Author's Note: I won't lie. I didn't even want to post this chapter, not because I disliked what I wrote, but because it was hard to acknowledge that this story has reached its inevitable conclusion. This was the first story I ever wrote. And now it is over. Please, if you don't mind, can you do me a favor? Send me a little note saying goodbye. It's silly, I know. But I'm going to miss this story and all the people who encouraged me to write it.

Chapter Dedication: Inda – I would have never kept going without your support. Thank you. I can't even express what a difference your words and constant encouragement meant to me. Without you, this story (and all my others) would never have been written.

Epilogue:
Resolution

Silence greeted her when she entered the lavished room. The lights had been turned off hours ago. The massive bed lay empty and untouched. The covers still neatly tucked in like a sealed envelope waiting to be opened. It was all so still, so quiet. The door to the balcony was ajar and moonlight cast shadows across the unlit room. The figure shook her head knowingly, a small smile barely discernable in the dark. Walking with purpose in every step, she gracefully made her way to the balcony.

A gentle breeze drifted into the room from the open glass doors, teasing the ends of the short hair that framed her young face. As she approached the doors, her lips grew into a gentle smile that sent warmth into her sparkling eyes.

It was those eyes more than anything that drew people's attention. Their inherent honesty silenced the most unruly of men and their raw beauty stunned all who looked her way. It was even said that her eyes were said to be magical, able to perceive the unseen and known the unknown. Myths and speculations surrounded her but she ignored them. When asked directly about the rumors, she would smile and slyly change the subject. And so the rumors about her so-called "mystical powers" continued to flourish.

It was these eyes that watched the solitary man on the balcony, carefully noting his tense posture and rigid stance. A testament to his tiredness was the fact that he hadn't even noticed her presence. Normally, sneaking up on the former guymelef pilot was quite the achievement, worthy of a victory celebration or two. But tonight she merely huffed in exasperation and joined him.

"Do you ever take a break?" she asked with her usual aplomb attitude. She took pleasure in the way his shock of someone interrupting his thoughts soon faded into joy upon seeing who stood before him.

"Hitomi," he said, drawing her close.

She relished the way his arms held her so securely and the way he nuzzled his nose in the junction between neck and shoulder as if trying to memorize her scent and feel all over again. It made her feel like a giddy schoolgirl with her first crush, something she hadn't been for years. She hoped she could feel this way forever.

She laughed when she realized that the stubborn king had no intention of letting her go. "I've only been gone for a few days," she said, trying to wiggle her way out of his arms. The man just huffed in fond exasperation, sending puffs of warm air on her neck and a delighted shiver through the rest of her body. "Van," she said, the tone mixed between embarrassment and pleasure.

He laughed gently and finally pulled away. The intense auburn eyes that she fell in love with carefully looked her over.

"What?" she finally asked, unable to stand his intense gaze any longer. Sometimes the man didn't have a clue as to what those focused looks did to her.

"I missed you," he said gently, a hand slowly fingering the ends of her hair.

She smiled. "I missed you too," she said, pulling him down for a kiss. When they finally broke apart, she found herself delightedly breathless and deliciously close to him. "We went seven years with no contact and now we can't go a week," she said with a laugh. When his arms tightened around her waist and he didn't respond, she knew something was wrong.

"Van, what's wrong?" she asked concerned.

He hesitated a moment then loosened his grip so he could look at her. "Those seven years were the worst years of my life," he told her, "and I never want to go back."

She sighed in understanding. "I know," she said, a hand gently tracing the outline of his cheek. "I felt the same way. But I'm here now. We're together again and nothing is going to change that."

He laughed, but the laughter was tinged with years of pain and loneliness. "I know you're here," he said, "but sometimes it's hard to believe that you'll remain."

His words hurt. Not because he meant them to but because they were the truth. Even she had a hard time believing that they were finally together. They had spent years apart that the last four months of being together seemed small in comparison. So much of their lives had changed during those years that sometimes Hitomi wondered if they would ever be able to make things work between them. They were literally from different planets, different worlds. Even now she insisted on visiting her mother back on Earth for a few days every month. A fact that worried him. What if the bridge between their two worlds collapsed and she was stuck there? But the pendent was strong and the bridge continued to hold. She knew that deep down his real concern was that she would chose not to return to Gaea.

A concern that was completely unfounded.

The fact was she could no longer imagine a life without him. When she looked into the passionate reddish-brown eyes of his, she knew she could never love anyone else like she loved him. And no one could love her the way he did. She knew they would make it work. It was their destiny.

But that didn't make the road before them any easier. Although the people of Fanelia had welcomed her with open arms and shouts of joy, not all people were as eager to see a king with a mystic foreigner. And when he proposed the week before, they were even more displeased. It would be a long road ahead of them. But looking at the engagement ring on her finger, Hitomi was confident they would find a way.

So she kissed him again, slow and languorous, but full of the love and ardor that accumulated in those long seven years apart. "I'm here," she said again, staring into those intense eyes of his, "and here is where I'm going to remain."

And this time, he believed her.

Together, they watched the sun rise over Fanelia.