A/N: Hey guys – this isn’t a new chapter; just a re-post of the epilogue! I just wanted to let everyone know that the first chapter of sequel to this story, Shadowed Intentions, is now posted on this site! I think you should all check it out to see how all of the characters are doing 4-ish years later…

Epilogue

A month or so after our return to Sederia, a letter from Rasidis arrived for me. I was reluctant to open it, because I was sure it was from someone I hadn’t talked to in a long time – my former employer and estranged aunt, Kunis. As far as I knew, no one had ever explained to her that I wouldn’t be returning. When I opened the letter, however, I discovered it was from a man named Aralith Barugin – the captain of a ship called the Isle of Redemption.

Dear Miss Valadia,

I apologize for not writing sooner. We received an inquiry from the Lord General of Sederia on your behalf, specifically in regards to your parents. The Lord General believed that our ship transported your parents away from Setena approximately three years ago. I myself have never met your parents; in fact, I only became captain of this ship two years ago after the previous captain, my father, retired. Fortunately, he kept logs of all of his missions, and though it took him several months to sort them out (which contributed to the delay in our response), he did indeed find a record that recounted his transporting of two individuals named Harrin and Ala Valadia to a small, little-known island called Cerillias.

I imagine that you would like to get into contact with your parents, but unfortunately, the people of Cerillias are a very private group. Ships seldom venture there, and the inhabitants are hardly in contact with the outside world. The only way I can think of you communicating with them would be to travel to the islands yourself. I can assure you now that not many captains will be willing to take you to such an isolated location – and even then, the ones who are willing, including myself, will demand a hefty price. If you are willing to pay the fee below, I will gladly offer you a round trip to Cerillias.

As I read those words, my heart seemed to be caught in my throat. That is, until I saw Captain Barguin’s asking price.

“There’s no way I can afford this,” I told Kevran when I showed him the letter that night. “That’s even more money than my grandparents left me.”

Kevran shrugged. “Don’t worry. The king will pay for it.”

“No!” I cried. “That’s probably, what, a fourth of the entire treasury of Setena? That isn’t fair, to spend so much money on one person – especially on something that’s not even that important in the long run.”

“You think that seeing your parents isn’t important?” I didn’t reply. “That was the promise Fayden and I made, on behalf of the king himself. We said we’d reunite you with your parents. You did your part; we’ll do ours. It’s only fair.” Still, I couldn’t force myself to smile at that. “Caedra, don’t worry. If the king won’t pay the price for some idiotic reason, I will.”

“Kevran – ”

“Don’t try arguing with me. You’ll lose.”

In the end, my reunion with my parents would be financed by a mishmash of contributions from the royal family, the department of spies (“Really, just me,” Kevran explained), and my own meager supply. After the monetary aspect had been taken care of, arrangements were made. I wrote back to the captain, asking for details on when I could go to Cerillias, and for how long. He shortly replied that the earliest date he could take me was in four months, around the start of spring, and that the crew would be willing to pick me up from the islands after an eight-week stay – unless, of course, I decided to stay permanently. I didn’t want to wait four months, but what choice did I have? I wouldn’t see my parents until after my eighteenth birthday. That would make our separation four years long instead of three.

I had four, wintry months to fill before I left, so I tried to keep busy. Of course, there were general things to take care of – sorting out my inheritance from the Cyndellias, signing a variety of legal documents in relation to the spy work I had done, speaking with scribes who wished to record my role in Setena’s history… Some days, my schedule was so packed I collapsed into bed as soon I was finished.

Other days, I had so little to do that it felt like time had frozen. On these days, I would often accompany Quisa – when she wasn’t in her lessons or off with her latest male conquest, of course – to take part in such activities as horseback riding or walks in the gardens. None of it was terribly exciting; in fact, I’d say it was more fun to stay in my room and read a book than it was to go wandering around the halls of Castle Sederia. But Quisa always had interesting things to talk about, and just the sound of her voice served to entertain me.

“I don’t think Averance was very hurt after you rejected him,” she explained one day. “He’s been seeing such a string of girls now that he could start his own harem.”

I shuddered. “That created a bad image in my head.”

“I apologize. But I fear your visions will soon come to life. I just hope Mother can get some sense into him, and convince him to marry one of the girls who are halfway decent. Which aren’t many of them, mind you.”

