Upside Down
~x~
Author's Note: Ah, the epilogue. If I was cruel, I'd make you all wait until the 26th to post this. But, I'm not cruel. xD At least, I hope not! :D
Everyone's special thank you (coughEveryoneThatReviewed) will be at the end! So, if you're just reading this for that thank you, feel free to skip to the end. I already got the count that you read it. Ahahahaha, suckers. x3
…I'm just kidding. D: I love my readers!
~x~
Epilogue
Directly after Prince Haru was healed – which took some time due to the severity of his injuries - the immense clean up began. The carpets were scrubbed for days with both cold and warm water until each and every drop of blood and other stain was a distant memory. Each and every wall was bleached and cleaned free of any remnants of the battle that took place. Entire rooms and hallways were rebuilt due to the sheer force of some of the encounters, but the work was completed in record time.
Before Haru could fully register what was happening, he was crowned King of Symphonia. It happened before he had fully healed, but was timed so that his remaining friends would be there to witness it before other important matters were attended to. Both Elie – going by the name Resha Valentine to the masses – and Musica also gifted the new king with their own special gifts; despite their uses in battle, the two insisted that Rave and Ravelt be ceremoniously handed to him, so he agreed. Haru took both with shaking hands, unable to push away the feeling that it should not be Elie he received Rave from, but Shiba.
During the cleanup process, Haru and friends endured several funerals. The first was the combined funerals' of Dalmatian, Deerhound, and Clea on the royal grounds. Everyone in the entire Symphonian kingdom was invited, and it was estimated that roughly ninety-five percent of them showed up – never before had Haru seen such crowds.
The next funeral that was attended was Queen Reina's funeral, in Elnadia. Though Elnadia was a great deal smaller than Symphonia, many foreigners were there for the funeral as well. Musica was nowhere to be seen throughout the entire process, but Julia later told Haru that the prince didn't want to be seen in public in such devastation as he was.
The final funeral (the funeral's for the lost soldiers were decidedly a private, family affair, and the enemies were shipped back to their respective country with a Knight or vassal with them to ensure no vendetta was sworn) took place in Elie Village, on the grounds of the Eliean Castle.
Elie spoke the crowd, Plue at her side and tears rolling down her cheeks. During the speech, she explained to those confused that, despite Shiba's love and devotion to Symphonia, he was a native Elie Villager, and it was his wish to be buried on the grounds he grew up around. Throughout the entire process, the newly crowned king watched in numb contentedness as his best friend mourned the loss of her closest friend, a feeling of guilt welling up inside of him.
After Shiba's funeral, Haru and his friends were forced to part ways. Elie had decided to remain in Elie Village, to continue ruling over her people as was her right. Julia and Let departed for Makai rather than Symphonia, having other matters to attend to as well. Only Musica continued to Symphonia with Haru, as he had promised his friend in the very beginning that he'd help him through it all.
It was not easy to say goodbye to his closest friends, but Haru reluctantly agreed. The world was at peace, and vassals from Mildesta, Makai, Elie Village, Elnadia, and Symphonia were all standing by to keep the war hungry countries from gaining too much power or control. Not much else had changed since what had become known as The Final Battle, and time continued as if it hadn't happened at all.
x
"Happy New Year!"
A medium sized pub cheered with the proclamation, raising their drinks and messily slopping the liquid everywhere. "Hey, Haru! You want another drink?" cried the bartended happily, a tall mug in his hands.
Haru looked up, looking tired. "Nah," he said, smiling slightly. Gemma nodded, turning back to his other customers, trying to serve everyone and collect their money at the same time. Haru watched with an unenthused expression as the people he had known since childhood drank themselves silly over the New Year. Sighing, he slipped out from the crowd, thankful Belnika had supplied him with decent peasant clothes, so blending into a crowd was much easier now. Very rarely did he go into the cities – just the villages of his kingdom.
Wordlessly, the king headed to the lake where he had spent much of his time once. Snow was peacefully falling around him, but he took no heed to the cold. He had far too much on his mind to truly care about frozen water falling from the sky, to be frank.
It had been one year since The Final Battles. Tales and fables were told around the world of his heroic battle with Lucia, of how he saved the princess from certain doom and the two lived happily ever after. However, what all these tales and fables left out was the massive amounts of death that the battle came with – the deaths of some of the finest people the world had to offer. No one ever told the children about how Haru nearly lost his life, or how his enemy had suffered as well.
