The Phoenix People

Epilogue - One Year Later

Jack toddles around, occasionally dropping onto his bottom to more closely observe various twigs and pebbles. He's not able to control his body well enough to bend over or crouch yet.

I watch him fondly, legs crossed in quite an unladylike fashion. I am wearing comfortable men's clothing, however, so my modesty is safe.

The sun is shining cheerily and birds are singing in the tree above me. I am half reading, half watching my child as he walks unsteadily around the inner circle of the hedge maze.

I hear voices coming from the path leading back into the maze and sure enough, soon Annamarie and Melody emerge.

"She's just...she's fussing a lot," Melody is explaining worriedly, rubbing the back of her little Song.

"She's a baby," Anna replies dryly. "It's what they do." She walks over to Jack, crouching beside him and ruffling his fine hair. "Except for you, you little angel child."

"Angel child," Jack repeats with a winning smile.

She is right - Jack hardly ever fusses, and he only cries when he has night terrors. But then, I have them as well. Rather than attempt to calm him down, I just hold him close, my tears mixing with his.

My dark thoughts dissipate as Theo and Griffin rush into the inner maze, gazes locking on Anna. "There you are!" Theo exclaims, hurrying over to her. "Have you forgotten that you're meeting with the group of noblemen today?"

Anna gasps, flying to her feet. "Oh!" Without so much as a farewell, she turns and dashes into the maze, the two men close behind.

Melody sighs and eases herself to the ground beside me. She has gained weight over the past year and she smiles often. The new look suits her.

She places Song on the ground, making a makeshift cage with her legs. We sit in contented silence for a while, watching our children. I am glad that we have reached a place in our friendship where we do not feel pressured to fill the air with meaningless small talk.

A slight rustling comes from the maze and Alia emerges. She smiles fondly at us and seats herself on my other side.

Over the past year, she has made several trips into the Outlands to visit her husband. The trips have gotten less frequent, however - she confides in me that Moonhopper refuses to move into the palace, and his people are getting more and more hostile towards her.

"So you're not going to move to the Outlands?" I asked hopefully when she told me this.

She had frowned slightly and shook her head. "I can't leave you," she murmured. "Not again."

She still hasn't told me everything.

But, as I snuggle into my sister and fling an arm around my best friend, I find that I do not care. As I watch little Song babbly nonsense and Jack exploring his tiny world, I do not care.

I lean back, closing my eyes and letting the sunlight filtering through the leaves play over my face.

Someday, I will tell Jack the convoluted story of his past. Someday, I will once again venture outside of the palace grounds. Someday, thinking of Audric will not hurt so badly. Someday, Alia will tell me her story.

But for now, I am content.