Six years. Six years had passed since Cinder breathed natural air, seen an endless blue sky, felt the heat of the sun or gazed up at the moon.
Those years away from Earth, she spent on Luna. Five of them, she ruled as queen. After she announced her abdication, she immediately threw herself into dissolving the monarchy, placating the protesting nobility, and organizing the first election cycle. Needless to say, a trip to Earth was hardly on Cinder's list of priorities.
Despite her reluctance to leave Luna, she managed to sustain good relationships with the leaders of the Earthen Union. At first, the Earthens were just glad to be free of her aunt. Eventually, they all grew to respect her skill as a leader, despite her young age. .
Things between the queen and a certain emperor, however, remained somewhat strained.
The first time they saw each other after the disastrous ball was the day of Kai's wedding to Levana. Cinder's revolution interrupted the ceremony before the two were declared man and wife. Since Artemesia was cut off from the outer sectors, the emperor had no clue what Cinder and her crew were trying to accomplish.
Kai had a lot to take in that night. The lost princess he'd been seeking for months turned out to be the very girl he asked to the ball. The mechanic-turned-fugitive his military had been after suddenly had an army of her own. An army of determined Lunars, ready and willing to die standing by their rightful queen. He was there when Cinder's limp body had been discovered, blood from her chest seeping onto the very steps where he'd almost been wed.
Although he stayed during her recovery to help settle the people and begin the transport of the antidote to Earth, Kai hardly saw the new queen at all. And when she was well enough to join the conferences with the Earthen leaders, Kai maintained professional boundaries. He was reeling from all the truths revealed about her and yet he still wanted more answers.
However, he could not bring himself to confront her. She was still recovering from a stab wound, after all. A wound inflicted when she saved not only the Eastern Commonwealth, but all of Earth and Luna. After everything he'd done to her, the least he could do was let her recover in peace.
So when the other Earthen leaders returned home, Kai went too, never resolving what had happened between them. Cinder, taking his silence as a rejection, simply watched him go.
They could not, despite their best efforts, avoid each other for long. Both were very prominent leaders, which made video conferences and official communications inevitable. Though professional detachment defined their limited interactions, neither were quite able to forget how they once felt for each other. Their jobs, however, kept them from dwelling on what could have been for too long. (But it did not stop them from checking up on each other on gossip sites and fan pages late at night.)
After her official abdication, Cinder had taken on the role of Lunar Ambassador to Earth. When the first elections ended successfully and the new legislatives settled in, the Rampion crew convinced Cinder it was time for her return to Earth.
Weeks later, she found herself hurdling through the sky toward New Beijing.
Cinder received many invitations to various Earthen parties and galas over the years, all of which went respectfully declined. She claimed that Luna was too unstable for her to leave any time soon. Her true reasons, however, were a lot more personal.
She knew if she accepted one country's invitation, she would be expected to accept one from all of them. And there was one palace in particular she wished to avoid for as long as she could. Deciding it would be less obvious, she declined all invitations to Earth, despite how much she missed it.
But Cinder had plenty of time to enjoy the blue planet as she spent the last two months touring the Earthen Union. The final week of her voyage would be spent at the palace in New Beijing. And after a long tradition of rejected invitations, she would attend the Annual Peace Ball on the last night of her stay.
Unsurprisingly, both the emperor and former queen were quite nervous about the upcoming visit, no matter how vigorously they denied it.
Iko and Thorne teased Cinder often about how much she must miss her boyfriend's handsome was not as vocal with his amusement, but his knowing smile was certainly not appreciated when Kai was caught giving himself a pep talk in his office.
Cinder arrived on a clear Saturday morning. She spent most of the flight fidgeting in her chair, anxiously staring out the window. Iko mercifully ceased her teasing and simply told her that everything was going to be ok. Cinder could only manage a tight-lipped smile in return.
Though objectively, Cinder knew Iko was right, she could not help but dwell on the last time she'd been in the Commonwealth. Her younger sister had just died. She found out she was a Lunar and a princess. A lost princess many people were looking for, including the charming prince who recoiled from her once he glimpsed her cyborg limbs. Oh yeah, and there was the whole being imprisoned and chased by the full-might of the military. Not so fun times.
Thorne too, seemed to notice Cinder's distress and slung his arm around her shoulder as the aircraft landed at the palace. "If you can survive for months on the run from literally half the planet's militaries, while also starting a revolution on some giant rock in space against a psychotic, brainwashing, murdering asshole and her minions, you can survive one week with Prince Charming himself."
Even though she felt herself nod, the lady ambassador still felt like throwing up.
"Besides," Iko added, as the ramp descended "If things really do get too uncomfortable, send me a comm and Captain and I will come running with some 'emergency.'"
"Oh yeah, like Wolf butt-comming me while doing the do with Scar and now I need emergency brain surgery. Or we received word that Jacin actually smiled and so we must prepare for the impending apocalypse."
