Sarah didn't think she ever heard the Nautilus so silent. Save a few sniffles from the children in front of her, everyone quietly stared out the window into the sea. Not a word was said between the eight of them.

The tower had fallen, the mirrors were broken, and Seth and Gongora were gone. What did it all mean? Sarah gently placed her hands on her grandchildren in front of her. What was going to happen to them? What was the next step for mortal and immortal alike?

Before the silence got too heavy, Ming lifted a quiet hand and placed it on Sed's shoulder. Sarah felt her heart drop as the pirate's shoulders shook. To be reunited with someone you love only to be torn from them a few short months later. His mother was there and then suddenly she wasn't, and without a chance to really say goodbye. Though her memories of her daughter's 'death' were wiped away, Sarah had read about the feeling of loss in her many journals. The desolation and darkness. To lose a parent or a child was like no other experience before it. Her eyes flickered to her husband who stood in front of her, his mouth set in a grim line.

Ming rubbed the old mortal's shoulder. It seemed to get Sed out of his daze. He sniffed loudly through his nose and swiped a hand over his eyes. "Where to?" His voice cracked, and Sarah held onto Cooke and Mack a little tighter.

"May we go to Numara?" Ming didn't break her hold on him as she continued, "we can rest there a moment. Perhaps then we can go over what our next steps are for our nations." Ming's eyes fell on the royal Uhran who still was on his knees from when he fell a minute before.

Numara was in one piece, Uhra was something altogether different. There was no monarchy, and everyone was sure that Gongora had corrupted any leader who might linger in the grand city. With Tolten back on the throne things might go back to normal. Sarah wondered if the young prince was ready but knew there wasn't anything he could do about it, nor much time to prepare.

And there was Gohtza to remember. Sarah's heart broke for Mars and the souls lost in that freezing tragedy.

Tolten's eyes met Ming's. He nodded; shoulders drooped. "Yes. Perhaps that would be best."

Kaim turned around. He glanced at Sarah for a moment before reaching over the rail to wipe a few tears from Mack's face. "I think you two need to sleep. We have a little way to go before we reach Numara."

Sarah thought there would be protesting, but Cooke quietly nodded, and she and Mack turned away into the hallway, hand in hand. They watched them go, and Sarah turned when she felt a hand on her own. "You can rest too."

"I'm fine." She smiled down at him. "I'm fine, really."

Kaim squeezed her hand, then turned to move towards Jansen. Sarah felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. Now that everything is over, what will happen with us? she thought, watching her husband talk quietly to the mortal magician.

. . .

Here, Sarah found herself walking the halls searching for something to do after a week of rest. Ming, Kaim, and Tolten had been in meetings going on three days after. She and Jansen joined in sometimes, but if not, the poor man would keep himself busy elsewhere in the castle. Sarah was sure he was nervously waiting to talk to Ming in private and smiled whenever she saw him fidgeting. He usually groaned when she caught on, and she'd leave him in peace.

The children wandered around the castle most of the days, not getting into too much trouble but not staying in one place too long either. One afternoon it was just Cooke around. "Aunt Ming would take care of us, sometimes," she was saying to Sarah. They had snuck away while Mack was napping.

Sarah looked down to her granddaughter. "Oh?"

"Yeah. When dad died, mom worked extra hard to make sure we were taken care of." Cooke kicked a little rock that was in her way as they strolled through the market. It was a nice day, and Sarah was sure this beautiful island didn't see much bad weather this time of the year. "There would be times where she would have to be away for days so she would take us to the palace," Cooke finished.

Sarah steered her over to a desert stand and let her pick her own snack. Once paid for, they found a quiet spot along the water to sit. "So, Ming took care of you?"

"Yeah, but mom wouldn't let her pay for anything." Cooke said in between bites of her sweet. Sarah could imagine Lirum, headstrong and stubborn. Of course, she couldn't conjure up a physical memory of her lost daughter, but she remembered her journals and descriptions. Cooke continued, "mom wanted to be as independent as she could. I don't think she thought we noticed, but Mack and me did. She was so strong for us, even when things got bad and she couldn't get out of bed."

Sarah watched as the young girl wiped at her eyes, food forgotten. It was then that she realized that so much had happened in such a short amount of time, and when did Cooke have a moment to really grieve? This young girl had so much inside of her, and no safe outlet. Sarah was determined to make her feel safe and wrapped an arm around her. Cooke leaned against her grandmother, crying a little. After the sniffling subsided, Sarah said, "you know you're very strong too."

