Winter fiddled with her gloves. She smoothed down her dress. She triple-checked that her safety harness was securely fastened.
It was driving Jacin crazy.
He would have said something, but he knew she was simply trying to distract herself from the planet looming in the window of their ship.
In the four years since Levana's demise, Cinder had been slowly using her power as queen to turn Luna into a democracy. It had been an incredibly tedious and long process, and Cinder still held power over the planet.
Winter had been helping as much as she could. Whilst doing her best to ignore her… episodes, she used her popularity amongst the residents of Luna to promote the idea of a government run by the people.
Jacin was in awe of her. Without her, the planet would have already tried to revolt against Cinder's rule. She was the glue keeping the society together. Not only that, but now she was traveling away from Luna for the first time in her life. She never would have agreed to it for anything less that this. Cinder was about to become Empress Cinder of the Eastern Commonwealth.
As they neared Earth, Jacin put his hand over Winter's, stopping her nervous movements. He still couldn't believe that he was able to do that. For years he'd taken watched over her, never believing that he would be allowed to truly take care of her the way he'd wanted to for as long as he could remember.
She looked up at him and smiled. Sometimes Jacin would forget how beautiful she was. He spent so much time around her that it seemed almost normal. And then she would smile. And he would fall in love with her all over again. It wasn't just that she was beautiful. It was that when she smiled he could see that she was so supremely good, that all of the torture she had endured throughout her life had somehow only made her stronger.
"We are beginning our final descent to Earth," the ship's intercom announced. Winter's hold on his hand tightened into a viselike grip. Her eyes widened franticly. I held her hand tighter as the ship rumbled into onto the runway. "We have landed and are now ready for deplaning.
Jacin stood up and smiled encouragingly down at Winter. "Come on, Trouble. Cinder and Kai will be waiting for us."
"New comm from Emperor Kaito," Jacin's portscreen announced. Jacin read it and looked back up at her.
"With so much traffic in the airways for the wedding, Kai said that he had to have us land outside of the city. He's sending a transport to meet us," Jacin told Winter. She nodded and stood up as he led her towards the ship's doors. "Are you ready?" She nodded. He pressed the release button and the door opened to show a beautiful sunny day.
Winter sucked in a breath. She dropped his hand as she stepped down the gangplank and onto the bright green grass. She looked up at the clear blue sky in awe. Jacin was also awestruck, but not as much as she was. He had never actually been on Earth, but as Sybil's pilot, he would see it out of the window almost every day. But Winter had refused to look out the window on the trip over. Now, seeing her so delighted and out of Levana's grasp, Jacin was happier than he had ever been before.
She stepped out of her shoes and curled her toes into the dirt. She turned her face up towards the sun, letting it play on her face for the first time without a piece of glass separating it from her.
She spread out her arms and twirled, her dress spinning around her, laughing that beautiful laugh that Jacin never heard enough of.
She looked over at Jacin and grinned.
"I'm warm Jacin," she said. "The cold is gone." Jacin looked into her deep brown eyes. He took in her creamy dark skin, her rich brown curls, and the three scars that raked down her face, only making her more stunning.
She was beautiful. There was no doubt about that. He had known how beautiful she was from the day he met her.
But somehow, being on Earth with the sun warming her bones and with her radiant smile, she was many times as beautiful. Then again, maybe Jacin only thought this because her happiness was all that mattered to him.
Winter couldn't leave Luna now. Jacin knew that. With the balance of power hanging on a thread, she was the only thing keeping a civil war from breaking out. Had Winter's absence been for anything other than the joining in marriage of Luna and the Eastern Commonwealth, there would have been a problem. However, with Kai and Cinder getting married, they would be celebrating tonight. They would be celebrating with all of the Earthens just like the Earthens celebrated when the fighting between the two planets ceased.
But maybe, in a few years when Cinder turned Luna into a democracy, he and Winter could visit Earth more often. Maybe Winter could be an ambassador of sorts… The more Jacin thought about it, the more he realized what a good idea it would be. He would, of course come with her. He would do anything to make her happy.
She would be able to keep the peoples' best interests in mind, just like she always did. She would be able to visit her friends. Jacin would, of course, come with her.
He watched her as she gallivanted around the field. He wouldn't ask her about this possibility right now, he would let her be happy and carefree. He would do anything to make her happy. And maybe if this came to be, Winter would be able to come to this planet and experience as many happy sunny days as she wanted.