Cinder

Prince Kaito, or Kai, is the Crown Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth. A handsome 18-and-a-half-year-old, he has “copper-brown eyes and black hair that hung past his ears and lips that every girl in the country had admired a thousand times” (6). Cinder first meets Prince Kai at the weekly market, where he attempts to hide his identity with the hood of a sweatshirt. Son of the current emperor, Rikan, Kai is forced into the position of emperor due to his father’s death by letumosis, the plague that also killed his mother. Not enthusiastic about rising to the rank of emperor, he struggles with undesirable burdens, such as Queen Levana’s desire to create an alliance through marriage to Prince Kai. He watches his father succumb to the disease, believing that “[t]he true emperor was there, in that bed. [Kai] was an imposter” (107). While navigating the stress of his impending role as the new emperor, he encounters Cinder at the palace during her research participation. He develops a fondness for her and asks her to accompany him to the ball. Knowing Kai is unaware that Cinder is a cyborg and Lunar, she declines. By the conclusion of the book, Prince Kai agrees to marry Queen Levana and rejects Cinder once her true identity is revealed. 

Erland leads the letumosis research. An older, blue-eyed gentleman whose gray hair is typically covered by a wool hat, he wears an oversized, white lab coat, and “[l]ines drawn into his face suggested he had spent many years thinking very hard over very difficult problems” (95). He grows excited signs at the discovery of Cinder’s apparent immunity to letumosis. Through his analyses, such as gleaning information through Cinder’s blood, he makes a significant and life-changing revelation about Cinder: her blood samples indicate that Cinder is Lunar. Erland educates Cinder about what it means to be Lunar, as Erland is, too. Some Lunars are able to perform magic, or what Dr. Erland refers to as “bioelectricity” (172). Dr. Erland’s decision to not use his magic, or manipulate people, results in his own psychological downfall, arriving in the form of visual hallucinations.

Adri is stepmother to Cinder and mother to Pearl and Peony. She harbors a strong dislike of Cinder following her late husband Garan’s decision to adopt Cinder five years prior: “I still don’t know what made him do it, don’t know why he felt obligated to travel to Europe, of all places, to find some […] mutant to take care of” (64). Much of Adri’s resentment stems from the blame she places on Cinder for her husband’s death from letumosis, a disease he contracted while in Europe. Her sole reason for keeping Cinder in the household is money Cinder earns as a mechanic: “Legally, Cinder belonged to Adri as much as the household android and so too did her money, her few possessions, even the new foot she’d just attached. Adri loved to remind her of that” (24). Adri is thin and wears powder on her face, along with bright red lipstick. She blames Cinder for Peony’s illness; when her disdain for Cinder reaches its peak, she volunteers Cinder for the cyborg draft, in return for monetary compensation. 

Queen Levana is the ruler of Luna. Stories of Queen Levana’s atrocities follow her: “They said she’d murdered her older sister, Queen Channary, so she could take the throne from her” (43). Additionally, she supposedly killed her three-year-old niece, Princess Selene, who turns out to be Cinder. The queen wants to marry Prince Kai, a move that the prince knows will result in oppression for Earth’s citizens. Taking advantage of Emperor Rikan’s death, Queen Levana arrives in New Beijing shortly after. Lunars, including Queen Levana, are capable of glamouring others—a type of magic. Levana manipulates the thinking of others, making them adore her, and presenting herself as exquisitely beautiful. Adorned with a veil, “[h]er face was slightly heart-shaped, with high cheekbones barely flushed. Auburn hair fell in silken ringlets to her waist and her unblemished ivory skin shimmered like mother-of-pearl in the sunshine” (184). Underneath, Queen Levana is neither beautiful nor admired by Prince Kai or the inhabitants of New Beijing and Earth.

Iko is an android, legally owned by Adri. Stocky and painted white, Iko assists Cinder’s work as a mechanic. Iko operates with the logic of an android, though her language and behavior reflect her personality chip. This personality chip allows her to find Prince Kai handsome, appreciate fashion, and interact with Cinder as a friend, not a machine void of feeling. Iko can also relate to how society perceives cyborgs like Cinder, a fact that surfaces during talk of who will attend the upcoming ball: “‘I want to go to the ball,’ said Iko, gazing up at the horizon. ‘It’s prejudice not to let androids attend’” (40).

Peony is Cinder’s younger stepsister and sole human friend. A girl with curly dark hair and an infatuation with Prince Kai, Peony loves Cinder and enjoys annoying her older sister, Pearl. Exuberant in personality, especially when fantasizing about the prince, she finds joy in many things, even visiting the junkyard with Cinder: “Peony made a face and skipped away, twirling amid the piles of junk” (39). Peony becomes ill with letumosis, an infliction that causes Cinder to wonder if she exposed Peony to the illness. Once Cinder learns of the role she can play in finding an antidote for letumosis, she continues to participate in the letumosis research, with the hope that she can save Peony. As Peony nears death, Cinder arrives with a possible antidote, but she’s too late and Peony perishes.

Torin begins the story as Emperor Rikan’s advisor; after Rikan’s death, he becomes advisor to Kai, aiding the prince in navigating the complicated situation with Queen Levana. At the queen’s arrival, and in contrast to Prince Kai’s anxiety, “Torin, at Kai’s side, did not fidget. His face was impassive, expectant” (182). Although outwardly stoic, Torin holds affection for Prince Kai. Despite the pressure to marry Queen Levana, Torin states his position to not force Prince Kai to marry the queen. 

Sybil Mira serves Queen Levana as the “head thaumaturge” (108), and appears as a beautiful woman with long black hair and “warm, honeyed skin” (108). She wears clothing that communicates her rank, including “a long white coat with a high collar and bell-shaped sleeves, embroidered along the hems with runes and hieroglyphs” (108). Sybil possesses the ability to bend another’s mind to think of and see her in an appealing light. Although she offers her condolences after the death of Emperor Rikan, in reality, her loyalty and concern is for only Queen Levana and Luna. This loyalty extends to spying on Prince Kai and the Eastern Commonwealth for the benefit of Queen Levana.