Cinder's Story: a Lunar Chronicles Fanfic

Chapter Thirteen and a Half

Cinder's curiosity about her origins had gotten the best of her. Before, she had been satisfied to know that she was nothing more than an adopted cyborg with no real past, and no real future. Now, there was suddenly more to her than what would otherwise meet the eye. People looked at her, and saw a talented and strangely attractive blend of skin and metal living in a dump to quietly live out her days. What she was on the inside had become a question too important for her to dismiss.

From what she could gather from several internet searches and a trip to the local library, Cinder understood the following about Lunars:

One, they have special bio-electric manipulation capabilities that could alter hormone production, sensory input, and neurological sub-sequencing. This was all technobabble for the fact that they had magic. Yet, upon reflection, Cinder noted that most things in her world were just technobabble for magic, anyway.

Two, unless a Lunar uses their magic consistently, they risk psychological damage and a subsequent stroke, ultimately leading to death at an early age. Most Lunars prefer to use their power constantly, exercising full force of control over others; this constant use gives them a kind of "high".

Three, not all Lunars have magic- there were some, called shells, that could not use nor be influenced by an average Lunar's power. They were rare, due to the extermination act passed some years ago, but the term still existed in several current encyclopedias.

Four, their queen- Levana- was a nutjob. Running her name through a search engine pegged hits on many conspiracy theories as to how she operated on the moon. Supposedly, she embezzled companies, killed children, ate her sandwiches one ingredient at a time, kicked puppies, loved hairless cats, and overall was just the worst. Everyone knew that her stepdaughter was a perfect angel locked up in some hidey-hole in her castle, and that she killed almost all of her family in order to take the throne.

At least... everyone with a decent internet connection and an interest in gossip knew this stuff.

Cinder looked down at her hands- one biological, the other mechanical.

Despite all the new knowledge Cinder had acquired, the question of her origins remained in doubt. Just who was she? How was it possible that she was royalty? Had the queen tried to burn her alive when she was just a little girl, as her nightmares and Doctor D.'s comments so strongly implied? If so, what was she to do about it? Was it time to start a rebellion- go on a quest to take back her throne and restore peace to the galaxy? Would trying to take back the throne really do so, or would she prove to be no better at ruling than Levana?

Cinder scratched her head. If she was ever going make real progress in her research, she would have to narrow questions down the most important ones.

A moment to concentrate passed, and she settled for the first topic that had crossed her mind.

Just who was she?

Well, for starters, she was a cyborg stepdaughter to a cranky woman who hated her with every pore on her skin.

Cinder grimaced. The notion was not very comforting.

She shifted focus to her research. What did these facts say about her?

Simple: If Cinder was Lunar, then she was probably a shell... unless the plot of the book said otherwise.

With the massage of her temples and a long sigh, she decided to let her search for answers rest.