Since the party, Averance had replaced Kevran as the most popular bachelor in Sederia. The girls had lost interest in Kevran when it had become clear that he wanted nothing to do with any of them; his reserved and antisocial personality had outweighed the mythic aura that surrounded him. Averance, with his newfound confidence and sociality, had easily claimed Kevran’s title. He spent time with so many different girls that I couldn’t even remember all of their names. Fortunately, Kinestra, Sellycka, and their friends were not included among this number – it turned out that Kevran was quite correct about their reputations; no one wanted anything to do with them. I felt more than silly for letting their cruel words have any sway over me.

“Well, you’re one to talk,” I drawled. “You socialize with just as many boys.”

“Yes,” said Quisa, “but at least I do it with class.”

I almost envied Quisa. At a mere sixteen years old, she had the world at her fingertips – a stunning face, royal status, limitless funds, and all the boys in the world amongst to choose a husband from. I just wished she could see it.

I put my activities with Quisa on hold whenever Kevran happened to have any free time, since I saw him far less now that I wasn’t working with him. I hadn’t realized how much of a commitment the job of Lord General was before, but he position required Kevran at all sorts of odd hours, and on every day of the week, for meetings and paperwork and training and all sorts of other tasks. I could go days at a time without seeing him. Some nights, I would lie in bed at night and wonder if I was making a terrible mistake by staying with Kevran. What if this was what it would be like, for years to come? What if we never saw each other? What if Kevran would always care more about his job than he could ever care about me?

But then, Kevran would show up again with some time to spare, and I would forget all of my doubts. We found excuses to spend more time together – he offered to continue my physical training (“You should be able to defend yourself,” he insisted, even though I thought my fire power would be enough), and I offered to help organize the terribly messy spy offices while he completed mindless paperwork. I had to suffer a bit more physical excruciation, and Kevran had to spend more time on paperwork (because I tended to distract him when I was in the room), but those were small sacrifices to make.

I was surprised by how much Kevran opened up to me, considering his initial qualms about our relationship. But he told me things I imagined he hadn’t told many others, about growing up in the palace, and the bedtime stories his mother told him, and how he had always been afraid of his unsmiling grandparents. They had never found his grandfather in the aftermath of the war, and his grandmother was ailing in her old age, so I suppose they were always on his mind. One night, as we curled up by the fire in the spy office, Kevran even told me what he’d thought of me the first time he’d seen me, the day my house had burned down.

“I thought you were just like me,” he said. “You’d lost your parents. And even though you wouldn’t stop crying, I suggested we bring you back with us to Sederia so we could train you and use you. I thought, if I could do it, you could, too.”

“Ha,” I said. “That’s a laugh.”

He shrugged. “It was my first official mission. I was naïve. I couldn’t understand why my father had rejected the plan. When I came back here to the palace, I was still fuming that he’d left you in that dump in Rasidis. I had imagined that such a ‘brilliant’ idea would impress him, but once again, I’d failed to get his attention. That was when Casandria showed up and took advantage of my pathetic state.”

“Oh, so I brought Casandria upon you? Well, I’m sorry to have caused you so much agony.”

“It’s all right, as long as you make up for it now.”

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder.

Part way through the bitter cold of winter, I paid a visit to Treadice. On paper, the objective of the trip was to view my new manor – which I really had no intention of living in, because what was the purpose of me staying in a huge house all by myself? – but the true reason was to attend the wedding of Jerem Macoska and Raquella Estara.

They hadn’t wanted to wait long to get married, so the High Priestess had agreed to perform the ceremony on the day the veil of Nadera ended and the veil of Kora began. They had decided to invite a whole hodgepodge of people – government officials, reformed Thieves’ Guild members, and rebel Aguians. They invited the royal family and Kevran as well, but all but Quisa politely declined to attend, though they sent their blessing. A diplomatic entourage from the northern country of Eladrin had just arrived in Sederia, and there was no way any of them could leave town. Raquella was a bit disappointed, but she was happy that Quisa and I could attend. Jer, unsurprisingly, did not really care.

“All of my closest friends and family will be there,” he said. “How can I complain?”

