Sweet Shadows (Rogue x OC)

*Epilogue*

"She hasn't awoken, has she?" The Priestess asked softly, concern in her voice.

Rogue shook his head sorrowfully. His crimson eyes had been dull for a while now as he was losing hope.

A month earlier, the Priestess regained her power and memories with Zephyre's sacrifice. With the restoration, she was able to rid the man, Aija's deceased father, of the demon that possessed his body, ultimately destroying the monster that threatened the Priestess and the Imbali.

But since then, Zephyre hadn't awoken. This was the consequence that the mage was aware of: there was very little chance that she would ever wake up again. She had returned the stolen blossom back to the sacred tree, therefore returning her magic. She was never supposed to exist, and her mother was never supposed to survive through her illness and give birth to her magical daughter.

With the life provided by the blossom missing, there was sure to be no life inside of the girl.

"I know... that I've been hesitating to ask, but I want to know..." Rogue's voice trailed.

The Priestess finished his request. "...what really happened?" She proceeded to answer. "When the demon first approached us on the third night of the Blossom Festival, Zephyre gained the memories of the previous Priestess's death, which were the ones that I was missing." Her voice was flat, expressing no emotion.

"She also realized that she harbored the blossom that was stolen from the sacred tree, meaning she was the other half of me that was missing. When it was time, she returned the blossom to the tree, just as the Priestesses do every century. Thus, she returned that portion of my life."

The Priestess opened her eyes, displaying beautiful, shining, crystalline orbs. They were eyes that were so familiar to the Dragon Slayer.

"And... it's not..." Rogue stuttered, hesitating to look at the Priestess's eyes.

"It's not likely she will ever wake up." The Priestess frowned with sadness in her translucent orbs. "Even if she does, she won't be a mage, and it's also plausible that she won't remember anything."

"I see, now." The young man sighed as the woman left the room, leaving him alone with Zephyre who was sleeping on one of the beds of the small cabin that they continued to stay in within the Imbali village.

Rogue grasped onto her small hand, where her warmth was slowly diminishing. But he suddenly felt the girl's thin fingers press onto his larger hand. The feeling was delicate and subtle, but it was definitely there.

His crimson orbs fixated on her delicate face. Her soft lips were barely open as she breathed lightly, her chest rising and falling slowly.

The girl's eyelids moved slightly.

Rogue squeezed her hand again.

Slowly, Zephyre eyes fluttered open, revealing eyes that dulled into a shining silver color. They may have lost their diamond-esque luster, but they still belonged to the same girl.

"Zephyre..." The Dragon Slayer gasped, light returning to his warm red eyes.

Her mouth widened in surprise, her kind orbs focusing on her companion. "Rogue." She said before tears pricked the corners of her eyes, a warm smile stretching across her lips.

"Do you... remember?" He asked cautiously, averting his gaze as a pink color was painted onto his cheeks.

The girl released a weak-sounding giggle. "The important stuff." She answered, a smile still plastered to her face.

Rogue placed his hand on the back of her head and leaned down, connecting his lips with hers. He slowly broke away from her, pressing his forehead onto the girl's and looking into her silver eyes with a shy smile.

"I love you, Zephyre."

-----+-----

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Rogue asked.

"As long as everyone else is still okay with it." Zephyre smiled with assurance, knowing she was positive about her decision.

Even though she wasn't a mage anymore, Sabertooth still wanted to have her join their guild. She finally agreed to.

The girl turned around, revealing the scar that was imprinted on her lower back. The corrupted veins that stretched up her spine no longer existed, and all that remained was a deep scar.

Rogue placed his strong hand over the scar. A pleasurable sensation rippled through Zephyre's curvaceous body.

When he removed his hand, the girl examined her back in a mirror, twisting around to see the bold Sabertooth symbol imprinted over the scar, making the demonic mark disappear entirely.

Zephyre smiled with pure joy, but yelped when Rogue startled her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He used his hand to pull her chin up, pressing his lips to hers softly.

She turned slightly within his grasp, leaning into him and deepening the kiss. They kissed each other multiple times, and with each kiss, they became more passionate than the last.

Rogue mumbled a few words between their kisses as his lips curved into a soft, kind smile against Zephyre's.

"Welcome to Sabertooth, Zephyre."