Just under one year later.
Cassian and Light strolled down the street waving and greeting citizens. Illuminated lanterns lining the Undercity streets gave off a warmth that warmed Cassian’s heart. Stopping to chat with a street vendor briefly, he picked up a half dozen roasted chickens and some steamed sweet potatoes. Light looked up at him drooling and Cassian laughed before mouthing the word, “Patience,” to the big cat.
The streets were crowded with visitors and citizens alike. Looking around and taking in the capital teeming with life for the Lantern Festival brought a smile to Cassian’s face. All around him the Undercity looked better than it ever had. The new buildings stood proudly next to old structures that had been patched up and painted. It was a mix of old and new coexisting that represented Cassian’s vision for his kingdom perfectly.
Walking through the gateway he paused to look up at the magnificent Elric Stone Academy — Luna had taken the opportunity to name it after her father. It had opened the week prior and its massive campus provided a place for the youth of the Undercity to receive a world class education. Luna worked with Cassian to bring in teachers from all over the world, and the quality of the school was top notch for not just the Undercity, but anywhere.
A group of children were smiling and kicking a ball around just inside the gates when one of them put a little too much leg behind it and it bounced over to him. Light tried to bite the ball and Cassian shuffled in front of him hastily to avoid his buddy ruining the kids' game. With a grin and a wave, Cassian kicked the ball back over to them. Jumping up and down, the young children were utterly amazed that the King of Enthamere had just returned their ball.
When Cassian and Light got to the horse track, the races had just started. It was packed with cheering fans and people eager to lose their week's pay betting on the races. Cassian scanned the crowd trying to locate his friends for a moment before he spotted Luna sitting in the lower bowl. She was sitting next to her gang and it looked like Reinhold and the miners were right next to them.
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Light and Cassian tip-toed across the row apologizing to the grumbling people for momentarily obstructing their view. Eventually they plopped down next to Luna where Cassian began passing out the food. He pretended to skip over the big cat, laughed, then tossed Light a whole lemon pepper chicken. The big cat licked his lips then swallowed the chicken in one big gulp and rubbed his nose against Luna, begging for her food. They all shared a laugh.
Cassian scooted in close and put his arm around Luna. “What do you think? After all the hard work patching up the city, they needed this. I’d say the lantern festival has been a pretty huge success.”
“Well, of course it has.” She smirked at him. “I did plan pretty much the entire thing after all.”
Cassian gave her a deadpan look before cracking up laughing. “You did good.”
Lane jumped up and down on the seat pointing down at the race. “Look! It’s Mariska, she’s neck and neck with house Conrad's rider!”
They all watched eagerly, sitting on the edge of their seats. House Conrad’s rider pulled away in the home stretch and it looked like he was going to win the race. At the last possible moment, Mariska whipped the reins, pink hair blowing in the wind and her mare surged forward. She passed the rider from house Conrad and the ribbon at the finish line ripped across her chest.
The crowd erupted with cheers at the epic conclusion to the race. Cassian bounced excitedly and shared looks of jubilation with Reinhold, Light, Luna, and those around him. He had never seen Luna quite so happy before, seeing her friend win the lantern festival races had her shouting and jumping.
Cassian looked over at her and hugged her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him and he ran his fingers through her dark hair. For a moment they shared a long look into each others eyes and then pressed their lips together.