Fireproof - Kenric and Oralie

Epilogue - I'm so lucky to have you

Oralie's POV:

Oralie walked the halls of their glittering new home, bare, but still home. 

People said Kenric would return back to normal, but Oralie knew better.

This was the way Kenric would always be, no matter what. 

Haunted. Scarred. Forever remembering the trauma. 

But above all that, it made him stronger. He was still the kind man he was before. 

His eyes would shine whenever he saw her.

"I'm so lucky to have you." He would say. 

"I love you too." She would respond. 

It had been two weeks since they unofficially left the Council. They'd recieved word from the rest of the Council, that the Neverseen weren't on the offense.

Once the Neverseen was offically defeated, they would come back out again to announce the great news, then the next day, they would announce their retirement. 

"Retirement." Kenric said dreamily. 

Today, Kenric was sitting outside, admiring the view they had from their backyard. 

Their home sat atop a mountain, surrounded by luscious greenery and flowers. 

On one side, you could see a valley, and on the other, there was a forest. 

"You look so peaceful." Oralie said, smiling at him.

"That's because I am." Kenric said, opening his eyes. "I haven't felt like this in a long time." 

"I can feel it too. All I feel from you is relief." Oralie says, holding his hand. 

Kenric sighs. "So much weight lifted off my shoulders. It's all I ever wanted." He pauses, staring at the sunset. "But I do think I'll miss being on the Council."

"Honestly, me too." Oralie says, pondering the thought. "I guess I forgot how life was before the Council."

"We're going to have to find that again. Remember what Fallon Vacker said?" Kenric says.

Oralie nods, "I do. He said to not make the Council your entire life. I think I was going to do that, after you died." 

A moment of silence passes, and Kenric closes his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Oralie trails off.

"No, it's okay. I can't block it out like I usually can. It's just there. I got used to it." 

I got used to it.

Those words pained Oralie to think about, how much he had to go through. 

"How was your visit with Fintan?" Oralie asked, and she seriously wondered what they talked about.

Kenric sighed. "It was different. When I saw him, I just wanted to tell him about us. How we left the Council. He got angry at me for staying on the council." 

"You told him you stayed on the Council? Why did he get angry?" Oralie said.

Kenric was silent. This was a secret he wouldn't share. He claimed it was a secret that wasn't his to share. 

Oralie often wondered what it was, and why he got emotional about it. 

"Are you going to tell him?" She asked, ignoring the silence.

"I will. With time. When we defeat the Neverseen once and for all."

"Do you still not trust him?" Oralie asked.

"No, I don't. After all, he tried to kill me. He also tortured me. He made my mind break. Or maybe that part was just me. I let the guilt get the better of me." Kenric said, and Oralie grabbed his hand. She wasn't going to let that happen again.

"But- he still speaks truth with his words." Kenric said, and Oralie wondered what truth he was talking about. 

Oralie didn't press him, knowing the way Kenric was, he would never tell her.

I'm trying to protect you. He would say. But now that they were off the Council, he would tell her everything. Everything except for that. 

So it was different. He didn't keep secrets to protect her, but maybe to protect himself. But that was okay.

"I recieved a letter from the rest of the Council today." Oralie says, and Kenric turns his head around swiftly. "They're close. Very close to defeating the Neverseen." 

"Wow. I can't believe it. It's been so long." Kenric says with a distant tone. 

"I know." Oralie says in disbelief. "I wonder what it's going to be like without the Neverseen. I wonder what the Black Swan will do."

"I assume the Black Swan will be working with the Council in case anything or anyone like the Neverseen comes along. They still have some work, redoing some treaties because of the other species who worked with the Neverseen." Kenric says tiredly.

He then jumps up with excitement, "But that's not my problem!!" 

Oralie laughs at Kenric's energetic outburst. "I'm so lucky to have you." 

"I love you too, Ora." 

The End.