"Cinder." Kai pulled one leg onto the bank, turning his body so they were facing each other. He took her hands between his and her heart began to drum unexpectedly. Not because of his touch, and not even because of his low, serious tone, but because it occurred to Cinder all at once that Kai was nervous.
Kai was nervous.
"I asked you once," he said, running his thumbs over her knuckles, "if you thought you would ever be willing to wear a crow again. Not as the queen of Luna, but . . . as my empress. And you said that you would consider it someday."
She swallowed a breath of cool night air. "And . . . this is that day?"
His lips twitched, but didn't quite become a smile. "I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to marry you, and, yes, I want you to be my empress."
Cinder gaped at him for a long moment before she whispered, "That's a lot of wanting."
"You have no idea."
She lowered her lashes. "I might have some idea."
Kai released one of her hands and she looked up again to see him reaching into his pocket—the same that held Wolf's and Scarlet's wedding rings before. His fist was closed when he pulled it out and Kai held it toward her, released a slow breath, and opened his fingers to reveal a stunning ring with a large ruby ringed on diamonds.
It didn't take long for her retina scanner to measure the ring, and within seconds it was filling her in on far more information than she needed—insane words like carats and clarity scrolled past her vision. But it was the ring's history that snagged her attention. It had been his been his mother's engagement ring once, and his grandmother's before that.
Kai took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. Metal clinker against metal, and the priceless gem looked as ridiculous against her cyborg plating as the simple gold band had looked on Wolf's enormous, deformed, slightly hairy hand.
Cinder pressed her lips together and swallowed, hard, before daring to meet Kai's gaze again.
"Cinder," he said, "will you marry me?"
Absurd, she thought.
The emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth was proposing to her. It was uncanny. It was hysterical
But it was Kai, and somehow, that also made it exactly right.
"Yes," she whispered, "I will marry you.
Those simple words hung between them for a breath, and then she grinned and kissed him, amazed that her declaration didn't bring the surge of anxiety she would have expected years ago. He drew her into his arms, laughing between kisses, and she suddenly started to laugh too. She felt strangely delirious.
They had stood against all adversity to be together, and now they would forge their own path to love. She would be Kai's wife. She would be the Commonwealth's empress. And she had every intention of being blissfully happy for ever, ever after.
o.0.O.0.o
Cinder blinked nervously, sending the memory away. It had been a couple years since Kai had proposed to her. Two, maybe three years of planning had gone into this day, their wedding day, those years filled with laughter and joy. Now she was nervous, positive that if she could blush, she would be bright red.
Iko stood behind her, fixing her brown hair up into a fancy hairstyle. Iko, her maid of honor, her greatest friend, who had been with her since she was thirteen, living with Linh Adri, Pearl and Peony . . .
Peony, who had died from letumosis at age fourteen. Poor, friendly, lovely Peony, who had been her only friend besides Iko. Who would have loved to meet Emperor Kai, who would have been struck speechless to know her own stepsister was marrying him.
Cinder thought for a moment, a throbbing headache beginning to ache, telling her she should be crying. If things had been different, if Peony hadn't caught letumosis, if Cinder had been only a while earlier with the antidote, Peony would still be alive. Maybe, if Peony was alive right now, she would be the maid of honor—not that Cinder didn't want Iko to be. But Peony would have been just as wonderful.
Cinder yelped as Iko yanked on her hair a little too tightly.
"Sorry . . . and, done," Iko chirped, and Cinder stood up. She tried walking around the room, nearly tripping on her own high heels, but Iko, Cress, Winter and Scarlet clapped their hands in joy.
"You look like a real empress," Iko said with squeal of joy. She mimicked a low bow. "Your Majesty."
Cinder winced, recalling her short time as Queen of Luna, before she turned Luna into a republic. She had hoped never to be called Your Majesty again, but the thought of being an Imperial Majesty beside Kai didn't feel so bad.
"You look amazing," Cress said, a big smile on her face.
"You look absolutely stunning," Winter agreed. Scarlet gave Cinder a reassuring smile.
"He'll love it," Scarlet said.
Cinder spun around, her white dress spinning around, lifting ankle height off the ground. She made sure to not fall on her high heels again, keeping herself balanced with her arms out, as she held in a giggle.
"Cinder, sit down," Iko scolded, a smile on her face, as she pulled out multiple makeup kits from her bag. "I've got to put on your makeup."
o.0.O.0.o
The wedding took place in the Commonwealth palace. Many guests had been invited, including Earthen officials and the Lunar court. Numerous other guests had been invited, including half of the Commonwealth, but Cinder couldn't think of anything except for her nervousness and Kai.
Cress, Scarlet and Winter were there as bridesmaids, and Iko as the maid of honor. Wolf, Thorne and Jacin were the groomsmen and Konn Torin was Kai's best man. She was also aware that Liam Kinney had been invited.
She also knew that Linh Adri and Pearl had been invited, but doubted they would show up. She had been the one to suggest inviting them, earning a quizzical look from Kai, but nothing else.
She heard the people bustling through the walls and clenched her the hem of her dress tightly in her fists. It sounded like all of Commonwealth and Luna had come. It felt too much for her to handle.
She knew there were reporters, who suspected that this marriage, like Scarlet and Wolf's, a marriage between an Earthen and Lunar, was a political statement. But it wasn't.
"Cinder, calm down," Winter said, smiling, putting her hand on Cinders arm. Cinder calmed almost immediately, realizing all of her friends were with her, to help her and comfort her.
