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"Your gift was practically blinding. Maybe even worse than Levana's."
Jacin, on Cinder's glamour


Linh Cinder (born Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn) is the primary heroine of The Lunar Chronicles. She is a viewpoint character in all four books and short stories, Glitches, Something Old, Something New, and The Little Android. Shortly after Cinder reclaimed the Lunar throne, she would end up being the last official Queen of Luna, as she willingly abdicated and later transferred the monarchy into a republic. Through her eventual marriage to Emperor Kaito, Cinder would later become Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth.

History[]

Early Life[]

Linh Cinder was born Princess Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn on 21 December, 109 T.E., at Artemisia Palace, in Artemisia, Luna. She was the daughter of Queen Channary Blackburn of Luna, and the niece of Princess Levana, and was therefore the heir apparent to the Lunar throne. Her father is unknown, due to Channary, who was known for sleeping with many men. When Selene was three years old, she was thought to have been killed by a fire in her nursery, that was started by Levana, then queen regent, in order to claim the crown permanently for herself. Selene did not die, but lost her left hand and leg, and was taken to Earth by Dr. Logan Tanner.

Selene was placed under the care of Michelle Benoit, a former military pilot from the European Federation and Logan's former lover, in a bomb shelter underneath Michelle's farm, which held Selene in a suspended animation tank for eight years in order to keep her alive, but unconscious. Eleven years later, Logan started Selene's cybernetic surgeries since he was going mad from Lunar Sickness. With the help of a man named Linh Garan, an inventor from the Eastern Commonwealth, he agreed to take in Selene as his ward, and they turned the princess into a cyborg. Michelle then suggested to rename Selene "Cinder" - a name that shows how she was reborn from the cinders of the fire.

Garan took her to the Eastern Commonwealth to live with him, despite his wife, Linh Adri, refusing to accept the girl into their family. Linh Peony, Garan's youngest daughter, shows nothing but genuine kindness to her. Cinder had no recollection of her past life or of her time in the suspension tank and believed her parents were "killed" in a supposed hover accident. Until she was sixteen, Selene had only ever known herself as Linh Cinder and had never questioned the truth of her identity. Garan would died from the lethal disease, Letumosis, a few weeks after adopting Cinder, consequently making Adri Cinder's legal guardian. Adri took full advantage of Cinder's status as a cyborg and mistreated Cinder/Selene, believing that she was the cause of Garan's death — which was partially true, as Lunars unknowingly carried the plague to Earth.

Cinder had no memory prior to the hover accident, in which she was told to have lost her parents as well as her hand and leg. The story told to her was that she was thrown through the windshield and the hover rolled on top of her. Over the years that she would live with the Linh family, Cinder would form a close bond with Peony, her younger adoptive sister, along with the family's servant android, Iko.

Fairest[]

Cinder had been born as Princess Selene, heir to the Lunar throne. Her mother, Queen Channary, had shown only kindness and affection to her, later revealed that she had let Selene sleep in her bedroom and fed Selene herself rather than letting the servants do so. Channary thought about having Selene marry Kaito, Crown Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth, which is ironic as that's exactly what they did later on, of their own free will.

However, Channary died of regolith poisoning when Selene was just a year old, and Channary's sister, a then Princess Levana, and Selene's aunt, took the throne as regent. Levana, knowing Channary had been a horrible queen, thought that her niece would be the same. Levana was only allowed to rule Luna until Selene was thirteen, so she came up with a plan to kill her. She visited the nursery to take Winter Hayle-Blackburn, Selene's step cousin and Levana's stepdaughter, on a doctor's appointment. She then glamoured Selene's new nanny into lighting the room on fire with a candle. Selene was thought to have died and Levana became Queen of Luna, as opposed to regent, which she was before Selene's "death."

Recent Events[]

Cinder[]

Five years after Linh Garan brought her to live with his family, Cinder adapted to her surroundings and became aware of people that disliked her due to her being cyborg. Cinder set up a booth in the marketplace in New Beijing Market and worked as a mechanic in order to repay her "debt" to Adri, who holds a grudge against Cinder as she believes that she is responsible for Garan's death, which happened shortly after Cinder came to live with them. Cinder also earns a reputation as being the best mechanic in New Beijing.

While working, Cinder met Crown Prince Kai, who asked her to fix his former tutor android, Nainsi. After Kai left, the market was evacuated due to a baker in the marketplace, Chang Sacha, showing signs of Letumosis.

While in the Taihang District Junkyard, Cinder, Iko and Peony were looking for a new magbelt for Adri's hover. They then discovered an orange, old-fashioned, gas-powered car, which Cinder planned to take home and repair in order to escape to Europe, where she was believed to have been from. Cinder then found symptoms of the plague (spots and rashes on the infected's skin) on Peony and she was promptly taken away by med-droids to a quarantine. However, Cinder tested negative as a carrier for Letumosis.

When Cinder returned home, Adri is upset over the discovery of Peony's illness and infuriated with Cinder, blaming her. Even though it was confirmed by the med-droids that she did not contract the plague, Cinder believed that she must have passed the plague from Chang Sacha, as she was taken to the quarantines earlier, to Peony. Adri had Cinder taken away to the palace to be used for Letumosis research against Cinder's will. Cinder tried to resist, taking out two med-droids (with her boot and a magbelt), but was tasered by a third droid and taken in unconscious.

Dr. Erland, a researcher in the palace, drew blood from Cinder and when she woke up, he opened up her control panel and scanned her, revealing that she was 36.28% cyborg, therefore 36.28% not human. The doctor injected her with tagged Letumosis pathogens and waited for them to take effect so he could give her a test antidote. However, Cinder's immune system kicked in and the pathogens disappeared. Finding her uniquely different from the other cyborgs, Dr. Erland drew another blood sample and immediately moved her to another lab. He then went to speak to her in person, but Cinder tried to attack him with a wrench hidden in her metal calf. Using his Lunar gift, the doctor made Cinder feel tired & safe as he persuaded her to not attack him. Dr. Erland informed her of her immunity and questioned her of her childhood. Cinder told him that when she was eleven, she was in a hover crash that killed her parents and was given a control panel, a metal hand & leg to replace the limbs she had lost. Cinder also mentioned that she did not remember anything before her surgery and was taken to the Eastern Commonwealth by Linh Garan, her former guardian.

Dr. Erland let Cinder leave, but said she must come back for more check-ups. He also promised to make a private account with her own earnings - away from Adri's reach. Adri was initially shocked to see Cinder again, but then made sure that Cinder knew she must still do her "chores."

Kai frequently came to Dr. Erland's wing to see if there was any progress in finding a cure, which was none. He had seen Cinder there, but Dr. Erland made sure not to tell Kai of her being cyborg. Dr. Erland also informed Cinder that he had discovered her to be a Lunar shell, which upset her. Dr. Erland then discovered a chip imbedded in Cinder's spine, preventing her from using her Lunar gift and making it seem like she was a shell, when in fact, she was not. Cinder then found out that Dr. Erland was a Lunar.

Queen Levana, who was visiting the Eastern Commonwealth, had given a plague antidote to Kai, just after his father, Emperor Rikan, had died and Kai delivered it to Dr. Erland. Dr. Erland couldn't replicate it as the ingredients were from the moon, but gave it to Cinder to save her sister, Peony, who had just entered the fourth and final stage of Letumosis, but it was too late. Peony ended up dying, so Cinder gave the antidote to Chang Sunto, the son of Chang Sacha.

Cinder & Kai had several intimate moments, including Kai asking her to go to the ball with him. Cinder said no repeatedly as she thought Kai would be mortified if he saw her cyborg parts. Also, she didn't want to be seen by Levana, she knew she wouldn't be allowed to by Adri, she was already planning on running away and she had no money for a gown.

During the night of the ball, Cinder received a private comm from an unknown girl, telling her that Levana was only tricking Kai into marrying her and would kill him after the wedding and her coronation as the Commonwealth's new Empress. Cinder raced to the palace, muddy and wet, but Kai welcomed her anyway, even though the whole crowd was staring. Adri & Pearl were angry and shocked to see her, but Kai refused to let them take her away. Cinder told him about Levana's plan, yet Kai still decided to marry Levana for the sake of the Commonwealth. Cinder kissed him in an attempt to stop him, but it didn't work, and Levana only laughed at her. Levana informed Kai that she was a Lunar and that she wanted Cinder back to the moon to await a "trial" to which Kai refused. Levana suggested that Kai bargain for Cinder's life, with Levana threatening to start a war and keep the Letumosis antidote from Earth. Using her Lunar glamour, Levana forced Cinder to put a gun to her own head, but Cinder's cyborg programming kicked in, counteracting Levana's manipulation. Cinder fought back, aiming the gun away from herself. Cinder also unintentionally used her glamour, which looked a lot like her mother as Levana instantly recognized her as her long-lost niece and Luna's lost princess. Cinder then ran out of the palace, pursued by Levana, Kai and guards.

