Chapter Twenty Four
Epilogue
A day had passed since the warriors had stopped Kane from successfully inciting the worst natural disasters the world had ever seen. Still, some damage had been done before they could stop him, and the world was dealing with the aftermath of Kane's quest. Denmark was among the many kingdoms and civilizations that had been affected by the disasters. As the kingdom was directly beside the ocean, it was inevitable that the waves had broken past the coastline and flooded into the city.
The two girls waded through knee deep water that covered the entire kingdom and passed by the town square. They watched as the citizens chipped in to help in the relief operation. Some were armed with buckets, while others shifted away debris and tried to restore some semblance of their property. Even the children and the elderly were all involved in some form or fashion.
"Come on, it's going to be fine." Melody tugged at Tracy's wrist as she felt some resistance from the octopid.
"Yeah, maybe for you," Tracy slapped Melody's hand away and waded through the water. "You're the Princess of this kingdom after all, what do you have to worry about?"
"Tracy," Melody stopped to help a couple of citizens move a large piece of wood away from the wreckage, before continuing towards the palace. "Stop thinking so much."
"Me, I'm the daughter of Morgana, sworn enemy of the seven seas. This ain't gonna end well for me."
"Now that's just the nerves talking. You're trying to find a way out."
"Maybe I am."
"Come on, the whole point of coming back here is to get my parents to grant you immunity. You're gonna need a place to live from now on, and what better place than here?"
"Sure. That's gonna work out well."
"Now stop being a stick in the mud and let's go."
The two girls made their way across the roads submerged in water leading up to the palace. They walked up the steps to the entrance, where two guards stood at attention in front of the palace.
"Your Highness," one of the guard at the entrance bowed.
"How may we be of service?" the other guard said, bowing as well.
"Is my dad in?" Melody asked as Tracy hung back, emptying her shoes that were filled with water onto the dry steps.
"Yes, your Highness, the King is in the royal court. May we escort you in?"
"No need for that," Melody turned back to glare at Tracy, embarrassed at her friend's lack of etiquette. "We'll be fine on our own."
Melody walked into the palace, and as Tracy followed behind, the two guards blocked the octopid's path.
"Uhh…" Tracy peeked between the burly guards' bodies. "Princess! A little help?"
"Oh, I forgot." Melody spun round, hurriedly returning to the entrance. "It's okay. She's with me."
"Apologies, your Highness." The two guards opened up, and Tracy walked into the palace, admiring the grandeur of the interior.
"Cool house." Tracy marvelled, forgetting her anxiety for a moment.
"Thanks. Come on, we got to find my dad."
The two girls walked up the stairs to the second floor where the royal court was, and pushed open the doors. They walked in to see King Eric speaking with a couple of governors, no doubt in a discussion about the relief operations that were going on outside.
"Is this a bad time?" Melody asked, her voice echoing throughout the quiet court, and everyone turned to see where the voice came from.
"Melody?" King Eric was shocked to see his daughter. "I'm sorry," he turned to the governors. "Can we finish this later?"
The governors bowed and made their way out of the room, leaving the King alone with Melody and Tracy.
"So, Dad," Melody walked towards her father sheepishly. "Are you mad?"
"Not anymore," Eric embraced his daughter tightly, overjoyed that she had returned. "I was so worried that something had happened to you!"
"I'm sorry about the prison breakout," Melody struggled to breathe as her father hugged the air out of her. "It was really important."
"I know, I can tell." Eric let go of his daughter. "When the floods and earthquakes broke out, I knew something was wrong. And it scared the wits out of me knowing that you were out there with that 'demigod'."
"I'm fine, Dad. And it's true, he really is a demigod. I saw things that you wouldn't believe!"
"And that's what scares me. I'm just glad you're back."
At that moment, another head peeked into the royal court. "Melody?"
Melody turned to see Ariel at the door of the court. "Mum? You're back!"
"I returned to the surface as soon as the floods hit," Ariel walked towards her daughter and enveloped her in a hug. "Are you okay? Were you hurt?"
