Two weeks had passed since the final defeat of Balor and the Fomorian horde. Upon securing their final victory, the Elven army of the Four Courts withdrew back into the mists and returned to the Faerie Realm while the people of Somerset Valley celebrated with music and dancing. Without the constant presence of monsters or faerie magic meddling in the valley, an unusual peace and calmness had returned to the lives of the townsfolk. Families who had been separated in the monster attacks reunited while residents got back to work repairing and rebuilding their homes and businesses. Even classes at the college had resumed, though many of the buildings on campus were damaged. With so many students helping to volunteer in the rebuilding effort and professors unable to hold full lectures, it was shaping up to be an unusually lax semester for all those at the university.

In a surprising turn, it also seemed that Mother Nature had decided to be unusually charitable. Despite the fact it was now late October, the autumn weather remained unseasonably mild and slightly warmer than usual. The weather had been clear and sunny and many of the trees on campus retained a fair amount of their colorful Fall leaves. On one of those particular afternoons, Quinton Wallace sat reclining on the main quad under a large maple tree while reading a book. Nearby, Noelle also sat with her back to the tree taking time to relax and admire the colors of the leaves. While she fiddled with an orange leaf, Connor lay on the grass, resting the back of his head on Noelle's lap and looking up at the beautiful display of leaves above. He gave a content yawn and closed his eyes lazily, "There's a lot of reds and oranges this year. Kinda unusual, don't you think?"

Noelle gave a giggle and leaned down to sneak in a quick kiss when he wasn't looking, "Oh I don't mind. I kinda think those colors go nice together."

Quinton closed his book and gave a gentle laugh to tease his two friends, "A little biased now, aren't we?"

Noelle smiled and shrugged before Quinton scratched his chin, "You know… I was just thinking. I wonder why Kristen asked all of us to meet her here today. I'm sure it can't be because there are going to be any more monster attacks."

Connor glanced at his wrist watch and shrugged, "No idea, but considering all the times we ran to her shop needing help or panicking in the middle of a disaster, it's only fair we help her if she needs it."

"You have been putting in a lot of hours into helping her fix up the shop again," Noelle mused thoughtfully, "I'm guessing you're going to have a pretty sweet paycheck coming up."

"She must be hinting that she wants me to buy her something nice," Connor smiled while cracking an eye open toward Quinton. He folded his hands and turned back to Noelle playfully, "Sorry babe, I'm not completely whipped yet."

Noelle gave a mildly exasperated sigh at his joke and pinched her boyfriend in the ear. Quinton laughed aloud for a minute before stopping abruptly. His two friends followed his gaze over to where two more knights approached the meeting spot under the tree. Both Laura and Stephen walked up and greeted their friends, except they did so while holding each other's hands.

"Wait… what's all this?" Quinton exclaimed while giving their younger comrades a shocked expression.

"Oh… you mean this?" Laura asked while holding up her hand still clasping Stephens, "Well… things just kinda happened back in Winter so now that Balor's gone, we figured we'd try give this dating thing a go too."

Connor sat up and gave a relaxed thumbs up to Stephen while Noelle added a kind smile, "Nice one Stephen. We're proud of you."

"Wait… you guys knew about this too?" Quinton huffed toward Connor, "We're best friends and you didn't even say anything to me?"

Connor laughed, "Sorry man. If Laura learned everyone else was in on it except her, she'd probably murder me."

"Too true," the Winter Knight replied patting Quinton gently on the head.

Before the five friends could continue on with their banter, they stopped when they saw Kristen approach from the other end of the quad. She had dressed down to some casual clothes: jeans, a white shirt and a green cardigan sweater. As she approached, the five saw a familiar wooden box tucked under her arm.

"Hey everyone… thanks for agreeing to meet with me here today," Kristen said as she reached the base of the tree where they had gathered. "It seems a little strange gathering together without the town being in eminent danger, huh?"

"You don't have any banshees or man eating trolls locked away in that little box, do you?" Connor asked jokingly as the knights all gathered around their Druid mentor.

"Thankfully no," Kristen smiled while shaking her head, "But I'm sure you all know why I'm carrying this box."

Quinton looked to his hand where his green Destiny ring still sat upon his finger, "Oh wow... I can't believe we completely forgot!"

Everyone else followed suit and looked at their own rings, save for Stephen who stood by quietly. Kristen nodded, "Now that the Fomorians are gone and Balor is destroyed, you've all completed your geas. You four are finally free of the enchantment from the rings."

Laura sighed as she took off her ring and held it gently in her hand, "You know... it's a little funny. After all this time, I think we all just became used to wearing these rings and being knights. It had never really occurred to us that we'd be here... at the end of our journey and free of our obligation."

Kristen nodded and opened the felt lined box where four indents remained, "That's why I'm here today."

"You came to take the rings back and store them for safekeeping?" Noelle said sadly while tracing her finger around her own ring.

The Druid stopped and looked to the first four knights, "Actually, I wanted to leave that decision up to the four of you. While it's true that keeping those rings safe was originally my job, the four of you have taken the burden and responsibilities of being knights and really came into your own. Each and every one of you has grown and matured so much. If you four decided that you wanted to keep the rings and continue using their powers to serve and protect others... well, I couldn't think of any other people I'd rather entrust them to."

Everyone exchanged a smile and looked to their rings thoughtfully. As they took time to reflect on all their experiences and adventures up to that point, Connor held up his ring and let the light of the sun glint off the gold base and the red ruby stone that was set within it, "If you think about it, this really isn't the end of the journey like Laura was talking about."

Everyone looked to him as he continued, "Balor and his monsters might be gone, but we can't be certain that some new danger or trouble won't come up again either. If it does, we should be ready to meet it. We have a duty to help look after this place and rest of the mortal world too. Isn't that part of what being a knight is all about? Always being ready to serve? That's why I'm going to choose to keep my ring."

He slipped the ring back on his finger. Even though there was no binding magic attached to it this time, it glowed a warm red for a moment as it was reunited with its owner. The other knights smiled and slipped their own rings on their fingers too. Once the colorful glows faded, Laura gave a mild snort of amusement and patted the Summer Knight's shoulder, "Well, if you're going to insist on still tangling with the faeries, then I suppose I'll have to stick around and keep you from doing anything too stupid."

"That goes for the rest of us too," Stephen said as he Quinton, and Noelle joined their team huddle. As she watched the sight before her, Kristen smiled quietly and simply closed the box with a pleased nod. A mild autumn breeze began to blow and the afternoon sunlight lit up the quad in a golden glow.

"I guess this is the part where we all get on our horses and ride off into the sunset together?" Quinton chuckled.

The five called upon the magic of their rings and bracer one more time before summoning their faerie steeds. As they steered their mounts together at the amazement of several students who were passing by on the sidewalk, Connor reached down and helped Kristen get on the back of his horse. "What do you say we all go for one more little ride around the valley? Just to make sure everything is really safe. Laura?"

The Winter Knight smiled and nodded in reply, "Right then... Hibernian Knights to arms!"

As the awestruck students on the quad continued to stare, they watched as the five riders galloped away from the field as fast as the wind, into the golden shimmering light of the sun, and off toward their next great adventure.