Epilogue: Blowing in the Wind

"And, mommy? Did Granny returned and stayed with Uther for forever?", sweet little Audrey asked curiously, eager to listen to the ending of her granny's love story.

Alen, who was a little older than his six-year-old sister, already knew there was no 'then'. Otherwise, he would be the heir to House Ostia's throne, and he wasn't. Unless his mother…

"There was not a 'then', sweetie", Vivien, the sibling's mother and Alina's daughter said, calmly. "Your gran did less than a month travelling when she felt something was wrong, and went rushing all the way back to Ostia, just to find in the middle of her journey an Ostian spy who told her that Uther wasn't well. She then learnt that he died a few weeks later, of the same illness that took his parents from him and his brother. Then his brother Hector took the throne and ruled Ostia and the Lycian League wisely, as Uther would have expected from him", she said, sighing. "Anyway, your granny stayed around, travelling from village to village within Ostia, because she was so sure about her next destination, and maybe because she was following her intuition, women's sixth or seventh sense", she added, drying up a small tear. Thinking that way of her mother, who was visiting her family in Juggdral, always made her sad.

"But… she never saw him again? That spy guy hadn't took her to him?", Audrey asked, quickly. She couldn't understand how it could have end so sad. And she wasn't going to forgive that spy if he or she just told her grandma the news and then left.

"That… I don't know", Vivien said, thoughtfully. Her brown big eyes were shinning sadly. "Mother never told me that, and I never dared to ask her, because it always pained her to think in that", she explained.

"But how do you know that story?", eight-year-old Alen asked, impressed. "Does grandpa know about it?"

"Of course he does, and he accepts it", her mother replied, now smiling. "He loves your gran so much, and that story doesn't bother him, because he knows how she felt, and he can't change the past, after all. He even offered naming your uncle Luke after him, but she refused. She wasn't going to torture his first child with that kind of tribute. She never liked that", she added, in fond remembrance.

The boy thought in his grandfather, now with his granny at Juggdral, after so many years. How could he accept that, how could he understand his wife in the way he did? That made him even more prouder of what he was, concerning his grandparents.

The three of them stayed silent, as if they needed time to understand the story. Vivien hadn't been so convinced of telling her little children her mother's story, but they insisted on learning more things about their grandma, and as they promised not to pester her when she returned from her homeland, she accepted. They had already heard much about their grandpa's quests in the past, and about her own journeys and their father's adventures, so now it was time for their granny…

"When I grow up, I want to be a tactician like granny, and have tons of adventures like the ones she had!", Audrey exclaimed happily, all of a sudden. Her sadness longed little, thankfully.

"Nah, it's so boring to just guide others", Alen said, without sharing his sister's enthusiasm. "I want to have adventures, too, and action, and to wield… an axe! Yes, an axe! Or maybe a sword, or even a bow…", he started naming, trying to make up his mind.

Vivien giggled, and her reddish brown hair moved gently.

"Seems it's a family tradition that all the females become tacticians", Vivien, a recognized tactician herself, said, cheerfully. "But it would be useful to learn how to use a sword, also. So you can protect yourself from bandits and from annoying people, was one of Mother's favorite sayings", she added, smiling. "She finally learnt to wield a slim sword, by the way. Although she never learnt to travel with an escort", she said, for her children's interest.

The door opened, and the kids went straight to it. A tall, blonde haired man entered, and hugged the children, under Vivien's nice smile, which resembled Alina's one so much.

"Daddy!", Audrey exclaimed, in her dad's arms. "Mom told us a lot about granny. I want to be a tactician like her!"

"Really, sweetie?", the man asked, happily. "You still have time to decide, but I'm happy if you choose that", he added, winking his eye to his wife. "It would be great to be the son-in-law of the 'Wind Tactician' or 'Wind Lady', married to the 'Brownish Sigh' and father of the 'Light Green Jewel'", he said, holding his daughter in his arms and touching her light hair, which seemed to be neither green nor blonde, while referring to Alina, Vivien and his own daughter, respectively. "It's a pity that I couldn't be taht famous for myself", he added, faking some sorrow.

Vivien laughed.

"I never knew why they called her like that if her affinity is Moon, not Wind", she noticed, resigned. "Well, it had to be for her habit of running away once she had finished her job"

"You really had the habit of sighing and of disappearing like a sigh", her husband joked, laughing. "I had to run behind you to get your name and address, after meeting you the first time"

"Dad, did you know that I could have been heir to Ostia's throne?", Alen asked, trying to get his father's attention.

"Hmm, yes. Your mother told me something some time ago", he said, thoughtfully.

"Don't start daydreaming, Alen", Vivien said, giggling. "You are forgetting your uncle. He would have been the first in the succession line. I'm the younger sibling", she said, breaking the boy's dream.

"I hadn't thought in that", Alen said, saddened. His fantasy of having been the heir to the most powerful house in Lycia was demolished by reality.

"Hey, you don't like your commoner, active life?", Garth, his father, asked, acting offended.

