Permit me to tell you all that this was a taxing undertaking. I appreciate all your reviews and support, which have carried me through this story.
By the way, thanks to each of you, this story is now the third most followed story in this fandom.
You. All. Are. Awesome.
Virtual I.O.U's for everybody! *Throws handfuls of imaginary paper into the air enthusiastically*
I hope to finish the epilogue soon, and – as sad as it makes me to say so – bring this portion of our journey to an end.
Disclaimer: Brandon Mull maintains dominion over the Fablehaven realm.
Kendra stared out across the way, listening to the steady lapping of the water against the side of the little boat. The naiads who had been chatting with Bracken at the edge of the dock vanished beneath the surface of the pond as Kendra drew near. When she reached the dock, Bracken helped her out of the boat. He seemed to sense that she didn't want to talk about what had occurred, so in respectful silence he grabbed her hand and guided her back to the main house.
They encountered nobody else on the path. Kendra hardly appreciated the recognizable pathways, the friendly bend in the boughs above her, nor the familiar way the golden rays of the dimming of the day reached out from between the trees to coax her home.
She was lost amidst herself.
They carried on this way to the house. Too soon for Kendra's liking they found themselves on the doorstep. Before they went inside Bracken turned to study her. "You look different," he said at length.
"How so?" Kendra asked, matching his frankness.
He tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing her. "It's in the way you hold yourself. I think, you are a woman now."
"Yes. I guess I am." Kendra blinked. "Are you alright with that?"
Bracken chuckled softly. "I am."
"I love you," she said.
"And I you."
Kendra smiled and pressed up on her toes to swiftly peck his cheek.
Bracken opened the door.
The lights were all extinguished. Everything seemed unusually still.
"Surprise!" Kendra gasped as all her friends and family jumped out from the shadows. They collectively moved toward her. Kendra reeled in shock, momentarily rendered incapable of speech. Seth was the first to reach her.
A familiar sparkle of mischief twinkled in his eye. He spoke excitedly. "So, I figured that if you were going to come out of it you would need a little cake and stuff to help, so I rounded up everybody, and..." her brother paused. "You look different," he observed, rubbing his chin.
He inspected her features. "Yea. I don't what it is, but something is definitely even stranger about you than before."
Kendra laughed richly. She didn't notice her friends and family drinking in the sound.
Seth shook off his misgivings. "Anyway, we're going to start the process for becoming Eternals tomorrow!" he gushed.
Kendra cast a quirked up brow at him. "Seth, I may need to rest for a little while."
Seth rolled his eyes dramatically. "Oh come on, Kendra! You look fine. You look better than you've looked in forever." Her brother crossed his arms. "Do you want to marry the unicorn or not?!"
"That's quite enough, Seth," Grandma Sorenson admonished, coming up behind him.
Seth harrumphed. "I'm just saying."
"And I'm just saying, enough." Grandma Sorenson pushed the boy toward the dining room. "Go, eat cake."
Seth lumbered off, mumbling to himself.
Kendra was guided to living room where she was able to sit and survey the faces around her. Tanu, Warren, Vanessa, Dale, her parents, and her grandparents were all faces she'd more or less expected to see. Doren, Newel, and Verl had also been invited in for the evening. Agad and Mara were also present. Most surprisingly, the furniture had been adjusted so that Raxtus – in his dragon form – could curl up in the corner of the room. All the people Kendra cared about most were gathered under one roof to celebrate her homecoming.
There were hugs, tears, laughter, and the sharing of stories on both sides. Kendra omitted many of the details of her time in the dragon prison. She eagerly shared the details of how she befriended the quirky dwarf, and the story of Sairon Mirima. Agad in particular was interested in the parts involving the wizard, for he apparently knew little about the legendary man. In regard to the tragedy of the wizard who had saved the world, Kendra was all too happy to expound upon what she knew.
But Kendra neglected to mention the strange waltz she'd had with Gavin, or any of her insights regarding his troubled past. She sensed that the others guessed she hadn't given them the whole story, but none of them pried further. No one asked her about what had happened earlier at the shrine, and Kendra didn't offer up any details.