"I'm alright, Mum." Melody returned the hug. "How's Grandfather?"
"He's back to normal, overseeing the restoration of Atlantica after the battle." Ariel released her daughter. "When you have time, please visit him. He's been anxiously asking about you."
"I will. I can't wait to tell him about everything that has happened!"
Ariel glanced over at Tracy, who was waiting quietly in the corner with folded arms. "Tracy, right?" she nodded at the girl.
"Hey," Tracy lifted a hand awkwardly.
"I brought Tracy here because I wanted to ask something," Melody began. "You see, Tracy can't go home and needs a place to stay," she looked at her parents hopefully. "And I was hoping that we could let her stay here in the palace with us."
"I mean, it's cool if it's gonna be too much trouble." Tracy added quickly, and Melody glared at her in annoyance.
Eric and Ariel looked at each other, and Melody held her breath as she waited anxiously for her parents' answer. Tracy shifted her weight from foot to foot awkwardly, and Melody gestured subtly for her to cut it out.
"I'm sure we can arrange something," Eric broke the silence, and Melody heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Your Majesties." Tracy said, and the King and Queen smiled at her.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Melody glanced at Tracy.
"What?"
"The trident!" Melody hissed.
"Oh, right." Tracy conjured up a cloud of purple mist, and the trident materialized in her hands.
"The trident! You got it back!" Ariel excitedly took the trident out of Tracy's hands. "How?"
"Your daughter's a great fighter." Tracy smirked and Melody blushed.
"I've got to get this to your grandfather right away!" Ariel kissed her daughter's forehead and proceeded to place a hand warmly on Tracy's shoulder in gratitude, before hurriedly walking towards the door of the court. "He's going to be so thrilled that you got it back!"
"Yeah…and I'm gonna go find the restroom." Tracy excused herself, leaving father and daughter alone in the court.
Eric chuckled. "Looks like you've been busy."
"Yeah…it's been quite an experience."
"You've come a long way since that incident six years back, you know that right?"
Melody looked away from her father, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah."
"You're so much like your mum, always seeking out thrills. I might not fully approve of your adventures," Eric continued. "But know that I'm always proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad." She smiled sheepishly.
The two embraced again, and Melody felt a warm sensation sweep over her. Satisfaction. Like her father said, she was no longer the same twelve year old girl who had been the cause of the Takeover of the Seven Seas. She had played a part in saving the world, and she was proud of that, even though not everyone knew about her efforts. At least in her own eyes and her parents', she had redeemed herself, and that was what really truly mattered to her. Melody smiled and closed her eyes.
###
Elsa wiped the perspiration from her forehead as she waited by the docks that had been damaged in the floods caused by Major Kane. She figured that some people, like herself, just wasn't meant to live in warm cities like Agrabah. The heat was just unbearable. She had ditched her winter gear after arriving in Agrabah, and had created a more cooling outfit for herself: a light blue sleeveless dress and black cotton leggings with blue kitten heels. Looking out beyond the docks, she leaned against the railings of the pier.
"How long more do we have to wait till they get here?" Moana asked, echoing Elsa's exact thoughts.
"I don't know," Elsa replied. "Hopefully soon."
"They said to meet back here by noon today." Moana glanced at the city's clock tower in the distance as the clock struck a quarter past twelve. "I hope they've left Denmark by now."
Just then, a loud screech could be heard from up in the sky, and the two girls looked up to see a huge brown hawk flying towards them. The two girls stepped out of the way as the hawk descended like a missile, cutting through the air at a dangerous speed. Maui landed on the docks beside Elsa and Moana. Melody and Tracy climbed off his back, and Tracy teetered and collapsed onto the ground.
"I told you it was going to be awful." Melody said dryly as Tracy groaned.
"What do you mean?" Maui shape-shifted back into his normal form, standing tall with his fish hook in hand. "It was a world-class landing, wasn't it?" he glanced confidently at Elsa and Moana. They smiled and remained silent, looking at Tracy whose face was pale.
