Author's Notes: Wow, it feels pretty surreal to be uploading the epilogue of this story. It make take me a while to get around to editing the earlier chapters, but I do intend to do so. In the meantime, let's wrap this up!
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Epilogue: Towards the Future
"Aiden! Aiden! Blank, have you seen my son anywhere?" Blank leaned around the doorframe to look at Drake as he paused in his search and shook his head. "Dammit. An airship's no place for a four year old to go missing." Drake ran his fingers through his hair and waved the other hand at Blank. "Thanks anyhow." Blank gave him a thumbs-up before going back to whatever task had been interrupted.
Drake climbed the spiral stairs up to the bridge, adjusting the torc he wore around his neck to sit a little more comfortably without really thinking about it. He trotted up the stairs at a swift clip, looking around in case he spotted a little dark-haired boy hiding in some niche.
"Hey Baku, have you seen - there you are, Aiden!" Baku froze as Drake came in, and the little boy sitting on his knee as he steered the ship whined at him. "What have I told you about wandering off?" The four-year-old pouted at Drake, but slid off of Baku's knee as Drake gestured for him. "Thanks for entertaining him, Baku. Come on, Aiden, the ship's about to dock. Let's go watch that." That seemed to cheer the boy up.
Baku chuckled as Drake and his son left, turning his attention to steering the Prima Vista 2 to where it would dock. He doubted he was going to get used to seeing Drake as a father anytime soon, let alone one as well-dressed as he was. Though Drake and Odette were expecting another child in a few months, so he was going to have to get used to it at some point.
Aiden was almost impossible for Drake to keep hold of as they watched the ship dock. Odette and Acacia came on deck once they were docked, and Drake gratefully handed his son over to Acacia, who had proved to be an excellent nursemaid. Odette giggled as she leaned over to give Drake a kiss over her swollen belly as the Nero brothers carried their luggage off the Prima Vista to hand it over to some servants of Alexandria Castle.
"Well, at least Aiden managed to get some of his wiggles out before we docked. I told Acacia to take him to the castle gardens until the play's about to start, so he should be out of our hair for the time being. Want to walk around the castle?" Drake linked his fingers with hers, smiling fondly at her.
"Sure. Maybe we'll bump into the others. I know Sab and Ed have been in town for a while on diplomatic business, but surely they wouldn't have meetings on the queen's birthday." Odette laughed a little at that and led the way down the gangplank. They managed to get through the nobles waiting there to greet them and found their way to the river.
Drake halted as he spotted a boat crossing the river carrying a familiar face or two, and waved to them. Freya waved back, her other hand linked with Sir Fratley's. Drake couldn't help but smile at that, glad that their relationship was going well once more. Though Freya had mentioned in her last letter to Drake that her love still hadn't regained his memories.
"Drake! You look well. Hello, Odette." Freya was all smiles as she climbed out of the boat. Odette nodded in greeting, smiling, and Drake and Freya hugged briefly. "Where's the youngster?" Drake couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Acacia's minding him. How goes the reconstruction?" He nodded to Sir Fratley and got a nod in response before the four of them started to walk along the river. "Is that...? Are those Vivi's sons?" There was a gaggle of black mages on the other bank starting to get into another ferry to cross the river. In the game, Drake was sure that they had all looked like Vivi, but even from this distance, he could tell the difference between them.
"Mm? Ah, yes, they are. I've yet to get a clear answer from any of them how the black mages figured out how to repopulate." Drake scratched the back of his head with a small chuckle. Odette's eyes were wide as she looked over them, a hand covering her mouth.
"There's so many! Didn't Vivi's last letter say that one of his sons was Chosen? I think it was the one that was helping him write it." Drake nodded his head at that and watched as the poor soldier in charge of the ferry tried to get all the mages to sit still.
"I think it might be the one with the purple ribbon. See how the rest are listening to him?" One of the mages noticed them, and started to wave, which started the rest being hyperactive again. "Oh dear. I hope none of them fall in the river." He waved, smiling a little, though his eyes were sad. "I do wish Vivi could have hung on until Zidane came back, though." Odette hugged him briefly.
