Blood Flower

Epilogue

It felt so abnormal to be normal.

Normal high school students who joined clubs, baked cupcakes, and collected knives.

Okay, that last part wasn't so normal. But hey, in comparison to being chased by an unearthly beast, it probably was.

Yuri—Elyssa—had changed back to her birth name in honor of her mother. She ran through the courtyard after Kai, who had stolen her lunch again.

"Hey! Give that back!" Her short blonde hair bounced behind her as she wrestled him from behind.

"I was eating slop and burgers for three days because I was kidnapped, Elyssa! Don't I have the right to eat proper food now?"

"Are you suggesting my dad's cooking isn't proper food?" Natsuki got all up in Kai's face, poking his chest with her finger. "I don't know if you forgot, but I run Sato Burgers alongside him!"

"Jeez, lay off, Nat," Sayori said. "We all love going there after school. Plus, the fries are great, too!"

Monika walked over to them, carrying her book bag in one hand and a water bottle in the other. She was wearing her gym uniform, sweat dripping from her face. "Sorry I'm late to the party, I just finished a tennis game with Cassie. That's the first one I've ever lost!"

"Is it because she read your mind, so she knew everything you were going to do?"

They turned back as Libitina ran towards them, her curly hair tied into a bun. "She told me everything. She also said that since you lost, you owe her one of CB's burgers."

Monika groaned loudly. "Fine. All of you can come, dinner's on me."

"Oh, Libitina and I aren't going. We're going to visit Mom's memorial with Leonid. Her ashes were transferred to a cemetery near here. We'll try to catch up with you later, though!"

"Right. I'm sorry."

Elyssa nodded, linking arms with Libitina. "You guys have fun at dinner!"

***

Charlotte V. Thomas

1980-2003

"Hi, Leonid."

He looked back at his goddaughters, clad in their uniforms. They had brought a wreath of fresh flowers.

"Say hi to her, too."

Libitina knelt down at her mother's resting place, gently placing the wreath on top of it.

"Hi, Mom. Uh, I think you should say a few words, Elyssa."

"Oh, I'm not very articulate, you should do it."

"You feel a lot more strongly about her."

Elyssa struck a match, lighting the candle Leonid had in his hands.

"Mom, I don't know if you can hear me, wherever you are, but thank you so much for everything. Even though your death didn't stop the Markovs from taking us, your sacrifice inspired all of us."
She traced her mother's name on the marker. "That sounded more awkward than I expected."
"It's okay, I'll continue for you," Leonid said, straightening his jacket. "Charlotte, I'm sorry. I was selfish; I joined the Markovs for personal gain. And that led me to do things that weren't right. I betrayed you, helped kidnap your daughters...

"But then I remembered the promise I made. I said I'd protect them to the end of my life. I had to make a choice: Should I do what I've been asked to do—serve Markov—or do what is right—save you from a trap he set? It cost me my life.
"And even when I was dying, I could have chosen to follow you to heaven. But you gave me a choice. I chose to keep helping your children. It wasn't over yet.

"Now that it is over, I just want to thank you. You showed me what's more important—family. Even though they aren't my biological children, I had to."
"Yeah, if you think about it, all of the stuff that happened was out of love," Libitina said. "I went to Elyssa as soon as I got the hang of Relinquo Corpus because I missed her. You killed Yulia, risking Markov's wrath. CB tried to protect Natsuki from the Markovs when they came from him. Aleksandra, even. She left the Reverse-Verse to help us. Irina, too. I think she had the most love for all of us."
Elyssa averted her gaze, tilting her head so it didn't look like she was about to cry. "I guess."
"You should know." Libitina put an arm around her sister. "She worked for the Markovs to help her sister, rescued you from the camp, adopted you even though she was a young adult, went head-to-head with Yulia, and ultimately switched places with Aleksandra as the warden. She may have been a double agent siding with the enemy, but that's okay now."
"I guess," Elyssa replied, forcing a smile. "I think the others are waiting for us at CB's restaurant. Are you coming, Leonid?"
"Nah, you kids go on your own. I'll stay for a bit."
"Alright, we'll be off now. The train leaves soon. Wouldn't want to miss it."
Leonid watched his goddaughters walk out the rusty gates, disappearing as they turned at the corner to the subway station.

***

"For sisters, we didn't get to do a lot of sister stuff."
On the cramped train, Libitina sat beside a pregnant woman with a bright orange scarf. Elyssa stood a few feet away, holding on to the hanging strap. "We were away from each other for fifteen years, of course we couldn't do anything."
"At least all that's over now," Libitina laughed. "We're not being chased anymore."
"Yeah. You'll get to do stuff girls are supposed to be doing at this age. Making friends, going to school, all that. Nobody deserves to spend their childhood strapped to machines for experiments."
"Markov is dead now, and the Eximinae haven't got powers anymore. It's as if we never existed."
"We finally have the chance to live our lives without fear."
Libitina got up to hug her sister. Her seatmate looked at her, smiling.

"Oh, look! We've arrived!"
The robotic voice sounded through the train as the doors opened. The girls walked out of the cabin, walking upstairs to the restaurant.

"Ouch! Watch it, motherf-"

"Jeez, calm down, Othello! It's just the Thomas girls!"
Elyssa smiled, brushing her hair out of her face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Well, the Hope Bookstore is opening its first overseas branch in a week," Lia said excitedly. "It's going to be right beside CB's!"
"That's great!" Elyssa hugged Lia tightly. "You should join us over at his place; Monika's paying."

The smell of burgers drifted through the air. As the door to the restaurant slid open, Libitina locked eyes with a slender woman with golden hair draped over her shoulder.

"Team Anti-Markov reunion, I see," Othello remarked, taking a seat next to Natsuki. She looked at him, annoyed.

"Who's this, Nat?" Libitina asked, motioning towards the woman she saw.

"I'm Aleksandra," the woman replied. "I don't look like a little girl anymore, which is a relief. Sit down, guys, this is going to be great!"

And as they ate CB's burgers, talking and laughing, it was great.

For the first time in forever, Libitina was happy.