Well without further adieu I present the final chapter!

Epilogue

Dash and Terrence delivered Artemis's message to Queen Clarion and the ministers. Of course the Ministers of the Seasons said no to the idea of evacuation, saying they need to protect the Pixie Dust Tree from burning to a crisp. However, Queen Clarion ordered that any fairy, who wished to flee, could until it was safe again. Once the message was passed, the two sparrowmen left to begin looking for Artemis. They were almost away from the Pixie Dust Tree, when a voice shouted behind them.

"Terrence! Dash! Wait up!" Tinkerbell flew quickly towards them, followed by her friends.

"Tink, you all should head back it's not safe!" Terrence responded worriedly.

"We came to help you find Artemis and we're not taking no for an answer." Vidia stated bluntly.

Terrence seemed to object to this, but was cut off by Dash "Alright you can come, but stay close."

The group followed Dash towards the direction Artemis had went, straight into the pitch black smoke which had become even more suffocating than before. Staying low to the ground, they covered their mouths with their hands and peered everywhere for their friend. They had to be careful not to get too close to a fire in case the heat would burn their wings off their backs and they had to strain to hear anything over the loud crackle of the flames.

Then, a loud cry came from the distance. It sounded like a trapped animal, which caused Fawn to race over to it. Following her, while the rest struggled to keep up, Dash was shocked to find Artemis's hawk Strider in a cage made entirely of wood. The large bird was panicking in fear and Artemis was nowhere in sight.

While Fawn began to soothe the bird, Dash turned around and began shouting "Rosetta!".

The garden fairy came as quickly as she could and gasped when she saw Strider. Using her magic, the cage unwrapped itself, freeing it's prisoner. Once free, the other fairies looked at Strider with a hint of fear in their eyes over what the bird would do. Cautiously walking up to him, Dash raised his hands up at Strider the same way he had seen Artemis do and began calming him down.

"Okay bud, I know you don't like me much and the feelings mutual, but I need you to help me find Artemis. Okay?" Dash wasn't sure if he could understand him, but he had to try his best to get through the bird.

It didn't work. For some unknown reason, Strider began to act feral towards the fairies until he finally took off into the air. Knowing how heartbroken Artemis was going to be when she found out what had become of her hawk, Dash memorized where he took off for her to be able to track him down later. Going back to the original task, the fairies searched some more until they came across a black raven's feather.

The wind blew the feather towards a fallen tree, which by Rosetta's calculations had fallen only a few minutes ago. Only the roots and a couple of it's branches were on fire and a small glow could be seen in between the branches. Rushing forward, Dash followed Terrence towards the glowing light and was horrified at what they found. Artemis was lying on her side, her armor had caught on fire and was slowly burning away. With Silvermist's help, they were able to put out the fire and began assessing their friend for any sign of life. She was, but barely, and they knew they had to act quickly in order to save her life.

Draping her arm over his shoulder and the other over Vidia's, the two fast flyers raced back towards the Pixie Dust Tree with the others following as best they could. Once the Pixie Dust Tree was in view, they barely noticed the many water fairies who were working to put out the flames. They found both Elixa and Clara who immediately took Artemis into the Pixie Hollow ballroom where all the other injured fairies were kept. The two healers told them to wait outside while they did their work and the two fast flyers had to relay the message to their friends once they caught up.

They all waited for nearly two hours for any word over Artemis's condition. As they waited, they watched as the storm fairies got together and created a storm over the fires. Terrence was rocking back and forth on his mushroom and Tinkerbell was there to console him. Finally Clara walked out of the ballroom's doorway, a grave look over face.

"I'm sorry." Was all she said and Dash immediately flew into the doorway.

He wasn't going to believe Clara's words, but when he came across Elixa who's somber expression gazed at an empty bed in a corner of the room, he knew he wasn't ever going to be the same again. His knees buckled from underneath him and he barely registered the cries of Terrence and the others. Artemis, the girl who changed him for the better, was gone and he didn't get to say goodbye.

Hours passed and Queen Clarion finally managed to get some sleep after the fires finally died out. All of the fairies were forced to sleep in places not affected by the fire and the Queen gazed at some sleeping faces in the Pixie Dust Tree. Quietly she walked into her room and waited for the soft knock on her door.

"Come in." Queen Clarion said and watched as her visitor limped inside.