Her cyborg foot broke off on the stairs and Cinder fell, exposing her metal parts. Shocked, Kai picked up her foot. Kai refused to marry Levana, but allowed for Cinder to be sent back to the moon. Finding out that Cinder was both cyborg and Lunar supposedly shocked Kai, who was unsure as to whether his relationship with Cinder was all an illusion.

Cinder waited in prison and Dr. Erland came to give her a new hand & foot. He also urged her to escape New Beijing Prison and meet him in Africa to help overthrow Levana. He then reveals that she was the long lost Princess Selene, the daughter of the late Queen Channary, niece of Queen Levana, and that Cinder should reclaim her rightful place as queen.

Scarlet[]

Cinder meets Carswell Thorne as they were both in New Beijing Prison. Cinder found him to be annoying and even used her glamour on him to shut him up, but later confessed and apologized. The pair decided to team-up as Thorne had a ship that would take Cinder away from the Commonwealth's military. Thorne asked her if there was any particular place she would have had to escape to. Cinder pondered this, unsure if she should find Dr. Erland in Africa, but decided to go to France to look for Michelle Benoit to find out more about her past. She thought about telling Thorne about her being Princess Selene, but decides against it.

Cinder is forced to kill several soldiers and glamour them. When they arrived at Michelle Benoit's bomb shelter, Cinder saw images of her burn marks as a baby and some of her history. Cinder didn't find Michelle but found out about Scarlet Benoit, Michelle's granddaughter. Cinder set off in search of her and found her outside an opera house with Wolf.

Scarlet said that Michelle had died. They saw Kai's announcement of his upcoming marriage to Levana once they got back on the ship. Scarlet accused Cinder of not trying to save the Earthen Union and instead hiding. Cinder became furious, stating that Michelle sent her off without telling her that she was Selene and Scarlet apologized. The Rampion continued through space with Cinder deciding to finally fight back.

Cress[]

Cinder began training with Wolf, both physically and practicing her gift. Scarlet said that Cinder couldn't get a lot of hits in, but when she did, she could hit hard.

The group then commed Cress, an advanced hacker who worked for Levana. Though she was originally scared and embarrassed, Cinder told her that all they needed was evidence of what Levana was doing in order to dethrone her. Cress accepted, favoring the Commonwealth's leader over her own, even though if she did, Levana would kill her. Cinder, learning this and the fact that Cress lives in a satellite orbiting Earth, agrees to go and rescue her. Sybil Mira discovered the plan and sets a trap. Thorne went inside to rescue Cress, who Sybil had tied up, but Sybil trapped the two and sent them falling to Earth. They landed in the Sahara, located in Africa. She also captured Scarlet as a pilot for her ship, after which she was tortured. Princess Winter, Levana's stepdaughter, took custody of her and Scarlet became her majesty's new "pet." Jacin, Princess Winter's best friend and royal guard, who was protecting Sybil on the satellite, betrayed Sybil by shooting her, claiming Cinder was controlling him. He helps the crew by flying the Rampion to Farafrah and Dr. Erland.

Cinder and Wolf, along with Sybil's guard, Jacin Clay, traveled to Africa to find Dr. Erland. He healed Wolf and told them that Lunars were no longer immune to the plague as the disease had mutated. The group, excluding Scarlet, was later reunited in the hotel, but were cornered by the Commonwealth military. The townspeople of Farafrah saved them and they escaped to New Beijing to stop the wedding.

The group was able to sneak into the palace, turn off all video surveillance and set a distraction to avoid Cinder being spotted. Cinder and Iko attempted to persuade Kai to come with them, but he refused, so they tranquilized him and cut out his ID chips. They kidnapped him and met up with the group on the palace roof. Jacin was captured by Sybil and taken to Luna to undergo investigation for helping the Rampion crew. When confronted by Sybil & her guards, Cinder tortured Sybil's mind, driving her insane and ultimately causing Sybil to commit suicide by jumping off the roof. The "rogue fugitives" flew into space. When Kai woke up and found Cinder, he was upset and angry at her, but she explained her reasoning behind the kidnapping as well as her being Princess Selene, the true heir to the Lunar throne. Cinder confessed her fear of what to do next about Levana and Kai consoled her. They kissed, but were disrupted by a newsfeed: Levana had massacred the town that had helped Cinder. All six Earthen Unions claimed war on Luna. Cinder soon was determined to go to Luna and start an uprising.

Winter[]

A month after they kidnapped Emperor Kaito, Cinder & Kai have established a romantic relationship as Cinder has counted him kissing her over eighteen times. He knows Cinder's true identity as Princess Selene and they discuss plans for getting Cinder to Luna to broadcast the video they made, showing that she is the rightful leader of Luna. They return Kai to Earth, where his palace was being burned. He goes to a shelter, where he apologizes to Levana about being kidnapped. Levana reschedules the wedding to happen in ten days on Luna. Thorne, Cress, Wolf, Iko and Cinder sneak on the ship Emperor Kaito is on to visit Artemisia for his wedding to Queen Levana, and with the help of Kai and Torin, successfully make it there. After Levana commands Kai's ship to be searched for any stowaways, they plan their escape. Cress hacks into the palace's security system and Thorne starts firing shots, while Wolf, Cinder & Iko escape.

The group, except for Cress, escapes to Wolf's old house which was under the care of Maha Kesley, Wolf's mother. Scarlet was reunited with the group along with Winter when they escape the palace with the help of Jacin. Winter was very excited and interested in Cinder, being her lost cousin & friend and her being a cyborg. Cinder then made a video for the outer sectors to show that she was alive and was ready to begin her revolution. Citizens then began fighting the guards and, with Maha's help, the people accepted Cinder's revolution. Levana found out and ordered Aimery and her guards to capture Cinder. Cinder and Wolf were then captured by Levana's guards and killed Maha.

The guards disable her handgun and throw her in jail along with Adri and Pearl. Cinder, who was upset at Adri for the last 5 years, started to yell at her after Adri mentioned Cinder didn't save Peony, believing that she taunted her on her deathbed with the antidote. Cinder realizes Adri is too close-minded to reason with and lets things go. Guards come to take Cinder, Adri, and Pearl to trial, and Cinder, now enraged, lifted Adri up by her shirt saying she will force Adri to gouge her own eyes out if she tells them that Cinder's cyborg foot is removable. Cinder, Adri & Pearl are the wedding entertainment and while Adri & Pearl were spared, Cinder was to be executed by dismemberment. Levana decided that Adri would dismember her. Kai intervened and Cinder glamoured him to calm down. Levana told her to stop, but Cinder instead tells the court that she is Princess Selene and records the trial, which saw past Levana's glamour. The soldiers were about to attack her, but she slipped into the minds of twelve guards and attacked before jumping into Artemisia Lake.

Cress, Jacin, Thorne and Iko find Cinder in the lake with her hand and leg not functioning and took her to one of the aristocrats' mansions to fix her. They successfully fixed her but her retina scanner in her brain was broken. While discussing their plan, they discover a Lunar sector is infected with the mutated form of Letumosis spread by Princess Winter but caused by Levana.

Thorne and Cress had to sneak into the palace, hack into the security system and open the gates to the outer sectors in order to let Cinder's army infiltrate Artemisia Palace and to play Cinder's trial in her perspective which shows the queen's true face while Cinder, Jacin and Iko sneak into the palace labs and steal the Letumosis antidote to then bring it to the infected sectors. While Iko was left behind, Jacin drove Cinder along with the antidote to the sector where they met up with a sick Scarlet and Winter. They were given the antidote and recovered swiftly. Winter and Jacin were sent to the other sectors to round up more workers who were prepared to fight while Cinder & Scarlet went ahead with the combined Lunar wolf-hybrid soldiers. When Cress opened the gates, Cinder's army then marched into Artemisia Palace and interrupted Levana's coronation ceremony. Levana meets Cinder's forces outside the palace with a band of thaumaturges and quickly depletes Cinder's army. The video of Cinder's trial then appears and shows the queen's true face, which left Levana stunned and the people able to break free from the queen's hold on their minds. The queen ordered the video to stop playing and ran back to the throne room.

