Lunar Palace

Chapter 12: Cinder

This is a really short chapter, but I don't really know what else to do.. so I hope you guys like it anyways!

Here is a butterfly for you, you, and you. Take care of it well.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Cinder swept her hair into a ponytail, her grease-covered fingers sending streaks of black through her stringy brown hair. Once her hair was up, she climbed into the compartment at the side of the ship, gritting her teeth when the sharp edge of metal cut into her leg, sending blood streaming from the shallow cut. She winced and moved on, carefully maneuvering through the mess of wires in the compartment and, finally, finding a center to it all. All the wires joined into one big, blue box, and Cinder took her screw, cracking the box open and raising her eyebrows at the mess of wires inside.
Lunar spaceships were so much more complicated than Earthen ships-the technology was very different. Furrowing her brow, Cinder pinched a wire away from another, her eyes trailing to where it went. She pulled out her knife finger. This was the hard part of the procedure. With one expert snip, she cut off both wires.
"What are you doing?" Scarlet's voice echoed through the metal compartment, and Cinder jumped, letting out a gasp when the cut in her leg emitted a painful spurt of blood.
"Cinder?" Scarlet stepped over, her expression worried. "What are you doing here?"
Cinder stumbled back, jet hands held in front of her like a shield. "N-nothing!"
Scarlet's eyes narrowed, and they traveled around the compartment, stopping at the wires Cinder had been working with. "Cinder?" Her voice rose to a suspicious pitch. "Are you... cutting the wires?"
"N-no!" Cinder staggered, her metal foot creaking under her nervous energy. "Why would I... Um..."

Scarlet lunged for the box, looking down at the wires spilling out of it. "Cinder!" Her voice held a strong, accusatory tone, and Cinder involuntarily winced.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Stars, Cinder! Why are you cutting the wires of the ONLY SHIP AVAILABLE?" Scarlet shouted, snatching up a yellow wire and thrusting it in Cinder's face. "What about Kai, Cinder? Don't you care about him? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

Cinder snapped, the pressure of Scarlet's words making her eyes burn with anger. "We won't find him, Scarlet! Just give up already, will you? He's lost, and it's better to accept that than to harbor false hope that he'll come back!"

Scarlet silenced, stunned. Her large, wide eyes took in Cinder's expression. "You don't mean that."

"Let me make this clear to you," Cinder gritted her teeth, "I care for Kai. I don't want him gone. But I'm not going to go on hoping that he's safe when he's not!"

"So, what? You cut off the only way we can get to him? Cinder..." Scarlet shook her head, at a sudden loss for words.

Cinder stumbled away, the knife in her finger retreating back into metal, and stepped out of the compartment. She stopped at the opening, wanting to turn back and tell Scarlet why she had done what she had done, but she shook away the idea. Her footsteps echoing on the ground, Cinder walked away, Scarlet's calls following her the whole time.

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Bye!

lunaspell