"You call that flying?!" Tracy screeched.
"Yeah, and you're welcome." Maui beamed.
"Come on, we got to go meet King Aladdin." Moana said.
"Did you bring the Lamp?" Elsa looked at Melody.
"Yeah." She fished it out of her backpack to show Elsa before placing it back securely.
"Great, let's go. Maui, carry her if she can't walk."
Maui approached Tracy, who jerked her hand out to stop him. "Get away from me," she groaned as she struggled to her feet. "I've had enough rides from you to last me a lifetime."
The warriors across the damaged and half submerged docks to the far side where the Agrabah palace was located. At the gates stood the palace guards. Elsa walked up to them. "We're here to meet with King Aladdin. He's expecting us."
"Of course. This way, Your Majesty." One of the guards gestured for the warriors to follow him, as he led them up a path towards the entrance of the Agrabah palace. It was a true beauty to behold. Palm trees were planted neatly along the roads and walkways, and tall structures were built into the palace, with huge golden domes at the top. The warriors followed the guard into the palace, where the king was waiting in the great hall.
"Your Majesty, they're here to see you."
King Aladdin turned and saw the familiar faces of the warriors. "Welcome back," he smiled widely, walking down the steps from his throne to meet his guests. "You may go." He nodded at his royal guard, who bowed and left the room. Aladdin waited for the royal guard to close the door before turning his attention back to the warriors. "I hear you have something for me?"
"Yes." Melody took the Lamp from her backpack and passed it to Aladdin.
"Ah." Aladdin looked at the Lamp in his hand. "This cursed thing. I'm going to hide it where no one can ever find it again." He looked up again at the warriors. "Thank you so much for bringing this back safely. I understand you all went through a whole lot of trouble to get it back from this Major. What happened to him?"
"He tried to destroy the world." Elsa said. "But we managed to stop him in the nick of time, but not before he managed to incite some natural disasters."
"Ah. That would explain the floods and earthquakes that stopped just as quickly as they started." King Aladdin mused. "I assume you saw the condition that the city is in now?"
"Yes. We're sorry about that." Moana chimed in.
"No need to apologize," Aladdin's looked at her with kindly eyes. "In fact, I should be thanking you all. Without your timely intervention, who knows what would have happened if the warlord wasn't stopped?"
"I assure you, he won't be a threat anymore." Melody said.
"Yeah, he's dead." Tracy added, and the warriors turned to look at her. "What?" she asked, oblivious of her inappropriate comment.
"That's a relief, I guess." Aladdin held the Lamp in his hand a little more loosely. "We all have enough problems to deal with without having a crazy warlord rampaging through the world trying to steal mystical items."
"Yes, you're right." Elsa smiled politely. "I think it's time for us to go. Thank you for seeing us." She turned to leave, and the rest followed suit.
"Queen Elsa, wait." Aladdin called out, and she turned around. "Where will you go now?"
"Back to Arendelle, I guess." Elsa replied, and it was evident that she was not at all eager to return home. "I can't keep avoiding the inevitable."
"Then I have some news for you."
Curious, Elsa walked back towards Aladdin. "What news?"
"When we first met after the fight in the marketplace, you told me about the referendum that was being conducted in your kingdom," he began. "So after all of you left to pursue the warlord, I decided to put in a good word for you, hoping that it would influence the vote. I requested an audience with Arendelle's Regency Council to tell them of their Queen's heroic actions, but I learnt that the vote had already been cast."
Elsa held her breath anxiously, not knowing what to expect.
"The vote was unanimous. Ninety six percent of the population voted to keep you on the throne." Aladdin had a pleased look on his face, glad that he had the opportunity to deliver the good news to Elsa.
"Elsa! That's great news!" Melody hugged the surprised queen, who was stumped and in astonishment at the results of the referendum.
"You can return to Arendelle with your head held high. Your people chose you." Aladdin continued, a big grin on his face. "They're all eagerly awaiting your return."
