Played For A Fool

The Devil Was Once an Angel

Cinder had a terrible feeling as she pulled up to the Darnel's house. The only thing she wanted to do was run, get as far away from the Commonwealth as she could. She told herself that she was just being paranoid after learning that Kai was trying to kill her. Who wouldn't be though? Kai had been one of the only people Cinder had trusted, and he turned out to be her worst enemy.

It was odd, looking back at all their time together. He had never given a single clue to him being in alliance with her almost killer, but he was. His identity fit like the last piece of a puzzle, but something also seemed to be missing. Something that Cinder didn't know if she would ever find out.

The shock of the sweet, innocent boy wanting to kill her would haunt Cinder forever. She knew that she would have even worse trust issues than before everything happened. It seemed almost fluky.

Kai had been there for Cinder in her most desolate hours. He had hugged her, and whispered comforting words to her, and even defended her. Kai had been everything good in Cinder's upside down world, but he had also turned out to be all the bad things as well.

Cinder was internally punching herself in the face for trusting Kai so easily. He had been too good to be true. Too kind, too lovable, too good for her. Kai had been everything that Cinder wasn't. He had been the good to her bad, and she fell for him like a fool.

Be careful who you trust, Cinder thought. Even the Devil was once an Angel.

Sitting in her car, Cinder took in a deep breath, before climbing from the vehicle. She promised herself that everything would be okay. She promised herself that it would all work out, because it had to. She had told herself a lot of things over the years, however, none of them ever seemed to be true. For example: Kai being her friend.

Cinder had tried to stop being so defeated over the fact, but in truth it was tearing her apart. She had been destroyed so many times that she thought that she was indestructible. Turns out a damaged heart can still be broken.

The sky was cloudless, and a couple of stars were visible through the haze of the city. It was a perfect night, with a slight breeze that soothed Cinder's burning flesh and shaking palms. She felt sick about the entire ordeal, and was just ready to finish what had started that fateful night, five years ago.

Cinder barely brushed her knuckles against the front door, before it was thrown open to show the Doctor. Cinder stepped back in shock, felt confused as she took everything in. She had been expecting the Doctor to look concerned, but instead he looked... triumphant.

Taking another step back, Cinder scruched up her face. The Doctor tsked at her, and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her inside the house impatiently. This wasn't unusual for the doctor to act brashly, but the mood was off, and Cinder felt as though she were being kidnapped, rather than saved.

Cinder glanced angrily at the Doctor. "What the-"

"Welcome, Selene," Dr. Darnel purred, cutting her off, and flinging her arm out of his grip. Cinder stumbled slightly, rubbing the sore spot on her arm where Dr. Darnel had gripped her so tightly.

The hair on the back of Cinder's neck stood up, and she felt (not for the first time that night) scared. She sensed danger in her surroundings, like thunder after a strike of lightning. She felt the fierce electricity running through her, and knew that she had made a terrible mistake.

Looking closely at the doctor, Cinder realized that he looked deranged. She wondered how she had never noticed it before. Never noticed the dark look hidden in his eyes. Never noticed that his eyes were so blue. Never noted how broken they were...

What a stupid girl she was.

The bottom seemed to fall out of Cinder's stomach as the huge masses of teeth and claws closed in around her. Red lights flashed in Cinder's brain as she sized up the massive bodies that shared a closer resemblance to wolves than men. Her lungs squeazed, and Cinder realized in that moment that she had been played for a fool.