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“Should we go somewhere else?” Isaac asks, uncomfortably.

“Why is everyone staring at me?” Silla asks exasperated. Her voice is louder than hers and sharper than I’m used to. Though, the stares were getting pretty old, so I don’t blame her.

“Your Majesty, you should have let us know that you were coming!” a woman with a blonde, chic bob says. She’s an energetic, happy woman, but I can see a slight sweat breaking out on her forehead. Cinder isn’t exactly easy to deal with.

But… why is she calling Silla that?

“Excuse me?” Silla asks, eyes wide as she takes a step back.

“It’s no matter,” the woman says quickly. “I’m Zhana, and while the store owner isn’t here, I’d be happy to help you. You’ve been helped by Lori in the past.”

Oh fuck. I didn’t realize that Cinder actually shopped in the city. Maybe we should just do some online shopping and call it a day. I don’t think they look all that alike because of their hair color, but I could be biased.

“I see you changed your hair too, may I say it suits you? Now, what are you here today for?” Zhana asks with a smile.

Slowly, people are being herded toward the door, and Silla decides to just go with it. What else are we supposed to do?

“I have a ball to attend, and I’m in the mood for a dusty rose color,” she says, raising her chin and pushing her shoulders back.

Isaac reaches out and squeezes my hand, and I can only nod because I’ve never noticed how regal Silla can actually be. Life has beaten her down for so long, I’ve seen the quiet, sad girl most of the time that I’ve known her.

Silla could easily take over the throne, changing the tide of this kingdom once and for all.

ISAAC

The saleswomen in the store cleared this place out in moments. No one grumbled, because who would complain about the “Queen” making an emergency trip to buy a dress?

I never in a million years thought that this would be the predicament that we’d face today.

As Silla goes into the dressing room, Andrya hisses, “We’re going online shopping when we get home! I’ll just make sure to mark pick up and one of us will go get it. She’s never allowed out in those clothes again.”

It’s not funny, not even a little bit, but I feel an inappropriate laugh bubbling up. It’s like a burp that is insistent, and won’t give up. First my lips twitch, so I smooth them out by rubbing my index finger over it. Then I feel it start to rise up my stomach and tickle my chest, so I rub my chest.

“Are you okay?” Andrya asks, and there’s just enough laughter in her voice to make me sputter. Covering my mouth, I wheeze, shaking my head. This is so out of character, but Godsdamnit I feel as if I just stepped into the twilight zone.

“You see it too, right?” Andrya hisses. “This is insane.”

“Are you two alright?” Zhana asks, popping her head out from behind the black curtain to the changing rooms.

Forcing myself to breathe, I drop my hands, nodding quickly.

“Totally fine,” I say, my voice tight and weird. “Can we maybe get some water? My throat seems to have something in it.”

Zhana brightens with a smile. “Of course. I’m going to go ahead and get you some drinks, and the girls will be bringing in dresses. The Queen would like for you to join her,” she says, as if there’s nothing wrong with it. She may think I’m gay, come to think about it.

“Thank you,” Andrya says with a nod, struggling to keep a straight face as well.

Walking in, we see a wide-eyed Silla, who is not our queen. Well, at least not yet.

“Hanging in there, Your Majesty?” I snicker.

“Let it all out now,” Silla mutters, shaking her head. “How on Earth does that woman think that I’m Cinder?!”

“If I’m being very honest, you look a lot like her, outside of the hair. I just don’t want to sleep with Cinder, so I haven’t really noticed the similarities,” Andrya says, hugging her. Silla is just slightly taller than her, so being the opportunistic little shit that she is, Andrya wiggles down a bit so that she can lay her head on her chest. “I need snuggle time later.”

“Okay, yes, of course, just help me live through this,” Silla says tightly.

“No one talks about where Cinder goes. The tabloids are so tight lipped, I didn’t even know if she had a seamstress for her dresses or not,” Andrya tells her. “This visit won’t be spoken about.”