Hi, and welcome back! Thanks for reviewing!

Oh, and by the way, as I definitely forgot to mention, a few of the ages (not those of the main eight or so characters) are changed a bit to suit the story better. As you'll see in this chapter, Peony is only twelve.

I also kept Winter's last name as 'Hayle' because I didn't want her to be blood-related to Levana.

Let's get going!

CHAPTER 2

Scarlet:

Take aim... release. Scarlet smirked to herself as her arrow found its mark, in the narrow slit of the metal armor collar the imperial guards wore. Blood sprayed as he went down, as Scarlet pushed red curls from her eyes and reached over her shoulder for another arrow.

The Zanyah were doing quite well for 'untrained savages', as the queen liked to call them. They had no armor - save for some very thick jackets - or defensive mechanisms, and yet were able to hold their own against the trained, protected guards. Not like last time... well, success came in numbers.

Scarlet and her team of archers had already taken down the royal archers... who, let's say, weren't much of a match for them.

They weren't supposed to win this battle, Kai had told her - even though, as of now, they were clearly doing well. So when Kai lifted his arms, moved his hands in circular motions around each other, and let out a low call of 'fall back', part of Scarlet wanted to keep fighting and destroy the palace as they knew it, though she leaped down to help Kai lead away the Zanyah, anyway. It was definitely better than last time, and not entirely a suicide mission.

Last time... Scarlet didn't want to think of it as she jogged over to Kai, raising one arm over her head to beckon the other resistance members. "Are you hurt?"

"No." Kai brushed away blood that dripped into his eyes as he stood, shakily. Scarlet frowned, holding out an arm to help steady him, as she looked out to the bloodstained battlefield. What a royal welcome this place will give to a visiting province.

"Right." Scarlet gave a small, dry cough as she placed a pale hand on his shoulder, where dark blood had seeped through his clothing. She felt him recoil beside her, and sighed. "I guess we can't do anything about that now... but you had better let one of the healers look at it once you get back. And if it starts hurting more-"

"-I'll tell you," Kai finished with a sigh.

"You know me too well," Scarlet stated, flashing him a grin. "Anyway, what do you think of this beautiful scenery around here? A grand display of blood samples from each and every one of us, to be used for medical purposes. You know, they should be thanking us for that."

Kai grinned, nudging her sharply, and Scarlet elbowed him back.

Scarlet wrenched the sword from Kai's hands and blocked a blow from one of the few palace guards who hadn't left yet, and was still bent on attacking. Ignoring his growl of 'get lost!', Scarlet placed a sharp kick to his stomach, watching his eyes bulge as he landed a few yards away.

"Nice." Kai clapped once in appreciation.

"If only all fights were that easy," Scarlet muttered, handing the sword back.

Kai shrugged. "Then they wouldn't have much of a royal guard, would they?"

"Exactly." Scarlet lifted her head at the sound of a commanding call, watching intently as the large, muscular Captain of the Royal Guard cast a startlingly green gaze in her direction before sharply leading the rest of the royal guards into the palace, save for the remaining external guards.

"Come on, we'd better help get some of these people back to the catacombs," Kai stated matter-of-factly, turning away. Scarlet put a hand on his non-injured shoulder, turning him back to face her with wild confusion etched plainly across his face.

"You're overworking yourself, Kai," she murmured quietly. "I know the revolution - Sana - all mean a lot to you. They mean a lot to me, too... but just know that though we believe in you as a good leader, we're not relying on you. I mean, you're a good warrior and leader, but the resistance won't die if... say, something happens to you."

"Thanks, Scarlet, but talk of my death isn't very reassuring." He broke into a smile.

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "I was trying to be helpful. Next time, work yourself to death, and I'll laugh over your grave."

Kai grinned. "Well, thanks. I'll appreciate that humor." He paused for a moment, staring at the scene around them. "But... I get what you mean. Thanks." He stiffened sharply, lifting his hands so that Scarlet knew he was going to say something important. "Okay. Remember, we attack again, as soon as we can. I'll let you fight in the mess this time, because we might need it. We'll go a little further than we did this time, but we strike for damage, not to win. Got it?"

She nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "So you admit that I'm a great fighter as well as the best archer."

"...Well, we also need as many fighters as we can get." Kai flashed a taunting grin for less than a heartbeat, before letting it fall. "So... we should all make sure that the injuries at well-healed as soon as possible, once we get back. Okay?"

Scarlet exhaled through her nose, knowing that no matter what she said, nothing would change the fact that Kai was going to worry. Perpetually. "Careful, Kai," Scarlet muttered under her breath, just as he turned away, "at this rate, you'll have gray hair at the age of thirty."

"What was that?" Kai spun around, glaring - though she could still detect amusement lingering in the depths of his eyes.

Scarlet crossed her arms. "Nothing."

Cinder:

Cinder panted roughly as she flung open the door and slammed it quickly, sliding to the ground, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Though it was still cold, she was sweating, her face streaked with dirt and sweat as she brushed a few stray strands of hair from her eyes and dropped the small sack beside her.

"Cinder? What happened?" The small voice came from the girl who stepped out of the shadows. Dark rings had already formed around her eyes, and there was a long scar across her forehead that would forever remind her of what she had been through at such a young age.

Peony was only twelve, younger still when she had gotten that scar. And since then, Cinder had never taken her on one of her 'trips' again, despite the danger that would come with leaving her in the hut alone. It had been a knife wound that had taken over a month to fully clot and scar.

There was no other way to get food other than to steal it, as Cinder had determined long ago, but she hadn't known until then how dangerous it could be for a small child.

Cinder forced a smile. "Nothing much. Just the usual. Except they nearly caught me this time." Not really, but she would never tell Peony that. She grinned to herself. It had been a game as a young child to pretend that she was a 'master of stealth', and had never known that she would actually need it as she did as a wanted thief nowadays.

But, they'd never really seen her face, so they didn't know whom to look for as a thief. Which was good, because if she was found out, Peony would be in danger, as well as her.

"You should be careful, Cinder," Peony said, worry lacing her voice.

Cinder sighed. "You know I am. I just can't help it. But... there's nothing for you to worry about, little flower." She drew Peony into a warm embrace - a sisterly embrace, even though Cinder had only met her and started caring for her a few years ago.

"Thanks, Cinder." Peony pressed her head into Cinder's shoulder. "You're a great sister."

Cinder smiled against Peony's hair. "You're a beautiful girl, Peony, inside and out." And she was. Peony, with her chestnut curls and beautiful golden eyes, had the kindest heart Cinder could ever imagine. For stars' sake, she would give up part of her rare meals to stray dogs that she could see through the window.

Cinder paused, reaching out to open the sack. Her heart sank at the pitiful amount inside it, but she broke away from Peony and pushed it to her. "Here. You take it all. I'm going to go back out there. This isn't enough to feed even half of you."

"Be careful, Cinder," Peony murmured, placing a soft hand on Cinder's callused palm.

Cinder grinned at her, rising and flinging open the door with more bravado than necessary. "Always."

The dark hood was over her head in an instant, a mask slipping up deftly to cover up all of her face but her eyes - as soon as the door shut behind Cinder. The black gloves on her hand fumbled for a moment with her dark cloak before tightening it around her. It was boiling in this useless excuse for a village, but the head-to-toe black clothes helped her blend into the shadows as well as worked as an intimidation tactic - as she had figured out a few years ago.

The streets were surprisingly empty, unlike the way they had been a few minutes ago. Cinder lowered her head, the hair on the back of her neck pricking with alarm. She slipped into the shadow of the abandoned schoolhouse, hoping to remain unnoticed by any danger that posed its threat.

There has to be some reason for such an empty place.

Cinder tensed, clenching her muscles at her sides, but kept up her pace as she slipped down the abandoned lane and turned the corner. The place was somehow unfamiliar without its people and loud chatter, as if the village had been replaced with entirely another.

She almost groaned in relief as the reason struck her. Today was the annual Gathering of the village, where all the people met in a former storehouse, that, when the shelves had been torn down and the space cleared, had proved to be large enough to comfortably fit all of the small village - less than seven hundred or so.

