Disclaimer: I have zero rights to the Lunar Chronicles. I wouldn't be writing this if I did.
The silver walls of her office gleamed with a false glare from an unseen light source, the white curtains billowing in an artificial breeze. She regarded her royal netscreen with critical eyes. The Earthen wedding planner had sent her what had been finalized so far for her second wedding. The plans were less than acceptable, but she would have to approve of them anyway.
Levana didn't like Linh Cinder at all, and hadn't from the moment she saw her. The girl looked too much like her late sister, Channary, and no one had hated Channary quite like Levana. Grimacing, the Lunar queen sent away the plans and pulled up another, more confidential document.
She read over each bullet point carefully, her red lips screwing up into a sinister smile.
The ornate doors of her office swished open as she read the last line and her head thaumaturge entered. "Your Majesty, I am sorry for this interruption. I trust that you have seen the plans that I had Sir Clay send over?"
"Ah, Sybil. I've just finished going over them. They are brilliant, if I do say so myself."
Sybil forced back a pleased grin. "That is the highest praise, Your Majesty."
"Have you found out any new developments?" Levana rose from her desk and floated to the floor-to-ceiling walls of her office and looked out at Artemisia, the capitol city of Luna spreading before her.
The thaumaturge straightened from her kneel, "The Prince Regent has stopped attending the meetings with the planner. Prince Kai is helping to make the decisions. It's unclear what Prince Hikaru is up to now, though he is still attending meetings with world leaders. He doesn't seem to be planning anything, so I believe that it's safe to say he is not yet a flight risk."
Levana hummed, pursing her lips. "Make sure to keep tabs on him, won't you? He may not be a flight risk now, but I've no doubts he will at least try to become one." She turned from the window, hands folded demurely in front of her, "However, there is always another prince to fall back on. Let's hope he's not so senseless."
"Yes, my Queen." Sybil turned and exited the office once again, the doors closing gently after her.
Levana returned to her desk and pulled the plans and blueprints back up again, pressing a button so they would display on the large netscreen that she triggered to lift from the floor in front of her desk. She leaned over, resting her chin atop her intertwined fingers.
The smile was there again. She hadn't felt so triumphant since she got rid of her dreadful sister and took her rightful place as the Queen of Luna. In two weeks, she would have everything she'd ever wanted. Unlimited power, unlimited resources.
Oh, it warmed her stone cold heart so.
The royal hover agitated Cinder's nerves. She wrung her hands in her lap and stared at the ground, doing her best not to look at Kai. They were headed directly to the chosen bakery to decide on the cake before going back to her office to figure out the rest of the desserts. Due to misinformation and a mistake at the bakery, they were to do it there rather than in Cinder's office. They were being accompanied by royal guards in a different area of the hover, blocked off from them, and Cinder almost wished that they were sitting with them instead.
"Is it going to be awkward this entire time?" Cinder snapped her head up to look at him as he sat back against the seat.
Cinder wet her lips, her eyes flickering from his for the briefest moment, "I wasn't aware it was awkward."
Kai blinked, "Oh."
She pressed her lips, trying to find a way to disperse some of the tension, "Do you know what I did before I became a wedding planner, Kai?"
"What?"
She dropped her gaze to the carpeted flooring, "I was a licensed mechanic. I worked for my stepmother and she kept all of the profit. I worked all the time and never received anything for it. Not long after I turned 16, I realized it would finally be legal for me to leave when I turned 18, and I did. I packed up my things and I left. It was hard for a while."
He tried to listen, but he was caught on that one word – legal. Of course it would've been legal for her to leave when she reached 18 and was no longer considered a minor. The way she worded it, however, made it seem like that was not an option at one point. A strange feeling in his gut told him that something was off about Cinder. It didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, it was just… different. He couldn't put his finger on it, though.
"And I-I'm good at this. I was great at being a mechanic, but I prefer this so much more. I don't even know why, it just feels… more right. Cleaner. I didn't have to be so dirty anymore. My third official wedding was for two idols from Japan. They loved my independent style and how much they thought I already knew about the things they enjoyed and wanted in their wedding. They were the reason I could afford the fancy office and the netscreen wall and that really cool desk that I still can't get over."
"A mechanic? You were a mechanic, and now you're a wedding planner?" He asked, curiosity heavy in his eyes.
She exhaled a laugh, "I know it sounds ridiculous. They're on completely different ends of the spectrum, right?"
"I'll say."
Cinder shrugged, "I was 17 when I realized that it's what I was going to do once I got away from my stepmother. I was sitting in my booth at the market working on an android when I glanced up at the netscreen across the way. There was some broadcast about a wedding happening in Canada with these two celebrities and I realized that I kind of liked the idea of what it took to make a wedding happen." Kai quirked an eyebrow and leaned over, interested. "I started looking in to it and what it took and I decided that I could really be good at it. And, like I said, it was a far cry from mechanic work. I think that's mostly what drew me to it. My first clients were regulars at my booth. Two years later, here I am."
