Moonflower- A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction

Chapter 17

They walked as inconspicuously as possible through the palace winding around corners until we found ourselves in the back southeast corner. A small wooden door sat in the very corner of the hall, and to anyone else it was just a maintenance closet. However, few knew it actually led out to the back of the palace.
The southeast corner of New Beijing's royal residence was surrounded by a dense forest. If Cynthia remembered correctly, the forest was laid atop the getaway tunnels that ran miles away toward the royal safe house. It was so dense that it was impossible to dig and find the underground tunnels, however it wasn't unnavigable.
Leo led Cynthia through the twisting trees for what seemed like miles. She had no idea how he was finding his way through it. Every tree and branch looked the same, but Leo seemed confident. After several minutes of trekking through the forest they came upon a small military cargo ship. It had about the same dimensions of the very ship still sitting on the front lawn of the palace. The ramp of the ship was down and at the bottom stood Solstice and Fitz both ready to go.
"Here it is, my very own ship, the 215 Spindle Class 13.1. It's one of the newest models thanks to some of my connections from the academy." Leo explained. He beamed with pride.
There it was again, that little flutter in her heart. Cynthia began to wonder if perhaps it was about more than just being proud of her friend for finding his calling.
As they got closer to their friends Cynthia could see the solemn looks on their faces. Solstice gave the princess a tight squeeze and a reassuring smile.
"If our parents could save earth from an evil queen, hundreds of thaumaturges, and thousands of lunar wolf soldiers, we can save them from a handful of thaumaturges and a couple soldiers." Solstice told her. Cynthia wasn't sure they could be as clever or quick as their parents, but her best friend gave her hope.
Fitz looked to be in a daze. Cynthia was glad her mom was at least a prisoner and not forced to become a killing machine. They had to get her mom and Wolf back.
The crew boarded the Spindle. It was clean and seemed to be very functional. There were two bunk rooms aboard and a small kitchen area closer to the cockpit. Solstice and Cynthia would share one room while Leo and Fitz got the other, and Cynthia was able to breathe easier when she saw that Solstice had brought several sets of clean clothes for the both of them. The cockpit held five chairs with safety restraints.
"Everyone get strapped in," said Leo as he sat in the pilot's seat. "Fitz I'm going to need some help on the takeoff, so you sit here." He flipped some switches in front and to the sides of him. Solstice and Cynthia grabbed two of the seats behind them and fastened the belts.
The princess had ridden in Captain Thorne's Rampion before, and take offs had never ever been smooth. She very vividly remembered the tremendous quaking of lifting off the ground and the jolting of going against gravity and wind. Then as soon as they got out of the rough winds the atmosphere would attack them with its rough fury. After the first time she rode in the Rampion she was always sure to buckle into her seat and hold on tight.
Now, Cynthia braced herself for a rattling take off. Leo turned on the jets, took to the steering wheel, and...
They floated through the air. There were no earth-quake comparable shock waves, no shaking so violent that it jumbled all one's insides. Cynthia hadn't known flight in these ships could be so easy. Leo really was a good pilot.
Once they were in the air Leo set the ship on course for middle America. Fitz helped him figure out all the coordinates. Cynthia knew Mrs. Kesley had trained all her children to be competent pilots, and it comforted Cynthia two know she had two people on board who could fly the ship especially if they had to get out of some place fast.
When they seemed to be finished Solstice spoke up, "So what is your plan Captain Thorne Jr.?"
Cynthia looked at her friend. "You came and got on this ship without even knowing where we were going?"
"Of course," she answered simply. "The Commonwealth needs your mom, your dad needs your mom, you need your mom, and the Kesleys need their dad. When Leo told me he had a plan to save them and to meet him with things for me and you at his ship within an hour I couldn't hesitate."
Cynthia squeezed Solstice's hand in thanks. She turned to Fitz and knew instantly that they felt the same way about this mission. Their parents meant the world to them both. Finally her eyes met Leo's.
They were the same as the night before, a determined hardness that seemed to mask something else, something deeper Cynthia could not put her finger on yet.
"We're going to middle America because there's someone there that I think may have answers for us. Solstice, have you ever used your Lunar gift?"
Solstice nodded slowly. "Once or twice when I was younger, but as soon as it was ready I got this," she said tapping the back of her neck. A pinprick of a scar dotted it where her Linh device had been inserted. The rest of the group simultaneously touched the back's of their necks as well.
Leo continued, "If you think about it, that power, that strange gift, is what tears us Earthens apart from Lunars. It's that power that very few Lunars even use anymore that prevents us from having lasting peace. I think the best way to save the empress and Mr. Kesley is to destroy it."
Solstice shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. You can't just destroy the Lunar gift. It just allows Lunars to sense and access bioelectricity. You can't take away a sense from every person."
"That's where I think you're wrong Solstice. After all sensing bioelectricity is a gift, and gifts can be taken back."