Her stomach clenched as she realized that now, since she wasn't with her adopted sister, Peony wouldn't be able to go to this event, as much as she had wanted. Cinder debated turning back, but she sighed and continued on, slightly envious of Peony's unflinching selflessness. The emptier it is, the easier it is to... say... find what I need.

The mask clung to Cinder's face, and she mentally cursed the searing heat to the stars. But there were still a few people around, and though few, Cinder wasn't going to chance thieving without the mask.

I've never been down this way before.

Cinder turned down an empty lane - though it was more of a rural pathway than a lane - and felt her knees buckle uncertainly at the eerie stillness around her. It might prove to be a good shortcut, sooner or later... and it was worth it.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen? A gang of thieves? Nothing she wouldn't be able to handle, though it may have been slightly foolish to walk straight into a gang of thieves.

Even the gay songbirds had fallen silent, and the breeze had fallen still. Cinder shuddered, suddenly feeling all-too cramped in her dark sweater and black pants - especially the tight, canvas-like material that wrapped around her breasts beneath her clothing, to reduce her feminine appearance.

Not that she looked strikingly female, with her angular, awkward figure.

Cinder half-turned toward the empty meadow to one side of her, wondering for a moment what it would be like to just run, run out into the vast expanse of what lay beyond, and not have a care in the world for the rest of her life.

But no. She had Peony, and would not be able to bear being apart from her adopted sister. And Peony wouldn't be able to manage a day, eating pheasant flesh and sleeping on the grassy ground. She sighed, turning back to face forward, suddenly feeling foolish for coming up with such a daft and impossible idea.

Cinder pulled her black cloak tighter around her as she stalked forward, suddenly feeling awkwardly vulnerable at the stillness around her.

She felt like she was walking into a trap, and hell would explode as soon as she did so.

Had someone found out about her... daily exploits?

The thought unnerved her more than it should have. Not only because of her, but... Peony. In this pathetic excuse for a residential village, there would be no one willing or entirely capable - by her standards - who could possibly care for the twelve-year-old.

Wolf:

"As you wish, Your Highness." Wolf forced down his frustration as Queen Levana dismissed him, bowing low as he exited the throne room.

Absolute nonsense. He was to hunt down and bring back one of the leaders of the Zanyah. Alone. Even though all of the royal guard and army searching together hadn't been enough. Of course, it was purely logical to imagine that only the Captain of the Guard would be able to do so, right?

Wolf hurled his sword to the ground once he made it to the training room, then slumped to the ground. Just... great.

A hand touched his shoulder, and Wolf recognized it before he turned. Elise, the only female in all of the guards and soldiers - whom Wolf always considered to be too weak and soft-hearted as a guard. She was infuriatingly kind and innocent... not born and bred for such a deceitful world.

Wolf got up from his knees and stood, leaning against the wall. Sure enough, the innocently beautiful dark-haired girl was only a child, around fourteen. True, Wolf had become Captain of the Royal Guard at twelve... but he'd actually been more than capable.

Elise was... well... she wasn't lazy, nor cold-hearted, nor ignorant... it was just that she often didn't grasp things as well as most others. The only steady thing about her was her unfaltering compassion... which often proved to be a weakness on the field.

But she obeyed orders decently enough, Wolf admitted. It was a wonder she managed to get the position. However... all clues pointed toward bribery, her parents wanting to get rid of a mentally weak child, though no one would ever dare say that before the Queen herself.

He'd never allowed himself to have friends, because they would always just be used against him. Still... she was probably the closest thing to a friend that he had - more than just a sparring partner or a most disiplined guard. He was more like her protector, her caretaker - growling at some of the younger soldiers as they cast their hungry eyes her way. Elise, of course, didn't understand the point of any of it.

"Are you okay?" Elise put her hand gently on his cheek, but Wolf flinched away. He wasn't going to have friends. There was no point. They would all either die or be tortured by Levana sooner or later... so no point getting attached to them and feeling sorry later.

"Just fine." Wolf's words came out in a low growl, but Elise didn't move away.

