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"Isn’t he gorgeous?" said Peony "Every night I tie a red string around irl in ether I know he’sat the boy Her optobionics were scanning hi the picture in some database in her head, and, this tian to filter through her brain His ID number, his birth date, his full name and title Prince Kaito, Crown Prince of the Eastern Co for his body," she said after a while, finally picking up on what didn’t feel right about the picture "They’re not proportionate"

"What are you talking about?" Peony snatched the port away and stared at it for ait onto her pillow "Honestly, who cares about his arrin "I was only saying"

Harrus around and hopped off the bed "Fine, whatever Our hover is here We’d better get going or we’ll be late for the ball, where I ahness, and you can dance hoever you would like to Maybe another prince We should make one up for you Do you want Prince Kai to have a brother?"

"What are you two doing?"

Cinder spun around Adri was looone unnoticed and Cinder was beginning to wonder if Adri was really a ghost that floated through the hallways rather than walked

"We’re going to the ball!" Peony said

Adri’s face flushed as her gaze dropped down the silk ki off Cinder’s shoulders "Take that off this instant!"

Shrinking back, Cinder instantly began undoing the knot that Peony had tied around her waist

"Peony, what are you thinking? These gar--" Stepping forward, she grabbed the collar of the dress, peeling it off Cinder as soon as the sash was free

"But you used to let Pearl and s are different now, and you are to leave , Peony started unwrapping her own dress Cinder bit the inside of her cheek, feeling oddly vulnerable without the heavy silk draped around her and sick to her stouilty about

"Cinder"

She dared to aze

"I came to tell you that if you are to be a part of this household, I will expect you to take on soh to help Pearl with her chores"

She nodded, al to do with her time when Peony wasn’t around "Of course I don’t want to be any trouble"

Adri’s mouth pursed into a thin line "I won’t ask you to do any dusting until I can trust you to race Is that hand water resistant?"

Cinder held out her bionic hand, splaying out the fingers "I…I think so But it , then Can you at least cook?"

Cinder racked her brain, wondering if it could feed her recipes as easily as it fed her useless definitions "I never have before, that I can remember But I’m sure…"

Peony threw her aret Iko fixed and then she can do all the housework like she’s supposed to?"

Adri’s eyes shter and Cinder "Well," she said, finally, snatching up the two ki them over her arm "I’m sure we’ll be able to find sohter alone so she can get some of her schoolwork accootten to the ball yet"

Cinder didn’t wait to hear the argument she expected to follow "Yes, step her head She slipped past Adri andbut she couldn’t pinpoint the overruling eer, because it wasn’t her fault that her new leg ard and heavy, and hoas she to know Adri wouldn’t want thes?

But also mortification because maybe she really was useless She was eleven years old, but she didn’t know anything, other than the bits of data that see like a complete idiot If she’d had any skills before, she had no idea what they had been She’d lost theainst it

The rooed much in the almost teeks since she’d come to call it home, other than the cast-off clothes that had been put into the dresser drawers, a pair of boots tossed into a corner, the blankets bundled up in a ball at the foot of her bed

Her eyes landed on the box of android parts that hadn’t been moved from their spot behind the door The dead sensor, the spindly arms