And now the Epilogue ! :D

I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing my fanfiction, especially Forever Courage & Little Dragon Rider ! :D

I want to thank my great beta-reader, Emily ! :D


FANFICTION

Treasure Planet II : The Quest of Tala

CHAPTER XXVIX : Epilogue

Five years later, Alhenas Mansion, Planet Dareia…

In five years, other than the time Jim spent at the Academy and in space, working to accomplish his dream, a lot happened. Sarah Hawkins and Hope became even closer with all the travelling they were doing. Sarah was often going to Dareia or Hope to Montressor and every holiday and summers, Jim would spend it with Hope.

Long John Silver, as corsair of the Queen and the Alhenas, travelled in the universe, accomplishing his duties. But this time, Jim and Silver stayed in touch, much to Jim's happiness…

Caliban and the Queen grew closer, to Hope's relief and she and Idryss – now a really good friends – were waiting impatiently for her stubborn brother to ask the Queen to marry him.

Unfortunately, everything wasn't all happy. Hope and Caliban's grandfather passed away, three years after the end of his journey… James Hawkins, James Calil and all the pirates who had been arrested were judged and sentenced to a life in prison. Jim had assisted in the trial of his father, with Hope and his mother and it was the best thing he could have hoped to move on and forget partially his father's shadow on him…

Karoon and Idryss married, four years after the end of their little adventure on Tala and Karoon, even if he had his own ship and crew, was spending a lot of time associating with Jim.

Finally, after five years of hard work, James Pleiades Hawkins became, at only twenty-three years old, the youngest Commodore ever – to Caliban's great annoyance… As promised, he went back to Hope and asked for her hand in marriage, with Caliban's consent.

Right after Hope had started to take care of the coming wedding, the new Commodore Hawkins had been called on duty for three whole months. After a promise to come back for the wedding day, he left and Hope hadn't seen him since.

She was sleeping but slowly, the warmth woke her up… She blinked, blinded by the sunlight entering her bedroom and she enjoyed the silence that was still here for now… She smiled, remembering it was the day she was marrying the man she loved. A man who had promised her three months ago to be back in time but hadn't showed up yet… Silver, the Dopplers, Sarah, Karoon, Idryss and even the Queen had all arrived days ago and yet, the groom wasn't here…

Hope dropped her smile when she realised that there probably was a problem on the way back and Jim would be late. Their wedding wouldn't be today, after all…

She suddenly felt a warm breath against her neck and she realised that strong arms had been holding her firmly. Her heart missed a beat and she turned around and saw the one she loved the most…

Jim was sleeping, he still had his uniform of Commodore, except his jacket and his boots he had taken off. His t-shirt was creased, his brown hair messy and he wasn't completely shaven. Even sleeping, he seemed exhausted, he probably tried hard to come back in time and didn't sleep the last few days. She couldn't blame him, she was too excited to sleep as well. She just hoped he would manage to stay awake all day…

Her moves, even slight probably woke Jim because he blinked and his blue-green eyes locked onto Hope's shining ones… They both smiled at each, Jim still a little sleepy but both were relieved, peaceful and happy…

"Hey…" He said simply.

She jumped on him and put her arms around his neck, putting her face against his neck while he was holding her close. They hadn't seen each other in three months after all…

"You made it !" She exclaimed in a breath.

"Of course I made it, I promised you I would be back right in time, didn't I ?" He said with a smirk.

She kissed him gently and he kissed her back, his hand slowly lifting up at the back of her head :

"I love you, James Pleiades Hawkins…" She whispered after letting go of him.

"And I love you even more, Celeste Alhena…" He said.

"CelesteHawkins," she corrected with a grin.

"Not yet," he replied.

"You won't leave me at the altar, right ?" She asked with a little punch on the shoulder he barely felt.

"I wouldn't dare, your brother would kill me !" He laughed.

She punched him again but they were both smiling and laughing, happy and peaceful, more peaceful than they ever have been…

Suddenly, the door slowly opened and Sarah Hawkins entered. She froze and blinked when, in mid-darkness, she saw that Hope wasn't alone in her bed and that her son had come back and didn't even come to see her, but only his fiancée. It made sense, of course, but then, she remembered she was supposed to help Hope getting ready for the day and it would be a long day and they needed to work as soon as possible.

Being the mother she is, she put her hands on her hips and frowned at the smiling young fiancés :

"James Pleiades Hawkins !"

"Mom," he said with a laugh.

"Don't "mom" me ! Should I remind you that on the wedding day, the groom can't see the bride before she is at his sides at the altar ?"

He laughed and started to get up while Hope was smiling and was staying against her pillows, looking up at her fiancé with eyes full of love…

"Aye, aye… I'm going to sleep a little bit more before getting ready… I'll tell Karoon to wake me up…"

"Yes, do that," Sarah said with a smile, shaking her head.

He passed by her but before going out of the room, he stopped and took his mother in his arms :

"I love you mom," he said.

"I love you too, Jim… But if you want your bride to be ready in time, you'd better get out now…" She added with a joking smile.

He laughed and looked one last time at Hope, still crooked in her bed, smiling and laughing. Both their gazes were full of peace, love and impatience to start their lives…

When he'll see her, a few hours later, she'll be wearing the most beautiful dress she ever wore and they would link their lives forever…

He smiled, she smiled back and Sarah closed the door with a laugh.


So, this is the end of the story... :)

I hope you enjoyed it and liked it ! :D

I want to thank you all once again, and a huge thank you to my beta-reader ! :D

Truly yours,

May