Iko checked over Cinder's face, hair and dress one last time to make sure that everything, the makeup and hairstyle, was on point. When she was satisfied, she nodded politely to Cinder.
o.0.O.0.o
Cinder walked down the aisle, greatful she had no tearducts to cry from. As she walked, she told herself not to look at all of these people staring at her, the Lunar cyborg that was about to marry the Emperor.
She caught something strange, familiar and unexpected in the corner of her eye.
Linh Adri and Pearl, sitting in the center of the back row, staring at her. It had been nearly five years since she'd seen them, and here they were, at her wedding. She gripped the bouquet of roses that Winter had given to her, and looked forward.
Kai was standing, smiling at her, looking as handsome as ever. His black hair was combed back, and his soft, brown eyes followed her. She looked down, once again greatful she couldn't blush.
She reached the end of the aisle and stood in front of him, staring up at him. He smiled, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. She looked down and gripped the bouquet so tightly that she feared she'd crushed the stems.
She looked him back in the eyes and his gaze softened. She barely heard the words from the officiant, Prime Minister Kaimin. She was completely lost in Kai's eyes. Prime Minister Kaimin handed her and Kai the rings, and Kai took her hand in his, sliding the ring onto her finger. He glanced at Minister Kaimin, cleared his throat, repeating what the Prime Minister said.
"I, Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth, claim you, Cinder Linh-Blackburn, to be my wife, and vow to to love you, stand and rule with you to the end of my days."
Cinder smiled at him, and she repeated what Minister Kaimin had said after slipping the ring in her hand onto Kai's finger, not once breaking eye contact with him.
"I, Cinder Linh-Blackburn of Luna, claim you, Emperor Kaito, to be my husband, and vow to to love you, stand and rule with you to the end of my days."
Minister Kaimin cleared her throat. "By the power given to me by the people of Earth, under the laws of the Earthen Union and as witnessed by those gathered here today, I do now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Cinder kissed him, or did he kiss her? She didn't know who lead and who followed, but now they were married, after two years of preparation, and even longer a wait. Being empress of the Eastern Commonwealth was pushed to the back of her mind. She was Kai's wife.
The room erupted into a loud roar of applause.
The Reception went by in a blur. Reporters asked her questions, people came up and wished her congratulations, but she barely heard any of it. She and Kai danced to song after song, but a few hours into the celebration a surprising, but not altogether unexpected, well wisher came up to the couple.
"Adri. Pearl, how . . . lovely to see you," Cinder mumbled. She wondered what they could have come to say.
Adri took a deep breath. "Cinder, we want to say . . . we are very happy for you, " she said stiffly, seemingly working up the courage to say something else. "And-we want to express our regret over how we treated you. It's just—if Garan hadn't died, and . . . well, you were so . . . different . . . and—"
"I understand. Thank you for the apology," Cinder said with a tight smile, blinking away the orange light in the corner of her eye. Adri and Pearl left hurriedly, and Cinder turned to Kai, who seemed to be intently admiring a nearby flower vase.
Later that night, the wedding party had a more private get together to celebrate the newlyweds.
Winter, Cress and Iko, were discussing current fashion. Wolf was chowing down on a steak while Scarlet pestered him about his hair.
"You need to cut it again. It looks scruffy," Scarlet was saying to him.
"Well, I for one think Wolf's hair looks great!" shouted Thorne from across the room, earning a sharp glare from Scarlet.
"Thorne, since when did anyone ask your opinion?" asked Cinder, leaving everyone laughing—except for Thorne.
After a while, Cinder looked around. Winter and Cress were sipping champagne and eating bite-sized cakes through smiles, chatting it up with Iko, who, as a droid, could not drink or eat anything. Kai, Thorne, Jacin, Torin and Kinney sipping theirs together during what seemed like a serious conversation. The only ones not drinking were Wolf and Scarlet, who now seemed to be whispering something important to one another.
Scarlet stood and clinked her spoon to her glass, which was filled with water, catching everyone's attention.
She cleared her throat and spoke. "So, firstly, I'd like to give a toast to to the bride and groom, Cinder and Kai." The room burst into applause.
"To Cinder and Kai!" They repeated back.
"Also, Wolf and I have an important announcement to make." The room fell silent. She opened her mouth to speak when Wolf interrupted excitedly.
"We are expecting our first baby," he burst out, grabbing Scarlets hand. The room burst into an even louder round of applause, and Cinder could swear she heard someone whistle.
"If it's a boy, you'll name it after me, right?" shouted a voice that was clearly Thorne's, causing the room to burst into laughter.
"Yes, Thorne, of course we will," Scarlet yelled back. "That's why we're hoping it's a girl." Another laugh.
"Congratulations, you two," said Cinder with a grin. There was a round of applause, and everyone resumed their drinking and chatting.
Cinder felt a hand wrap around her wrist as Kai pulled her away toward the balcony, to gaze out at the stars.
"Y'know, of all the things I expected to find at the market the day I met you, a cute girl with messy hair and dirty work gloves who also happened to be the lost princess of Luna—and my future wife— was not one of them, " said Kai with a reminiscent smile on his face.
"And I didn't expect Prince Kai to show up at my booth in a grey hoodie, " said Cinder with a smirk. "That seems like a lifetime ago. So many things have changed."
"Not everything, " said Kai.
"Oh?" asked Cinder with a smile as Kai pulled her in.
"You're still a cute girl with messy hair." They stared into each other's eyes.
"Lost the gloves," said Cinder.
They both smiled as they pulled in for a kiss. Yes, a lot had changed since their first meeting, but now they were together, as they had said in their vows, to the end of their days.