Twisted Love

Chapter 17

Cinder

"Finally," Thorne groaned, slumping back into his chair as they finally burst into the open sky. In this area, it was temporarily devoid of the kingdom's fighter jets. Sighing in relief, he smacked the autopilot button and unbuckled himself, ambling over to where Wolf and Cinder sat.

Currently, Wolf and Cinder seemed to be having a miniature staring match. Tension crackled between them; so thick that you could almost see it, zapping across each other. The captain broke it by slapping both of them on the backs. Wolf let out a low growl, but they broke their gaze.

It was clear that Cinder didn't trust the hybrid guard, but still, for now she let it slide.

"Where to, Cinder?" Thorne chirped merrily. Cinder glared at him.

"Last time I checked, I was the one leading this mission, so what are you supposed to call me?" she snapped. Without waiting for him to answer, she said, "Captain." Thorne made an appalled face, nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Hey! I'm the captain!" he protested as Cinder stood up to make her way to the nose of the jet. "I'm the one that's flying the jet."

"Not anymore, you aren't," Cinder said with a smile, swiping across the screen built inside of the jet to locate themselves. Grinning, she followed the red dot showing the jet's flight path. "Perfect! We're almost right above Scarlet's home." Wolf suddenly perked up.

"Scarlet?" he asked. It was the first time he had spoken since they had boarded the jet. Cinder glanced over at him for a second and nodded. "What about her?"

"We're going to fetch her, obviously," Cinder answered. "Knowing her, she wouldn't want to miss out on any of the action." Surprisingly, the hybrid guard cracked a grin, showing off his pointy teeth. Then, Cinder turned to the grumbling Thorne. "Land the jet near her home." Mumbling profanities, he plopped down into the chair and reluctantly did what Cinder ordered.

Clasping her hands together, she said in an authoritative tone, "All right! If we're in this as a group, we're going to have to establish some rules." Thorne's complaints grew louder. She held up a finger, ignoring him. "First. I would like you all to pledge your loyalty to me."

"Oh, so she becomes captain and all of sudden she wants us all to-" Cinder stops his rambling with a nice, long smack to the side of his head. However, Wolf just simply dipped his head low, a clear sign of submission. "My loyalty is yours." She grinned.

"Thorne. You too." With another grumble, he nodded curtly and suddenly jerked the jet lower towards the ground, causing Cinder to stumble. Catching herself on the side of a chair, she murmured, "Gosh, what a kid."

"We're about to land, captain," Thorne said disdainfully as the green field neared them. "You might want to buckle up."

***

Scarlet

"Grandma, is there anything to do?" Scarlet yelled into the kitchen. Holding a kitchen knife, she spotted her grandmother's unruly head of gray hair flash for a second.

"Not to my knowledge!" she answered. "I'm just making dinner."

Scarlet hummed in acknowledgement and plopped down onto the rickety, wooden chair. Turning on the television, she surfed through the channels until she found one broadcasting the Selection. I wonder how Cinder's doing, she mused.

But instead of the usual show, the news popped up.

"-footage shows that one of the Selection participants, Cinder Linh, and one of the kingdom's own captain had an affair!"

"WHAT?!" Scarlet yelled, bursting forward in her chair.

"Goodness me!" her grandmother shouted from the kitchen. Scarlet heard a clatter to indicate that something had dropped, but all she wanted to know right now was whether this news was true or not.

From the corner, a video popped up. It was grainy and dark, but Scarlet could clearly make out Cinder's body frame. Furrowing her brows, it indeed did look like an affair. But she knew Cinder. That girl would never do anything like that. "Not true..." she murmured.

Suddenly, from outside, she started to hear a dull roar. Glancing outside, she saw nothing through the window. All that was seen was the regular crops, waving gently in the wind. "Huh," Scarlet huffed. Raising her voice, she yelled, "Grandma! Did you leave the motor on?"

"What motor?" she called back. The roar turned even louder, and outside, the crops seemed to be waving more wildly. So her grandma didn't know what was going on, either. Grunting, Scarlet shot up as the roar grew deafeningly loud. Running towards the back door, she threw it open, giving a surprised yell as the wind immediately whipped her hair and red hoodie back.

Glaring up into the sun, she saw - of all things - a jet landing in the middle of their field. "Grandma!" Scarlet screamed in a higher pitch. "Why is there a jet in our field?" The roar suddenly ceased, and the jet door creaked open. The red headed girl slowly closed the door until it was only open a crack, peeking through it to see who would step out. First, a feminine figure showed.

"OH MY STARS!" Scarlet screeched, throwing open the doorway when she recognized it. "CINDER?!"

"Cinder? Who's Cinder?" her grandmother asked, using a rag to dry a plate.

"Grandma, I think I have to go," Scarlet told her, holding her hands together. Eyes wide in alarm, her grandmother gazed at her in surprise.

"Go? Go where?"

"I'll be back, Grandma," she kept saying, not answering her question. Already, she was backing out the doorway, towards the jet and the beckoning girl standing alone in the field. In a haste, her grandmother dropped both the rag and the plate as she rushed towards her.

The plate shattered. Glancing at the jet, her grandmother's eyes suddenly softened in understanding. Though filled with tears and the sorrow of letting go, she nodded once. "Be safe," she whispered.

Scarlet nodded vigorously and smiled in what she was hoping would comfort her grandmother. Waving her last goodbye, she turned around and sprinted towards the jet, not able to look back.

What she would've seen, however, was her grandmother, standing alone among a field of wheat. More beautiful than she would've ever seen.

***

Levana

"It's working," Levana purred as she saw Prince Kai and the emperor fighting outside in the palace courtyard. "My plan to acquire the prince is working."

"Congratulations, my queen," Sybil said respectfully, accommodating it with a low bow. Levana frowned, twisting her blood red lips into an ugly scowl.

"Still, there is still one thing standing in my way. I'll have to get rid of that obstacle." Her long, manicured nails clacked against the window pane impatiently.

"What might that be, Your Majesty?" Sybil questioned.

Levana's lips curled into a maniacal grin. "The emperor."