Isa stood up from her throne after her chancellors had left their morning meeting, leaving her and Mateo to themselves. She slipped the Ruby ring off her finger and took the dagger from the sheath that she carried it in.
"Here" She said, handing both of her artifacts over to Mateo. He looked at her a bit perplexed. She understood why and smiled at him before explaining "You're the chosen one. You should have them"
"But I don't even need them until we have the wand and the scepter. What if you need the dagger for protection? You should hold on to them for now" Mateo told her.
"I certainly don't want to wear this wedding ring anymore, reminding me of my very short marriage and I won't be needing the dagger. I don't ever want to use it again. They're rightfully yours anyways and you should be the one to hold onto them" Isa explained. She then dropped her head a bit as she went into a pensive trance. Then slowly, a small smile, filled with hope, formed across her face as she looked up at Mateo. "I finally slept last night without dreaming about what I did. It was the first time. I know that I can control myself now and I think that giving up the dagger will be good for me."
Mateo placed a hand on Isa's shoulder and smiled at her. "That's wonderful" he told her tenderly. He was proud of the progress she had been making in coming to terms with what she had done and allowing her mind and soul to heal. To Isabel's satisfaction, Mateo accepted the artifacts and placed them safely inside his satchel with the others.
"Queen Isabel!" A guard called out as he entered the room. "Three Jaquins just landed on the front lawn of the palace! You'll want to come greet them and their companions, I'm sure" he smiled an all knowing smile at the young Queen as she gave him a curious look. Mateo too looked at the guard for more details but the guard simply nodded at him that it was safe for them to go. Mateo shrugged and lead Isabel out of the throne room and towards the front entrance.
Elena, Naomi and Gabe slid off the backs of their Jaquins. Elena took a step forward and then paused. She stood staring at the palace as Naomi and Gabe hung back a bit allowing her to take a moment to let the fact that Isa was just inside sink in. Just then two guards swung the front doors of the palace open and there was Isabel with Mateo by her side. Isa began to walk towards the group and then came to a sudden halt when it became clear to her just who it was. Elena slowly walked towards her sister. Isa could hardly believe what she was seeing, her heart's beat began to speed up. She bit her lower lip, trying to stop it from quivering. She had grown up so much in the past year, she was even ruling her own kingdom now. Still, with the sight of Elena, she was just a little girl again. In need of the comforting arms of her big sister. Her tears began to flow and she ran as fast as she could. When she was close enough, Isa jumped straight up into Elena's embrace letting the momentum spin them both around in circles. They were both clinging to the person they had loved and treasured more than anyone else in the world. Isa's feet floated through the air and she felt pure joy as the pain over her sister's death was alleviated. When she finally touched the ground she continued to cling to Elena, fearing if she let go she might wake up from the greatest of all dreams. Elena didn't mind. She remained on her knees with Isa in her arms and no intentions of releasing her anytime soon.
Naomi could hang back no longer. She left the side of a teary eyed Gabe and ran past the Avaloran princesses and straight for Mateo. Mateo, who was also in near disbelief as he had been happily watching the sisterly reunion, hadn't expected to be greeted with such a forceful hold. Naomi nearly knocked him down as she threw her arms around him. When he recovered from the shock, he just laughed and closed his eyes as he reciprocated her touch.
Gabe chuckled at their collision as well and joined them, leaving the sisters to themselves for the moment.
"Where have you been?!" Naomi yelled at Mateo as she gave him a soft backhand across his chest. "You could have come to find me you know! My family would have helped you!"
"I know that! Of course I do" Mateo told Naomi "It's just that I've been on a journey of my own and it's kind of something I had to do alone. And why didn't YOU come find ME?!" He retorted.
"Hey! I was told that you all were dead! NOT my fault!" Naomi defended as she threw her hands up.
"We've ALLLL been through WAYYY too much!" Gabe added as he stepped between his two friends and put an arm around each of them. "It's a miracle that this moment is even happening right now. Let's just enjoy it!"
