Chapter 15 - Recap and Epilogue

Ren sat quietly in her seat with a wide smile on her face. She took in the fragrant air and stared into beautiful blue above. Cream white clouds were lazily rolling in the sky. Ren had her hands behind her head and leaned back, sighing happily. Her body moved with the rhythm of the caravan as Cyrus led the horses down the tan dirt road. There were hills on both sides of them with yellow and pink flowers. Cyrus hunched forward bobbing his head to a silent song but kept his eyes fixed on the trail ahead.

“Hey Cyrus,” Ren said lightly. “How long have we been traveling now? How long has it been since we left the village for Tares?”

Cyrus smiled but continued looking forward. “For the Sword Show or to find help?”

“Either way was a few days, right?” Ren asked.

“About,” Cyrus said quietly. He laughed a little. Ren looked at him suspiciously but he waved to her. “Nothing, I was just thinking about our performance. Remember when we went up there and had no idea what we were doing?”

“That was your fault,” Ren blamed. She also laughed. “You said it would be no problem…you were just as scared as I was when we did those tricks. It was a good thing people loved your conjuration magic.”

“Hardly,” Cyrus said. “You’re the one that wowed them with those fancy acrobatics and stunts. You were the one that was elegant and beautiful.”

“I was, wasn’t I,” Ren said with a grin. “But don’t forget strong. After all, I did beat you in the sword fighting contest.”

“Right, right,” Cyrus sighed. He made an uncomfortable smile, “It was a fair match all the way through. I wish I was as strong as you, but…”

Ren put her hands down and rubbed her left arm. “I was just kidding; you don’t have to beat yourself up.” She then tapped her feet together. “I think…I think you’re really strong. I think you’re much stronger than me…” Ren looked up to see Cyrus with a playful grin. She felt a tinge of embarrassment and hit him in the arm. “You idiot, I thought you were serious.”

“But I’m always serious,” Cyrus said with a gasp.

Ren folded her arms and muttered. “I know.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

“The Sword Show was a success though,” Cyrus said. “We got all the things we needed and went back to the village.”

“Yeah,” Ren trailed off, “but sometimes I wonder if we could have made a difference if we didn’t go. Maybe we could have saved Dole from the Gaiden attack.”

“I don’t want to admit it,” Cyrus replied. “But it’s a good thing we weren’t there. You saw how that one leftover Gaiden officer almost killed us. But I still wonder what he was doing there…”

“Hurrah for Vince,” Ren shouted. “He saved our butts right?”

“Damn right I did,” Vince interrupted with a smirk. He was riding his white stead alongside their wagon. He was still dressed in his silver Valins armor, but kept his green cloak over most of his body to hide it. He stared forward and sighed wearily. “You kids track trouble no matter were you go,” he said. “Even after you buried the dead villagers and I took you back to Tares, you still made a mess with that necklace that Dole handed you.”

“I didn’t know that wearing it would transfer the soul of a demon princess,” Ren objected.

“I’m not a demon princess,” Aymel said in tears. She rested her arms on the back of the front seat. “You said you believed me…”

“No, no,” Ren said with guilt, “I didn’t mean it Aymel! You’re a beautiful, elegant, non-demon princess who happened to get blamed for things that were out of your control.”

“Ah, you’re the best Ren,” Aymel responded. She leaned forward and kissed Ren’s cheek with a giggle. “And you too Cyrus,” she repeated, kissing his cheek.

“Umm, thanks I guess,” Cyrus said with a euphoric smile.

“What are you kissing him for,” Ren growled angrily.

“Why? did you just want me to yourself?” Aymel asked with a flustered expression.

Ren groaned and held up her right hand. She pressed her palm against Aymel’s face and shoved her back into the wagon. Aymel yelped and slowly pushed herself up with a giggle of embarrassment. “I was just kidding…”

You’re worst than Cyrus,” Ren muttered.

“Speaking of Aymel though,” Cyrus said quietly. “Her soul transferred into your body when you put the amulet on right? So that means when we went back to Tares, all those times you were talking to yourself was not because you were crazy?”

