Cinder X Bella ~ Thirty-Two!

- Prince Cinder -

Prince Cinder dropped into a plush chair, pouring himself a cup of coffee to help regain some clarity after the intense physical training of the morning. He pulled a face as the room-temperature liquid swirled into the cup; clearly the pot had been sitting on the counter for quite a while. He stared into the mug, lost in his thoughts until his mother's voice entered his ears, and he broke from his musing.

“Julia turned up missing.” The Queen swept into the room, her voice as even as usual, though the slight uptick in tone at the end of her sentence highlighted the fact that she was practically frantic, on top of being quite displeased.

“Turned up missing.” Cinder tried out the words, tilting his head slightly as he watched his mother go to the desk and frantically begin flipping through papers. He raised an eyebrow, then glanced back at the coffee he was swirling his finger in, which was now steaming. “That's better. Mother, that's the oddest turn of phrase I've heard from you in a while. Remind me why this is such an issue? Who is this… Julia?”

That earned him a swat on the arm from a rolled-up scroll as the Queen gave him a stern glance. “Julia. Cinder, we've been in communication with her for the last year. The Matchmaker? The person who can ensure that your partner has an auric imprint that matches your own, the one individual we can point at and blame if your bride turns out to be unfit for the station she will earn upon wedding you?”

“Seems odd to need someone to blame, is all,” Cinder commented, noncommittal, as he watched her continue to push papers to the side, “Plus, I think this may be the first time you mentioned her by name. It's been ‘Matchmaker this, Matchmaker that’, all for me to still have doubts that this hard work will end in an engagement. We both know we have three allies with eligible daughters who have been less-than-subtly requesting to present them for half a decade. I’m still of the opinion that we're going to need people who are friendly to us, if we want good trade relationships instead of war when this plague runs its course.” 

“Now you want to comment on your future commitments?” The queen paused to rub the bridge of her nose. “You know what they say about you? Day after day, all the prince ever does is practice, practice, practice. There's so many questions I have no way to answer, Cinder. Does he have a type? Is there a particular area he would like to pursue for his Conjoined Skill? Does he at least enjoy the hunts leading up to his birthday and the ball? I have no idea!”

Cinder only smiled and shrugged from his seated position. “You were the one who was so intent on ensuring I had the very best education and was devoted to developing my class to the point no one could contest my right to rule when the time comes. Is it my fault I fell in love with what the system granted me? Do I have a type? Yes, most certainly I do. Is there a particular area I would like to pursue for my Conjoined Skill? But of course. The answers to those questions are simple.”

He lifted his right hand, staring into his palm as flames sprang into existence, reflecting in his eyes as he twirled the glowing plasma around. “Someone fiery. Full of passion, able to compete with me, so both of us can ascend through the levels. Someone with a powerful skill which will allow me to manifest my own in a new, unique, potent way, and she, hers.”

Only after a few moments of silence did he look away from the blaze in his palm, meeting his mother's concerned glance. 

“This, Cinder. This is why I worry about you. Wanting to grow and learn what the system has in store for you is perfectly natural, but this… fascination you have with the fire you create? I worry that, when the world sees the smile on your face when you are burning targets in a field, they might think you are deranged. No one wants a tyrant king.”

Cinder's wide smile faded somewhat, becoming strained. “Isn't this the entire reason we decided on this… let's call it a plan? Get the common people to love us while avoiding the scrutiny of the high nobility? They will turn their anger and avarice toward the interloper in their midst, practically forgetting about me as I handle what needs to be done as King. I'll be free to pursue my… studies, and a commoner gets to live a life they never dreamed of. The population hopes they could be next, and the nobles are satisfied because one of their rivals did not become stronger. As for the rest, I just worry about what comes after.”

“Well, if the plague continues spreading at the same pace, we might not need to worry about that for too long,” the queen grumbled as she got to the bottom of her stack of papers, shoving them to the side when she didn't find what she’d been looking for.

“If it helps, I have been enjoying the hunts.” Cinder's words earned him no love from his mother, though she did scoff as a slightly annoyed smile appeared on her face. 

“You have a quick wit, I'll give you that.” His mother took a deep breath, finally sitting in her chair and looking at her son. “You push buttons and push buttons, but then you say something charming, and it all seems to work out. I hope, for her sake, your future wife can handle being around you without her head spinning right off.” 

“However, as for the dancing and socializing in the evenings…” Cinder trailed off, as his mother let out a low groan.

“Yes, I fully understand how little you enjoy that. I perfectly recall how I needed to intercede before you lit that one poor girl's hair on fire.” The queen shook her head and chuckled, “I can't imagine what would have happened. I know what you say, but it's still hard to understand.” 

“Ha! First of all, you know it wouldn’t have hurt her.” Cinder snapped his fingers and pointed at her as he recalled the same evening. “It would have simply been a flash flame to distract her while I slipped away. Why do I even need to explain this? She thought she could lie to me right to my face. For future reference, when someone deeply unpleasant backs me into a corner then talks at me for an hour without being able to make up for it with good conversation or a cheerful attitude, why is a sudden fire not the perfectly reasonable response?”

