The final chapter is on. Thanks in advance to everyone who's read/reviewed/favored this story. I enjoyed writing this. This chapter title may be subject to change because I wasn't sure what a good name for it would be.

Disclaimer: You may already know the drill by now, but the dragon quest series was created by Squaresoft with its respective characters, locations, etc.

Epilogue-Forevermore and Always

As a month and a half passed, the group traveled around the world in the Starflight Express, aiding anyone in the Protectorate who are in need. Trent, Arianna, Conrad, Sasha, Raymond, Alicia and Sasha watched the scenery go by as they made one last round in the express.

"This has been a good many months, hasn't it?" breathed Trent.

Arianna smiled"Indeed. But even though the Grotto Guardians are defeated and Corvus has been stopped, I've no reason to cease my guardianship. There will always be those in need, I'm sure Lady Celestria understands that. I'm sure we all have high hopes for the future."

"All that adventuring's been fun, I'll say that much" grinned Conrad.

Trent addressed Arianna"I've been doing a bit of thinking... And..."

"Yes?" The purple-haired Celestrian addressed him.

The blond Gladiator smiled"I'm thinking about staying in Stornway. I asked King Schott, and he said he'd expand the kingdom a bit so we could build a house. Takes a lot of money, I know, but what can I do?"

"That will be fine, I'll be working part-time at the Quester's Rest anyway. The rest of my time will be spent as protector of the Protectorate, and Master Aquila has offered to help train aspiring Adventurers if any newcomers join Patty's place if there are any who are willing to see the world and help protect its people. If they're not careful though, they'd have to open another branch of Patty's Party Place in Angel Falls. What of you?" acknowledged Arianna.

Trent squared his shoulders"I've decided to enlist as one of King Schott's knights and start a job protecting the town and civilians from monsters. I have my father's memory to think about, he was a awesome knight. Almost as amazing as the legendary Right Knight was, in fact."

"That sounds perfect for you, and in this way, we could both work together to ensure the safety of Stornway and its people. And as it is my duty as a guardian to defend the Protectorate, I'll pretty much be traveling to the different towns we've visited and ensuring that everything is okay. If you get any free time during your job, you can join me" smiled Arianna.

"Sasha and I will settle down in Porth Lleffan, we talked about that together. We'll hire a crew and use the Pride of Bloomingdale to help ferry people to Stornway and Gleeba if they want. Thieving doesn't exactly pay" said Conrad, thinking about his deceased father.

"Alicia and I decided to settle down in Zere. Huh, guess we'll be pretty spread out. Not that it bothers me" said the male Sage.

The group disembarked the Starflight Express. Arianna turned to address Stella and Sterling"Thank you for allowing us to use the Starflight Express. Sterling, I thought maybe I should return your whistle."

The older man smiled"Heh, don't worry about that. You just hold on to it, never know when you might need transport and can't make it back to the nearest town."

"That's true" smiled the Celestrian.

Trent, Arianna, Conrad, Sasha, Raymond and Alicia went to the Quester's Rest for one more night together.

"Since we're talking jobs, guess we're disbanding after all" said Conrad.

Arianna nodded with a smile"We're all free to live our lives as we desire. If there's ever another crises and we aren't around, our descendants will surely be up to the challenge."

"She's right about that. We are the world's elite Adventurers and preservers, and will remain so in our hearts" remarked the Gladiator.

The next few days passed until Raymond and Alicia arranged their wedding to take place in Stornway's church. Trent was selected to be Raymond's best man, while Arianna was asked by the female sage to be her Maid of Honor.

Conrad, Sasha, Erinn, Aquilla, Patty, Sellma, Raymond's aunt, and a few other people sat in the church as guests. Trent stood next to Raymond as he spoke with the male sage"So, we're going to be brother-in-laws."

"You said it. Though to be honest, I didn't think we'd survive that long" grinned Raymond.

The room was silent as Alicia emerged from a room at the side of the church, wearing a wedding dress. Conrad walked up to Alicia and walked down the aisle towards the alter with the female sage.

Trent watched as Alicia and Raymond proceeded to stand in front of the altar, where a Priest presided over the wedding. Arianna stood next to Trent as Raymond and Alicia exchanged vows.

"So romantic, when do you think Trent and Arianna will get hitched?" remarked Patty from her seat.

"Never know, but they're obviously in no rush" smiled Erinn.

Aquila sat silently, thinking.

"Hey, don't you have anything to say?" Patty addressed the bald man.

Aquila shook his head to awaken himself from his thoughts"I have nothing to say."

"Can't blame you, this occasion is almost impossible to express with words" said Erinn.

As soon as the two Sages exchanged their vows and rings, the group headed for the square where the reception was taking place. Trent put a hand in Arianna's"Hey."

"Yes?" inquired the female Celestrian.

