TMW Shorts

Anniversaries and Reincarnations

(Slightly inspired by "Stay Behind" by Mother Mother)

This is the dress Cassia is wearing:

Please excuse the somewhat decent drawing, I made it in literally 15 minutes-

I woke up today to see Sorrel by my side, like he always is. It didn't dawn on me what day it was until I got up to get ready. It's been almost 10 years since the rest of the crew moved on. 80 years since I married Sorrel and became queen of Outleria. I sat at my vanity, staring at my pale reflection, for way longer than I intended to.

Next thing I knew, Sorrel was standing behind me and he planted a kiss on my head. "Good morning, my lady." I smiled and looked up at him. "Good morning, your majesty." Sorrel moved to get himself ready and I finally pulled myself together.

Soon, we were at the breakfast table, and then the throne room. We had a couple council meetings to get through before we were supposed to visit the outlying villages. I loved seeing my people, especially because I got to share everything with Sorrel. Once the meetings finished, we set out.

The first place we visited was a brief encounter and the second was a bit longer. It was nearing sunset when we reached the last village. Sorrel and I chose to eat at a local restaurant for a night out and everything was amazing.

It was going smoothly, until it didn't.

We were just leaving the restaurant when out of the corner of my eye, I saw fluffy bright red hair rush past some people. I did a double take but brushed it off as just someone expressing themselves.

"Cassie!" I turned to Sorrel, but he just shrugged. "Wasn't me." That's when something tackled me to the ground. Upon further inspection, it was the being with fluffy bright red hair. "Cassia? It's Keon!" "Oh my gods..." I heard Sorrel mutter.

I got up and helped them stand up before enveloping them in a bear hug. "Keon, I missed you so much! Don't ever leave me again! You hear that?" Tears were flowing down my face.

"Cassia, I can't breathe-" "Right! I forgot you need to breathe. Sorry." I let them go and sat down on a bench outside of the restaurant, my skirts bunching up beside me.. Keon chuckled, "That reminds me of that one time after the masquerade ball." "You remember." "Yup!"

Sorrel and Keon chatted for a moment before I saw two people barreling out of the doorway. "Keon! There you are. You can't keep bolting off with no explanation." I raised my hand to my mouth as the person looked towards the bench.

It was Saffron and Allistar. "Oh my gods we found her!" Allistar was grinning from ear to ear and Saffron stared at me for a moment. Everyone exchanged hugs and found their seats, whether on the benches or on the floor. Allistar had already flipped off Sorrel multiple times.

At this point I was overwhelmed. I never thought I'd see the crew again, but here they were. I was being flooded with memories when I noticed a couple of people were missing.

I sniffled and asked, "Wait where are Electra and Hazel?" Saffron's eyes widened. "We got up and booked it after Keon, I told them where we were going so they should be here at any moment. Hazel is on crutches because you aren't around to yell at her for not wearing shoes. Electra's helping her."

A couple minutes passed before Electra and Hazel emerged. Hazel saw me and made her way over to me as fast as she could.

"Cassia? Is that really you?" Hazel reached her hand out and cupped my face. I nodded and gave her a hug before leading her to where I was sitting. "How did you all find each other?" I was curious. "Well it all started with Saffron, naturally-"

By the end of the tale, I was sobbing into Sorrel's chest. From there, we caught up a little bit and headed back to the castle.

At the castle, Sorrel and I decided to have the crew stay in our home as new members of the court and as some of the castle staff.

In the end, I was just glad to have my best friends back.