Naomi and Mateo happily nodded in agreement and they all came together for a big group hug.
When they broke from their circle, they looked to Elena and Isabel, still in each other's arms.
"Now that is a beautiful moment!" Naomi declared.
Elena finally pulled back a bit, still holding Isa by the shoulders though. She stared at her little sister who wore a beautiful and rich blue Royal gown, her hair pulled back in an up-do and her crown atop her head. She looked so grown up. Elena smiled affectionately at Isa as she wiped the tears from both of their cheeks.
"So I hear you're Queen of Cordoba now?" Elena said with a slight giggle, trying to find a place to start. They had so much to tell each other.
Isa shrugged awkwardly. "Yup. Looks like it"
"Well don't worry about a thing Isa. I'm here now and we can get you somewhere safe and as soon as Shuriki is defeated you'll be able to go home to Avalor and I promise you that I will never let you out of my sight again" Elena offered as she pulled Isa's head into her chest and held her tight.
"No. I can't do that Elena!" Isa told her sister, pushing herself free from Elena's grasp and shocking everyone except Mateo. "I am Queen of Cordoba now! I have a duty to my people here. I'm not just a little kid anymore."
Elena didn't know how to respond. She was confused and Isa saw the hurt look that began to set in on her face.
"It's not that I don't want to go home to Avalor with you. It's just that this is my home now. This is where I belong. I can feel it. Look, I Survived the invasion that day and I did it pretty much on my own. I watched people die all around me, I watched my friends die and I even was there when Abuelo and Abuela were killed. I saw it all Elena. But I still kept going. I made some really difficult choices and I've done things that I'm not proud of but mostly... I never gave up. I survived out there on my own and with nothing until I made my way to the Science Academy where Professor Mendoza took me in and gave me food and shelter. Then while I was there, I studied how to defeat the dark spirit army that is coming. I hunted the artifacts that are needed to do it and I found them. That's also how I found Mateo. He was doing the same. And I wasn't forced to marry Alonso or anything. That was my choice. I did it to get one of the artifacts and then Mateo and I came up with a plan and exposed how he murdered Carla and his father. He was sentenced to death and now Cordoba is my kingdom. They support me here and I have no intentions on leaving. I've come this far on my own and I won't just give up now. I won't go into hiding at some safe spot. I'm in this fight too and I'm going to stay in it until the end"
As Isa spoke Elena's emotions went sailing over the ups and downs of a wild sea. She started out shocked and then grew pained by what her sister had gone through, then she felt guilty knowing that she wasn't there to help, then impressed by everything that Isa had accomplished and finally she landed on pride. She stared dotingly at her sister and just smiled.
"Wow" was the first thing she managed to release from her lips. "I guess... You've always just been my little sister and I've always tried so hard to protect you from everything that I never really gave you a chance to show the world what you were capable of. You are so strong and so brave Isa."
"Thanks Elena" Isa said sweetly, again reverting back to her more childlike self, thrilled to have her sisters praise and approval. "If I can be half as strong and brave as you are, then I think I'll be just fine ruling my own kingdom" she then threw herself back into Elena's arms and Elena closed her eyes, savoring the moment as she fully realized that her little sister was all grown up.
"I guess we were both destined to be leaders. Mami and Papi would be so proud of you Isabel" Elena said.
"They'd be proud of both of us" Isa corrected.
Elena looked up finally and then towards her friends, who were silently watching and that's when it hit her that she was so caught up in her reunion with Isabel that she had yet to even acknowledge Mateo.
"Oh my goodness!" She shouted, bringing her hands to cover her mouth which was hanging wide open from embarrassment. Isa understood and let go of Elena, urging her to go greet their royal wizard and friend who was really more like family. Elena rushed over and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing so tightly that she had pinned Mateo's arms to his side. Mateo grit his teeth and stood stiffly and unable to move but it was OK with him. Her reaction said it all and he was just as thrilled and relieved to see her. He had just enough mobility in his wrists to manage to pat Elena on the back in return.
