I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE AND YET SO SHORT. This week has been like, the busiest of my life, I actually skipped school because it's the last day of school and I didn't want to go but like I had exams and my birthday was this past week and then the chorale group I'm in had a xmas showcase and I had to go shopping for presents and everything and long story short I haven't had any time to write except now, because all other free time was spent sleeping. I'm dead tired, I'm like going to crash at 4pm. It's going to be so sad.

So basically I decided that this story was done. So I wrote an epilogue. But then I wasn't sure what should happen in the epilogue and if this story even needed an epilogue. I had to choose between living in the underland or overland, being with Luxa or not, jobs, who'd be there, everything. I think it got a bit messy towards the end, but...

Thanks for all the reviews, favourites, and follows!

For most who review: THANK YOU SO MUCH I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ENDING. And also I'M SO VERY SORRY

darkmuffinsarecool: As a reply to your first review, I wrote one part before deciding that the second was going to happen, so it wasn't until they were kissing that I'd decided that they'd kiss. I was going to make it really painful and like this rejection that isn't quite rejection because actually she still loves him but they can't because she's queen and all and then I couldn't make myself so...

Vagrant Rohitt: Um... sorry.

Epilogue

Gregor woke up with Luxa in his arms. For a few moments, he merely closed his eyes again, although it was useless in the dark, inhaling the scent of her hair and marvelling at the fit of her body against his. He pulled her closer, pressing a kiss onto the top of her head.

Finally, Luxa stirred, turning to face him and give him a light kiss. She was smiling lazily, in the way that she does in the mornings, when she knows it's safe and she doesn't have to get up immediately.

"Good morning." Gregor whispered. The smile was wiped from her face.

"Not so good anymore." She responded, burying her face into his chest. "I hate mornings." He heard her say softly.

"Me too." He pressed another kiss atop her head and tried to ignore Luxa's quiet sobs. "I love you." He whispered into her hair.

"And I love you." Luxa looked up again, squinting in the dark. "Kiss me again?" She whispered, and Gregor complied.

"It's getting late." Gregor said, finally pulling away. "I have to go." It was always painful, this parting of ways. More painful than having to sit in the same room and pretend not to love each other, but it was always less painful than not seeing her and not being with her at all. "I love you, Luxa." He got up, leaving the bed and changing quickly. Outside, torches were being lit to signal the beginning of the day.

"I love you too, Gregor. Never forget that." She was sitting up now. The first time, she had tried to find him in the dark, but they were afraid now that someone would hear or she would hurt herself and they'd all find out. Not that they didn't already know. He moved over toward her, swiftly pressing his lips against hers again.

One more whispered 'I love you,' and he was gone, heading straight to the baths where he could wash away her scent.

~0~

When he finally got home, to the house that had been given to him and his sisters, Boots was packing up, getting ready to leave with Hazard in an hour or two to talk to the stingers. She had probably been up for hours, but she didn't ask him where he'd been, only greeted him and handed him breakfast.

"Lizzie's still asleep." She said. "I have to go up to the palace now. See you in a few days."

"Stay safe." He replied.

"Always." Boots walked out of the house, tapping out an I love you against the stone in the code of claw before she left.

Lizzie came out less than half-an-hour later, as Gregor was finishing up his breakfast.

"Morning." She said, grabbing a fruit from a basket. "What've you got today?"

"Training, as always. Ripred first, then I'm helping Mareth and Perdita with the newbies." Gregor, seeing as he was good at almost nothing else, was helping with the army and their training. Ripred got some training out of him too, most days, seeing as his raging was still just barely controllable. "This cutter thing has been getting a little scary, to be honest. Think we might actually have to fight."

Lizzie nodded. "Good luck, and to Luxa too. I'm sure everything will be fine. Anyway, I'm free today, it's my day off. I'm going to write to mom and dad later today, is there anything you want to say? I want to send it off today, it's been a while."

"Just a quick hello will do, but while you're at it, can you send this letter to Sam too? I keep forgetting to." Gregor went into his room to retrieve his letter.

"How was Luxa, by the way?" Lizzie asked as she took it from his hands. Gregor froze. "Oh please, the whole of Underland knows you two are together, you think your own sister doesn't know when you go off to see her?" Lizzie tucked the letter into her pocket.

"No, it's just…" Gregor shook himself out of his stupor. "She's fine. I think. We… Yeah, she's good. A bit stressed, with the recent threat from the cutters, but holding up. As always."

"Next time you see her, tell her that I'd like to help in any way I can. My team and I invent peaceful technologies, but I'm not above introducing gunpowder or something equally explosive if it means peace for the six species. No biological warfare, though. Make sure she's aware of that." Lizzie winked before heading back into her room. "Although, you just saw her, maybe you should just tell Mareth." She called.

"I'll tell Ripred." He replied. "Got to see him first, anyway. And please do not laugh about my relationship with Luxa, it's actually a pretty serious topic."

Lizzie popped her head back out. "You're right, I'm sorry." She said. "It is really serious. It's just… I mean, everyone knows, and she's the queen, can't she just change the law and marry you?"

"We've talked about this, Lizzie. No matter how long we stay here, I'll still always be an Overlander and she'll always be an Underlander and she's queen. Her children will be kings and queens. They can't be halflanders. They have to be Underlanders, if they are to rule the Underland."

"But isn't the Underland ruled now by a congregation? By all six species? Come on, Gregor, you two aren't thinking hard enough!"

"You think we haven't talked about this?!" Gregor shouted. Lizzie flinched. "You think we haven't had these conversations, trying to figure out how we could do this, how we could be together, love each other, have a future? We have spent so many tearful nights trying to find a way and we didn't find one. So don't lecture me about not thinking hard enough, Elizabeth, this is my future we're talking about. I've thought about this plenty." Gregor stormed out of the house.

Nyx was waiting for him outside, but she didn't say anything, merely caught him on her back as he jumped, and took him to the Arena, where Ripred was waiting. He had taken a quick sniff as soon as he saw him, but stayed silent as well. They knew. Everyone knew. But nothing could be done about it.

"Let's just train." Gregor said bitterly as Ripred merely looked at him.

"The surprise of not knowing when I'm going to strike is part of our training, remember?" Was the rat's lazy reply. "We are training. Or at least, I am. You're still thinking about what a wonderful morning you've been having. I've already talked to her about being careful, so I don't need to tell you. And I've also talked to Lizzie about other possibilities, but by the looks of it you don't like them. Or maybe you didn't catch Lizzie's drift. What I'd told her was something along the lines of six species, one of which has two very obvious subspecies and it would be really wonderful if the two subspecies could be represented by one person."

"Wha—" But Gregor didn't even have time to ask what he hell Ripred was saying, because he'd attacked already, and training had begun. Now was not the time to be thinking about him and Luxa, however existent or nonexistent their relationship was.

Now was the time to rage.

Now I'm thinking that maybe this just shouldn't be there. Like, maybe I should just delete this part and let people just make up their own final ending to the previous chapter because let's face it, it was a better ending than this.

I know what my problem is for this one: I didn't have an ending. I mean, for all the other ones, I knew what my climax was going to be, more-or-less. Like, I knew where this was heading. But this one, nada. So it ended like this.

Tell me if you think I should keep this chapter or not. I want you honest, critic's opinion on whether the story is better with or without this final chapter. Please. I need it.

Thanks for reading, and this has been a great, and very long with many pauses, journey with you guys, you know, all that jazz. :* Love you all and thanks for following me all the way until here. 3