King | j.b

Epilogue

~ 4 years later ~

The morning. It had become his favorite part of the day. The brightness and warmth it brought the world was pleasing to him. The air carried a fresh, flowery scent.

The sleeping king awoke to the sound of birds singing just outside. His eyes fluttered open and squinted as light seeped through the glass windows. He brought his arm up to shade his eyes from the blinding sunlight. The sun had a glow in it, it never contained before. It was stronger than it had ever been. 

He stared at the ceiling, sighing. His hand pulled the sheets over his body. He was about to get up when he noticed a dainty hand had been resting on his bare chest. He froze, afraid of waking her up.

But it was too late.

She stirred in her sleep and slowly opened her precious eyes. Her curled hair was sprawled to the side of her pillow.

"Good morning, Ariana," Justin said in a raspy voice. The queen smiled. He loved her smile. It was what he lived for. Her happiness.

"Good morning," she replied as she gently stroked his soft hair.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked her.

"Like a baby," she laughed, outlining the cross tattoo on his chest with her finger. He smiled.

"Speaking of babies, we should probably check on Emma," he said, hurling his body upward.

"Right." She planted a kiss on his lips before getting out of bed.

The king and queen made their way to the master bedroom door and opened it. They approached another room just next to their's. The room was small. The walls were a pale blue while the frames of the windows were gilded gold. A dresser with toys and pictures stood at one corner of the room, while a chair was propped at another. And pushed up against the wall was a wooden crib.

The two parents approached the tiny crib, peeking over. Their eyes fell upon their beautiful baby girl who was playing with her stuffed bear.

"Look who's already up," Ariana said placing her hands on her hips playfully. The 3-year-old child looked up at her parents with her big pure-blue eyes. She laughed in delight at the sight of her parents, bearing her tiny teeth. It was very rare for two hazel-eyed parents to have a blue-eyed child. But they took it as a blessing.

"Mommy! Daddy!" little Emma yelped happily. She reached her arms up so she could be picked up. Justin with his long, strong arms put his hands on Emma's sides and picked her up out of the crib. She looked so cute in her pink pajamas. He cradled her in his arms planting a sweet kiss on her forehead before walking back to the master bedroom.

Justin handed Emma to Ariana so he could open the balcony doors. Once they were opened, he stepped outside, smelling the summer air. A wave of hot air hit Ariana's body as she walked out as well. The morning sun beamed down on them, the village, the hills, the mountains, on everything you could set your eye on.

"Isn't it beautiful, Emma?" Ariana asked giving the baby a better view of the world. Justin smiled at his daughter. Oh, how much she has to learn.

"Pretty," Emma said. Justin approached his wife and wrapped an arm around her as they stared out into the horizon.

A lot had changed in four years.