Hope

Epilogue

One year and five months later...

I paused in the doorway of my house, getting the sense that I was forgetting something. But no, I hadn't forgotten anything. A memory tickled the back of my mind as I stood in the doorway. My hand fingered the hilt of my warrior's blade and I remembered the time after it had been forged and it was given to me.

Shadeclaw was standing in the doorway of the house I shared with him and my brothers, holding something behind his back. His eyes were searching and when they alighted on me, he smiled. He stepped forward and from behind his back he drew a warrior's knife with a darkened blade. He then handed it to me hilt-first and said, "You are now an adult of this tribe, Pointedleaf. Wear this blade with honor." The blade gleamed dully for a moment and I took it.

I drew my warrior's knife and looked again at the bright silver metal that composed it. The beautiful and harsh lines of the blade and its three prongs brought back memories much happier than most of the ones I carried. There was magic in the knife, put there when it was forged. The magic of the blade caused it to never dull, nor allow itself to be held by another for very long. It showed me my honor. No, it showed me more than that. It showed me my soul in its purest form, a being that could kill and save, someone who lived and fought all her life. We all fought to be sure, but I had faced more battles than most. But now was not the time to reminisce. The day had more surprises left in store.

I put it away and looked up at the dusty path that led to the meeting place. Some instinct called me and I put one booted foot on the path and then the other. Straining my ears I could hear familiar laughter, faint and carried by the wind. My heart thumping in my chest, I started to run down the dirt road, ignoring the dust cloud brought up in my wake.

The late summer day was beautiful. The normally dark forest was brightened with the summer sun and summertime flowers bloomed prolifically. The blue and pink and yellow flowers became dots in a vast sea of green and brown. Darkened trunks of pine trees were mixed in with oaks and hickories and the occasional willow. The forest seemed alive, just as much as when I had first come back a year and four months ago. Even more so, now that some old friends had come to visit.

I burst into the meeting place, scattering pine needles everywhere. There in front of me were Zack and Jing and my best friend and leader Daystreak. Daystreak was looking at me with amusement, but Zack and Jing's attention was elsewhere. For in Jing's arms there was a baby.

I stepped closer to have a better look. This baby had the huge eyes typical of elven children, but these eyes were shaped like Jing's. I could not see much else of the baby because it was wrapped up tightly in blankets and it had a hat on its head. The baby regarded me with its huge brown eyes and made an adorable baby noise. Zack and Jing looked up and saw me for the first time.

A grin broke out on Zack's face. "This is Annikka," he said. "She was born four months ago."

"She's adorable," I said, reaching out a hand to touch the baby. I then looked at Jing. "May I?"

Jing nodded. "Go right ahead. She doesn't bite." Jing then picked up Annikka and deposited her in my arms, much to my surprise. Daystreak chuckled.

Annikka wasn't heavy at all. I unwrapped some of the blankets holding her prisoner and two chubby arms emerged and started to wave at my face. I chuckled and wrapped her arms back up again. I then peeked under her hat. To my surprise, her ears hardly had a hint of a point.

I looked at Jing, a question written plainly on my face. Jing shrugged. "Zack tells me that elf/human hybrids can either look very human with strong elven talents or look very elven with weak elven talents or be somewhere in the middle. He thinks that Annikka will have a strong mind-gift, but only time can tell."

I then passed Annikka back to Jing and asked, "How's motherhood treating you?"

Jing chuckled. "Very well. Annikka's pretty well behaved compared to human babies and I've spent plenty of time around those! She's pretty quiet unless she's hungry or needs her diaper changed. And she usually holds still when I'm trying to change her clothes. Zack tells me most elven babies are like that, but he adds that elven babies don't usually cry because they have some sort of telepathic bond with their mothers. Since I'm not a telepath, I don't have that, but there are elves who aren't telepaths either so I'm not the only one. Have you found love yet, Leaf?"

Daystreak started laughing. "The day Pointedleaf falls in love will be the day the earth explodes!" she declared. I rolled my eyes at her.

Jing gave me a smile. "I'll take that as a 'no' then," she said. "But if you ever do, come talk to me and I could give you some pointers."

I chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. What brings you to our side of the forest?"

"I just thought we could visit," Jing said. "After all, you were my friend back when we were traveling together. I missed you. And I'm pretty sure Zack did too, but he doesn't want to admit it."

Zack raised his eyebrows at Jing and I laughed. "Well in that case," I said, "you're perfectly welcome here for as long as you would like to stay. How's Tasha and the others?"

Jing smiled. "Tasha's finally gotten away from the capital. She's managed to redirect everyone to Jírda at last and so she and Stan are running away to the far side of the world... after she visits you guys, of course. She says she's going to explore the Eastern Tribes first thing since you've broken your isolation. Oh, and she and Stan got married last year. I haven't really heard from Rebecca since our wedding. I think she's sailed across the ocean or something like that to go and cause trouble on another continent. I wonder what she's doing. I would've liked her to visit but I know she's not the touchy-feely type. In fact, I'm pretty sure that if I tried to hug her, she'd burn me. How're your brothers, by the way?"

I grinned. "Smokesky has taken to writing poetry. He's actually quite good at it. You should come and see some of his stuff. Tornheart is being his usual gloom-and-doom self, only it's a bit more gloom and less doom since we finished our suicide mission to the Western Tribes in Lyssia." Daystreak raised her eyebrows at me. I ignored her. "And Tangleweed, true to his nature, is currently being tended to by Dustlight because he jumped out of a tree and landed wrong."

"And Dustlight is your healer," Jing clarified.

"Yes," I said. "He's going to choose the next healer soon, or so he says. He's got about five apprentices and they can't all be healers. I think it's going to be Stem, that cute red-pelted she-cat."

Daystreak nodded sagely. "Ah, yes, that little apprentice Dustlight is half in love with. She's quite good and I think she'd be an excellent healer. I'd have to arrange a meeting between you two. I hear from Pointedleaf that you're a healer yourself, Jing."

"Yes, I was trained by my parents, but I didn't finish my training before they died," Jing told her with a sad smile. But then she brightened a little. "I'd love to meet her. Would that be possible now? I don't think Annikka will need to be fed for another couple of hours..."

With that, Jing, Zack, and Daystreak stood and headed back towards the village. I remained behind a moment with my memories. Zack and Jing had changed so little since I had seen them last, despite the baby, and I suspected I had changed little as well.

Suddenly, a cold breeze blew through the meeting place and a cloud covered the sun. I shivered slightly, my black braid swinging in the wind. A sense of malice flittered on the edges of my mind and a chill descended on me. I could sense evil flickering from both without and within myself, threatening to take my choice from me. But my heart still beat strongly and I took comfort with every breath that left my lungs. I could feel my old invincibility well up in me. There was nothing I couldn't do. No wall I couldn't climb. No one who could stand in my way. And certainly no one will make me afraid of the dark. I was the darkness. And anyone that tried to use the darkness against me will have my wrath come crashing down on their head.

The cold wind subsided and the sun shone once more. I relaxed as the evil presence vanished, but I knew it was still out there. But I was also out there and ready for it should it try to come back. I had won over it once before, and I was sure I could win again. The mission to free the Kingdom of Lyssia from tyranny might be over, but I was still here to protect the people I had come to call my friends. I sent out my challenge with the fading wind and remained in the meeting place a few moments longer before vanishing into the shadows of the forest.