Welcome to the first installment of The Blooper Reel!

Here's your key to navigating this confusing compilation. Just inside the chapter will be a small list of clarifying features, so you know what you are about to read. Here is the list for this chapter.

Title: Epilogue

Type: Extra Scene

Genre: General

Explanation: A little epilogue so you can see what becomes of our heroes after the story ends. Beware! It's not all happy-go-lucky! Note: This is one of the longest installments. Most are just a scene or two.

Title, Genre, and Explanation are pretty self explanatory, but other Types of segments may be: Deleted Scene, AU Possibility, or Behind the Scenes.

The difference between an Extra Scene and a Deleted Scene is whether or not the scenes occur in the storyline. Extras happen generally after the fic, whereas Deleted Scenes are ones that I had to cut in the process of writing the story.

An AU possibility is a "What if...?" scene.

A Behind the Scenes is just, basically, me making fun of myself and/or my characters. Meant to be humorous, whether it works or not.

I hope that helps you so you don't get confused or lost. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! And, of course, I'd love reviews. Thank you!


Celeste laughed, pushing Jody. The push didn't budge the solid man, but he did smile.

"Look at it!" she cried, jumping excitedly and grabbing his arm. "Just look at it!"

"I am, Celeste," he said, admiring the stable framework of the spacious cottage.

"Look, look!" she shrieked, pulling him into the house.

It was even bigger than it looked on the inside. Celeste pointed at the elegant stairway going up.

"There are two levels!" she said, her voice going higher in pitch.

"You couldn't tell that from the outside?" Jody asked, chuckling.

Celeste didn't hear him, as she was already exclaiming over the next thing that caught her eye.

"There's a proper fireplace! With a chimney, no doubt! And a sitting room! With its own fireplace. And do you see the size of that kitchen? And look atβ€”"

"I can see, I can see," he laughed, pulling his arm out of her hand before her mad dashes in multiple directions yanked it out of its socket.

"Ooooo," she squealed loudly, and hugged him tightly while bouncing up and down. "This is not a cottage; this is a mansion!"

She couldn't believe her eyes. When the Prince had said he'd build them a cottage, she hadn't been expecting this. He'd even finished the place with practical, sturdy furniture. The Prince seemed to know more about the people then Katharine did, though Celeste assumed that might be from his dreams.

She sighed, then giggled and looked up at Jody, grinning broadly. He seemed to be grinning at her more out of genuine amusement than wonder, she noticed.

"Stop laughing at me," she chided, but was unable to muster a stern look.

"I'm not laughing," he said truthfully, but his eyes twinkled.

She stuck out her lower lip and pouted.

"You were laughing in your head. I could tell."

"What? I'm getting punished for not laughing when I know you won't appreciate it? That hardly seems fair."

"You shouldn't even be thinking it," she said, still pouting.

Jody poked her lower lip back inside her mouth.

"You're gonna catch flies on that," he teased.

She glared, then dragged him upstairs to see what was there.


The happy family thoroughly enjoyed their new cottage – though Celeste was right when she said it was more of a mansion than a cottage, but old habits die hard – which was the talk of the town. Jody's smithy out back was the envy of any blacksmith nearby, stocked as it was with top-quality tools and designed by the King's own blacksmith.

The spare rooms in their house were filled by a wide variety of people. Travelers often stayed the night, buying room and board with tales of faraway countries that fascinated the children. Suzie Jamison stayed with them for a year, even, after she had a falling out with Kayla. Jody and Celeste, surprised that Suzie had the capability to shout, nonetheless offered their home to her until she sorted things out at home. Mara Leigh was delighted to have someone who gave her undivided attention, and Celeste, who was heavily pregnant at the time, was happy to have a willing set of hands.

A few years after the war was over, Jody opened the door one day to find Joseph grinning ear to ear on his doorstep. With a sigh and a ruffling of hair, Joseph took the other spare bedroom and became another fixture in the Flannlin household for the next several years until he built a house of his own in town. The end of Suzie's stay overlapped with the beginning of Joseph's, and Celeste noticed with interest the permanent pink coloring in Suzie's cheeks, though she didn't mention anything.

