Potent

Epilogue

I grin widely. “I was born ready.” 4 years later…

 “Aero, what have I told about flying too high whilst I’m not around?” I ask as my little Aero lies on a heap of straw having just fallen with no one to catch him.

Aero folds his thin, sparkling wings into his back. “To…not to?” His wobbly voice squeaks.

“Yep, now let’s go see Grandma!” I announce.

“Yay!” He squeals and gets up, Aquarius’ bright, blue eyes looking up at me and I pluck the straw out of his chocolate coloured hair. He takes my warm hand and leads me inside the Potent Palace into the large living room in the Left Wing, where Mum lounges on a slick, black leather sofa. Putting down her magazine, her eyes light up and crinkle in delight as she scoops up Aero in her arms- that are still scarred from her time as a prisoner in the Dark Potent castle.

                                                                                                             

After being propped back down, my cute toddler ran right into someone’s legs.

“Oof! Next time look where you’re going, Aeroplane!” Isabelle jokes and takes another bite of a Cadbury’s chocolate bar. I roll my eyes and gesture to the chocolate bar.

“Somethings never change do they?” Izzy smiles knowingly.

“True, I may have been through hell, but that would never stop me from eating chocolate and-”

“Turning into a fat, greedy pig.” Aquarius finishes, appearing at my side.

“Hey!” Izzy yells and then throws one of Mum’s magazines at him in retaliation, which he blocks effortlessly.

“Izzy, I wasn’t done reading that! And don’t you dare retaliate Aquarius, because I’m not going to mop up after your little water fight again!” Mum warns, which makes us all laugh.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!” Aero screams shaking Aquarius’ arm.

“What is it, Little Man?” He asks, kindly.

“I can fly even higher now! Do you wanna see, wanna see?”

“That’s awesome, well done! But, don’t you want to say hello to Grandad and Granny?” He asks, pointing at Dad and my step-mum behind Aero.

 Spinning around, Aero leaps onto Dad and he catches him, throwing him in the air whilst Aero squeals.

Sitting Aero up onto his broad shoulders, Dad turns to me.

“Are you ready?”
“For what?” I ask confused.

“I’m retiring,” he confesses, whilst Aero plays with his greying hair.

“You can do that here?” I ask doubtfully.

He shrugs. “Well, I am anyway, I’m getting far too old to be able to rule and I can’t cope as well as I used to.”

“So what exactly do I need to be ready for?”

“To rule, to protect, to lead the Light Potents unquestionably. To swear by your life, that you will not betray your people under any circumstances. To be: their leading light into the darkness, their friend and their adviser. Are you ready?”

“Father, it is an honour to be given this responsibility and I believe that I will be able to rise to the challenge and fulfil my duties, but on one condition…that Aquarius will rule by my side.”

“I accept your condition and like I said those 4 years ago: ‘you will make a fine ruler’, so finally I ask you for the third time, are you ready?”