"I don't think so." Cooke hiccupped. "I'm not like you or Kaim. Or even mom!"

"I think so." Sarah wiped a few tears away. "You may be young, but you're not inexperienced. You went on an adventure that many people don't ever get to go on in their lifetime. You met pirates, royalty, faced your fears in the presence of an enemy." Sarah tilted her chin up and Cooke looked her in the face. "You did it and survived. You saved the world, my dear. And you saved me. Don't sell yourself short, okay?" Cooke nodded and Sarah hugged her close.

. . .

Kaim had just finished another long meeting with Ming and Tolten to find Mack alone in his room. He knocked on the open door, and the young boy turned around. "I can't find Cooke," he said, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

They hadn't been separated in a long time. Not since Mack was possessed in that forest, and not any time before that. Kaim walked in and held his hand out. "Let's go look for them."

Mack immediately latched on, and together they walked out of the castle. The sun hit their eyes, and both took a moment to adjust. "I fell asleep and when I woke up, she wasn't there."

"I'm sure she's with Sarah," Kaim replied, remembering he hadn't seen his wife as they walked along either. Thinking about Sarah brought a slight frown to his face. Now that the battle was won, and things were settling down, he noticed things. She didn't like to be touched, and sometimes she tried to avoid him altogether. They didn't sleep alone, Cooke and Mack were young enough to still need comforted at night after everything that had happened to them; and while Kaim loved his grandchildren and knew this phase wouldn't last long, he wondered what would happen if he and Sarah were left alone.

He had a feeling it was because Sarah didn't remember. Sure, she had her books and writings, but she did not remember. She had no idea what her past thousand years were like, and Kaim knew it frightened her. He wondered how long it would last.

Mack tugged on his hand, and Kaim snapped out of his thoughts. They set out walking along the square and peeked inside some stores with no luck.

"Dad used to take me here when I was really little," Mack said, standing outside of a fishing spot. Kaim looked at the reels and bait that were displayed around the window.

"What was he like?"

"I remember him being warm and always smiling." Mack smiled briefly, eyeing one of the smaller rods in the window. "He loved fishing, and he loved that we lived right next to the beach. We would go in the mornings. I remember him waking me up before the sun was up."

Mack turned away, and Kaim followed. "Was it hard after he passed away?" he asked.

Mack shrugged. "I don't think I really understood why he was gone." He looked down on the ground. "I was only four when it happened. I remember Cooke being upset and mom being sad, but I think they kept me busy so I wouldn't notice."

Mack moved over to a bench and sat down. Kaim watched as the boy kicked his feet out. He almost smiled when he noticed they didn't quite reach the ground. "I miss them."

Kaim sat down next to him. Mack glanced up and Kaim saw the unshed tears. "Now I know what it really feels like because mom is gone." He watched as the young boy wiped his eyes. "I have to be strong. Stronger than ever!"

Kaim chuckled, and Mack smiled. "You already are."

"I know. But just because our adventure is over doesn't mean I can slack off!" Mack pumped his fists in the air, momentarily forgetting his tears. "Um."

Kaim lifted an eyebrow. Mack gripped the bench, suddenly looking very serious. "Can you teach me?"

"Teach you?"

"To be strong! To be stronger!"

Kaim ruffled the young boy's hair. "What could this old man teach you?"

"Kaim you've lived for a thousand years!" Mack's eyes grew wide as if he yelled out a secret between them. He looked around, making sure no one was listening, leaned over, and Kaim played along leaning in too. "You know how to use a sword!" he whispered.

"Ah, that might be too heavy for you," Kaim whispered back.

"Not if I get stronger!" Mack sat upright and plastered a wide smile to his face. "You'll teach me?"

Kaim crossed his arms. "Hmm." He pretended to think hard, letting the almost ten-year-old squirm in his seat. He looked down at his waiting grandson and said, "I will teach you, but you have to promise to study too. Being strong will do you no good if you're not smart about it."

"Deal!" Mack said, another fist pumping in the air. Suddenly, they were disrupted by Mack's growling stomach. Kaim's eyebrow lifted. "I kinda slept through lunch," Mack said sheepishly, patting his body as if that would get it to stop.

Kaim smiled and stood up. "Let's go get something to eat, then." They would look for Sarah and Cooke along the way.

. . .