"It seems that something is bothering you," she murmured slowly, and Wolf resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Wolf stifled a long sigh. "Nothing, Elise," he muttered, slowly, so that she could catch every word. "Her Highness has just given me a new task, and I must get started in the morning."

"How delightful!" Elise pressed her hands together, her large blue eyes widening as she smiled sweetly.

"Yes, yes," Wolf growled, "now please, go train somewhere over there." He jabbed a big hand in the opposite direction, sheathed and fastened his sword, and jogged in the opposite direction without bothering to check where Elise went.

Winter:

"Go ahead, Hayle."

Winter bowed her head and broke off a morsel of the tart before tentatively placing it on her tongue.

She breathed in as she ate, pinched her nose while chewing, and ran her tongue roughly around the morsel, checking for any poison that might have been present within the food. Her Highness Queen Levana would not be satisfied with anything less than the best work.

It was her job. As the royal food taster, she was in charge of making sure that the queen wasn't poisoned. In other words, she was an easily replaceable figure, someone to serve until death, worrying each moment if she would survive until the next day.

Fortunately, she'd been given some training beforehand, so more often than not, she would be able to spit out the poisoned food before she fully digested it.

It had happened once before. She'd spat out the poison - Lover's Ache, it was called, and known to painfully torture the taker instants into its intake. Stars, it had hurt. She would never forget the way she had dropped to her knees before desparately forcing it out of her mouth.

Tears had been running down her eyes, and she hadn't been able to stop them. Her entire body had tightened up, then loosened, then tightened again, and she had sobbed and screamed, trying to bat away the pain that raked through her body.

Winter had woken in the medic's room, still aching from wounds that she couldn't see. And if that weren't enough... Levana had carved a deep, precise line down her back, that had scarred only after several days of high fever and headache.

For staining her carpet.

Winter bowed her head to Queen Levana, a silent approval.

With a simple flick of her wrist, the achingly-beautiful queen dismissed her, and Winter, not daring to straighten from her bow until she was safely out of the room, then breathed out in relief. Another meal, gone. She wasn't sure how many she had left.

Cinder:

Cinder tugged her mask down harshly to cover more of her features, ignoring the churning protest that struggled to make itself heard as the mask dragged uncomfortably against her moist face. She pulled her hood down lower over her forehead, covering any last slit of skin that remained exposed between the stark contrasts of her black mask and hood.

Right. Intimidating. She was sweating, and not only from the heat. Her hands trembled at the slightest movement, and every time she pressed herself on and dragged one foot in front of another, her knees quaked and threatened to collapse.

Cinder paused, slumping against the brick wall that formed the solid side of the path. She wasn't tired... but still needed to catch her breath. It was too hard to take in air; her breath just kept catching in her throat as she looked cautiously to both sides of her.

Breathe, Cinder.

Cinder shut her eyes, despite the protests screaming inside her to stop, to look around and make sure she was safe. Pure air flooded her lungs, and her shoulders sagged a little in the relief. The air was awfully hot, and the mask was doing absolutely nothing to help the air touch her skin.

Cinder's eyes flew open as she felt something sharp prick her throat. She didn't dare move, but her pupils strained to distinguish the silver sheen from the object that was pressed against her neck. She froze as the realization struck her. How had she not noticed? I should never have stopped.

A knife.

Someone was holding a knife against her throat.

She was caught between the knife and the sturdy body of the knife's wielder.

Instinct kicked in. Cinder threw herself backward, ramming herself into the weight of her attacker. She heard his breath leave him - for she had figured out from the hard, flat chest that he was male - in a surprised whoosh as he took a pace back. Cinder whipped around defensively, her knees bent slightly in her typical defensive stance.

Her attacker looked to be about twenty-three or so, about six or seven years older than she was. What caught her eye first was his hair - strikingly silver, and cut long, it fell around him in a somehow fitting way as he stood his ground against her, those deep blue eyes cold. Understandable, because she didn't seem like a sixteen-year-old girl to him, not in the clothing that an assassin might wear. True, he wasn't excessively handsome, but he certainly was somehow alluring.