There was no reason to celebrate today.
The New Year was always a highly anticipated part of the year, but the king just simply could not muster up the usual excitement for the holiday. This was his first New Year's as king and he had chosen to be with Gemma and the other villagers instead of throwing another fancy ball.
With a sigh, Haru looked up, realizing his legs had taken him right to the edge of the lake. It was completely clear, with the only lighting coming from the moon above him. "Puun?" asked Plue from the ground. He had followed Haru dutifully around ever since they returned from Elie Village last year, just as upset about leaving behind Elie as the blonde was.
"Yeah, I miss her too," he muttered, sitting down on the log they had spent so much together on. Plue nodded, climbing up next to him. "It's not even like the two of us can just drop in and see each other, either," continued Haru sadly, leaning forward slightly, "Because we both have kingdoms to run and stuff. And, a letter would take a month to get to me, and another month to get back to her, so it isn't as thought we can keep in contact like that either."
The sad truth was that Haru was heartsick. He loved Elie so fiercely, so absolutely, and the two hadn't seen each other once in the past year. Despite the time and distance that was separating them, the blonde could remember every detail of his best friend, from the way her mouth shaped when she laughed to the exact coloring of her hair. Musica was constantly trying to hook him up with some various noblewoman, despite have gone through his own heartbreak, but Haru refused each and every one. Nothing, and no one, could ever replace Elie.
"Puun!"
Surprised at Plue's sudden outburst, Haru looked up. The little Plue Dog was running away from him, towards a figure standing a ways behind them. The person was dressed in a long white dress and an even longer dark blue cloak, concealing most of her body. Plue had little tears running down his face, but he jumped at the exact right moment and landed in their arms, burying his forehead against the persons' chest. "Plue?" asked Haru in confusion at the same time the person said, "Plue!"
Immediately, Haru felt his heart race accelerate. The person laughed, the sound ringing in the blonde's ears like bells. Before he could fully understand why he was reacting this way, the person ran forward, Plue falling out of their arms. In seconds, the person threw her arms around the king, sending Haru staggering back a step. "E-Elie?" asked Haru hopefully.
"Oh God, I've missed you so much!" Elie cried, pulling away to grin at him. In her run, the hood of her cloak had fallen away, revealing her pale, heart shaped face. As usual, her golden brown was framing her face, but it was several inches longer than Haru had remembered. "I have so much to tell you!"
Haru pulled away from her, holding her at arms' length. Nervously, he examined every inch of her body. There were no cuts, bruises, or any sort of injury on what he could see – which was primarily her arms – but a series of scars decorated her body. "Elie," he said softly, a bead of sweat dripping down his cheek, "Elie, is it really you? I'm not dreaming or hallucinating; it's really, honest to God, you?"
The brunette blinked in confusion, but a smile came to her face. "I never should have let you leave without me," she said gently, placing a hand on his cheek. Haru leaned into her palm slightly, unaware of the little action. "I regretted it from the moment I watched you drive away."
"How are you here?" asked Haru gently, not trying to sound rude or upset about it – he really just wanted to know. "You have Elie Village to rule and all that. How'd you manage to get the time off to come see me?"
Elie grinned suddenly, laughing. "That's what I needed to tell you first," she said happily, pulling away from him completely and jumping on top of the log, her arms out to keep her balance. "I couldn't do it," she said softly, "Rule an entire country by myself. I'm not my father, or my mother. I don't understand politics, and I don't know how to help the people that need it. I play favorites with people I know, and tend to forget about the ones I don't."
The king watched her in confusion, not sure where she was going with this. "I'm forgetful. And, worst of all, I'm a danger to everyone around me," she added, not facing him, "One misstep and I blow up the whole universe!" At that, she jumped down, gesturing all around her, "I can't rule anything. The people of Elie Village deserve someone who can.
"So, I publically passed my throne onto Sieg Hart."
Haru's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. "You…what?" he asked, his voice slowly coming back to him. Elie giggled at his expression, repeating what she said. "And he was OK with that? The man's spent seventeen years watching you so you'd make a good ruler!"
The brunette shrugged. "I talked it over with him first," she explained, placing her hands on her hips. "Haru," said the girl softly, sending shivers' down Haru's spine, "When I was living here, I was living. Laughing, having all these fun times with you and Plue and Musica. I actually had a chance to be free from an obligation that I've never even wanted!" Elie threw her arms in the air, a strange expression on her face. "Elie Village will always – always – be my home. But, Symphonia has something entirely different for me. Something that I just can't live without."
