The Kingdom of Orenda

Chapter 17: Epilogue

Lidya was able to go back to her Kentucky home, she did so in her old clothes due to her family's shock at her royal attire they had seen her in, and spent the first few minutes at home in a large group hug with her aunt, uncle and cousin.

They helped her pack, and as she did so she told them about everything that had happened from the moment of her arrival. They listened intently, Kaleb found the way Axle had been found comical, they all were shocked at Eryd's past and greatly pleased at knowing that man would soon be found and apprehended. They were put off at the Euni and Caroak incidents but glad they ended the way they did, they listened intently as she told them of the wizard in the tower, the Zoilist woods, and especially the ash-star incident. Of which they made sure to tell Lidya she handled very well and were proud of her for being brave during. They laughed at Biuras rather effortless defeat and were glad she was imprisoned.

Before Lidya left she gave them each mirrors that had been enchanted by Avery so that way they could talk with each other as they wished when she was in Orenda.

She left some of her clothes and items in her room for her to go back and use when she visited them, and with a hug she went back to Orenda.

The castle hands and her friends helped her set her stuff up in the room she had been given, which was now permanently her room. She enjoyed telling them of the origins of the little items she had gathered on trips with her parents. Such as the little bowl that had been broken and put back together with gold, a form of art known as Kintsugi.

Afterwards she decided to change her middle name, or rather, give herself a middle name since she didn't have one prior. She decided to keep her last name and make Valerian her middle name. Which Absyrtus appreciated.

The fate of the witch Biura and her sidekick Sable was a fitting one. The two of them were held on trial for their actions, with Felix to testify against them, and were sentenced to charity work in the furthest corner of Orenda farming bugle roots. A bitter root that's the main ingredient on a lot of medicines in Orenda. Her magical abilities were taken away from her and she was told that if she ever had a change of heart, her powers could be given back.

But her insults to the judge and cruel words about the king, Lidya, and her friends, as well as Orenda as a whole proved that it would be a great many years if Biura was ever to change.

As for the fates of her friends afterwards; Acer ended up being Lydia's personal protector, and was the one to watch her whenever she was to go outside the city. Axle, after visiting his father and telling him of his adventures, chose to help out Avery- for aside from being a mage, they were also the castle's local inventor and scientists, and had a list of things they would like to try and make but lacked the mechanical know-how to do so. He ended up befriending Avery and becoming his assistant with experiments. Eryd stayed near Axle for the first few months, but soon found a place in the local veterinary clinic. Where she'd translate the animals issues to the vets and was helped them take care of their clientele. She also made friends with the stable hands and aided them when she wasn't at the veterinary clinic.

Cerise, of course, had to help Trast. While her friends were under the impression that Biura's being arrested and cuffed in the magic blocking handcuffs would have gotten rid of the curse. Cersie knew that curses were a type of magic that the cuffs could not effect, due to them being one of the oldest forms of magic.

Eventually she was able to find a spell to help him. She was able to get rid of his curse and earned a fast ally in Trast because of it. Afterwards she went to Gale town to apologize for upsetting them the way Acer told her she had, and they forgave her after hearing her reason.

She went back to Glassop to stay and continue looking for a way to turn Acer back from wood, or return his memories, and apart from that she became a student of sorts under Avery, who helped her widen her knowledge of magic.

Izarra stayed with Lidya, letting Lidya adopt her.

As for the people who aided Lidya on her way to Glassop, Absyrtus made sure to thank them.

Gale town, which Lidya visited often after getting fully moved in, being the people to find and report her, earned royal protection and funding. With said funding, the people had a portrait of Lidya put in the area of the Mayor's work and added to the sign in front of the town:

'Loyal Assistants to Princess Lidya Valerian Sterling'

Lidya was delighted when she saw it for the first time, and thanked the Bell family for doing so.

The Rosenbugs were thanked by being given a proper place to sell their flowers, and they decided to sell all flowers but Stellar Blooms in honor of Lidya and Absyrtus. And gave Lidya a wreath of the brightest flowers they had as a thank you, which Lidya kept in her room till they wilted and then planted them in a flower box outside her bedroom window. 

Winnie, after being told that the waterproofed map she intended to give to Lidya's group was swapped out by Felix, was given the opportunity to open another map store but she refused and instead asked that her niece be guaranteed a spot in her desired college and job, which was an easy request to fill out.

For the Comity Inn, they were simply given funding to expand their rooms and staff, and they became a very popular vacation spot for many travelers due to their hospitality towards Lidya and her friends.

The crew of the Ash-Star was given a new boat, that was built and magically fortified to prevent sinking, and they named it the Ash-Sterling in honor of Lidya and as an apology for her having to endure the sinking of the Ash-Star. Of which Lidya accepted, and thanked them for doing such.

Finally Felix, who had no home now that Biura was gone, became a resident of Galetown and the gardener of the Bell family's garden. He was treated well and with respect, never again being shouted at or forced to act against his will. He even got to catch up with the mother bird he accidentally granted speech to, and meet her newly hatched babies who- as the mother bird suspected, were able to speak just like their mother. He also had ownership of Biura's old hut near Galetown and turned it into a sanctuary for any lost or tired travelers. Magically enchanted to tend to and protect anyone within its property.

Lidya was happy as she could be, and excited to learn more about this strange and wonderful magical world her mother came from, It made her feel closer to her. She felt like she found a piece of her that she didn't even know was missing, and was thankful to have it back where it belonged. She was thankful she finally found somewhere she felt like she belonged.

Absyrtus helped her learn how to use her necklace to see the secret messages her mother left and promised to help her decode them. Which was just another thing she was excited for, on top of all the possible adventures she could have here.

She was excited to learn, to see, and to explore. She didn't know what the future had in store for her, but she decided that she was ready to face it. Ready and willing.

The End.

A/N: Thank you for reading this! Leave a like/vote if you enjoyed reading. This was a lot of fun to write. Let me know if you'd like to see more of Lidya and her friends as they explore this world. I may write another one some day ;)