"Elsa, don't you get it?" Maui embraced her in a big bear hug. "You didn't win their votes because you were a hero, you won because the people love you! They don't fear you or see you as a monster! That was never true!"
"That-that's great!" Elsa broke her silence after Maui released her from the hug, still in awe at the revelation that her people wanted her to continue ruling as the Queen of Arendelle. She had been wrong all along! Maybe the people were shocked and a little afraid initially, but not anymore. The outcome of the referendum was clear proof that they didn't see her as the monster she thought she was. The only one who truly wanted her out of the way was the wretched fiend from the council, Chancellor Tobias, but it didn't matter now, because she had won and was still going to return home a hero!
###
"We gotta celebrate," Maui said as walked alongside the docks. King Aladdin had thanked them again and allowed them to take a ship of their choice from the docks as a token of gratitude. He bade them farewell as the warriors left the palace.
"Yes, yes we do," Elsa agreed heartily. Reality had finally set in, and she was beyond overjoyed. "Let's go back to Arendelle. My sister Anna would be so glad to have all of you over as guests. She loves people. Oh, and I can show you all around!" she glanced round at the rest, hoping that they would think it was a good idea.
"Sounds great!" Melody was the first to break the silence.
"I've got no plans," Tracy shrugged, nonchalant as always.
"Let's go!" Maui whooped loudly.
"How about you?" Elsa turned to Moana. "You coming?"
"I'm happy for you, Elsa," Moana smiled. "I really am. And I would love to celebrate with all of you," She looked round at the team of warriors. "But I think it's way past time that I returned to Motunui. The survivors of Kane's attack need their Chief, and I have to return the snake totem to where it belongs." She turned back to Elsa with an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry Elsa, I hope you understand."
"Of course." Elsa hugged Moana. "Wishing you the very best. Goodbye, Moana."
"Goodbye," Moana choked as the rest of the warriors joined the embrace. "Thank you all for showing me how to harness my light. Thank you for saving me from the darkest parts of myself." She sniffled. As they released her from the hug and gave her space, she looked at Maui and playfully punched him on the arm. "Thank you for always being there for me."
"You're welcome." Maui winked, grinning at his best friend. He looked around at the warriors that stood before him. "And thanks everyone for being on this journey with me. When we first started out, I was skeptical about the prophecy and you all. I never thought that those young girls would be the ones to help save the world. I'm sooo glad that I was wrong."
The warriors laughed heartily at Maui's confession, grateful for each other's company and the friendships they had forged along the way.
"It's time." Moana walked over to the numerous ships. She chose one and boarded it. Untying the rope that anchored the ship to the pier, she looked at her friends and smiled. "I hope we meet again someday."
"We will." Melody promised.
Smiling, Moana turned to face the ocean in front of her. She lifted up her palms, and the water around the ship rose into waves that pushed against the side of the ship. The waves held together and the ship was propelled through the ocean, making its way towards the island of Motunui.
As the ship pulled away from the dock and sped off into the horizon, Elsa turned to the remaining warriors. "Shall we?"
"There's something that Tracy and I got to do first," Melody looked at Elsa who nodded. "Can we go there before heading to Arendelle?" She turned to Maui. "I'm going to need your help again getting us to where we need to be."
"I thought you hated my rides."
"I do." Melody smiled playfully at the demigod.
"Wait, we're doing this again?" Tracy protested in horror.
"Whatever you say." Maui grinned. He walked back to their old ship, and tied one end of the rope around himself, and the other to the ship's beam.
"Thank Poseidon, I thought he was gonna fly us there." Tracy heaved a sigh of relief.
Jumping into the water, Maui landed with a splash, and in a bright flash of light, shapeshifted into a brown whale. "Let's go!" he called out to the three girls, who climbed aboard their ship. Pulling the ship across the water, the warriors sped away from Agrabah's docks and into the horizon.
###
"When you suggested we come here, I thought you meant look at it from a distance." Tracy muttered uncomfortably as they swam deeper down towards the underwater cave. "Tell me again why we can't just go to Arendelle? Elsa said that her chefs over in her palace made some great cakes and I'm starving!"
