For Peace

Epilogue

With time came healing. Both in the mind and the body. As the months passed and summer's green leaves lost their colour and a year had come and gone since Seonghwa first left the safety of Cardend, his wounds healed. Though he would never be able to use his hands as he could before, the injuries disappeared and only scars remained. They didn't bother him during his service and his help around Cardend, and they didn't bother Hongjoong when the priest's hands framed his face to kiss him.

The priest was happier than ever, and he rarely left the safety of his home. He ventured to Eastshallow once for a courier trip for their kind baker lady, but otherwise kept to the little cottage granted to him and Hongjoong at the corner of the forest. It offered a magnificent sight across the fields and whenever Seonghwa was busy cleaning and the rush of wings alerted him to his heart's root, his heart filled with joy. He lived a humble life with Hongjoong by his side, and the people of Cardend soon got used to the nightmarish appearance of the gargoyle and regarded him as a guardian over a monster.

Not that Hongjoong would have complained to be denounced as either. He didn't mind being called names, for he never cared about the words of others. So long as he kept Seonghwa happy and well-fed, he found his private happiness. Every day, he accompanied him to the church and back home, helped him prepare meals and flowers with the disability of his hands, and held him in the night when either nightmares or colder days made him shiver.

He didn't leave even once, for freedom wasn't attractive to him if Seonghwa wasn't there. Though he was ready to accompany the priest on any journey outside of Cardend, leaving by himself would have been bleak.

Despite their arrangements to meet Hongjoong outside the church whenever there was some time between services, Seonghwa got lonely without him around. He crafted one of the protective charms Hongjoong mentioned, blessing it with his magic so the gargoyle could enter the sacred ground of the chapel without burning himself. Though glad that it worked, the opposite of what Seonghwa had been promised now happened. Instead of being bored between services, he often found himself tucked into the alcove at the bookshelves with the gargoyle's lips swallowing his sounds as they shared their love under the eyes of Christ.

Not that Hongjoong ever felt he defiled the chapel. He enjoyed Seonghwa's squirming when he found it improper to be seen, though the priest seemed especially aroused when it came to sin in sacred places. Hongjoong made sure to show his love properly, to claim his priest under the eyes of the Lord so He would accept them. There was no room for doubt.

They lived in peace in Cardend, and they often pondered their companions and where they might have gone.

As for Yunho, he kept his promise of showing San the world. From Alverton, they travelled south, past the Sinking Forest and the spread of land that led up to the cliffs. Yunho wasn't deterred by the stormy ocean and its violent crashes against the land that seemed to make the ground shake, but San was overcome by awe. As he marvelled at the wonders of the sea with shining eyes, Yunho agreed that its beauties were never-ending; he simply forgot how to perceive them after getting used to the sight.

A ship brought them across the water and to the warm beaches of the south. Yunho showed him the spot where a foolish adventurer had once submitted to the lure of sirens and became a statue of stone at the bottom of the sea. He pointed out the wild black horses that chased over the sand and whirled it up in shimmering sparkles. When he took San to the nearby fishing village to have him try the local specialities and seafood, San lost sleep over all the marvels and places he wished to explore.

Since his lover was so curious, Yunho took him to his hometown. He showed San the streets he had grown up in and the well he liked to play at when he had been but a wee lad. What he didn't tell San was how they met Yunho's mother by coincidence. She passed them on the marketplace, but she didn't acknowledge Yunho. Though recognising her son anywhere, she passed with cold ignorance.