Cinder's Story: a Lunar Chronicles Fanfic

Chapter Twelve: Plot Churros

"You're a looney!" Doctor D. beamed.

The answer didn't really do much for Cinder's question.

"What?"

He rolled his eyes. "What I mean to say is, you're a Lunar. That not only explains your immunity- no Lunar has ever caught the blasted plague- but I've also discovered leads on your genetic ancestry!"

Cinder folded her arms, but couldn't hide the impressed look on her face. "Nice. We can tell queen Levana when she gets here. About the cure, I mean."

Doctor D. turned a shade paler, which if you've ever seen his skin tone, is saying something.

"Queen La-Who-Na?"

"Levana!" Cinder brightened. "The queen of the moon! She's attending the emperor's funeral today."

The impossibility of his pallor suddenly doubled.

"You mean to tell me, that queen-freaking-Levana, is arriving on Earth, right this very moment?!"

Cinder clapped. "Very good, Doctor."

"QUICKLY!" He exclaimed. "YOU MUST GET OUT!"

The sudden excitement to Doctor D.'s temperament gave Cinder pause.

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"'Big deal'?" He cried, "You're the big deal! If the queen uncovers your existence, she will stop at nothing until you're decimated! Gnyah!"

The sudden added pressure of her value was becoming too much for Cinder to handle. She raised a hand to her head. "That still doesn't explain the why!" She argued. "Why would the queen want me dead?"

"Because you're worth it!" He bellowed.

"...L'Oréal?"

"No!" He exclaimed, "the queen wants you dead because you are the rightful heir to her throne!" He began to pace furiously. "If she finds you, there will be nothing stopping her from attaining global domination by getting rid of you. It's the only explanation as to why you're a cyborg!"

"Me being a cyborg?!" Cinder's hands were in the air, and she basically had every care imaginable. "That explains nothing! You're roundaboutly blurting every detail of the backstory!"

Doctor D. halted mid-pace, and glared at Cinder right in her real/not-real eyes.

"It's what you mentioned earlier that confirms it." He flatly mansplained. "Your nightmares about being burned alive are connected to the accident that necessitated your becoming a cyborg. Eleven years ago, the Lunar queen usurped the throne, just after a similar accident supposedly killed her niece, Selene."

He gestured to her. "You see where I'm going with this?"

Cinder reflected on the sentiment, only to back away slowly, shaking her head.

"I shouldn't have come back here." She concluded. "I'm leaving. For real, this time. Bye."