Jer and Raquella had been busy, working closely with Lord Esten and the High Priestess to clean out the Thieves’ Guild and turn its facilities into a rehabilitation center for the homeless and penniless Aguians. The truly malicious thieves were all captured and arrested, while the reformed ones were allowed to receive forgiveness from Ilaris and start over. The rehabilitation center, which was also open to struggling citizens of Treadice, provided everyone with food, clothes, and a place to sleep. It also assisted with searching for jobs and places to live. In only a few months time, many families were back on their feet.

“For once in my life, I feel like I’m actually doing something worthwhile,” Raquella told me over tea the day I arrived. “It’s better than sitting around in the palace in Aguia under the watchful eye of Etern.”

I felt slightly guilty after witnessing this display. What had I been doing since returning from war? Not a thing. I had helped no one but myself.

“If any of the people here ever want to come to Sederia, let me know,” I said. “I’ll talk to Kevran about starting another rehabilitation center there.”

Raquella agreed that this was a wonderful idea, and I took note that I should bring this up upon my return to the palace.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and I was nearly in tears by the end of the ceremony. Raquella looked terrific in her long white frock, which had been tailor-made for her at the expense of Jer’s parents. The party that followed was incredible, as well; Raquella’s people had cooked up some traditional Aguian dishes, which turned out to be quite good. I spoke with many people – Jer’s uncle Sibrien apologized for my rough treatment in the Guild, Jer’s parents congratulated me on discovering my power and being named a duchess, Nida and Cyran thanked me for saving their baby and let me hold Anderen once again, Ephicus wanted an update on my plans to see my parents. And of course, there was lots of dancing. Though I had no partner for most of it, Raquella took pity on me and lent me Jer a few times.

“Aren’t you glad my evil plan worked?” Jer almost cackled during one waltz.

“What evil plan?”

“Why, my plan to force you and Kevran together,” he said. “That was all me. I’m quite the matchmaker, aren’t I?”

I didn’t know how much truth there was to his words, but I laughed along anyhow. “Thank you, Jer.”

When the party had finally ended, and Raquella and Jer were on the verge of leaving for their honeymoon – a trip to the southern, warm town of Marport – I went to make an inquiry of them.

“How would you two like your own house here in Treadice?” I asked. “I don’t really want mine.”

Raquella nearly dislocated her jaw in response. “Caedra! You can’t give us your house.”

“But I have no use for it,” I said. “I’m not planning on living here. But you two have already built a life here, and you’re living with Jer’s parents. I’m sure you’d like to get away from them, now that you’re married, wouldn’t you?”

“It’s true,” Jer confessed. “It’s quite an inconvenience. It’s going to be worse when we start having children!”

“If I ever did want to stay in Treadice,” I continued as Raquella remained uncertain, “I could simply stay with you two.”

Raquella argued with me for a few more minutes, but soon enough, the more enthusiastic Jer had convinced her to take my generous gift.

“Then you’ll have a permanent bedroom in the house,” Raquella said. “You can stay there whenever you want! And I mean that.”

I embraced them both one last time, and then they rode off to catch their ferry to the south.

When I returned to Sederia, I discovered that the Aegia had returned to Setena. I was happy to see that Melsa was staying in Castle Sederia.

“We’ve created a system,” she told me on my first day back, as we walked through the rolling hills on the outskirts of the palace. “Four of us will roam the land at a time – one in the north, east, west, and south each. Two of us will stay with Irian. That way, we cover all of the ground we need to. I’ve been assigned to Castle Sederia for the time-being.”

I then told Melsa about my plans to journey south to Rasidis in a couple of months.

“Is anyone escorting you on the ship?” she asked.

“Yes. Kevran insists on sending some of his best men with me on the boat. They’re allowed to leave me on Cerillias once they know I’m safe, but I feel terrible! I don’t want to hog so many guards to myself.”

“Hmm,” said Melsa. “Well, why don’t I go with you instead? Once the Eladrinian diplomats leave, there will be a lull in action here, and Kora, Nadera, and Layra are all near by. I can spare a few weeks to help you out.”

“Really, Melsa? Are you sure?”

“Yes. It will be fun, won’t it? We can catch up with one another.”

I suppose I had never thought of Melsa as a close friend, considering her status as an Aegia, but I liked the idea of having that sort of relationship. I said I would be more than happy to take her up on the offer, if Kevran approved of it.