Sarah nervously looked at the dilapidated building in front of her. The house was small, the yard was overrun with weeds and broken cement blocks. The cracks reached from the bottom foundation to the top of the roof, and she was sure it would soon cave in. To think her daughter and grandchildren stayed in this place really churned her stomach.

She didn't want to be here, not truly, but Ming brought up a good point. Lirum's things needed to be sorted, and her estate accounted for. Their daughter didn't have much, but with the uncertainty of the future, and what little Lirum had, everything needed to be in place for Cooke and Mack. As their guardians it was their job to do this, however painful it would be.

So here they stood, Sarah trying to prepare herself on what could possibly be inside the rundown home.

"Ready?" She jumped when she heard Kaim's voice. She still wasn't used to the closeness that was supposed to be between them, so before he could touch her, she wrapped her hands in her traveling dress and took a few steps forward.

"Um, yes!" She looked behind her and caught the tail-end of the hurt expression on his face. She reprimanded herself. I need to try harder. It's not Kaim's fault any of this happened, she thought to herself.

The children were already inside. Sarah stepped foot through the doorway and adjusted her glasses. There was light streaming in through the windows and it made the inside of the house look very bright and cheerful. Sarah looked from one end to the next, noticing the stairs to the right and a bed in the back corner. She could hear thumping going on above her and smiled at the children's play.

Kaim stepped in a moment after. He looked stricken, and Sarah remembered that the last time he was here, it wasn't a very good memory. "So, this is it."

Kaim nodded. He was staring directly at the bed at the opposite side of the house from where they stood. He walked past her and stopped just a little bit away from it.

Sarah bit her lip. Here was the last place her daughter lived, breathed, and died. Kaim was there. She wasn't envious that he was, in fact she did not know how she would have reacted as she could not remember Lirum or her first untimely demise. Sarah couldn't even conjure up a real image of what her daughter could have looked like when she was eight. She remembered a sense of the child version of Lirum only because of the painted portrait Sarah kept close to her in their old mansion.

To come to Numara by chance and meet some poor kids being harassed, just to witness your daughter's death a second time? It was no wonder the immortal mercenary silently stood at the end of that bed. Sarah wondered what he was thinking but was too scared to ask. When would she become comfortable enough to stand next to him in shared sadness again? Maybe if she regained her lost memory.

"You've got to come up here, Sarah!" came Mack's voice down the stairway.

Cooke added, "yeah, Kaim's already been to our room!"

Sarah called out to them that she would be right there and, taking one last look at her husband, climbed the stairs.

The room up there was also bright, and she smiled at the drawings that were everywhere on the walls. She was ordered to sit as each grandchild showed her every toy, picture, and treasure that had a story.

"This was dad's favorite fishing rod. Maybe we can go fishing?"

"I think I would like that," Sarah said to Mack, who grinned up at her. "I don't recall what that was like."

"Oh! And this was my favorite horse growing up!"

"You know that was not a real horse," Mack pointed out. Cooke held up a toy horse, one button eye hanging by a thread.

Sarah watched as Cooke rolled her eyes. "Duh! I'm twelve and I know the difference between real and make believe!"

The bickering continued, and Sarah laughed at it. Though, soon her thoughts wandered to the one left downstairs, and she felt a sudden sadness to his loneliness. "I think I'm going to go help out Kaim. You two stay here and keep busy."

She slowly made her way down the steps. Kaim was sitting in a rocking chair, a pile of books and papers at his side. He looked up when Sarah came into his view, a sad smile forming on his lips. "They sound like they're having fun up there."

"Oh, they have a lot of stories to tell." She sat down on the corner of the bed and eyed the pile on the stand next to him.

Kaim shuffled through what was in his hands. "Old papers and writings," he said quietly. "She kept in contact with Ming through letters towards the…end."

He passed a few over to her, and Sarah stared at them in her hand. She traced over the writing with a finger, not yet ready to dig into the words. "Unlike you," she heard him say.

"Hmm?" Sarah looked back up at Kaim. He was moving some papers around as if he was looking for something in particular.

"The Sarah I remember couldn't wait to tear into something like that." He sounded amused, but Sarah could feel her heart race. She clutched the letter tightly in her hand. How was she to remember what she was like hundreds of years ago, or even thirty?

"Oh, well, yes. I guess I do like to read." Sarah looked down at the letter in her hand. She read the first few words, then let out a sigh. "I guess the Sarah that is now is just not ready."

"Sorry."

"It's okay, Kaim." Sarah hesitated, and then lay a hand on his knee. Kaim gave her his full attention. "I just…don't remember…and I guess I'm just—oh I don't know."

