The Sins of the Father

Epilogue

Stephen brought down his axe on the log with a satisfying crack, stepping forward to collect the split pieces from the leaf-strewn ground. He tossed them into the pile before hauling up the next one, settling it on the petrified stump he was using as a chopping block and lifting his axe again.

"Don't you think that's plenty?" His father called, and he split the next log before turning to look.

"It's not like it'll go to waste," He called back. His father nodded in acknowledgement, then returned to his task of spreading thick mud over the wooden walls of their cabin. Kicking the pieces of firewood into the pile, Stephen went for the next log.

Herobrine's advice had eventually won out, and, as the days had begun to grow colder, their little family had built a cabin in which to spend the winter. It wasn't far from the town in which Stephen and Alexis had first taken shelter after their escape, meaning it was within visiting distance of Hugo and his wife. It had taken the three of them a little while to work up the courage to go back there - Cafos especially, having been the one who lied - but the innkeeper had welcomed them back without much fuss. Now the three of them would visit regularly, occasionally doing odd jobs to earn a little pocket money. The rest of their time they spent in the woods, hunting, fishing, and foraging to make their livelihood.

His arms were starting to ache, and Stephen set aside his axe to begin bringing his spoils inside. The dead leaves crunched underfoot as he stacked several pieces of wood in his arms, indicative of the coming winter. His shoulder had healed without too much hassle. Unlike his father, who he now noticed walked with a pronounced limp, Stephen's break had been clean and minimal. The pain had eased within days, and now, many months later, all he felt was the occasional twinge in poor weather.

He habitually looked to the sky as he walked past his father, shouldering the door to the cabin open and filling the rack by the hearth with firewood. Cafos and Alexis had left on a personal trip a few days ago, and he found himself sorely missing their presence. It was, after all, the longest he had been away from the two of them since he and Alexis first met.

Their little garden was dead and bare, any remaining produce killed off by the first frosts a couple weeks before. The few crops that they had been able to raise in the time they had were now stored beneath the cabin, in the cool cellar that they had dug out, along with salted fish and venison. They had stocked up as much as they could for the winter, but, with the town nearby, they didn't really have to worry about starvation.

Stephen paused on his way back to the woodpile to watch his father, insulating the cabin walls with mud mixed with thatch. In a past life, Herobrine had been a nobleman, living in the lap of luxury with servants at his beck and call. Now he was living in the woods, in a cabin he'd built with his own hands, spreading mud between the logs to keep out the cooling air. He didn't look unhappy, though. Quite the opposite. Over the past eight months, Herobrine had gradually begun to recover from the years he had spent drowning in his own misery and hatred. He still had a long way to go - Stephen could tell that he wasn't over the death of his mother - but it was progress. And Stephen liked to imagine that he, Alexis, and Cafos were helping a lot.

Stephen ferried the rest of the split logs from the chopping block to the cabin, beginning to fill up the outside rack when the interior one grew full. Once he'd finished, he went to join his father, plunking down beside him in the fallen leaves.

"Can I help?" He asked. Herobrine gave him a smile as he gestured to the bucket filled with mud and straw.

"Be my guest."

~~

Cafos scowled at one of the unfortunate passerby, tucking his wings closer to his body.

"Are you sure he's here?" He muttered, crossing his arms as he trailed Alexis down the street. "How long are we planning to look?"

"My father said he was here," Alexis said stubbornly, continuing to lead him down the cobblestone road. "And he may be an ###, but I expect him to know what he's talking about."

"If you say so." Cafos muttered. Apparently valkyries were a rare sight in this particular city, as he hadn't stopped being stared at since they arrived.

Alexis couldn't deny that she was feeling a bit overwhelmed herself. She was used to smaller towns, dirt paths and wagons and thatched roofs. Cities were new to her. They were loud, she could hear the echoes of hoofbeats from several streets away, and an endless hubbub of voices all around them. The noise only seemed to get louder the closer they got to the castle, but... this was where Lord Giles had directed them, so this was where they had to go.

As the castle stables came into view, Alexis slowed, a little bit of nervousness stealing over her as they neared. What if he didn't want to see her? What if he didn't even remember her? It had been... at least ten years since she last saw him, what if...

"Hey." Cafos nudged her, and she snapped out of her thoughts, looking up to meet his silver-blue eyes. "Don't worry. If nothing else, they'll probably let me through."

"That's not what I'm worried about." She twisted her hands together, casting a glance at a few young men working in front of the stables. "I just... I dunno. What if he forgot?"

"Forget about you?" Cafos scoffed. "Impossible." She gave him a half-smile, but it didn't last. "We can always go home," He offered. "But I think you should at least try." Alexis breathed out, then squared her shoulders.

"Okay." Summoning the rest of her strength, Alexis stepped forward, marching towards the stables where the young men were working.

They noticed her as she approached - hard not to, she supposed, when she had a valkyrie following her around. One of them set down his pitchfork as she came near, giving her an easygoing smile.

"Can I help you, little lady?"

"Maybe." Her voice shook, and she tried her best to steady it. "I'm looking for Connell of Blackhaven."

"Connell?" The young man echoed. "I don't know about any 'Blackhaven', but- hey, Connell!" He shouted towards the stables. Her heart hammered as she waited for a response- what if she was wrong? What if he wasn't here after all?

A young man stepped out of the stables, and her heart skipped a beat.

He was tall, light skin freckled, and had piercing blue eyes just like her father's. His hair was brown, shining auburn in the midmorning sunlight, and despite his plain and dirty clothes the grace and poise with which he carried himself clearly marked him as a member of the nobility. He seemed about to respond to the summons when his gaze fell on her, and his words died on his lips as he stared.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments, Alexis's heart in her throat as she waited for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he took a half-step towards her, and whispered,

"Alexis?"

Alexis ran towards him and threw herself into his arms.

THE END

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ayo

I would go through my spiel of "wow I finished a fic that's crazy" but I uh. as stated, finished this back in april. but still yayyyy!

I do hope you all enjoyed this (which I assume you did if you made it all the way to the end). I am absolutely in love with these characters and their story, though at the moment no sequel is planned. Possibly some oneshots, we'll see.

Thank you so much for reading! If you've been a lurker, please consider leaving a comment so I can see you 💃💃

maybe now I'll work on my actual WIPs consistently.

~p0tat0-g0ddess