Quick author's note:

I guess this is a thing now? I can feel this whole thing coming to a close though, so that's nice I guess.


The first thing that she noticed when they entered town was how many children there were, and how many of them clumped around Gilbert. He didn't react that much, and she judged that this was most likely a frequent occurrence. His mask of neutrality seemed to melt away as he listened to one of the children talk, and it was like watching a new person show themselves for the first time.

She stood there quietly for a moment, looking on, when a young boy tugged against her skirt. She looked down and stared at him curiously. The boy gave her a once over, and once she was deemed satisfactory, he beamed and asked, "You're the post office lady, right?" She nodded, even though she didn't technically have a post office job yet.

"Yes, I am." To be.

"Why are you here with our teacher?" he asked curiously, and she bit the inside of her cheek, unsure of how to respond. She was here to be with Gilbert. How would a child understand the meaning behind her choice? Would he?

Did she?

"I'm showing her around town," Gibert said, interrupting her doubtful thoughts, "and I'm going to show her the lighthouse."

Excited chatter rippled through the gaggle of children as they expressed their desire to join the two on their "adventure". He turned to her. "Do you want them to come?" he asked, and she nodded. "Yes. I think it'd be nice to have some company."

The children seemed to agree with her as they crowded around the pair and once again, the excited hum began as they started the walk.

One of the younger children suddenly gripped her hand tightly and gasped in shock when she felt hard metal instead of soft, yielding flesh. Immediately, her hands became the talk of the group- they all wished to see her prosthetic arms, and marveled at them, touching them and whispering curiously and giggling in awe and asking questions. "Can you feel things?" one girl asked, and she nodded. "Yes, well, sometimes. I feel them most where they are attached to my actual arms." A chorus of awestruck 'wows' went up and she smiled and dipped her head a little, unused to the attention.

"Can you write with them?"

Her lips twitched upwards at the question. "Yes."

"Do they give you superpowers?"

She was taken aback for a second, and the kids giggled at her expression. "No… I don't believe I have any powers," she said slowly, and some of the boys sighed in disappointment. "You'd be even cooler if you had superpowers," one of them mumbled, and she smiled appreciatively at the compliment, turning to Gilbert to ask if he had heard. He smiled a little, the absence of melancholy in his eyes making her feel a little better herself.

She rose to her feet and the children stayed close to her, laughing and talking and complaining. Gibert was up ahead, walking with his own group of kids, and he was immersed in a conversation with one of his pupils. Her eyes misted a little, and she blinked away the spell that had come over her, looking down when she felt a tug on her skirt. "Post office lady?" a little girl that she hadn't seen before asked. She knelt. "Yes?" The urge to correct them had long since vanished- being called a 'post office lady' was far more entertaining than being called by her actual name. "Are you and Master gonna get married?"

Time itself seemed to freeze for an awkward moment, and she was secretly glad that Gilbert was farther ahead and didn't hear. "What… made you think that?" she managed, and the girl tilted her head slightly. "He looks at you weirdly," she responded matter-of-factly. "He doesn't look at any of the other girls in our village the way he looks at you. You're special."

All she could do was nod. "I... I'm not sure about the future," she said at last. "All I can say is that I hope to get closer to him a little more each day."

"You're gonna get married," the girl said in a sing-song voice, and she shook her head as she rose to her feet. "Maybe." Before she could settle into her thoughts, another child snatched her hand and she was led forward by her tour guides.


Most of the children left them alone before they reached the cliffs, and waved them goodbye before turning and running back into town. The brave few who stayed behind remained glued to Violet and Gilbert's sides, flinching at the heavy crash of the waves below.

After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the lighthouse. She knew where it was to a degree- she could recall arriving in a cloud of grief and despair, and those feelings only worsened upon hearing the news of Yuris' rapidly deteriorating health.

She managed to keep a straight face and walked forward, approaching the structure, feeling like she was seeing it for the first time. Gilbert was at the door, waiting, his loyal pupil gripping his leg tightly. She approached the pair, her hand tightly clutched by a little boy. She looked up at Gilbert.

They stared at each other, then he turned to the door. "Let's go." He eased the little girl off his leg and slowly opened the door with a long, eerie creak.

Was she ready? The first time she'd been here, things had been different. And now...

She closed her eyes and sucked in a silent breath. She wasn't one to question orders. So she urged the boy along and entered in behind him.


The door slammed shut and she gasped quietly. Those same painful feelings began to overwhelm her, and at the same time, her young friend began to whimper, pressing himself against her legs and preventing her from walking properly. She stooped and managed to hold his gaze in the darkness. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice echoing through the building. "No," he replied, "it's scary. I don't like it here."

"It'll be okay," she said hesitantly, unsure of herself and her words. He didn't seem to believe her either, because he didn't take another step forward. "Post office lady, what's your name?" he asked, and she was surprised that he was interested in learning it. "My name? Violet. Violet Evergarden."

"W-will you stay with me?" he asked shakily, and she nodded. His words weighed heavily on her, although he didn't realize it. "Pinky promise?" he said, holding out his hand and wiggling his pinky.

"Hey, can you do a pinky promise?"

"...A pinky promise?"

"Yeah. You just link your pinkies with each other, kind of like this. And then... you swear you'll keep whatever promise you made."

She stared at his hand for a moment, then reached up and slowly linked her pinky with his, her metal joints squealing lightly. "Pinky promise."

Thank you, Violet.


Well this was long. Next chapter will probably be the conclusion, or maybe not. We'll see. I'm sorta going on like a tangent but in chapter form, so hopefully I can rein it in and bring this to a nice neat, in-a-bow ending.

(I included a scene from Violet Evergarden: The Movie (2020), in case it wasn't already obvious.)