"While I'm glad he was able to increase the lifespan of the black mages, it is a very sad thing that it was at the expense of his own life," she said softly. Drake tilted his head against hers before turning at the sound of boots behind them. "Eh? Doctor Tot!" The scholar smiled at them, adjusting his glasses on his nose.
"Drake, Odette, Freya, Fratley, it's wonderful to see all of you again. Oh, Amarant said that he would be arriving sometime before the play." Drake nodded at that, smiling a little. "He is rather diligent in his duties, I must say. I heard some of the soldiers that knew him before he was declared an outlaw say that he's almost unrecognizable." Drake snorted at that.
"They must not have known him very well, then," he said, and turned to wave at the black mages as they finally got ashore. "Careful, don't fall in the water," he called out. Each of them had taken a different color as their motif, so it was rather easy to tell them apart. "Corcra, how was the journey? It looks like you all made it without too much trouble." Corcra, named for his purple hat ribbon, sighed a little.
"You were right, it's kind of like herding cats." Drake laughed at that, and eyed the rest of the mages as they scattered to explore. "Where's Aiden?" Though the mages were about the same age as Drake's son, most of the mages were mature enough to think and act more like adults, even if they were about the same size as Aiden.
"Exploring the garden with Acacia. Eiko should be here soon, too. She'll love to meet all of you, I'm sure." Drake didn't bother hiding a smile as Corcra's eyes lit up. He'd been exchanging letters with Eiko for years now, though what they talked about, Drake had no idea. He hadn't ever thought about prying, either.
"I'll go wait by the airship docks, then!" The four adults chuckled as Corcra went charging off, and returned to their walk. Drake ran his fingers through his hair as he walked, enjoying the wind. The sound of another airship going by overhead made him look up, and he smiled. The Hilda Garde 6 was a sleeker craft than any of the other ones that Drake had seen by far. He had a feeling that at least some of the technology had been inspired by the letters that the regent and Edgar had sent each other over the years.
"It's going to be nice to have the whole group together again," Freya said quietly. "It's been hard to keep that secret, that's for sure." Drake's smile grew at the mention of what he had shared with Freya the evening of Queen Garnet's coronation. "I heard that Quina was going to volunteer to cook tonight's feast. Or at least, direct the cooks." Drake chuckled a bit at that.
"Yeah. I'm looking forwards to it. Apparently Quina's put their all into their studies. I've heard their name mentioned a few times as the best chef on the continent." Odette nodded, and nudged Drake. "Mm?"
"Maybe we should go indoors. I need to sit for a while." Her free hand rested on her belly, and Drake nodded, smiling apologetically at her. The four of them walked through the front gate of the castle, and were directed towards a sitting room that was already stocked with tea and some snacks, and looked out onto the garden that Aiden was playing in. Some of the black mages had found their way there, and were playing gently with the boy.
Eiko bounced in after a while, followed by Corcra and Amarant, who nodded to Drake when he waved to him. Lani seemed a little awkward, but relaxed after Drake smiled at her. Drake had gotten used to the fact that she and Amarant had been an item for years, even if it did still strike him as a little odd.
Finally, a servant arrived and announced that they ought to take their seats for the play. Drake helped Odette to her feet as Amarant went to fetch Acacia and Aiden from the garden for him, and their group went to the balcony overlooking the lake where the Prima Vista was docked.
Sabin got up to greet them as they reached the front row, the torc around his neck still gleaming with its newness. Aoife, his wife, was rather distracted, watching the people on the rooftops that hadn't been able to get tickets to the play. Drake hugged first one and then the other, once his cousin had realized that he was there, and Sabin bent to talk to Aiden.
"So've you been behavin' yourself?" Aiden nodded a couple of times before reaching up to Sabin. The monk laughed a little and obliged the boy, scooping him up to rest him on his hip. "Ed's sittin' up with Queen Garnet an' the regent," Sabin informed Drake, jerking his head towards the balcony.
