Moonflower- A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction

Epilogue

"Well here we are," said a smiling Carswell Thorne as he stepped into the small room. It was still lavishly decorated with plush carpets and lounges. Cinder was sitting scrolling through the feeds, but Kai practicing his favorite hobby, pacing.

Cinder picked at the intricate gold embroidery on her dress. It spiraled all around her on the deep red gown. It was rather loud, but the dressmaker insisted she stand out today. Even if this wasn't about her at all.

Thorne was grinning in his own sleek suit. He was having no problem with standing out today, none at all.

"Here we are..." murmured Kai as he paced away from the door and then turned around. "Here we are just sitting and waiting. Here we are just three years after the whole world was almost killed- again- and we're perfectly okay. There haven't been any mishaps and I'm very suspicious."

"Calm down," Cinder called to him from her seat. She was very excited about today herself. Kai was just a worrier.

"Yeah, listen to your wife," Thorne chided. "There's nothing to worry about. We destroyed the source of all the problems we've ever had. Unless..." Thorne's jaw dropped, eyes widened.

The emperor looked up, terrified. "Unless what?,"

"Unless you're afraid of me officially joining the family! Think about it, we're practically brothers in a couple hours!"

Kai cringed, but Cinder was glad to notice the tension in his shoulders seemed to loosen. "Maybe I should go talk to my daughter right now. She's only known Leo for what? Twenty one years? That's probably not enough. She's rushing into this," Kai was grinning now. The teasing had relaxed him so much that he plopped down on the couch with Cinder. The only way she could tell he was still nervous was by how tightly he squeezed her human hand.

Cress came in soon after, dressed in a lovely lilac dress, her hair pinned up and wearing heels so high she came up to Cinder's shoulder. She was beaming.

"I just saw the groom! He's so nervous. Almost as nervous as you were Thorne."

"Please, I was the picture of calm on our wedding day," the captain protested as he came to meet her. It was as if he didn't even need to tell Cress how lovely she looked anymore. He just his arm around her gently and smiled his brilliant smile.

"Right," Cinder chimed in. "If you squint you can't even see the sweat your forehead was covered in in all the photos."

They all laughed, even Thorne, reliving these memories. Here they were, not quite thirty years after the first Lunar War. They were still safe. They were still themselves. They were still together.

Next Throne's parents joined them in the little waiting room. Cinder had never met them before, but it was surprising that Thorne and Cress talked to them so intimately. She knew they hadn't been the best parents while raising Thorne, but it seemed they had really stepped up to be Leo's grandparents. She was glad that he was able to reconnect with them when the moved back to America all those years ago.

Speaking of grandparents, the next family member to arrive was Professor Dianem, or rather, her father. It had been shocking in the days after the Lunar War three years ago to learn that he was alive, and though it had been hard to believe, the paternity tests came back positive. Since then Dianem had been living at New Beijing Palace with the rest of the royal family. It hadn't taken long for Cynthia and Rikan to get used to having a grandfather, but Cinder had been a little more cautious. She'd never had a father figure. Now, three years later, she was almost used to it. She smiled at him when he came in.

"You will be the second most beautiful woman in the chapel today," he praised, coming over to her couch she shared with Kai. She got up to hug him.

"No one will look as lovely as Cynthia today," Kai said, shaking hands with the professor. "So I have to agree with you sir."

A chime echoed through the tiny room. "That's our cue!" Called Thorne, straightening his already askew tie.

"I'll see you later," Kai said, kissing her cheek. Then he went out the other door to find Cynthia in the vestibule. While Cinder had walked down her aisle alone, Cynthia would walk to the altar the way all little girls dreamed, on the arm of her loving father.

She filed out with the rest of the families to the front of the crowded palace chapel and sat in the front row. Nothing could stop her from being front and center on her daughter's important day.

——-

Cynthia was a ball of nerves right up until her dad entered the vestibule amidst the swirling skirts and hushed voices. While everyone else still bustled around and whispered and giggled to each other, it was just her and her dad. The eye of her storm.

He didn't even say anything at first. He just hugged her tight to him. When he pulled away she could see the tears in his eyes and knew he couldn't speak for fear of sobbing.

"Dad," she began smiling and tearing up herself a little.

"No no no!" cried Solstice, hurrying over with a cloth in hand. "No tears, not even happy ones. If some of that make-up comes off and gets on your dress I will cry."

"She's right," the emperor said, straightening up and blinking away his tears. "It's almost time."

And just as he said those words the organ began to play, and the flower girl walked out into the aisle. She was followed by bridesmaids and groomsmen, more than they needed, but a royal wedding required more than was ever needed.

Solstice waved as she left, and then it was just her and her dad. She shifted. This was it. There had been so much leading up to this. And now Leo was waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

"You're one of the bravest people I know Cynthia Peony," said the emperor, breaking the silence. "You've faced lunar monsters, thaumaturges, the plague, and you're still willing to take on a life of responsibility after. You'll make it through today."

"You've done the same thing," she responded.

"And wouldn't wish it on anyone, much less my daughter. But I'm so proud of you Thia, and I probably don't say this enough, I love you."

"You say it all the time dad, but I love you too," Cynthia said, hugging him tight.

The wedding march started, and the aisle was long, but at the end was the rampion crew. The crew of both past and present. Parents and children. The cyborg, the emperor, the thief, the hacker. The Stars and the Moonflower.

And they all lived happily to the end of their days once again

A/N: And that's the end. Sorry for the absence. I meant to write this epilogue a lot sooner, but school caught up to me. 

This has been an amazing experience for me. I've finally written a novel length story, and even better, in its un-edited form people got to read it and respond to my writing. Your reactions have been amazing and incredibly kind. Thank you all.

I hope to write some new stuff for TLC in the future, but I don't currently have any ideas. I hope you'll check out whatever comes next, but thanks for reading now. Honestly this is a bit emotional writing the end of a story I've worked on for so long and not knowing where I'm going next. 

I hope you  felt some things. I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you all again for sticking with this story. 

Love from the bottom of my heart,

Theresa