Nooooo... It's the epilogue already...
(-sigh-) Okay, a bunch of stuff I have to do before the story.
First, a big thanks to my reviewers, because I wouldn't have posted this much of the story without all of you: LoneHowl, Phoenixfire1389, (Both of whom were also kind enough to read my FMA fic Wings of Wax.) Rebbe (Who's reviews were always enthustiastic, even if not she wasn't exactly happy with me.), Wings of Heart (Who was also willing to constructively criticize my story), Young Roy (Who, even if she missed several chapters, were always kind enough to review every chapter), and finally, blooangel, AnimeCrazy88, Daughter of the Darkness Flame, Sweetbriar, and Alaia Skyhawk (even though they each reviewed only once, you're all still appreciated.) And to those who did read but didn't review, thanks anyways. (I know you're there, the miracle of the hit counter.)
And since I got an (enthusiastic) 'yes' when I asked if anyone would read a sequel, I will in fact write a sequel. Stay tuned. I finally get to use a plot I've been sitting on for a while. Mwahahaha.
Disclaimer: NO I DON'T OWN BATEN KAITOS ALREADY! (-angry frustrated shout-)
So here we go... (-sniffle-)
Epilogue: Waking From The Dream
Allyr found the door ajar just slightly, and very quietly, walked up to it and peeked through. She could just see Kalas leaning on the rail of the balcony at the far end of the room, his back to the door. Allyr considered for a minute just leaving him alone, as she probably should, but she wanted to hear the news from Kalas.
The whole palace was abuzz with the news: It had apparently happened sometime last night, while the vast majority of the habitants of the palace were asleep, including Allyr. Allyr had woken up to the celebratory shouts of the knights of Wazn, drinking down various alcoholic beverages in celebration. Besides, this was a cause for celebration on every level. Why not take the time to enjoy it? In her short time with the Wazn knights, about six months, Allyr had never seen them all so happy. Even the senior knights were enjoying themselves and laying total waste to their sobriety.
Allyr opened the door gently, hoping that none of the hinges would creak, and walked into the bedroom quietly. It suddenly occurred to Allyr that Kalas might be asleep, as he seemed to have draped himself on the rails like a discarded shirt. Not much of a surprise, as he probably had not gotten a lot of sleep the previous night, if any. She did not want to wake him if he were asleep. She walked up to him, taking extreme care to make as little noise as possible, and quietly called his name, "Kalas?" she whispered, "Are you awake?" She put a hand on his shoulder.
He jumped up with a yelp, pulling out from his Magnus pouch a knife. He looked around the room, apparently looking for an attacker. "Whoa! Whoa!" shouted Allyr, jumping a yard back, waving her arms around, "Calm down! It's just me! Allyr!"
Kalas blinked at her with tired bloodshot eyes, apparently trying to remember her. Deciding that she was not a threat, he grunted and with a flick of his wrist threw the knife into a corner of the room. He went right back to leaning on the rails. "Um… are you okay?" asked Allyr, cautiously walking back over to him, though very cautiously.
"Fine," he muttered, sounding very tired.
"You don't look it," commented Allyr, noting the dark bags under his eyes.
He snorted, "Let's see how you look after a night of no sleep whatsoever."
"Were you asleep?"
"…No. Not really."
"Well, then, um…" Allyr cast around for a topic, "How's Xelha doing?"
"Fine," said Kalas, "Just fine, thank the gods."
"So… It's really happened then?"
Kalas snorted again, "The whole palace already knows, doesn't it?"
"Um…" she hesitated, "Yeah, that's pretty much it." After an awkward silence, Allyr worked up the guts to ask, "So… How'd it go?"
He shrugged, "Well, last night Xelha just… collapsed in the middle of the hall." He started, "I had to pretty much drag her to the infirmary. When we got there the doctors asked me to leave, and I said no, not a chance in hell. I guess at that point they weren't all that worried about me leaving right then, as they had Xelha to worry about. So… I stayed for the whole damn thing. The whole damn thing! I just stood there, holding her hand, doing whatever I could. It felt like it took years. After it was all over, Xelha fell asleep. I wasn't surprised; anyone would be tired after that. I still wanted to stay with her, but the doctors asked me to leave again, and I said no. I'd just stay and sleep on one of the spare beds or something. They said I couldn't, because what if they had another patient? Then they kicked me out when I suggested that I'd just sleep on the floor. So… here I am now."
