Hours turn to days, days to weeks and weeks to months. The sun rises and sets so the moon may shine above them, both patient in giving each other their time to protect the humans beneath them as they work day and night, tirelessly wiping sweat from their brows as they work together to rebuild.

The rebuilding of Cendres has been an experience Reine will never forget; she has opened her eyes to all the possibilities that lie ahead of her as the people within the kingdom stood by her and recreated the homes of everyone who were without one - including Reine herself. Though Reine was heartbroken that there were indeed lives lost in the earthquake, she knew the best way to help their souls rest was to help their families rebuild their homes and live in comfort.

When they insisted on rebuilding the palace before the village, Reine outright refused; she stated that the village would have priority and that they could set up shelters to house everyone until everything was built within Laville. Only after the village was back up and running better than ever before would Reine allow her own home to be rebuilt. The thought of her having a warm bed with four sturdy walls around her while the villagers slept in tents and makeshift shelters made from the wood of the fallen trees caused her skin to crawl. As the Queen, Reine's duty was always supposed to be to put her people before herself - to care for them with the power she held within her hands, and she was determined to use her power for peace.

She lent a hand wherever she was needed, feeding the hungry by handing out meals or bandaging the injured when a building project went astray. The rebels of Chaleuse stayed within the area of the village, helping to rebuild the houses within it. Mistakes were made, arguments rang out and there were nights when everyone was certain that the kingdom would never be the same - that they could never accomplish what they so desperately needed to do.

There were days when Reine would insist on everyone taking a break from the workload, urging them to relax and spend time with their families instead of pushing themselves to their limits every second of every day.

She could tell the family days helped; people would come back to work the next day, their eyes shining more brightly than before and smiles spreading across their lips more easily as opposed to the frowns and defeated, slumped shoulders.

Now, months and months later, after every person in Cendres poured their blood, sweat and tears into rebuilding this land, Reine stands in her finished bedroom, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt.

The fitted gray bodice of the dress hugs her torso, the flowing ballroom skirt an ombré of gray and white as it flows like the river in Verre, the hem resting against the floor. A matching cape flows down her back, flowers of pink and teal accenting her waist and shoulders as her crown glitters on her head.

Today is the first day she has worn it since her coronation day nearly a year ago. She was surprised to hear the workers found it buried in the rubble, untouched by damage as it gleamed within its confines, almost as if it were begging to be found - begging to be returned to its rightful owner.

Reine remembers how it felt for the crown to turn from a symbol of her future to a terrifying reminder of her past. It felt like an object that had rejected her after her mother's blood had painted it. It felt like something out of Reine's reach; like it was placed on a pedestal above her, as she had been placed above the people of this kingdom for so long. She could not look at the crown and feel hope. She would look at it and all she could feel was guilt weighing heavily on her heart, her mind asking what she could have done differently to save the people she lost.

Reine now wears it proudly; she wishes to make the past Queens who once wore this crown as proud as they can be as she walks through her palace with her head held high. She has a specific destination in mind, and her heart pounds in her chest realizing that this moment - the moment she was meant to experience on her coronation day - is here.

It is the moment she thought about countless times as she lay in her childhood bedroom, grinning at the dark ceiling as her mind refused to relax enough to let her fall asleep. She wondered what she would be wearing. She wondered what she would say. She wondered if her parents would be proud of her.

Reine sighs, letting herself believe that this moment is real; after so long of running and making mistakes, she is finally on the path she was meant to be on all along, and she is walking forward on this path more confidently than she ever knew she could.

Her heels click on the stone floors as she moves toward the first floor, her soft smile catching in the gentle rays of the sun shining in through the windows.

She made sure they put in plenty of windows in the palace, like the home she used to admire. This palace is different, but she can still feel familiarity in it. She feels that even though this is a changed building, it still feels like home.

"Reine," a voice says, the owner of it slightly out of breath. "Oh, wait. My apologies. I mean, Your Majesty."

"Kihyun," Reine gently scolds as she tries not to laugh at him bending at the waist, hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. "You have my full permission to call me by my name. We have had this exact conversation nearly a dozen times."

He stands straight, his lips parted as he takes in deep breaths to steady his heaving chest.

