NOTE: Just fyi; the Awakening parents thought it would be awkward to name their young children the same as their children from the future, so they chose different names. Cynthia is the exception, as she was dead by the time the new gen was born, so Gaius and Sumia didn't feel bad passing the name on.

Therefore all new gen kids have their JPN names, with the exception of those whose katakana is literally their English name or otherwise makes no sense transliterated:

Brody = new gen Brady

Nono = new gen Nah

The weeds and dared to show their faces again, and Severa swore at them, though her voice was less angry and more irritable. Damn these summer rains, she thought, tugging at the roots of the weeds until they loosened from the soil. Maybe if I asked Morgan, she'd curse the soil. Throwing the weeds over a nearby wrought-iron fence, she sighed. She'd never ask her to do that. Not here.

Footsteps crunched behind her, and Severa's ears knew whose they were instinctively. "Mother! Are you pulling weeds? Now? When you look so cute in the dress Father bought for you?" Brushing soil off her hands, Severa turned to find her daughter shaking her head.

"It was only a couple, and I was careful," she replied, "See? No spots."

Soleil clicked her tongue. "Still. Coming out here on a wedding day? That's bad luck, you know."

"Luck is what we make it," Severa said, turning back to her work to nab a last stubborn dandelion. "This is an important day. It wouldn't do to let her grave be untidy."

Crouching beside her, Soleil ran her hands along the face of the gravestone, brushing away the little moss that had accumulated in the stone grooves. "What about that one?" She asked, jerking her thumb at the grave plot beside the one on which they were working. "Aren't you gonna weed his grave too? I bet Great-aunt Lissa would appreciate it."

Severa shook her head, standing and gazing down at the little bundle of peonies she'd left on the mound. "Nope. He can weed his own damn grave."

"Well, he's dead, so…" Soleil spread her hands.

Severa stared at the grave, words buzzing in her head as they so often did when this topic came up. One day she intended to tell her daughter the truth, but…not today. "Is your father ready to go?"

Soleil nodded, throwing her hands behind her head as they walked towards the graveyard's entrance. "Said he's waiting for us." She yawned, stretching one arm up towards the sky. "I can't wait to see how cute Reflet and Degel look in their bridesmaid dresses. Aunt Luna too. And Uncle Azur is going to be there and he's gonna dance while Brody and Brady play their fiddles…I literally can not wait another second."

"Is that what you're wearing?"

"Yes. Why?"

"What happened to the dress Nana Olivia picked out for you?"

Soleil avoided her mother's eyes. "Nono said it made me look peaky. And I'd rather wear trousers anyway. They're more comfortable for dancing with cuties in high heels."

Severa smiled, an expression that had become almost commonplace on her face. "You look wonderful no matter what you wear. Nono has no right to say anything, anyway. Have you seen what her mother wears?" Mild vexation at the manakete trio's perpetual youth flickered in her face.

Patting her mother's shoulder, Soleil winked at her. "Don't worry, Mother. Of all the cuties in Ylisstol, you're always the cutest."

A wry expression twisted Severa's mouth. "Well. Thanks, I suppose. Do you have the tickets?"

"Got 'em right here." Soleil reached into her pocket and pulled out a little paper envelope. "Imagine having a big enough wedding that you have to give out tickets." She watched her mother count and recount them. "I just barely remember you and Father's wedding. How old was I then?"

"You were four, and very mouthy," Severa recalled, tucking the tickets in her handbag. "You wore the puffiest dress your Grandma Cordelia could buy, and you performed a dance at the reception. You also tried to sing, but…we won't talk about that."

Soleil cringed. "Did…everyone watch?"

"Of course. You were the best part of the whole day."

Pink stained Soleil's cheeks at the thought, and she hoped no one remembered it now. Looking up, she waved her arms. "Look, there's Father at the cathedral doors! Come on, hurry up!"

"I'm too old to hurry," Severa grumbled, but she picked up her pace.

Inigo held his hand out to help his wife up the cathedral stairs. "Hello, my darling. You look…simply ravishing today."

Severa squinted at him. "What do you want?"

"I want to compliment my beautiful wife. Is that fine by you?" Exasperation tinted Inigo's words. "Soleil, do you hear how your mother treats me? Soleil?" He looked around, but his daughter had already entered the church, searching for her friends. Sighing, he stuck his lower lip out.