"What is it?" asked Haru softly, stepping forward. Elie's expression didn't change, but she carefully stepped forward as well. Neither one spoke again until they were close enough to touch, their foggy breath mingling in the air.
Carefully, Elie wrapped her arms around his neck. "You. I can't live without you, Haru, and I'm tired of trying to convince myself otherwise," she breathed. Haru grinned suddenly, leaning in.
"Good," he whispered, their lips connecting.
Haru had kissed Princess Celia hundreds of times while she was here, but none of those kisses could even compare to his first kiss with Elie. For the first time in a very long time, Haru felt that gaping hole left in his chest fill up with everything that was Elie – her smell, the way her hair was tickling his forehead slightly, even the way her hands seemed to fit so perfectly on the back of his neck. "I love you," said the blonde gently, reluctantly breaking away.
The brunette grinned, tears at the corners of her eyes. "I love you too."
~x~
Author's Note: THE END! :D! I'm really, really happy about how this turned out! All the information about the story will be in next chapter, so keep in touch!
And now, the special thank you to EVERY single person who has ever reviewed this story, whether that be every chapter, or just one or two. Going in order of who reviewed the least to the ones that reviewed the most:
mature-yet-innocent: Unfortunately, I did not finish the other fights. Boooo. I'm sure that was a major disappointment to you, but I'm just not talented enough to write fight scene's! In the unspecified future, I will write a fight scene and dedicate it to you! Promise! But, despite that lapse in making my reader's happy, I'm really glad that you read Upside Down. Thank you, thank you.
Manyfanatic (and many-fanatic, as I think they're the same person): Thanks again for the offer of your firstborn child, but I'm still gonna have to decline. xDI'm really happy that you liked my story, even though you said you don't normally like AUs. :D Thank you so much for actually taking the time to read my story despite your preferences!
Rune Caster: Even though you only reviewed once, it still meant a lot to me! I love criticism and corrections, and you pointed one out for me! :D Thank you, thank you!
iamme: I hope I didn't disappoint! Thank you one hundredfold for reviewing my story! :D
marajaderox1280: Whew, is your name hard to type out. xD You're another one that gave me a correction, so a big THANK YOU goes to you! I did, however, do some research: Julius was named after the Latin month of July, which was Julius and not Iulius. Well, maybe it's Iulius in the manga (I dunno, I read Rave online), but I'm just gonna stick with Julius. Thank you, thank you!
invincible-army: Yes, it WAS a complicated plot. And, at first, I really wasn't sure how I was going to make it work the way I wanted it to. And then I got a review complimenting my idea, and I was like, "It doesn't matter! It'll work out on its own!" Credit to that goes to you. :D THANK YOU!
NotoriousRejuvination: I really missed getting your reviews, but the ones that I did get certainly helped! So, did I prove to you once and for all that I do NOT have a shower/bath addiction? Ahahaha, thanks a lot~!
The Only Weirdo: Ah, my lovely Beta. For…several chapters. First off, I'm sorry that I stopped sending them in…I'm rather impatient. And by rather, I mean, VERY. However, I want to sincerely thank you: without your help, my writing ability probably would have stayed at the level it was at the very beginning of the story, rather than improving as it did – all because of you. :D Thank you, thank you.
the-writing-vampire: You were there for me in the beginning, and I'm so, so happy that you actually read my stories. (: You're reviews made me laugh out loud, and you did give me some very good ideas. I'm sorry I never got around to revealing what Lucia's master plan was (at least, not with him actually explaining how it was going to be pulled off), but I figured maybe it'd be better for the story if we stuck to keeping the third-person POV on the good guys, not the evil mastermind! Thank you times eight for reading/reviewing!
The gangsta of love: You are, by FAR, my most loyal reviewer. I honestly just don't know how I'd ever survive without the knowledge that you'll be reading and reviewing everything I write. I accredit you with this account, actually – without your request that I quit being a selfish jerk, I'd have continued on with writing and taking stuff down. I really, really hope that you'll continue on with reading and reviewing my stuff. :D Thank you, times twenty.
Ah. I do love my reviewers. :D And, of COURSE, a very big thank you to everyone that's read my story:
THANK YOU SO, SO, SO, SO MUCH!
Expect to see the background information up tomorrow or the day after next!
~Lighteclipse21.0