He was shockingly easy to convince.

“Why not?” he said. “She has special powers. That’s more than I can say for my soldiers.”

Kevran had cleared his schedule to take me to the dock in Rasidis when the time came. I told him he didn’t have to, but he insisted – what if there was some sort of confusion over the deal with the ship captain? And he wanted to make sure the crew was trustworthy. Just in case.

The last two months of waiting were uneventful, save for my birthday and some new monumental laws that the king passed in Sederia. Public education would be vastly improved, and there would be new materials available that provided information about Irian and the Aegia. There were also some safety and health measures implemented, along with some structural rules to prevent the rise of future traitors or lazy, useless rulers. I did not understand these laws entirely, but Kevran assured me that they were good.

“They’re to prevent the existence of people like Alsuna or my grandfather from having power,” he said. “In fact, they will even inhibit shady figures like Fayden.”

Fayden hadn’t returned to Sederia after the war. No one knew exactly where he’d gone, but some people suspected Treadice, his hometown. The king decided it wasn’t worth the energy to find him, but he did keep the governments of the provinces alert in case Fayden ever did resurface.

“He was a good spy,” he explained. “It would be a shame to let his talents go to waste. I can forgive him his past actions.”

Kevran, however, had a completely different opinion.

“Good riddance,” he said.

It felt like a dream when the day of my departure finally arrived. I woke up early, so there was no big crowd to see me, Kevran, and Melsa off. I didn’t mind, because the royal family (even Averance) had said farewell the night before, and Raquella had sent me a letter from her and Jer, wishing me the best.

I hope you come back, she wrote. We’ll have so much to tell each other.

The decision seemed obvious – I couldn’t stay on an isolated island like Cerillias for my whole life. Then again, part of me didn’t want to lose my parents again. No matter what I chose in the end, I would have to make a major sacrifice. I simply didn’t want to think about that just yet.

It took a number of days to reach Rasidis, but when we did, we had a busy schedule. First, I went into the market to make sure I had all of the supplies I needed. Then, we had to go meet with Captain Barugin. The captain was on the younger side, perhaps in his mid to late twenties, with sun-darkened skin and light hair almost as long as a woman’s. He wore wrinkled clothes, but they certainly didn’t look out of place in the pub we met him in.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking everyone’s hands. “Don’t worry about a thing. You’ll be absolutely safe with us. My first mate Eigen is a former bodyguard of the prince of the southern nation Lasorre, and my crewman Kayde has learned, I’d say, every form of martial arts that exists. And I’m not an easy man to defeat, either.”

“So what kind of business do you conduct?” Kevran asked, in full-on interrogation mode. “Does the Isle of Redemption still search for its namesake?”

Aralith tossed his head back and laughed. “Oh, no. That place is a myth of the last generation. No – my crew and I are treasure hunters. We roam the seas looking for riches. And we’re in it for the thrill of adventure, too. Discovering new lands can be a reward in itself.”

“I see,” Kevran said tersely. “But I trust you and your crew are not terribly rowdy, are you?”

“I know what you’re getting at,” Aralith said good-naturedly. “Trust me; we will in no way violate or disturb your sweetheart. My men are a respectable lot, and most of them have girls back home who they would never betray – that is, not unless they want to receive a beating later. And we do enjoy our alcohol, but we have strict policies stating that such activities are restricted to certain areas of the ship, and there must be a number of sober crew members at all times. Really, I’d say that Caedra will have more fun on our ship than she would elsewhere.”

“Hmm.” Kevran crossed his arms. “Well, I do hope you’re telling the truth. I would hate to come after you later.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I interjected. “If need be, I can protect myself. And Melsa will be there.”

Kevran didn’t seem entirely secure with the plan, but I believed he would’ve felt that way even if I’d been going to Cerillias on the vessel of the most respected captain in the world. Even Melsa seemed to trust Aralith – who insisted we all call him ‘Lith’ instead of anything else – so he really couldn’t argue with us any longer.

“Then I’ll see you at the docks tomorrow morning,” Lith said. “We’ll set sail as soon as you’re ready.”