"I figured he would be. Has he still been flirtin' at her?" Sab rolled his eyes on that, and Drake chuckled. "Ah, he'll have to figure it out eventually. He's just not the sort for her. Quina, hello!" The Qu was covered in flour, but wasn't shy about hugging anyone, though s/he was careful of his/her tongue for once.
Drake saw Marcus peeking out of the background of the stage and gave him a small wave with a smile before looking at the others. Eiko, eleven now, and adopted by Regent Cid and his wife, was listening to some of Corcra's brothers chatter amongst themselves. Aiden was talking to Sir Fratley, still sitting on Sabin's lap with a hand fisted in his favorite uncle's tunic. The burmecian didn't seem to mind entertaining a four year old, though he and Freya had often visited when Drake and Odette were spending time in Treno.
"I think they're planning on starting the play soon," Drake commented, and the others started to sit in their seats, even if they didn't stop chatting with each other. Drake turned to look up at the balcony, and smiled a little as he saw Edgar looking down at them. He waved, seeing that Drake had noticed him, and Drake waved back, chuckling a little to himself. For all he'd spent a great deal of time putting on regal airs, Edgar actually preferred to spend time with his brothers. Being a king meant he tended to be separated by duty.
Sabin sat next to Drake, with Acacia in the row behind them to keep an eye on Aiden. The boy was now telling Sabin all about the trip on the airship, eyes aglow. Sabin, for his part, was listening rather intently to him, chuckling at his impressions of the Tantalus troupe. Baku finally stepped out onto the stage, and Drake had to cover a snort at his costume. It was more gaudy than the one Baku had worn to that first play, years ago.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight's performance is a story that takes place long, long ago. Our heroine, Princess Cornelia, is torn from her lover, Marcus. She attempts to flee the castle, only to be captured by her father, King Leo. Tonight's story begins when Marcus and Cornelia decide to run away together. And now, Your Royal Majesties, Queen Garnet of Alexandria, King Edgar of Figaro, Her Highness Princess Eiko of Lindblum, noble ladies and lords, and our rooftop viewers, Tantalus proudly presents, 'I Want to Be Your Canary'!" Odette tilted her head towards Drake, and he inclined his towards her to catch her whisper.
"That's his normal voice, isn't it?" Drake grinned and nodded, pleased that Odette had managed to figure out that Baku didn't have an 'inside voice'. "Aiden is going to be difficult to quiet after spending time with him, I think." Drake chuckled, nodding again. Their son was blinking at the play, but Sabin was leaning forwards to whisper to him. From what Drake was able to hear, he was making up a story that was bound to be more interesting to the four-year-old than the actual play.
As Baku walked into the back of the stage and out of sight, Ruby came out of a door by the stairs and climbed them up onto what was supposed to be a parapet. Drake had the feeling that they'd put more effort into the stage this time around because they wanted to actually perform, instead of cover up a kidnapping.
'Princess Cornelia' called out to her lover on top of the parapet just as someone dressed in a heavy cloak stepped out of the same door Ruby had. Drake covered his grin with his hand, jiggling one of his legs to keep from giggling to himself. He was in on the secret, but he was one of the few that were. The two actors embraced, Cornelia talking loudly. Drake normally wouldn't have watched this play, it was pretty sappy for his tastes, but he had made a promise to be there. Besides, it was Dagger's favorite play. He was surprised by how little he recognized 'Marcus's voice, though.
"I swear, if that play I heard was being written about us is this sappy, I will strangle the writer," Odette whispered to Drake, and he snorted before he was able to control himself. He could all but feel the glares of the people behind him. Odette's grin told him that it was the reaction she was hoping for, though. Drake blinked as Blank swaggered onstage, and rolled his eyes at his fellow Chosen. Blank must have been nervous, because he was over-acting to a hilarious degree, or just plain wasn't taking it seriously. Either could have been the case with him. The punch was actually rather convincing, though.
Most of the group that had adventured together were telling jokes to each other during the play, mostly to amuse themselves. Drake wasn't surprised that Sabin was making his made-up play more interesting partially to amuse himself. The plays enjoyed by the Mist Continent took themselves far too seriously for his tastes. It made him wonder if he would have liked Shakespeare any if he'd bothered to read any of it back on Earth.