Joseph did mention with a sort of stunned look that Suzie had "really grown up" since he'd seen her last, which only made her blush the more. When Joseph finally worked up the seriousness to ask her to the spring festival, her father answered for her with a flat, "No." The type that meant: "If you ever ask again, I do know how to wield a scythe." A few years of hanging around her doorstep finally paid off, though, when Chris grudgingly allowed the man into his house for a dinner. Kayla loved him almost as much as Suzie did, and the combined smiles of his two biggest girls finally melted his jealous heart enough to let Joseph begin seeing Suzie, though always supervised. Eventually, Joseph won Chris's heart, too, and he married Suzie on her nineteenth birthday.

Celeste had her first child just after Mara Leigh's third birthday, and she was ecstatic. For all she was concerned, Felise was just a living baby doll who cried. She spoiled her and taught her all the tricks of unlocking doors and sneaking away food you didn't want to eat, and in return, she gained Felise's undying affection.

When their younger brother, Connor, was born, they reluctantly let him into the group. He didn't want to be included, however, and spent most of his childhood slipping frogs and snakes into their beds when they weren't looking, much to Jody's and Joseph's amusement and Celeste's frustration. He had no interest in blacksmithing, preferring the wild work of farming to the cramped, stuffy forge. Mara Leigh, however, was fascinated by it. She was short and stocky, much like Lee, and hung back around the outer edge of the forge until one day, Jody decided to let her help. She hardly left the room after that.

She took over the blacksmithing business, which was, of course, very unconventional, but she was stubborn enough not to let wayward comments bother her. She married Tobias's son, Toby, and they opened a smithy/jeweler in Albertte, which had great success. Felise, who couldn't bear to let Mara Leigh have all the fun, married a baker in Albertte, and they lived four doors down from each other for the rest of their lives. Connor took after Jody, and mainly swore off women. He inherited his father's prodigious height, and thus used Jody's favorite line, that he was "looking for a woman tall enough" for him.

He bought more land that adjoined the cottage and farmed from the safety of his own home, spoiling his nieces and nephews whenever possible, until a gypsy woman caught his eye. While his parents watched in amusement, and some apprehension, they went through a whirlwind courtship and married six months after they met. She had always yearned for a real home, and was more than content to move into the spacious cottage that had been furnished by Roderic so many years before. Celeste was delighted that Connor had finally settled down. Jody lamented his son's loss of freedom. For all records, Virginia was six foot two.


"Roderic?" a whispered voice said next to his ear.

He glanced up, then back down at the document, trying to focus on it with blurry eyes.

"Yes, Katharine?" he said wearily, turning up the lamp.

"You need to get some sleep," she said, rubbing his shoulders and kissing his cheek.

Her hair tickled his face and he rubbed the itch away.

"I know, but I have to read this last document. I think the law seems fair, but I want to reread it, just to be sure," he explained, his mind focused on sorting through the legal jargon.

"Always thinking of other people," Katharine said ruefully, but with a hint of pride. "You're a magnificent king."

"I could not be half the king I am without you, dear," he said, looking up from his paper and smiling at her.

"Keep reading," she urged, "and hurry up. I want to go to bed."

"You do not have to wait for me," he said, amused, but turned back to the paper.

"I know," she said, "but it's dark in there and I'd rather wait. Besides, if I'm not here to remind you to go to bed, you might pick up another law-to-be and keep going."

"You have a point," he conceded, dragging his finger across the last few lines and signing the document. "There, now I can retire."

"Goody," she said with a smile, tugging him out of the side room. "I thought you were going to be ages. Get out of here before you think of something else you need to do."

He laughed and let her pull him through the door, locking it firmly behind him.

"Are you satisfied?" he asked, putting the key in the pocket of his jacket.

"Very," she said complacently, sliding under the coverlet.

He quickly dressed for bed, then joined her, yawning. She snuggled up against his chest and he kissed her hair.

"Goodnight, love," he whispered, tangling his fingers in hers.

"Goodnight," she sighed, and they easily drifted to sleep, all thoughts of royalty, parenthood, and stress far from their minds as they joined the magical, and blessedly dreamless, world of slumber.


