I'm standing by the river once again. I'm dreaming for sure, as I often do these days, spending my time resting for there seems to be no strength left to do as I once did. I'm old, a shadow of myself, my hair no longer the startling ginger coloring it used to be, my green eyes dimmed of the light that I never noticed until it was finally gone. The winter of my life has come and I suppose I should be grateful for it. I have done what I wanted to do- I've lived. I took chances I never thought I would and, in the end, I'm happy with what I've ended up with now that the end feels so near. I'm nearly eighty-six, my bones grow weak with each passing day, groaning and creaking with my weight, desperate for rest as soon as I've stood to my feet again. Part of me hates it, especially since I can still recall the vigor's of my youth, but part of me knows this is it. I'm coming to this final adventure before I finally come to rest.

In my dream, I can see myself clearly as I had been before, a youthful girl of sixteen, the year I came to my powers. My life has not been an ordinary one, no matter how often I wished it had been at that age. I wanted to be normal, but my life wasn't meant for normalcy. I was the gifted child, the chosen one who would enter the Realms again and restore the Order, a powerful group of women priestesses who had ruled the Realms for ages before it was sealed away by Eugenia Spence after two foolish girls (one of them my mother, the other her best friend) tried to make a pact with the creatures of the Winterlands.

My fingers reach out to touch the surface of the water, my reflection clear in the river until my fingers ripple the surface, distorting the image. I was never the perfect girl, for I was different. It took many years to finally restore order to the Realms, to reinstate power to those I had promised it to, and to bring life to it once again and balance. Eventually I had done it and now my time has come to an end.

"Gemma," His voice echoes across the river, the beautiful Indian accent sending shivers down my spine. He stands, waiting for me on the other side, a smile on his full lips; his hand stretches out, as though he can reach out and simply grasp mine in his again. "Gemma," Kartik breathes my name and I sigh.

"Mother, it's time," Mary stands at the water's edge. My daughter looks so much like her father, with the broad forehead and soft brown curls around her face. It's her eyes that look back at me, a reflection of me in the green depths. She's a Priestess of the Order, slowly finishing the training of her own daughter into the mysteries of the Realms. She holds her hand out for me and I take it, sitting in the boat as she ferries me gently across the river. I turn to look at Mary, to caress her cheek once more before I step out of the boat. She's gone again, crossing to the other side. I can see tears on m strong Mary's face as she turns her head away, carefully walking away, keeping herself composed until she is out of sight. My heart breaks for my Mary, my beautiful daughter, but I know she will live on. Eventually, she may make the choice to live on in memory of stone as so many others have, or she will come to me again.

Kartik takes my hand in his and I turn my head to him. "You haven't changed a bit," I comment wryly, a smile on my lips as I tighten my hold on his dark hand.

"Neither have you." He silences me with a kiss and, hand in hand, we turn away from the river, moving up the slopes to a land I have only wondered of. There's a contented feeling in my chest as we begin down and from across the valley, I see more familiar faces. My mother, my father, Tom, Ann, Felicity—all of them are here.

For the first time in what feels like forever, my heart overflows and I simply cry as I rush forwards to see them.

A/N: If you haven't heard the song 'The Other Side of Time' by Mary Fahl, I recommend it highly. It's what inspired me to write this. It was bittersweet and I hope you lot enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.