Artemis looked awful. Her skin was still pink and raw due to being on fire, despite the healers best efforts. Several bruises went up her body and a large black one in the shape of a hand was found around her neck. Her hair was disheveled and some ends were slightly burnt. The only thing not damaged were her eyes, but the way they glanced about looked as if they were severely wounded.

Queen Clarion started to reach out to the fairy in hopes of consoling her, but the slightest movement had Artemis freezing and she backed off.

"You saved everyone Artemis, thank you." The queen said softly.

"Not everyone." Was Artemis's sad reply as she indicated Alfonse's comatose state.

"I have all the healers looking after Alfonse, they should find a cure for his state soon. He will be proud of what you've done when he wakes up."

Deciding to change the subject, Artemis looked into her queen's eyes "Thank you for helping me fake my death, I don't think I could've done it with just Elixa's and Clara's help."

"Are you still sure that was wise? Everyone was heartbroken when Clara gave them the news."

The memory of the moment flashed before Artemis's eyes.

When the ringing in Artemis's ears began to fade, she was able to distinguish the moans of the injured and the voices of the healers from each other. Painfully she opened her eyes and was immediately blinded by the soft orbs of light casted by the light fairies. Slowly she opened them again and sorely moved her head from side to side to get her bearings.

Suddenly Morwen's voice pierced through her skull. "You may think that by killing me means that you're loved ones will be safe, but you're wrong! By them just knowing you alone is enough for a death sentence."

Hot tears began flowing down her cheeks as his words registered within her. Artemis knew he was right, the people she loved may be safe from him, but because they knew her, they would be in danger by other threats. It was a hard thing to think of after just waking up, but when was waking up ever easy for her? She slowly and painfully began to sit up and was immediately pushed back down by both Clara and Elixa.

"Why is it that I always find you over exerting yourself?" Clara muttered irritably.

"Go easy on her Clara, she's had the roughest time yet." Elixa calmly states.

"Is she awake?" Queen Clarion suddenly appeared, startling the fairies.

"Yes my lady!" They both replied.

With a soft smile, Queen Clarion approached Artemis's bed and frowned in worry when she saw the animal fairy burst into tears. "My dear what's the matter?"

Artemis never had a real conversation with Queen Clarion before, but the one they had right then and there was something she would be grateful for the rest of her life. Like a mother, Queen Clarion listened as Artemis told her greatest fears and when she admitted her plan, she begged the queen to help her carry it out.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Queen Clarion questioned.

"I can't let anyone else get hurt because they know me. If I'm going to carry out my duties as a Hawk Rider, I have to be able to do it without worrying for everyone else. Please Queen Clarion, help me!" Artemis's tear stained face peered into the queen's soul and with Elixa and Clara's help, the three of them helped fake Artemis's death.

Once the memory faded, Artemis looked at Queen Clarion's questioning eyes with the same amount of determination. The worried expression did not leave her face, but Queen Clarion said nothing except for "What will you do now?"

"I'm going to go find Strider and bring him back to Hallow's Grove. After that, well there's plenty of other hawks out there who could be tamed. I know they won't ever be my hawk, but hopefully I can help them find their own rider's. If that happens while Alfonse is still being treated, I guess then I'll do what he did for me. Teach the ways of a Hawk Rider." Was Artemis's response.

"You know everyone knows about the Hawk Rider's now, what do you have in mind to keep them from discovering your secret?"

"I'll just have to come up with believable disguise." With this, Artemis bowed and turned to take her leave.

Watching the fairy leave, Queen Clarion was able to glimpse at the sight she wasn't able to see before. Artemis's back was forever scarred due to the fire, but this wasn't what would plague the queen's mind for days to come. Once she had put life into the girl's beautiful wings and watch her take her first flight. Now she knew those days were forever gone, just like the wings that never had the chance to take the fairy to the Mainland.

Author's Note: Well it's over. I can't believe it. I don't know about you guys, but I feel hopeless just from writing this ending. I mean it was always my intention to end it this way, but now that it finally has happened, I don't know I just feel weird. Now I got to get inspired to write another story, possibly the sequel, but for now I'm going to take a break from writing. At least for a week or so... maybe. I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this story of mine, especially KVill who's replies has really helped me push myself to completing it. Including my sister who's going to kill me when I read it to her. If you have any questions about anything in this story that didn't make sense please let me know! I would love to do a Q&A session for either this or for any of my other work on Fanfiction! I love you all and until next time!