Long Distance

Part 1

It had been a month.

One. Whole. Month. Since he had seen Cinder.

He couldn't believe it. A whole month had passed. And it wasn't like time was getting away from him. Every second by agonizing second slipped by at a snails pace, hour by hour, day by day. It was torture.

Don't think him obsessed or something. He just missed her, especially when there was 238,900 miles between them.

They did comm, but it wasn't the same. Kai didn't want to just hear her sarcasm over a speaker, he wanted to hear it in real life. He wanted to feel the touch of her hands, metal and skin, he wanted to taste her lips again.

"Your Majesty," Torin suddenly said, jolting Kai from his stupor.

"Yes, forgive me, Torin. I am ... not myself today."

Torin's face was as unfeeling as stone, but his eyes were understanding. "You are thinking of Queen Selene again, aren't you."

Kai sighed, draping his arm over his eyes. He was lounging on the couch in his office, his feet kicked up on the armrest. "Am I really that transparent?"

He couldn't see Torin, but Kai imagined him kneading his brow.

"I suppose ... since these problems aren't very pressing --"

"What are you talking about?" Kai gasped, feigning exasperation. "Of course we need to address the fact that the guards' uniforms are too red to compliment the white walls of the place, right now! We need to fix this injustice!"

"Your Majesty --"

"And new fish for the koi pond!?" Kai sat up, looking at Torin. "Great stars, this is terrible --"

"Your Majesty!" Kai shut his mouth and sucked in a breath. Torin almost never raised his voice, and when he did, Kai knew it was time to shut up.

They didn't say anything for a moment. Kai looked at Torin, but the advisor didn't meet his gaze until he began talking. "Perhaps ... there is the matter of trade with Luna."

Kai tilted his head at him. "Aren't trade routes open to them now? They should have been when Cinder signed the Treaty of Bremen --"

"But it seems, Your Majesty," Torin interrupted. "That they are a little short on sugar. Perhaps we can ... discuss this with the Queen?"

Kai frowned. "I don't think sugar is a good excuse for a visit to Luna."

"They have a holiday coming up soon, you could be a representative of the Commonwealth."

"Holiday?" Kai slumped into the couch. "What holiday?"

Torin squinted at him. Kai drew his brow. "What?"

"You don't know?"

"No ... I mean, I've been trying to educate myself on Lunar cultures, but no."

Then, Torin did something Kai didn't expect.

He laughed.

It was short, Torin sobered quickly, but Kai was nevertheless left dumbfounded. First he hugged him, now he was laughing, maybe Kai would see him slouch next.

"Torin, what is it?" Kai pressed, highly curious now.

"Your Majesty," Torin said, regaining his composure. He tapped his portscreen with a stylus. "The holiday is the Queen's birthday."

Kai blinked. "Wait, you mean it's Cinder's birthday?"

"Not today, it is on the 21st of December," Torin reassured him. "But that is why they celebrate that holiday." He chuckled again.

"But, that's only a week away!" Kai shot to his feet. "I've gotta get a present. It can't be gloves again like the last time, that was a disaster. I've gotta get something special, not too extravagant because I know she doesn't like that kind of thing. And it can't be too expensive because I know she would be like, 'Kai, why would you waste money on something as frivolous as a birthday present.'" He smiled at the memory of Cinder being stingy, and unclipped his portscreen from his belt, starting to type.

"Should I alert the Queen of your arrival?" Torin asked, also tapping on his port.

"No no no, I want it to be a surprise. Inform Princess Winter and Iko and the rest of the court, but make sure they don't tell Cinder."

Torin looked wary, but clicked his heels and bowed. "I will see it done. Good luck with the present, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Torin." Kai nodded and his advisor went to leave the room.

Kai buzzed with excitement. He was going to see Cinder, and it would be for a valid reason. He was already counting down the minutes, creating a clock in his head.

He was going to see her.

Suddenly, a thought hit him. "Wait, Torin," he called. His advisor was just disappearing down the hall. His footsteps stopped and he appeared back in the office. "Will you also alert Scarlet Benoit, Ze'ev Kesley, Cress Darnel, and Carswell Thorne on these matters, see if they are available. They should be there as well."