"Mom! Stefan is annoying me again!"
Raven sighed. "Look, Luna, you need to learn to just cope with being around Stefan. He's your magic partner and you will be training with him until you are old enough to beat me and your Aunt Terra." She smirked and winked at Terra. "Besides, your father likes him, his father likes you, and there has been talk of just engaging the two of you to each other. How would you like that?"
Satisfied with her ten-year-old running off screaming about killing her father, the twenty-nine-year-old settled in to have her discussion with her best friend. "How long have we been married again? I use it to keep track of how old she is."
Terra rolled her eyes. "Ten years in a month. Stefan's nine years, two months, and Merriweather is three years, five months. You and Seifer have been married for the same amount. And he married you for what reason, seeing as how you act like he means nothing?"
Smiling slightly, Raven just shrugged. "Can you see me clingy? He's just not the type. Besides, I show appreciation in other ways." A devious smile graced her lips. "So are you planning on adopting any more kids?"
"Not right now. Stefan and Merriweather are enough. Besides, I want to enjoy having them this young. We're going to get old in the future. I just want to train my babies. Speaking of which, when are the twins due?"
"In about a month. A girl and a boy. Seifer was just a bit shocked when he heard that I was pregnant again, so I decided to not tell him that it's twins." She patted her pink-clothed belly fondly, imagining the look on her husband's face when he would be told. She had certainly changed over the years. "They're going to be born on Christmas Eve."
"It's a new moon," Terra cautioned.
"I know. Only one of them will be with our Goddess. But that's all right. Perhaps this girl will be my successor. Only time will tell . . ."
"Do you remember that day? When we fought those sorceresses and you got a heart? I never expected to live through that, let alone turn out so well."
Raven nodded, remembering where everyone ended up. All of the upper SeeDs- Squall, Irvine, Seifer, Quistis, Selphie, and Zell- went onto an "only if necessary" status and now were called only for advice and the occasional training assignment. They had all settled in a small cluster of cottages on the shore of the sea near Balamb, turning themselves into a town they named "Utopia". Zell fell in love with Selphie and Irvine surprised them all with dating and finally marrying Quistis. There were others who lived in Utopia, but all in all, there weren't that many. Everyone knew everyone else. Seifer and Raven had married. They went back home to Earth every once in a while, just to check up on everyone. Their fathers were able to come to their wedding on the planet, and, although Mr. Moss didn't fully approve of their unmarried state at the time of Flora's birth, he liked Seifer and adored his granddaughter, spoiling her beyond her imagination.
Luna's family was devastated by her death. As an only child, she was the only thing that they really lived for. They no longer kept contact with the two and, the last that they heard, they had become living zombies.
In the town of Utopia, Raven was a baker, partnered with, surprisingly, Squall. Seifer had opened a weapons shop where he made, sold, bought, repaired, and upgraded weapons. He also had a class that he taught and had promised the children that, at the right age, he would teach them.
Terra had opened a bed and breakfast, which was known throughout the entire continent as the best bit of paradise that you could find this side of heaven. Quistis was the schoolteacher for all the children that were old enough. Selphie ran a daycare, where her two-year-old triplets played, along with Quistis's two and a half-year-old girl, Terra's youngest, and all others under four.
Irvine had opened a restaurant that was rivaled only by the bakery and Terra's breakfasts. He had taken about three months before opening it to tour all the cities and find and create recipes. Zell had the general store where you could buy just about anything. He also helped out Seifer with his evening classes after the store was closed.
Terra and Raven had gotten closer over the ten years. Raven started to enjoy life and was now your typical mom. She wore black only on occasion and was known for being one of the best moms in the town. Terra grew more beautiful as she aged and that beauty was renowned, along with her successes.
Each year, the two would take a day to go through the town and check each of the children for any magical talent. A boarding house, run by Edea, was where anyone with magical talent stayed, whether from the town or elsewhere. Now magic was no longer looked down upon and people were getting their proper training.
Around the same time each year, one of them would go out and travel around to search for new potential. It was found in the strangest of places.
A few years earlier, Squall had found Ellone and received the news that she had died. She left behind two kids, Stefan and Merriweather, and Terra immediately adopted them. They had found out just before that Terra could not have kids due to trauma in the abdomen.
Making this place a true "utopia" was actually quite simple. There was a spell on the place to keep the people young and healthy until they saw their grandchildren grown. Then they slowly aged. However, the sorceresses and their spouses would be eternal until they were finally ready to end. There was no physical pain in all of Utopia and a man could do an honest day's work and come home to a loving family without stress and weariness from the day's work. Quarrels were more easily forgotten and there was no need for a lawyer in all of the vicinity. All were content and well-provided for.
Raven moved closer to Terra, and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. "Raven," Terra said, surprised. "It's a good eighty degrees out here, and yet you're so cold. Is something wrong?"
"I'm getting a little scared," Raven replied, almost in a whisper. "I'm getting such a bad feeling about these two." She put a hand over her developing uterus. "Something tells me that one of them is going to be our downfall… and it's such a terrible thing, having to go to war against your own child."
"Oh, Raven," Terra said to her. "What are you talking about? I thought I was supposed to be the one to take my worries overboard."
Raven stepped away, taking in the view of the town around them. It was so beautiful, so perfect… and yet…
"I fear that someday this town will be destroyed," Raven told Terra. "I can't bear the thought, but …all the same, it's there. This place is so wonderful, and to think that something might happen to it… it scares me."
Terra went to Raven's side and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's a good thing to prepare for the future," she said. "But let's not go too far ahead. Concentrate on nourishing your children for now. We'll face the next challenge when it comes."
"But can't you feel it?" Raven asked. "The wind is taking on a different chill. We can't ignore that, Terra; you know this, don't you?"
"I know that we mustn't worry ourselves like this, or we'd never be able to live normal lives," Terra responded. "But yes, I feel it too. Squall feels it, and Seifer feels it, as well as anyone who is sensitive to it. A time of change is coming. And when it comes, we'll face it the best we can, and hopefully, defeat it. We have a whole little army – us, our husbands, our friends, our children. We're a strong family, and that's how we'll protect our paradise, Raven – together, as a family."
"Do you think that we've found paradise, Terra? Or are we just fooling ourselves?"
Looking at her fellow sorceress, Terra just sighed. "Paradise is what you make it, Raven. And for me, I think that I'm just fine here, true paradise or not."
Sitting back, watching the sun set, Raven silently agreed. Until the end of her life, she would be here in Utopia. She was with those she loved. And that's all that mattered.