Dreams: A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction

Chapter 2: A Perfect Day

A/N: I wanted to write in third person, but Cress seems to want to tell the story herself, so I switched to first person. Apologies for the inconvenience.

I struggled to hold on as the Rampion hurtled towards a big land mass she didn't know the name of. The only good thing about Thorne going back into the military was that maybe he would learn how to pilot this ship properly. Even though I had supported his decision, she still wished they could stay together.

"Happy birthday, by the way," Thorne called out.

"Oh, thanks! I forgot, to be honest," I replied.

"Well I didn't. I only came because I wanted to surprise you," he said.

"That's super sweet, and it's the best birthday gift anyone has ever given me," I confessed.

"Don't suppose Sybil Mira gave you any presents, huh?" he asked.

I shuddered. "She deserved worse. Both her and Queen Levana."

"At least we all made it. Recognize that place?"

"It's where we crash landed into the Sahara. The first time we met."

"Yes, and it is now exactly two years since that day. Too bad I didn't know it was your birthday, or I would have given you the rest of my water bottle as a gift," he said, before speeding off and making a less than gracefull landing, as we both climbed out.

The landscape was unlike anything I'd ever been in before. It was sandy, but not at all hot as the desert. Palm tress grew everywhere, full of dates, and a dense pine forest was behind us. A gentle breeze was blowing, and I heard a sound that I had never heard before.

Thorne took me by my hand, and together we climbed up a steep hill and gazed at the area before us. The first thing I saw was the water. Blue-green water stretching back as far as the eye could see. Waves lapped at the shore, and rocky islands were spread out. The sun had just risen, and it reminded me of the first time Thorne had woken me up to see the sunset. I'd been annoyed at being disturbed, but all that evaporated when I saw the dawn. We had our first kiss since our lives returned to normalcy there.

Thorne must have seen my awed expression, because he said, "You never saw the sea before?"

"Only in photos, but I never imagined it could be so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, or me," he murmured, "come on, let's swim."

Back in the Rampion, Thorne found an old bathing suit for me, which he claimed had belonged to his sister, who had moved to Africa to help the people recover from letumosis. The bathing suit fit perfectly, and we went into the water.

There were so many things to do and see. Of course, I knew the basic theory of how to swim, but it was Thorne who perfected my moves and helped me have enough confidence to go deep in the water. There were two scuba tanks on the Rampion, and we used them to look at all of the coral reefs and fish that lived there. I was fascinated by all of the bright colors.

It was almost noon when Thorne said, "We should start thinking about lunch. I was thinking we could fish."

"That's actually a great idea. I haven't had fish ever since I came to Earth, and on the satellite, all I had was disgusting canned sardines."

"Great. I'll get the fishing poles. Meanwhile, it would be good if you could warm up with a towel. You're freezing."

As usual, Thorne was right. My teeth were chattering, so I grabbed the fluffy towel I had carelessly thrown in the sand hours ago. As I wrapped myself in it and began to dry myself, Thorne set the fishing poles.

"What now?" I asked.

"We wait. Maybe we can talk, if you want.''

After spending the better part of three hours talking about our lives while we were seperated, we began to get restless.

"This isn't working. Maybe we can try something else."

"Like what?''

"I don't know, maybe spearing fish?"

"Sure. We could use those sharp sticks over there."

After sharpening the sticks, we went in the water again, but only knee-length. Thorne showed me how to spot the fish, and how to make sure the motion of my hand didn't disturb the fish. After many attempts, it was clear this wasn't going to work, either. Even though I seemed to hit right where the fish were, the stick never touched them. 

"Refraction," I whispered, as I suddenly realized what was happening.

"What?" asked Thorne.

"Water caused the light to bend, meaning that the fish are actually in a slightly different position than where we percieve them to be."

"Oh."

After that, we started being more successful in our attempts. I caught a fish on my first try. Thorne caught his on his third try. Slightly annoyed , he playfully splashed me with some water. I pushed him into the water, and he tripped me so I fell, too. This caused a full-scale water fight, until we were both drenched and laughing.

"We should cook the fish. I'll cook it in the oven," I said.

"Or we could cook it in a fire," suggested Thorne.

"That would be amazing," I replied excitedly.

After helping Thorne collect some herbs from the messy kitchen drawers, we lit a small fire and took turns making sure the two fish didn't overcook and burn. Finally, it was ready. We laid out a small picnick on the sandy shore with the fish, some salad, fruit, and bread rolls we had heated in the fire. The food was amazing. 

Just as we finished eating and cleaned up, Thorne said, "Do you want to go for a small boat ride? I need to tell you something."