Chapter Text
Epilogue - Three Years Later
"Be careful when dismounting, Irene."
"Father Sky, Tate, I'm pregnant, not crippled."
"Says the girl who was so nauseous earlier that she couldn't even stay on her own mount."
"That was then, and this is now."
"Yes, and now I say, be careful when dismounting."
"Grr…" I sulked at Tate, and she scowled back. We held the expressions for all of half a second before bursting into laughter. "In my defense, the heat is killer."
"That's true." Still, Tate helped me down, and immediately began fussing over me. "We should've prepared a little better, taking everything into account."
"I'm only two months in, you know."
"Yes, but that's still…" She sighed, frowning. "Whatever. I'll continue to fret. I'm surprised you and Klein had enough time for you to get pregnant. I don't think you two have spent more than a night together, if that, since you got married two years ago."
"We had our honeymoon. Besides, you don't need a whole night." I grinned, full of mischief. "His desk is very sturdy."
"Okay?" She gave me a confused look, before it dawned on her and she went bright red. "Irene!"
"You should see your face!" I laughed and laughed, unable to help it. "Well, be happy. I'll be on maternity leave from my duties before long, and you'll get more time for dates with Allen!"
"You will never stop teasing."
"Nope~" I grinned, and she smiled back, both of us giggling. "Oh, damn, we're supposed to have greeted the elder or whatever with Roy, right?"
"I think he's already excused you." She pointed to where Roy was chatting with the elder of Arcadia. She then pointed to the pink and orange blur coming our way. "Brace for Fae?" I did, instinctively, but to my surprise, she skidded to a stop just before she tackled into me for a hug. "Or… not?"
"Hiya!" Fae chirped, giving me a bright smile. "Igrene says I gotta be extra careful because you've got a baby in your belly!" She gave me a gentle hug, peering up at me curiously. "How did a baby get there, though? Did you eat one?"
"No, Fae, the baby is…" I began, trying to think of how to explain. Fae still had the mentality of a child, after all, and things like sex weren't… exactly something to explain. "The baby is in my womb, which is below my stomach."
"Oooohhh." She smiled again. "How did the baby get there?"
"Let's just go with 'Mother Earth blessed me' for now." I reached down to ruffle her hair. "You ready to stay with Roy and Lilina?"
"Yeah!" Fae giggled, jumping back. "Roy and Lilina are getting married, right?"
"Yes, they are." It was hard to believe, but they were. They had originally planned on waiting a little bit longer, despite literally the entire continent looking forward to the wedding, but… "How's Fiona?"
"She's over there!" Fae pointed to where Fiona hobbled down the streets of Arcadia towards us. I winced at how stiffly she moved. Though she hadn't aged a day since the war ended, it became increasingly clear that Fiona's body was falling apart at last, and she didn't have much longer. Roy and Lilina had decided to hold their wedding a little earlier than intended, so that Fiona could see it. I wondered if she would even make it to see my child be born. "Fiona! They're here!" Fae waved cheerfully, and Fiona waved back, smiling brightly. "I'm gonna help her!" Fae skipped over, and Tate and I exchanged a look. She smiled and nodded, going after Fae, and I moved to where Roy and the elder person talked. She and I had gotten very good over the last few years communicating without words.
"Irene, how are you doing?" Roy asked, peering at me worriedly as the elder person left. He'd gotten one last growth spurt over the past couple of years, but he still remained shorter than me. I teased him silly over it. "Has your nausea passed?"
"For now, it has, but I shall enjoy getting out of the heat," I replied, smiling slightly. I looked over Arcadia, thinking. "I hope one day soon, all of Elibe can be like this."
"We've got it, a little, already." The dragons in Cinead's village hesitantly set up their own villages, mostly in Pherae, since it was widely known that Roy was quarter-dragon. "Bit by bit, Elibe will heal, and once again become a land where dragons and humans live side by side." Roy smiled briefly, but it faded. "There's been little change in Idenn, apparently."
"Is that so?" I looked around, and found Idenn not far away, under a tree with Alberich, where it seemed like the two were reading through a book together. Alberich and Fae took it upon themselves to tend to Idenn and care for her, and Alberich lovingly referred to Idenn as 'aunt'. I wondered if she stopped being confused by the term. "Well, there's no need to give up hope."
"Yes, even if it burns." He smiled again, this time shyly. "Oh, gods, I'm going to be married soon."
"To be fair, Roy, you and Lilina have been acting like a married couple for a while now. Trust the married woman."
"W-we have not!"
"Sue says the same, and she's also a married woman."
"It hasn't even been a year since she and Sin married!" Roy sulked and I laughed. It had been a fun ceremony in Bulgar. Hopefully, Rutger and Clarine would marry soon too. The people of Bulgar would love it. "Are you going to Bern after the wedding? I know Guinevere will be attending."
"Yeah, she wouldn't miss it for the world." I smiled slightly, remembering how excited she'd been. It reminded me of how she'd been before my wedding, and even more like how she'd been when Miredy and Galle married. "But no, I won't. Guinevere will be heading to Etruria to continue negotiations with Mildain about the new trade agreement. After that, I'll be on maternity leave."
"So, it'll be much easier to visit you." He grinned. "Will you publish some more books? You published Aunt Katri's 'true' logbook, and your own, right?"
"I'm almost done with a couple of other things, and the like. I'll be publishing the Lady Hildegarde's records soon, actually, as well as some testimonies from Great-Aunt Amanda." I had been hesitant, but decided to go for it. They were things that needed to be known. Mildain and Guinevere had agreed with me. "I might look into some other things, though. Klein and I plan on relaxing a lot, though."
"I'm sure. Dad and Aunt Lyn are looking forward to the baby, though."
"I've already been warned that they're going to spoil my child in place of my parents." I smiled and looked up to the sky. "It's been three years…" It had been three years since the war ended. It had been three years since Uncle Hector died, since Mom and Dad had died.
"I'm not sure if it feels so long or so short." He smiled, but it was bittersweet. "We've worked so hard, but it feels like we haven't really done a lot. Everywhere is still recovering, still healing."
"Yes, I know." I sighed, letting my own smile fall. Many days, it felt like we weren't making any headway. Rebuilding and reforming took so long… "But, we need…"
A little yelp caught my ear, and Roy and I turned our attention towards the tree. Apparently, a little bit of fruit had fallen on Fae's head, making her sulk. Alberich fussed over Fae as Fae whimpered and sulked, while Fiona and Tate laughed in the distance. I saw Igrene racing over, likely to check if Fae was actually hurt.
But then, there was a very… remarkable sound. It was a laugh, a high, almost bell-like laugh. It might not have really registered with the other bits of laughter, except for one big reason; that laugh was Idenn's. She was laughing, smiling even, at Fae's reaction.
It was the first sign of emotion I'd ever seen out of her.
"...Maybe we'll make it after all," I murmured, staring as Fae and Alberich teased Idenn. She looked confused, but there was still a bit of a smile on her face, a light in her eyes. "What do you think?"
"I think you're right," Roy agreed. He and I shared a look, and a smile. "Idenn!" He waved as she looked over at us, and I held my hand out, inviting her to come over. "Come on! We're going on a trip to Ostia!"
Idenn looked confused at us, the wind tugging at her clothes and hair. But then, that little smile she wore grew, and she came over to take my hand, grasping it tightly. The smile remained, though her eyes showed a bit of confusion, as if she wasn't sure what she felt. She only knew… she liked it, likely because it was warm.
Yes, we'd make it. If Idenn could heal, then so could we. If she could smile, we could make it so that the rest of Elibe smiled too. We could do it. I had faith.