That last one actually got a laugh out of the nervous queen, and her laughing, smiling face was the first Kai saw of Cinder in years. Once she noticed the welcoming party, she immediately sobered, looking every bit the dignified leader she was. As she descended from the hover, she observed the people waiting for her. She noticed a few reporters, chief advisors, and a group of people standing awkwardly behind the others. Her internal computer did not recognize any of them. She met the emperor's gaze briefly, but was immediately distracted by flashes coming from the mysterious group.
When she reached the ground, she gasped.
Cyborgs.
Metal arms, legs, ears, hands. One person even had metal plating on his left cheek. The glint of sunlight off their metal caught her eye as she absently extended her hand to the first person who approached her.
"They, uh, wanted to meet you," Kai murmured, grasping her hand.
When Cinder met his eyes, Kai's breath caught. The gratitude and awe reflected back at him made him certain that if she could, she would have had tears in her eyes.
"Thank you," she replied breathlessly, suddenly wanting to wrap her arms around him and never letting go. She settled for holding his hand a bit tighter and longer than was strictly necessary before releasing him.
She then moved on to the advisors, giving each a handshake and a brief hello. When she shook Torin's hand, he leaned in to quietly tell her that the surprise addition to their welcoming party was the emperor's idea.
Cinder, also leaned in to quietly reply, "I sort of figured," before releasing his hand and continuing on to the group behind him.
There were eight of them, all of various ages. The youngest looked no older than six and was sporting two shiny titanium hands. She was hiding behind what looked to be her mother, who bore a metal left arm, and judging from how her slightly awkward stance, a prosthetic leg as well.
"Your Majesty," the mother addressed her with a slight bow, "We just wanted to thank you personally for all you have done for us. Not only have you saved us from your aunt's tyranny, but your work in changing the stigma against us cyborgs … you have no idea what it means to us."
The others nodded in agreement, each telling her how their lives improved since she began the fight against anti-cyborg laws throughout the Earthen Union. They now had stable jobs, signed leases, owned respectable businesses, no longer felt the need to hide who they were.
"Thank you so much. Not only for being here, but for being who you are. It takes great courage." And when they shook their heads disbelievingly, she raised her hand before they could disagree.
"Bravery is demonstrated in many ways, not just in battles or revolutions. I was once exactly where you were. I had no money, no property, in fact, I was legally someone's property. Even the money I worked for myself didn't belong to me. I was judged, scorned at, turned away from restaurants and businesses. And I did everything I could to hide the fact that I was a cyborg."
She knelt down and extended her left hand to the little girl.
"Believe me, accepting who you are, especially when you've been treated as I'm sure all of you have been… that is one of the bravest things you can do."
The little girl finally came out from behind her mother. Two metal fingers met Cinder's metal palm.
"Am I brave too?" she whispered, eyes wide as she gazed up into the former queen's eyes.
"I think you're the bravest."
With that, the girl threw her arms around Cinder, her glowing smile enough to make Cinder wish she had tears to shed. Happy tears of course.
"Elsa!" the mother scolded, " You are getting the queen's dress dirty!"
Cinder assured her that it was fine as she was prone to grease marks from her own hand anyway. Her diligent best friend always had stain remover handy. She then proposed having lunch with them later in the week, eventually leaving Iko to sort out the details as the security team escorted them away.
Turning back to where she had left the rest of the welcoming party, she was surprised to find that some of them remained, despite the heat outside.
Kai, for his part, felt many emotions as he watched her interact with his people. Fascination, pride, longing all bubbling up within him. When she turned back to him, he felt like his heart was about to beat right out of his chest. There was dust clinging to her hem and knees from when she knelt by the girl, grease marks on her skirt, hair sticking to her forehead and neck. Kai mentally berated himself for not inviting them indoors where it was cooler, but he was almost thankful he didn't.
For in that moment, Cinder had never looked more beautiful to him. Not even when he saw her glamour all those years ago. She gave him a shy smile, before following security into the palace. Kai suddenly felt weak in the knees. Luckily, a chuckling Torin stood behind him. The reporters would have had a field day if they saw him swooning after the queen.
Lunch later that day was an interesting affair. Delegates from all over the Commonwealth were invited to welcome the ambassador. Over fifty people were in attendance, so it was not surprising that Cinder and Kai were not seated near each other. She was supposed to be at the head of the table as the guest of honor, but the Lunar ambassador instead took her place next to Torin. Captain Thorne, of all people, sat at the head.
Thorne behaved in true Thorne fashion, much to the frustration of Cinder and some of the other diplomats. But she definitely noticed plenty of amused smiles and chuckles at the antics of her Head Pilot. (A title in name only, as he hardly did any of the actual flying.)
Cinder chatted with Torin who updated her on some of the changes in New Beijing. Some apartment buildings were torn down and rebuilt for safer living conditions, including the Phoenix apartments. A new Maglev line had been constructed for the outer sections of the city. The market still opened on weekends and a memorial had been erected there for the victims of letumosis.