Cinder decides to go to the throne room and confront Levana. Meanwhile, Winter's forces arrive to aid Cinder's side. Cinder arrives at the throne room and sees Thorne with the queen, being manipulatively held near the ledge of the throne room. Cinder asks Levana how she got injured and she reveals that her sister caused them. She revealed how Channary, Cinder's mother, was abusive as when they were young, Channary's favorite trick was to pretend that she loved Levana, having never felt love from her parents and then torturing her. After she was badly burned, she was called the "ugly princess of Luna," but Levana promised herself that she would practice her glamour to become the most beautiful of all. Levana then says Cinder has grown up to be just like Channary. Cinder denies this and Levana tells her to sacrifice herself to save Thorne. Levana has him jump off the balcony, but Cinder catches him as Thorne started punching Cinder due to being forced to by Levana. Scarlet, Wolf & Cress join the scuffle as Cress shoots two of Thorne's fingers off. He starts to run towards Cress and stabs her multiple times. Levana releases him and begins to manipulate Scarlet. Cinder hits Scarlet and gives her a mild concussion, telling Wolf take the rest of them to safety. A battle of bioelectric manipulation begins between Cinder and Levana, with Cinder coming out as the victor. Cinder agrees to spare Levana's life after the queen surrenders. Cinder commands Levana to pass her the knife, but Levana lunges at Cinder and stabs her in the heart. Just before Cinder loses consciousness, she shoots Levana in the head and the revolution is put to an end.

Cinder then wakes up in a clinic with Kai & Dr. Nandez, a cybernetic surgeon who was flown in to fix Cinder. Kai tells Cinder that Levana is dead and that she is now the Queen of Luna. Cinder then asks Kai to hold a meeting with the world leaders regarding the Treaty of Bremen.

At the meeting, Cinder says that Luna will continue to produce the antidote, free the imprisoned Shells and distribute the antidote to Earth. She had three requests: cyborgs will gain more rights, Lunars will be free to fly to Earth and vice versa and to pardon all charges on Thorne. The leaders agree on cyborg rights, but felt uncomfortable about Lunars on Earth so Cinder presents Adri to the meeting and mentions Garan's bioelectrical security system that prevents Earthens from being manipulated. She tells them the blueprints to the device are inside Iko and Adri has full ownership to the distribution of the chip, leaving Adri pleased knowing this device will make Adri & Pearl very rich. The charges on Thorne are dropped and they give him a lease on the Rampion.

Cinder/Selene's coronation ceremony became the most viewed netfeed of the third era. After the coronation, Kai found Cinder in the throne room. He then presents Cinder with her old foot as a joke. Cinder tells him her plan to dissolve the Lunar monarchy to avoid a future monarch from committing the same crimes Levana had. Cinder drops her old cyborg foot into Artemisia Lake, a reminder of a time when she was scorned, and the book closes with the promise that they all lived happily to the end of their days.

Stars Above[]

In The Keeper, Selene is rescued by Logan Tanner after the fire and taken to Michelle Benoit's farm on Earth. Michelle hides Selene in a bomb shelter where it is turned into an operation room. Every day, Michelle would check on Selene to make sure she was okay. When Selene turned eleven years old, Michelle found Linh Garan, who was willing to adopt the princess and take care of her. Since Garan had the prototype that would protect the princess from manipulation and using her gift, they inserted it into her axis vertebrae. Logan Tanner hadn't used his Lunar gift for years, causing him to have Lunar sickness, so he completed the cybernetic operation with Linh Garan before he put himself into an asylum. Michelle soon renamed the princess "Cinder," showing she was reborn from the cinders of the fire.

In Glitches, Linh Garan takes Cinder to the Eastern Commonwealth where she meets her new stepfamily. Cinder soon begins to adapt to her cyborg parts and befriends her younger stepsister, Linh Peony. Cinder fixes the family's android, Iko, in hopes of impressing everyone. However, Garan contracted Letumosis and is taken to the quarantines. Adri then blamed Cinder for her husband's death and turned her into a slave to earn money.

Cinder is featured in the The Little Android as the mechanic who helps Mech6.0/Starr.

