Epilogue

After Fates

Cold wind lashed at Caeldori's face while she stood before her parents. They both wore brown cloaks that concealed their heads. All around Caeldori were trees that seemed to stretch into the night sky and block out the serene light of the moon.

"Caeldori, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Subaki asked while he felt rain begin to cascade the top of his head.

"Yes, father. Valla needs its queen, after all." Caeldori smiled as she watched two more pairs of cloaked figures emerge from the trees.

"We're ready." The distinctive voice of Laslow called out from the four figures.

"Alright, Caeldori." Selena smiled at her daughter then looked to Laslow and Odin. Seeing as Anankos had been killed and Kamui had ascended to the throne of Valla, Selena figured that her mission was complete, and she could finally go home.

Odin stepped out while he held the hand of his wife, Orochi. In his other hand was a tiny crystal orb that contained a swirling mass of light inside of its black frame.

"Are we all ready?" Odin asked while he looked around. Azura nodded her head in unison with Laslow, and Subaki nodded as well.

"Yes," Selena spoke as her focus remained on her daughter. She knew that Caeldori was happy at Kamui's side, but she still wished that she would come with her back to Ylisse.

Odin raised his hand to the stormy sky above and began to think of Ylisse. Not the Ylisse that had been destroyed thanks to Grima, but the Ylisse that he had saved with the help of his parents. Odin hurled the sphere into the soggy dirt and stepped back.

The circle exploded in a flash of light, then in its wake floated a hole in the air itself. Inside the hole was the unmistakable heraldry of Ylisse. Laslow led his wife into the hole and followed after her. Odin stepped in with Orochi close behind.

Selena stepped away from the hole to her daughter's side. She bent down and hugged Caeldori. "I love you."

"I love you too, mother." Caeldori smiled while she felt her mother's warm embrace. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Subaki approaching them. He wrapped his arms around his wife and child.

"I… I'll miss you, Caeldori." Subaki's eyes began to water as he hugged his daughter. Selena kissed Caeldori on the forehead, then led Subaki into the portal. She stepped inside and felt her body go numb as she shut her eyes.

She was finally going home.

Robin stood before a counter inside the living room of his house. His hands were sopping wet while he cleaned the dirt out of the turnips Cordelia had picked earlier that morning. Each turnip was now floating inside a copper basin embedded within the stone counter, and he was tasked with having to clean them.

While he was running his hands through the water inside the basin, he was unable to notice the predator approaching him from behind. Said predator arched her heels so she could silently launch her attack.

She was now directly behind him and grinning from ear-to-ear while he hummed to himself. She pulled her arms back, waited for a minute, then stuck her arms into the space between his body and his arms.

"Got you!" Cordelia laughed as she wrapped her hands around Robin's chest.

"Holy-" Robin jumped upright and felt his heart skip a beat as Cordelia's hands tightened their grip. He felt his heartbeat pound outside of his chest

Cordelia smiled while she rested her head on Robin's warm shoulder, and she could feel his breathing rate decelerate into a normal speed. Cordelia and Robin had a sort of 'Tactical War' in terms of who could get the upper hand on who. Ever since Robin had snuck vegetables into her dessert three days ago, she had been planning her revenge.

The two of them embraced for a while until the sound of Severa crying woke them out of their trance. "I'll handle it." Robin hurriedly dried his hands and rushed to Severa's room.

Not even five seconds passed after Robin left before a grating knocking sound echoed through the front door.

"Coming!" Cordelia spoke while she rushed to the door.

Severa and Subaki, who were both freezing thanks to the cold night weather, were greeted by the door swinging open to reveal Cordelia.

"Can I help yo-" Cordelia's eyes drifted up until she saw a rather familiar face. "Severa?" Her daughter looked slightly older, but she still had her two distinct trails of white hair.

"Hi, mom!" Severa ran inside and into her mother's arms. Cordelia was knocked backward by the open arms of her daughter's embrace. "I missed you and dad so much!"

"But you've only been gone for two months…" Cordelia looked very perplexed while a cloaked figure walked into her house. "And you are?" She locked eyes with the hooded individual, who pulled their brown cloak back to reveal a red ponytail.

"That's your son-in-law, Subaki!" Severa smiled as she pressed her head against her mother's chest. "Wait, I thought I was gone for nine years." She had always assumed that Ylisse and the world she had been in for almost a century operated on the same axis of time.