Upon hearing about the market, Cinder looked up the hours on her netlink. She also tried looking up her former booth number, but all that came up were articles about the Lost Princess Selene and her history as a renowned mechanic in New Beijing. Quickly ignoring the useless text before anyone noticed her staring into space, she decided to later sneak into the market. After all, not much was on the agenda and she still knew her way around.
When Cinder made it back to her guest room, she quickly changed into her disguise. Cargo pants (not her old ones, Iko had long since thrown those away)... and a grey sweatshirt. The irony of what she was wearing was not lost on her.
She quickly headed out of her room, pulling up a map of the palace. Her best exit would be the one she used when she dropped off Nainsi. She could reach it by passing near the gardens, which she rushed to do. She wanted to get out of there before Iko found her and demanded she change to a more appropriate outfit.
Of course, she had to run into Kai. He was brooding in the shade of one of the pillars lining the gardens. .
He started when he noticed someone quickly making their way in his direction. When he saw who it was, he couldn't stop himself from getting her attention. Because it was her.
Not Queen Selene of Luna. Not the Lunar Ambassador of the Lunar Republic. It was Cinder. Cinder, the mechanic. With the cargo pants and boots and the messy pony tail.
And she was gorgeous.
"Your Majesty!" she exclaimed, clearly startled. "I-uh was just headed-, um, out?" she finished lamely.
"Aren't you hot?" he couldn't help asking, glancing at her sweatshirt.
Cinder raised an eyebrow. "I'm trying to be inconspicuous," she answered, echoing his response from years before.
He chuckled awkwardly before opening his mouth to say something else… except no words came. He always believed his one true talent was talking, but it was failing him in that moment. He wanted to say something smooth, charming, something that didn't sound like he'd just been dissecting every little interaction they've had thus far.
Luckily, Cinder spoke before Kai could look even more like a gaping fish out of water.
"I'm headed over to the marketplace," she explained. "I just wanted to visit my old booth and I didn't want to attract… attention."
"Right, well, uh have fun, I guess. And be careful."
"Trust me. I'm always prepared," she said, wiggling the fingers of her cyborg hand before rushing off. Kai spent most of the next hour going over that thirty second interaction, while CInder tried her best not to feel hurt that he still didn't seem to want to talk to her.
She enjoyed being back in the market. The commotion of kids chasing each other, the angry bartering in the booths, the scent of bread, garlic and meats… Cinder had not realized how much she missed it until she was back in the thick of it all.
She stopped by the memorial in the center of the square first. It was beautiful in its simplicity: a golden sun, forged out of strong metal, glinting in the sunlight. Cinder had read the reports when it had been revealed. Some Lunars were offended, insisting it was a dig against the moon. While she made a neutral statement about it, Cinder thought it was rather fitting. After all, letumosis did come from the moon. What better way to commemorate the lives lost to it than with the sun?
After a few moments, she made her way over to her former booth and was disappointed to find it locked up. Somewhat to Cinder's surprise, it looked just as she had left it. She wanted to see if the code to unlock it still worked, but figured it would draw too much attention accessing the booth of the lost Lunar princess.
Quickly glamoring herself, she asked one of the neighboring vendors if the booth ever became anything. He informed her that it remained closed since the mechanic who worked there moved to the moon. He pulled out a portscreen, its screen black. He lamented the fact that the renowned Linh Cinder hadn't been around to fix it. She asked him if he had a screwdriver handy, not wanting her cyborg hand to reveal who she was. When the vendor obliged, the mechanic quickly set to work. Prying off the panel, she deftly rewired the cable she suspected had been disconnected. When the screen turned on seconds later, he sputtered in surprise.
Before he could say anything, Cinder thanked him and disappeared into the crowd.
She wondered if it was Adri who still rented her booth. though she couldn't imagine why. Before she could contemplate any further, she received an angry comm from Iko. She sent a quick reply before continuing to browse the market. She would deal with her friend later.
Cinder later found herself in a very junkyard where Peony had been taken away. She ambled toward where they found her almost-getaway car, where the emergency hover had landed. She recalled how disconcerting it was seeing lively, beautiful Peony placed in that sterile, lifeless ship. It was enough to make Cinder start dry heaving, body shaking with sobs she wasn't capable of.
It was only when Iko sent a comm announcing it was almost dinner, that Cinder picked herself up and headed back to the palace.
Dinner was a much quieter affair than the previous meal had been. And it wasn't just because the other diplomats weren't present this time. Cinder returned emotionally drained, and barely contributed to the conversation.
Kai, having been determined to have at least one decent conversation with her, was perplexed and concerned.
When the meal was over, Cinder quickly made her excuses and retired for the evening. Kai wanted to rush after her and make sure she was okay, but held himself back. Who was he to her? Was he even a friend? Would his presence make things better or worse? He decided her actual friends, even that insufferable captain, would be better suited to comforting her. And so he let her go.