"How'd they kick you out?" asked Allyr, curiosity overriding caution, "You'd think that the queen's husband, of all people, would be allowed to stay."
He shrugged again, "They didn't want me there, that's all I know," he said, blandly, "And they chased me out with scalpels. And don't laugh, those things are sharp!"
"I'm sorry," said Allyr, still giggling a little, "But I'd never thought I'd see the day you were chased away from something as important as this by some angry doctors!"
"Yeah, yeah."
They were quiet again, and Allyr felt bad for laughing. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. Wanting something to say, thought aloud, "It must have been… An interesting experience."
Kalas turned to her, a look of horror on his face, "I… Interesting?" he stammered, "Interesting? Are you crazy? It was horrible! The whole time I thought Xelha was gonna die! And it just wouldn't end! And what if something really bad happened to the ba-"
"Whoa! Calm down!" interrupted Allyr , "Everything turned out fine, right?"
"… Right,"
"So stop getting all jumpy about it, okay? You freak me out when you act weird and jittery like that."
"What, do you think you'd act normally if you'd spent a whole night without any sleep? Thinking that something you really cared about was going to die?"
"… Point taken."
There fell yet another silence. Allyr leaned against the railing next to Kalas, looking out over the city. "So… Uh…" she started, casting around for what he hoped would be a better topic, "Did you pick a name?"
Kalas shook his head, "No," he said, "I didn't. Xelha did."
After a pause, Allyr prompted, "Well…?"
"Well what?" asked Kalas, annoyed.
"What name did Xelha pick then?" asked Allyr, "And no, that bit hasn't gotten around the palace yet. But everyone knows it's a girl, if that's your next question."
Kalas sighed, "Tala," he said simply, "Her name's Tala."
"Mm… Tala…" said Allyr, as if trying to see what the name would sound like if she said it, "I like it! Xelha chose well."
Kalas smiled, "Good," he said, "Because we're not changing it."
Allyr winked at him, "Congrats," she said, "You now got another problem you have to balance!"
"It's not going to be that bad," he stopped uncertainly, "Is it?"
Allyr laughed, "Years of babysitting has taught me that while little kids are fun, they're also hell to take care of and keep track of..." Noticing Kalas's look of absolute horror when she said the word 'babysitting', Allyr explained, "It just means that sometimes, back home, people hired me to look after their kids while they were away. I didn't actually sit on anybody! Though I've been sat on more than once."
"Ah…"
There was yet another pause, as the pair looked over the city again, and the run that had just recently risen over the horizon, painting the ice of the city in yellows, oranges, pinks and reds.
"I wanted to ask," said Kalas, "How's life in the knights?"
After Wazn was reclaimed, Allyr had asked if she could join the Wazn Knights, "I understand it'll be hard," she had said to Xelha when she had asked, "But at least I'll be able to stay on Wazn and close by. And I'll be able to get better with a sword."
Allyr had not been so sure what life in this world would be like. Because Death refused to make her a gate to return home, she had no way of going back. She had tried to summon the Whale again, but the only thing she got out of that had been mild hypothermia. She felt oddly abandoned and lost, even though she had friends here and knew the place. All the same it felt that it wasn't her world, and somehow made it all wrong. But after a while, she got used to it. She was allowed to join the knights and stay relatively close to her friends, to the people she knew. She was adjusting slowly. After a while, she thought that maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad. There were no major disasters or diseases going around. Being friends with a queen and her husband meant that finances would never be a problem. This place even had something like world peace.
Maybe after all it wouldn't be all that bad.
"It's been tough," she told her friend, "Getting up at dawn everyday, and the routine, the training and everything. But it's getting easier after all these months. Some of the senior knights have been talking about pulling me out of regular training to make me a bodyguard. At first I thought it was a joke, because everyone knows I was your Guardian, but now I think they're serious. Especially with little Tala now in the wide world."
"Are you going to do it?" asked Kalas, curious, "Become a bodyguard if you can?"
"Hell yeah," said Allyr with a grin, "I'd rather be a bodyguard for one of you three than a soldier, though being a normal knight isn't that bad."
Kalas shrugged, but did not comment. Yet another silence fell between the two friends, as they stared out in silence. "Now we've got the rest of our lives ahead of us," thought Allyr aloud. She turned to Kalas "It's going to be interesting, no?"
Kalas smiled, "Yeah," he said, "That it will be."
The End