There was one final piece of business to take care of before I departed. The three of us rode to the outskirts of Rasidis, to my old home – the infirmary. Walking inside the old, decrepit building felt like entering into a lost lifetime. As I gazed upon the fireplace, and the floor, and the musty furniture, I remembered all of the hours I had labored to keep them clean.

“Can I help – Caedra?”

One of the girls, Asaria, recognized me instantly. I told her I wanted to see Kunis. By the time Kunis arrived, almost all of the healers had crowded into the lobby – sitting on the stairs, peeking through the windows on the kitchen doors, crouching by the front desk. They all parted for Kunis, of course. She was much the same as she had been before, possessing a large presence and an imposing stare.

Her face almost softened when she saw me. “Caedra. You’re back?”

“I’m not here to stay,” I said hastily. “The new Lord General nullified the contract the old Lord General had with you, so… I don’t have to come back.”

“I know,” Kunis said. “I received a letter. You must be here because you found out about your mother.”

I nodded. “Yes. I’m going to see her again now, actually. But… I couldn’t leave without seeing you. If you’re my aunt, I can’t just ignore that, especially after you helped my mother escape so long ago. You sacrificed everything to help her – your family ties, your marriage, your status. That couldn’t have been easy.”

Kunis turned her head away. “I don’t like to think about the past. I adored your mother, but… She broke all of the promises she ever made to me.”

“Well,” I said, “I’m here to make a peace offering.”

I didn’t expect Kunis to suddenly warm to me and apologize for treating me almost like a slave – and she certainly didn’t do any of that. But as the new Duchess of Treadice, I offered to reinstate her in the Cyndellia line, and to allow her to move back to Treadice.

“I don’t think I can go back,” she said.

I moved onto the second option – to fund Kunis’s business.

“You can move the infirmary to any location you’d like,” I said. “You can even stay in Rasidis, but build a new facility. Or you could move to a busier area, like Sederia. You could even start a new business.”

In the end, Kunis didn’t want to make any decisions right away. She said she would think about the offer and then get back to me. I told her that I would be leaving for two months, but perhaps, when I returned, I could stop by again.

She shrugged. “All right. You do that.”

At least it was a start.

That last night before my departure, Kevran and I huddled together on a stone bench in the slush-covered courtyard of the inn in Rasidis. I was shivering in the cool early spring air, but the courtyard was the only secluded place in the entire building.

“Here,” said Kevran. “I wanted to give you this.”

He took out a small black box and opened it. A moment later, he had removed a golden chain with a sparkling blue gem hanging from its middle.

“Kevran! That’s Casandria’s – ”

“Not Casandria’s,” he insisted. “My mother’s. Casandria broke it when she tore it off, but I fixed it.”

“I can’t take this,” I insisted. “I’ll feel slightly evil, like I’m… Casandria.”

“Why are you protesting?” he asked. “I thought girls liked things like this.” I glared at him. “Oh, stop it. Even if you’re not a big jewelry-wearer, you should have it – if only to remind you to come back to Sederia.”

“Kevran, don’t be silly. I’m coming back.”

“Caedra, I read your diary. You worship the ground your parents walk on. Your mind could change the instant you see them.”

“Now you’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Maybe I am. But here; just take it. It’s a gift, and I want you to have it.”

So I held my hair up so he could fasten the necklace around my neck. Then we stayed there and held each other until my teeth began to chatter and the feeling left the tips of my fingers. He walked me back to my room and gave me a lingering kiss before I went off to bed.

The next morning, we all woke up early and went to the docks. Lith and his crew beat us there. I helped them load my two chests of things onto the ship, and then Lith gave me a short tour of the place, showing me the galley, the lounge, and my bedroom. It was actually rather nice, spacious and filled with well-dusted floral furnishings. Perhaps they had prepared it just for me. I hoped I wouldn’t get seasick.

“Caedra,” Melsa told me when I emerged on deck, “I think you should go talk to Kevran now.”

“Well, of course,” I said. “I have to say goodbye.” She smiled mysteriously. “What? Did you see something?”

“Oh, not much. Kevran’s just about to ask you an important question.”

Melsa didn’t need to tell me twice. I sprinted right off the ship and to the docks, looking for Kevran in the distance all the while. I finally saw him, standing off to the side. He was looking out to the sea. Then he turned around and saw me, so I ran over.