"I wanted both of us to close this chapter of our lives. This place holds somewhat of a big significance for us both." Melody replied firmly, her salmon pink tail propelling her through the water. The two girls had left Elsa and Maui up on the ship while they took a short journey under the sea before they would all head to Arendelle to celebrate their victory in saving the world from the Major's Quest.
"Not that I really care to see it for myself." Tracy shuddered. "Do we really have to?" It was cold up on the surface, and even colder down in the water. However, it wasn't the cold that sent chills down her spine. It was the thought of where they were going and what it meant to her that creeped her out. For someone as rough and unbudging as herself, she couldn't believe that she had relented to Melody's request.
The two girls swam into the cave and through the dark and narrow passages. Green substances, most likely algae, was growing everywhere. The cave itself was dark and gloomy, and everything was a mess. It looked like no one had entered the cave in years.
"Here we are."
Tracy looked around as they both entered a large cavern that looked abandoned and ill-kept. "Huh. So this was where she lived after she abandoned me." Shelves of empty potion bottles lined the walls and a witch's trademark black cauldron stood ominously in the middle of the cave. Books on magic were littered everywhere, and some of the pages had disintegrated and were floating aimlessly in the water, while others were torn and tattered, lying half open on the seabed and toppled on the shelves.
"Yeah," Melody looked around at the old cave. "Morgana's lair." It had been six years since her younger and much more naive self had been in this cave. The last time was when she had brought Morgana the trident, completely unassuming that the sea witch had intentions to rule the seven seas. So much had changed in the past six years. If only Morgana could see her now.
"Y'know," Tracy began after a minute of silence. "I thought that I would be like…repulsed by coming here, but now that I'm here," tears welled up in the young octopid's eyes and immediately dissolved into the water that surrounded her. "I realized that I actually really miss her. I miss my mum. Is it just me or is that crazy?"
Melody put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No it's not. I don't know if this is any comfort but, in a way, she helped me to become who I am today. Without her, I never would have decided to try to redeem myself, and I never would have met you."
"Thanks," Tracy fixed her eyes on the cauldron. "I guess I'm just having a tough time trying to reconcile the sea witch who left me behind in the Dark Zone to commit horrible crimes with the 'tough love mother' who raised me to be just like her."
"You don't- Look at me. You don't have to," Melody said firmly and reassuringly as Tracy turned to look at her. "You just need to leave a better legacy."
"I-I don't know how."
"Then we'll find out together."
There was a long silence as the two looked around at the cave, flooded with memories of the sea witch that put them both on the paths that they had gone down to that very moment.
"Let's get out of here." Melody broke the silence, swimming back into the dark passages.
"Yeah." Tracy took one last long look at the cave, before turning to follow Melody.
With that, the two girls swam out of the lair and began to head back to the surface to begin a new chapter of their lives.
~ THE END ~
Writer's Commentary:
Whew. What a story. After the battle, I wanted to conclude the story as quickly as I could so as not to drag it too long, but I had to ask myself: was I completing the character arcs of all the characters?
Did I address the core of the story and the characters' personal quests? Redemption for Melody? Finding who Tracy is meant to be? Justice for Moana and harnessing the light inside of her? Discovering whether Elsa's powers can be used for good? For Maui to successfully bring the prophecy to fruition? These were all questions that I had to check that I addressed by the end of the story, and to reinforce that in the final chapter. I hope that I delivered and that y'all are satisfied with the ending :)
At this point, I have already begun penning a sequel. And it's going to be bigger and better than the first, I can feel it. The Warriors will face a new threat together, and Anna is a key player this time round as the protagonist alongside Elsa! And our Snow Queen is going to be introduced to others just like her, and the world as the Warriors know will be expanded into a much larger place of magic, myths and threats! To pique your interest, here's the working title of the second novel: The League of Sorcerers. Till the release of the sequel, stay stoked!