“Yes already,” Ren moaned. “I wasn’t crazy so stop bringing that up.” Ren sighed and kicked her feet with a smile. “Now if you want to talk about crazy people, then how about mentioning the Angel Buster gang? They were all off their horses.”

“They were a lot of fun,” Cyrus said. “I’ve never met engineers or machinist before. It was a good thing we ditched Vince when we got to Tares wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Ren laughed. “Because he didn’t want to help us free the villagers.”

“Damn you brats,” Vince mumbled.

“In the end it turned out well,” Ren said as she turned to Vince with an awkward smile. She looked forward again and relaxed. “Mm, I really miss the gang though. They always made such strange things and were so hearty and friendly. Even if Tares was a strange town it was full of nice people.”

“It was where we met Peregrine too,” Cyrus added. He turned sideways and tried to look into the darkness of the wagon. “How is your wing Peregrine?” he asked.

Peregrine clicked and turned her head. “I can’t use it, but the damage hasn’t hurt my chances of fighting,” Peregrine answered.

“I’m glad it doesn’t hurt you,” Ren said. She turned around and looked at the jagged hole in the birdlike limb. She shivered.

“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely find a town or a city with some engineers. We’ll have you fixed up in no time,” Cyrus said.

Peregrine smiled and relaxed her shoulders. “Th-Thank you…both of you.”

Cyrus and Ren smiled. “Oh, that’s right,” Cyrus said. “Tares was also where I met Seren and Felix Luna. They helped me find that church…”

“What?” Ren said in surprise. “You met those freaks in Tares and got out in one piece?”

“Yes,” Cyrus said. “I was looking for a person to help me…I uh, I thought you were crazy back then so I wanted to find a way to cure you.”

Ren gave Cyrus a cautious glare.

“Anyway,” Cyrus continued. “At that point, Felix and Seren told me they were just travelers. We gave some minor introductions and then they helped me find Cathedral Vons. We were practically sitting beneath it. After that, I said good bye to them and went inside to meet Malcolm the Black.”

“Malcolm the Black?” Ren said, surprised again. “That weirdo with the black costume and funny glasses?”

“Oh, you’ve met him?”

“Yeah…but much later than that,” Ren answered. “Let me guess, he’s the one that said he could help?”

“Yep.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “He’s a strange fellow, but if he’s an executioner, he knows what he’s doing.” Ren tapped the bench with her fingers. “I guess you were doing all that about the same time I was secretly researching the necklace.”

“Wow Ren, you actually did something like that on your own?” Cyrus asked.

Ren punched him in the arm with a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

As Cyrus rubbed his arm he tried to smile, “Nothing, its just you usually don’t take the initiative like that.”

Ren held back another punch and looked forward instead. “Looking back, we really got ourselves into a lot of things. Aside from finding a way to save the villagers, we were also looking for information on Gaiden, the secret behind the amulet, and our missing parents.”

“What were you up to Vince?” Cyrus asked. “You left us with the Angel Buster gang, but did you make it all the way to Valins to find help?”

Vince turned his head and shrugged. “No and yes,” he said. “I was caught in a fight north of Tares. A mercenary group named Spiral Arms was hunting two rogue Gaiden units. They were wrecking havoc along the Valins Trail and needed to be stopped. As I was traveling I heard fighting and went to help.”

“But I’m the one who ended up saving everyone,” Krie suddenly said. She poked her head out from the back of the wagon and smiled. “It’s my turn right?”

“Is that why you tagged along?” Ren asked. “I was kind of wondering how you got mixed in with us.”

“Yeah,” Krie said. “I was chasing a sorcerer and a summoner and found them picking another fight.”

“How come?” Aymel asked.

“I’m a bounty hunter,” Krie said. “I get paid to kill people.”

“You don’t think we have bounties on our heads do we?” Ren asked Cyrus. Cyrus smiled fearfully.

“Not that I know of,” Krie said. “If the two of you have bounties on your heads, I’ve never heard anything from any of the guilds. I can’t imagine the two of you being infamous for anything.”

“Not at that point in time anyway,” Cyrus said with a nervous laugh.

“Yeah,” Ren added. “We were just runts.”

“You still are runts,” Vince laughed loudly. Ren glared as Cyrus smiled lightly. Ren folded her arms and mouthed a few insults.