Blank's 'death' scene came and went, and was just as hilariously bad as his acting. Sabin's version of the scene had Blank banished to a realm of eternal shorelines, with angry selkies. Aiden had latched onto selkies as being the scariest possible thing, and had to be told multiple times that they only showed up by the seashore before he'd go anywhere near a body of water after being told a story about them.
Finally, the scene that Drake had been waiting patiently for arrived. Next to him, Sabin was explaining why the stage had two moons in the background instead of only one, and was called a liar for claiming that there had ever been more than one moon. People all around them were covering up laughter at it, but Drake could see the stress around their eyes at it. The tides were only just settling down into a predictable pattern.
"So, the sun is our enemy, too. The eastern sky grows bright." 'Marcus' ignored Cinna's warning that the 'ship' was leaving. "Will we not spread our wings, as yonder birds in joyous flight?" The 'birds' were on sticks held up by a stagehand laying flat on the parapet. As Marcus's soliloquy continued, one of them fell with a clatter. "Could she have betrayed me? Nay, ne'er would my love speak false. I must have faith! She shall appear if I only believe! As the sun lends me no ear, I pray instead to the twin moons! I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish!" Drake's grin grew as 'Marcus' threw off his cloak, turning to face the audience with one hand outstretched towards the royal balcony. The look on Zidane's face was hopeful.
"Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" Most of the audience gasped at the change in the lines, and more than one of the adventurers had to stifle laughter. Odette was going red in the face, she was trying to keep from giggling so hard. Judging by the ruckus on the royal balcony, though, Drake had a feeling that amusement was not the emotion that Queen Garnet was feeling.
Sure enough, she came pushing her way through the audience to the front of the stage in just a moment, tossing aside her crown and throwing herself into Zidane's arms. Drake stood with a slight groan and stretched, feeling his muscles protest sitting in such an uncomfortable seat for so long. People were clapping as Zidane and Dagger embraced, and Edgar slipped up to the front row, the queen's circlet and pendant in his hands.
"Wow, she's actually punching him. Guess she was pissed." Drake glanced over his shoulder at his blood brother and chuckled. He could barely hear Edgar over the cheers. "I guess my threat to marry her if he didn't come back worked." Drake snorted at that, and took Aiden back from Sabin.
"Pretty sure he'd have come back even if you hadn't made that threat." Zidane turned his head to look at them, and Drake waved with his free hand, not bothering trying to hide his grin. "Why don't you kiss her? You've made the poor woman wait long enough," he shouted, ignoring the scandalized sounds the nobles a couple of rows back were making. Zidane just laughed and gave Dagger a peck on the lips.
It was pretty much impossible to get the play back into order, but no one seemed to really mind. Drake was rather glad that he no longer had to sit and pretend to be showing an interest in a play that he really didn't care for. Most of the nobles wandered off.
"I'm going to go take Aiden to the gardens before he decides to start screeching for it," Drake whispered to Odette, and she nodded before turning her attention back to Dagger. Drake set their son on the ground and following him as he meandered around. As he did, he glanced around, thinking a bit about how the culture of the nobles had managed to change in the past five years.
Thanks to his and Odette's influence, many of the styles were reminiscent of Caledonia. Even Queen Garnet was wearing a dress in the latest style, what would have been called a regency style dress on Earth, according to Odette. It certainly made Drake more comfortable, seeing men wear decent trousers instead of puffy pantaloons that made him think of diapers. The fabric was still about the same as it had been back when Drake was first made a duke, but he was pretty sure that the clans were a bit leery about interacting with the people of the Mist Continent still anyhow.
"Papa, papa look!" Drake blinked down at Aiden as he waved something in the air, trotting back to him as fast as his little legs could carry him. Drake blinked a little and crouched so that he was on his son's level. "Look what the stone man gave me!" Drake tilted his head to the side a little and accepted the little sheathed knife that his son was holding. In his pudgy little hands it looked more like a sword.
