Twisted Love

Chapter 19

Kai

Ever since his father had fallen ill, Kai had been working himself hard to take his mind off his father. It was obviously food poison, and it was obviously done by Queen Levana. How else would she have known that his father was going to fall ill before it even happened?

He groaned, falling back into his office chair and stared at the other office chair. It was perhaps the most comfortable office chair that was ever made. Personally, Kai thought that if he worked in a chair like that, he would never get any work done and promptly fall asleep. He rested quite often in that chair when its occupant was absent. Now, he would do anything to have the occupant back in that chair. Even the thought of his father rebuking him for not focusing was better than the thought of never seeing him there again. Then Kai would have to move to that seat. The emperor's seat. It most certainly did not belong to him. He was all too happy with his current seat.

It used to belong to his mother, the late empress. Kai could recall faint memories of stumbling into the room while grasping his mother's hand and being lifted into her lap. Then, when he was older, he dragged a chair over to her desk to do his homework there.
His mother passed when he was fourteen.

Since then, his father wasn't the jolly father he used to be. Of course, he was still the good, just emperor he was before, but when they were away from the prying eyes of the public, he didn't smile as much as he used to. But then, the Selection started.

And his father's personality changed yet again.

Now, all he seemed to care for were political advantages. Feelings used to matter to his father, but now, they suddenly didn't.

Kai could recall when his father consented to more of his requests. Whether it be what dish they had for dinner, or what type of books Kai would like to add to their library, Rikan always listened to his son's arguments and ideas at the very least. About two-thirds of Kai's ideas were actually carried through.

And since his mother died, only about a third of them were actually listened to.

And now?

None.

Or at least, few enough that Kai had enough fingers to count all of them individually.
He tried to understand his father. Who wouldn't want the best for their empire? But again, didn't love matter as much as that? When his father had first objected to Cinder, Kai was shocked. Okay, she might not have curtsied the prettiest, but how many Sixes actually get to learn to curtsy properly?

And it wasn't like she was ugly, either. She possessed a natural beauty that was accented by light makeup. She wasn't one of those girls that simply cake themselves with powder to make themselves pale. Cinder had tan skin that was, again, natural. Cinder isn't malicious, or cunning, or scheming, for stars sake!

Right?

Kai glanced at the shoe sitting on his desk. Despite how much he wanted to despise Cinder, he couldn't bring himself to do it fully. He had even begun to hope that she wouldn't be caught by the search squads his father sent out. In fact, he would've called off the search, if it wasn't for the fact that Carswell Thorne ran off with her. Carswell Thorne of all people.

The young captain had been his friend since his mother died. Carswell, just a cadet at that time, was sixteen, and a good companion for the young prince. Kai saw first-hand what Thorne called "his unbelievable skill at capturing the heart of every maiden". It was pretty true. There wasn't a maid under the age of eighteen who hadn't blushed at the carefully chosen words from the young cadet and prince. Both were, in fact, quite good looking, and both wore uniforms that flattered their build.

And now, Cinder's with Carswell, whom he had never thought of as a rival since they never took interest in the same girls. To be more accurate, Carswell was interested in every pretty girl, and Kai was interested in no one, much less the ones that Carswell associates with.

And yet, things didn't make sense. Carswell would say that if a couple looks about right together, then they have a 75% chance of actually being together. Of course, Carswell never had a serious girlfriend because he insisted none of them were a match for his looks. What if that person was Cinder though? They certainly would make a very cute couple.

But then, wouldn't Kai and Cinder?

Besides, Cinder had shown interest in him, hadn't she? All their secret conversations together held in the library with the pretense of meeting there by chance had revealed them to be very much in love with each other. When they read together in the library, the sound each other's voice was enough to soothe them. When they fell asleep after reading too long, being snuggled together on the couch gave them comfort. When they were in each other's arms, they fit together like two pieces of a missing puzzle.

"You know," said Torin suddenly from where he had been sitting in a chair, reading some documents, "if you're still thinking of Cinder Linh, I think you can go over the recorders you installed in her room."

With a jolt, Kai sat up straight again. "Right. I'd completely forgot about those." He sighed. "And to think it would be hers that I'm searching through. I would've thought it would be Chiyoko's or something." He followed Torin out of the office and headed towards the main surveillance room.

He had not expected anything remotely interesting to be found in the recording, but what he discovered shocked him beyond anything he had been expecting to find out.
Twenty minutes later, he was still listening to the recording from Cinder's room.

"You're the missing Princess Selene."

With shaking hands, he passed the headphones to Torin and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. Torin raised a questioning eyebrow at the prince then started to listen to the recording as well. Halfway through, his eyes bulged and he backtracked to listen to it again. He slowly took off the headphones.

Kai laughed softly. "At least we know that eloping wasn't their main purpose." Then he shot up into his seat. "Torin, do you think Lev-"

Torin nodded grimly. "I'm afraid the queen suspects something. She has inquired the girl's past, and was dismayed at the fact that we didn't have much data on her."

Kai frowned. "But how was she to know? Unless she had a super hacker to hack into my recorders, she shouldn't know anything!"

Torin shook his head. "Queen Levana has quite the personnel, you know. Besides, don't you think Miss Linh resembles the late queen?"

"Seeing as I was four when Queen Channary died, no."

"Well, the Selene you see now is a carbon copy of her."

Kai stood up. "I certainly don't doubt that she's Selene. If it was important enough that someone hacked into our systems just to tell her that she's Selene and to 'be careful', I think it's true enough." He reached for the door. "We have to tell my fath-"

"Your Highness!" A guard burst through the door, clutching his side.

Kai stood up straight. "What's the matter?"

"It's the emperor, Your Highness. They... don't think he'll last much longer." The guard bit his lip and lowered his head. "Your immediate audience was requested by His Majesty." He looked up again to escort his prince to the medical wing.

But the prince was already gone.

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