(COMPLETED) The Lunar Chronicles - Winter's Summer

Part 37

Winter lay spread out on her bed, letting the soft fabric tickle her skin. It had been a very stressful few days, and she was glad to be able to sleep without having a huge weight resting on her shoulders. But her responsibilities were not yet done.

At hearing a knock at the door, she stood, watching the black material of her floor length gown swish against the floor. She opened the door, seeing an exhausted Jacin on the other side in a pressed black suit.

"You ready?"

Winter nodded, taking his outstretched hand and beginning to walk down the hall to the gardens with him. She heard him sniffle a few times, but figured that acknowledging that he was crying would make him feel embarrassed.

So she kept her mouth shut, but right before they stepped into the garden and into the eyes of their friends, she stopped him, giving Jacin a large hug, which he returned.

Pulling away, Winter said "I'm sorry. I know you got really close to her when you were in the American Republic."

Jacin nodded, swiping away at a tear. He couldn't form any words right now.

With a small smile for his benefit, Winter led Jacin out of the shadows of the door frame, and into the gardens of New Beijing palace. Everyone was already there, black attire bringing down the entire mood from the garden.

It was beautiful, and there were all different types of flowers and exotic plants that Winter had only ever seen when she was at the palace. Every time she and Jacin visited, she would always make an effort to find time to sneak away here.

It made her feel more at peace with herself.

When Cinder noticed that she and Jacin had entered, she smiled, but only slightly. Winter knew this was draining more on her than anyone else. She walked to the front, next to the android's casket, and addressed them all.

"Guys, your attention, please."

At her words, all side conversations ceased, their attention towards Cinder.

"Today, we're here to say goodbye to a very special friend of ours. While Iko was made of metal and wires, that didn't make her any less important to any of us. She was as much our friend as any one of the people we're standing among. We love her like we love each other."

"I cannot imagine what the outcome of the revolution would have been if we had not had Iko on our side. She was brave and caring and she was willing to sacrifice herself for our success. Iko was a great friend, and she will be missed by all of us. I love you Iko. Goodbye."

Cinder stepped away from the casket, moving to Kai's side. Kai waited there for her with open arms, and she bent down so that she could hug him in his gurney.

He had been whisked away by the palace doctors as soon as the Rampion landed, but they had managed to find no fault with Jacin's stitches. They deemed the emperor 'as good as he would get' and allowed him to get ready for the funeral, which was happening the next day, with the condition he would be on the gurney, resting.

That was yesterday. And now was today. Right now, Winter was attending a funeral for one of her dearest friends.

"Does anyone have anything they'd like to share about Iko?"

Thorne cleared his throat, stepping up to where Cinder stood before. He was wringing his hands as he spoke, and his small smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"So, the first time I met Iko, I was blind, right? So I didn't see her new body. But she would always tell me how pretty she was, or flirt with me as a joke, or ask me if I wanted to date her. And then, one day, it just stopped. She didn't flirt, she didn't tell me how beautiful she was, or how she wanted to be with me. And I asked her why, and she said 'Because I can see you and Cress trying to be together, and I'm in the way.'"

Winter smiled. That sounded like Iko. Always having fun, messing around, but willing to put the people she cared about first. Winter's heart warmed at hearing Thorne's story, and Winter saw that Cress's did too.

The funeral continued like that, memories and recollections and stories being shared for the better part of two hours. Winter didn't add any stories of her own, deciding to keep the Iko she knew all to herself.

It may have been selfish, but Winter wanted to hold on to the last part of her late friend.

The funeral ended with the casket being lowered into the ground, Cress's soft tears hitting the top of it like a gentle rain. That was it. From that moment on, there was no Iko.

Winter sat down against the grass, feeling like her body was just too heavy. Jacin sat down next to her, tears still pouring freely down his face. Neither she nor he did anything about them.

Slowly, like the gravity just became too much to fight, all of the Rampion's remaining crew sat on the grass in front of the plot of land where the casket rested. They reminisced, remembering Iko, and the revolution, and all of their lives before they had come together.

For more than an hour, they just talked to each other, enjoying each other's company. It was little Cress the finally voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"So what do we do now?"

There was a hush. It was finally Winter who spoke, her voice not nearly as strong as she wanted it to be.

"We fight the wolves. Kai and Cinder get married. Jacin and I have our baby. We live happily ever after."

Thorne smiled. "I could do with some 'happily ever after'." He pulled Cress right up against him, giving her a peck on the head before standing, reaching down a hand to help her up.

They stood, displaying two genuine smiles. Winter stood along with them, feeling like the sadness had been washed away. It felt like Iko was still there. Winter walked up to Cress and Thorne, pulling them into a bear hug that, eventually, consisted of the entire crew, Iko included. The fact she was gone did not lessen any of the bonds she had with the crew, or make her any less a part of their family.

Pulling back, Winter cast a smile at each of her friends in turn, before saying "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go hunt some wolves!"