Lost Legends: Epilogue
Kaikara led the way, followed by their escort, a man called Frostner. He was friendly enough, but spoke very little. He was there to do a job, that was all, and that was all right.
At mealtimes, the three of them sat together and talked, sometimes of the events of the past months, sometimes just about the things they liked and their homes. Frostner tended to be more talkative when eating, and Kaikara supposed that made sense. Eating was a social thing. It was why her family always talked about things at the dinner table.
They were five days on the road, no more. Able to travel far faster than she and Trow had on foot, the outskirts of Woodvalley were visible by the evening of the fifth day. After talking with Trow, Kaikara decided they would make camp that night and reach the village tomorrow…she did not want to approach at night when everyone would be asleep and the guardsmen would be understandably paranoid.
The party was greeted by one of the town's guardsmen—a man Kaikara recognized; he was a friend of her father's. His surprise and excitement on seeing her and Trow made Kaikara smile…and feel for the first time that maybe, she was really going home. It seemed so unreal after so long on the road.
Things happened quickly. The guardsman sent his partner into town to spread the word, and Kaikara's little group rode on into town. Her parents and Trow's parents got word very quickly and met them in the town square. Kaikara and Trow were nearly pulled from their horses and hugged, cried over, questioned and congratulated by what seemed everyone in town. Trow's mother was nearly faint with relief as she sobbed over her son (who bore this with his usual patience…but he and Kaikara exchanged a grin as Kaikara's own father and mother enveloped her.)
Even Kaikara cried.
That day was the strangest ever. Kaikara was home, but it didn't feel the same—not because the town had changed, but because she had. She was a stranger in her own home—but she was not bothered by this. It made sense, and she figured she would get used her now role in the scheme of things. For now, she intended to spend every waking hour with her family.
The crowd dispersed eventually, and Kaikara's and Trow's family met at Trow's house for a celebratory feast. It was noontime, but Kaikara's father built a cookfire in their firepit in anticipation of a celebratory feast.
Notak, just off patrol, joined the group just as the fire roared into life, hugging his son and Kaikara and telling them how proud he was of them. Kaikara had not known it, but stories had drifted back to Woodbury of their deeds…so maybe her parents hadn't worried quite as much as she had thought.
Nyree and her mother joined, as well as several other friends and family members…and soon a grand party was in swing. It was nothing so grand as the party she and Trow had attended at the castle, but it was far, far better. Kaikara could smell the trees and the grass and everything else that told her she was home. Friends and family stood everywhere…and she was not afraid. That was something she knew she would have to get used to again—not expecting trouble at every turn.
The party lasted through the night, though Trow managed to stay awake for at least most of it. When came the time for everyone to go home…Kaikara found it strangely difficult to part from Trow. They had slept together every night since Trow crossed Kaikara's path at the very beginning of her journey. To part now was almost terrifying.
Their parents seemed to understand this—even Trow's mother, who had never been much of a friend to Kaikara. That seemed to have changed.
A lot of things had changed.
Over the next several days, Kaikara adjusted to being a normal child again. It was more difficult than she could have imagined, making the transition from warrior to child. The town and her parents treated her far more maturely, and she was not exactly bored—but there was something missing that she could not quite articulate. She was a warrior—it was her nature. And now that peace had fallen, Kaikara felt strangely empty.
The Master Sword and her shield went on her wall, under the "Welcome Home" sign Nyree had made her. They looked strange there. They belonged on her person, not on her wall!
She had a long talk with Notak about it once. Not her own father—he was a huntsman, not a guardsman—and Notak surprised her by telling her what she was feeling was perfectly normal.
"A warrior grown accustomed to things being a certain way," said Notak as he and Kaikara sat by her favorite tree. "He—" He smiled at her and added midsentence, "or she—gets used to the fight—to his weapon on his back, the danger all around him—the thrill of battle." Kaikara listened, wide-eyed, absolutely certain he HAD to be reading her mind. Or her heart. "There is a part of every true warrior that enjoys wartime…not because of the suffering, but because of the honor, and the fighting, and the glory."
Kaikara was finally able to sputter an answer. "Yeah! That's just it! And being home and having everything normal is just—weird! It almost doesn't feel right." Knowing that Notak, at least, understood what she was feeling, she felt comfortable talking about it. She had thought there was something wrong with her, thinking sometimes that Ghirahim would attack so that she could meet him again in battle.
Notak put a companionable arm around her. "It's all right, Kaikara. You're not a monster for feeling that way. That kind of adjustment is always hard. But you have me and Trow and your parents to help. It's okay to go to them or me when you need to talk." He smiled. "It's how I manage, after all. Oh, the earfuls my wife has gotten over the years. She thinks I'm mad."
This made Kaikara laugh. "I bet…well..maybe we are." She shrugged. "It's okay with me."
After that day, it seemed easier.
Once she had time to settle, Kaikara enrolled the youth swordsmanship class. The instructors tested her and put her in a slightly advanced class, but only slightly. Kaikara was very good, but she was self-taught, and there were a lot of things she needed to learn. Her instructor said it would be tough for her, but Kaikara welcomed the challenge.
Trow, on the other hand, began taking archery lessons from a local archer. When Kaikara asked him what his mother said about it, Trow giggled. "She didn't say anything. She's okay with it! I told her all the stuff that happened. She gasped a lot. But then she said she was proud of me…and that I was a lot tougher than she thought. She said she'd try to let me be tough."
For her, that was saying something.
Kaikara and Trow even began helping the guardsmen on their patrols, taking a shirt afternoon shift together to help them out. They were short of warriors after the battles; Kaikara knew they had lot a lot of fighters. It helped satisfy the warrior part of her. And the part of her that had become responsible and mature even handled the boredom of patrol just fine.
The weeks passed. Kaikara discovered that she had turned twelve during her adventure, and was only a few months away from being thirteen. That was disorienting. She never really thought much of birthdays when he was on the road…she knew she had grown and changed, but to see that change in numbers and dates was bizarre.
That made Trow nine and a half!
Still…even with all the adjustments and strangeness and lack of battles—Kaikara was glad to be home. And someday, when danger threatened again, she would be ready to defend Woodvalley from whatever came.
-AUTHOR'S NOTE-
For those who have followed this story and perhaps been frustrated by large periods of time with no update, you have my sincerest apologies. I vowed once to never put up a fanfiction until it was finished, because that behavior frustrates the hell out of me…but I had over half the story finished, and there were several chapters already ready to be put up, and I was on a roll with this story. And then…it stalled. Even this ending fought me. I wanted to wrap it up fairly quickly, but also tie up loose ends and not rush it.
ARGH.
Back to my normal policy of finishing a story first. XD anyway—I hope you have enjoyed Kaikara's and Trow's adventures. I've enjoying writing about them. C:
