A/N: Here it is, the last chapter of this trilogy! This will more than make up for the last chapter, I promise! This takes place some time after Chapter 7, and I hope you enjoy it! I'm going to miss this story, but stay tuned for my follow-up story that should be up in a few days!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Flickering Flames: The Epilogue
A milk-white kudarung swooped low beneath the clouds that hung over the palace of Corus, looking like a furry cloud itself. The mare flew on huge white wings, and didn't even pause as people below her turned to stare. Only three years ago, kudarung were an unheard of sight in Tortall, but now they were becoming common.
The mare's target in sight, she angled her wings, banking into the wind. Fifteen miles away from the palace—a full day's ride—rose a thundering waterfall that crowned the lush fief and gave it its name—Kudarung Falls.
Smaller streams and creeks dotted the fief, as well as abundant trees and meadows, but the jewel was the waterfall, falling from a thousand feet into a deep pool, which seemed to be endless. Rainbows danced across its waves, highlighting the large manor that sat below it on a small hill. The house was far enough away from the waterfall not to be crushed, but close enough that from a distance, it looked like it was inside the waterfall.
Kudarung of all colors and sizes dotted the fields and trees, playing, grooming or just grazing. Their multi-colored wings and bodies glowed in the sun like so many gems thrown on the lush green carpet of grass, and each had a metal band around its left front leg to identify it.
The mare set down on a small rise above the house, looking down at the scene spread before her. The red metal band on her leg identified her as one of the six original kudarung from the Copper Isles. She tossed her mane, snorting, and watched as the miniature kudarung swirled around like a flock of sparrows.
Humans scurried too and fro, making sure the kudarungs were fed and none were injured. Just in below the house, a canopy was set up, and most of the kudarung were congregating there. Figuring it must be feeding time, that mare took off again, eager to find out what was going on.
"I must say, Dani, you do know how to run a fief." Keianna looked at her granddaughter with pride and smiled. Next to her, Kaelyn smiled and continued to tease a miniature kudarung foal. The bay foal was squeaking indignantly and trying to nip her fingers.
"You really have," Kayla echoed from where she sat nearby, resting against the flank of a pinto mare. She spread her arms wide, as if to encompass the fief. "Who knew that kudarung would become so popular?"
Dani grinned as she rocked her three-month old daughter in her arms, and told her mother, "The court always wants what's new and different, and no one has ever had a kudarung before!"
Kei nodded. "These miniature ones are especially prized, I take it?" She brushed her hand at one that was pulling at her gray hair, her blue-gray eyes sparkling. She was nearly sixty, but she and Kaelyn had retained their youthfulness as well as their regal bearing.
"Dani!" Shyam's voice could be heard over the thundering waterfall, and Dani looked up. Racing ahead of her twin was her four year old son, Aaron. He flung himself at her, his small face glowing.
"Mama!" He cried, his black hair bouncing and his blue eyes glowing, "a baby kudarung was born just now, and Uncle Shyam said I could have it!"
Dani smiled at her enthusiastic son. "Did he now? Well, just remember you have to be careful with it. It's still a baby."
Aaron nodded solemnly. "Yes, Mama," he said obediently, "I'll be careful. It's only a baby, like Aliza." With that, he had raced off again, and Dani sighed after him, turning to her twin.
"I'm assuming that you didn't just need me for a birth announcement?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Shyam shook his head, looking frazzled. "The king has ordered another flock of miniature kudarung for the court ladies and three more full grown ones."
"What?" Dani gasped. "Another flock? We only have two more flocks, and one needs to be here to breed! Tell him we can't get him another flock until Midsummer."
Shyam shifted, looking uncomfortable. "The message said the king was will to double the payment if we got it there before Midsummer." He grinned. "Apparently the court ladies are giving him a lot of grief about it."
Dani froze. "Double?" She asked, disbelieving, thinking of what all that money could do for the fief. She sighed, then waved him off. "Go tell the king that he'll have his flock before Midsummer."
Shyam grinned, then leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Thanks, Dani." He turned and left, followed by his enthusiastic nephew, only to be replaced five minutes later by his wife.
"Dani!" Rhia called, her six year old daughter trailing behind. "Have you seen Tara? I was taking count of the herds and she's nowhere to be seen."
Her answer came in the form of the milk-white kudarung trotting out of the woods, a palomino stallion at her side. The original Copper Isles kudarung, they were slimmer than their born-and-bred Tortallian counterparts. The Tortallian kudarung were a bit shaggier in the winter, to keep out the cold, and they were a bit heavier.
'Tara!" Rhia cried, relief lighting her green eyes.
"'Ara!" Siya cried, running forward to hug the mare around the legs. Of all the kudarung, Tara was her favorite, and Rhia had promised her Tara's next foal. The mare lowered her head to lip the child's brown hair affectionately, then waited patiently as the six-year old scrambled onto her back.
"You stay right there, Siya," Rhia warned. "I need to find one of the lost foals, and I don't need you coming with me and getting lost too."
The girl pouted for a minute, and then she brightened. "Okay, Mommy."
A crow swooped low out of the trees, surprising Dani by landing on her shoulder. "Hello dearest," she told the crow affectionately. The crow gave a soft caw and darted into the front door of the house. A few minutes later, Elsu Crow appeared.
"Uncle Elsu!" Siya cried happily, her hazel eyes lighting up as she bounced up and down on Tara's back. The mare snorted, and the girl quieted, but she beamed enthusiastically.
Elsu crossed to Dani's side, pressing a kiss to her cheek and stroking his daughter's hair. "Where's Aaron?" He asked, looking around for his wayward son.
"Annoying his uncle at the moment, I believe," Dani replied, grinning. Elsu took Aliza from her, rocking his daughter as she cooed up at him, smiling with a toothless grin and eyes as brown as his.
Dani settled next to her mother, suddenly tired. "Who knew running a fief was this much work?" She wondered aloud, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. Black hair melded into black hair as the two women rested against each other, tired from all the activity. The pinto mare shifted beneath them, but blue-green and crystal blue eyes slowly fluttered shut, regardless of the movement.
Keianna looked at her twin, yawning. "That sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" Kaelyn nodded, her green eyes drooping. In a moment both queens were asleep, their slumber erasing the lines off their face and making them appear twenty years younger.
Aliza had fallen asleep under her father's care, and Elsu looked around, wondering at the silence. Seeing his wife and mother-in-law asleep, he put Aliza snugly between them, making sure she couldn't fall and be injured.
Softly he whistled for Adish, and the palomino stepped forward obediently. Elsu grinned, mounting the stallion bareback. The wind blew, stirring the crow's blood in his veins. He watched the clouds pass over him, and grinned at the bright blue sky.
It was a great day for a flight.
A/N: Well, that's the end, folks! Good, bad, crappy? Tell how you liked it by reviewing, and stayed tuned for my next story!