Later that night, Cinder somehow made her way to the gardens. She sat on a bench under a great Japanese maple tree for hours when her internal auditory system picked up someone approaching.
"Is that spot taken?" Kai asked.
Wordlessly, she scooted over. Kai sat beside her, but not before draping his own grey sweatshirt around her. She started at the motion, but was immediately grateful. She hadn't noticed how cold she was until she slipped into its warmth.
They sat for a few more minutes. Kai contemplated the moon and stars, while Cinder admired the garden around her: the trickle of the stream, the rustle of the leaves, the smell of the flowers.
"She would have been twenty," she finally broke the silence, her eyes trained on the gurgling stream ahead.
"Who?" Kai inquired, shifting his gaze to his companion.
"Peony. My sister," she clarified. "I went to the place where they took her away. I don't know what led me to it, but I just ended up there."
Kai didn't say anything, but shifted closer to her to let her know he was listening.
"Maybe it's because of the memorial at the market…. All the people who died because… because someone on the moon-"
"Tell me about her," Kai interrupted, not letting Cinder spiral into self-blame and guilt. "Tell me about Peony. What was she like?"
"For one thing, she would have been ecstatic that you knew her name," she chuckled softly, meeting his gaze briefly before staring unseeingly ahead.
"She was the sweetest, most loving person I had ever known. So warm and full of life. She was kind to me before… all that happened," she said, gesturing to the palace in general. She sighed. "Peony was the one person to accept me when I was just a lowly cyborg."
Kai fidgeted uncomfortably at her revelation, shamefully recalling how he reacted when he discovered that she was a cyborg.
"You know, of all the amazing things that happened to me over the last six years, she would have loved this the most," Cinder continued, looking around the garden. "She would have loved to spend a night at the palace. She didn't even get to go to a Peace Ball."
Before he knew what he was doing, Kai wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in. Cinder immediately tucked herself into his chest and took comfort in his warmth.
"I realize that I didn't know your sister at all, but I'm sure she would be so proud of you." When he heard a scoff, he simply continued, his hand playing with the end of her ponytail.
"If what you told me about her was true, she wouldn't want you living in the past, blaming yourself for things you had no control over."
He then nudged her so she was sitting up again, but facing him. Looking her deep in the eyes, he said: "She would want you to be happy."
Cinder took a deep breath as she held his gaze and slowly nodded, whispering a thank you.
"Any time, Your Majesty."
"You don't have to call me that."
"Lady Ambassador, then? Or Mi'lady" he said in a suggestive tone and an exaggerated twitch of the eyebrows. Thorne would have been proud.
"Stars no," Cinder exclaimed, hitting his chest a little. "Just, ugh stick with my name okay?"
"Which one?"
"What do you mean?"
"What would you like me to call you: Cinder or Selene?"
His question stunned her. No one had ever asked her that before. Everyone had just assumed she'd go by Selene, seeing as that was her real name. Yet, in the back of her mind, she still saw herself as Cinder, the cyborg-mechanic who just happened to be queen . Only Iko and Thorne still called her that though, but Cinder didn't mind all that much. She learned to respond to both names.
"Cinder," she answered. "You can call me Cinder. But only when we're not around other people. Got it?"
"Noted, Cinder. As long as you call me Kai."
Their relationship greatly improved over the next few days. Things weren't as awkward between them, and they had even made their nightly conversations in the garden a regular pastime. They talked about their experiences over the last few years, their hopes for their respective countries, their frustrations. Cinder even revealed the barely visible green dot of newsfeed in her iris and the gadgets built into her hand. They talked about everything.
Well, everything but their feelings for each other.
It all came to a head the night before the ball. Kai desperately wanted to ask Cinder to be his date, but was hesitant given her reaction the last time he asked. And the more he thought about that time, the more he wanted the answers he never got.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked that night.
"Tell you what?"
"That you were...cyborg. Back then, before everything."
Cinder frowned slightly and looked away.
"Honestly, no. I thought about it, at least twice, but no, I don't think I would have had the courage." She paused, before continuing. "You were nice to me, sweet even. And I guess I didn't want to see that change. I was afraid you would react, well, how you did that night."
The emperor tried not to feel too hurt, but failed. There was too much truth to her words.
"So you were just going to hide it from me forever?"
Cinder stared at him, eyebrows raised.
"You were the emperor of an entire country, Kai. There was never going to be a forever."
Her words stung, but before he could respond, Cinder kept going, as if she'd been holding this in for a while. In truth, she probably had.
"And what would have happened if I did tell you. Oh, sure Your Highness, I'd love to go to the ball with you, but first you should probably know that I'm cyborg. And then what?" she questioned, uncaring how loud she had gotten.
Kai looked down at his hands. What would he have done if he found out sooner? Would he have reacted better? More gallantly? Been more accepting as her sister, Peony had been? Despite how much he liked to believe he would have acted differently, he knew the answer.
