Twisted Love

Chapter 6

Chiyoko

A knock from the door startled Chiyoko from a daze. Great, so now she had two, not one, things to be pissed about. It was upsetting enough that the prince looked at her the same way he looked at all the other girls. Now some annoying maid had to come and knock while she was getting her nails done?

"Miss Mori? Open up!" Her maid hurried to the door, and opened it to reveal a Lunar guard. She could tell by the crescent moon pinned on his jacket. A guard of Queen Levana, then. Chiyoko heard the queen was staying over, and they had orders not to go to the west wing, where the Lunars were staying.
"Yes?" Chiyoko answered with uncertainty in her voice.
"Her Majesty requests your appearance in the living room of her personal quarters this moment."
Confused and nervous, Chiyoko had no choice but to check her appearance in the mirror (flawless as always, of course) and follow the guard silently down the hall. They eventually came to a stop in a hall decorated with red and silver, Luna's colors. The guard stopped outside a door and knocked, and the door was opened by a servant who bowed.
They walked to the armchair by the fireplace. "Your Majesty, here is the girl you wish to see. Miss Mori."

Chiyoko bowed. "Your Majesty. Was there a reason you called?"
The queen turned. She wore a veil over her face, so Chiyoko could only make out her brown eyes and blood red lips. "Of course there was a reason." She turned to the guard. "You are dismissed."

"May I- sit in that chair across from you, Your Majesty?"

The queen narrowed her eyes at Chiyoko. "What is your caste, girl? You are certainly very proud. Yes, go and sit in that chair. Nevertheless, we have important business to attend to. Now, as I understand it, you and thirty-four other girls are here for what they call a Selection, for the darling Prince Kaito to pick a bride. Yes?" Chiyoko nodded. "I've also noticed that there is a certain girl who seems to be getting a bit more attention from the prince than the rest. Cinder Linh. And you don't seem to like her very much. But of course, you must play fair and bury your anger inside of you and secretly plot ways of revenge. Is that not so?"

Chiyoko gulped. "Y-your Majesty, how did you know?"

Queen Levana laughed. "Smart girl. You did not try to deny the truth. Good. I myself do not like the looks of this Cinder. After all, she is of low caste. It would never do for her to marry Kaito, would it?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"Then I have a plan for you to kick her out of the Selection once and for all. Would you do it?"

Chiyoko bowed her head. "Of course. Anything for you, Your Majesty."

"Very well. Now, the girl has a step-sister who hates her, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Pearl Linh."

"Would you like to kick them both out at the same time?"

Chiyoko looked up eagerly. "Anything for less competitors."

"Well, I happen to know that Cinder is remarkably skilled at making friends. Especially those of her own... level, we'll say. You and Pearl will watch for a time when Cinder gets friendly with other men. At the right moment, Pearl should accuse her of being in a romantic relationship with others, which is forbidden. After Cinder is taken away, you will be broken hearted over the loss of 'a good friend'. I'm sure you know what to do next." The Lunar Queen gave her a sly smile.

"I'll tattle on Pearl," said Chiyoko with a smile of her own.

"Well, my dear, you should go now, lest the guards become suspicious of you."

With one last bow, Chiyoko retreated from the room. "Yes, Your Majesty. Have a good day." She couldn't believe it. She had just been recruited by a queen to do something she loved to do. Her next step would be to find Pearl and convince her to help. And from what she knew, it wasn't hard.

Oh, no, not at all hard.

***

Cinder

Dear Peony,

I'm writing as I promised. Life here is good. They treat us all like royalty, even though none of us are actual royalty.

I have a personal maid here, imagine that! It seems like a lifetime ago that I myself was a maid. Her name is Iko, and she is a very bubbly person. A lot like you, now that I think of it. You would get along with her really well.

Oh, the castes. They said that we are all Threes now, but the food we get here is fit for Ones. It's remarkable.

Speaking of castes, the Two hates me. Chiyoko Mori. I don't even know why, it's not like I want to steal the prince from her. I suppose I did get the first date. But other than that, nothing. Not everyone is as mean as Chiyoko though. I met a friend on the plane, Scarlet Benoit. Remember her? The pretty redhead.

I'm assuming you want to know about the prince. He met us all at dinner today. He kinda just waltzed in and looked at each girl carefully before announcing for us to start heading to another room for dinner and storming off after his dad. They must've argued. He didn't say much, but I think he's okay. At least, on the outside. Who knows what he's like on the inside.
Anyway, after dinner was over, he walked over to us again, but this time, he talked to all of us. And by that, I meant an exchange of pleasantries. It was like "How do you like it here?" and "How many siblings do you have? I've always wished for siblings." That was the only time I felt an emotion stir inside me the whole day (besides being nervous, of course). The poor boy lost his mother when he was two, and had no one else to play with for what, sixteen years? But then again, there are dozens of Twos that would meet with the royal family quite eagerly.
I'm going off track here. Anyway, when the prince got to me, he asked me about my family, like he did with everyone. I told him about you, of course, and how I was adopted. I think Pearl told him bad things about me, because he lowered his voice and asked if Pearl and Adri treated me alright. Don't worry, I only shrugged. I thought that would be the end, since it didn't appear like he was interested in anyone, so you can imagine my surprise when a servant brought over a slip of paper with elegant writing on it. From the prince. He asked me to meet him in the gardens tomorrow morning, as his first date.
I really don't know what to do, what to expect, what to say, and all the likes. I think he's a nice prince, but like I've said, you'll never know what a person is like on the inside. For example, the emperor looks loving and gentle and gracious to all on TV, but really, he's not that perfect. Especially the gracious to all part. When he came to visit me this afternoon he showed such a dislike at my "improperness" that you would've thought I would be out by dinnertime. Or at least, not allowed to go with Prince Kaito at all, seeing how he obviously holds power over Kaito. I saw him whispering to the prince when we all met him right before dinner. He was obviously giving the prince his ideas on all of us.

I'm going to rest for tonight now. After all, I've got a date tomorrow to prepare for. Goodnight, Peony. Love you forever, and don't forget to write back!

Sincerely,

Cinder

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