Seth had his moment, reliving the "climax", when he had "nobly", "slayed", the "most evil thing to have ever graced the earth". Much to Seth's delight, the satyrs asked him a hundred questions. They scolded him for not relaying this information previously (apparently her brother had been out with satyrs while Kendra was at the shrine). Aside from the satyrs, everyone else gave Seth his due amount of fawning and praise.
Kendra was proud of her brother, but secretly her thoughts returned to her real hero - he who had been instrumental in saving her from a terrible fate. She was sad that she would never again seen the ridiculous grin of T.C, or get to experience his erratic, nonsensical behavior. Soundlessly, she wished him well, wherever he was.
At one point Bracken excused himself and went to speak with Grandpa Sorenson privately. He came back almost an hour later, looking much more troubled than when he had left. Kendra wanted to ask, but Bracken didn't seem to want to discuss it. So she allowed him the same courtesy he'd extended her earlier.
When the evening was beginning to wane, Grandpa Sorenson stood up. He cleared his throat, and all eyes came to rest on him.
"Us old folks have been talking here lately." He gestured to Grandma Sorenson and the Larsens. Kendra watched her other grandparents nod their consent. "And I thought that tonight, since you are all gathered here - well, it seems as good a time as any to make an announcement." Grandpa Sorenson bent down and took his wife's hand in his. "We are getting on in our years. We've about gotten to the point where we're too tired to keep on as we have."
"We're retiring. We'll see this Eternal process through, but we're leaving Fablehaven after that." Everybody gasped. Kendra reached over and took Bracken's hand.
"Where are you going?" Seth's indignation was plain.
"Costa Rica. We're faxing down the signed leases tomorrow morning." Their grandfather chuckled at the ugly look on Seth's face. "It's not like we're dying, Seth. We will still be a part of each of your lives. We'll all be keeping our positions with the Knights, but we'll just be leaving Fablehaven. Dale has taken part in a few of our conversations. He's agreed to stay on and help with the work, but someone is going to have to take over as caretaker."
"Seth loves this preserve with all his heart, but there's a whole wide world out there that needs saving." Grandpa Sorenson favored his grandson with a lopsided grin. "And I truly believe that Seth will save us all someday."
Seth's back straightened. His eyes gleamed with pride.
Grandpa Sorenson slowly turned to face where she and Bracken sat. The implications set in. Her breath hitched in her throat.
"Grandpa, you don't mean…" The grave expression he wore told her he did.
"Now, I know nothing is set in stone between you two." He inclined his head toward Bracken with an amused smile. Bracken's grip tightened on Kendra's hand, suggesting he thought otherwise. "But I think you'd be perfect to take over as caretakers of the Fablehaven preserve. If you'll agree to it, we'd like to bequeath the Fablehaven legacy to you, Kendra."
Kendra looked into the eyes of the man who held her hand to confirm. He winked inconspicuously at her. Together they stood to face the wizened captain.
"We would be honored."
The room erupted into cheers. Raxtus roared joyously, causing the three satyrs to nervously scoot several inches closer to the door.
Kendra and Bracken would become caretakers. Kendra couldn't believe it. All her dreams were coming true, one after another.
Of course, she wasn't without her worries. She had learned a lot about herself during the speaking of the words of Creation. There was yet much she had to process. However, at that moment, everything seemed so absolutely wonderful and happy, that she could put aside all her inhibitions. She basked in the love of her friends and family.
She couldn't imagine anything in the world could possibly ruin the perfection of the moment.
*.*.*.*.*
Later that week Vanessa and Warren would reveal that they were taking on the job of completely dismantling the Evening Star, making sure that this would be the organization's last attempt at a revolution. Tanu would announce that he was going to open up a school to train future caretakers, and Mara had signed on as his first teacher. Presently, none of that was brought up, though.
Sleeping arrangements were the topic of that late hour. The satyrs and Raxtus had left to retire in their outside, and the others were unhurriedly discussing who would bed where.
Bracken pulled Kendra aside. "There is something I need to do."
"Tonight?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes. I would have done it sooner, but I was a bit preoccupied with my virtuous maiden," he joked, but Kendra could tell that a fit of urgency had overcome him.
Together they slipped outside. Bracken led Kendra to the edge of the yard, where a fire-pit had been made. Kendra watched passively as Bracken carefully set two glittering documents at the heart of the circle. Inexplicably, Kendra felt an immediate revulsion of them - the documents - and was afraid to ask Bracken what they were.
