The Last Princess

Epilogue

I awoke to a brush on my forehead.

I mumbled something unintelligible, not wanting to leave my cozy, warm haven underneath the blankets. So the hand wrapped over me and pulled me to the other side to face its owner as I opened my eyes.

Aiden grinned at me, head propped up on one hand, other hand still on me. "Rise and shine." I groaned. He grinned even more. "Queen Sleepyhead, you have work." I glared at him. "Well, King Also Sleepyhead, some of us want to sleep."

He rolled his eyes, and they fell on the empty spot between us with an amused glance. The bed sheet was crinkled there, but she was already gone, of course. She was usually up at the crack of dawn.

So he scooted closer to me, pulling me closer at the same time. "Unfortunately, Your Highness, we have to get out of bed. One of the horrible parts of being a royal." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Does another 'horrible part', by any chance, include marrying a Queen? Or, might a mention, having authority over the whole Forest?"

He chuckled. "The 'marrying a Queen' part...that, I must say, is one of the best parts. Though said Queen might be rather high maintenance. Authority over the whole Forest, however, is a rather daunting idea."

"Wait." I said. "One of the best parts? What, pray tell, are the others?" He grinned lopsidedly, the smile that still made my heart race after so many years. He brought his face down to mine, and our lips just brushed- when the doors were flung open.

"And there is the best part." Aiden muttered as we looked up, breaking away from each other. She stood silhouetted in the doorway, her red hair shining like mine, hitting her waist, albeit all tangled up right now. Her green eyes, so like her father's, sparkled with mischief and happiness.

I was so thankful we hadn't let guards stay outside our doors. Instead, they were stationed at the end of our corridor. Otherwise Nalvia only knows what they might have seen. "I do agree with you." I murmured as she ran up to us, jumping onto the bed and landing on her stomach. She crawled into the space between us, and we scooted to make room for her.

"Hi." She giggled. I raised an eyebrow. "Where were you, Cher?" I wasn't scolding her really, I just wanted to know where she was. "I was in your meeting room." She said confidentially. Aiden tilted his head to the side. "Oh, really? And what, exactly, was your new proclamation today, Princess Cherry Poplar?"

As the royal, I had kept the name of Elowen, but I had made sure Aiden kept his. He didn't have to take mine, as I'd insisted. And we'd given Cherry his surname, because, they way I had seen it, the Elowen line hadn't exactly been a blessing to the Forest, and it was time we tried someone new. The Poplars were the best choice.

"I recreated Mommy's speech to allow her to marry you, Daddy." She said. Ah, yes. It had been a long process, with some elves opposing my marriage to the son of an influential rebel. But I had managed to persuade them in the end. After all, it was my right to marry whoever I chose.

Still, I looked up at Aiden playfully. "Remind me why I did that again?" He narrowed his eyes, but Cherry sighed dramatically, raising one hand and turning herself over so she lay on her back. "Because you're in looove." She crooned.

I shook my head at my daughter's theatrics, Aiden laughing slightly, making me snicker as well. "Come on!" Cherry said suddenly, turning around and sitting up on her knees so she faced both of us. "Come where?" Aiden said, amused.

"We have to go see Aunt and Uncle! And I want to see Eilon! We're all meeting, remember, because it's your reunion of all your friends!" She said excitedly, sliding off the bed and running out side again, presumably to go visit her cousin, who, being barely a year older than her at nine years old, was only slightly less prone to running around than she.