"What?"

"I…wish I could have seen her before she…" Sarah wasn't even sure if she had wanted to see Lirum pass. She lifted her hand and folded it back into her lap; a sadness enveloped her and turned her eyes misty. The visual wasn't there, but she knew what she wrote in those journals. A very happy child on one page, and then there was nothing on the next. The last thing she wrote about was a silly little thing about a frog and Lirum's laughter.

"Here it is." Kaim seemed to find what he was digging around for. His smile was soft, and she could see his eyes glisten as he held up a small photo. She could only see the back of it, but she knew who it was all the same. He looked at her. "If you feel like you're ready."

Sarah could feel her pulse quicken. Kaim held it out, but she shook her head. He only nodded and tucked it back away.

.

The children were laying in their bed, Mack insisting Cooke let him sleep next to her. Kaim knew he grew up a lot during their journey but was happy to know he still spared some innocence. After tucking them in, and watching them get settled a moment, he picked up his candle and made his way back down the steps.

He paused when he reached the bottom and could see into the back room. Sarah stood head bent over, but he could see her shoulders shaking. He carefully walked over to her, not sure what was happening. As he got closer, he could guess. He noticed the picture in her hands and paused a few steps away. "Sarah?"

"She—" Sarah sucked in a breath. She looked up and looked so miserable. Kaim forgot everything about how she was distancing herself lately and moved toward her again. He set the candle on the stand and pulled her into his arms. She didn't recoil, and she didn't push him away. Soon enough her arms wrapped around his waist and her forehead rested on his chest. Picture still held in her fist. "She looked like me," she finished in choked sob.

Kaim rested his head on the crown of hers, letting a tear escape his eye. He knew he should try to feel stronger than he did now, but it was one battle he knew he could lose. "I know," he whispered, beginning to rock her side to side. "She looked so much like you."

"It's not fair." Sarah's tears were soaking the front of his shirt. "It's not fair!"

Kaim could only nod. "I don't remember her, Kaim. Her voice. Her laugh. Nothing. Only what I've read."

"Nothing has come back to you since Gongora left?"

Sarah broke away, taking a seat on the bed. She gently set the photo on in the space next to her before she shook her head and wiped her eyes under her glasses. Kaim sat next to her, placing a hand on her thigh. She still shook. "I thought maybe…maybe by now I would start to remember, but no."

Sarah continued to sniff and wipe away the tears. Kaim rubbed small circles, hoping to calm her. It hurt to see her this way. He may not have every memory of the last thousand years, but most of the ones about the time he shared with Sarah were there. They came back soon after he was reunited not only with Lirum but also his wife. To not remember anything is torture and he had hoped hers would come back quickly once Gongora was finished.

"We missed thirty years of her life. Thirty years!" Sarah tried not to wail, and it came out as little gasps instead. "She was alone in the ocean. She was alone for so long. She had a family, Kaim, and we missed every part!" Sarah grabbed onto his hand, holding it tightly. Kaim clasped it back, letting his thumb run along the ridges of her knuckles. "How do I get closure?" she asked. Kaim looked at her face and took his free hand to wipe at the fresh tears that came falling from her eyes. "Will it ever come back to me?"

"Your memories?" Kaim let go of her hand and laid it on her cheek. "I'm sure it will." He leaned in. Sarah hiccupped as he placed a small kiss to her forehead, and then her tear stained cheek. He didn't linger for too long, so he let his hand fall. "And I know it's hard to be near me—"

"Kaim, I'm so sorry." Sarah pulled away to take off her glasses then rest her face into her hands. She sobbed into them. Kaim stood up and went to his bag. Inside he found a clean cloth and brought it back to her. She lifted her head up when he sat down again, accepting his offer.

"I should be the one to apologize. I didn't mean to make you cry again." Kaim watched as she shook her head and wiped her nose. "But I'm here. I'm here with you, and you can talk to me. Please talk to me."

Sarah didn't answer right away. Kaim was getting up to take a walk outside, when her hand grabbed his own. She had put her glasses back on, but he could still see a trail of tears running down her face. "Thank you. I-I know it's not easy to be around me right now, with…everything."

"That's not it at all." Kaim smiled softly and gently tugged her onto her feet. He reached around and held the candle between them, jerking his head towards the front door. "Let's go outside and get some air. The night is just as refreshing as the day." Sarah followed him; their hands linked together.