Pain dominated his entire being. Groaning, he opened his eyes, only to find the world blurry and unfocused. He could tell there was someone else there, they were saying… something. He closed his eyes, trying to force them back into focus, trying to make the world be normal again. As the voice continued to speak, he slowly figured it out. "…Zen? Zen? How are you feeling? Can you even hear me?"

"Ugh… Wha… Who…" he managed to groan out. Everything was still blurry, but he knew that voice… why couldn't he think of it?

"Zen? Thank the masks you're alive." a second voice said, and a second, smaller blob walked into view. He couldn't even focus his eyes, so he let himself sink back onto the pillow. Pillow? He must be in a bed… but why was he in pain? His mind was sluggish and lethargic, like it was covered in tar or something.

"Zen?" Natani said as his eyes closed again. He had fallen unconscious again. "Ugh. Just wake up already!" The last three days, she had hardly left his side, and Keith had hardly left hers. The estate was waiting in anticipation, hoping for any news. He was at least alive, but the fever still flared up every few hours. The doctor hadn't left the estate yet, coming in regularly to change his bandages. There was so little flesh actually left in the wound that there was no way to sew it closed, and even with magic, it would take a long time to heal completely. Still, Zen was alive, and that's all that mattered to her right now.

"He'll be alright." Kathrine said, coming in holding a platter with some soup. "Just give him time. A wound like that would kill most people. He's strong, and he's come a long way in a short time. Now, come on, help me feed him."

…

Flora and Trace needed to get out of the house. Wandering the estate's vast property, they tried to take their minds off of Zen, off of the attack, and try to focus on something good. "I wasn't sure what to expect once we were actually married." Trace said. "Everything feels the same, but different at the same time."

Flora held his arm, and gave a dry chuckle. "Yeah, it's not exactly what I expected either. I always thought it would be like the stories, where once the hero gets married, the two live happily ever after. But it doesn't feel like our story is done yet. There's still so much going on, and it won't end."

"I think our story won't end for a while. And… once it does, I think we're going to have another adventure, right?" he said, looking down at her belly. She had the doctor examine her after working on Zen, and he was able to confirm that she was in fact pregnant again. "I'd be happy to go on that adventure, as long as you're right beside me."

"We won't be alone. We'll have all of our friends." The news of Flora's pregnancy spread like wildfire through the estate, and even down to Edinmire. Sythe, Maren, and Karen were very excited, prying about what names the were thinking about. Richard was happy for them, but there was an emptiness in him, one that had been there since Raine left. Keith and Natani didn't know yet, they had other, far more important things to deal with. Eric was happy as well, but had been keeping busy the last few days. Trace had him make a sketch of the wedding, and was paying him to paint it, and even after Eric insisted that it was a passion project, Trace insisted on giving him money.

"Once this war is over, the world will be a safer place. And if not, then I'd start another one just to make it that way." Trace sat Flora down on a marble bench, and signed. "I really mean it. I would reshape the world for you. If you asked me for the stars, I would find a way to give them to you." Flora leaned up against him, sighing.

"I don't need the stars. All I need is you to be here."

"I'll always be here. And if I'm not, you can whisper my name into the night, and I'll come running." There was a gentle breeze, and Trace was content to simply exist in this moment. The sound of the wind through the leaves, the chirping of the birds, and his beloved against him. Trace breathed a heavy sigh, content to just be in the moment.

"Trace?" Flora asked after a few minutes. "When will it be enough?"

"When will what be enough?"

"When will you finally feel like you've done enough? You've done so much, risked everything over and over. When will it be enough?"

The question caught him off guard. She was right. He had risked his life a dozen times for her, and he would be willing to put it on the line again. He had battled his past to try and wrest control of his future. "I think… I think when you are safe. When you are safe, and when our child is safe. When they don't have to worry about growing up, knowing fear. When they can know what love is, when they can know every day is a day of joy and peace, then… then it will be enough."

…

Mike was in the basement taking inventory. Trace had officially hired him a few weeks ago, and he was loving the job. Trace paid him well, not that he really needed the money for anything. Most of his time was spent keeping track of the vast storehouse beneath the estate, where the summoning tables were connected to. He never was able to do much inventory work with Eric, and while he would never admit it, he was very excited to make a dozen spreadsheets and lists, quite content to organize everything to be as efficient as possible. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one Trace had hired. "You're weird, you know that right?" Evals said.

"Yeah. I know. And that's why we're friends." Mike said with a smile. "How's our weapon's stockpile? I know Madelyn summoned quite a few daggers during the battle."

"I haven't checked yet. When are you going to decide that it's good enough down here?"

"When it's good enough." Mike said simply. "I know that it seems strange, but I really do love working like this. Shifting and organizing everything, making it all as efficient as possible, it's quite fun. You should give it a try sometime!"

Evals rolled his eyes. "No thanks. I like you, but not that much. Honestly though, I've been thinking. Once the war is over, I want to head home, and then… we might not see each other again."

"I don't think so. We will see each other again. You'll have to come back and visit from time to time. And I'll visit you too." Mike said with a smile. "It'll be different, but we'll manage. At least you don't have to worry about Eric trying to make you work on the Na'rella again."

"As scary as it was, I'm glad that ship is gone. Probably made him rethink some things. Remember how scared he was when he though Kathrine didn't make it off?"

"I didn't even know he could be scared! He really cares for her. The way she looks at him though, it's a bit like how Trace looks at Flora."

"Guess that with Trace and Flora, she might be wondering if she and Eric could be something more."

"It's none of your business if I am!" Kathrine said sternly as she walked down the steps.

"Gah! Sorry, didn't know you were listening." Evals whimpered.

"Sorry." Kathine's shoulders drooped. "I've just been so stressed the last few days, I shouldn't have lashed out at you." She walked over to a crate full of medical supplies, and started rooting through, before pulling out a numbing salve Mike hadn't dealt with yet. "With Zen… well, on death's door, the sudden threat of ambush even here, where we are supposed to be safest, and with the war going on still, I haven't gotten much sleep recently. My mind spins for hours in the night, and I keep imagining horrible things that might happen. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. At least you lashed out at us instead of a guest. We know how much you've been going through. And don't worry about him, you know he's an idiot." Kathrine giggled as Evals glared at Mike.

"No one asked for your opinion!" he angerly said.

"Nope, but I gave it freely!"