Epilogue

Everyone was on his or her own paths again. Josh resumed his occupation as a merchant in the city of Cenar. Genia continued her travels as a disguised traveler once again on a mission to help all those she could find in need. Kat, Tammy, and Matt were somewhere out there tending to different matters. Princesses Stephanie and Christine and Kings Henry and Joseph had arrived at respective homes safely.

On this warm cozy dawn, Christine slipped out of her room through a window and jumped out. She started running as quickly as she could away from the castle. Behind her, she heard from her room a door open and slam. There was a cry of despair.

“Christine!!!! Where are you?” she heard her father yell.

The warrior princess laughed. She could move swiftly again and fight. Instead of picking brawls randomly as previously, she now did not want to fight without reason. She had learned from her older experiences. One in particular stuck in her mind. On part of her regretted saving her father, but the other part didn’t regret it. It was farewell to her father. Her life wasn’t a court life, and she knew she wasn’t destined to be a nice lady in a court. It just wasn’t her style, and Christine hoped that her father understood.

---

King Joseph stared out the window of his daughter’s room and spotted Christine running away. He understood perfectly. Christine had never taken well to court life. In fact, she had despised it. Court life was definitely not her destiny. Joseph sighed. One of his children remained with him, and Prince John, Christine’s older brother, understood politics more than she did. The prince had done a wonderful job of sorting out problems in court in the kingdom when Joseph had been king-napped. John would make a perfect king and successor, leaving Christine free. King Joseph stared after Christine, hoping that she would be able to take care of herself. Joseph assured himself that she would have no problem now that she had recovered. “Good luck, my daughter,” he whispered.

---

Christine watched the rowdy noisy crowd in the tavern and bar from the balcony of her room. She sighed. Something was different. Something was missing. There was an emptiness, a hole, in her heart when there had never been before. She thought, and then, it came to her. She missed someone, and it wasn’t her father, King Joseph. It puzzled her, so Christine searched the crowd under her for familiar faces to see if anything triggered. She had no luck.

There was a slight commotion at the door. Christine turned to look. A hooded cloaked figure with a vaguely familiar walk had entered the tavern. The figure walked toward her balcony, weaving its way through the crowd. Once directly under Christine’s balcony, the figure stopped. It looked up into Christine’s eyes. Christine was puzzled.

“Hello, Chris! Miss me?” the figure laughed. Its hood fell back against its cloak.

Christine gasped and gaped. Then, she groaned loudly on purpose.

“Remember me?”

It was Matt. He’s alive? Christine groaned again. “What are you doing here?” Christine snapped. “You’re an idiotic elf knight that doesn’t belong here!”

“I resent that remark,” Matt replied. “Chris.”

“Didn’t I tell you last time not to call me Chris?” Christine shouted. Everyone’s attention was focused on Matt and Christine now.

“Really? You did? Hmm...must have slipped my mind. ‘Cause I just don’t quite recall you mentioning anything like that before,” Matt replied.

“By the way, how are you alive anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Christine demanded.

“Well, Chris, that’s only what you assumed. Why don’t you come down here and find out?” Matt replied.

“Thanks for the invitation. I think I will.” Christine leaped off the balcony and landed next to Matt safely. “Did you ever know that you’re annoying?”

“Hmm...I don’t know,” Matt replied. “Did you know that you’re annoying?”

Christine growled and lunged at Matt violently, tackling him. “You and your big mouth!”

“Uh, huh. Me and my big mouth. Whoever said that I had a big mouth anyway— Ow!”

“Did you ever notice anything on your neck?” Christine asked.

“No. Why?” Matt grunted as he struggled to pin down Christine.

“There’s a mark on it made by a leech.”
“What? Wait. Now, wait! You stuck a leech on my neck?!!”

Christine snickered and pulled free.

“Oh, you little brat, you’re going to get such a whipping that you’ll never forget a bit of it!”

“Ha, ha! Only if you can get me!” Christine laughed. She ran about the tavern and out the door.

“Chris! You little nuisance!” Matt hollered. “I’m going to get you!”

“You’re a dead person, elf knight! I don’t hear you or see you!” Matt heard Christine shout in the distance.

“I’m coming after you!” Matt yelled.

“I can’t hear you!” Christine cried.

“Oh, very funny!” Matt rushed out the tavern door after Christine.

“If you can answer, then, you can hear me, Chris. No hiding that,” Matt mumbled.

Matt heard Christine’s mocking laughter in the distance and groaned. “Ohhhh! Just you wait. Just you wait. I’ll get you, and then, you’ll feel my wrath.” Matt sighed. “But then, I don’t have a wrath. Ooo, that sucks. Better make a quick one up fast.”

---

Joanna sighed. “They never change, do they?”

“Hmm, I’ll think about that,” the mirror replied.

The fairy felt a smirk tug at the edge of her mouth. “You did say that you didn’t have brains before earlier, didn’t you? So you can’t think. You admitted it.”

“Uh, I don’t remember saying that,” the mirror answered.

“Really? Since when do you not remember anything? Since when?”