He no longer wears the animal furs indicative of a desert rebel; he wears a white silk shirt, the top untied to show his chest, sleeves billowing to his wrists. His black leather pants and boots - though a bit worn from his incessant need to be working on something for the kingdom - suit him nicely. His hair is slicked back off of his face and she can tell he has put in effort to dress nicely today for the occasion; that is, except for the dirt smeared on his cheek.

"They're ready for you," he huffs out, placing his hands on his hips as he takes shallow breaths through his parted lips.

"I know," Reine says, a small laugh finally escaping her lips as she takes a few steps closer to him. "That's the reason I'm walking this way."

"Right," Kihyun says, laughing to himself as he rubs the back of his neck. "My apologies again, Your Majesty."

Reine reaches and wipes the dirt away from Kihyun's cheek, which causes his eyes to widen as his hand falls from the back of his neck to land limply against his side.

"Call me Reine," she says, smiling at him. "I insist."

Kihyun clears his throat, taking a large step back from Reine as she laughs again.

She sees him take in her appearance, and she could swear she sees the dusting of a blush on his cheeks as he turns his attention to one of the windows, the sunlight confirming her suspicions.

"You look nice," he mumbles, his eyes suddenly interested in the architecture of the hallway they are standing in.

"So do you," she says, smiling at him even though he is still refusing to look at her, his fingers reaching out to trace the designs on the closest windowsill.

Reine watches his movements, seeing how out of place he feels being in the kingdom. Every move he makes, it seems like he is second guessing if it is what he's supposed to be doing. She can tell he is out of his element; he had grown used to only having the desert rebels for company, not needing to worry about manners and small talk.

She appreciates that about him; she enjoys that she doesn't feel like she needs to be prim and proper around him because she knows he would prefer for her to be relaxed so he doesn't have to pretend to be someone he isn't to match her.

"Shall I escort you, Reine?" he asks, slowly turning his gaze to meet hers again as he pulls her from her thoughts, offering his arm as she gratefully takes it.

Kihyun clears his throat, and Reine can see him straightening his shoulders out of the corner of her eye.

"Will you stay?" Reine asks as the two walk together. "You and the others. Do you plan to return to Chaleuse?"

Kihyun hums, glancing over at her for a moment before turning away. "We've talked about it, and with the Queen ruling the kingdom so well, we decided it may be in our best interest to live in the village. When we were rebuilding, we made the village much larger as you asked - in case any more rebels wish to leave the outer regions."

"Thank you," Reine says, her thumb stroking his forearm through his thin sleeve. "You have been such a wonderful help - all of you."

"Our pleasure," he says, bowing his head as he leads Reine down a set of stairs. "We have been working all day today on some finishing touches."

"What have you been doing, by the way?" Reine asks, lifting an eyebrow. "You are covered in dirt."

"Oh," Kihyun says, glancing at his outfit. "I was replanting your garden."

Reine stops walking once the two of them reach the foot of the stairs, turning to him with her eyebrows raised. "You did what?"

"I heard a lot from the palace workers about how much you loved it," he shrugs, his hand rubbing the back of his neck again. "And after you told me your story that night, I wanted to bring something back into your life that you had lost."

Reine remembers the night he's talking about; one night when neither could sleep, the two walked around the grounds of the still-destroyed palace, most of the rubble having been removed. All that was left were a few pieces of the framework left standing.

With the moon shining so beautifully above her, Reine was reminded of everything she had gone through, and how everyone who knew everything about her journey was gone.

She felt alone in that moment, wishing to share her experiences with someone who is human and has no intention of being locked away in a box or flying away to Heaven.

She needed someone to connect with, to speak to mindlessly about everything she saw and learned.

So, with Kihyun's soft, questioning gaze boring into her, she opened up and she told him everything.

"Are you okay?" he asks, waving his hand in front of Reine's face.

She nods, swallowing thickly as she glances into his familiar questioning gaze that always makes her feel like she can open her mind to him. "I can't believe you did something like that for me."

"Why wouldn't I?" he asks, shrugging before his eyes widen and he holds his hands up, the slight blush returning to his cheeks. "I mean, you're the Queen and all."

Reine laughs, shaking her head as she places her hands on Kihyun's cheeks, causing his eyes to widen further and his blush to deepen. "I would hug you, but you are filthy and it would be questionable for the Queen to present herself covered in dirt."

He laughs with her, rubbing the back of his neck as the two turn and walk together again. "They have all seen you in worse conditions, but I understand. You owe me a hug. I won't let you forget it."