Severa reached up and flicked it with the hand that wasn't holding his. "Poor dear. Come on; in we go."

"Tell me; how many years have you waited for this day?"

"Many." Severa's eyes were far away. "They grew up with Soleil and I always told them…told them to take care of each other."

Inigo swiped at the corner of one of her eyes. "And so they did. I hear she baked the wedding cake herself. I can't wait to taste it; she's quite the baker."

She squeezed his hand fondly, leading him through the doors and past a hand-lettered sign that read: Wedding of Eudes and Cynthia; Entrance by Invitation only.

Soleil kicked a pebble a few yards down the road, then hurried up to it and kicked it again. Her parents were bickering again, which didn't fool her; bickering were how her parents liked each other best, and when they were done they'd look at each other with those dopey eyes and…ugh. They were so cute. But so gross. But still so cute.

She should be glad her parents were happy, and she was, truly. They could be constantly training, like Degel's parents, or irresponsible like Nono and Nah's mother. They could even be like Reflet's parents, who were whispered about behind closed doors by people with the guts to gossip about what happened between the Exalt's best friend and his oldest daughter.

Thankfully, boringly, her parents were not that interesting, though they did sometimes talk in a language Soleil couldn't understand and mentioned places and people she wasn't sure even existed. And sometimes their arguments drove her insane, like today.

As she walked, she hummed a little, her voice rough and exceedingly off-key. As usual, the streets were starting to clear out as the day wound to a close. Maybe she'd drop by her favorite tea shop and see if they had any leftover pastries.

Luck was with her, and she bought the rest of the shop's cherry turnover stock for the day. "No date with you today, Soleil?" The shop's owner teased. "That's unusual."

"Well, everyone's been busy lately, what with the wedding and all." This was mostly true. The full truth was a little less flattering and involved one of her conquests finding out about another of her conquests and causing (well-deserved) drama.

The shopkeeper tsk'd. "I'm glad the wedding is over and people are leaving. There's been some odd birds around. Did you see the girl that passed by not too long ago? Looked almost Plegian, but she was skulking about like a burglar and muttering to herself. I wonder if she's in her right mind."

Soleil tucked the box of pastries under her arm. "Which direction did she go?" Was she cute?

"Towards the smithy. Dressed all in yellow; doubt you could miss her."

With a thank-you and a casual wave, Soleil left the shop and turned left towards the smithy as indicated. She jogged a few blocks, careful not to smash her pastries, then skidded to a stop when she found who she was looking for.

In the hanging lanterns of the street, the girl did resemble a Plegian dark mage, with her revealing attire and flat sandals, but she carried herself differently and had feathery hair the color of wild oat flowers. This was unusual in Plegia, where hair color tended to be either flat black or pale white. She was talking to herself, just as the shopkeeper had said, but as Soleil tiptoed closer, she realized the language she spoke was far too guttural to be Plegian.

Curiosity overtook her, and she approached the odd girl, stuffing her hands casually in her culotte pockets. "Hello there, sunflower," she said when she was in speaking distance.

The girl whirled around, one hand flying to her face as if to shield it. "Greetings," she said, striking a pose. "My senses are befuddled such that I did not hear you approach!"

Soleil met her eyes and immediately flushed pinker than her own hair. Praise be unto Plegia, or wherever she was from, for popularizing skin-baring clothing for mages. "Haven't seen you around town," she said smoothly, trying not to stare. "Where ya from?"

"I am from the space where the evening meets the sultry star-drenched hour," the girl said, still posed. Her accent was like none Soleil had ever heard, though her Common was fluent and clear. "I am from a land where night rules, far unlike this fair sun-kissed town! This town, whose name is…is…"

"Ylisstol?" Soleil asked, bemused.

The girl swapped poses. "Ylisstol! Yes! In the heart of Ylisse! Land of my Exalted father and my unmet kindred!"

"Well," Soleil said, pressing her lips together and raising her eyebrows. "I'm Soleil. Did you need help finding your…eh…kindred?"

"You are too kind!" The girl stepped forward, grasping her hands. "You offer help to a stranger whose dark power you know not! Are you a goddess? Or are you simply foolish?"

Soleil leaned back a little, unused to being the one flattered, if flattery was even this girl's aim. "I'm neither, I think. I am, however, at your disposal. What can I do to help a cutie like you?"