Everyone in the room seemed to stop and see what was going on. The blond Gladiator was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"You're blowing it, lovebird" called Raymond. Alicia shook her head.

Trent's ears reddened in embarrassment as the blond took something out of his pocket and addressed Arianna"I've given this some thought, and I'm wondering... Will you marry me, Arianna?"

The violet-haired Celestrian blushed as she pondered this"You know, you could've chosen a more romantic setting after the wedding. But I am touched by your ardor, so yes, I accept your proposal, Trent."

Trent smiled"Then, I give you this as a symbol of my affection." The blond Gladiator opened the box to review a gold ring with a purple amethyst on top of it and placed the ring on Arianna's willing third finger.

The Celestrian admired the ring for a moment before she spoke again"This is quite an expensive piece of jewelry."

"Yeah, I used most of my savings to pay for that" flushed Trent.

Arianna smiled and turned to address the cheering crowd"My friends, Trent and I will hold our own ceremony in a few weeks from now. Each of you is invited, but there may be other guests as well."

Raymond and Alicia beamed at the newly engaged couple. Outside, Arianna could've sworn she just heard Stella giggling as the tiny, flippant fairy retreated to the Starflight Express to tell Sterling.

Aquila walked up to the engaged pair"Arianna, I am truly happy for you. Trent, I trust you will take good care of her? Arianna, you both have my blessings. Lady Florianna would've wanted this if she could see you, today."

"Thanks, master" smiled Arianna.

"Yes, sir" acknowledged the blond.

Alicia piped up"Well, let's head outside, everyone."

The group headed out to where the reception took place in town. King Schott, Princess Simona, Doctor Phlegming and Ivor were among the crowd. Alicia held a bouquet of flowers in her hands, which she tossed into the crowd.

A group of musicians began to play during the celebration as Sellma and Erinn began to sing. While the music and the song played, Trent and Arianna began to dance together. Conrad, Sasha, Alicia and Raymond joined the fun.

From her vantage point in the Realm of the Almighty, Celestria watched from above with a smile'Everything is perfectly well. Now if only my father were here to watch.'

"Celestria" an elderly man in robes and a crown approached her.

Celestria turned"Father?"

The man smiled"As you can see, I have regained myself with the help of the last Celestrian and her friends. I can see I was wrong, and you were right about the mortals. I believed them to have too much evil in their hearts, yet it was mortals who saved me from eternal anguish in the end."

"Father" Celestria rushed to hug King Zenus. The Almighty hugged his daughter back.

Trent and Arianna gracefully waltzed through the crowd not too far away from Alicia and her new husband. Trent addressed the Celestrian"So once we have our own ceremony, we'd officially be together until death do we part, right?"

"No... Not just that. Even when my body's gone, I'll always be with you" smiled Arianna.

Trent smiled"Yeah, you're right."

Before Erinn, Aquila, Patty, Sellma, Alicia and Raymond's eyes, Arianna and Trent embraced and shared a passionate kiss. Above the party, Celestria and her father King Zenus watched along with the spirits of Mona, the Right Knight, Marion Bloome, Sternivus, Catarrhina, Aques, Serena and Corvus looked down from the heavens above the Protectorate, smiling gratefully at Trent and Arianna.

The party lasted until evening as the group and guests disbanded to their homes. Trent glanced at Raymond"Take care."

"Just see you don't drop the bomb" smirked Raymond, who left shortly with Alicia to Zere.

Sasha and Conrad headed to the Pride of Bloomingdale and set sail for Lleffan. The two went to settle down peacefully and took up a job ferrying travelers across the seas.

Erinn began to develop secret feelings for the bald, former Guardian of Angel Falls, who helped Patty with her Adventure guilds.

Arianna headed for the house she and Trent had built at an empty corner of Stornway, accompanied by the blond. Trent addressed Arianna"So, if not tomorrow, maybe sometime we can go on another date until we tie the knot?"

"Depends how busy we are, but I look forward to sharing the rest of my life with you. And even though our group is separated, a part of each other always remains" smiled Arianna as they retired to separate rooms, pausing to share another brief moment.

"Yeah, and we've always got each other's backs no matter what" smiled Trent.

Fin

That's it, sorry to disappoint anyone who was hoping Trent and Arianna will marry at the end. But they will at the beginning of the sequel. I'll probably not do a sequel until I finish my other fics, which may take time.

But feel free to read and review any of the other fics I have on my profile page. And feel free to review this one as well.

Oh, and King Zenus stays fragmented into ten beings as far as I know in the Sentinels of the Starry Skies game itself, I made the part up about him reforming into one, again.

As for Jessica, Angelo and Milly, I'll more than likely use them again. And I kind of made up the fates of the characters, here. As I plan for the sequel to be a DQ crossover, characters from Realms of Revelation, Journey of the Cursed King and Sentinels of the Starry Skies will be included with some old and new OCs.