"Mateoooo!" Elena squealed "You're alive!"
"Yup... " Mateo struggled to get out as his chest was being restricted by Elena's overly enthusiastic embrace. "But.. Might not be.. Gasp.. soon... Can't ...gasp... breath!"
"Oo! Sorry!" Elena told him sheepishly as she let go. She then took his hands in hers and smiled at him. "You have NO idea how much I've needed your help Mateo!"
"Well, we're together now. All of us. And we're going to defeat Shuriki, and the dark army and get Avalor back!" Mateo reassured her. They exchanged a look of determination. They had always worked best when they were working together. They were what Zuzo had once referred to as a "magical dream team" and they really were. They were each strong on their own but together, they had the confidence to conclude that Shuriki didn't stand a chance. Elena placed her hand on Mateo's shoulder, happy to have her partner back. She took a step by his side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as she turned back towards her sister.
"I'll owe you forever for what you've done with helping Isa" Elena told Mateo as she watched Gabe and Naomi bombard the Cordoban Queen with affection.
Mateo placed his hand atop Elena's in response. "You really don't owe me anything. You and Isa are my family. We help each other"
"You're right" She told him. That's when she saw Gabe's expression as he lifted Isa into the air and into his arms. Isabel hugged him close but Gabe seemed to cling extra hard to Elena's little sister. His face looked as if he had released a lifetime of culpability and Elena suddenly remembered what she had said to him on the day of the invasion. 'if anything happens to Isa...' A knot formed in her stomach as she realized that Gabe had been carrying around the guilt of Isabel's death all this time. He had felt solely responsible and Elena had never let him know that she didn't truly blame him for any of it. She smiled quickly up at Mateo and then left his side and headed back over to the others just as Skylar, Luna and Migs were joining in on the joyous reunion of friends and family.
"Why don't we all head inside and we can have something to eat and we can talk more about this war" Isa suggested and then glanced towards Mateo "We have a lot to explain to you guys about the spirit army"
Mateo nodded strongly in agreement. There was so much to explain to everyone about what they needed to do. It was so much more than simply defeating Shuriki. The rest of the group agreed as well and they all headed towards the palace. Elena grabbed Gabe's hand though, pulling him back from the rest. He raised an eyebrow at her and halted, seeing that she needed to speak with him.
"You OK?" He asked a bit concerned by the serious look on her face.
"I'm sorry Gabe" She said, pain overwhelming her tone.
Gabe was confused. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head "For what?" He asked.
"For letting you feel like Isa's death was your fault" Elena explained as she hung her head in shame. "I was angry that day and I blamed you and I shouldn't have ... but even worse... I should have told you a long time ago that it wasn't your fault. I never did that and I'm so sorry"
Gabe placed a single finger under Elena's chin and coaxed her to look up at him. When she did, he just shook his head, denying what Elena had said. "The burden I carried over losing Isa was something I had already placed on myself. Not just as your guard, but her guard as well. It's my responsibility to keep you both safe and I didn't do that. You! have nothing to be sorry about."
Elena just stared into his eyes. She could see that he was telling her the truth on how he felt about the situation and it made her feel a little bit better, although not entirely. She still felt it was something she should have apologized for saying long ago. She knew that he wouldn't ever want her to feel guilty over it though. He only ever wanted her to be happy and free of any sort of physical or emotional pain. So Elena's stare became a look of love and appreciation for all that he had ever done for them. She placed her hands on the back of his neck and gently pulled him in for a soft kiss. Their eyes sparkled for one another as they parted and met with yet another gaze. Gabe gestured that they should catch up to the group and Elena agreed. She took his hand in hers, gave it a bit of a squeeze and together, they hurried back to their friends.