"It's not that…", the oldest sibling said, resigned.

"Oh, come on. Let's stop talking about the past. Dinner is ready", Vivien said, coming from the kitchen and setting up the table.

***

It was a starry, cool night, like all those Autumn nights over Elibe. Vivien was outside her home, staring at the bright stars, shinning like little playful children up in the sky. She had already sent her children to bed, and they were certainly sleep, as she checked later, before going out. Garth, his caring husband, was also sleeping, but in a sofa in the living room, where he laid down to rest for a little while. She was the only one still awake.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a pair of strong, warn and familiar arms embraced her, affectionately.

"What is the matter, darling?", Garth asked her, still sleepy.

"Nothing", she replied, thoughtfully. "It's just that I wanted to think a little. Mom's story amazes me and saddens me at the same time. I can't help it, but it's always the same", she said, trying to find an answer for her state.

"Yes, she was quite strong, after all", he said, now full awake. "And your dad also. He knew from the very first time about that event"

"Yes, but I get more sad than Mom when I think of that story", Viv complained, annoyed. "Maybe it is because I hadn't lived something like that, thankfully. But she always tried to look ok when she thought of those days… And she loves Dad greatly, so that makes me happy", she said, smiling.

"Well, he surely chased her, so he had to feel something strong for her, hadn't he?", Garth joked. "Come on, don't get so sad. Being nasty, I have to thank that she didn't marry Uther, because I would have never had the chance to meet you, and you wouldn't be like you are now", he said, whispering next to her ear. "Now, thanks to that, I have you in my arms… my wonderful and lovely tactician"

Vivien smiled, and washed away her fears and sadness.

"You are right. I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't have a lovely husband and a lovely family", she said, smiling. "But, at the end, Mom wasn't that unlucky. Although she seemed to have a soft-spot for ultra caring guys", she said, now normally.

"Yes, my father-in-law was always caring about you and about the rest of the people, wasn't he?", Garth asked her, curious.

"Don't remind me that!", she exclaimed, laughing. "Yes, he was always looking after the others more than about himself. Although he wasn't that stubborn as Uther, according to what I got from Mom's story. But that must go down with the family", she said, getting a bit serious. "Why did you take that long to come home? You finally helped the farmers outside the village, hadn't you?"

Garth blushed, and tried to evade his wife's sight.
"Well… alright, I admit it: yes", he said, trying to make a satisfactory alibi, but he failed even before starting to think in one. "Hey, they only needed some wood to build their barn! It's something that can help all of us", he said, trying to convince her.

"While you don't overdo it or overexpose ourselves because of your Samaritan actions, everything's ok", Vivien said, trying to calm herself. "I don't want to miss you or to keep on worrying over you", she said, now lovingly.

"Darling… you don't have to fear that much", he said, hugging her tighter. "Everything will be alright", he said, leaning his face in her head.

Both of them stayed there, watching at the stars, feeling the kind wind, which seemed like a caress.

"Honey?", Garth asked, thoughtfully.

"Yes?"

"Had your Mother seen him, in the end?", he asked her, curious and touched.

Vivien stood still for a while, thoughtfully. The wind seemed kinder that before, lightly and gentle. She stayed there, feeling it, sensing it, enjoying it. As if it were saying something important.

"I don't know", she admitted, once again. "But I think she did", she said, closing her eyes to feel the majestic gentle wind blowing at her side her. "It couldn't have ended that bad…"

Garth nodded, and hugged her again, holding her close to his chest, as if he too wanted to listen to the wind and its unknown and supposed message…

The End

*****

Finally…

Sorry for having written those long, LONG chapters. I couldn't stop writing and I couldn't find a nice way to post them in different chapters or to cut some parts. I hope someone has finished reading it and enjoyed it (=P), as much as I enjoyed writing it. Again, sorry for the huge chapters.

It was supposed to have an open ending in chapter 5, but when I read Hector's fate (and Uther's fate, 'in'directly) in the ending, unless I created a parallel universe, I saw I couldn't use the ending I had first planned –which was a silly, romantic comedy one, that I changed quickly for something similar to my actual chapter 5, although it was quite open.

I hope you've liked it, and if you really finished it, please tell me what do you think, even if you tell me that I'm a better spy or saleswoman than a writer (but don't be THAT mean, or else I'll send you a virus... Now that I think of it, I have that bad luck that I would infest my own computer and you would just receive a wordless message =P I'm not that mean as this sounds, forgive me =D). No, really, tell me what do you think, because it's my first experiment in the 'romantic comedy' area (yes, 'comedy', it was supposed to have more humor), and I love reviews =P.

Well, see you, maybe I can come with more Alina and FE craziness (after dealing with my other fics, of course!)

I can't say goodbye! It's so strange to have finished it, being this one the first multi-part fic I finish! Ouh, isn't that sweet? =D

Well, good luck, take care, and please tell me what do you think of this one…

Nilke

PS.: How do you think I developed Uther's character? Is he convincing? And what about Alina? I know, I should have asked this before... =D