Between a Galaxy

Chapter 2

   Rebooting in 5...4...3...2...1...

Cinder's eyes flew open and she squeezed them shut again. Her netlink had immediately connected to the newsfeeds displaying urgent messages about Kai. Cinder's fingers massaged her temples.

Winter strolled across the room, carefully placing a hand on Cinder's arm. Cinder turned her head to face Winter, each movement throbbing.

"Hey, Winter," Cinder croaked, her voice raspy. Winter smiled, her eyes gleaming. "Glad you're awake. I know that you probably want to stay and rest, but Torin wants to see you," Winter said, a hint of sympathy in her voice. Cinder nodded, reclining into the pillows. "That's fine. Does he have any updates on Kai?"

Winter shook her head. "I don't know. He just told me it was imperative that he see you."

Cinder tried to hide the disappointment that struck her face, but Winter saw it and smiled sadly. "I am truly sorry, Selene. I know that everyone on both Earth and Luna is sending well wishes to His Majesty."

"Please bring Torin in, Winter," Cinder told her, turning her head to the side to hide her face, which she knew was showing a large mixture of emotions.

Winter slipped away silently, pulling the door shut so it made no noise as it closed. Jacin stood next to the two guards posted at the hospital wing. Winter flung herself into his arms. He was dressed in casual wear, having been let off of his post for the day. Winter inhaled the familiar scent, trying to calm her nerves. She shook in his arms, and he brushed her curls away from her face, whispering in her ear. "It's okay, Princess. She's okay now."

Even though Winter's Lunar Sickness was barely there anymore, she still found immense comfort in Jacin's voice.

Since reconnecting with Cinder, Winter had become extremely protective of her cousin. Cinder, despite what she originally thought would happen, found herself becoming very close to Winter.

Her only struggle was trying to get Winter to call her Cinder.

Jacin slid down to the base of the floor with Winter in his arms. She snuggled closer to his chest, pulling her knees to her chin. Even though Winter's hatred of Levana was enough to last anyone more than a lifetime, the idea of no longer having any mother, even a stepmother, made Winter feel a twinge of sadness.

She was, after all, the most emotional of the crew.

But the idea of losing Cinder was enough to bring Winter to tears again, even with Jacin brushing a hand through her hair and whispering to her.

Winter noticed a pair of feet in front of her and straightened, wiping the tears from her face. Jacin's hand lingered where her head had been, the absence of her warm figure making him shiver.

"May I see her now, Ambassador Hayle?"

"Of course," Winter said, pausing slightly before continuing, "Do you have any word on Kai?"

"I think any information I may or may not have should be heard by the queen first," Torin croaked, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry. I know this has been very hard on Lunars and Earthens both."

Winter nodded, her curls bouncing. "Go on in," Winter mumbled, "She's expecting you."

Torin quickly bowed before slipping into Cinder's room.

"Your Majesty, I hope you-"

"Please, Torin, I don't want to deal with formalities. What did you need to see me for?"

Cinder stood up, ignoring the throb in her temples. She moved over to the small visitors table in the corner of the room and motioned for Torin to take the other chair beside her. Torin clasped his hands on the table and cast his gaze downward. "I've been working as hard as possible to get as much information from the palace as possible, but everyone there is so incredibly overwhelmed."

"So you don't have anything?" Cinder pestered. She rested her head in her cyborg palm. They stayed silent for a minute. "You wouldn't want to see me just to tell me that you have no information on Kai, would you?"

Torin sighed. "The Lunars are waiting for you to address the subject," Torin began, "and I think given the current state of both planets, it would be wise."

"I understand, but I really do not want to give a speech right now. Can we have Ambassador Hayle do it?"

"You can do whatever you think is right for your country. But, Cinder," Cinder focused back in on the conversation with the use of her name. It wasn't often that she heard anyone other than The Rampion Crew use it, and it sounded foreign coming out of Torin's mouth. "You also need to remember to take care of yourself. I've seen you wear yourself down to the bone in situations like this, but you can't do that now. Luna, Earth, and Kai need you to be your whole self, right now more than ever. If you think that addressing the public isn't the best idea to do that, then don't. Ask Winter to do it. I trust your judgement."

Cinder's eyes softened a bit, and the corners of her mouth tweaked up in a small smile when she saw that there was no orange light in the corner of retina display. Torin was telling her the truth. "Thank you, Torin. It means a lot." Torin smiled at her, a twinge of sadness in his heart. He adored the couple, and he was experiencing enough pain just watching Cinder go through such pain. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be in the middle of a mess like this.

"Torin, I need you to do something."

"Anything, Your Majesty."

"Get the Rampion Crew together. We have things to discuss."

+++++

Torin darted through the hallway, pushing aside a servant and almost knocking over her kettle of boiling tea. "I'm sorry!" He yelled behind him as he continued dodging figures in his path.

"Ow!"

Torin was on the floor with the voice's owner. "I am so sorry, I'm just in a hurry to find some people and- wait. I was looking for you."

Cress laughed, her voice as light as a feather. "Are you looking for the rest of the crew? Thorne's right behind me, Iko is with Scarlet and Wolf in the garden, and I have no clue about Winter and Jacin." Noticing Torin's solemn expression, Cress frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Thorne walked up behind her just then, placing a hand on Cress' shoulder and planting a kiss on her cheek. "You haven't been watching the newsfeeds, have you?" Cress turned to Thorne and shook her head. "No," she said cautiously.

"There's been an.. occurrence at the New Beijing Palace."

"Spit it out, Torin. We don't have all day."

"YOU GUYS!"

All three whirled around in the direction of the girl's voice. Iko barely skidded to a halt in front of Thorne. "Cinder is in the hospital wing. She won't answer my comms, I can only see her location. And it hasn't changed in the past few hours. Why hasn't she said anything or tried to talk to-"

"Relax, Iko. Cinder is fine. She passed out earlier and they took her in for precaution. She wants to talk to you all now, though."

"PASSED OUT?" Torin's hands flew to his ears at Iko's squealing. "She got some news today that I think I need to tell you before you go to talk to her. So if you would so kindly allow, I would like to finish at least five sentences without interruption." The three crew members nodded.

"I haven't been able to get many details about this yet. I've tried over and over to get contact with the palace, but they've been working nonstop all morning." Torin took a deep breath, his next words lodged in his throat. "Kai got shot today. He was delivering a speech and someone was angry and had a gun. That's all I know about it so far. I don't know where he was shot, or how he is currently doing. I can keep trying, but for now, that is everything I know."

Cress leaned against the wall, gripping on to Thorne for support. He hugged her as she sniffled, trying to keep her overwhelming sadness contained, at least for a short while. Kai was important. Not just to his country, or to the rest of the world leaders, but to them. Kai would take a break out of his ridiculous schedule to have a video comm with Cinder, even when he knew he shouldn't. His time with the Rampion Crew was always as cheerful as it could possibly be. Everyone knew how much he loved Cinder, and how much she loved him. They only ever looked into each other's eyes with pure admiration for the other person. And yet, when Kai was in a possibly critical condition, everyone was thinking the same thing.

What is going to happen to Cinder?