Adrina sat by the tree near the gate that led to the Fanelian forest and read the fairytales book as the sun slowly dipped behind the mountains. Miraculously, these two things were still in tact when the rest of Fanelia had been destroyed. It was fate, she assumed, that two things she greatly cared about had survived while so many others had not.

It had been a month since the war ended. Adrina had awakened on a Zaibach floating fortress on her way to Fanelia. The soldiers had found her clutching Folken's body, unconscious. They had identified her as Adrina and had contacted Van, who had already gone back to Fanelia with Hitomi and Merle. Van had asked the soldiers to bring her to Fanelia and they had agreed. When she had awakened, Adrina had been scared and disoriented. She hadn't really relaxed until she had gotten safely back to Fanelia.

The repairs on the city had begun almost immediately after the people had regrouped. Everyone had been pitching in and the repairs were nearing completion. Now arrangements for Van and Hitomi's wedding were underway.

After much debate, Hitomi had decided to stay in Gaea with Van. Everyone had been thrilled for them, except Merle. At first, Merle had been upset about losing Van to Hitomi, but a cat boy about her own age had come to help with the repairs from a nearby village and they had been spending a lot of time together.

Adrina finished the last line of the book. And they lived happily ever after. Sometimes that was true, sometimes it wasn't. As her thoughts drifted her hand went automatically to the necklaces dangling around her throat, the feather and the dragon. Even after a month of healing and rebuilding, the pain of Folken's death was still a knife in her heart. The fact that Folken's body had disappeared before it could be admitted to the family crypt just made it harder to accept.

Adrina stood up and limping slightly, replaced the book to it's hiding place in the wall. She had injured her ankle after jumping from the platform in Zaibach but it was almost healed now. The sun had all but disappeared behind the mountains and she knew that Van would send someone to look for her if she wasn't back soon. She turned to go when a sound on the wind stopped her in her tracks. She listened intently and realized the sound was someone whistling. As the sound grew louder, the tune became clear and Adrina's heart skipped a beat. It was the lullaby.

Adrina turned towards the castle, expecting to see someone coming down the path to get her. The path was deserted. She listened again and distinctly heard it was coming over the wall, from the direction of the forest. No one used the forest path that Adrina knew of. The forest was still guarded by dragons and an unsuspecting person could be seriously hurt or even killed.

Not quite sure what to expect, Adrina walked around the wall and peered down the path. A man was approaching quickly and whistling as he walked. The fading light of the sun glinted off his light blue hair.

No! Adrina told herself, it's not him! He's dead! You held him as he died! His blood was all over you! You want to see him so much that you're imagining things. It's not healthy. You've got to get a hold of yourself!

The man neared her position by the wall an she could clearly see his face now, including the purple tear drop under his right eye. Adrina stared in shock as he stopped in front of her, a huge smile on his face.

"Hello, Rina."

Get a hold of yourself! Adrina told herself, you are hallucinating! You're...

"Are you going to say anything?"

Adrina snapped her head up and stared up at him. "How?"

"My mother," Folken informed, "she knew how much we wanted to be together and she healed me, even my arm." Folken held up his right arm, which was back to normal.

"Folken..." Adrina breathed. Before she knew it, he had swept her up into his arms and was peppering her face with kisses. After a few minutes, Folken set her back on her feet but she kept her arms around his neck. "Folken, tell me everything is going to be all right."

"Everything is going to be all right," Folken assured.

"And we're gonna live happily ever after?" Adrina insisted.

"Happily ever after," Folken promised.

Adrina smiled and kissed him again. "I love you Folken Laceur de Fanel."

"And I love you Adrina Krilee Celone."

"Forever and ever?" she smiled.

"Forever and ever," Folken agreed. He grabbed her hand and they started to the castle.

"You know Folken," Adrina started, "even angels fall, but that doesn't mean they can't redeem themselves." She unhooked the dragon necklace and handed it to Folken. "This is yours, although it hasn't been much in the way of luck."

"I told you I'd meet you by the tree," Folken reminded, "and I did, even if I was a little late. That seems pretty lucky to me."

"You're right," Adrina agreed, "better late than never."

He smiled down at her and hugged her again. "Come on, I think we have a King to speak with."

The two of them walked down the path towards the palace hand in hand as the rays of hte sun disappeared behind the mountains and dusk claimed the land.