Shatter Like Glass-Cinderella Retold

Part Thirteen

Inara walked forward and almost tripped on the hem of the cloak.

"Sorry," Inara said lightly after nearly catching Ashen on fire with the torch. "This is my sister's cloak. I would not have had to borrow it if you had not stolen mine."

"I borrowed it," Ashen corrected. "You can have it back." She opened the clasp.

"You took my clothes too," Inara stated, eyes combing Ashen's body. Ashen glared at her.

"I needed to get out, so I needed a disguise," she replied. "Now can you get out? I don't have time for this."

The princess looked too intrigued for Ashen's liking. Curiosity was a bad thing, a sickness that Ashen chronically suffered from. It tended to cause trouble for her. Both her curiosity and other people's. Inara was not someone she wanted to be keeping an eye on her.

"Why would you need to have a disguise?" Inara asked. "Did you want to make yourself look better? I have to tell you, Ashen, the black hair really suits you. And the red! It makes your skin look less deathly pale." She frowned. "Strange, how can you be a pirate and be so pale? You have access to sun all the time."

"Azurian skin."

"Of course." Inara ran her fingers through her hair, ruffling it slightly.

Ashen extended her hand, thrusting the cloak towards its owner. "You can have your things back."

"Tell me what you were doing,"

"Is your life so boring you have to harass me as a form of entertainment? You could just get a pet."

Rolling her eyes, Inara replied, "I do not understand why you would need to pretend to be a Carminian. You had no issue coming as an Azurian pirate earlier. What is differ—" The princess smirked. "You are trying to hide from the Azurians. Are you some wanted criminal or something?"

"Or something."

Inara frowned in consideration. "You know, you looked a bit like them."

"Sorry, Inara, but not all pretty people are royalty. I am flattered, though."

She crossed her arms. "Something is going on here."

"Yes, we're talking. And I'm giving you back your clothes. Now where are mine?"

Wrinkling her nose, Inara took the clothes from where they lay crinkled on the bed. She tossed them to Ashen, who caught them in one hand.

"Could you give me some privacy?" Ashen asked.

"You did not stretch my shirt, did you?" Inara asked, looking her over again.

"Stop doing that. I did not stretch your clothes. We're nearly the same size."

"It is the nearly that worries me."

Inara shut herself in the privy while Ashen changed. The princess called out, "Why are you hiding from the Azurians?"

Ashen made a gesture in the direction of the princess's voice.

Slipping back into her regular clothes, she replied, "I have no problem with the Azurians. I simply needed to sneak out."

"But why!" Inara exclaimed. She huffed. "Are you ready yet?"

"No," Ashen told her as she pulled her tunic over her head. Her chest plate felt cold against her formerly bare skin. "And contrary to your belief, not everything is your business."

"Does this have something to do with why you left Azure?"

"I am almost ready," Ashen replied instead as she tied the laces of her boots. She stood, dusting off her wrinkled leggings.

"Finally," Inara said exasperatedly. "But, Ashen, please, just tell me the truth."

"Fine, I do not like you, not even a little. That is the truth." She pretended to sigh with relief. "Wow, what a weight off my chest? All of these years having to pretend to not hate you. This is so refreshing."

"May I come out now?"

Balling up Inara's clothes, she said, "Yes, but only to get your stuff. This interview is over."

Inara stepped into the rooms. She snatched her clothes from Ashen with a look of annoyance. "I do not know anything yet."

"I am perfectly fine with that," Ashen retorted. "It is not like you knew much to begin with."

Inara walked towards the door, then turned around. "Maybe I should ask the Azurians about you, Ashen of Azure."

"Ashen is not an uncommon name," Ashen said. That was true. Arrow always loved the name. Ashen had been the name of Arrow's favorite aunt. She died in the War of 3170, four years before Ashen was born. She, like Arrow, had been killed by a Viridian. Ashen wondered if a member of royalty was responsible for that, too.

"We will just have to find out," Inara replied. She tilted her head, letting her wavy hair fall to one side. "I could always combine it with your father's name, George."

"A common name as well," Ashen said, perhaps a little too quickly. George was a common name, but he was one of their most notorious criminals—in their mind. A mention of him, the implication he was there, was enough to warrant an investigation.

"If you say so," Inara said quietly. She flipped her hair as she left the room.

Ashen's heart was pounding. What if Inara knew more than she was letting on? If she told the Azures, they would be in deep trouble. She did not know if that fact would make Inara more or less likely to turn them over to the Azurians. That hardly mattered. Inara's suspicions put them in danger.

She needed to talk to her father. She took a few steps to her father's room, planning to tell him what had happened with Inara. Just as she went to knock, she heard a clock chime from the other end of the hall. Eleven consecutive chimes. Was it really that early in the evening? Their visit to Ebony still had them a couple hours ahead. She groaned. It felt as though it was several hours past midnight. Her father and crew had to be exhausted. She certainly was. It wasn't fair to wake them. Besides, she didn't feel like talking to anyone.

Ashen resolved to tell everyone about Inara's visit the next day. Part of the healing process they insisted she go through included sleep.

Biting her lip, she pushed open the door to her room. She threw herself onto the bed and felt a pang of pain. It really was an awful piece of furniture. Still, she was not in the mood to sleep on the floor again. She wasn't in the mood to do anything.

Ashen leaned over the side of the bed to reach her possessions. She grabbed only what she needed, the pillows, and the doll and quilt from her mother. She held them close to her as she curled up. Tears rolled down her face soaking her pillow. Closing her eyes, the darkness left her alone with her guilt over Smiegal, her painful memories of her brother, and her worries about Inara.