“But the Angel Buster gang agreed to help us free the villagers,” Cyrus said.

Ren stopped her insulting and thought back.

“Menshi said he’d help us,” Cyrus continued. “But I guess things got out of hand when we left Tares to look for Dr. Urtz.”

“It was supposed to be a simple errand huh,” Ren laughed, thinking back. She suddenly scowled and made a face of disgust. “That was the first time I met Felix and…Seren.” Ren stuck her tongue out and frowned.

“I don’t know why you keep doing that,” Cyrus said with a friendly smile. “They were really nice to us. But I think when they said they were looking for someone; they might have been searching for a bounty. It’s a good thing they didn’t fight us there.”

“But I wonder why they came after us later,” Ren asked. “Unless they were hiding it, it didn’t seem like they were hunting us.”

Cyrus moved the horses a little to the left as they approached a curve in the road. At the far end of the rolling hills, a forest loomed. “Right as we left Tares,” he said with reminiscing satisfaction, “that’s when we found Fay wasn’t it.”

Ren turned her body and looked into the back of the wagon. Peregrine was sitting near the back looking out the rear. Krie was sitting beside her. Across from Krie, Aymel sat comfortably. Fay was sleeping quietly, oblivious to the conversation going on. Aymel glanced down at her and carefully held a hand over Fay’s head. She lightly touched Fay’s cheek and watched her sleeping face.

“It’s hard to believe Lucille is inside her,” Aymel whispered. She stroked Fay’s gold hair and shrugged. “It’s harder to believe I’m even bothering to touch her.” Fay yawned and Aymel panicked. Fay moved her head into Aymel’s lap and fell asleep again. Aymel giggled and relaxed.

“She has a way of lowering people’s guard,” Ren said.

“When we first saw Fay, we thought she was just an orphan of some kind,” Cyrus said.

Ren turned her body and looked forward instead. “Yeah, we ended up saving her life from rabid demon wolves,” Ren added. “We took her along with us hoping to find her family in Stepsburg.”

“We did find one person, but nothing good came of it,” Cyrus said.

“Who was it?” Vince asked.

Cyrus looked down with a hurt smile. Ren shifted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. “We found a woman that befriended us,” she said. “But it turned out she was a dark witch. She tried to kill us, but we got her first. But fighting her was different than fighting demons or soldiers…”

“There are always going to be those kinds of battles,” Vince said quietly. “The kinds that feel wrong, but are impossible to avoid.”

“After we left Stepsburg, we went and found Dr. Urtz’s house,” Cyrus said.

“Yeah, and then after convincing that crazy old man to help finish Peregrine, we found a convoy of Gaiden prisoners.”

“Don’t tell me that’s how you got caught,” Vince moaned.

“Yep,” Cyrus said with a smile. “After coming up with a not-so-well thought out plan, we got ourselves captured and got a one way ticket to River Castle Prison.”

Fay poked her head out and smiled brightly. “And I came too!”

Ren turned with a smile, “You’re awake?”

“How was your nap?” Cyrus added.

“Good!” Fay said excitedly. “Remember the food that they tried to give us in the prison? The one with the bugs and worms?”

Ren felt her skin crawl as Cyrus stuck his tongue out. “Yes,” he answered. “That’s why we got out of there as fast as we could.”

“I’m surprised that those other people from Tares beat us to the prison,” Vince said.

“I won’t complain,” Krie added. “There’s no way the two of us could have taken the entire prison.”

“I could have,” Vince mocked.

“Like hell you could,” Krie mumbled.

“What happened to the three of you when we got separated anyway,” Vince said, looking at Ren and Cyrus.

“Oh, you mean when we got trapped by that Volgo guy,” Ren said. “The warden of the prison.”

“Warden Volgo of River Castle Prison,” Vince said quietly. “Oh right, but he was a really strong fighter, how the hell did you manage to kill him?”

“I’m not sure myself,” Cyrus answered. “I know Ren tried fighting him but failed. I tried protecting her but failed too.”

“I…I killed him,” Fay said nervously. “I mean, Lucille did. You two were about to die, so she took over and protected us.”