"Wherever you were must have had a faster speed of time than here in Ylisse." Cordelia stood up and looked right at Severa's supposed husband. "Well, I never guessed Severa would settle down."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Delia." Subaki outstretched his hand in front of Cordelia. She responded by slowly shaking the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you as well." Cordelia was still processing all of this new information while Robin entered the living room.

"Severa?!"

"Daddy!"

"Olivia, can you get the door?" Chrom asked as a loud knocking noise resounded through the room. He always liked the interior design of his private quarters, even though it consisted of nothing but golden walls and a queen-sized bed adorned with blue drapes that he sat on.

"Who would be knocking, anyway?" Olivia stood before a mirror and moved a hairbrush through her long strands of pink, wavy locks. "I thought the guards at the front gate stopped anyone who wasn't royalty."

Something began to stir in Chrom's thoughts while he stood up. Something that for two months he wished would happen.

"You don't think it's…" He looked to his wife, and the expression of hope on her face indicated she was thinking the same thing.

They both rushed to the front door of their quarters and hurriedly swung the wooden door open. In the open doorframe stood their loving son and daughter. "Inigo! You're back! And you brought Lucina with you!" Chrom and Olivia spoke simultaneously while they smiled.

Inigo took one look at himself, then looked directly at Azura. He had to admit, she did look slightly similar to his sister.

"Actually, this is my wife, Azura." Inigo held his wife's hand out in front of his parents then hugged both of them. "It's good to see you too."

"Hi, Azura!" Olivia spoke as her focus turned to her supposed daughter-in-law, who looked rather uncomfortable. Then Olivia's gaze turned to Chrom, who she realized was shirtless. "Oh. Right."

Lissa wiped the sleep dust out of her eyes while she opened the front door to her house.

"I swear to the gods if it's that darn furniture salesman again…" For the last week or so, that annoying salesman had been pestering her and Vaike over whether they needed to buy an armchair, and it had gotten to the point where Lissa had to threaten to call the royal guard on him after the 7th sales pitch.

Regardless, she scanned the moonlit space outside her house until she determined that there were two cloaked figures standing before her. One of the figures stepped forward and pulled their hood down to reveal their short, blond hair.

"Hi, mom," Owain spoke in a rather meek voice while Lissa squealed.

"Oh, gods you came back!" Lissa beamed with delight while she hugged her son's chest. "Vaike! Owain came back!" She turned her head back to the interior of her abode and yelled.

"Wait, really?" The sound of Owain's father resounded from the bedroom. "I'll be right there!"

The sound of feet mashing against a carpet ensued until Vaike scrambled next to Lissa's side. "Owain! It's so good to see you again!" Vaike barreled through Lissa as he ran into his son and wrapped his arms around him. "Man, your arms are muscular! Have you been using my training exercises?"

"Yes, actually." Owain smiled as he hugged his father back. "Anyway, I'd like you to meet my wife, Orochi." Owain motioned his hand towards the other cloaked figure, who pulled her hood down to reveal her purple hair.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Orochi smiled as she shook the hands of Lissa and Vaike, who had a rather stunned look on their faces.

"You got married?!"

A lone grave sat in the forests of Izumo amidst the large swaths of trees. In front of the grave stood a man and a woman with bouquets of red flowers in their hand.

The man with gray hair laid his collection of flowers at the base of the grave, and the woman with long, red hair placed her flowers next to his.

The pair walked away with tears in their eyes and their hands held. The grave had several pieces of writing on it.

'Hisame. A man who fought for his family, and cared about his friends. His sacrifice ensured that no child in the army that liberated Valla had to suffer the neglect of deeprealms. Loved dearly by his friends, Kamui and Caeldori.'

A lone house sat atop a hill. It was a house that had been constructed by a man who loved his wife, and that man was currently sitting on the front porch.

His caring wife who was the light of his life stepped out of the doorway to their house, and a silver platter was held between her hands.

"Hisame, I made us some steak sandwiches." Caeldori smiled at her husband while she sat down at his side. She set the plate on her lap and handed Hisame his meal.

"Thank you, dear," Hisame spoke as he nuzzled his head into Caeldori's warm shoulder. Caeldori looked at her companion and noticed that he was smiling.

She was very fond of his smile, as it was exceptionally beautiful.

Well, overall, I'd say this was very fun to write, and I'd say this story did it's job of adding emotions to the formula I made for myself back in Make Her Fall For You in a College Semester. My next project is a little shorter than this story, but I'm really liking how the rough outline is working out.

I'd like to thank anyone who read this story to the end.