Satisfied
Heath sighs in relief as the soldiers lose sight of him and begin to search for him elsewhere. Being a wyvern rider from Bern, the Etrurians won't take a sighting of him lightly, so he was being eagerly pursued to be captured for questioning.
The fact is, though, if they find out that he's the husband of Count Caerleon's adoptive daughter, they'll have his head.
He didn't ask for his wife to put up with this. He's pretty sure Priscilla's original idea of a happy marriage didn't involve being on the run her entire life, constantly in danger of her husband being killed by pursuing soldiers sent from her own foster father. Risking her own happiness... for a fugitive?
"That was close," Priscilla comments from behind him, and he offers a quick smile behind him before facing forward to concentrate on guiding Hyperion, his wyvern. "We should reach Castle Caerleon by tomorrow. And then, we'll use this to convince Father to stop chasing us."
She happily pulls a small baby girl out of the protection of her large overcoat, and Heath once again turns behind him so that he can take a look at his daughter, Fainche. A slender child due to the stature of her mother, and her hair is a strange yielded combination of red and white, inherited from both parents.
Fainche is a special child; conceived passionately in the sky, so close to the stars they could almost be touched, and later birthed in the severe winters of Ilia to avoid the ever advancing soldiers. It's been a harsh life for the young girl, and hopefully if the Count sees the wisdom of letting their child have a safe upbringing, free from pursuit because of something she didn't even do, everything will be settled. There can even be family reunions.
And after thinking about this, Heath realizes that Priscilla must truly be happy. He wouldn't see her beautiful smile every day if she thought otherwise. She wouldn't give up a life of comfort if she thought otherwise. She wouldn't bless him, someone so undeserving, with a beautiful child, if she thought otherwise...
Perhaps things will work out for the best. No one will know for sure though until tomorrow. And even if they aren't accepted, the three of them will run away forever, satisfied with their decisions, and hope for change in the future.
THE END
Author's Notes
This was originally (for the most part) what I was going to write instead of A Mutual Feeling. I haven't written third-person for the longest time, so there are WAY too many "her" "him" "she" "he" words. :p Obviously a mistake on my part. I hope I didn't make any others.
Fainche is Irish for "free", and I thought it was fitting. You know what? It must be REALLY difficult to make a baby on the back of a flying wyvern. :D
This is the last time I'm going to mention that I updated the end of my profile right before the conclusion. Just for those who don't know!
Obviously an open-ended ending, but that's not always a bad thing. Instead of writing my next chapter of A Glimmer of Hope, I'm going to write a one-shot about the entirely opposite situation: the parents reacting positively, (with a different husband and scenario) even though it's non-canon. It will be up soon, hopefully. Sorry for the good readers who read AGOH! I killed the schedule for my own selfishness!