It was morning, and after getting breakfast, Desdemona and I awaited Amy waking up. I began pacing nervously. Desdemona told me to sit down, but I couldn't keep still. Amy came down the stairs, looking at me. "Oh, you're still here," she said.
"Look, Amy," I said, "I know that this will be a big change for you, and that most of what you have heard seems to be proven false, but don't get mad at me for it. I love you."
"What is love?" Amy asked, "You don't even know me! You met me yesterday!"
"If I was raising you from birth, would you question me loving you as soon as I saw you?" I asked, "Desdemona never questioned it, and she was a lot older than you and not related to me when I loved her as quick."
"Your relationship is different," Amy said. "It's more like… the people I always thought were mommy and daddy's relationship."
"Okay," I said, walking away sadly. "If you don't want to be our daughter, I guess that the trip we spent so long on is in vain. It's okay. We could always try to make another one."
"Another one?" Desdemona asked, "Why would I even be considered fit to? The first one doesn't like us at all."
"I guess we're really so bizarre that we're the only people in the world who can love each other," I said.
"That's… that's not true!" she said, "Well, maybe it's true about me. But not about you. There was that nice Meg girl."
"She… she only learned to love me because she thought we would be married," I said.
"And who was it who arranged it?" Desdemona asked.
"It was… it was… Brom, her father," I said, "Because he thought that women didn't have to be eccentric to love me…"
"And he was right," Desdemona said. She looked at me and said, "If anyone sabotaged this relationship, it was me. It's not because you're too weird, Zihark. Even if you are a mercenary who studies." It cheered me up a little, but not completely.
"Umm," I heard a childlike voice say. "You two… I think I might have come off as a bit mean."
"A bit mean?" I asked, "Nonsense. I would never expect you to tell me anything but the truth."
"Well, the truth is, I'm a bit nervous," Amy said, "And I would like to get a relationship with you."
"Really?" I asked, "Are you just saying this because you saw how sad we were?"
"Yeah, kinda," she said, "Seeing you so sad made me realize you weren't just saying you loved me because you thought you had to."
"Well, I was thinking that we would move to Ohma, if that was okay with Desdemona," I said.
"That village, with that friendly family, and that Nephenee girl?" Desdemona asked.
"Yes, that's the one," I said. "I'm sure that they'd be happy to have us there."
"And it would be a nice midpoint between our two homelands too, wouldn't it?" asked Desdemona.
"Yes, it would," I said, "So are you willing to come to Ohma with us, Amy?"
"I… I am," Amy said, getting ready to come along with us. But I turned around and I saw Calill and Largo standing by the door looking sad.
"Are you two going to be okay with this?" I asked.
"It's just that Ohma's a little far away," Calill said, "Will we be able to see her?"
"Of course," I said, "You can visit whenever you want, and sometimes, we'd come visit you as well."
"I guess that's good enough," Calill said, but I could tell that she was sad. I knew the look on her face well. It was one I'd seen on myself the morning after Desdemona left. When you've formed a bond with someone, not comparable to any other relationship, it hurts like hell when the bonds separate.
I said, "Amy," looking down at my beautiful daughter, "I think you should stay with Calill and Largo."
"But they…" Amy said, "And you… don't you love me?"
"Of course I do," I said, "But I don't want to punish Calill for keeping you alive and safe long enough to meet you. Don't worry, we'll visit often."
"Did you just let Amy stay with them?" Desdemona asked in disbelief, "I'm surprised at you."
"Good or bad?" I asked.
"Well, I guess it's good. I didn't know you'd be willing to separate from our daughter. I guess that means that you've grown from your relationship with me," she said.
"I didn't want to let her go," I admitted, "I did it because I didn't want Calill to suffer the same pain I went through."
"But we are going to visit often, right?" Desdemona asked.
"Of course. It takes about a week to get from Ohma to Melior on horseback, so how about once a month?" I asked.
"But we have no horses," Desdemona said.
"I figure if the Greil Mercenaries keep going off and doing other things, we can keep the supplies coming."
"Pardon me?" asked a weak voice, "I heard someone talking about the Greil Mercenaries?"
"Yeah, that was me," I said, turning around. "Rhys! Long time no see!"
"Oh, I see you've found someone," he said, "I'm so happy for you. And… look, it's my old reserve horse…"
"How's school going?" I asked.
"Oh, you know kids, they think even the most terrifying stories are exciting and wonderful," he said, "But have you been married yet?"
"Married?" Desdemona asked, "Is that even possible?"
"Yeah, interracial marriage has been legal in Crimea since the end of the Mad King's War. If you're not married, I could…" he said.
"Marry us?" I asked excitedly, "If that works, we'd love it!"
"Oooh! I would too!" he said, "Having spent the majority of my adult life in mercenary work, I spent far more time speaking at funerals than presiding over weddings. But the latter is much more fun."
"I can imagine," I said.
We were married in the fall. Mist let us keep the horses that we borrowed, because while we were gone, Ike apparently decided to run off with Soren—so my suspicions were probably right—so Gatrie used his horse now. We moved into Jacob's old house. He said that he didn't need all that room since his wife died, and moved into a smaller house.
Every other night, Brom would invite us over for dinner. We couldn't refuse a meal with such a great guy. Eventually we started inviting his family over as well. And soon, even Desdemona knew the names of all of his children, although she still had some trouble with the in-laws.
Meg and Dickie got married and had a litter of their own shortly. While Desdemona and I would spend most of the time visiting Amy, we made an exception one time, to let Amy visit us and play with Meg's children. Amy considered us her other set of parents, and considered Brom's children and Nephenee her aunts and uncles. Auntie Meg was her favorite, which surprised nobody.
How ironic that when Desdemona and I had been persecuted our whole lives for being unusual, we could find happiness in one of the most traditional towns. Simplicity, without any of the formalities of city life, without any of the hatred of brainwashed towns. This was the life for us. And we have been here for the last thirty-five years.