Epilogue

Tuesday December 25th, 2400
Camelot
The private ballroom in the High Queen's wing
12:21 p.m.

It was strange, being back in Camelot after all this time, but perhaps a good form of strange to be true. She had wandered through the halls with Serephine, both pretending they weren't bothered by pain in their joints as they moved, that once more they were as young as they had been when they first wandered these halls when Serephine was but a cub, and she a young girl. Of course, the fact that she herself was less than two months shy of her 427th birthday, and Serephine had already seen her own 417th birthday; neither of them could deny they were quite old.

Not much had changed in the more then three hundred and fifty years since she had stepped down as High Queen, and watched as her son and eldest daughter were crowned High King and Queen in the same ceremony she and Lucius had gone through forty-eight years prior. She had ruled as High Queen beside Lucius for four years, and another forty-four as High Queen of all Camelot and Avalon, and quite happily stepped aside for things to be as they were meant to. She and Thomas had watched as their children had grown, watched over Ginny, Draco, Blaise, and Lucius' daughters as they grew in Narnia. They had been there at Cair Paravel the day Kaelyn, Dracen, and Luciana were crowned Queens of Narnia, a triad ruling together much as their ancestors King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Susan and Queen Lucy had. Been there when each of the girls had married a Narnian, watched as their own children had married, seen their first grandchildren born, and then she had lost Thomas, just after his 119th birthday. That was when she had stepped down, and she retreated to Avalon shortly after.

She became the Lady of Avalon, leading the Priestesses and working with the Merlin as he led the Druids, watching over Camelot from afar as her children ruled, and their children after them. She lost Pansy in 2100, and Millicent followed thirty-five years later, with Gabrielle ten years after her. By then it was only her, Horacio, and Eva left, though Horacio and Eva still lived in Madrid, they had even buried some of their children by then, much to their heartache. But it was as it was meant to be; life went on after all. Then Eva came to Avalon in 2159, after she finally lost her beloved, and it was just the two of them for another twenty-two years, and then Eva went on to join Horacio, and Josephine was left with just Serephine who knew her as she once was.

A hundred and nineteen years had passed since she truly became just 'The Lady'. None lived that remembered her as she once was, that she had been High Queen Josephine. The world on a whole believed she had died hundreds of years before, and she didn't correct them. Even her descendants did not know she still lived, but that was as it was meant to be. And now she had been called back to Camelot, the one-day above all she hated to be in the castle, the anniversary of the day she had lost Ginny and Lucius. But she had not been able to turn them down, her presence was required, a prince of Camelot and a princess of Narnia were to be wed, not the first over the last three hundred years, but they were the first that had requested an Avalon ceremony instead of a Narnian or Wizarding.

So, that was how she found herself back in Camelot's halls, for the last time she knew. She could hear the Goddess whispering, knew that her time was almost at last at an end. She would return to Avalon and at last she and Serephine would be at peace, the bond between them formed the day her father had given her the leopard would be broken with her death, allowing Serephine to pass on as well. She smiled at the various nobles gathered, looked out at the assortment of descendants in the hall that belonged to her companions from so long ago. But it was the new bride and groom to whom her gaze was pulled the most often, she hadn't seen it until she was standing there, leading the marriage rites, all she had known prior to coming was that her, Eva, and Gabrielle's Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandson, descendant of her youngest Ginevra; was marrying Ginny, Blaise, Millicent, and Pansy's Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter, though Kaelyn, Millicent's eldest Odette, and Pansy's second and youngest son, Felipe.

Slowly she made her way through the ballroom towards the couple, smiling as she approached, the two completely lost in each other. She knew they didn't remember the past, but that was perhaps for the best. Her descendant spotted her first, and inclined his head as she approached.

"My Lady," he spoke softly, "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," she smiled, "How did you meet, might I ask?"

"In the Grand Ballroom actually my Lady," Ginny's descendant answered with a smile. "We were here for the Coronation of High King Thomas and High Queen Odette, and the song of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere was playing, when we spotted each other across the room," she smiled up at her groom.

"How romantic," she smiled, "Fitting as well."

"Oh?" he asked curious.

"Long ago, High King Lucius once danced to that song with the woman he loved, at his coronation actually."

"Really? Isn't that interesting," she looked to her husband.

