Aria's POV

I didn't care.

I didn't care that I was drenched in my own blood.

I didn't care that the Book of Prophecy had disappeared.

I just… didn't care.

He was gone.

I was useless… I hadn't done a thing. It wasn't his job to defeat Kullervo- it was mine. I should've been the one to make the ultimate sacrifice. It was my fault. I sat here… and did absolutely nothing. I sat here and watched him die.

My hot tears flowed down my face and plummeted to the ground. They wouldn't stop- I couldn't make them stop. It was an endless river that could never be stopped.

I sat there for God knows how long and cried. I couldn't make myself stand; my knees would give out and I would break down again and send fresh waves down my face.

Through my blurry eyes, I noticed something red float up from below the cliff. It was too small to be him, so I paid no more attention to it.

"Aria...?" said the voice. I recognized it as Rempo. "Here." He plopped something down in front of me, and through my irritated eyes I noticed it was the Book of Prophecy.

But I didn't care. The Book of Prophecy was back, but he wasn't.

"Aria, look inside." I didn't. I just sat there and continuously wiped at my face, fighting to rid them of the tears. I heard him groan, and he floated down some to where he could flip the book open with his shackled arm. I heard him flip through a few pages until he stopped. "Look."

I finally wiped away enough tears to be able to see the page Rempo had opened up to. When my eyes landed on the picture of his sweet face, I choked back another sob. "What's the point in showing this to me?"

Rempo smiled slightly and said, "Look closer." I did.

I stopped sobbing all at once. There was something different about his page- it almost… glowed. I touched it lightly, and gasped at the warmth it emitted. The picture of his face- his eyes shone the same way they had before he plummeted to the bottom of the cliff. "Rempo…you…?"

"I just want you to be happy." The sincere smile that was plastered on his face made me cry once more.

I pulled him close and hugged him, burying my face in his chest. He hesitated for a moment before placing one shackled arm around my back. I pulled back, a smile in place. "Thank you."

I placed a kiss on his lips, which caused him to redden.

I returned to the book and smiled greatly. Placing my hand over his picture, I willed him to come out. There was a blinding light, but then it had disappeared as suddenly as it came.

And there he stood.

He seemed bewildered, and was looking me in the eyes. He smiled the beautiful smile that I learned to love so much and said, "This must be Heaven, huh?"

I just laughed and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer to me. He mimicked my actions. "No, Anwar. You're here. You're really here!" I pulled back a little to see his face, and as I expected, his eyes were wide and his mouth agape.

"But…how?"

"It was Rempo. He took the Book of Prophecy over the cliff, and by scanning you into the book, he saved you." I stood on my tip-toes to plant a loving kiss on his lips. When I pulled back, we were both smiling. He wiped away a tear, a tear I hadn't realized I had shed, with his thumb. "And now you're here."

Anwar looked away from me to lock eyes with the fiery spirit of the Book of Prophecy. He was happily watching, apparently unaffected by our displays of affection. He sighed, causing steam to come from his mouth. "I swear, if you get mushy on me, I'm gonna break something." He chuckled to himself, smile still in place. "I've never seen Aria so happy, and you aren't too bad yourself, okay? I don't want and 'thank you's. This is how it should be." By this time, the other three spirits had appeared.

"Aria, you did it! You defeated Kullervo and saved the world!" cried Mieli.

"(We're very proud of you.)" Neaki breathed.

"A job well done, Chosen one," finished Ur. I only smiled and made a gesture toward Anwar.

"Anwar is the one who defeated Kullervo. None of us would be here if it weren't for him." He just blushed and told me to be quiet. I stuck my tongue out at him and everyone laughed.

"So, on a different note," said Anwar, obviously trying to change the subject, these are the other three spirits?" Anwar seemed unaffected by their presences, but I just gasped.

"You can see them, too?" I turned to Ur. "Ur, my friend- you truly are a genius." The lightning spirit's ears turned a shade of red. "Well, as I just said, this is Ur, the lightning spirit." Still embarrassed, Ur nodded his head in our direction. "This is Neaki, the ice spirit." Neaki smiled and nodded as well. "Mieli is the forest spirit."

"Finally, I get to properly meet you! It's kinda upsetting when you hear this girl go on and on about you when you couldn't even see-" I quickly pressed my hand over the girl's mouth.

"She quite a chatter-box." I blushed and laughed, which caused everyone else to laugh.

This was how it should be. Everyone together, just enjoying the other's company. My world was perfect- just as it should be. I had wonderful friends- spirits and humans. I had a home in a town that I loved so much. I had a wonderful, caring boyfriend that would later become my- oh, well I won't get into that now. That's a story for another day.

We all lived in Rhoan until the end of our world, and well into the next.

I did so with the desert swordsman that I learned, so sincerely, how to love.

Well, I think I just might cry. This story meant so much to me when I first started. It was my first story on :) There might be an epilogue, but only if I get enough reviews to push me to do so.

I had a friend reading over my shoulder as I wrote this, and they didn't understand how Anwar survived, so I'll explain that here in case you were one of those people…lol sorry.

As Anwar fell off of the cliff, Rempo grabbed the book of prophecy and jumped down after him. Rempo code scanned him into the book, and floated back up to the top, where Aria could take him back out of it.

Well, there you go. And a special thanks to those of you who've been there from the beginning- you mean so much to me. Thank you all so very much.

I hope you all enjoyed Learning How to Love.