"You would never have talked to me again," she answered for him. "You would have been mortified."
Once again, Kai was at a loss for words.
"Besides, I didn't plan on staying in the Commonwealth long enough for you to find out. I was running away to Europe that night, before Cress contacted me through the D-COMM chip. And, well, you know the rest."
Despite how horrible he felt, he kept pushing.
"And what about being Lunar?
"What about being Lunar?" she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. Kai held her gaze, though he suddenly felt two inches tall.
"Did you ever… I mean- before, when I met you all those times at the palace… were you-did you-?
"Brainwash you? Manipulate you? Take away your free will?" she spat, immediately getting up from the bench.
"I had to wonder," Kai tried to explain quickly, wincing as she moved away from him. "I know that you had that repression chip from when you were a child, but it must have been faulty. Especially at the ball, but there was that time… in the elevator… I could have sworn I saw..."
"You honestly thought that I was brainwashing you?" Cinder questioned, unable to hide how hurt she felt. "Do you think I'm brainwashing you now?"
There was a too-long pause before he insisted that of course he didn't think that.
"Oh and that's probably because you have a perfectly intact repression chip to protect you from us power-hungry Lunars," she sneered.
"That's not-"
"Save it, Your Majesty. I finally know what you really think of me." With that last biting response, Cinder swept away back to her rooms, leaving a stunned Kai behind.
Later that night, Kai berated himself for not going after her. For not rushing to correct her, to convince her that he did not see her that way. He was halfway to the guest wing, when he realized that demanding she speak to him at 3:00 AM was unlikely to help his case. So he retreated back to his rooms, vowing to find her the next day, before the ball. He'd fix everything then.
He soon realized it would not be an easy task. The Lunar delegates were absent at breakfast and the midday meal. The scheduled meeting on immigration laws was cancelled. Kai ran into Iko in an elevator, and only received an icy, robotic stare when he asked after her friend.
As the hours ticked closer to the ball, Kai built up the courage to approach Cinder's guest suite. He felt the air drain out of him when she wasn't there.
Kai's desperation reaching new heights, he sought out the swaggering space captain he'd been ignoring the last few days. Though he was loathe to admit it, Kai was strangely intimidated by Carswell Thorne. Not because of his natural charisma and confident demeanor, but for his close relationship with Cinder.
While Kai was fairly certain that Thorne was involved with Luna's Head of Cybernetic Security, he couldn't help the pang of jealousy whenever he spied Cinder laughing with him or accepting his hugs, brushes of her hair or shoulders… and stars, Kai scolded himself. He sounded like a creepy stalker.
It was with great reluctance that he approached Thorne, who was lounging in one of the office spaces, talking to a small blonde woman on his portscreen. Upon noticing the emperor, Thorne quickly said his goodbyes to Cress, prepared to give Kai hell for hurting Cinder.
But the agitated emperor spoke before Thorne could get a word out, starting to pace about the room.
"Look I get you don't like me and you probably want to punch me in the face for what I said to Cinder last night. And you know, if I could, I'd punch myself too because I never meant to hurt her. She is the most beautiful, resourceful, wonderful person I have ever met and I need her to know that. I don't think she's a power-hungry Lunar and deep down I know, I know, she never manipulated me. Of course she didn't! How could she have when I was crazy for her, even when she was on the run with your stupid, winking face? Everyone knows glamors don't work over long distances. And they shouldn't work for six damn years. So I just, I need…" he finally took a breath. "At the risk of triggering your infinite smugness, please, please tell me where she is."
Thorne's eyebrows gradually rose higher and higher during the usually composed emperor's impassioned outburst. The captain found that he liked this rambling mess much better. Perhaps, it was because he knew what it was like to be that desperate to fix things with a loved one (but mostly he liked that the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth was intimidated by his good looks)
So the good captain bit back the quips and jokes (he'd be sure to bring it all up again later), and merely stated, "You know, under all her queenliness, she's still a greasy mechanic."
Kai caught his meaning and immediately turned to leave, but Thorne called him back.
"If you hurt her, in any way, I will personally make sure you do punch yourself in the face."
Kai smiled. "Agreed, " he answered, before making his way to the royal mechanics suite.
Cinder spent most of the day among the innards of androids and portscreens, furiously running diagnostics, fitting caps, repairing opto-sensors, replacing hyperdrives and glitchy screens, angrily banging things as she went.
She had started doing minor repair jobs earlier that week, unable to resist the call of the toys awaiting in the royal mechanics suite. Cinder had a hell of a time convincing the head mechanic to let her work when she first showed up, but on the day of the ball, Lu Han said nothing.
The old man had grown fond of her over the last few days, admiring her mechanical skills. She was able to fix things with a few simple maneuvers that would have taken him hours. But as they worked alongside each other, he had gotten to know the former mechanic well.
He learned that she still worried over her Lunar people, afraid that she wasn't a good leader, that maybe she changed too much in too little time. He learned that even great leaders could be crippled by the weight of responsibility on their shoulders.
