Noble Gardenia

Epilogue

Leah's mother's last act a queen had been to allow women to become queen of Gaissamore without finding a king first. Leah's first act as queen was to allow women into the royal guard and other knightly organizations.

It had been two years since Leah was coronated. One year since Lucy had been made head of the guard, and four months since Kyle and Jacob had left for their most resent journey.

Leah walked out of her meeting with her newly hired council of advisors to find Lucy waiting for her outside the door. Lucy had grown her hair out slightly. It was now tied in a very short ponytail on the back of her head, with a few pieces framing her face. Leah linked her arm with Lucy's as the two of them walked to the throne room.

"Kyle and Jacob return today," Lucy said.

"I wonder where they went this time," Leah replied, "And what they brought back."

Lucy laughed, "like another iguana."

Leah laughed as well, "my mother loves her new companion, so maybe that would not be so bad."

Leah adjusted her new crown as the two of them walked into the throne room. She had recently had it made for herself, it was a mixture of different light metals, with uncut stones encrusted into it. It was a band shaped to look like a vine, with stones scattered throughout. It felt more genuine to her than her past crowns.

Waiting for them in the throne room were Jacob and Kyle. Kyle had grown his hair past his shoulders, but kept it layered like it had been when he and Leah first met. He wore a button up shirt and a long jacket that reached his knees. Jacob wore dress pants with a simple jacket and a gold chain with the interlocking male symbols as a pendent.

The four of them hugged and then moved to a nearby courtyard to catch up.

"So did you guys bring back a lion this time?" Lucy asked.

Jacob glanced at Kyle, "Show them."

Kyle rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and pulled a caterpillar out of his pocket, "this is Franky," he said, "don't worry he's not poisonous."

"He's huge!" Leah exclaimed.

"Yeah," Kyle said, putting the caterpillar back into his pocket.

Jacob took a small, pan-flute like, instrument out of his jacket and put it on the table, "this is my favorite instrument I came across. It is simple to play, but it sounds so ethereal." He put the flute to his lips and blew into it. The sound it created was soft but seemed to fill the area surrounding them.

After the group had been catching up for about an hour, Jacob asked, "so how are the preparations for the ball tonight going?"

"Well," replied Leah, "I think this will be the best one yet."

"The best one you've thrown or the best one at this palace, since this is the first ball you're throwing, love," Lucy said.

Leah turned to her girlfriend, "we will find out tonight, won't we?"

...

"I can't believe you convinced me to take the night off," Lucy said as she and Leah got ready for the ball.

"It is a big night Lue," Leah replied.

Lucy sighed and kissed Leah, "you're lucky I love you," she said against her mouth.

Leah wore a flowy gray dress, with lace going part of the way up her neck and long sleeves with lace around the wrists matching the neck. Her hair was pinned up in braids, framing her crown.

Lucy wore a tight black dress, with slits on both sides reaching her knee. She had integrated pieces of gold armor into her ensemble, with a metal belt and amor on one shoulder. Besides the armor, the dress was symmetrical. Dressing up was the only thing Lucy seemed to like about going to events like this one. She also seemed to find joy in wearing clothes that horrified some of the older guests, such as suits and tighter fitting dresses.

Lucy had tried to reconnect with her father once in the last two years. He had wanted nothing to do with his fighting, head guard, women-loving daughter, so Lucy decided he was not worth the effort.

As the ball was about to begin, Lucy and Leah stood by the doors for their formal entrance. Leah slipped her hand into Lucy's as the doors opened.

The ball may not have been the best at the palace, but it was by far the best Leah had been to. The ball did not feel as high pressure or as constricting as the ones she had been to before she became queen. She could talk with who she wanted, and dance with who she wanted without worrying about a disapproving glare from her mother.

A few hours into the event, Leah got the guests attention to make a toast, "Welcome everyone! As you know this ball was thrown to commemorate the many positive changes, we have been making in Gaissamore over the last few years. These changes include, allowing women to be royal guards and knights, including advisors from all around Gaissamore in the law-making process, working to get citizens out of poverty, and most recently, one of the most difficult laws to put into place, the legalization of same-sex marriage."

The ball attendees clapped and cheered. Leah continued, "thank you all for your support and please enjoy the rest of the night."

People resumed their activities from before Leah's speech. Kyle and Jacob were slow dancing to the song that was playing, Leah's mother was talking to a woman dressed in purple, who looked about her age that Leah believed to be the Queen of a nearby kingdom, and everyone was basking in the peace of room.

"Can I steal you for a moment," Lucy quietly said to Leah. Leah nodded and Lucy led Leah to a nearby balcony.

"I can't believe all that has happened in the last few years," said Lucy, "we got together, you became queen, I became head guard. I can't help but wonder what the future holds."

Leah looked into Lucy's eyes, "more love, more struggles, just more."

Lucy nodded, thoughtfully, "I like that, but I guess I was thinking more literally. Maybe I should teach you some fighting skills. The queen should be able to defend herself after all."

Leah laughed before her face became more solum, something she had been thinking about for a while had just come to mind. "Would you want to become queen by my side someday? If we were to get married."

Lucy looked down, "I found my place, Lee, maybe, far in the future, but I love being a guard. Do I have to become queen if we got married?"

"Technically, I think so, but I don't think it would be that hard to change that, or to at least make an exception."

Lucy smiled, "good."

The cool night air blew against their faces. The sound of the music from the ball was still audible through the closed door. The quiet between them was comfortable. Lucy kissed Leah and the rest of the world melted away. The future did not matter. Fate was a construct they could shape. They could not control the weather or the blooming of flowers, but they could control the paths they followed, and the ways they loved. And that was enough.