Happily Ever After (The Lunar Chronicles story continuation)

Chapter 20: Stars

Cinder couldn't grasp the beauty of the white fabric as she looked in the mirror.
Iko squeaked at the sight of Cinder wearing the cloth. "It is perfect! You look so beautiful."
Cinder absolutely adored the embroidered stars at the hem. The silk kissed her skin in a delicate manner. The wedding dress was indeed perfect.
She took another second to appreciate the hours of work that had been put into the seams and frills, the way they added detail to the dress without it being too overwhelming. The way a clothing item could have a simplicity only made it more beautiful. Cinder had never liked the extravagant clothing rich and influential people usually wore.
Cinder looked in the mirror and noticed the smile that her lips had generated. Suddenly self-aware, she turned her head away to look at the tailor measuring the last few details.
When he was done, Cinder stepped off and away from the platform she had been standing on.
Iko helped her undress and they returned it to the tailor, so he could make whatever small changes, even though Cinder was convinced she wouldn't be able to see any difference afterwards.
"You can cross the dress of the list, what else do you want me for today?" Cinder asked, but she didn't actually want the answer. Every day in and out, she had been busy with preparations for the wedding. She hated that other people were going to watch. It wasn't because she didn't want anyone to see them, she didn't really mind. It was that every little detail had to be run through her and that she had to make a million different decisions. She hated how the most influential people from both Earth and Luna were coming to the wedding because that meant every aspect and every detail had to be flawless.
Last week, Iko had stormed into her chambers at 3 AM wanting to know whether she prefered teal or turquoise flower decorations. Naturally, Cinder had thrown a pillow at her.
Iko flipped through the pages fastened to her clipboard, pages Cinder imaged made up a single list. She lowered the clipboard and smiled at Cinder. "We're done."
It took a few seconds to realise what Iko had said. "We're done? As in that's it?"
Iko nodded. "It seems we have been through everything we can do before the wedding day. Adjusting the dress was the last thing to do."
Although Cinder felt liberated, she felt a hollowness grow inside her, as if she had been a scientist finishing a life-long project. After having spent all her time and energy on wedding preparations, she suddenly didn't know what was going to happen next, what the next chapter was going to be. Somewhere inside her, she knew it meant being empress, but it hadn't quite dawned on her yet. Of course her brain knew, but she hadn't gone through the right amount of freaking out yet to actually understand that she was going to be the empress of the Commonwealth. She knew that she was going to marry Kai, but she still had to understand it. It felt like a million years ago since Audri had volunteered her for the cyborg draft, which had led to her first meeting with Kai.

Cinder found Kai in his office. She closed the door and leaned up against it. "I have great news."
Kai lifted his head from his papers. "Yeah?" He smiled. Oh stars above. It was just a smile. She didn't need her retina display to tell her the amount of hormones flooding through her veins.
"All wedding preparations are officially over." Cinder smiled and chuckled under her breath.
Kai closed the book he was reading in. "Well that's about time, don't you think? We haven't had a break in weeks." Kai stood up from his chair, walked around his desk and sat on the edge of his desk, still facing Cinder.
"Absolutely," Cinder said. She took a few steps forward to shorten the distance between them.
They stood only inches apart, felt each other's breath. Kai leaned in. Cinder felt his sweet warm lips against hers. She put her arms around his neck. He put his around her waist.
Cinder realised it had been forever since they had had a moment like this. Her stomach churned. Above anything she wanted it to go on for hours. She was going to enjoy it. All this wedding planning had taken their focus away from what really mattered: each other.
"Hey, are there any cameras in here?" Cinder asked.
Kai chuckled. "I haven't found any, but I doubt you'll find any room in the palace not under surveillance."
The desk lamp tilted and was knocked over, but neither of them took notice. They moved to the only empty wall. Kai pressed Cinder against it and kissed her, over and over again. Kissed her lips, her neck, her collarbone, her shoulder.
Cinder felt the soft brushes of kisses. Her body ached and demanded more, demanded to continuously feel his touch for hours and hours. The hairs on her skin rose.
Cinder took a moment to glare into his eyes. Those copper-brown eyes were like a  maze. She could lose herself in them over and over again, but never remember the way out, bot that she wanted to.
Kai brushed away a strand of Cinder's hair and tucked it behind her ear. He ran a hand through her hair. "I would rattle the stars for you."
Cinder's pulse soared and her heartbeat quickened. It felt like her heart could plunge out of her ribcage any second now. "I would rattle the stars for you." She used the same words, for no other words seemed appropriate. No other words could express how everything changed when he entered the room. No other words could express how she felt around him, how she could only be her true self around him. Cinder leaned in to kiss him again. The kiss went on for longer this time and was filled with longing. She lost all sense of time. It was only her and him. Then there was a second kiss and a third.
A knock sounded at the door. They quickly created some more appropriate distance between them and placed themselves towards the centre of the room.
"Come in." Kai said.
Konn Torin opened the door, glanced at Cinders messy pony tail and Kai's wrinkled shirt. "My apologies for intruding, but Mao Zen is here to see you about the transport agreement."
Kai nodded and gestured with his right hand. "I will be there in a minute." Torin left as quickly as he came in.
Kai turned his attention back to Cinder. "I am terribly sorry, but I have a country to run."
Cinder looked into his eyes again while she still could. "You used that excuse last week as well."
Kai raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, I believe the country also needed governing last week." He said smiling.
Cinder raised her hands, palms facing Kai. "I'm just saying, you got out of a lot of wedding planning. Count yourself lucky."
"I don't doubt that." He responded, giving Cinder a last kiss goodbye as he left through the door.