Star Darlings; The Soldier

Epilogue

(this is the last chapter, everyone! It's the end!)

"Dad! Are we there yet?!?!?!?!?" Berkeley said for the 2000th time that day. "I'm tired..."

"We're nearly there, hon." her mother called from the front passenger seat.

"Mom, will we be seeing uncle again?" Ezra asked.

"Yes yes, we will." She said. "Everyone's coming to the gathering, remember?"

It had been almost 15 years. 15 years since the war ended. 15 years. And now, the Star Darlings were meeting up again for the 15th time.

Nico readjusted his grip on the steering wheel. Sage sat across from him, watching the night sky like she always does on long trips.

Behind were their two children, Ezra and Berkeley. Berkeley was the older, nearly 12 while Ezra was only 8. Ezra had his mother's side, with a lighter purple colour scheme. Berkeley looked like her father, with a darker shade of green.

Ezra shifted in his car seat. He was wearing a simple t-shirt, with shorts. He was a younger, male version of Sage.

Berkeley had the shortest hair anyone has ever seen. With jeans and a hoodie, she looked exactly like a boy, was often mistaken for one. (I just made Sage's daughter a tom-boy. DON'T COME AFTER ME PLEASE-)

"We're nearly there!" Nico said. "I can see Starling Academy!"

"Yay!" Ezra said. "Finally."

"It's not been two hours," Sage said.

"And yet it felt like 2 days," Berkeley said.

On the end of the road, was Starling Academy. After 15 years, the place had changed a lot. The ozziefruit garden was moved to the other side of the school, the building was moved closer to the lake, and the dorms were separated from the building, with a large courtyard between them. It was dark now, so most of the dorm windows were lit up as the Starlings inside prepared to sleep.

Nico drove into the parking lot in front of the school, seeing a couple of familiar cars and vehicles. He parked the car behind one as his children were screaming to get out.

"Come on, you two," Sage said, leading them by the neck. They entered the building, Nico trailing behind. She walked down the familiar halls, taking an elevator up to the upperclassmen areas.

"Hi!" Sage waved gently at the passing students. Most recognized her and greeted her back. Some asked for an autograph as well.

"Here," Nico said, opening the door for her. Inside, everyone was already here.

"Nico!" Nicholas' voice, now older and wiser, welcomed. "You're finally here!"

Andrew, Tessa, Gemma, Peter, Vega, Hector, Nicholas, Piper, Leona, Scott, Austin, Astra, Percy, Cassie, Scarlet, Orrin, Clover, Phil, Libby, Ganymede, Colin, Diana, Adora, Beckett, Jonathan, Ethan, Greyson, and Adonis sat around a round table in the large room. Food was spread evenly across, and judging by the smell, it was Tessa's work. There was another door that led to a room filled with the laughter of children.

After saying their greetings, Sage started gently pushing them to the door. "The adults need to talk. Go play."

"Ok!" Ezra said, skipping excitedly to the playground. Berkeley reluctantly followed.

Nico pulled over two chairs for Sage and himself, besides Nicholas and Piper.

Being Starlings, none of them had drastic changes. Nicholas still had the short hair he had for the last one and a half decades, the same eyes full of mirth and happiness, with one little change of a small stubble on his chin. Piper looked the same as well.

The only one with the largest changes was probably Colin. After spending months in treatment, he'd finally healed the problematic scars on his body. Now, he looked happier than ever, now that the burdens he had been carrying are gone.

"So how has everything been?" Nico asked. "It's been a year. And I see you two have finally decided to show up, Orrin." he pointed at the couple. "You two missed last year's reunion."

"We know," Scarlet said. "And that was only because our shooting stars sent us to the wrong place. We ended up stranded in the middle of the Canadian Wilderness for weeks."

"Really?"

"It was an unplanned family trip, but yeah." Orrin summed up. "But we're glad to be here today."

After everyone was caught up on everyone's experiences, they moved on to the part Libby was itching to get to.

"Any more children to add to the count?" she asked playfully. Everyone shook their heads.

"Two children per person is a big enough number, Libby," Vega said. "And before you correct me, yes I know Piper and Nicholas has 3 and Colin and Diana only has one, but there's still the average-"

"Nerd alert, nerd alert!" Nicholas interrupted. "And to answer your question Libby, no. unless these two want to get in on the"

"Shut up, cuz," Diana said.

"Aww."

"The playground is getting too small for 48 children!" Vega said. "I don't feel like expanding the school any further!"

"Ok, headmaster Vega," Scott said. "Whatever you say..."

They continued chatting through the night as the children played, talking about things that had been going on with their lives, having fun, and being teenagers again.

"It's fun to see each other again," Scarlet said. "I do need to check my Star-zap more often; I had 1473 messaged from everyone, and I didn't even know."

"What time is it?" Tessa asked, checking her star-zap. "Oh, it's 11! I may need to get the kids ready, they must be as sleepy as a koala by now."

"Alright, Tes," Nicholas said. "It's time to go anyways. Gather outside for the goodbye, everyone!"

They gathered their things, kids, and themselves and walked outside. The children all got into the cars, while the adults said goodbye.

Watching their children climb into the vehicles, Sage smiled. "Do you think," she asked the others. "Their story will be as good as ours?"

"Of course, Sage," Nicholas said. "Everyone has their own stories. It's just that not all people know it. Let them write their own lives, their plots and endings. We'll always be the ones guiding them along the way."