For his part, Lu Han was an excellent listener, but could spin a good story himself. He told her about how he met his wife at the Annual Peace ball almost fifty years ago. He laughed with Cinder as he recalled how she had reduced him to bumbling mess each time she smiled. He told her about his long life, rejoiced over the births of his two sons, yet bemoaned their uselessness when it came to mechanics. He regaled her with tales of his children's antics, how the two met their wives, and some of the strange repair jobs that came his way. They even mourned together when he revealed his wife's passing due to an undiagnosed heart condition only a year ago.
Needless to say, the two mechanics became very close friends. And when Cinder found out that Lu Han was not going to the Annual Peace Ball, she convinced him to come as her personal guest. "After all, I could use a handsome date," she had joked at them time.
But on the day of the ball, there was very little conversation. And while it had been some time for him, the royal mechanic recognized a lovers' spat when he saw one. As much as they had shared with each other, Cinder had been tight-lipped with regards to her relationship with the emperor. At first, he tried to prod her for more information, naturally curious if the future heir would be part Lunar. But when Cinder stubbornly refused to talk about it, Lu Han decided to go for a less direct approach.
He took to mentioning the emperor in passing, studying the girl's reaction. He brought up Kai's generosity in allowing him to return to work after his wife's death and even arranged for lodgings within the palace grounds when he mentioned he didn't want to burden his sons. Cinder's shining eyes when he commended Kai's decision to abolish the Cyborg Protection Act and her sudden inability to hold a wrench when he hinted at the emperor's lack of romantic involvement was very telling.
Therefore, it wasn't that hard to guess the cause of the young woman's distress. A few hours had passed since she had stopped banging things angrily, and progressed to working in silent melancholy.
Lu Han mentally willed the emperor to show up and fix things, and when Kai suddenly burst into the room, the old mechanic wondered if he secretly had the Lunar gift. Shaking away the ridiculous thought, he immediately stood to bow to his sovereign.
"Lu Han, may I please have a moment with the Lunar ambassador?" Kai requested, not taking his eyes off of Cinder.
Cinder, on the other hand, stubbornly kept her eyes on the android in front of her, absently fiddling with a screwdriver.
"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, settings his tools down. As he passed his friend, he gently touched her shoulder. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, though she didn't know exactly what she was pleading for. He simply gave her another pat on the shoulder before leaving.
Now that he found himself alone with the woman he was pretty sure he was in love with, Kai suddenly forgot everything he wanted to say.
Cinder still refused to acknowledge his presence, and while Kai had absolutely no experience with mechanics, he was 100% certain that a single screw didn't need to be screwed and unscrewed that many times.
Mentally kicking himself, he dragged a stool next to her at the workbench.
"You shouldn't be here," she blurted suddenly looking down at the stool. "There's grease everywhere. You'll get dirty."
"I don't mind a few grease stains," he assured her as he plopped down next to her. Cinder shook her head, and moved back to her tinkering.
"Cinder-" he began, but was immediately cut off.
"I'm sorry for the way I reacted last night. I don't blame you for feeling that way. I know what it must have looked like, me lying to you about everything. You have every right not to trust me. I probably wouldn't if I were you," she sighed. She had stopped fiddling with the android, but still faced away from him.
"You don't have to-" he started again, but Cinder once again spoke over him.
"I guess I've always been afraid of turning into her and then learning that you feared me like you probably feared her sort of made me lose my head. And I just-"
"Geez, Cinder, will you let me get a word in!"
Startled, she looked at him, but before she could turn her head away, he brought his hand to the side of her face. Her stomach exploded with butterflies as he caressed a black smudge with an achingly gentle touch.
"You listen to me, Linh Cinder," Kai declared, looking deep into her eyes, "You are nothing, nothing like Levana."
When she shook her head doubtfully, he leaned in to rest his forehead against hers, effectively silencing her protests.
"You are kind," he whispered, "Selfless, resourceful, beautiful, witty."
Cinder was barely able to breathe, and stared at Kai's lips as he spoke. See managed a light laugh when Kai mentioned that giving up the throne was the most un-Levana thing she could possibly do.
"You are an accomplished leader, an inspiring revolutionary, the most incredible person I know. And I think I knew that, even when you were just the mechanic fixing my android."
He leaned back slightly and dropped his hand from her face to grasp her hands, both cyborg and human. He fixed his gaze on their clasped hands.
"I knew it then, yet I didn't defend you. I basically threw you to the wolves and sent half my military out to get you. But you, brilliant person you are, you overcame everything. You defeated your adversaries, you saved the Commonwealth, saved the world, really. From Levana, letumosis… you've achieved so much more than anything I could in a lifetime."
When Cinder murmured that she had plenty of help, Kai merely said that it didn't matter.
