The New Dragon

Epilogue

The roses were blooming again in the palace garden, and children were at play. The oldest were a boy and girl of ten, and the first had hair that shone like spun gold, and the second had hair that was the color of a rich sapphire. This was Ben and Eve. The firstborn of a new age.

The second oldest was a very clever girl, with dark curls and freckles, who wore glasses. She curled runes around her fingertips and caused things to be, just by wishing them. She was the child of a Nordic god, and a Germanic witch, so the old magicks came easily to her. Her name was Freya, named after the first witch, daughter of Odin, keeper of magic. Also, like her namesake, and like her father, she very much loved cats.

(Beelzebub's descendants were well known, and heavily populated the halls of the palace. Astaroth, the beloved cat of Evie and Mal, still lay in pools of sunlight, lazily watching her offspring play.)

The youngest was only younger by three months, practically the same age as her clever sister. She had hair that glowed purple, and sparked with magic. She had glorious, dark feathered wings, and two horns growing from the top of her head. She was part djinn like her father, and part fae, like her mother, with their combined magic running down her forearms in shimmering gold, like a magic tattoo. This was Morrigan. Named after one of her mother's ancestors, and dusky-skinned like her father. Even though she was the youngest, she was their leader.

(Ben never did have any children. Mal always said it was because he'd died. He used up all his extra life, and couldn't make anymore. And Ben would laugh, and say, "I have four children, one of whom looks just like me! Why do I need anything else?" He referred, of course, to his namesake, who had oddly turned out blond.)

They played in the gardens, and in a playground that had been specially made for them on the palace lawn. Morrigan's favorite was a castle grown from a hollow tree. Her mother had made it with magic, and told her that it was a secret place, a special place. It was the kind of castle that fae used to live in, long long ago.

(Behind walls of briar and towers of thorn, carpet of deer moss and rose-hips adorned.)

She loved more than anything, to invite her brother and sisters into the castle, and tell them stories. Morrigan loved to tell stories, and her parents would always smile at them. They made her Baba call her 'little Shaharazad" after the woman who told all the stories in Arabian Nights. Even when she grew up, and read all the books in her library (just like her Papa once had, and his mama had, before him), after Mama and Mother taught her magic alongside Eve and Freya, and her Father taught her about animals and mechanics, she still loved stories the most. Her favorites began with once upon a time, and ended with happily ever after.

One day, she asked her Mama to tell her a new story. Mama had beautiful blue hair like Eve, and she was the best at storytelling.

"This is an old story, and a new one." Mama began.

"How can it be old and new?" Morrigan asked, tilting her head in question.

"The magic is old. The love within it is old," Mama explained, with a wink. "But the story itself isn't much older than you. This is a fairy-tale, to be sure. But it began not more than forty years ago, when all the countries of the world got together, and made a pact."

"What was it?" The girl asked, before cuddling down into her blankets.

"They promised each other to capture the villains of their fairy tales, and put them away on an island, where they could never hurt anyone, ever again." Mama continued her story.

"Sounds like a good idea." Morrigan nodded sleepily.

"It did sound like a good idea on paper." Mana agreed. "But once they got all the villains into one place, they turned away, and didn't realize what was happening. With no law and order, villains started hurting each other. The bright king and queen who'd started it all, never noticed until they started to see children. There were children on the Isle with villain parents!"

"Did the villains love their children?" Morrigan asked, and Mama paused for a long time.

"Some of them did." She explained quietly. "Some of them loved their children, but still treated them cruelly, for many different reasons."

"Is this a sad story?" Morrigan interrupted.

"Parts of it are." Mama nodded, smiling. "But most of it is good. You see, there were four friends on the Island. A girl with purple hair, who was a faerie with no wings. A princess with blue hair, who was a witch without magic. A genie with dark skin, stronger than desert rock, but without a lamp. And a demi-god who didn't know his power, and had hair as white as snow."

Her eyes lit up with recognition. "That was you!" She exclaimed. "It was Mother, and Mama, and Baba, and Father!"

"Yes." Said Mama. "Yes, it was."

"But where was Papa?"

Mama smiled at that, and quirked her eyebrows, like she did when she saw something funny.

"Your Papa wasn't born on the Isle." She grinned. "He was born to a great king and queen. They were the very same rulers that put the villains on an island."

"So you were... Enemies?" Morrigan asked, eyes wide.

"Indeed we were." Evie smirked. "Isn't that a wonderful way to begin a story? It begins with turmoil, danger, and misunderstanding. It ends with -"

"Happily ever after." Morrigan chimed in, smiling.

"Happily ever after, indeed." Evie nodded, serenely. 

And truly, there was no ending happier.

• The End •

As always, many many thanks to those of you who've stuck with this story from the beginning. Because this turned out to be basically an extended epilogue, I wonder if I should just merge it with the original story. Thoughts? As always, all questions will be answered, if you, the readers, merely ask!

You might be wondering why this story turned out so short when I'd gotten such a high chapter count on the original. The answer is, I had a lot of great ideas, but halfway through, I realized that these great ideas needed to go into a new story, not the existing one. After all, all good stories must end, and they shouldn't overstay their welcome. The good news is, though, that a new Descendants tale is in the works! To find out more about it (and to vote on the story's cover), please visit my profile page on ff.net and let me know what you think of the cover options!

Until next time - Phoebe