The last chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading the story. Takara means treasure or precious object.
Epilogue:
Mika stared down into the face of her small daughter Takara. The beautiful newborn princess cooed happily as her mother rocked her.
Hoshi smiled, holding his precious wife and child in his arms. The battle still seemed like a nightmare to him, and he knew Mika would never be fully over the lives she had been forced to take. He could remember seeing Mika collapse, her light almost completely extinguished. The coming troops had fled when they felt the full power of Princess Serenity and Leiko had died in his last desperate attack, but she had been barely alive. He had pulled her toward him, desperate to find something to help her. A small jewel had appeared suddenly just above them and emitted a warm, comforting bright light which had covered them.
When it faded, Mika lay in his arms fully healed, except for the palms of her hands which had been badly burned by her own power. Not only had she been healed, but the landscape around them no longer showed the aftereffects of battle, and his own wounds were gone. She looked up at him sleepily, the jewel now clutched in her hands and whispered, "Can we go home now?"
Hoshi's eyes moistened and he held her close. "Yes, love. Let's go."
Returning to the palace, they found that everyone there had also been healed.
"The Silver Crystal," Pluto had whispered a awe, when she saw the jewel. "I thought it was gone for good. It disappeared with the king and queen."
"How did it get back here?" Aiko asked, "And why did it do that?"
"It was my parents' last wish," Mika whispered. With every eye now on her, she explained further. "I could here their voices when the crystal was activated. As they died they wished that the kingdom and its inhabitants would be healed after the final battle with the enemy. That includes all of us."
"The Silver Crystal always grants one last wish when its full power is activated," Mars murmured, remembering past experiences with the crystal. "It must have disappeared because until it completed the final wish of the king and queen, it could not be used again."
"So why didn't Mika's hands heal?" Aiko asked.
"My guess would be because those wounds were not made by the enemy, but by Mika herself," Mercury suggested. "But I can't be sure."
"So this is really all over now?" Mika smiled tiredly.
Mars hugged Mika. "Yes it is, and you did wonderfully just like I always knew you would."
Mika hugged her mother back, and felt great relief that she was still alive. She had been so terrified when she had seen her laying there motionless. Everyone had made it, and that was what mattered.
Neo-Queen Serenity the Second was crowned three days later, and six years after that she and Hoshi were married. The palms of her hands still showed the scars from her last battle, but looking down at her daughter, she knew it was all worth it.
Ami came in, interrupting the comfortable silence. "I hate to interfere with you two love birds, but everyone wants to see Takara. Rei in particular is threatening to burn down the whole medical area if we don't let her see her granddaughter. I've put a lot of effort into this place and if she sets it on fire, I'll have to kill her," she joked.
"Please try to avoid killing Mom, Aunt Ami," Mika teased. "Go ahead let them in. I'm going to get hell from Aiko already for keeping her out so long."
As Ami left to collect the others, the king and queen shared a long kiss. "She's really going to be something," Mika said quietly.
"Is that a premonition, my love?" Hoshi asked.
She met his eyes and laughed, "Perhaps, my love. Perhaps."
As if responding to her parents' speculation, Takara squealed happily.