"How could I think that you, the girl who asked me to dance with her dying sister, the girl who gave the antidote to another even when it couldn't save someone she loved, the girl who risked her life to warn me about an evil queen's plans, the girl who was so easy to talk to, who never left my mind, even when she was all the way across the city or far away on the moon…"
Cinder had closed her eyes during Kai's speech, the emotions building up inside her almost too much to handle. When his voice drifted off, she opened her eyes to see him looking at her with such love, the butterflies in her stomach almost making her nauseous.
"How could I believe that girl could have brainwashed me into loving her, when she makes me love her just by being herself. Her grease-stained, messy ponytail, cargo-pants wearing self is more heartbreakingly beautiful than any glamor in the world… or moon."
With that, Cinder surged forward and kissed him. It was awkward at first, she still hadn't let go of the screwdriver when he held her hand and her sudden move trapped their arms between them. Though she ended up stabbing herself slightly, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Later, when they caught their breath, Cinder teased him, asking if she were to look at the search history on his portscreen, would she find a recent thesaurus download. Kai's ears turned bright red, and reluctantly admitted that Nainsi came programmed with one already installed. He bashfully scratched behind his ear, not noticing Cinder access her netscreen.
"Well then I have to say, you, Emperor Kaito are pretty admirable, charming, delightful, exquisite, fantastic-"
Kai silenced with her another kiss.
"Oh come on, Kai, I was just going to call you hunky-dory," Cinder giggled.
"Ok at least mine made sense," Kai grumbled back, though his words had no bite as he had buried his nose into her hair.
"At any rate," she laughed, cupping the sides of his cheeks and forcing him to look at her, "I think you're pretty wonderful, too, you dork."
A couple of hours before the start of the festival, Iko charged into the suite ordering the two to start getting ready for the ball. Kai and Cinder parted reluctantly, promising to see each other soon.
If anyone heard the squeals coming from the Lunar ambassador's guest suite, nobody mentioned it. And if anyone noticed the grease stains on the young emperor smiling face, they didn't say a word.
Kai had obviously wanted to share the first dance of the night with Cinder, but had already promised it to the daughter of Queen Camilla some time ago. As he swayed awkwardly with the much older princess, his gaze kept straying to the vision watching in the crowd.
She wore a dark blue dress, the color of the sky just before the sun dipped beyond the horizon. The soft fabric shimmered subtly, flaring out from her waist, falling just below her knees. It was simple dress, but she looked stunning all the same.
As soon as the dance ended, he immediately turned to where Cinder had been standing, only to falter when she wasn't there. He frowned when he spotted her on the dance floor, her dress flowing as she danced with Lu Han, of all people.
When he caught her eye, she smiled teasingly at him (his poor heart skipped a beat) before turning her attention back to her partner. After a moment, Kai went over to Iko and invited her onto the dance floor.
They swayed together with as much grace a human and a robot could achieve together, but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless. Well, after he got the "If you hurt her, I'll dismember you" speech. He had a feeling he would be receiving variations of that threat several more times.
Kai expertly guided Iko closer to where Cinder and Lu Han were waltzing, so that when the music ended the two pairs were right beside each other.
"Ah, it looks like a much younger and better looking suitor has come to take you away, My Lady," Lu Han announced. "But I'm sure I leave you in good hands."
He then placed the Lunar ambassador's hand in the emperor's, chuckling at the yearning on both their faces.
And so Cinder and Kai danced the night away, blissfully content in each other's arms.
Despite their happiness at the festival, the next morning dawned miserably for the two lovebirds. It was the day of Cinder's return to Luna. Though she had promised Kai that she would come back in a couple of months, both were still miserable at the prospect of a separation so soon after they had just found each other again.
They talked all the time, sent each other messages throughout the day, even video conferenced well into the night until one of them fell asleep.
But it still wasn't enough. After a particularly trying week, Kai planned a rather sudden diplomatic trip to Luna. Officially, the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth was negotiating trade agreements with the newly elected Lunar legislature. Unofficially, Kai missed his girlfriend and Cinder missed her boyfriend, and they were doing something about it.
On the night before the negotiations were slated to begin, Cinder snuck into Kai's guest room. Her internal monitoring system went haywire and almost shut down several times that night. Something Kai was strangely proud of.
The next month, Cinder snuck back to Earth. Literally. Everyone on Luna believed her to be on a communication-free retreat in one of the outer sectors. Only Iko and Torin knew the former queen's true whereabouts.
When Kai was acting particularly mopey about Cinder's supposed retreat, Torin sent him to his room to get some rest. When he saw who was waiting for him on his bed, he made a mental note to send his chief advisor on an extravagant vacation.
Cinder, for her part, was happy to discover a way to bypass her system's temperature controls, which proved useful over those next few hours. Kai was extremely happy to see her blush for the first time.
Four months later, Cinder found herself permanently situated in New Beijing. Not at the palace, though, at her own insistence. She claimed it was to control the rumor mill, although Kai argued that there had been rumors about the two of them for over six years. Cinder merely shook her head, murmuring "Not yet."