"Very much so," Josephine smiled, "Especially considering who his love was…" she nodded. "I must go I'm afraid, but remember this dearest ones, this was meant to be, this day, and your love. It does an old heart good to see you again… May the Goddess watch over you, young Lucian and Ginevra," she continued before quietly turning away, smiling to herself when she heard Ginevra turn to Lucian.

"You know, she seems oddly familiar somehow, but I've never been to Avalon. I could swear I know her…"

"I know," he agreed softly. "Her companion does as well…"

Shaking her head softly she looked down at Serephine, "Don't go getting a bigger ego Sere, of course he remembers you, you used to torture him so," she whispered as they made their way from the ballroom to where the other Priestesses waited so they could return to Avalon.

/-/You tortured him far more than me/-/ Serephine countered in her mind.

"True, true," she agreed with a smile.

Hours later she was back in Avalon, moving around her chambers as she readied for bed, just as she laid down and finally found a semi-comfortable position with all her aches of age, she decided she had to kill someone when the lights she had just gotten turned out, came on.

"For heaven's sake," she sighed as she looked over at Serephine, then pausing when she noticed her long time companion looked, a bit younger than she had a few minutes earlier. "Sere?" she asked as Serephine raised her head and looked around. "I think I've lost my mind… though considering I'm as old as I am, that wouldn't be such a surprise…"

"But did you ever have it that is the more appropriate question."

Turning quickly she stared in shock at her husband, "Thomas?" she whispered finally

"Hello my love," he smiled as he moved towards where she lay, gone was the way he had looked when he died, the signs of age, instead before her was the man she had first met so very long ago.

"Does this mean?" she asked as he reached down and took her hands in his, pulling her up. "But…"

"The Goddess has decided we do not need to live again," he explained with a smile. "We served as we were meant to, all our tasks are completed. And of course, Serephine is here as well," he looked towards the leopard who was quite happily stretching in ways she hadn't been able to in a few hundred years.

"Really?" Josephine asked as he pulled her to her feet, and she caught sight of herself in a mirror, gone was the pure white hair she had known, and the numerous wrinkles, instead her blonde locks were back, her skin smooth. "I had almost forgotten how I used to look, save for all the paintings," she smiled as she looked away from the mirror and back at him. "By the Goddess I've missed you Thomas."

"And I you my love," he chuckled before gently capturing her lips. "Come, there are others waiting to see you," he smiled as he pulled her towards the door and she followed, Serephine bounding about after them as they exited the building that had been her's in Avalon, and instead found themselves in what looked like Avalon, but ahead of them was Camelot, and farther off in the distance she could swear she saw Cair Paravel…

"Josephine!"

Hearing her name she turned and before she had a chance to process who she saw, she found herself in the middle of a large hug, "Evita? Gabby? Pans? Milli?" she asked in shock as they slowly broke up, "You're here too?"

"We're all here," a new voice drew her attention and she turned before throwing her arms around her nephew, "By the Goddess," she whispered as she held him close, then was easily passed to Blaise. "You've been here all this time?"

"Waiting for all of you," Blaise nodded.

"You're slow," Draco continued.

"And you're still a brat," she laughed as she looked around the group, seeing Horacio, Diego, Elena, Luciano, Aleksander, other members of the High Council who had been a part of seeing Camelot and Avalon restored.

"Well look at it this way," Draco shrugged, "You're not the slowest."

"No," she nodded, knowing who they spoke of, "But, I think we'll be seeing them before too long."

"Oh?" Eva asked as she linked arms with Josephine and began leading them towards Camelot.

"I saw them, married them actually," she smiled. "And wouldn't you know, they're named Lucian and Ginevra, and through their veins flows each of our blood lines."

"So does that mean I can tell him what to do when he gets here since he's not just my father anymore but a descendant of some sorts?" Draco asked with a grin.

"Something tells me he'll hit you if you do, but if you want to," Josephine shared a look with Eva and the two began to laugh as Thomas just shook his head.

"Come on, you have to see Camelot, and then we'll go to Cair Paravel and you can meet Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy," Gabrielle grinned as she hurried ahead to open the gates. "We have so much planned to do now that you're here."

"And soon we'll be complete, and have all eternity together," Thomas smiled as he linked his arm with Josephine's free one.

"Eternity, I like the sound of that," she smiled up at him before looking towards Millicent, Pansy, Gabrielle, and Eva as they began to talk about everything there was to know about this new world, so she would know and could be part of the group telling Ginny and Lucius.