The Faerie Path: Epilogue
SUMMARY: What happens when Tania's mortal parents meet Oberon and Titania and find out about their daughter's other home in Faerie? We'll soon find out. Takes place after the events in The Sorcerer King.
"Good grief! Good Lord!" Clive Palmer exclaimed as he and his wife Mary followed their daughter Anita (known in the Faerie Realm as Princess Tania) and saw the walls of a brown tower appear in front of them, surrounded by a beautiful green landscape. He and his wife had just seen their daughter come back after being missing for over four days. He and Mary had been worried sick because Anita had been missing for several weeks, then had returned suddenly for a few weeks, then disappeared again. They had had no idea where she went that first time, so they had grounded her upon her return. She had a curfew and was allowed to spend time with Edric (known in the mortal world as Evan Thomas) while rehearsing for their play. Then only a fairly short time later she had vanished again when she was supposed to go with her friend Jade to Florida and they had come home to find the house in total chaos with dead birds on the kitchen floor. Then just this morning she'd reappeared and now they were in some other place with just one step. it was all completely unbelievable. And now his daughter was telling him, "And believe me Mum and Dad, this is only the beginning."
Clive and Mary followed Tania down the steps from Bonwyn Tyr, then down the hill toward a magnificent building that lay below. Just then, nine people walked out of the building and all ran toward them crying, "Tania!" "Sancha! Cordelia! Hopie! Rathina! Eden!" Tania called, running toward them. Clive and Mary caught up to her and Tania introduced them to her remaining sisters. Zara was no longer among them as she'd died not long before. Then Mary's hand went to her mouth in shock. Richard looked up and saw a man coming toward them and on his arm was a woman who was the spitting image of Tania. Tania ran to them crying, "Mum! Dad!" Mary and Clive instantly knew that this woman was somehow also their daughter's mother. "Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet King Oberon and Queen Titania of the Immortal Realm of Faerie. Oberon and Titania, these are my mortal parents, Clive and Mary Palmer. I just wanted my mortal parents to meet my Faerie parents. Mum, Dad, I have a dual heritage. I'm both mortal and of Faerie and I want to be able to be with both of you, but eventually I will have to choose whether to stay in the mortal world or in Faerie. I can walk freely between the worlds for the time being, but I can't stand with one foot on land and one in the sea, so to speak," Tania said, using a metaphor that she'd heard from Clorimel.
Tania's mortal parents were in complete shock and there were tears in Mary Palmer's eyes as she looked at her little girl who had two mothers—her and the magnificent queen before them—and two fathers—Oberon and Clive Palmer. She realized that all too soon she was going to lose her daughter to another world. It was all too much to deal with all at once. Just then, Titania came up to them and spoke gently, saying, "I understand what you're feeling. I have had to deal with the loss of my daughters for five hundred years. Only recently was I reunited with my daughters and able to return to my husband and my home. I had back what I thought was lost and when I thought I was going to lose it again, I couldn't bear it. I know what it's like to lose a child as well. Recently I lost one of my own beloved daughters. Her name was Zara and she was a delight to all who knew her. She had an angelic voice and a delightful personality. She and Tania had plans to dance together in the great hall after the Sorcerer King was defeated, but alas, Zara was taken from us during the battle, a victim of the Sorcerer King's sword. Believe me, I understand the pain of losing a child."
Mary found a strange comfort in knowing that there was another woman here who understood what she was feeling, but it was still difficult to know that she'd lose her daughter one day. Soon, though, it was time for them to head back and Tania led her parents up the hill to Bonwyn Tyr. As they made their sidestep back into the mortal world, Tania knew that at least her mortal parents knew the truth now. As they stepped back into her room, Tania hugged her mortal parents. Don't worry. I will always be your daughter, whatever I choose. But I need to be with my Faerie parents too. I mean, half of me did come from them, after all. This is who I am. I have to be both human and Faerie. You will always have a place in my heart." And she was right. Whatever might happen in the future, she knew they would face it together.