The Press Conference

Questions for the Queen

When she strode up to the podium, hands clasped before her and expression carefully neutral, the crowded room silenced immediately. She heard the beep of cameras clicking on, and the sudden hush became a roaring in her ears.

This conference would give them the first impression of their young sovereign, and it could change everything.

"Good afternoon," she began in an even tone. "I have called this conference to answer Luna's questions regarding the revolution, our new stance on alliance with Earth, and how things may change on Luna under my rule."

Cinder had been planning a bit of an introductory speech, but she had barely finished speaking before several eager hands shot up. She sighed inwardly and accepted that this was going to be a long hour. "Yes? In the front row?"

"Your Majesty, why haven't you claimed your birthright before the events of this fall?"

Cinder had practised her response so much that it rolled tastelessly off her tongue. "I was brought to Earth after Levana tried to kill me," she recited. "I lay in a suspended animation tank for eight years as my surgeons worked to save me and implement the cybernetics. When I woke up, I was told that I was Linh Cinder, and that I was the only survivor of the hover crash that had killed both my parents. I had no memory of my previous life at all. I didn't even know that I was Lunar."

A murmur went through the crowd. Cinder lifted her chin marginally. Let them make of that what they would; it was the truth.

She nodded at a young man in the middle of the crowd.

"How is that possible, Your Majesty?" he called. "Wouldn't the gift have made it obvious?"

Here we go.

"My stepfather," she started, and stopped abruptly. What right did she have to tell his story? To cross the lives of the Linh family with this political mess? How could she reconcile her true identity with the life she'd had for four years, the only life she could remember?

She forced her way past the lump in her throat. There was no way around it. She would not lie to anyone; she would not apologize.

"My stepfather, Linh Garan, was an inventor. One of the creations he never got past the prototype phase was a bioelectricity block. Its main purpose, in an Earthen, was to protect them from a Lunar's influence."

Several shocked faces greeted her. Lunars rather took pride in their mental abilities; the idea that they weren't so fearsome after all to Earthens would probably be horrific to them. Cinder plowed on, knowing the worst was yet to come.

"In a Lunar, the device's purpose was to block the gift completely. One wouldn't be able to - "

Outcries rose up from the mass, and though her first instinct was to yell at them to shut up and listen, Cinder merely held up a hand. To her surprise, the Lunars quieted, though they still looked scandalized.

"The Lunar wouldn't be able to access their gift at all," she finished. "One would also be protected from the psychological side effects of not using it for long periods of time. It would be as if the power didn't exist. That," she said, tapping her neck - several cameras followed her movement - "was how I was able to pass for an Earthen for so long. I had one installed during my operation. When I met Dr. Dmitri Erland at the palace, he disabled it; my gift came and went for a few weeks before resurfacing completely at the Commonwealth ball." She inhaled deeply, waiting for a reaction.

"Your Majesty," someone called without waiting for permission to speak. "Are any of these devices still in existence? If so, are you planning to use them?"