"If you would only point me towards—" The girl's stomach growled loudly, and she finally dropped her pose, wilting a little. "Truthfully I…I haven't eaten all day and I have no currency from your land…"

The shamed flush on her face was enough to stop Soleil's heart. "Come with me," she said, winking at her. "I can fix that."

"Mother! MOTHER!" Soleil threw open the door to their suites in the castle's inner housing section. "Do we have any leftovers from supper?"

"How many times have I told you to be gentle with that door?" Severa's voice called from another room. "If I hear you slam it one more time, you're going to be the one paying to fix the hinges next time, you hear?"

"Sorry, Mother," Soleil called, making a face at the girl, who had entered the suite almost apologetically. "Seriously, it's fine. Come on in. Mother yells a lot, but she's harmless."

Severa stomped into the kitchen, her short hair clipped up to keep it out of her face. "Where have you been?" She stopped at the sight of the unfamiliar girl. "Who have you brought home now?"

"Mother, this is…" Soleil faltered. "Um…"

"You don't know the name of the girl you brought home?" Severa sighed. Of all of Inigo's personality traits to pass onto his offspring, it just had to be debauchery, didn't it?

The girl stepped forward. "My most humble greetings to you! Your star-blessed daughter Soleil found me adrift in the streets, nearly famished to the point of illness, and kindly offered me nourishment."

"Is that all she offered you?" Severa asked dryly, looking the girl up and down. She took in the girl's Nohrian clothes, a spark of bewildered recognition flickering in her eyes. "What's your name?"

"I…" The girl said, twirling into her original pose, the one she'd first struck when she met Soleil, "…am Ophelia Dusk! The stars have aligned, nudged by the fair finger of fate such that we might meet this day!"

The color drained from Severa's face as she stared at Ophelia, disbelief and hope jockeying for position. Soleil looked from her mother to Ophelia and back again, confused. "Do you two know each other?"

Ophelia shook her head, dropping her hand. "How could we? This be our first meeting, however joyous."

"Mother?"

Severa shook her head, looking Ophelia up and down as if she had become an entirely different person. "We've…never met." She slowly unclipped her hair, still staring. "There's chicken in the pantry, Soleil. I'm going to…I'm going to find your father."

In a small town near the border between Nohr and Hoshido, there is a sizable house with enormous windows to tempt in as much pale Nohrian sunshine as possible. A family of three, known by the neighbors to be both rich and eccentric, lives there, though they seem to have a constant stream of family and friends going in and out.

Rumors in the surrounding towns range from plausible to absurd; some say they are a family of nobles who had been involved in Nohrshidan reconstruction efforts, while others say they have ties to the royal family. One rumor even spread that the mistress was one of the Nohrian princesses herself—the one that didn't marry into the Hoshidan royal family—but that was quickly shouted down as impossible. After all, why would a princess be in a backwater border town instead of at Krakenburg?

Sometimes large caravans of coaches bearing the Nohrian crest can be seen pulling around the back, disappearing into a walled space behind the house. Sometimes Hoshidan flags are draped from the balcony and the smell of grilled fish and azuki beans floats all the way to the horse farm over the hill. These are the days when fields behind the house is lit with a thousand twinkling lanterns and, if you listen, you can hear violins and the strings of a koto.

In the daylight hours of the summer, when Nohr's nights are shorter and warm, the family of three can be seen walking together along the lane and through the trees. Sometimes they carry picnic baskets, sometimes weapons, and sometimes nothing at all—but they are always, always laughing.

In a graveyard in Ylisstol there are two graves next to each other; one older and better cared-for than the other. When the second grave was dug, however, despite it being empty, a new headstone was placed to connect the two, reading:

Cynthia and Owain

together forever

oOoOo

oOoOo

The End

Hello beautiful people! Nine thousand years and one pandemic later I finally wrote the epilogue for this story...thank you for reading it despite the wait! I got super burnt out and was not proud of the last chapters of this story and so took a break, then COVID anxiety has made writing the equivalent of wriggling through cold molasses with my arms and legs tied together.

Anyhow, all's well that ends well. Thank you all for your support and for hanging out with Odin, Severa, Inigo, Elise, Cynthia, and all the rest of us through this story! If you dropped me a comment it would mean the absolute world to me!

Stay safe out there, friends, and if you're interested, I'm going to be starting a three houses AU fic soon...