Happily Ever After (The Lunar Chronicles story continuation)

Chapter 7: The Best Man

Kai hopelessly looked at the endless list of names on the guest list. "Argh! I have never heard of half of the guests on this list."
Iko looked at her long list of items that had to be completed before the wedding. She wore a blue dress with a lighter blue embroidered pattern on its side. Kai didn't recognise it, but Iko wore a new dress almost every day after Cinder had given her Levana's old wardrobe. Her eyes were bright yellow, adjusted to her mood. It had been weird to constantly see her with a different eye colour, but he had gotten used to her colour-changing eyes. They changed according to her mood, but were most often this bright yellow.
Iko had appointed herself to be the wedding planner. Kai didn't mind, and he wasn't planning on crushing Iko's big dream, but it wasn't as if Iko had given either him or Cinder a choice in the matter.
"It's important. How can I make gorgeous invitations and send them out to the entire Universe if you don't give enough time to do that?" Iko pointed out.
Cinder, who looked like she had stopped caring about all of this planning hours ago stretched out her hand, gesturing for Kai to give her the list. "Let me see"
Kai did so. "Torin and some other advisors created the list. It's supposed to be the most influential people of both Earth and Luna, but how important can they be if I don't even know who they are?"
Cinder started reading the list. "Well, at least everyone we do know is on the list" she said, referring to the rampion crew. Cinder flinched.
Kai raised his eyebrows "What's wrong?"
Cinder swallowed, "it's.... ehm... it's nothing. I was just surprised by some of the names on this list." Cinder tried to act normal, but Kai snatched the list out of her hands.
Kai scanned through the list until his eyes darted to what Cinder had seen, the name 'Lihn Audri' and right underneath it 'Lihn Pearl'.
"Do you want to change it? They don't have to be there if you really don't want them to." Kai said.
Cinder shook her her. "No, it's fine. Besides, they're too influential to leave out of the ceremony." Cinder thought about the patent for the Implant Audrey now owned, which had not only made the Lihn family very wealthy, but also powerful.
"Well as android in charge of the seating arrangement, I'll make sure you won't be sitting directly next to each other." Iko proudly said about yet another if her self-appointed tasks. Kai wanted to say something about her being the android in charge of pretty much everything, but Kai didn't bother.
"Next item then," Iko said, taking another look at her endless list. "Wedding cake! Have you decided on flavour, icing and topping?" Her excitement was unbearable.
Cinder sighed, "Iko, we tried a sample of every possible combination this morning. My stomach is still bursting and they all tasted exactly the same. There doesn't even need to be a cake for all I care."
"But there has to be! It's tradition"
"I'm getting tired of all these traditions that we have to follow"
"It's important! You don't want to create an intergalactic conflict."
Cinder gave her a are-you-really-serious stare. "Yes, because the flavour of the wedding cake will totally do that."
Iko sighed, "Fine, we can specify that choice later." Iko looked at the list again. Wouldn't it ever stop? Kai felt the exhaustion spread to every inch if his body. He just wanted to have a moments rest, free from having to make decisions on matters he didn't truly have an opinion on.
"Now who should be your best man?" Iko asked Kai.
Kai didn't answer as he took a moment to think. He hadn't given this a thought before it had been brought up.
A bleep sounded from Iko. "Oh, it's that time already! I'm so sorry, I need to meet with the decorators to sort out table decorations. I have to go now, but we can continue tomorrow." Having said that, Iko rushed out the door to get to her appointment.
"I thought she would never leave," Kai said
Cinder laughed. "Now I'm curious, who would you like as a best man?"
Kai rolled his eyes. "And who would you recommend? Maybe I could choose Thorne, the ex-criminal who committed crime in three different countries, that'll get people excited. And I would never in my right mind give his the chance to give a speech in front of the world. There's also Wolf, the mutated lunar soldier, who looks like the soldiers that spread terror around the Earth. Then there's Jacin, also lunar, but I barely know the guy, sure we're friends, but that's it." During this long list of people Kai had subconsciously waved his arms around his head in frustration only to Cinder's amusement.
Cinder wiped the grin off her face. "What about a female best man?"
"I've given that a thought too, but I still don't know who it should be. Cress would hide and crumple like a little mouse if she were put in front of so many people, Scarlet would threaten half of the room and Winter would spontaneously start singing. However I couldn't even choose one of them if I wanted to, because then I'll break these stupid traditions. There doesn't have to be a best man for al I care, but we have follow all these traditions from the second era, while no one can really tell me why. These traditions are originally from Europe, how they reached the Commonwealth is still a mystery to me."
Cinder shrugged "Don't look at me, it's your planet."
"Aren't you supposed to be busy choosing a maid of honour or something else that doesn't include teasing me?" Kai said as he felt his eyelids gaining weight. He wanted to get some sleep at an exponential rate.
"All done, Iko proclaimed herself maid of honour."
"Why am I not at all surprised?"
"What about Torin?"
Kai blinked a couple of times.
Cinder saw his confusion and clarified, "Why don't you choose Torin as your best man?"
Kai sighed, by now he had lost count of the number of sighs. "Torin was my very first thought when Iko asked me, but then I'll break tradition again. I've known him my whole life and I trust him with my life. However, he is my advisor and everything in these kind of events has a symbolic meaning. Officially, an advisor is an advisor, not a friend."
"Looks to me like you'll break some tradition no matter what you do," Cinder said, "maybe we should just accept that, there's a first thing for everything, right?"
Kai thought about it for a moment, but finally nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Torin is the best choice no matter what traditions say."
"Then at least that's settled" Cinder cheered
Kai let out a long-held breath as a knot in his stomach untied itself, "but promise me one thing, no more choices for today."
Cinder gave a single clear nod in agreement.
Right now, all Kai wanted to do was clear his head and rid himself from all thoughts. Lately, even more articles had been published about them, everything from 'History Repeating Itself' to 'Chaos in the Royal Families' had been published everywhere, except for on the front page, which was still dedicated to Scarlet and Wolf's secret wedding.
But he just wanted to think about Cinder. How would their lives evolve? What would happen? How would it be to rule with Cinder at her side, or Empress Selene as she would become known.
"What are you thinking about?" Cinder asked.
Kai smiled as he said: "Empress Selene"
Cinder squinted, "That will take a little getting used to."
Kai thought the same and had to repeat it a few times in his mind.
Kai couldn't help himself and kissed Cinder, touching her soft lips. He couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. The heavy eyelids automatically closed his eyes as he felt Cinder stroke a strand of hair behind his ear just before he descended into a deep sleep, still laying in Cinders arms.