For now, this will be the last chapter. I have an epilogue planned for the near future. I may also, at some point, write up extra chapters of random scenes that just hit me. They, of course, will be one-shots and out of order. If you have any questions about or things you want to see happen in a chapter, just let me know!

I shifted Karth's weight as I carried him. We had a long walk today. Any other time and I would have let him walk and strengthen his legs. He was five and perfectly capable of it, but we had too far to go and I was not going to lose him in the crowd. I kept a hold of Lucia's hand, keeping her close to my side. As we came up over the hill, I began to see the crowds of people. And the closer we got, the more people saw us. As I lead my children through the crowd, people turned and stared. Conversations turned to whispers and already saddened looks turned to pity. People parted, letting us through until we reached the statue. Before us stood Nelcara in stone form, covered in flowers and candles. It was life-sized and carved to her likeness with her arms stretched out as if she were about to cast a spell. An unbidden memory came rushing back to me.

It was late, the middle of the night, when I heard the door slam open. I grabbed my blade laying next to the bed and ran downstairs, only to stop halfway to the door. In the doorway stood Nelcara, half slumped over in exhaustion. Her hair was a tangled mess, her robes dirty and half torn, and by the looks of the bags under her eyes, it seemed as though she hadn't slept in a few days.

I dropped my blade to the floor. I had heard she had defeated Alduin. But no one knew if she was alive. No one had seen her. She'd just vanished. I didn't...I didn't know if I was going to see her again. But here she was, standing in front of me. And then she ran towards me. I caught her, as she almost knocked me over, and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight. She was home and in my arms. I felt like I could breathe again. I didn't want to ever let her go.

And then she placed her hands on my face, tears streaming down her face, saying, "I'm not going anywhere without you again." She kissed me, long and hard.

And that's when we heard Luica come into the room, half asleep. She saw her mother and ran towards her screaming. Nelcara dropped to the floor to hug her, so tightly I thought she may hurt her.

"Mama! You're home!"

"Yes, and I'm not going anywhere." Nelcara answered as she looked over Lucia's shoulder to me.

But she did leave. It took her over six years, but she did. The College had contacted her, asking for some assistance with their students. She had given up her title as arch-mage but still kept up with the college. She was happy to help but had been reluctant to leave. She had promised to only be gone two weeks, three at the most. Everything had gone as planned until the trip back. That's when the storm hit. Nelcara had fought bandits, forsworn, thalmor, and vampires. She had defeated Alduin. And she was taken down by a damn storm. Her carriage got caught in the middle of it. The rain, wind, and lightning all overwhelmed the horse and the driver to lose control. The wagon crashed, causing Nelcara to...fall and slam against a rock, killing her. At least that's what I had been told. Now we were here.

"Papa" Lucia called out, pulling me back to reality. I quickly realized I had been holding onto her too hard. I apologized and let go of her hand, allowing her to walk forward and kneel by the grave.

"Did Mama turn to stone?" Karth asked, looking at the statue with a puzzled stare. When I got the news I had tried to explain it to him as best as possible, but it was difficult.

"Karth...we talked about this. She's not stone. Mama's...dead. Remember?"

He squirmed out of my arms, dropping to the ground, and ran towards the statue. "Mama!" he called out, looking up to its stone face. "Mama" he called repeatedly as he began to hit on its leg. Tears started to form in his eyes, "Why won't she answer?"

"She's dead you idiot. She won't say anything." Lucia spat, her fist clenched to her side.

"Enough" I shouted at the two of them. Nelcara had only been gone a few days and we were already falling apart. I couldn't do this without her. "You know better Lucia" I said giving her a hard look, picking Karth, who was now sobbing, back up. She hung her head, steeling her face from tears. I shouldn't have yelled. They didn't need or deserve that. They were only children.

"I miss her already", she said choking back a sob. I sat down next to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Me too"

Damn it. Why couldn't you stay?