“I was fed belladonna,” Naloud offered.
“I told Jiren I wouldn’t help him unless he promised no harm would come to Naloud. He needed me, so a compromise was reached. She would be given a small dose of belladonna to make her seem like she was dying to cause you to rush into battle,” Serid explained. “But he gave her too much, nearly killing her. He wasn’t aware of us and our shared heart song. I doubt he would’ve cared if he did. He never cared.”
His voice trailed off as his eyes fixed on a spot on the ground.
“How did you reverse it?” Marren asked with awe.
“Opium,” Serid stated matter-of-fact.
“The important thing is, I’m alive, and he tried everything in his power to protect me. Don’t be mad at him,” Naloud said as she stepped in front of Serid. I smiled.
Although I hated how grown-up she was, I remembered what it was like for me and Marren not so long ago. Marren’s fingers folded around mine. I experienced his love, joy, and relief.
“I thought I told ya I wanted to fight, too?” Raden’s voice echoed through the air.
We all shifted our gaze to see him and Enid standing in front of a large courtyard riddled with bodies and crowds of people behind them, the sea of faces with expressions full of fear. Daylight had lightened the sky along the horizon. I shifted back into my human form. All four of us did. The sound of shock in the crowd confirmed it.
Marren stepped forward, “Let it be known that Lernn, an elf, saved us all tonight from a man pretending to be your king. He was a Denai, made of energy, an immortal race. Lernn gave his life to protect all of you from a fate that would eventually claim the entire world.
“Many years ago our worlds were separated. But that doesn’t need to be any longer. We can live in harmony. Side by side. We can live amongst one another in peace. Our worlds can no longer afford to be separated. Our worlds are meant to be one. The immortal races are only asking to rejoin this world so that our worlds can continue on.”
The immortal races stepped through the crowd and stopped before us. One by one, each one bowed. A murmur rushed through the crowd as some decided to join in the bow and others turned their backs and walked away.
“Why are they bowing to us?” I asked, feeling unworthy of such a show of respect.
“Because we just became their new leaders,” Marren replied.
“Marren, I don’t think I can rule a country.”
“You don’t have to do it alone. We can work together. It’s not as bad as you think.”
Fear froze me in place.
With a sigh, he said, “If it will make you happy, we will only rule until someone comes to us who proves themselves to be worthy of the position.”
“That may take forever.”
“Have faith, mom,” Naloud interjected. “Humans aren’t so bad, are they?”
“You never were one,” I retorted. Marren’s emotions flowed through me, filling me with his desire and hope to bring our worlds together. Finally, I sighed and nodded. “Alright, just until we find suitable replacements.”
***
I was surprised that it didn’t take as long as I thought. The real princess stepped forth and took her claim on her own throne. She vowed to show mercy to the immortal races and pardoned all crimes brought against us in the past. We were given the same respects as humans and even called upon in times of war.
Many years have come and gone. The world changed in ways I only dreamed about when I was human. Advances in magic became science and the knowledge of our world became hidden and shrouded in stories. Myths and legends, they called it. We now live outside of human knowledge, in places hard to reach.
But one thing remains. Our imprint on the world—our story. The thing about happily ever after is it never is an ending but a beginning of another chapter in another story.
The End