Epilogue: One Year Later
I pulled my Costa's down over my eyes to shield them as I stepped out of the Honolulu airport. The sun blazed down in spectacular fashion as Rebecca and I waited on our ride. It had been one year since we had retrieved the apple from the lake. One long year since that day that I had to kill my own father. Things had changed since then. The global pandemic had started to die down significantly. A vaccine had been created and it had been quite effective. People were traveling again, taking off their face masks, and getting back to a normal life. As soon as travel restrictions had been lifted, Rebecca and I had booked this trip. Three weeks in a luxury resort in Hawaii. Just the two of us, away from everything, a break from any and all business involving the Assassin Brotherhood. After all that we had been through, I thought we had earned it.
I tightened my grip on the carry-on bag that I had in my hand. It had something in it that I refused to let go of. Our ride pulled up and the driver hopped out and helped us load our luggage in the back of the large SUV. I held onto the smaller bag that I had kept on me on the plane.
The ride to our resort was amazing. The driver was constantly pointing out different landmarks and telling us some of the best beach locations for whatever we wanted to do, from scuba diving, to surf lessons, to simply laying out in the sun. I marveled at the beauty of the ocean as Rebecca and I continued on. I still couldn't believe that I was actually in Hawaii. It was one of the most beautiful places that I had ever seen, not that I had seen much to compare. I could already tell that I would never be ready to leave.
"I can't wait to try that," I said as I looked out the window of the car at a group of people who were straddling surfboards, waiting for their wave of choice.
Rebecca had planned so much for us to do in the span of three weeks. We planned on enjoying every single second of this vacation. I had something extra special planned for one night in particular though. I thought about the small velvet box that was tucked away safely in my bag that I was keeping close to me. I was positive that Rebecca knew that a certain question was coming. I was horrible at keeping secrets after all, as she was so fond at pointing out, and I had been a nervous wreck ever since I picked up the ring two weeks ago. I had it all planned out, right down to the night that I planned on doing it.
It was late on a Tuesday evening as Rebecca and I were walking back to the resort after a full day of sightseeing. My face and arms were tinted red, as I knew that they would be. I wasn't one to actually tan. All I did was burn. My heart was racing. Tonight was the night. I walked into the lobby, thankful to be back in the cool air. Rebecca and I each had a few bags on our arms, spoils from the day of shopping. The man behind the counter smiled at us as we walked by. He was one of the owners of the resort and had been the one that I had been in touch with about tonight.
Rebecca glanced at me as we walked towards our room. The slight smile on her face told me that she knew what was coming, but it didn't make me feel any less nervous. I fumbled my key card and by the time I had leaned down to pick it up, Rebecca had already pulled hers out and unlocked the door. My hands were shaky as I pushed open the door.
What I saw inside blew me away. I had an idea on what the owner was going to be setting up, but it was beyond anything that I could have imagined. Candles lined the room, their flames dancing from the breeze coming from the ceiling fan. Bottles of wine and champaign were chilling in buckets of ice on the table, various types of fruit and chocolate were placed by the alcohol. A few heart shaped balloons had been strung up to various things throughout the entire room, and on the bed, sitting in the middle of a heart made entirely of rose petals, sat the little velvet box. It had been left open and inside it was a modest diamond ring.
I looked over at Rebecca as she walked into the room behind me and she had the biggest smile on her face that I had ever seen. "I knew it," she said softly, once again indicating that I was a terrible secret keeper. "Even still, holy shit. This is amazing." She walked over to the bed and pulled the ring from the box. Without a word, without me asking a single question, she slipped it onto her finger.
My heart raced as she pulled me into a tender hug and kissed me deeply. "Can I take that as a yes?" I asked when she finally released me.
Rebecca just smiled and kissed me again, making me feel like the luckiest woman alive.
Witchy's Final Notes:
Wow, what a journey this has been for me to get this written. It wasn't always. I'd go so far as to say that this was one of the hardest fanfics that I have written. Most of that is my fault as when I was in the planning stages, I had the hardest time penning an outline. In the end, I just started writing and let the story tell me where to go. That led to writers block and writing myself into a corner. But I got past that and got it done. Maddi and Rebecca's story is effectively over, unless something else comes to me. I am not sure what is next for me in this crazy world that is writing fanfiction, but hopefully it will come to me quickly. I have a few ideas that I have been sitting on, including a short one based in the Dragon Age Origins universe. I may visit that next, but I am still not entirely sure. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this tale. Until next time 33333333