Epilogue

Until the End

it's the end? already? no! awww...well, here it is, i guess...i'm gonna miss you all...

"What?" came a dazed voice that made Albel gasp. "Where am I?"

The warrior scrambled over to the lidless glass coffin, all traces of fatigue gone. A woman with brilliantly red hair and startlingly green eyes was sitting in it, a confused expression on her beautiful face.

"Nel?"

She looked up at him. "Albel? But I thought I…"

"You were." He smiled and took her hand, eyes stinging with tears. "I brought you back."

"Why?" To his relief, she didn't sound angry.

"Because I…missed you. I wanted to see you so much."

She stared at the mark on his forehead. "You cast a Necromancy spell." He nodded. "It must have taken a lot of energy. I'm surprised you're still alive."

He nodded towards the Orb and Crosell,the dragonjustsittingthere in dumbstruck silence. TheOrb...well, the Orb justfloated there like it always did, glowing gently every now and again and spinning slowly."I had them helping me out."

The dragon moved towards her, lowering his head till he was eye-level. "Lady Nel. It is good to see you again."

"Crosell…" Reaching out, she stroked his snout, making him purr happily, the rumbling sounding like a small thunderstorm.

Albel broke then. Crying, he grabbed her round the waist, pulling her towards him, his slender frame trembling with his sobs. "I missed you so much," he whispered hoarsely into her ear. "I just had to see you, Nel. I just had to."

She held him, playing with his hair, letting it slide between her fingers. "I know. I heard you, whenever you came to see me. You sounded so upset. And your dreams! They were so horrible!"

She hugged him tightly, but sensed that there was something wrong. pulling back, she looked into his eyes. "Albel, what is it?"

"I...I'm sorry. if only i hadn't -"

She shook her head, pressing a slender finger to his lips, silencing him. "It wasn't your fault. There was no way you could have saved me from the ambush. There were just too many. Don't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

He sighed in relief. His posture seemed to change; his back was straighter, his eyes shone, as if some great burden had been lifted.

They kissed, and she smiled tenderly at him. "Crosell," she said to the dragon, "do you think you could fly us to the Traum Mountains?"

Albel grinned. There was a cave hidden away in the Traum Mountains that the couple had stumbled into during the first few weeks of their marriage. It had been their secret place, and every now and again he would go to visit it, and spend a few days there to think about his life.

Not that they had done much thinking when they were there. But they had an excuse; they were young, they were reckless, and they were curious about theElicoorian anatomy. Well...sort of.

"Certainly," Crosell said, drawing Albel out of his thoughts.

"Thank you."

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The moon rose. Nel smiled sadly and touched Albel's cheek, his unbound hair covering the two of them like a silk cloak.

"It's time, isn't it." The Captain's voice was soft and bitter with disappointment.

"Shush." She brushed some hair out of his face and kissed him. "Be grateful for what you had."

"I am, it's just…" he sighed. "I don't want you to go. I'll miss you."

"But you have to move on."

"I know. But I still wish we had more time."

She smiled. "You can't have everything in life." She looked up at the moon, frowning slightly. "It's nearly time." Already she was beginning to fade. The necromancy spell was filled with power, and the reason it could only last 24 hours was that slowly the power would overtake the body and destroy it completly.

"Wait!" He grabbed her arm, but his hand went through her.

"I can't."

"But I need to tell you something!"

"Then say it, quickly."

He paused. He had been waiting to tell her for so long… "I love you, Nel," he said finally. "I love you, and I'll always be with you, even when you're…dead. And I'll always love you, even if I find someone else."

She smiled and turned, but he wasn't done.

"And," he took a deep breath. "I'll always be here for you. I promise."

"Really?" She had faded so much it was almost impossible to make out her outline.

He nodded. "Together, forever, until the end."

well, that's it. the end. you've found out what he wanted to say, whether or not it was successful, and how long the story was. i'm really grateful that you all stuck through with me, through the bad chapters, and the...even worse chapters. yeah. anywho, thank you thank you thank you! and if you've neglected reviewing, then now's your last chance. please, it'll mean a lot to me.

so, i'd like you to do the checklist again...

what you like

what you don't like

what you hate

what you love

how well the characters are protrayed

what you think of the plot

an overall rating

and anything else.

so yeah, if you could do that, then ta! oh, and if you'd like to give me any more ideas, then feel free! i'd love to hear from all my lovely friend-girls-and-guys! otherwise, you won't see anything from me for a while...

thanks you all! ill miss you! bye!