Under Your Moon

Old Foot Smell

"Goodnight, Torin." Kai said, splitting off from his adviser outside the door to his office.

"Oyasumi, Kaito." was the last thing the emperor heard as he shut the door behind him and waited for the sound of retreating footsteps. Kai leaned against the old door, releasing a long withheld breath. Stretching out, he traipsed to his desk and leaned back into the chair, undoing the top button of his collar. He blew a few pieces of hair out of his eyes. Nowadays, it grew long enough to be considered girly, but he dared anyone to say so. It had been precisely 8 days, 21 hours since he had returned to the Eastern Commonwealth.

Kai unlocked his desk drawer, the one he had specially padded and hired a locksmith to fix up. He picked up the wrapped object inside and lifted it up, letting the satin cloth drape against his wrists and arms.

Cinder's old foot lay static in his palms, the old oil stains and bolts glinting up at him. She had told him to keep it, and he had, relying on Torin to keep it under lock and key while he was "in custody." He couldn't believe how little an amount of time had passed since she had just been a mechanic that he had shyly invited to the ball.

"One minute until Luna is in optimal view of the Eastern Commonwealth." Nansi helpfully added from the doorway, bringing a pot of chai tea along with her.

"Oh, thank you." he murmured, folding the cyborg part back into its cloth and tucking it back into the desk drawer. Rising up, he rebuttoned his collar and brought a cup of tea with him to a balcony outside in order to survey the night sky. There it was, there she was.

The moon was dead center in front of him, almost staring him down. He looked down over the city, his cheeks hot. What was he doing? Staring up at a planet, dreaming about the girl on it.

Stupid, stupid.

Then, he noticed all of the people below him, and all of the rooftops dotted with, what?

Telescopes.

A firework erupted above him, so sudden he jumped, and so many followed. People cheered, and he picked out several street parties below him, tiny cafes littered with people.

"Nansi," Kai called.

"Yes?"

"What are they celebrating?"

"Why, don't you know?" she sounded puzzled.

"No..."

"They are celebrating you. And the Rampion Crew. You ended the war, and they want to repay you."

Kai choked on his tea. "What, who said that?!"

"A news crew in the plaza 14.5 minutes ago, your majesty."

Kai went back in his office, plucking up his coat and fleeing to his room. There, he changed into a white cotton shirt and dark red pajama pants. He flopped onto his bed, a grin creeping up onto his lips. He picked up his netscreen, tapping a few buttons to watch the live footage of the plaza. Wow, he didn't think he'd ever seen so many people so cheerful. And they owed it all to not him, but Cinder.

He threw his arms back and sighed happily, because for once, nothing was going wrong, except of course. She wasn't here to celebrate.

Why did his mind always find a way to wander to that fact?

He tapped his netscreen one more time. "Call Queen Selene."