“Lucille didn’t waste any time either,” Aymel said. “She tortured and killed that man without mercy.” Aymel shrugged with a sarcastic grin. “She’s some god huh?”

Fay looked down depressingly.

“It isn’t her fault,” Ren said with a frown. She patted Fay’s head. “You did save us.”

Fay smiled and nodded. “And we went to Tares to see the…umm, gang again.”

Cyrus laughed. “Yep, it was a short but nice bit of relaxing.”

“Mhmm, the party was a lot of fun,” Ren said with a sigh. She relaxed into the chair and put her hands behind her head.

“Of course you would think so,” Krie laughed. “After a few drinks you were so giddy I hard a hard time keeping up.”

Aymel jumped forward again, leaning against the front bench beside Fay. Aymel grabbed Ren and Cyrus by the shoulders and grinned in satisfaction. “And then these two couldn’t keep their hands off each other…or should I say lips?”

“Ahh!” Ren shouted angrily. She pushed Aymel back again and tightened her fists nervously. “Can’t you be quiet for a second!”

“Not a chance!” Aymel giggled.

Cyrus laughed in embarrassment and looked away.

Ren sat back in her chair and looked down with a flustered face. Slowly, she eased and thought about the battle that ensued. “Gaiden made a surprise attack against Tares didn’t they.”

“It was a really bad battle,” Cyrus said quietly. “I don’t know how much of it you remember Ren, but Wrench, Sledge, and the others went outside the fight off the soldiers.”

“You went to help them didn’t you,” Ren said with a smile.

Cyrus scratched his head. “It was a pretty intense battle, but I think Gaiden was after Peregrine. Wrench told me to go back so I did.”

Krie sighed. “And that’s when you found me all battered and bruised.”

“You?” Vince mocked. “Battered and bruised? What happened to the untouchable archer?”

“Ha, ha,” Krie said sarcastically.

Peregrine turned her head slowly and crawled toward the front. “I…remember that,” she said in a light voice. “That’s when I woke up. Everyone wanted to help me, so I moved.”

“After Byrd and Eleanor wished us good luck, you carried us out of the city and saved us,” Fay said. She leaned back and forth in excitement as she thought about flying through the air.

“After we landed, we had to hitch a ride to Stepsburg,” Cyrus said. “I remember how awkward it was trying to make Peregrine fit in. She didn’t understand too many things.” Cyrus turned and smiled at Peregrine. “But she’s come along way. I’m surprised she can make faces and has tones in her voice now.”

Ren nodded slowly. Suddenly, she remembered the watermelon incident and laughed out loud. “Oh that’s nothing,” she gasped. “You should have seen her when she tried to give me a watermelon.”

“A watermelon?” Cyrus asked.

“Oh yeah,” Ren said as she wiped her eyes. “Did you know that I tried to get Peregrine to growl and she sounded like a kitten?”

“Really?” Cyrus said, feeling Ren’s excitement.

“She sounded so pathetic!” Ren said, replaying the sound in her head. Everyone in the wagon unconsciously smiled and looked at Peregrine.

“Wh-What?” Peregrine stuttered, clicking her head.

“That’s it!” Ren laughed. “I was really sorry Peregrine; I didn’t mean to make fun of you.”

“I know,” Peregrine said with an anxiuos but happy smile. She moved back to her spot and slowly touched the necklace that Ren bought her in Valins. It sparkled with a purple tint and swung gently.

“But it wasn’t all fun was it,” Aymel said with grin. “Ren ran into Seren again.”

“So that’s where Seren went off to then,” Cyrus said. “Fay and I saw Felix.”

Ren closed her fist and shook it. “If I see her, I’m going to kill her for sure.”

Cyrus laughed nervously. “Come on Ren, she couldn’t have beaten you that bad.”

“Oh no, it wasn’t that,” Aymel said with mischievous excitement. “You could say Seren used her girlish charm and took Ren off guard. It happened so fast.” Aymel giggled and then shivered her body, “And to make it worse, she even used her tong—”

Ren turned with furious embarrassment and shoved both her hands into Aymel’s face. There was a muffled scream mixed with Ren’s angry cursing as they both tumbled backward into the wagon. Krie shouted for them to be careful while Fay laughed. Aymel cried out as Ren wrestled her for vengeance.