“This is going to sound terrible,” he said, “but I don’t want you to go.”

“Kevran…”

“I know; it can’t be helped now. But Caedra… There’s something I need to ask you. In case you do decide to come back.”

“What is it?”

In hindsight, it was a good thing that Melsa had never been wrong before.

--

The journey to Cerillias was difficult. There were days when the seas were rough, or the crew members grouchy, or the food badly prepared. But when we docked a matter of weeks later, on a pint-sized island with golden sand and palm trees, none of that seemed to matter. Lith, along with Melsa, offered to escort me to the village, which he explained was only occupied by fifty to seven-five individuals. It was a ten minute walk to the small central area, from where I could see many straw huts in the distance, in addition to numerous people farming or retrieving water from the wells, all under the relentlessly shining sun.

Lith asked some rather shocked villagers about the whereabouts of Harrin and Ala Valadia. When they saw me, they exclaimed over my likeness to them. Then they pointed to a hut in the eastern corner of the island. Words could not describe the giddy feeling that arose in my chest as I approached the house. And I nearly felt my heart expand as I saw a familiar woman knelt in the front yard, gardening.

“Mother! Mother!”

She didn’t seem to believe it was really me. Maybe she thought I was a mirage, created by the heat. But when I reached her, she enveloped me in a tight embrace and stroked my hair.

“Caedra,” she muttered. “You finally found us.”

It wasn’t long before she called my father, and by the time he came out, I was already sobbing. Even with a newly grown beard, he was the same as he had been four years ago. I threw myself into his arms, babbling about how much I had missed him. Many tears and exclamations later, I introduced my parents to Lith and Melsa. They thanked them both profusely, and invited them inside for refreshments. But they politely declined.

“We should head back to the mainland,” Lith said. “We have things to do. But we’ll be back exactly eight weeks from now – and that’s a promise.”

Soon they were gone, so I went with my parents into the house. It wasn’t anything like our home in the Arafields, but I still found it a welcoming space, holding hammock beds and hand-carved furniture and a pantry filled with fresh vegetable and grains.

“Are you hungry?” my mother asked. “Or thirsty? Or tired? You can sit down, if you want to.”

“I’m fine!” I insisted. “You don’t need to worry. I was the one who was worried about you!”

“Caedra, you don’t know how badly we wanted to go back and find you,” she replied. “For the past four years, I prayed for you and dreamed about you every night. I-I’m so glad Ephicus finally found you; I thought I would never see you again…”

I didn’t want my mother to get choked up, but I allowed her to do so. It had been a long, hard four years, and I knew that better than anyone. To calm my mother down, my father sat her down in a chair and then went to the kitchen to get food and drinks for everyone. Upon his return, both of my parents insisted I tell them everything that had happened since our separation. I didn’t waste any time. I started at the beginning.

My voice nearly ceased to function when I came to the part about Mattias.

“He… I-I don’t know how to say this, but… He’s gone.”

I expected my mother to burst into tears or at least let out a pained cry, but both of my parents were somewhat subdued, nodding slowly.

“I had a feeling,” my mother said softly. “I had a feeling we had lost him, ever since he ran away when he was eighteen.”

“Don’t feel guilty about this, Caedra,” my father insisted. “It was not your fault. Matt made his own decisions – he can blame no one but himself.”

And though I still missed the brother who had slipped through my fingers, my parents’ reactions managed to give me some peace of mind. After some more discussion, I managed to move onto another topic, until I had successfully progressed through my entire story.

“So where did you get that beautiful necklace?” my mother asked, leaning forward to examine the sapphire around my neck. “It certainly wasn’t one of the ones I left in Treadice, was it?”

I reddened. I had been meaning to bring that topic up, but it had completely slipped my mind. “Oh, no. Um. Someone gave this to me, as a gift.”

“Who?” my father asked.

“Well… One of the people I told you about – Kevran, the Lord General’s son. The new Lord General. And, um, actually… We’re sort of…”

My mother clapped her hands with glee, as though she were my teenaged confidant rather than my parent. “Oh, Caedra, that’s wonderful!”

“Sort of what?” my father asked.

My mother glared at him. “It isn’t obvious to you?”