A few curious fairies who had followed them flew off in a tinkling frenzy. The brought back several others, and had started to cluster in a thick ring. Kendra tried to ignore their distressed whispering. It didn't take long before all the fairies in the yard had gathered about them. Kendra could tell that she wasn't the only one who disliked the look of the documents.
Raxtus appeared too, unannounced and uncharacteristically quiet. He lay down next to Kendra, his body stiffened. Kendra could feel the eyes of her family and friends watching the spectacle from the porch.
Bracken commenced singing a sad ballad, to which the fairies hummed in an eerie chorus. A heavy, melancholy magic descended upon the entourage.
Bracken sat fire to the documents. Kendra unwittingly took two steps back from the blaze. The fire burnt an unnatural shade of florescent blue, the tips flickering indigo. The flames shimmered and sparkled, beautifully. Kendra found herself crying silently against Bracken's shoulder. He continued his low singing but his cheek rested on her head, and she could feel his hot tears through her hair.
The singing continued till the the fires died out, which felt like an eternity later to Kendra. The sky had lightened, signaling the approaching dawn.
Kendra noticed that only Raxtus, Bracken, and herself remained. Raxtus lay still next to the fire pit. Kendra and Bracken shared a look that agreed they wouldn't disturb him. For the rest of the day Raxtus lay in that same spot. He didn't eat. He wouldn't respond when others tried to engage him in conversation. He lay there, bleary-eyed, staring at the fire pit. The following morning Raxtus was back to his usual chipper self, though he still evaded explaining his odd behavior.
About a week later, after Warren and Vanessa had revealed their plans for the future, Raxtus confided in Kendra that he had discussed with the Burgesses the possibility of traveling with them. When Kendra asked him why he would want to do such a thing, he'd replied that he wanted retribution for all the sins of the Society. Though he said it lightly, Kendra was alarmed by the underlying vengeful attitude. It was only a few months later, when Bracken explained to Kendra about the starskin journals and the meaning behind the funeral that she'd unknowingly attended that Kendra understood (and to a degree, sympathized with) Raxtus' desire to go crusading.
After the funeral, that Kendra did not yet know had been a funeral, Bracken and Kendra went to join the others on the porch. The fire had burned for several hours, and the majority of them had already retired. Agad and Seth were the only ones up to bid them goodnight.
Agad's face was ruddy, as though he'd been crying. "Next to the ruin of the battle of the demon prison, and the successive molestation of the Fairy Queen's realm, I believe that was the most awful scene I've ever beheld." With those words the wizard left them to retire.
"We're turning in for the night, Seth. You should too." Kendra put a hand on her brother's shoulder.
"I'll be in, in a little while." Seth promised absently.
Kendra mussed her brother's hair. "Don't be up too late."
Seth gave her a halfhearted thumbs-up.
Kendra shot one last look out at the receding night. She thought about how the land she was looking at would one day soon become her responsibility. She briefly closed her eyes, and pictured the yard in the sun, Bracken and herself walking the perimeter of the fence, and two blonde-haired, pale skinned children trailing behind them. Kendra opened her eyes.
With a small sigh of contentment she pulled the door shut behind her.
*.*.*.*
While everybody else slept soundly, Seth watched the sun come up that morning. His world was quieted.
I wonder what I'll do now, he mused. He racked his brains for a potential impending disaster. He couldn't think of any.
What if he never found or came across any more grand adventures? He worried that maybe he'd peaked too soon. What if his grandfather was wrong? What if his travels around the world left him as nothing but a glorified hobo?
He shuddered at the thought.
No. Seth stared at the golden light of the rising sun. He wasn't about to let Grandpa Sorenson down (again).
I will save the world so many times my songs will spawn songs about how awesome I am. I will be the greatest adventurer who ever lived, he vowed.
And Seth Sorenson went on to do a great many amazing things, though he only truly saved the world once more.
Kendra and Bracken were happily married within the year, both sets of his grandparents retired, and just when Seth's world could not have been any more boring, he ate a scone...He just had to eat the scone.
But for now Seth sat watching the sunrise over his favorite patch of earth in the wide world, pondering what his future held.