Epilogue

I am walking down the dirty street, mud spattering over my legs and the tattered hem of my skirt. Beside me, Ruhan patters along on her little feet, clutching my hand with one of her own, while with the other she clings to her favourite doll, a rather ugly thing Mama made for her out of an old corn cob the goat didn't want to eat.

"My feet are dirty," she whines – she definitely inherited that sense for cleanliness from her father!

"We're almost there," I tell her. "Look, there's the palace already."

Ruhan blinks against the sunlight and brushes some golden-brown hair from her beautiful green eyes – she's already too pretty to be true, though maybe as her mother I'm just biased. Sylvia says she's the prettiest thing to ever walk this earth, Mama says all mixed-race children look far prettier than so-called 'pure-bloods', while Ophelia – who I'm very sure is just being jealous – keeps saying she's plump and chubby because I overdo on her lunches. Well, I can't help it that we suddenly have a bit more food around, or that Ruhan gets cleaner water than Ophelia and I used to. Nowadays it even looks slightly transparent, which is almost miraculous.

The guard at the palace gate knows me quite well, since he sees me five days a week, and greets me with the usual disgusted look, which I return with my oh-so-nasty glare of contempt. This has become almost a kind of tradition between us over the past five years, ever since Cirion received his new job at the palace. Ruhan just stares up at the guard with wide eyes, nervously sucking her thumb – she just won't be convinced that at four years old, she's too old to be sucking things.

"Don't touch anything," I say once we enter the palace itself.

"You say that every time," Ruhan mumbles.

"That's because you never listen." I quickly snatch her hand that has been sneaking towards a little shiny ornament that looks like it'll break if you just look at it.

Once upstairs, I knock on the usual door. "Come in!" Cirion calls, as he always does, knowing it is me. I open the door to find him putting away the school books, telling his obedient pupil, Princess Josephine, what she has to do for homework.

While I put down the bowl of steaming lunch on a table, along with the wooden spoon I brought along, Ruhan looks shyly at the little prince, Josie's son, all the while clinging to my skirt. At least I've finally made her get rid of that habit she used to have, of hiding under my dress whenever she was embarrassed! But once the boy and his mother are out, she seems to feel more confident and skips around the room, chattering to the doll in her made-up mixture of Elvish and English.

"How has work been so far?" I ask as Cirion comes to my side, putting his arm around my waist. "Is your student learning well?"

"Not as well as you did," he replies, smiling, and sits down.

I poke him with my elbow. "Don't insult the princess!" I laugh. "You want them to send my mother back to the work camp and mess up the water again? No thanks! Here, eat your lunch, Teacher Cirion."

I'm so glad the prince gave him this job. I'm so glad about everything that has happened over the past five years. Of course, things aren't always going well – we still have Raids, we still have to scrounge for a living and our family in particular is looked down upon by people – both humans and elves. But with all the improvements that have been going on, I don't think I would call it far-fetched to already imagine a happy future for my daughter.

"Ruhan!" I call. "It's time to go! We still have to fetch water for your Grandmama."

"But I only just started having fun!" she cries. She never gets so much playing space at home.

"Don't worry, we'll come again tomorrow. Go on, give your Papa a good-bye kiss."

She leans up on tip-toes and plants a little kiss on Cirion's cheek with a smack. "Bye-bye Papa," she says, then hops over to the door, singing a rebel song – which she probably doesn't know the meaning of – loudly and extremely off-key.

"I think I'd better get her to sing something else before anyone in the palace notices," I say, smiling, and lean down to kiss him. I still feel like I'm flying to heaven every time he kisses me… I don't think I'll ever lose that feeling.

"We shall burn their houses down, march the emp'ror off his throne, till at last we'll all be free!" Ruhan sings noisily, thumping the rhythm on the door handle.

"Enjoy your lunch!" I smile, then hurry over to Ruhan, grabbing her hand and suggesting, "Why don't we sing that song you learnt from Grandmummy yesterday?"

Outside the sun is shining, the guard is glaring, the mud is stinking – though not as much as it used to now that they've finally made some slaves fix the broken sewer –, the birds are singing and some mangy stray dogs are lying around, their tongues lolling, enjoying the beautiful summer weather.

Ruhan jumps from mud puddle to mud puddle, practising her counting but getting five and nine confused, as well as forgetting number six. As she hops around ahead, I stand still for a while and close my eyes. I try to imagine life without Cirion, without my little girl, but I just can't. I try to imagine what it would be like if I hadn't forgiven him, if I had refused him and stayed unmarried, but it doesn't work. I try to imagine what might have happened if I hadn't told the prince to finally do something, but my mind stays blank.

And I'm glad it does.

A/N: Compared to the other chapters, this feels really short to me... but I guess I'll make the excuse that epilogues aren't usually particularly long :P

A BIG thank you to everyone who has read the whole story: ) And to all who reviewed! It's great to know that people actually take the time to read what I write - somehow a bit unbelievable too :P So thank you very very very very much! (add in a few hundred more verys)

And as I hinted before, there will soon be A Sequel! See summary below : )

On Ruhan's 17th birthday, Lady Marna turns up most surprisingly, is surprisingly friendly, and, most surprising of all, invites Ruhan to accompany her to numerous balls and parties on the elves' home planet, there to meet suitable, rich, powerful Elvish husbands.

What they both don't expect is that almost all the male population of the Empire of Elves is immediately smitten with Ruhan despite her being a half-elf - and neither do they expect the great lengths they'll go to just to ask for her hand in marriage. All, that is, except for the man Ruhan has liked since she was 9 years old. But things might just change...

Have a nice holiday everyone: ) I guess I should shut up now since this is the longest A/N I've ever written... hahaha