In Something Old, Something New, two years after the events of the Lunar Revolution when Queen Selene Blackburn dissolved the Lunar monarchy, established a republic on Luna and made herself an ambassador to the new government. Cinder is worried about Luna as the new government has only been in office for 6 weeks, but Iko reassures her that everything will be fine. Cinder & Iko meet with Thorne and Cress, who have been responsible for the distribution of the antidote to Earth. Cinder, Thorne, Cress & Iko then fly to Earth and arrive at Scarlet's farm for Scarlet & Wolf's wedding which has gained much publicity. When they arrive, a bunch of journalists start badgering the ex-Queen so Scarlet scares them off by firing her gun. The group is then reunited with Kai, Winter and Jacin. Cinder and her friends start preparing for the wedding, Two days before the actual wedding was scheduled, so there wouldn't be any paparazzi or journalists interrupting the ceremony. They make excuses to get the wedding prepped up as they distract Scarlet. The girls prepare the bride and get Wolf's suit from Scarlet's room while the boys prepare the house for the ceremony and get Wolf ready for the wedding. Winter persuades her to wear her wedding dress and Iko does her hair while Scarlet tells the girls about an old wedding tradition where the bride has to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Her dress was new, her red shoes were borrowed from Winter, her grandma's European Federation Pilot pin was something old and her something blue was the word "Alpha" embroidered in blue on her wedding dress by Winter. The girls then lead Scarlet downstairs where the house is transformed and Scarlet's friend, Émilie Monfort, has arrived. Wolf reveals he planned everything, knowing the publicity surrounding their wedding was irritating Scarlet as he wanted her to be happy. Kai then acts as the marriage officiant and officially marries Scarlet & Wolf. Cinder then takes Kai to the bomb shelter where she was kept for 8 years to show him a piece of her past. Kai takes Cinder to the edge of the farm property where they are able to gaze at the stars and proposes. Cinder accepts and they kiss. The book ends with Cinder being excited for what is to come, knowing anything with Kai is right.

Characteristics[]

Physical Attributes[]

Coloring book character profile Cinder

Cinder has a slight, thin build, naturally tanned skin and straight brown hair below her shoulders, which is usually worn in a messy ponytail. Cinder looks very much like her mother, Queen Channary, who had the same features. Cinder's figure is too angular and too boyish, though with slight curves.[1] Her left hand and leg are made of metal, the prostheses on her leg going up to mid-thigh as well as four ribs and splints along the bones in her right leg. On her cyborg hand and leg, where metal meets skin, is scar tissue, the result of the fire. Her vertebrae, the silicon and biotissue around her heart and eyes were also man-made, as well as a control panel at the base of her skull. Until it was disabled by Dr. Erland, she had a small chip that suppressed her Lunar gift installed in her spine. It was created by her adoptive father, Linh Garan, before he succumbed to Letumosis.

Personality[]

Cinder is stubborn, but tenacious as well. She is analytically minded, level-headed, tactical and clever. She is also strong willed and has perseverance. Generally warm-hearted, fair and friendly, she is also somewhat awkward in conversations, due to a slight complex about her being a cyborg and looking down upon herself because of this. She's part tomboy and doesn't particularly care about how she dresses; she does, however, wear a ball gown to the Commonwealth ball. Cinder, although tough, has a soft side that she occasionally shows, particularly to Emperor Kai. When someone gets hurt or in trouble, she becomes tense and concerned as she cares for people she doesn't even know. Unlike Levana, she cares deeply about the value of other lives, whether they're Lunar, Earthen, cyborg, shell, etc. Cinder is also extremely intelligent, though she will occasionally put her emotions ahead of a wise decision. Despite her young age, she excels at her profession as a mechanic.

Skills[]

As the true Lunar queen, Cinder is extremely skilled at glamouring, along with bioelectricity manipulation. Her skills are hinted to even surpass Levana's, which is partially why Levana both loathes and fears her. Within a week of discovering her skills, she is able to control one of the lupine soldiers of Luna, which is a remarkable ability, as thaumaturges, with years of training, have difficulty doing so. She is also able to control Sybil Mira, the head thaumaturge, and mentally attack her, driving her to the brink of insanity and ultimately forcing her to commit suicide by jumping off the palace roof. As a cyborg, she also has a knife within her hand and tranquilizer darts within her finger that she can shoot at people to temporarily stun them, as she dislikes using her gift (believing that it turns her into a "monster," like Levana). She was also shown to train physically with Wolf, gaining some martial arts abilities.

Since Cinder is cyborg, she had some "disabilities," as Adri would call them. Cinder admitted to Kai that she was unable to cry and that her eyes were synthetic. She told him that the tear ducts would have been in the way of her retina scanner and netlink. Cinder also revealed to Kai that she was unable to blush, for it could lead to her overheating and her power system shutting down until she lowered her temperature levels.