Almost immediately, he could tell that it was a Stellazio, and frowned a little at it. He unsheathed the little blade and squinted at the inscription on the blade. It might have been another language for how little he was able to understand it, but he put it back in its sheath before looking up.
A man stood on the far side of the garden they had walked to nodded to him, arms crossed. Drake blinked, and tilted his head to the side as the man faded into the stone wall behind him, not unlike how Cleyra had into the tree named after her. He sighed a little and looked back to his son.
"Well, that just changed a few things. I'll hold onto this for you until you get old enough you don't hurt yourself, alright, Aiden? It's still yours, I'm just making sure you don't get hurt." Aiden pouted as Drake tucked the knife into his belt, but reached up to ask to be carried. Drake obliged, and groaned a little as he straightened up holding him. "Ohh, you're starting to get a little too big to carry." Aiden whined, and Drake jiggled him a little before starting to walk. "Come on, let's go find Mama."
The rest of their group was in a private parlor that a servant had to direct Drake and Aiden to. Drake set Aiden down to let him go charging over towards his mother. Drake himself walked over to Beatrix and Steiner, who were talking quietly in a corner of the room. Beatrix noticed him first and smiled in greeting.
"You look like you've been running on little sleep," Steiner said, sounding amused. Drake sighed a bit at that and rubbed at his head before pulling the Stellazio his son had been given from his belt before handing it to Beatrix. "Eh, what's that?"
"A Stellazio that was given to Aiden by, I suspect, Alexander. He's a bit young to start training, though." Beatrix frowned a bit at that but looked closely over the belt knife. "I can't say I wasn't expecting one of the Constellato to take an interest in my kids, but not quite so young..." Beatrix chuckled a little.
"You'll have time to figure out who you want to train him, though." She handed the belt knife back to him, and he put it away in his belt. "Without there being any dark knights, though, I doubt he'll end up a paladin like me." Drake nodded a little to that and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, I know there's plenty of time...Just a little stressed about it is all." Steiner chuckled a little and clapped him on the shoulder. It was still odd to Drake, seeing him not wearing his armor. "I guess it's normal for being a parent, though."
"I think right now it's mostly because he's an adventurous boy and there's lots of people around that you aren't entirely sure of in the castle." Drake sighed at that and rubbed at his eyes. "At least you aren't trying to raise him alone." That got another sigh out of Drake.
"I don't know if Odette and I could manage without anyone else. Acacia's been more help than I had anticipated. I think the new baby's going to just add to the workload, though. Here I'd actually enjoyed getting some sleep each night," he joked. Steiner seemed to take a few moments before he realized it was a joke.
"I dunno, I think Baku was considering stealing him away to make him part of the troupe," Zidane joked as he walked over. Drake turned to lift an eyebrow at him, and blinked as he saw that Zidane had changed out of the clothes he'd been wearing onstage.
"I think Baku would end up wrapped around Aiden's finger. He didn't seem to mind bouncing him on his knee when I found Aiden on the bridge earlier." Zidane laughed at that. "I wonder if he's realized he's acting like a grandfather..." That got Zidane to snort.
"He might. It's not like Odette's parents are still around, so he may have unofficially adopted her as well as you." Drake shrugged a little and turned his head to see Dagger looking over at them. Drake waved with a small smile, and she looked away, blushing. "So..." Zidane's grin faded a little as Drake's grew. "I'm guessing you won't be spending the night on the Prima Vista." Zidane went bright red as Steiner snickered. Even Beatrix looked amused.
"W-well you aren't, either," Zidane blustered, looking away from them. Beatrix and Steiner started to turn red, they were trying to keep from laughing so hard. Drake had a hard time controlling his laughter, so it took him a while to respond.
"I'm not the one that's interested in the queen," he retorted, finally getting his giggles under control. "Also, I made sure that people were aware that I was coming. There's already a room for me and Odette prepared for us." Zidane looked like he was about to pass out, he was so red.
