Cinder's Story: a Lunar Chronicles Fanfic

Chapter Twenty-Two: Jacin

With nothing better to do, Kai perused the sheets of paper he had been handed earlier. They all gave roughly the same summary; queen Levana was creating an army, unlike anything the galaxy had ever seen. The UN, after a long quarrel, had finally written up a word to describe her new soldiers:

Furries.

They were single, probably male (one would think it'd be easy to tell), anthropomorphic, and genetically benefited by sharpened claws and teeth. Photographs and rough sketches had been included in the bundle, and they didn't look pretty... at least, not to anyone who wasn't into that sort of thing. The only term more accurate than "furrie" was "monster".

"Does the Lunar queen's evil know no boundaries?!" Gasped the prince of the Eastern Commonwealth.

"I don't know." Answered a voice behind him. "I think it's all about how you look at it, really."

Kai whipped around to the sight of queen Levana.

"GAH!"

"Gah." The queen agreed. "I'm sorry to have startled you."

Kai started, but quickly finished. The funeral ceremony had come and gone (way back in Chapter Four), and the queen was respectful in keeping her distance from him. Now that they were alone, however, the prince had a plethora of questions on his mind.

"I know about your little army." He idiotically accused.

The queen grew pensive. "'Army'...?"

"You know..." Kai held up his hands to make air-quotes. "Your army."

Recognition dawned on Levana's face. "Oh, you mean my new pets!"

Kai took a stance that shifted his center of gravity to the back. His body language read, "excuse me?"

"Yes." She confirmed. "I'm building an army of them. What are you going to do about it?"

For the third time that day, Kai didn't know how to respond. "Nothing, I suppose."

"I see."

Neither of them knew how to keep the conversation going- Levana was too pleasant to be bothered with words, and Kai was too flabbergasted to cobble a sentence together.

"So..." Kai broke the silence, "I assume you're going to the ball?"

Levana frowned. "Ball? What ball?"

"For the coronation," he explained, "to celebrate the torch being passed on, or whatever. It's just in a few days, so I figure you'll probably invite yourself over."

She smiled. "I'd like that. All things are meant to be celebrated, Jason; death, as well as life."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Jason? Who's Jason?"

Levana paled. "I... I don't know why I said that. Forgive me, prince Kai, I am unwell!"

She left him to wonder what that was all about, the hem of her dress lifted upon her knee.