Relationships[]

Kai[]

Emperor Kai is Cinder's love interest. They first met when he entered her booth at the marketplace at New Beijing Market, in the disguise of a gray hoodie to avoid paparazzi, to have his broken android, Nainsi, fixed. They then met again with Dr. Erland under the impression that she was fixing a med-droid. They met up several times as Kai slowly began to develop feelings for Cinder, asking her to the ball several times, flirting with her, giving her silk gloves and even trying to kiss her in an elevator. However, since Cinder thought her status as a cyborg and Lunar made her unfit for Kai, she repeatedly turned him down, making up random excuses. Like Cinder, Kai faced decisions that could result in sacrificing his own life for what he perceived as the greater good.

Once Cinder learned that if Kai accepted Levana's offer of marriage, she would kill him, Cinder went to the ball to warn Kai. Levana saw her there and recognized her as her glamour was similar to her mother's. Kai & the world (as it was caught on video) learned that Cinder was a Lunar & cyborg, and Cinder was thrown into New Beijing Prison. Kai seemed to have been distressed by this as liked her and felt betrayed, for he didn't know if his feelings for Cinder was just her messing with his mind or real. In order to keep peace with Levana as harboring a Lunar fugitive was against the law, Kai agreed to hand over Cinder to be executed. When Cinder escaped, Queen Levana was quick to blame Kai because of his feelings for her.

She then gave him three days to find Cinder. Kai was unable to and Levana attacked, unleashing Lunar Special Operatives that she had sneaked on Earth. As a result, 16,000 Earthens were killed. Kai then agreed to marry Levana in order to stop the attacks.[2]

Even after he accepted Levana's marriage proposal, it was evident that Kai still had feelings for Cinder. Almost every time he thought of her, he wished she could escape. While planning his wedding with Levana, he treated it more like he was going to his death and became tired of the wedding preparations. On the day of the wedding, he was reunited with Cinder. Their conversation lead into an argument and resulted in Cinder shooting him with a tranquilizing dart. Kai then woke up aboard the Rampion, confused, hurt and shocked. Cress led Kai into the podship dock where Cinder was repairing Iko. After the two argued, Cinder finally admitted that she was Princess Selene. Kai then forced Cinder to tell him all of her secrets. She apologized to him and vice versa. The two then shared a kiss, but it was interrupted when news of a massacre in Farafrah appeared on Cinder's netscreen.

Kai & Cinder grew closer, sharing real kisses and conversations, leading them to have a better understanding of one other.[3] Kai takes Cinder and asks her to marry him, leading to a future together. They appear to deeply love one another. Cinder is no longer hesitant to keep secrets from him and they both realize that they are absolutely perfect together. In Something Old, Something New, Kai asked her to marry him and be the Commonwealth's empress and she says yes.

Family Tree[]

Lunar Royal Family[]

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Marrok Blackburn
   
   
   
   
   
   
Jannali Blackburn
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Unknown ♂
   
   
Channary Blackburn
   
   
   
   
Levana Blackburn
   
   
Evret Hayle
   
   
Solstice Hayle
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Selene Blackburn
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Winter Hayle

Linh Tree[]

   
   
   
   
Linh Garan
   
   
   
   
   
   
Linh Adri
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Linh Pearl
   
   
   
   
Linh Cinder
   
   
   
   
Linh Peony

Trivia[]

  • The name "Cinder" comes from the original Cinderella fairy tale, in which Cinderella would often arise covered in cinders.
  • In Greco-Roman mythology, Selene is the titan goddess of the moon, while her Roman counterpart is Luna. The capital of Luna, Artemisia, originates from Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon.
  • Cinder is ambidextrous.
  • Cinder has blood type A.
  • Just like the original fairy tale, Cinder is almost always covered in grease stains.
  • Marissa Meyer chose a fire to be the reason for Linh Cinder's injuries as the original fairy tale, Cinderella, picked lentils from a pile of ashes in order to go to the ball.
  • Cinder is more of a dog person (according to Meyer).
  • Cinder is able to have children as her surgery left her reproducing body parts untouched (many female cyborgs are left infertile due to invasive procedures, according to Dr. Erland).
  • In early drafts, it is said that Cinder hates cooking.
  • Cinder's Zodiac sign is Sagittarius.[citation needed]
  1. Linh Cinder was thought to have been born on November 29, 109 T.E. However, due to the fact that she is really Princess Selene, her birthday is actually December 21, 109 T.E.

References[]

  1. Marissa Meyer's blog. A Guide to Lunar Chronicles Character Traits (July 31, 2014)
  2. Scarlet
  3. Winter

Official Art/Cover Art[]

Fanart[]

See also: Images of Cinder
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