One year later, a royal engagement was announced. Emperor Kaito and Former Queen Selene Blackburne were to be wed at the palace toward the end of summer. They arranged for their return from their honeymoon to coincide with the Annual Peace Ball.
Unsurprisingly, their wedding was the highlight of the year, if not the Third Era. Updates on the planning, venue, colors, theme, vendors, wedding dress, menus, and cake all flooded Cinder's newsfeed for months before the wedding. To preserve her sanity, she allowed Iko to handle most of the planning, though she did get the final say.
One night, as the couple were going over the guest list in their bedroom, Cinder wondered aloud if she ought to send a personal invitation to her stepmother and stepsister. Kai responded with an emphatic no. When she raised a questioning eyebrow to him, he launched into a heated rant about how awful they were, recalling how rude Pearl was at the marketplace and when Adri nearly hit Cinder at the ball. He blustered at their selfishness when they asked for compensation, outraged at how apathetic they were to Cinder's potential death. Finally, he declared that they would not, under any circumstances, ruin their wedding day.
Never knowing how intensely he disliked her stepfamily, Cinder listened in shock, and curiously, growing attraction as he raged on her behalf. He had turned slightly red during his tirade, and was still huffing with anger when she pressed him down on the bed and had her way with him.
A part of her wanted to invite them to the wedding, just to see Kai rip them a new one. Later she agreed it would be best for them not to attend as she settled in the warmth of his arms. And once again she found herself marveling just how lucky she was to have such a loyal and adorable fiance.
Two months after the wedding, another announcement was made: The royal couple was expecting their first child and heir. The first few months had been rough. Cinder's hormones were changing, causing her internal system to send warnings every three seconds, much to her annoyance. She was sore, nauseous, and easily provoked.
Kai, to his credit, was ever the supportive husband. He encouraged Cinder to spend time in the mechanics suite with Lu Han, knowing how much fixing things calmed her. He rubbed her foot when she was tired and learned basic maintenance for her cyborg foot when she could no longer bend over to do it herself. He went down to the kitchens whenever she got a craving in the middle of the night and dutifully slept in his office when she complained that he made the bed too warm. And when Cinder felt too guilty or lonely, he returned without complaint.
All throughout her pregnancy, Cinder often woke to her husband murmuring to her stomach. Each time, Cinder felt like her heart would burst with all the love she felt. She would apologize for being cranky and he would say something adorably sweet and together they would marvel at what their love had created.
Peony Mae was born happy and healthy (and suspiciously barely eight months after the royal wedding.) Cinder and Kai were ecstatic to meet her. They even set up the nursery in their room, despite the warnings of the lack of sleep in the months ahead. And though they slept through many an important meeting and were in a constant groggy state most days, they could never bring themselves to regret it.
Three years later, Han Torin was born, affectionately dubbed Prince Hantor by the public. As much as Peony turned out to be a daddy's girl, Han was every bit a mama's boy.
Both children had inherited their mother's Lunar gift. Whether or not they should have a repression chip put in was the biggest fight Cinder and Kai ever had. Kai insisted that they have the chip put in, while Cinder argued against it. In the end, they agreed to have the chips installed as a protection measure, in case any Lunar decided to manipulate their kids. When they grew older, they would give them the choice either to keep the chip or have it removed. Both parents vowed to teach them good values and morals so they would never abuse their power, should they choose to practice it. And as they watched Peony and Han grow to be exceptionally bright and compassionate young people, they knew they had succeeded.
Despite their happiness, their lives never truly settled down. There were still separations to be had as Cinder made frequent trips to Luna or as Kai traveled to the other regions of the Commonwealth. There were still debates to argue, policies to negotiate, and the constant public scrutiny to be dealt with. Yet they always found time to spend together as a family.
Their family portrait, taken when Han was two years old and Peony was five was one of the most viewed photos of the Third Era. It was completely different from their other, more formal shoots. Instead of a generic backdrop, it was taken by the stream in the royal gardens. There was a lot of water involved, and a particularly wet and clingy shirt.
Cinder later teased that perhaps the popularity of the picture had less to do with the adorableness of their children, but more to do with the hot emperor in the wet T-shirt. And when he mumbled back that it was a respectable button-up thank you very much, she whispered in his bright red ear just what his wet button up did to her. He gave her a live show soon after.
On particularly stressful days, Cinder and Kai would round up their children and head to the palace gardens at night. The couple would lounge on their bench below the Japanese maple and watch Peony and Han chase each other in the grass. Kai would contemplate the moon and stars while Cinder would admire the garden around her: the rustle of the leaves, the trickle of the stream and the shrieks of her happy children, delighted to be up past their bedtime.
She would lean into her husband's warmth just as he would wrap a grey hoodie around her shoulders.
And no matter what crisis they had to handle or new obstacle headed their way, she knew they could handle it. After all, she was the luckiest cyborg-mechanic/former queen/current empress the stars had ever seen.