"I couldn't forget if I tried," she says, smiling at him as they make their way through the front doors of the palace.

As soon as she steps out onto the front steps, she sees the entirety of her kingdom's people standing there, waiting for her as Kihyun steps to the side to find the rest of his rebel tribe. Reine takes a deep breath, letting her eyes close for a moment as she prays for the strength of the previous Queens.

She imagines the faces of her mother and Isabelle smiling at her as they urge her to walk forward, reminding her that she has made it this far - that her goal is in front of her if she would take those last few steps.

After one last steadying breath, she opens her eyes and walks forward, seeing all the eyes on her as she stops before them.

"I know it is tradition for the Queen to address her people for the first time after receiving the crown by speaking from the balcony - above everyone. I stand here, not above you, but with you as your Queen because though I have had the title of Queen for nearly a year, I have never addressed you, my people, since my coronation so long ago. I lost a lot, and I made mistakes while I was lost in my sorrows. I have so many regrets looking back, and I can never forgive myself for any of them. My biggest regret, however, is that I became the Queen and I abandoned all of you in a moment of selfishness. That is what weighs heaviest in my heart; when you all needed me the most, I left you behind in your suffering because I was too lost in my own."

Reine sighs, her hands coming together behind her back as she regards the people in front of her. "For my entire life, I was taught to be perfect; I was taught to seem like a perfect being so that the people of this kingdom would naturally regard me as someone above them. That always left a bitter taste in my mouth; I never wished for my people to see me as better. I wanted people to see me as their hope and their light. I wanted to take this kingdom that had been lost in the darkness and I wanted to bathe it in the most beautiful light, banishing any darkness that may have dug its claws into this land. Before I could even take one step forward, however, the darkness got its hold on me and pulled me so far into its depths, I was afraid I would never escape. Mistake after mistake, heartbreak after heartbreak, everything around me crumbled and I became convinced that I was never deserving of the throne - of this crown atop my head. I had lost the people who gave me this life. Though they were cruel and greedy rulers, and every single one of you has the right to hate them and celebrate their deaths, I loved them. Not as the King and the Queen, but as my father and my mother. After having them by my side for my entire life, then standing without them covered in their blood, I felt more alone than I had ever experienced.

"Slowly, and even painfully at times, I rebuilt myself into who I wanted to be as opposed to who I was supposed to be - who I was expected to be. I did not wish to stand above a dying kingdom, hoarding my riches while hollow cheeks were wet with tears of hunger and despair. I wished to help and I wished to heal."

Reine shakes her head, her gaze dropping to the ground for a moment before looking back into the eyes of her people. "I never expected the kingdom would have to endure such a disaster like the one we experienced all those months ago. I saw the devastation around me, and I felt like I had failed all over again. Yet again, I had failed to keep this kingdom safe. But this time, I felt the rays of hope shine on me within my despair, and I knew... I knew that I could - and I would - rebuild our home with all of you by my side instead of below me. And we did. Together, we moved forward with our hands clasped together, rebuilding this kingdom into one I have always dreamed it would be someday: one of peace and light."

Reine smiles around at the villagers, the palace workers and the rebels who have come in from the outer regions. "This is our kingdom, not mine. You are not my subjects; you are not my possessions. You are my family, and this is our home. I cannot ever make up for the mistakes of the past King and Queen. I can never heal those wounds left behind by my parents. All I can do is prove that I will not cause you any fresh wounds. I exist to protect you. I exist to heal you and bring you an era of peace. This kingdom will no longer thrive on greed and darkness. We will only exist in the light: the light of the sun, the light of the moon and the light of our hope. If you will still accept me as your Queen, I will dedicate my life to taking care of each and every one of you as though you are my family - because you are."

After a moment of silence, the people in front of Reine bow, kneeling on one knee as their heads tilt forward, showing respect to their Queen. She stares around at everyone, tears filling her eyes as the moment she has been waiting for her entire life has finally happened, and it is better than she ever expected it to be.

The sun is shining more beautifully than she has ever seen, its warmth cascading onto the kingdom and embracing everyone as they walk together into an era without hunger, anger and darkness.

Reine kneels on her knee as well, not caring about getting her dress dirty as she bows back to everyone, her head tilted forward as her crown catches in the rays of the sun.

It looks like she is glowing from the light, her bright aura shimmering around her, like a daisy.