Twisted Love

Chapter 7

Cinder

Cinder chewed the inside of her mouth, desperately wanting to tinker with something at the moment. As Iko did everything for her, she felt immensely useless. And that was not a great feeling, considering the fact that she was one who did everything back at home, if that's anything close to what it is.

She was sitting in front of the mirror as Iko was doing her hair.

"Today is your date with the prince!" Iko excitedly chirped. Oh, right. Iko was also one of Prince Kaito's fangirls. Cinder rolled her eyes to the sky, letting out a breath but not interrupting her personal maid. "When you come back, you're going to have to tell me all about it, okay?"

Iko elaborately twisted Cinder's hair into a braided bun, tight atop her head. Her eyes filled with tears from the pain as the maid tugged at her hair. Tying it off and adding a crystal hairpiece, Iko stepped back. "Perfect!" she squealed, satisfied with her work.

Cinder slowly stood up, not used to having all of her hair off of her neck. Her baby blue dress flowed out around her, hands rubbing together. At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.

"That'll be the prince!" Iko squealed, rushing over quickly and yanking the door open with no abandon. Cinder straightened her back and cleared her throat, not wanting to look like a weak girl. Prince Kaito stood on the other side of the door, hair swept to the side with gel.

He shot a shy yet dazzling smile to Cinder. Iko almost had a heart attack, but Cinder was not impressed, although she did feel a strange feeling rise momentarily in her chest. "Hello, Miss Linh," Kaito started timidly.

He held out his arm for her to take. Cinder stared at it hesitantly before looping her arm through his. This seemed to give the prince some level of confidence. With another lopsided grin from the prince, they started off down the hallway. The walk was silent most of the time before Cinder decided to break the ice.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously. The prince looked surprised that she even asked.

"To the palace gardens," he explained, smiling fondly. "They are truly beautiful." Cinder's spirits rose a little at the mention of going outside in the sun.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked with a hesitant smile. Kaito chuckled at her enthusiasm (or lack of, really) and walked faster to lead her along. After turning a corner, they finally reached the giant doors leading to the gardens. With a nod, the guards stepped aside, opening the doors for the couple.

"Wow," Cinder breathed once they stepped outside.

"Indeed," the prince mused. The sun was warm, lighting up the garden with a warm glow. The garden was filled with exotic flowers and tangling trees, vines neatly trimmed and climbing up the walls. A neatly paved path led the way through the maze of plants. Butterflies flitted through the garden. Critters skittered through the plants and birds created a beautiful symphony.

The entire place seemed to be glowing. It was magical.

While Cinder was staring in awe at the sheer beauty of it, Kai wasn't looking at all. Instead, he had his eyes focused on Cinder's face. The way her lips parted a little in awe, and her eyes that had widened so incredibly gave her the look of an amazed child. Kai chuckled at the thought.

Cinder glanced over at Prince Kaito at the sound, and saw him staring at her. Quickly, she averted her gaze, staring instead at the flowers again.

"Let's go," she murmured, stepping into the separate world. Immediately spotting some flower that she loved, Cinder ran forward, cooing at the soft petals. She was playing with her hands nervously, fiddling with her fingers. This was a bad habit that she had acquired over the years.