On the Deep Waters

Epilogue

The next day, everything felt a little better.

Not completely better, for sure. Solomon still felt shaky, land still swayed under Kit's feet, and Nimah was back on the waters. That said, they were no longer on the run from pirates, and most of the freed captives were safe. That was definite improvement.

Around midday, Solomon took lunch with Kit and Kasib. Conversation at first was quiet, calm, and had mercifully nothing to do with what they had been through. Until...

"Sir Obote?"

One of the palace guards approached them. "I don't mean to bother you, but one of the prisoners asked if she could have a word with you."

Solomon froze. Kasib and Kit looked at him with concern. "...which prisoner?" Solomon asked carefully.

"I believe her name was...Jana? Yes, Jana Sabinus."

There was silence. Solomon's face was angry, then conflicted. After a moment, he looked accepting. It was not a calm look; rather, it was the look of someone who had made a decision and was willing to live with the consequences.

"I don't want to talk to her," Solomon said. "I have no interest in what she has to say. And you can tell her I said that."

The guard nodded and walked away. Some of the tension drained from Solomon's shoulders, leaving a lingering conflict and pain in his eyes.

Kasib rested a hand on Solomon's shoulder. Kit smiled at him. Solomon's shoulders relaxed more as he smiled back.

Peace had returned. It was new and fragile, but it was something to celebrate.

+++++

Peace would come for many more after that,

The rescue ship from the Raven Isle brought the freed captives home without incident. While Orion had to stay out of sight, Rini would later inform the others that he had fully recovered from his overuse of magic. "I've had worse headaches, girl," he told her. "No need to worry about me."

He also repeated that he was never going to give Shika a favor ever again. No one could blame him for that sentiment.

Shika herself did not spend much time on the Raven Isle. Upon making sure that her sister was safe and secure in pirate-free territory, she disappeared with the first batch of freed captives. Rini was annoyed, but not surprised. Meanwhile, Kit's instincts were correct: she and Bo were quick to strike up friendly conversation over a love of magic, books, and magic-related books. Rini wouldn't go so far as to say that meeting Bo made her frustration with her sister worth it, but it was at least some compensation.

Kit, fortunately, was given a short leave from his duties. He spent half of that time alone and half with Solomon. The ground eventually stopped moving under his feet. Routine resumed. He was very grateful for both.

Nimah also stayed near Solomon as well, but did her best not to be overwhelming. She managed, mstly because she was also distracted by helping the freed captives figure out how to get home. She'd made a career out of getting people places; even this wide-scale version of that came naturally to her.

Kasib needed a few days to recover. Many of the captives did. His physical recovery was fairly short, but things went much more slowly for his emotional recovery. He was nervous, tired, and stayed away from port. But he had something to look forward to, and people to go home to. He was not excited about the journey itself—"I don't think I'll be travelling again for some time after this," he told Solomon—but he was looking forward to seeing his family and his fiancé again.

His other great solace was that he wouldn't be going alone.

The wedding may not have been for some time, but Solomon knew two things. First: the only way he was going to be comfortable with this situation was if he was sure Kasib got home safely.

Second: Perhaps it was time for him to go home, too.

Jana Sabinus was presented to the Council of Kings. After some intense discussion, she was given to the kingdom of Uyeda, under the reassurances that she would be "dealt with."

She would remain a specter in the minds of her victims for some time. But the longer she was away, the more she faded, just as she faded from the world.

+++++

He had forgotten how warm it was in Palesa. Solomon thought it might be oppressive and unfamiliar after so long away, but instead it felt familiar. Comforting, even. It fell into place very quickly, along with his memoires of how to get home from town.

It didn't look exactly as he remembered. The barn had grown, the fence was new, and it looked like they had finally repaired the chimney. It should have felt disorienting, but in a way, the changes were also comforting. If the house had been the same as when he'd left it, it would've felt too perfect, too good to be true. The changes meant that this was real.

Home had changed, but for the better. And so had he.

Maybe it was his eagerness to get to the house, or maybe it was how long he'd been away. But, as he approached the house, Solomon forgot to take the geese into account.

He regretted his lack of attention immediately. They really were better than guard dogs.

Solomon swore and jumped back as the geese rushed him, squawking noisily as they did. So much for surprising everyone. "Little bastards..."

"Solomon?!"

Ada stood in the doorway. His sister was taller now, and had cut her hair shorter. But her eyes were still the same, and her smile when she realized it was really him was exactly the same. "Solomon - !"

She ran to embrace him. He hugged her back tightly, as though afraid she would vanish forever if he let go.

But Ada didn't vanish when he let go to hug Dalila, and Dalila didn't vanish when he let go to hug Mother. By the time Father returned home from work, Solomon had almost accepted that this was happening. It was that final embrace that made everything fall into place.

This was real. It was happening. Things had changed, but in the end, that didn't matter. He was back.

Solomon Obote was finally home.

.

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(Author's Note: This story was cross-posted from singlequantumevent.com. If you'd like to see more stories like this one, including ongoing stories and ones that haven't been posted to WattPad yet, check out the site! Special thanks to my patrons, Wolf Woman (formerly CarnivaleArt), Dianne Owens, Juniper H., Matt Hurd, Nathan Pressley, and Bry Clark. And thanks to you for reading!)