“Ah, to be young again,” Vince said with regret.

“I’m not sure that’s appropriate in this situation,” Krie said with a weak smile.

“I want to sit in the front!” Fay shouted. She climbed around Aymel who gasped for help. Fay also ignored Ren’s cackling. After Fay climbed over the divider, she sat beside Cyrus with a bright smile.

“This kind of reminds me of our trip to Valins,” Fay said with excitement. “It really is beautiful out here. I like the fresh air too.”

“Valins was where I found out for the first time you were the High Priestess,” Cyrus said. Fay paused in shame, but Cyrus reassured with a pat on the head. “That was really surprising…I can’t believe how unbelievable you are. You’re much stronger than you look.”

Ren poked her head out and breathed heavily. “Peregrine and I went shopping and then tried to get into the library.”

“You did make it in?” Cyrus asked.

“We were let in by an executioner for the church; none other than Malcolm the Black.”

“What a coincidence,” Cyrus laughed. “He’s the one that found Fay and took us to Lixen. We were in one of the taverns when he came around. He’s the one that told me all about Fay and the fact she was the High Priestess of Lixen. He also told me about Lucille and…”

“And what?” Ren asked in curiosity.

Cyrus gently bit down on his tongue. “And that my mother was someone despised by Lixen.”

“That can’t be right,” Ren said in disgust. “You’re mother was a Lixian; and a high priestess too. How could she be despised?”

“I don’t know all the details, but I think she did something she wasn’t supposed to,” Cyrus sighed. “I think she was caught in a forbidden part of the temple. Just brining up her name was bad luck.”

“Well your mom was the nicest woman in the world,” Ren said loudly. “The idiots in Lixen blamed Aymel for terrible things, which she may or may not be responsible for…but my point is, you’re mom was the nicest woman in the world.” Ren panicked and quickly put a hand on Fay’s head. “Except you Fay, you’re the exception to the idiots in Lixen. You’re a good girl.”

Fay stuck her tongue out and smiled.

“Thanks Ren,” Cyrus said quietly. He turned around and looked at her graciously. “That means a lot.”

Ren looked sideways and tapped the bench. “So umm, did they do anything to you while you were being held captive? Did they hurt you in any way?”

“Mm,” Cyrus said in thought. “No, not really. Mia and Tia took good care of me and tried their best to make sure I was happy. I got to take a really refreshing bath and got some comfortable robes to wear. I also got to sneak out of the temple and walk around with Fay. We went to a garden and…partially, had breakfast together.” Cyrus smiled and turned to Ren. He saw discontent in her face and quickly stopped smiling.

“A bath, clothes, and warm meals?” Ren said with loathing.

Krie suddenly appeared next to Ren with a face of equal loathing. “You were being treated like a guest while we went searching for you?”

“Do you have any idea what we had to go through to get to you!” Ren said.

“Zombies!” Krie answered in panic. “We had to go through zombies!”

There was a crack of laughter beside them. Vince slapped his thigh as he shook his head. Krie grumbled and reached toward him, but Vince quickly moved away with another laugh. He looked at Cyrus and grinned. “At least one of us had it easy, eh?”

“Zombies?” Cyrus asked in confusion.

“We used the trail that led through the Valley of the Fallen,” Ren said. “If I would have known it was infested with a massive army of dead guys, I may have thought twice before using it.”

“It was disgusting,” Krie cried. “They just kept coming.”

“I did have some problems too,” Cyrus said in despair. “As soon as Lucille told me she was going to kill Ren, I got myself in trouble…”

“R-Really?” Ren said anxiously. “How?”

“I, uh…I yelled at Fay,” Cyrus said with a dumb smile. “Mia and Tia didn’t like it when I yelled at their High Priestess.”

“You really did that?” Ren laughed. “For me?”

“Sure I did,” Cyrus said.

“You’re so sweet,” Ren said with a half smile.

“I didn’t mean any of that,” Fay squeaked. “I mean…Lucille really didn’t mean that either. I don’t think she was going to kill Ren.”

