Disappearance of Roselei Hawthorne

Epilouge

Kallen dipped his quill in the bottle of ink, and put pen to paper.

Dear mom,

He took a moment, and smiled to himself before continuing to write.

Things have been going well. But of course, I mentioned that in my previous letter. I know you don't read these, but I don't know who else to write to. And I have to write. I don't want to forget these memories I've made. Nor the progress, the progress I've made towards bringing change to the world. Its just like you said. Even when I'm worried or scared, things swill work out.

I should probably begin this letter by talking about Erunelle. You remember her, she was that elven girl that King Monaco kidnapped. She still won't talk to us, but she finally started eating. We're all very relieved. I think she's making progress, and in a good direction too. I think she knows that we don't want to hurt her, and that she is safe with us.

Vulcan left yesterday. He's going back to the Mountain of Dragons to meet with Cerise. He wanted to learn more about his past, since StellaLuna is yet to master the spell that will reverse his memory loss. I already miss him, but I'm happy he gets to learn about his childhood. The only unfortunate thing is that I can't write to him, because no postal service will deliver letters to the Mountain of Dragons. But I'll see him soon. He doesn't know when he's going to come back, but I can't imagine he'll be away too long. The Mountain of Dragons may be where he grew up, but he insists that his home is with us. Although, he does have to claim his title as King of the Dragons. I told him if he didn't want it, he could probably make Cerise the queen, but he just shook his head. He said that he owes the dragon-borns this much. That he owes them their rightful king.

Celty has been doing well too. She didn't want to go back to BearClaw Island, and I don't really blame her. She and Lillia made a small pond out behind our cottage, so she can swim around whenever she wants. She doesn't need water to survive, but boy does she get grumpy when she's forced to be without it. Celty's been spending a lot of her time at the public library. She's trying to learn as much as she can about water spirits. She wants to meet the other three, although she doesn't have any travel plans at the moment. I think she's scared to go off on her own. But I understand that feeling. I don't think I'd want to go off on my own either.

StellaLuna has been doing well, despite the hard time she's been having. She was the first to learn that the only way to pass a law was to have agreement from the royal senate. Which, according to her, is just a bunch of rich folk who've got too much time on their hands. But she can't free the dragon-borns or free the beastmen until she can convince them to agree with her. King Monaco really did his damage with those lies he spread. Its been months, and she hasn't been able to change a single mind. Fenris has offered to go with her to meet with the senate, but StellaLuna is worried that the senate might hurt them. But other than that, she's been doing really well. Since the whole "a witch can only use one form of magic" was more of a taboo than an actual law, she's started letting students at the Grand Witch University learn multiple forms of magic. Some of the students are scared to do so, according to her, but I imagine they'll warm up to the idea quickly.

Fenris has been staying with us ever since StellaLuna became queen. We only had one spare room, so Fenris has to share with Celty. Its not so bad I think. They get along really well. Although, Celty has decided that she ought to teach Fenris how to pull pranks on people. Auntie Lillia yelled at them for over an hour after they replaced the salt with sugar. Needless to say, the tea she made that morning wasn't very good. Celty has been going out in public without any sort of disguise, but Fenris refuses to do so. I think they're still scared. Whenever we go out together I use an illusion spell to hide their ears and tail. They've been doing good though. They started learning how to cook, and they're really good at it. In fact, Fenris says they're making dinner for me tonight. So I suppose a 'romantic evening' awaits. They've been reading a lot of books lately, especially love stories. They keep talking about candlelight dinners and walks along the beach. The least I can do is humor them.

Speaking of romance, Gideon has been staying with us too. He hasn't moved in the way that Celty and Fenris have, but he spends the night from time to time. About three weeks ago, Lillia finally went and asked him on a date. Apparently he got all nervous and blushed a lot. Lillia said it was cute. They make a nice couple though. On another note, Gideon started writing letters to his father. He's been receiving them for about a month now, but Gideon didn't want to respond to them. He didn't know what to say. Gabriel After-Frost has made several generous donations to the Pearlstone Kingdom, and has even funded the next five years' worth of archery competitions. He's starting to get along with the locals there too. Gideon says he's proud of his father. I don't think he quite forgives him yet though.

And Auntie Lillia. Of course I have to tell you about her. StellaLuna appointed her "Head of Academics" at the Grand Witch University. Apparently she now gives lectures on earth magic, as well as overseeing all of the other classes. Auntie Lillia really enjoys teaching others, so I know she's happy. Besides, she gets to spend nearly every day with StellaLuna. The two of them have begun really good friends, and they have lunch together frequently. I'm pretty sure they just spend the whole time gossiping about Gideon though. StellaLuna has become rather invested in all of our romantic endeavors. I think Celty's going to break something the next time she gets asked if she's seeing anyone. You know... she really misses you. And everyone else. She still has all of the letters that were written by your friends. She rereads them from time to time. She's tried reaching out to them again, but she doesn't know where they are. I guess we'll just have to leave it up to fate, right? That's what Auntie Lillia says. She really believes we'll see them all again. I hope she's right. I'd really like to meet them.

And now, me. Its honestly hard to talk about myself, because I haven't done anything noteworthy. I've been spending time with my friends and family, and just having a lot of fun. But that's the point, isn't it? To just have fun with life? I think I finally get what you were trying to say to me before, when I got to speak with you in the temple. It doesn't matter that I'm not as powerful as Vulcan and Celty, or that I'm not as brave as Gideon. I'm great in my own way, and for my own reasons. You told me that you wished I saw myself the way everyone else did, and I think I've finally begun to do so. Auntie Lillia and Gideon both think I'm really smart, and Vulcan and Celty think I'm really tough. Fenris insists that I'm the kindest person in the world, and StellaLuna says that I've grown up to be rather handsome. And I think that I'm starting to think those things about myself. I don't think I'll ever be anything like you, but I think that I'll be great in my own way. I won't be Roselei Hawthorne, I'll be Kallen Hawthorne. Kallen Hawthorne, the World's Greatest Witch!

With Love, Kallen