Chapter 25 – Epilogue: One Last Journey

"Please take care of me.

This is a message from your heart,

your most devoted body part,

taking blood and making art." – Kina Grannis, Message from Your Heart

Lena and Paul sat on my lap, waiting with bated breath for the next sentence in the story, held open on my lap. "And then, suddenly, the monster was gone, and the girl was left standing beside a young man in a beautiful palace. And everything was alright, then."

The story was the same every night, but every night the twins begged for more. Lena's wide eyes grew wider at every turn of the story, and as the final words rang out, she would close her eyes and sigh peacefully.

Paul made an explosion sound then. "But then the ground blew up!" He declared, jumping up and down on the bed, waking his sister.

"Mommy!" Lena screamed, burying her head in my hair. "Don't let Paul blow me up!"

"Sit down." I ordered. Paul sat, but he was beaming from ear to ear.

I put the twins to bed then, and tucked them in.

"Goodnight," I said.

"'Night, Mommy," Lena smiled, and she blew me a kiss. I caught it and pressed it to my cheek, like I did every night. She clapped once, and snuggled under her covers.

Paul smiled and said, "I wanna blow stuff up."

"Not tonight," I whispered, and kissed his forehead. Then I left the room, closing the door only partway, to let a little of the light in the hallway filter into their room.

Tristan met me at the base of the stairs. "How are they?" He asked, a supercilious smile on his face.

"Same as always," I replied, kissing him. "Lena wants to be a fairy princess, and Paul wants you to buy some gun powder."

Tristan chuckled and took my hand. He led me to the balcony, where the sun was setting, and we watched as it made its final journey for the day, knowing that the next morning would be another journey, full of new and exciting adventures.

"Do you miss her?" I asked, and he knew who I meant.

He stroked my hair, and kissed my forehead. "Sometimes," he said. "But that kind of love is fleeting."

I frowned.

"Hey," he murmured, and I raised my head to look at him. "I love you more than life itself. You are everything to me."

I smiled. "Right back at you," I said, and kissed him.

When he broke the kiss, he gestured to the sky, and I saw a rocket fire into the air, from the direction of the village. It exploded into the night sky, casting balls of coloured light everywhere. I gasped. "Tristan, it's beautiful!" I whispered in awe.

"You'd think I would forget?" He whispered, kissing me again. "Happy Anniversary."

AN: I know this one is short, but it's the epilogue. R&R, please. CC is welcome, flames are not.