Chapter Text
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Once upon a time, beyond the great seas and the seven mountains,
there was a young girl, who made a wish under the moonlit summer sky.
She only wanted to get away from it all,
longing for a world where she could be loved.
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The ringtones' sudden scream made Cinder jump. An echoing pain went through her skull, accompanied by a loud bang. She scooted out from under the car she was working on, trying to get her thoughts together. She has tuned out everything in these past hours, besides the faulty undercarriage she was working on.
Cinder stood up, which she immediately regretted. Dizziness aside, she started looking for her phone, which was still screeching as if it’s life was depending on it. It was on the metal table nearby, an unknown number flashing across the tiny screen. Must be a new client, she thought as she pressed the dial key.
"Sunto and Mechanics here, how can i help you?" she said automatically, searching with her eyes for her notepad, getting ready to write down the new client's information.
"Am i talking to Cinder Linh?" asked a soft, high voice.
"That would be me" answered Cinder. She wasn’t surprised that someone knew her name, she got a lot of jobs through her former clients recommendations.
"I’m calling from Saint Wilgefortis Hospital. You are listed as one of our patients' emergency contact."
Oh.
Oh, no.
Winter.
"Are you talking about Winter Hayle?" she asked. The name barely left her mouth, she had to force her vocal cords to do something.
"Yes. Could you come to the hospital for further procedures?"
"I-i guess. Where are you located?"
"Holdville, Maine" answered the nurse.
"Thank you, i will be there as soon as i can." said Cinder immediately and hung up the phone.
Why on earth did she say that?! She hasn't heard from her sister in years! Sister might be the wrong word, but they stumbled into the orphanage door together on that faithful September night and spent the next few years together in that hellhole.
She couldn’t think, she had to get to Winter, because god knows what happened to her again. She gathered her stuff, hurried to the main garage where one of her coworkers was sitting behind an ancient computer doing some work.
"I’m gonna be out for a few days, no, weeks, i don’t know, can you call Gus to finish the car i’m working on and take over my projects while i’m gone? My si-…My friend is in a hospital and i have to run" said Cinder in passing, barely catching a breath, then ran out of the shop. She heard her coworker shouting something after her, but she couldn’t bother turning back.
Thoughts started rushing through her head, almost causing her brain to overheat. Her metal leg bending weird, almost causing her to trip, Winter, the cars honking at her, Winter, the old lady she sees every morning shouting at her now after almost running over her, and oh, now she’s the other side of the alley, basically jumping down to her basement level apartment, where are the keys, Winter, the keys, Winter, opening the door, slamming it, where is that one duffle bag, Winter, oh shit the rent has to be payed in a week, will she be back by then, doesn’t matter, she will put the cash in an envelope, write ‘RENT’ and pray that Iko finds it.
She found the closest pile of her clothes, dirty or fresh out of the laundry, doesn’t matter, put all of them in a bag, chargers, her phone, her wallet, slipped into her leather jacket, then ran out the door and right into her roommate.
"Hey, wha-" started the girl, but Cinder shut her off.
"WINTER, MAINE, BYE!" she shouted, then got to her car, started the engine and took off to the state of lighthouses and lobsters.
𖤓
A long long time ago, there was a young girl, orphaned and left limbless from a great fire.
She lived with a bitter woman, left sour by her husband's death and poor inheritance, and her two daughters, one old enough to whisper poison under her breath, the other too young to know how cruel the world is.
The child was saved by the late inventor, who gave her a wooden left hand and leg. Although it wasn’t enchanted with magic, as one would expect in a kingdom like this, it was the fruit of hard labor, being able to move due to the complicated mechanics inside it.
Her life wasn’t as lonely as it may sound, thanks to her friend, a goldfish. It’s golden eyes held the secret of the stars and understood everything the girl said.
The fish was a gift from the father, or at least that’s what the girl liked to think. It appeared right before the man would succumb to the plague and around the time she got her new, moving limbs.
The fish would get her like no other, being the only companion in this wretched place. The scrapes she got as meals, she shared those with it. She spent her free time, sometimes even the dreamless nights, next to it’s pond, talking to it endlessly.
The child was nothing but a nuance, a shame and a maid to the widow. She made her do all the heavy work, all the dusting and the sweeping, making her wash the laundry in the river at the dead of winter.
But one day she discovered the child's talent for her late lover's work. Repairing old clockware, fixing the neighbors chariot and weaving machine ever so casually and even making improvements to her own limbs. It was nothing but a hobby of the girl, but the mother realized it could be used for something useful for once, even bring money into the household by reopening her husband's shop.
The only thing stopping her was that damned fish that the girl cried to in desperation, every single free second of hers, wasting all that time she could be working.
In the dead of night, when even the lonely child and her pained heart was asleep, she decided to feed the fish a mix of rice, beans and poisonous berries, glowing as crimson as a god's wrath. May this anger of hers do something good, lead her to a better life, after everything good she’d lost and everything bad she’d gained.
The fish turned to its side, eyes hollow, it gurgling oh so desperately, like it was speaking.
"Your faith will bring nothingness into that miserable life of yours if you don’t accept it"
She ignored the dying prophet, hurrying away to a better tomorrow.