It took him a few minutes to catch on, and when he did, he was not all that enthusiastic. “The Lord General’s son? I hope he’s an entirely different animal than his father is…”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “He hates being compared to his father. And he’s the one who helped me find you and get here, remember.”

My father shrugged. “Still, I’ve never had a liking for the nobility of Setena. I’m sure you can guess why.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a member of the nobility of Setena,” my mother replied. “And if this boy makes Caedra happy, it shouldn’t matter who he is! Honestly… You would think your father, of all people, would understand that.”

“Well, how serious is he about you?” my father asked, still unsmiling. “You’re not just some short-lived fling of his, are you?”

“Not at all!” I cried. “Actually… He said, if I decide to go back… He said he wants to marry me.”

My mother gasped digging her nails into my arm. “Oh, Caedra, that’s so wonderful! Did you say you would?”

“I said I wanted to talk to you first,” I told them. “I wanted to see what you thought.”

“Oh, Caedra.” My mother hugged me tightly. “You should do whatever feels right. You shouldn’t care what we think.”

“Yes, she should,” my father said. “Don’t devalue our opinions, Ala.”

“Well, for better or for worse, I do care,” I said. “I-I thought maybe you would be upset, since he’s related to the Lord General, and he’s so high up in the government, but really… I’ve thought about that, and I think it’s an advantage. Things aren’t like they used to be in Setena. The barriers between different groups of people are starting to fall. If someone like Kevran can listen to and understand me, then think of what I can do. My voice will be valued now. In fact – I think I can even get Kevran to officially clear your names. You can officially come back to Setena, and live there. Close to me.”

That was when they exchanged a meaningful look. After that, neither of them could look me in the eye – my mother took interest in her lap, while my father examined the wall.

“Caedra,” my father said finally, “we made a decision four years ago – we would never return to Setena.” I opened my mouth to respond, but he held a hand up. “It’s not because we have no faith in you or the people. We do believe in change. But both of us are happy here. The simple life on Cerillias suits us. We’ve become very close to the other people here; they’re like our extended family. We don’t have to worry about the insanity going on in the outside world. For people like us, a former noblewoman and a former thief, it’s harder to escape the past than it is for someone like you.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to stay here,” my mother insisted. “This is the life we chose, but you don’t have to make the same decision. When we all lived in the Arafields, part of me knew that you and Mattias would leave us one day. You were not suited to the life we cut out for you. I knew to find true happiness, you would have to go elsewhere. And now, it seems like you’ve found it. That’s what I always wanted for you, Caedra; I’m not going to take it away from you.”

“B-but I can’t be completely happy!” I cried. “Not if I have to go back, and you have to stay here, and we’ll never see each other again.”

“That isn’t true,” my father said. “I’m sure you could pay that captain to bring you back whenever you wanted.”

“But he charges a lot of money.”

“It sounds like you’re about to marry a very rich man, Caedra. Have him pay for it.”

I shook my head. “He won’t want to spend all of his savings on this. Not because he doesn’t care, but… It seems illogical.”

My father shrugged. “Then maybe that’s a test of how much he really loves you.”

“Harrin!” my mother cried. “I can’t believe you! Don’t listen to your father. Caedra, we can figure out a way to communicate, to send letters. Or maybe you can come and visit, but not that as often as you’d hoped. We’ll work something out. But we will not force you to stay here for our own selfish purposes. It will be like regressing to when we trapped you in the Arafields. That simply wouldn’t be fair.”

“You’re grown up now,” my father said. “You can make your own decisions.”

It quickly became evident that this discussion had made me uncomfortable, so my mother changed the subject by saying she would prepare a nice dinner, and then I could get some much-needed rest. I didn’t have to worry about the future until the future actually arrived.

From then on, the eight weeks flew by. I told my parents all about my new friends, like Quisa and Raquella and Jer. They liked to hear about Kevran, too; my mother especially. It seemed that, with every passing day, they warmed to him a little bit, maybe because they were beginning to realize that he was an actual human being, and not a mindless, heartless government official.

I also helped my parents with their household tasks of farming, gardening, and harvesting. I was able to call upon my old cooking skills, which made me wish once again that my entire family, including Mattias, was back together in the Arafields. But then I reminded myself to let the past stay in the past.