Her hand fumbled for a moment before she whipped out her single knife - a wicked-looking blade - from its sheath at her thigh. She cursed silently as her fingers brushed something warm and wet. Damn the knife. She'd cut herself - but it wasn't deep.

Cinder's head spun, staggering back before she realized that the attack had happened. She took a harsh blow from his fist to her jaw, her head singing as he sent her flying face-first into the wall. His knife swung through the air, faster than she had ever seen, and she swore as pain welled in her upper arm.

But she'd been watching his movements: the way he favored his left leg slightly, and the direct way he attacked.

So this time, she was ready.

His fist flew out, but Cinder arched her back, tensing with the effort, and swung out with an open hand, catching him in the throat and sending him staggering back. Not waiting for another opportunity, Cinder hooked out a foot from under him.

She smirked to herself as he stumbled, and caught himself after a few moments.

Cinder froze as she noticed another watching her: another boy, younger than her attacker, with a handsome face and dark hair that draped over his eyebrows in a strangely charming way. She frowned as he began walking toward them - but she had no time to think about it as her opponent struck again.

She gasped in surprise as the blow met her in full force, but she caught herself. By now, she had established that this was no village thief.

Cinder let out a grunt - controlling a scream that would definitely give her away - as his fist collided with the base of her chin, knocking her head back as she kicked out forward. Though she caught him directly in the chest, she staggered back at her loss of balance, cursing her attacker to hell in a low growl as she sent her knife slicing cleanly into his shoulder.

He howled, silver hair flying, as she ripped her knife out and sent a foot flying into his groin. Cinder would have smirked, but her attacker grabbed an arm and twisted hard - so fast and so lethally graceful that she staggered, breath catching in unspeakable pain.

Her knife found its way into his forehead, leaving a gash that made his alluring face look even more wildly dangerous - but at least he let go of her and took a pace back. She'd never fought anyone like him: anyone who was so much more than a match for her.

Cinder grunted as a heavy kick to her stomach sent the breath flying out of her. She retaliated by swinging out with a fist, but his hand caught her wrist before she could make contact. He wasn't just holding her, she realized, after an indescribable pain spread throughout her wrist: he was crushing her hand with nothing more than his. Her eyes widened beneath her mask, as sickening agony spread. Cinder's lips parted in a silent shriek as she struggled to break free.

She was going to lock this idiot up in a grave. And never look back upon doing so.

Cinder's stomach clenched. Stars, her wrist - she almost fell to her knees as he released her, after granting her a blow to the face. It wouldn't have done too much harm, considering the mask, but it felt bad, especially as something that was either blood or sweat dripped down her face beneath the mask. Right below her eye, on the point of her cheekbone.

She caught a glimpse of him through the holes in the mask, and her teeth clenched as she noted that his face wasn't even strained. Pompous, conceited, egotistic... She glared, though he probably couldn't have made out the burning in her eyes.

Cinder swung, but he was faster, backhanding her so hard that she stumbled back and landed on the ground. Her breath came in hard gasps as pain flashed through her leg: she'd landed wrong. She was acutely aware of the fact that the other boy had come closer, but had made no movement to attack or defend her. She hissed at both of them through her teeth. Idiots.

She was all-too-vulnerable to the silver-haired boy's attacks, now that she was lying defenseless on the ground... but as she tried to get up, her leg shrieked in pain, and she landed on the ground again, suppressing a scream. She lifted her knife between them, a useless defense as he bore prowled closer.

The knife was out of her hands before she could realize that he had swiped it with a deft movement. The other boy's handsome face came into view, and she reached out a hand, weakly curled into a fist - not to attack, but as a final plea for him not to kill her.

As her vision darkened around the edges, Cinder tried to keep her eyes open, not bothering to fight back as the second boy - the handsome one who had joined the scene later - reached out, almost tentatively, his hands brushing the cool material of her mask.

And ripped the thing off.

The last thing Cinder saw before she gave into blackness was the look of horrified and - dare she call it regretful? - shock etched onto his face.

Okay. Chapter 2 done!

That was more of a Cinder-centered chapter... I'm sorry for the cliffhanger... not really.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Review please!

- Shadowy