Cresswell Shots

Five Years, With and Without You

"Morning, Crescent." Thorne held fast to the sweet, little girl he loved more than anything. She was so kind and caring toward him, and nothing less than perfect in his eyes.

"Morning," she mumbled. She snuggled closer to him and squeezed her eyes shut. Thorne took her in with one long look. Her blue dress ruffled at her knees and a ribbon rung around her waist. Blond hair cropped above her shoulders and an already tiny frame crushing together.

After the hour it would take for them to stop cuddling each other and get out of bed, they'd go to the mess room and have breakfast. She'd sit within inches of him, and he'd ring an arm around her. Sometimes they'd feed spoon fulls of cereal to the other. Same goes for lunch and dinner (minus the cereal).

When they weren't having a meal, they sat in the cock-pit and stared out at the stars. Cress could point out constellations to him and describe their name origins. Or, Thorne would play his guitar and she'd sing along with original or made-up lyrics. Their favorite songs were by a man from the Second-Era named Ed Sheeran. "Thinking out loud" was their best, and Thorne even sang with her at some parts.

When they were tired of all that, she sat on his lap and rested her head on his shoulder. He couldn't even remember how long they'd done this, or how long it'd been since he met her. Time slipped away when he was with her, and it didn't seem to affect her either. Every morning he woke up to the same blue eyes and flawless face he met after regaining his sight. But he didn't need to know what she looked like to love her. He was head-over-heels for her before he even saw her, really saw her.

Every moment with her was true bliss. Nothing ever disturbed them, they never needed anything besides each other, and they were happy. Sometimes at night, they'd wake up because the Rampion shook, scaring Cress and making her whimper. He'd hold her and slowly rock her back to sleep, letting her know that he'd always be there for her, and that there was nothing to be afraid of.

As long as she was with him, he was never afraid, never resentful, bitter, or depressed. She filled him with life and joy, making him closer to the hero she thought he was than he could ever be on his own.

Their orbit around Earth made them isolated, but neither complained. Thorne didn't need to see other women, knowing all would be pale in comparison to his Crescent Moon. They didn't even see the others from the days of the revolution anymore, because they didn't need them. They only needed each other, and that's how he knew it would stay, forever.

................

Darla monitored Thorne where ever he went on the Rampion, just like Cinder asked her to. He talked to himself constantly and did things that were not considered, "normal human behavior".

In her data banks lie the truth that she had known for the past five years.

Crescent Moon Darnel died from an explosion triggered by a Lunar guard on the orders of Queen Levana. That day, she had been wearing a blue sundress and celebrating at a party for the overthrowing of the Lunar queen. The queen had made the order out of a prison cell while waiting for her trial. Miss Darnel was the only victim of the explosion.

After Thorne was given the news, he lost control. He stole a gun from one of the guards, killed the trigger man of the bomb, and tortured Levana to the point of death with several gunshots to her body. He was excused for the crimes under "the influence of insanity" and pardoned. Cinder sent him to live on the Rampion in orbit because he was a danger to others, and even himself. Therefore, Cinder reprogrammed Darla to by his "babysitter".

Once every two weeks, Darla would land at a station in the E.C. to refuel on supplies. It was always at night to prevent Thorne from knowing.

At night, she could see him holding fast to a mass of blankets and pillow, murmuring words that described Crescent's appearance. During the day, he'd make two bowls of cereal and eat half of each, throwing away the rest later. He'd play his guitar and smile at the Co-pilot's chair. Once in a while, Darla would hear him sing a line like, "Your smile's forever in my mind and memories," and "Well, me, I fall in love with you every single day," or, "We found love right were we are." Darla didn't understand why he did this, why he pretended that Crescent was still alive when she clearly wasn't.