Roderic was a wise king, and Katharine a clever talker. Between the two of them, peace reigned in Rijhad and Terriot for a great many years. They had seven children, to the mixed delight and shock of the general noble population.

"It is not as if we have not the resources or time to raise them well," Roderic had said after being accosted by a particularly nosy group of ladies and was in quite a temper. "I fail to see how this is any concern of yours."

Eventually, rumors of Katharine being loose died down, especially as each of the children had definite traits that tied them to their father, though all but one had their mother's dark hair.

The eldest, a flighty boy named Roderic Gollath Ryone, after his grandfathers, was a healthy and happy boy who grew up looking as handsome as his mother. He was followed by Caitlin Meriwether Diane, a wispy little sprite who was far more trouble than she looked, named after Katharine's cousin and Roderic's mother.

Jodi Everard and Johnathon William were next, a particularly difficult set of twins. Jodi was as bashful as Caitlin, but with far less courage, and Johnathon, with a head full of his father's blonde curls, was solemn and slow to act, reminding Katharine forcibly of Roderic.

After those twins came another set, even-tempered Fiona Grace, after Katharine's mother and aunt, and Andrew Derek, after Meriwether's husband. The girl was compassionate and very conscientious, which often made her the least favorite among the siblings, because she was always the first to tell. Andrew was eager to please, but with a sharp tongue to rebuke wrong-doers.

Last of all was Michael Gregory, a wild and unruly boy who was thoroughly delighted at being the youngest and getting the least attention, which left him more time to dream up pranks.

Shortly after giving birth to Michael, Katharine took ill and never fully recovered. She died a week before Michael's first birthday, leaving Roderic with a country and household to rule. He could not, of course, spend nearly enough time with the children, so he married soon thereafter to a widow from some distant connection to the royal family of Terriot. The countries were so integrated now that the treaty was just a formality, which saved him from marrying anyone far younger. They met twice before their marriage, and each time Roderic went to great pains to ensure that Lady Margaret did not mind. He half-heartedly offered her true queenship, but she refused vehemently.

"I don't want it," she said honestly, then added shrewdly, "And I do doubt your advisors would want me to have it. I'd ruin the country. I would much rather play with the children then examine laws and talk to courtiers."

She took immediately to the children, who all adored her, especially Michael, as he never had any woman but the nurse, and she didn't particularly coddle him. Although the older children secretly agreed that she was nothing like Mother, they swore to make do the best they could and not let Father see how much they missed her. And besides, they reassured each other, Mama (as they had begun to call her) did not try to take Mother's place. She just, had it, already, like she was made for it. Not a one of them resented her presence, and all of them loved her almost as much as they had loved Mother. Fifi, Drew, and Mikey, who couldn't remember Mother very well, hardly noticed the change in maternal units, and only Caitlin saw the difference it made on Father. He smiled less, and more wrinkles appeared around his eyes.

To make up for it, Roderic spent as much time with the children as he could spare, being the king, and their best memories were the times when Father had a rare week off and they went to castle Meilleur, in the countryside. They would take walks and horse rides there, or spend hours just lounging in the parlors, talking to each other. Once in a while, they coaxed Caitlin and Jodi to play a duet on the piano while Mama sang. Her voice was lovely, and hearing it made them all think of heaven and angels. Roddy or Fiona would glance anxiously at Father, to see what he thought, and they would find him smiling along, with a hand on Mama's arm. His smile, they noticed, was really happy and proud, as he looked at them all, content. It made Johnathon's heart swell up with joy.

Roderic was careful to make sure his children were cared for, sending Caitlin, Jodi, and Fiona to finishing school as soon as they were of age, and hand-selecting tutors for the boys. Roddy grew up with a level head on his shoulders and a good role model in his sights, leaving the fickleness of youth behind him at an early age, like his father. Unlike Roderic, however, he was more careful in who he listened to, and was slightly more cynical in his views on people. He fell in love with a soft-spoken young duchess when he was eighteen, courted her, and they married at twenty. Roderic met his first grandchild a year later: Katharine Margaret Alaceia, heir to the throne of Rijhad.


Coming next: Jody/Celeste fluff!