jacin," Winter said as she pulled herself into his chest. "Have they always been this beautiful?"
      "Always," he replied. "But never as beautiful as you."
       And with that, he captured her lips in his, sending shivers of excitement down both their spines.

Author's Note:
       I think I might like this style of writing. Note that this isn't my style of writing at all, I just tried my best to make it look like Marissa Meyer's, just to get the feel of things, y'know? I don't normally indent, but tell me what you guys think. Did this feel like an actual author's writing? No? Yes?

~Emily