A/N Wow! A year and ten months, or 48,500 words after I started, this story is finally complete! Thank you to EVERYONE who read or reviewed. If you have any questions about the story ask them in your reviews of this chappie and I will answer them. I hope you enjoyed reading this!

A Happy Adian: I'm glad I made you happy, heh, I hope this does too!

Cusailgurl: Yay! I'm glad you're impressed.

Dragonwing51: This is the next chappie, but there will be no more after this one. I want to thank you though for reading and reviewing so faithfully!

Queen's Own: Not quite this is the end (or rather as I like to say the Beginning). Also yes you are right about the similarity between Liam at the ball and Jon on Alanna's birthday. You are one of the only ones to notice that.

Aharah Musici: I'm not technically an ancient (they have to graduate I just left), but ya kinda. Here is your chappie, you have harassed me enough!

Rymira Sedai: Thank you! And also thank you for being a faithful reviewer!

Lady Knight: You can find that pic, and many more at my Zira website, the address of which is on my bio page. There are also lots of other stuff on that website.

Ivy: My editor, and grammar checker, where would I have been without you, hehe. Thank you, you rock! I hope that I don't have many egregious grammar errors in this chappie.

Tara: I miss you! And I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter XXXV: A Happy Ending (for some)

Falkin stood in the doorway looking at Zira; a sad shadow of a smile turned the corners of his lips upwards. He had ridden night and day for a week to see her now.

"You're betrothed," he said quietly. Her eyes met his, and she nodded. She felt cold; her face couldn't show emotion. "Zira" he breathed, his voice steadied and he continued. "I have no place here anymore. Even though the king has pardoned me I am still considered a traitor by many in Tortall." He looked at Zira trying to see something in her face that indicated that she was hearing him. Her face was blank. "I'm going to Scanra. They need help there. I can spread my ideas, maybe even start a revolution." He shuddered. "A bloodless one hopefully." Zira looked at him distantly, and still didn't say a word. Falkin began to grow uncomfortable. "Kiké will come with me. She is also an outcast. It will be nice to have company. Write to me though, please. I will want to hear from you," Zira's lips grew tighter, but she remained silent. "Zira, I love you," he said intensely. She turned away from him. "Zira, say something." But still she didn't say a word. Falkin waited for a moment, watching her still hair. "Farewell my Queen," he said quietly, then turned and left the room.

After his footsteps had died away, Zira whispered to the empty room, "Eimar go with you always, along with my love, Falkin."

The lights had burned out when Jasson found Zira standing there in the dark. When he put his hand on her shoulder she started, and turned to him.

"Falkin has left Corus," he said quietly. She looked beyond him through the door.

"I know," she said. "He came to say good bye." Jasson looked at her and again saw that he would never fully have her. He sighed bitterly, but still tenderly wrapped his arms around her.

"Father says that we will be married in a year and a half when we have completed the Ordeal of Knighthood." Zira shook her head.

"I'm going to cease my training, and return to Antitheos. They need me to help there more than here. I need to get out of this place too. Tortall is stifling. I cannot wait until I return to the capitol. The palace, my people." Jasson looked at her sadly. "You can come visit," she said laughing in spite of herself. "You look like nothing more than a big puppy," she said between gasps, "who doesn't want to be left behind."

"Well I don't," he said with a smile.

"You'll just have to come live there then."

"I shall make a formal petition to my father so that I may," he said smiling, drawling out the official statement, with an affected accent.

"I also wish to request two of your knights to help oversee the rebuilding of Antitheos," she said with equal mock solemnity.

"My lady, may I ask whom?"

"Duke Nealan of Queenscove and Sir Tobit of Hillstead."

"I shall immediately petition for their transferal to your service." This was too much for both of them, and they doubled over in fits of laughter. It felt good to Zira, and yet through the mirth real tears of pain overflowed. She wished that Falkin hadn't left without knowing how much she loved him.

~*~

Shae tentatively approached Tobit from behind. He was in deep conversation with a soldier. She fingered her bracelets absently, and waited for him. He turned slowly still giving orders to the man beside him, but as soon as his eyes rested on Shae the words stopped. He stared at her, silently. She held her breath, but after a moment she found that he had run up to her, and she was in his arms. She kissed him, grateful that he was alive. He kissed her forehead, cheeks, chin then finally his lips found hers, and they stayed there for a long time. When they broke away from each other they discovered that they both had tears in their eyes.

"Shae," he whispered, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. "I had forgotten how beautiful you are." She smiled, and brought his mouth back to hers until the whistles and catcalls from the men stopped them. Tobit glared at the soldiers around them, and Shae realized that they were both Antithean and Tortallian. The men got back to work, and Tobit wrapped his arm about Shae's waist, and they walked out of the fortress walls into the freshly blooming countryside.

"Tobit," Shae said after a minute of walking together silently. "Tobit, will it ever be the same now?" Tobit's eyes fixed themselves on the horizon for a moment, then they met Shae's brown ones firmly.

"No," he said. "But that doesn't mean they have to be worse." He paused. "This war has shown me many things that I never want to see again, Shae. But it also has shown me that even when the doubt was strongest, I still could never live without you." He stopped walking. "Shae, I want to marry you, would you have me?" She licked her lips slowly as he waited in agony for her reply, and then she smiled.

"There would be no way for me to say no. I love you Tobit, I wouldn't be able to spend my life without you." She laughed, "Yes, I would, yes." Tobit smiled, and kissed her palm. She took him by both hands and they began to twirl faster and faster until the world around them was a blur and they collapsed onto the ground, giddy, dizzy and happy.

~*~

Two days later Falkin, and Kiké came to the border fortress, to tell everyone there, good bye. While Kiké was gathering supplies for the journey to Scanra, Tobit came to Falkin's tent.

"Falkin," he said tentatively. Falkin looked up and smiled.

"Tobit! I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Tobit said with a laugh, then more solemnly. "Falkin, I'm sorry I was not myself that day." Falkin shook his head.

"Don't," he said. "Just don't bring up that day. In my mind it never happened." He shuddered, and Tobit for the first time realized how terrible it must have been for Falkin. He wondered to himself how he had managed it, and stayed sane, and Tobit found himself shuddering as well.

"Before you leave for Scanra," he said, "I have a favor to ask you."

"What?" Falkin said with a grin.

"Will you be my best man?"

"Your best man!? Tobit! Congratulations!" Falkin shouted. "When is it?"

"Well, Shae and I were planning on eloping today. We decided to wait for you though, we would have waited for Zi er longer, but Shae decided it would be better if we just did it now."

"Congratulations," Falkin said, but it was decidedly less hearty than before, and Tobit wished that he hadn't almost mentioned Zira's name.

The wedding was simple yet beautiful, and the bride and groom were truly happy. Falkin watched quietly beside Tobit. Shae was even more stunning than usual, her hair cascaded down her back, and her saffron colored sari, accented the rich bronze color of her skin. For a moment tears welled up in Falkin's brown eyes, and as they sparkled there it was Zira, not Shae ,who he saw approaching him dressed in gold.

Falkin and Kiké left that night after the wedding feast. They rode in silence for a few miles until Falkin finally shook himself out of his reveries. He looked down the road, contemplating what lay a head.

"Kiké," he said, at last. "I don't believe I have fully outlined my ideas for a utopia. You see the current system is all wrong, what we need is a democratic oligarchy where"

THE BEGINNING