"Dear, do you really have to tease your brother so much?" Drake turned as Odette spoke up behind him, and he hooked an arm around her waist before planting a kiss on her cheek. Zidane rubbed at his face, though there were others that were slowly walking over to see what was going on.
"Of course I do. He knew that I was going to tease him when he agreed to be my blood brother, he'd seen me tease Sab and Ed. And he knows how much I teased Sab when he and Aoife got handfasted." Zidane groaned a little at that, finally getting his blush under control.
"I promised her I'd come back," Zidane said, not looking at anyone. Drake tilted his head to the side at that and looked at Odette, who also looked unconvinced. Steiner was frowning at Zidane, and Beatrix shook her head at him, still smiling. "So of course I did."
"That's not what you were worrying about on the way here," Drake reminded him, smirking. "You were far more concerned with the possibility that she may have fallen in love with someone else." He turned his head a bit more, and his smile grew.
"Well, I certainly didn't." Zidane jumped as Dagger spoke, his face going red. Drake could hear Edgar laughing from the other side of the room, and when he looked over, his blood brother was looking over at their group. "Not for want of other people trying to get my attention, though." Zidane blinked at that, and Dagger smiled a little.
"We all expected that, though. You're the monarch of a country, and there's always someone trying to grab power however they can." Dagger nodded, and smiled at Drake. "I've lost track of how many young noblemen I had to inform that you were not a woman that could be fooled into loving someone who didn't love her back after overhearing their plans to seduce you." Odette rolled her eyes at that, and Dagger sighed.
"That didn't stop many of them from trying, though." Zidane scowled at that, and Drake hid a smile. Aiden screeched from across the room, which automatically got his attention, and he sighed as he saw Acacia trying to reason with him.
"I think it's time for Aiden's nap. He's getting grumpy." Odette nodded, and Drake kissed her on the cheek. "I'll go put him to bed. Acacia could use a break." Odette smiled fondly at him before turning her attention back to the conversation that had restarted with Zidane and Dagger.
Aiden screamed at the top of his lungs the entire way to their rooms, getting attention as Drake patiently withstood his kicks and wriggles. Servants stepped out of their way as they passed, but they looked more amused than concerned. They'd seen Drake delivering his son to the nursery to take a nap before.
The four-year-old seemed to run out of energy once they reached the room, though, and Drake adjusted him on his hip before opening the door. A servant looked up, startled from her task of ironing out some clothes to hang them up, until she saw Aiden. Drake smiled a little at her before walking into the nursery that was attached to the room he and Odette used whenever they visited the castle.
"D'you want the puppy or the kitty?" Aiden reached for the puppy plush that his grandmother had sewn for him as Drake paused by the table the two toys were sitting on, and Drake handed it to him. Aiden tucked the ear of the toy into his mouth, sucking on it as Drake tugged the sheets of the trundle bed down before setting his son on it.
Aiden yawned and wriggled under the blankets as Drake ran his fingers through Aiden's hair, wincing a little at some of the stickiness he felt. Aiden had gotten something like jam into his hair, he was sure. Regardless, he hummed a lullaby that his mother on earth had sung to him when he was younger. He couldn't remember the words, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't ever forget the melody.
"Papa..." Aiden whined a little, and Drake tilted his head at him, lifting his eyebrows. "Can you teach me how to use the bow tomorrow?" Drake chuckled a bit at that. Someone amongst the Tantalus troupe must have been telling him stories about Drake when he had started to use the bow.
"If you want. I think you're going to end up better with the sword than your Papa, though." Aiden pouted up at him, but fell asleep before he was able to protest that. Drake leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before settling the blanket over him and getting up.
He paused at the door, looking back at his son, and smiled to himself. "I think Cecil was right. Most of the Chosen for the next several generations are going to be our descendants, Odette." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the jam off of his hand onto it and gently closed the door behind him. He had a party to get back to and a blood brother to tease until he finally told Dagger how he felt.
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End Notes: It kind of feels like forever since I actually started this story. I've improved my writing by a LOT. It feels a little like closing a chapter on my life, but it's not like I'm gonna stop writing. It's too big a part of who I am.