"Here you are." He smiled, "You really made something of yourself, didn't you?"
"I was just really lucky."
"You deserve it, you know."
She raised an eyebrow, "Thanks for the validation, Your Highness."
He chuckled, "Sorry. That came out wrong."
Cinder scrunched her shoulders up, "I know what you meant."
The following silence was awkward, and Cinder thought she might drown in it. Kai was sure he already had.
She set her head back against the head rest, "I used to dream of being important, you know? Of being a lost princess, or something stupid like that, who would revolutionize the world." She turned her gaze to the world outside of the window. "It's silly, I know. But I used to dream that I would save everyone from everything. Levana, Letumosis, everything. When Peony died, I stopped having those dreams. Mostly, it's just nightmares now." The corners of her mouth turned downward, deepened. "I guess I've just always wanted to feel like my life was worth something."
Kai squinted at her, wondering why she was telling him this, why she was so open, though not unhappy that she was, "You don't have to be a heroine to be worth something, Cinder."
She cringed at his kind words as the hover began to slow. She shouldn't have said anything to him, she knew. Couldn't figure out why she had in the first place. He didn't care. Not at all. She sighed, forcing her voice up half an octave. "Enough about me. We're here, so I suppose we should get back to work!"
He watched her as she pushed open the door, stepping out into the light of the afternoon sun.
She was hiding something, and Kai couldn't help but be curious about what.
"Any new developments?" The scrambled voice of the shadow asked.
Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck, pacing his office nervously, "No, everything's still ready to go. Right on schedule."
"Are you sure about this, Your Highness?" The shadow asked again.
"It's all I've got right now," the prince regent replied. "You're all set on your side, correct?"
"Affirmative. And of your brother? Is he suspicious?"
The prince dragged his fingers through his hair, "I don't think so."
Kai's eyes glazed over as he slumped back in the chair, his hands carressing his stomach, "If I eat any more sweets, I think I might throw up."
"Me too," Cinder groaned. "I think we've got everything we want the caterers to bring, though." She tapped her comm button, "Iko, I need you… to come take this food away… before one of us gets sick from looking at it."
The android burst into the room before Cinder even finished her request. She looked between the both of them, "You guys look like hell." She glanced sideways at Kai, "My apologies, Your Highness."
He gave a noncommittal wave of his hand.
Cinder was collapsed over her desk and Kai was whimpering about his stomach in the chair across from her. "It was all just… so good. We couldn't decide what we liked more, so we had third servings of everything. Between that and the cake tasting, it's safe to say we didn't make any good choices today."
Iko grabbed the hovering cart full of different dessert trays. "You guys are so lucky," she grumbled, pushing it through the door of Cinder's office. "Please don't get sick. I don't feel like cleaning up after either of you!" She paused and stuck her head back in, "Uh, except maybe after you, Your Highness."
The door shut behind her and Kai laughed painfully. "I think she's a little jealous."
Cinder dragged herself off of her desk, propping up on her forearms, "Androids don't know what jealousy is, but I'm sure I'll be hearing about it later regardless."
"Iko has quite the personality chip."
"Right?" She laughed, though it rocked her stomach a little too much. "I don't have another appointment for an hour, but you should probably head back to the palace. Though, honestly, the thought of moving kind of makes me sick."
"Oh, me too." Kai let out another groan, "I do have to go, though. The guards are waiting for me." Bracing himself on the arms of the chair, he pulled himself to standing.
Cinder did the same, her legs wobbling and stomach queasy. "I cannot believe we ate all of that. How did it happen?"
"We got distracted," he smirked. It was true. They were taste testing the different desserts the catering company had sent over and ended up deep in conversations about, of all things, life on other planets.
Cinder walked with him to the door and he turned to face her. She planted her hands on her hips, "Tomorrow at 08:00, right?"
"Tomorrow at 08:00."
Rather than turning to leave, Kai lingered, the smallest smile quirking the corners of his lips. The silence was deafening.
Then, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Author's Note: Y'know, I didn't really like this chapter! Next chapter is much better, if I recall correctly. We'll see. Fairest is coming out tomorrow! Isn't it so exciting?! I'm excited. I unfortunately have work right after my classes, but I'll be skimping on my homework to read it on Wednesday, don't worry...
Okay anyway. I kind of only just finished writing chapter 8. I told myself I would finish chapter 9 before I posted another on here, but I've been Doing Other Things (homework, playing Sims, rereading TLC for the 4th time...). It's fine. It's all fine. I'll work on my time management skills one of these days. Until then, take this. Tell me if you like it. Tell me if you don't. I can handle it.
