Epilogue
"No!" the concerned voice of a young mother rang out across the field as the twenty-two-year old sprinted toward a little girl of two pulling up flowers and hurling them into a flowing brook. The older girl's dark hair whipped out behind her in the wind as her slippered feet carried her forward at an alarming speed for one who looked so hollow-boned, fragile, petite, and skinny. Her dark eyes flashed alarmingly as she reached her target and swooped down to pick up the little girl, who had nearly avoided death by drowning in the brook. The twenty-two-year old cradled the toddler in her arms for a few moments while the baby buried her head in her mother's breasts, then held the girl out as if for inspection and began to scold. "This happened last week, for Kyprioth's sake, Saru! How many times do I have to tell you not to lean over the edge of things so far? One day you'll fall and-" the toddler's mother stopped herself, closed her eyes tight, and inhaled deeply to steady her shaking body. "Stop scaring me like that, Saru! Gods above, someone might think you were fated to-" again the young mother stopped before uttering such unthinkable horrors.
Slowly, the dark woman put her child down beside her and, taking her little girl's hand, walked her back to the palace where they lived. Soon, the little toddler began to stumble, and so the woman picked her up in her steady arms and transported her that way. Sighing, she turned her face to look at her baby while she walked and spoke to her. "Someday you're going to be a Queen, you know. Of course, there's no guarantee; everyone thought Sarai would be Queen, being older and all, and here I am. Yet you will probably be Queen, and Queens don't drown in brooks. Please, lovely, try to be more careful. If anything ever happened to you I…" Dovasry Balitang let the end of her sentence drift. Her daughter, Sarugani, blinked at her mother with long lashes but made no comment apart from wriggling to settle better in her mother's arms.
Finally, they were at the palace. Dove led her daughter into the playroom, where George was to be found arranging wooden knights on the playroom floor. Dove plopped young Sarugani down next to George and herself into a plush chair to watch them. Sarugani quietly took a few soldiers and, equally silent, George let her join in his little games. Dove smiled when she saw how well they got along and stretched, then left the room. Entering the hallway, she tramped heavily and wearily down the stairs and into the courtyard. There sat Aly in the dust, cheering and watching her young five-year old daughter Errana race the stable boys. Errana grinned widely as she saw Dove and waved. This made her falter and trip, face-down in the dust. The Queen gasped and covered her mouth with her hand but the ever determined Rana picked herself up and still managed to beat all the boys.
Alianne sighed, stretching like Dove had, getting up and wiping off her rear. She grinned at her Queen and mock-bowed. "Your highness," she addressed Dove as she straightened, just because she knew it irked her friend. Then she sighed, mockingly. "Little Rana is not like me when I was younger at all. She doesn't flirt with the stable boys, she races them." Aly grinned ever-wider and patted Dove on the back as she trotted back into the palace to see if she could find her Nawat. Dove smiled after her then followed close behind. Soon enough, she came upon Aly's oldest daughter Junai talking with Chenaol in the kitchen. They were discussing the best kinds of daggers. Dove stood in the doorway smiling in on the funny scene of six year old and cook talking on the same level. Chenaol looked up, saw Dove, grinned and waved. Dove winked at her then ambled along down the hallway.
She met with her older sister Sarai, who had come for a little visit, shortly afterward. Sarai smiled at her, waved, and inquired as to her health. Dove rolled her eyes at her sister as Sarai laughed and clapped her jovially on the back. "Sarugani?" she asked, meaning 'how is Sarugani?'. Dove shrugged and recounted her daughter's adventure of the day in which she had nearly drowned. Suddenly, Sarai's eyes bulged. The beautiful girl pursed her lips in a tiny smile as she surveyed her sister up and down, her eyes crinkling with laughter. Dove snapped a rude 'what is it?' irked at her sister's reaction to whatever she had noticed. "You're pregnant." It wasn't a question. Dove blushed and looked down sheepishly. "When?" Sarai asked, not caring how embarrassing this question may be for Dove.
"Last week, on Thursday," Dove's voice cracked as she whispered it. "Is it that visible?"