“Well, she didn’t waste any manpower trying it,” Aymel said. “There was Tia, and then Malcolm again—”

“That crazy gunfighter,” Krie said with anger. “I’ve never fought someone with guns before; they’re as bad as the rumors say.”

“What’s a gunfighter?” Aymel asked.

“Gunfighters also go by gunslingers, pistoleers, and trickshots,” Vince explained. “They use small weapons that look like decorated pipes with handles. Those instruments are called guns. I don’t know the details but guns fire small round balls either plain or infused with magic. They have a limited number of shots but can fire very quickly before having to take a break to reload.”

“They shoot tiny pellets!” Krie shouted. “How do they get them to go so fast? They’re practically invisible.”

“It’s all the wonder of engineering,” Vince said. “I’m sure your friends in Tares would know a little bit about it. But for the most part, gunfighters are really rare. Guns are very expensive and are more a nobleman’s hobby. But if you really wanted to shoot one, you could always become a Lixian Executioner. They’re one of the only groups that use gunfighters.”

“Forget that,” Krie moaned. “I’m fine with my trusty bow. It’s a good thing Peregrine wasn’t hurt too bad by those tiny balls, otherwise the battle might have been worse for us.”

“All we had to deal with was a puzzle,” Ren said. “Aymel and I found the way in and found her body. Cyrus also found us too.”

“You found Aymel’s body?” Vince asked. “How did you wake her up?”

“Oh that was easy,” Aymel said with an excited smile.

Ren growled and smothered her mouth with her hands. Krie shouted again for them to be careful. Peregrine looked down at the pair of girls and tilted her head.

Fay turned around. “I want to play too!” she whined. She crawled into the back and laughed, jumping onto Ren and Aymel.

“Ouch!” Ren cried.

“Not you too,” Aymel said.

Fay giggled again.

“Hey, leave me out of this!” Krie shouted. “Don’t touch me!”

Cyrus slid toward Vince and smiled. Vince glanced over and rode a little closer. Cyrus looked back and then watched the road ahead. “Hey Vince,” he called. “I just have one last question…it’s about the dragons and gods.”

“What is that?” Vince asked.

“The gods or dragons,” Cyrus said quietly. “They seem a little strange. Remember back to that last battle in the middle of the street? Lucille and Rigel made it clear they weren’t going to give up…so why did they?”

Vince let a long sigh escape his mouth and rubbed his head. “Oh boy,” he moaned. “This is one of those spiritual questions of ethics and morals isn’t it?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Cyrus laughed. “I was just thinking about them. Gods are usually above people, above the rest of mankind. It doesn’t seem like my plea or Ren’s plea should have made a difference. But I looked into Lucille’s eyes and felt something strange. Ren felt it too when she saw Rigel…”

“I think I might be able to answer your question,” Vince said with a smile. “From my knowledge, everything you assumed is about correct. The dragons are old. They’ve been around since the time of kingdoms. They ruled the land and stabilized Avence with distinct territories. But something broke that shaky unspoken alliance and the dragons began attacking each other. Rigel was the first to form a pact with a human; Princess Aymel to be exact. I’m sure at one point in time, Rigel controlled Aymel and used her as a puppet for his power. But my guess is they shared more than just power.”

“Like what?” Cyrus asked.

“Princess Aymel was known as the most damned being in history. She was labeled as the demon who tried to destroy the world. If she really was innocent in the way that Ren believes…I’m sure Aymel went through a lot of hardships. There’s no telling what kind of loneliness and despair she felt. My guess is those emotions transferred to Rigel and eased his Dragon of Annihilation attitude. After he was captured and imprisoned, Aymel’s suffering couldn’t get any closer. He said it himself; there are worse things than death.”

“Then that means it was the same thing with Lucille,” Cyrus said. “I bet Fay’s innocence transferred something similar. It was hard to tell, but I always felt a kind of doubt in Lucille’s commands.”

“True, true,” Vince said, moving his horse away. “In other words, dragons can become much stronger by using humans as a host. But at the same time, they suffer the possibility of being clouded by doubtful emotions.”

Cyrus looked at Vince with worry. Cyrus scratched his head. “Can I ask one more thing?”

“Sure.”

Cyrus held onto the reigns of the horses tightly. “Why do you know so much?”

