Trace and Flora had gone back up to the estate. They were tired, but wanted to spend some time in quiet. The next morning, things were just as quiet, and Flora was up first. She walked down to the kitchen, where Kathrine was happily serving breakfast to Eric, Mike, and Evals. "Good morning!" Kat said, pulling a plate out of a nearby cupboard. "Hungry?"

"I'll wait until Trace gets up. What have you two been up to? I've barely seen you for the last few days."

"Oh, we've been trying to keep busy." Evals said. "There's a lot of stuff around here to clean. And, we're almost done patching up the Oasis. Just need to work on the illusion spell that the whole room used. We're thinking of changing it so there's actually walls instead of an endless beach. It would make for less faces getting hurt."

"Wouldn't be as fun for everyone else though." Mike said, smirking.

"I should get back to work." Eric said, standing up.

"Oh? What are you doing?"

"I'm still trying to clean up the greenhouse. It's quite a mess still. Any help I can get would be appreciated, but don't feel like you have to help."

Flora smiled. "I'll see if I can wrangle Trace into joining us." Flora took the place where Eric had been sitting, and leaned over for a cup of coffee.

"Oh! Tell me what you think of the coffee today!" Kathrine asked as Flora poured a cup. "I tried something a bit… different."

"Be careful." Mike said. "It's not what you expect."

Flora raised her eyebrows as she took a sip. It seemed fine. But then… there was a strange heat. And it wasn't going down. She took another sip, and could feel her face turning red, but it was so good! She drained the cup, and beads of sweat started to form on her brow, but she smiled as the empty cup hit the table. "What is that?! That's spicy! And good!"

Kathrine's eyes were wide. "You alright?"

"Yeah! That put a fire in me! What is it?"

"It's something I read about a few weeks ago. 'Umburian Coffee'. It's a recipe that comes from the time when the Northern Seas were still being explored. The sailors wanted something to help fight the cold, so I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of cayenne powder to the filter. It tastes amazing, but I can't stand more than one cup. I thought I was in so much trouble earlier! Eric took a drink before I could warn him, and his face turned so red!" Flora laughed, as the image of Eric with his mouth on fire came to her mind.

"We should give this to Trace and not tell him!" Everyone fell into laughter, clutching their sides, and smiling as they pictured Trace drinking this. They didn't have to wait long.

"I feel like I missed something important." he said, walking over to the table. "You alright Flora? You're very red."

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She giggled as he reached for the coffee. "Did you find any other fun recipies in that book?" she asked, trying to watch Trace out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, yeah! There's a lot that I want to try out, like a new desert I found! Nuts, berries, and a caramel glaze on top, but…" Kat stopped as Trace took a sip, and then downed the entire cup without issue. "You alright?"

"Yeah. That's a good cup of coffee."

"That's it?" Mike said, leaning around Flora.

"Yeah… wait, was it not coffee?"

"Oh, it's coffee alright. Umburian coffee." Kathrine said, suppressing a chuckle. "I thought that it might be something Barret would like, if he's never had it before. He went north, so he might be having it now. It has cinnamon and cayenne powder in it!"

"That explains the heat. Tastes really good." He reached for the coffee pot, and poured a second cup. "I could drink this all day. Heck, I might!"

"Puts a fire in your belly, that's for sure." Flora was still sweating. "Thought we could go help Eric with cleaning the greenhouse today."

"Actually, we could use your help in the Oasis for a bit." Evals interjected. "We need someone that can help finish fixing the enchantments."

"Shouldn't take too long, tell Eric I'll be up after that."

"Sounds good." Flora and Trace shared breakfast, and then split up. Trace spent over an hour with Mike and Evals inspecting and re-enchanting the walls of the room. It wasn't hard, they had actually done most of the hard work already. A few simple fixes, and the control runes were ready. He gave it a quick test, and sure enough, the walls flickered to life, and the three now stood inside a giant underground grotto, with a large hole in the roof to let plenty of light in, ironically right where Reni had blasted out last October. Satisfied with his work, he let the two Keidran enjoy a bit of peace, leaving them to go help Flora. He didn't get there quickly though.

"Hey. We need to talk." Maren was waiting for him by the stairwell to the third floor.

"Yeah, I figured this day would come. Look, I'm sorry for what happened. I wish it never did, and we're trying our best to undo the damage to the building. I don't know if I can undo the damage to you though… I really am sorry."

"I know. I know that you tried to stop it when you found out what was actually happening. It still stings though, and I will always have this as a reminder." She pulled at the white strip of hair. It had been there since she nearly lost her soul, and hadn't grown back in with color like she had hoped. "It's taken me a while, but… I forgive you. You really have changed. You've fought your past, figuratively and literally. And I can respect that. I just want you to promise me something."

"Name it."

"Protect Flora. I know how much she means to you. But when the time comes, you have to let go. And you have to be ready soon. You know that Keidran lives are short, so you have to be ready for it when it comes. Don't try to hold on."

"I promise. I've had enough pain for one life. I'll be sad when she's gone, but death is part of life."

"Good. I'm glad we can put this behind us." Maren glanced up the stairs. "You've been trying to clean it, right?"

"As much as we can. I want to put some memorials up there, so we can remember Rose and Stoney."

"Stoney?"

"Oh, you probably didn't know. Come on, I'll show you." Trace walked up a few steps, and looked back. Maren was hesitant, putting it lightly. Slowly, she followed him up the steps. "Stoney was supposed to be a gift for Saria, back when we were still a thing. She had actually just found out she was pregnant, so I had a stone guardian made for the child. I had Nora when I was young, why not give my kid the same sort of thing? An eternal guardian. It defended us when Detritus attacked. It dealt a fatal blow right at the end, but was destroyed as it did so. The stone is still there, I was thinking of trying to turn it into it's own tombstone, he should be remembered just like Rose."

"You always were strange." The two walked into the greenhouse, where Flora was pulling debris off the garden on the left. They were trying their best to clear off somewhere to plant several rose bushes, and where they could honor the woman and wolf who gave their life trying to protect everyone. In the middle of the room, the broken body of Stoney rested. Trace knelt down, and looked into the hollow, empty eyes of the stone beast, and sighed.

"I'll move him eventually, but right now there's nowhere to put him. I'm thinking I'll move him to the other side, so that he and Rose can act as the watchers of the garden. They will be a reminder that this place is protected by more than just me, more than just my friends. It's protected by those who care, who will give their lives to save those they care for. Those who have given their lives already."

"Trace…" Maren started, but no more words came to her. Her heart bled for him. She had been wounded, but him just as much. He had to fight so hard to destroy his own past, and he had to give up on Saria. She resented him still, but he truly was a different person than the one who tried to destroy her. He had truly changed. And as she helped sweep the floor, she was grateful. The old Trace was destroyed. The new Trace had been born from the ashes, and molded with fire. He was stronger because of this. And he would never go back.