Sarai shook her head, mouth a straight line but eyes still crinkling with laughter. "I'm just observant, being your sister and all. Kind of like how I am probably the only one who can tell you haven't washed your hair for four days, or that you apply lip rouge, or that the crown you're wearing right now is a fake, a replica made specially lighter-" She was silenced by glares from Dove. Then she went on. "Bet you a copper noble Aly knows already. She's just not as rude as me and didn't ask." Dove silently agreed. She nodded a 'see you later' to her sister and went along on her way.
Shortly, Dove stumbled upon a taller, majestic man clothed in a Sarong as opposed to the Kimono his people traditionally wore. Aikido had become accustomed to his new home and almost never wore the Kimonos he had anymore, albeit for very posh dinners. His face was Yamani-smooth, impassive, but when he saw Dove, he enfolded her in his strong arms and it was clear he loved her very much. "How is our daughter?" he inquired after letting his wife go. Still, after close to three years, Aikido delighted in pronouncing those words. Dove knew this. She smiled warmly at her husband and leaned against him as she recounted the little misadventure Sarugani had had that morning.
"She's playing with George now, but I doubt for long; I'll bet you she's found her way to Junai by now. She's attracted to her like a magnet," Dove finished. Aikido nodded absently as a reaction to her words, but his main focus was on gingerly smoothing Dove's dress over her stomach. She looked down to see what he was doing, then looked up at him and smiled. "Is there a bulge yet?" she teased, gently pulling his hands away. He flushed a bit, then smiled back at her widely.
"You're still as skinny as ever, Dove," he told her honestly, embracing her again. "Oh, by the way, before I get carried away," (they both grinned at each other knowingly) "I should tell you that my father died from an apoplexy yesterday. My eldest brother was away battling pirates and raiders, and so the second eldest claimed he should be emperor while awaiting my eldest brother's – Momitchi's – return. But my third eldest brother and so on and so forth disagreed, and so there was a big brawl and the only survivor was my eighteen-year old sister Hana, only because she didn't take part. It turns out Momitchi died in the battle, and since Hana is the only of the emperor's children left, she's the empress. She was originally engaged to some man a hundred times older than herself with a rich fortune, but as empress she has the power to cancel that, and she did. She's in love with a man of twenty by the name of Kureno – a good man by my standards – and they are engaged to marry as soon as possible. This is jolly news, you realize. Kureno and Hana will make fine, if young, rulers."
Dove nodded her agreement. "I'm glad," she told him, slight puzzlement in her voice. "Though I shouldn't be glad for death…"
Aikido laughed dryly. "If you knew the dead, you would feel the same happiness I do in knowing they have passed on and are no longer able to torture the helpless. And besides…" Aikido hesitated, then decided to reveal the burden he had carried by himself for so long to his wife. "They are only my half brothers," he whispered to her. Dove's eyes widened, and Aikido explained everything he had heard that day long ago. Dove nodded gravely when he was finished.
"You're still slightly sorry for their loss though, right?" she prodded. Aikido nodded, amused. Dove smiled at him again. "I would like to meet this Hana someday if it's possible," Dove revealed. Aikido nodded.
"I think you would like each other," he told her honestly. Dove opened her eyes wider and raised her eyebrows as if to ask, 'and why is that?'. Aikido chuckled. "Well, everyone who meets you likes you, my jewel," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her. They stayed in each other's arms for as long as possible before letting go.
"Well, time to go find our daughter," Dove remarked, happily. Hand in hand the King and Queen of the Copper Isles went to put their daughter to bed. From the shadows, a copper-haired girl grinned, proud of her Queen.
A/N: Thank you so much to all my reviewers! There's still time to become one of those. ;) If you liked this story, I would suggest reading A Serious Case of Nerves, my interpretation of Alianne and Nawat's wedding, which comes before this by the way. And if you would like to read more about Junai, Errana, George, Sarugani, and the unborn-baby mentioned here, try Next Generation, which recounts the adventures of Aly's children. Again, my sincere thanks to all reviewers! You are welcome to become one.
Alianne of Rajmuat