Vince smiled and let his body move with the rhythm of his horse.

“I mean,” Cyrus hesitated. “Dole, the necklace, and our parents…but also the dragons, gods, the myths and legends…Gaiden and its generals.”

Vince took a second to think about it before turning to Cyrus with a smile. “You’re not suspicious of me are you?”

Cyrus laughed. “Of course not, but you’re a really smart man you know that?”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Vince returned.

“Cyrus!” Ren said as she stuck her head out. He jumped and put a hand over his chest.

“What is it Ren?” he asked.

Ren giggled and sat in the front seat. “What’s next? Where are we going anyway?”

“I haven’t really thought about it…”

“We left Lixen in a pretty big hurry,” Ren said as she looked up. “I was surprised Rigel and Lucille called a truce. I guess I’m surprised that everyone decided to tag along too.”

“I have an obligation to protect you strays,” Vince shouted with knightful pride.

“I have to protect you two and Fay as well,” Peregrine said with a smile.

Aymel rubbed her back and strained to smile. “I like hanging around you two, I think its fun.”

“Me too!” Fay shouted.

“But what about Lixen?” Cyrus asked. “Is it alright to leave your holy city like that?”

“Lucille said it was alright, since she wanted to keep a careful eye on Rigel and Princess Aymel.” Fay sat on her knees. “And Mia and Tia said it would be good for me to see the world.”

“How about you Krie?” Ren asked.

“Fame, fortune, power,” Krie muttered as she sank toward the boards. “Take your pick…I guess I’m here out of boredom.”

“We still have a long journey ahead of though don’t we,” Ren said quietly. “We still need to find out what happened to our parents.”

“And why Gaiden is attacking other cities,” Cyrus added.

“I know!” Ren said in excitement. “Let’s keep going out west! I’m sure we’ll see some more interesting cities and towns!”

“Yeah!” Fay shouted. “You promised you would take me along!”

Aymel sat next to Fay and looked at the road ahead. “I can smell the air and feel the wind. This is such a nice feeling.”

“Then we keep going,” Cyrus said with a resolute tone. “We’ll keep traveling together.”

“We’ll find the secrets were looking for and take anything that gets thrown at us,” Ren added with just as much determination.

There was a hearty cheer and some laughter. Everyone was in high spirits and ready to move ahead. Even through all the hardships and trials they faced, they still managed to stick together and stay alive. As Cyrus and Ren agreed to continue their search for their parents, each of the others traveling with them carried their own agendas. They were traveling the same path and were silently agreeing on each other’s company. While each of them smiled, they also hid their fear for what lied ahead. Yet, after everything that had happened, their fears paled in comparison to their satisfaction. They were excited at where their fates were headed.

THE END

Hah! Not really, as you know, this is only the first book in what I really want to be a trilogy. Fantasies just seem to do good as trilogies. Well, I know I'm not like other authors who say things here and there before and each chapter, but I really really do appreciate all of you have read the story.

Carmel March, I'm glad to have picked you up as a reader and every review from you is a nice little break from the world. I've still been meaning to read Deadly Flower and I haven't forgotten about it. But thanks so much for sticking with me Carmel, it was an honor.

Melissa Norvell! you're first review made me nearly blush lol, the story wasn't thaat good was it? lol. I can't wait to read your newest chap of Into the Sea. Thanks agian for sticking with this story.

Keja! Lol, the bookmark, its still funny. I hope you still read this story, though I'm not sure. If you don't, you're missing out! If you do, thanks again and I'm sure you'll read this.

Natsuhime, I really do love your story, Maidens of el Valentia, sorry I can't do accents. And thanks for insight and tips, I really do appreciate them. The part with Ren accepting Aymel so quickly does feel out of character. Also, I'm glad you like the Forest Battle; I was trying to make it dark and gritty, so reading it, just gave a sense of uneasiness.

There are probably other readers out there and I'm sure there are. So, for you guys, thanks so much for giving this story a chance. Avence Chronicles Book II is still in the process of being written. In fact, if its 15 chapters too, then I've only written 2 lol. I really would like to get back into writing this story. I'm kind of rambling now, but one last thanks for all of you who gave this a chance. It means alot to me.