Aelburn (WATTY'S 2020)

.epilogue.°°

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Five years later

WILLOW

I walked silently across the forest floor, leaves crunching beneath my feet as I pushed my long curls out of my face. A small hand clung to mine, small feet walking fast to keep up with my pace.

"Will, slow down why don't you? We'll get there when we get there."

I sighed at Jai's words, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "We're almost there and now you're telling me to relax?"

"Well, yeah." He said with a sigh. "Not so much for you but for the kids."

"And for me." Lavender huffed, jogging to a stop beside Jai and crossing her arms across her chest, curls a starburst of caramel held back by a hair tie. "You'd think you wouldn't be in such a rush to get there."

The fingers in my hand tightened and I sighed. "I'm excited." I said simply and Jai snorted, pushing his ebony hair back from his face.

In the five years that had passed since Peter Lancaster's death, Jai had decided to keep his hair short, albeit better maintained than it had been before. He'd only matured further, his jawline becoming sharper and his eyes wiser though his mind had not changed in the slightest, still offering quick witted retorts at every possible chance. Lavender as well had blossomed into a woman whose beauty rivaled nearly everyone she met. She'd grown her hair back, her curls now hanging to her waist when it wasn't held away from her face with a ponytail or a bandana.

"Mama walks fast."

Lowering my head, I couldn't help but smile at my son, his black curls sticking in all direction as he clung to my hand.

"So do you." I said and he furrowed his brow.

"Nuh-uh," He said, shaking his head quickly. "I wanna walk with Papa."

"No!" A high pitched voice protested, my head turning to my daughter, clinging to Jai's hand. "I'm walking with Papa!"

"You can both walk with Papa, Gen." I said and she pouted, glaring at her brother.

"You can walk with Auntie Lav, Arin." Lavender said and Arin's face lit up immediately, his hand slipping from mine as he rushed towards my sister. Rolling my eyes at Lavender's grin, I turned back to my path. "That's right, I'm the best, Will."

"Whatever." I sighed, smiling softly at her and my sons giggle.

The five of us made our way over the final hill before arriving at our destination and I smiled, admiring the headstones revealed in the valley beneath us. Lucas had had this graveyard built within his first year as president. Those we lost under Peter Lancaster's thumb were now buried here in the King Memorial Cemetery. Making my way to the gate, I pressed my hand against the granite archway and looked before me, counting three rows before continuing forward, eventually coming to a stop at the third row and making my way down the marked path. Eventually, I knelt before two graves, adjusting myself to sit down on the dirt beneath my feet.

"Hi Mom...Hi Guen."

I turned my head as my children's laughter grew close, Gen pulling away from Jai and rushing to me, wrapping her thin arms around my neck and plopping down in my neck. As Arin, Jai and Lavender joined us, I looked back to the headstones, reading the words etched in the granite.