Claiming His Luna

Cercei’s POV

“It’s freezing out here,” Vienna complained, visibly shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself. I let out a resigned sigh and retraced my steps back to the car. Opening the trunk, I rummaged through its contents to look for anything useful.

There lay a set of tuxedo and boots, presumably Lucian’s spares. I quickly handed them to Vienna.

There was no way she could climb a mountain in heels; it would surely cause her disaster. Not to mention, with the mountain’s terrain covered in heavy snow, walking it in heels would be nothing short of a dangerous effort. We were in the North, for goodness’ sake. The bitter cold and treacherous conditions would exhaust us in no time.

Vienna regarded me for a fleeting moment before accepting the clothes I offered. If I didn’t know her personally, I might’ve detected a trace of gratitude in her eyes. But this was Vienna’s nature, expecting such sentiment would be similar to predicting the impossible.

“Thanks,” she muttered unexpectedly, a phrase I never would’ve anticipated hearing from her. Well, at least her complaints had stopped. I also grabbed a first aid kit and a water bottle from the trunk.

Lucian sure seemed to be prepared for every event, didn’t he? I mused, looking at the items cradled in my arms.

Our escape ahead was going to be a long and difficult one. We’d have to abandon the car as soon as possible. I couldn’t say with certainty that a tracker was affixed to it, but considering Lucian’s intelligence, it was a distinct possibility. Besides, driving around in his car was an open invitation for unwanted attention. People would recognize it, and word would undoubtedly reach Lucian’s men, who were searching for us by now.

That’s precisely why we had to opt for this approach, to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention. Besides, we were unfamiliar with the North’s landscape. The vast mountains and dense forests showed a tough challenge.

We had to walk through a dense forest before even attempting to climb the mountain. I sensed Vienna’s weariness, her exhaustion muting her usual complaints and chatter. I was growing tired too. It hadn’t been long since we’d started on this long walk, and we were still in the forest’s depths. Despite my usually tireless strength and athletic energy, I found myself catching my breath more frequently than I’d like to admit. Was it because I was with Vienna? Did her presence bring out the worst in me? Or was it something else entirely?

Leaning against a tree, I placed my hands on my chest as I fought to regain my breath. Even inside the forest, the air still felt like it was disappearing.

“Maybe we should rest,” Vienna’s suggestion cut through the silence. Her eyes were fixed on me, hesitating whether she should reach her hands to help me. I lifted my hands, assuring her that I was fine.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

She had a point; resting now and resuming our trip after sunrise would allow us to recover our strength.

I settled on a tree root, relying on its firmness to prop me up as I leaned against the trunk. Meanwhile, Vienna searched the surroundings for twigs and stones, her steps causing the oversized shoes to slip off her feet. It was somewhat amusing to see her stumble over them now and then; Lucian’s footwear was obviously too large for her.

“Here’s what I gathered,” she announced, laying down the collected twigs before handing me two rocks. She positioned herself against a huge tree root nearby.

Rubbing the rocks together, I created sparks that gradually ignited a fire. I blew gently on the embers, pushing the fire to grow.

“Wow,” Vienna’s awed exclamation reached me, a mix of surprise and admiration in her voice.

“I always thought only matches and lighters could start fires,” Vienna mused, clearly taken aback by the simple act I had just demonstrated. She even stared at the flames, tentatively placing her finger near the fire’s edge.

“It’s real fire. It burns,” she remarked, quickly retracting her hand to show me her slightly burned finger. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her childlike reaction.

“Of course, it’s real fire. What did you expect?” I laughed, glancing at her pale face.

“I thought it might be a bit weaker, less intense, you know,” she explained in a brief attempt to recover her dignity. My eyebrows raised at her explanation, and she rolled her eyes in response.

“Nevermind. You clearly don’t get it,” she added hastily, her lips forming a pout.

I understood her sentiment. Evidently, she hadn’t anticipated that some of life’s simple processes could be just as straightforward as they seemed. And I couldn’t really blame her; she had grown up surrounded by luxury and privilege, all of which were readily provided by that monster father we shared.

An unexpected pang of pain shot through me as I contemplated the reality that Remus was my biological father. Fate had orchestrated an unforeseen twist in my life, that was for sure.

The crackling fire danced before us, both of us falling silent as we stared into the flames. Vienna curled into herself, clutching Lucian’s coat for warmth, while I leaned my body against the tree trunk, resting my head against its rough bark.

The tree’s surface was nowhere near as comfortable as the expensive pillows at Lucian’s mansion, yet I found myself strangely at ease. Perhaps exhaustion had encouraged me to appreciate even the simplest of comforts at this moment.

“Have you ever wished for things to be different?” Vienna’s voice broke the silence after a long break.

I took a moment to reply, and my gaze steadily fixed on the fire as I continued pressing the button on her watch three times.

“No,” I murmured, my voice barely more than a whisper.

In truth, I hadn’t. This life of mine was far from perfect, to put it mildly. If I had been given the power to create my own fate, I would’ve certainly penned something less harrowing. But in the bigger picture, the flaws in my life added a distinct flavour to it.

In the middle of this seemingly endless ordeal, I encountered wonderful people who had become my allies. I wasn’t entirely sure what Vienna was getting at with her question, but one thing was clear, I wouldn’t exchange this tough path for a different one. Despite its hardships, there was no assurance that any alternative path would be better that awaited me.

“Why not?” Vienna’s curiosity probed.

“Because I wouldn’t be myself,” I responded simply. Her lips pursed as she pondered my words.

Observing Vienna’s thoughtful expression, I couldn’t help but see a child grappling with a complex question. There could be more to her than what was apparent on the surface.

Maybe she isn’t as terrible as I thought, just a bit misguided.