“She was perfectly lovely, Cinder. Besides, people aren't supposed to know about the lie-detection artifacts nor the protective talismans you wear. That would remove most of their usefulness. So, of course, they think they can lie to you.” The queen paused to think for a moment. “Who actually was it… the stepdaughter of some minor Merchant if I recall. Vago? Lago? I forget her name. Yet, the choices which made you happy that night utterly astounded me. The one you actually decided to dance with? I thought perhaps she had been touched by the plague. Frankly, I nearly had the guards separate you.”

“I have no idea what you mean. She was perfectly lovely and was clearly someone who worked to remain fit and healthy. She had a glow to her unlike any of the other nobildonna in attendance.” 

“Yes, yes… as you say…” They met eyes across the desk, hers blue, his a deep brown—so long as he actively contained his abilities. Otherwise, they swirled red and white, a maelstrom of energy that shifted the way he perceived the world. 

“It's called a heat map, Mother. You know it's real. Otherwise, that assassin would have succeeded against Father a few years ago, instead of simply giving him a permanent limp.”

*Haaa.* The queen let out a deep sigh, shaking her head at him as she pursed her lips. “Must you throw that in my face every time the conversation edges toward what you can and cannot do? I understand you’re powerful, that's the entire point of our family line. Also, the reason I need Julia to be found!”

She turned her attention away, focused once more on the paperwork on her desk. Cinder knew she had settled into a bad mood, so held his tongue as he studied her. Queen Liora carried herself with dignity, her posture perfect, even though she was grumbling while throwing things around at the moment. 

The golden ‘X’ on her right cheek was a symbol meaning she was recognized by the system itself as a valid and system-approved ruler of the kingdom. The same symbol on her left cheek showed her as someone who was married, which would be the only mark Cinder himself would be gaining until his parents stepped down as rulers to make way for him and his future queen. 

For now, he was simply happy to be given the space he needed to pursue his own desires. “Just because we are selecting someone next week doesn't mean we will be forced to wed, correct?”

“You know the answer. I need to send the guards out to begin searching for Julia,” Liora snapped at him. “How many times must we go over this, Cinder?”

“At least once more, Mother.” Cinder sent a crooked smile her way, “Just for my peace of mind.”

She slapped her hand onto the table. “No! Even if you find someone who would be a good match, there are all manner of things to check before you will be allowed to get married. Forced? By the system, if you get to get married before you are thirty, consider yourself lucky. Background checks, personality matching, skill defining… all of it is absolutely necessary before we allow someone any kind of control over the kingdom. The vows of marriage can be twisted by the wrong person, and we will not allow that to happen under any circumstances.”

“Good. I do wish you would explain the stipulations in the invitations, as the staring has gotten quite intense. I can barely ignore it these days. Quite often, I wonder if this is how my sandwich feels at lunch time, the last thing it sees being my smiling face.” Cinder gave a dramatic shiver before sending a piteous look at his mother. “They don't see me; they see what they can get out of me.”

“Ah, yes. My son, the veal,” Liora drolly commented. “Were you not so fascinated with lighting everything around you on fire, you would be much more open and excited about the possibility of making a match.”

“The world is a match, Mother. Of course I want to light it up,” Cinder quipped back at her.

“You need a hobby.”

“I have one; it's not my fault you don't like it.” Cinder and Liora watched each other for a few long seconds, both smiling at the other. “Truly… I do worry sometimes about this bold new plan of yours. The second I am among the public, all eyes are on me in a way I've never felt before. There's nothing respectful about the stares; it seems almost… desperate.”

“There’s a plague.” Liora shrugged at him, the least proper motion she’d made since entering the room. “Desperate times, desperate people. This shouldn't be shocking, Cinder.” 

The prince continued his tirade as though she wasn't trying to deescalate the situation. “Conversations have been falling apart like never before. ‘Do you like horses? Oh, yes, I love horses, I'm just absolutely terrified of riding or being near them!’ It makes all my formal appearances quite disingenuous. Conversely, I can't be casual, or they begin to make plans to move into the palace.”

“Yes, that was an… interesting month.” Liora chuckled at her son’s ‘misfortune’. “Luckily, we were able to convince their neighbor to return the deed to their estate, so long as they returned the money they paid for it. I don't think they were able to rehire all of their staff. Still, not our problem, and thankfully, they never will be.” 

“There’s just so much about this situation I am deeply uncomfortable with, and I'm greatly unimpressed with the people who are throwing themselves into my arms in an attempt to pull the crown with them as they step back.”

Cinder’s words were very bleak, making the Queen's eyes snap over to him and frown, all levity vanishing as she considered him. “The ball is tomorrow night, Cinder. I'll tell you what… if you promise to be pleasant and spend a little time with a woman who interests you, and be open to the experience, knowing that we will ensure you are not trapped into marrying someone you despise…. I will open the firing range for you for the morning. I'll even clear out all the staff, and you can have free rein until tea time.”

His eyes lit up, and the queen smiled at him warmly. “I fully understand how much you love your hobbies. As a word of advice, perhaps you don't let your wife know exactly how much you enjoy burning things until you've been married for… let's call it a year?” 

“You make me sound like some kind of monster, Mother.” Cinder chuckled as he stood and bowed. “I'm a perfectly normal person. I'm not cruel, I don't hurt others, I just love the way the power feels and how I get to see the world in a unique way. I know it's not a big deal to you, but… just know, you have a deal.”