During my stay, I did think about Kevran. I supposed our separation was a test for me, to make sure I really wanted to be with him. But all I discovered was that I missed him almost as much as I had missed my parents before finding them. Even though I told my parents I still hadn’t made a decision about staying or leaving, in my heart, I already had.

“You’re going to go back, aren’t you?” my father asked two nights before Lith’s scheduled arrival. When I reluctantly nodded, he smiled. “You know, that was a smart move on your fiancé’s part – he asked you to marry him right before you left. He made it so you’d have to come back.”

I shrugged and held back a smile. That was Kevran for you. Always plotting.

“I understand,” said my father. “I did the same thing to your mother. I gave her an ultimatum – me or everyone else. She chose me, and honestly? I don’t think she’s regretted it. So… If you want to go back, you should most certainly go back.”

The Isle of Redemption arrived two days later, right on time. Melsa was aboard the vessel once again, and I was happy to see her familiar face. I didn’t have to explain my decision to her, of course – she already knew.

My parents came with me to where the ship had docked, to wish me off. We had a long, teary goodbye – or at least, me and my mother did; my father managed to remain straight-faced – and took an inordinate amount of time to let go of each other. Lith began to tap his foot impatiently after the fourth goodbye, so I squeezed my parents’ hands one last time and then insisted that I had to go.

“You are always welcome back here,” my father said.

“Don’t feel any pressure, though,” my mother added.

I continued waving to them until the ship had sailed off towards the horizon, and they had become nothing more than dots on the shoreline.

--

The long voyage back gave me time to plan. When I returned, I had to visit Kunis once again, to hear her decision. Then I would go back to Sederia, and I suppose I would be thrown right into planning my wedding. Who ever would’ve thought that I, of all people, would get married so early? I certainly hadn’t expected it.

A few days before we were to arrive back in Setena, Melsa informed me she had sent a carrier pigeon to the mainland.

“I sent Kevran a message,” she said. “He wrote back that he received it. He should be waiting for us when we dock in Rasidis.”

That new piece of information made the last few days the longest and hardest by far. I could hardly eat or sleep now that I was filled with such anticipation. Hours felt like millennia, and minutes like years. I tried to occupy myself with reading or writing in a journal, but nothing served to help me. I didn’t feel at peace until I finally saw a land mass in the distance.

“So if you ever want to go back to Cerillias,” Lith told me, “I’d be more than happy to take you. It will cost you, but since you proved to be an agreeable employer this time around, I’ll reduce the price, just a little bit.” The new price wasn’t much cheaper, but at least it was a little better. “Just write me when you make a decision.”

I pushed that information to the back of my mind as the dock drew closer and closer. My heart pounded as I went to stand beside Melsa.

“Have you seen anything?” I asked her eagerly. “Is Kevran there already?”

Melsa smiled. “You’ll see.”

I couldn’t really complain about that, especially because, a mere three minutes later, the dock at Rasidis came into full view. An entire crowd stood on the dock, waiting. I didn’t recognize most of them – they were probably soldiers or guards or something of the sort. But I knew Kevran right away. He didn’t look like he had changed a bit, except that maybe his hair was a little longer. He stood with his arms crossed and his face a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. It comforted me to know that, even as time had passed, and as other things had changed, some things had stayed exactly the same.

Finally, finally, the boat docked and the ramp was lowered. I didn’t need to stop and think, to consider all of the options, or to ask Melsa what was going to happen next. For once, even though the future wasn’t entirely certain, I wasn’t going to worry about it. There were so many possibilities now, and I had to admit, this was a good start.

I ran off the ship, towards where Kevran was waiting.

A/N: IT’S OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first thing I have to do is thank EVERYONE who stuck with this story the whole way through. I know it’s been long and confusing at parts, so kudos to you for your patience. Your comments along the way have been helpful and extremely flattering. I am honored to have so many awesome people enjoying the story and supporting me! So again, thanks for your dedication. Your amazing reviews always brightened my day.

This is by no means the last re-write of VI, so if you have any advice or constructive criticism, I would love to hear it. What did you want more or less of? Which characters and storylines needed more development? Were there parts you would edit or expand? Et cetera.

Once again, thank you SO MUCH for reading the story; I had a blast writing it. I hope to see you all over at the sequel, and I am looking forward to hearing your final thoughts! Until next time…