Gypsy Caravan, Open-Air Kitchen

"Yes, don't be angry, Gaga." said Grenda. "After all, if he hadn't tricked you, you'd have been too worried about the propriety to go. You're such a prude."

"I'm not angry, just confused…and I am not a prude!"

"Yes you are, admit it."

"Ugh!" Gaga didn't know what else to say. He tried to think of a non-offensive way to argue with her, but couldn't, so he changed the subject. "Niko? When you first arrived in town, you said that the prophecy had been 'mostly' fulfilled. What did you mean?"

Niko grinned at that. "Do you remember the last part of the prophecy? 'The girl will befriend those who stand athwart the tangled skein, and she may marry Death or she may marry Evil.' I figured that out when I met you and discovered who the girls were. To stand athwart the tangled skein is an old saying for someone who is a very important figure, and whose actions can change the course of history. If the princesses of the five major kingdoms and the five former platinum princesses don't qualify, who does? Onua became good friends with them, simply by her being who she is, and by their being who they are."

"But, what about the very end of the prophecy?"

"Well, that's what confused me for the longest time. How can someone marry Death? And then I realized that it meant the species. The five major ideas are Good, Evil, Death, Life, and Time. Each of these corresponds to one of the five major species, and also to one of the elements. Good is obviously the Angelic race, and corresponds to water. Life is the Faeries, and corresponds to wind, since most faeries seem to be rather flighty and capricious. No offence Beth-chan."

"None taken."

"Time, oddly, represents Humans. Humans change the most over time, and they don't live nearly as long as the other four races, but because of this, humans tend to be the most adaptable of peoples. We tend to do rather well when dealing with chaos. Time also corresponds to void or chaos. The void of eternity you know."

"And that leaves…"

"Death and Evil. Death is obviously the Ghosts, and they correspond to the element earth, as the most unchangeable and inevitable of elements. Evil is the Demons, unsurprisingly. And just as unsurprisingly, that corresponds to fire."

"So that means that the prophecy meant…"

"That Onua would marry either a ghost or a demon. I haven't been idle these past years. I visited the Ghostly Realm, and discretely checked every ghost there with my Sight. Not one of them matched. Not one of them showed even a flicker of potential as Onua's husband. And then I ran into you again." Niko looked at Gaga, smiling. "I didn't even think about it at first, you were just an old friend. But then I saw your reaction when you met Onua, and I decided to check."

"And?"

"And it was a perfect match. But as I said before, I didn't need the Sight to see that you were perfect for each other."

"…Oh." That was all Gaga could think of to say. And then he thought of something. Princess Grenda had said that he was on vacation until he turned back into a demon; did that mean that, since he couldn't turn back, he was on vacation permanently? In other words, had he lost his job, his life's work?

Grenda seemed to guess what he was thinking, for she said, "Gaga, since it seems you cannot turn back into a demon, you can no longer serve in the capacity of my steward. However…since it seems that you can change partway back; and you are still the most faithful servant of Hell's Royal Family, I can't let you retire yet. I'm going to delegate to you the job of finding and training a replacement. Also, once that replacement is found, you'll serve as an adviser. That ought to keep you busy." She spoke with arrogant authority, trying not to make it seem like she was doing him a favor.

"Th-thank you, Princess…" Gaga was overwhelmed by all of this. It all seemed to be too good to be true! Niko had given him permission to court Onua, and Princess Grenda had given him a job. True, it's a different job, but it's actually even better for me now than my old one. It means I'll have more time to spend with Onua, yet I'll still keep my same level of standing. My standard may even have been raised a bit! I can still serve the Roal Family, and I needn't give up Onua-san either!

"Here's the water, Papa." said Onua, handing Niko the large canteen, which she had marked with a ribbon, so as not to confuse it with the others. He looked up and took it from her, smiling.

"Thank you, Onua."

"What did you want it for, anyway?"

"Oh, that. It's a peace offering of sorts."

"A peace offering? Who for?" Gaga asked, interested.

"I thought about our conversation on the hill, and I decided that it was about time that the gypsy clans had an allied nation. This is for Queen Erlsel; I want to open negotiations with her."

"What a wonderful idea! I'm sorry for ever being angry with you!"

"Apology accepted! Not that you needed to apologize."

Gaga was becoming giddy with joy at the way things had turned out. Happily Ever After may not be possible, but Happy Most Of The Time is plenty enough for me!

The End…And the Beginning