'"So much for your promises," she said at last.

No answers sounded from the ruins. Nothing stirred. Kitty did not linger. With slow steps, she returned to the living world."' –P. 494 "Ptolemy's Gate"

Kitty

The day the funeral for John Mandrake took place was dreary and foggy, as if the weather was in mourning. It was not a big event, since everything was still chaos in London. The funeral took place in a small church, not far from what used to be Whitehall. Only a few people came: Kitty, Ms. Piper, and a few of the remaining members of the government. Most people just came out of politeness, and probably never met him before. That morning, Kitty had tried to summon Bartimaeus, and to her surprise, he was still alive. So, Bartimaeus accompanied Kitty in the guise of Ptolemy.

Kitty listened to people come up to the podium of the church talk about Mandrake, none of which really said anything about his true character. Mainly "He was a good person"…"A rising star"…statements which could be true for about ninety-nine percent of England's population.

A few hours later, the burial was over. One by one, the crowd drifted, lingered, left. All but Kitty, left staring at the gravestone.

Nathaniel

also known as John Mandrake

So much for your promises, Kitty thought again. If only promises were unbreakable….

"Hello, Kitty."

There could be no mistaking the voice. But how… Kitty whirled around. "Nathaniel," she breathed. A million thoughts raced through her head. He was dead. Yet he is here.

"I'd said I'd see you, didn't I?" Nathaniel smiled.

"But you're dead. How could you be here?" Kitty asked.

"I'm not so sure, but here I am."

"So you're alive?" Kitty questioned hopefully.

"For the time being. I have so many things I wanted to tell you. Now that I have my chance…."

"I think I already know." Kitty embraced Nathaniel. She was happy for the first time since Nathaniel's death. After what seemed like an eternity, she drew back.

"I have to leave now."

"Why?"

"I'm dead, ain't I?" Nathaniel grinned ruefully. "I'm only here to fulfill my promise. Turns out you can't break a promise after all."

"Well then, why don't you just swear that you'd see me tomorrow? Then I can still see you."

"Kitty, it just doesn't work that way."

"But…"

"I know. I will miss you."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Oh, of course," Nathaniel laughed. "That I could safely promise…"

Nathaniel started to fade slowly. Kitty rushed to give him one final embrace, but as she touched him, he turned into a cloud of swirling mist. It started to blow away in the November wind.

"I just wanted to say I love you." Kitty whispered.

As she watched, she swore she heard a voice in the wind.

I love you too, Kitty.

And then it was gone.

Author's Note:

The way the Trilogy ended…It's sooooooooo sad! I couldn't believe Jonathan Stroud could kill off Nathaniel like that. It left me depressed for almost the entire week. I mean, first you see him as a six year old, and then as a nice conscientious boy, then turned ruthless and just when he was turning back to the hero he once was, he had to die in the process. You seem to know him all your life. All his life, for that matter. So I HAD to give him another ending, a somewhat better one. I hope you liked it, or felt sad/happy/whatever after reading this.

Disclaimer: I only wrote this fanfic. The characters and stuff related to The Bartimaeus Trilogy belongs to Jonathan Stroud (too bad for me- waaaahhhhh )