In The Marble Halls Of Althenia

Epilogue

Looking out of the closed balcony doors, Riku could not help but gulp at the nervousness he felt, seeing the crowds of elfkin and Fae Folk that had survived and gathered in the square that the palace overlooked. So much had taken place over the past two moons since he had returned to Althenia, the least of which was the feeling of light that had returned to the land after the demise of the Stygian Daekin during that now legendary battle. Much of his time had been spent in the Ambrosia Chamber, and with the assistance of both Demyx and Marluxia, he had been making progress in bringing the Ambrosia back to the level of when his father had been king. Marluxia had the uncanny ability to accelerate the growth of the plants themselves, the Fae helping the juvenile plants into bloom. Demyx's aquamancy proved to be equally useful, the water holding magickal properties and amplifying the powers of the plants, while Riku was able to mix the Ambrosia and the Amiritasoma to give it new properties and be more universal among the elfkin, even Cloud and Squall able to ingest this new Hybrid form with no negative effects.

The citizens of Althenia had welcomed their lost prince back with open arms, but after the abuse they had suffered at the hands of Xemnas and the other Blood Elves, they would have accepted just about anyone who wanted to claim the throne. That it was Riku, who had staged the coup to kill the tyrant and had provided them with their freedom and given them back the Ambrosia to give them the reins on their sanity again; it just reassured the people that he was the rightful king and ruler.

"Your Majesty?" a knock on the door broke Riku out of his thoughts and drew him away from the balcony with a sigh.

"Zexion, I've been asking you not to call me that. To you, and all the rest, I'm still just Riku and I always will be," the silver haired elfkin said, turning towards the scholar, now his chief advisor. The quiet Fae had been the one to bare the most visible scar from the battle against the Stygian Daekin, the entire right side of his face burnt and scarred, and the loss of the eye completely. So the Fae now wore his hair even longer over that side of his face, hiding it more for the comfort of others than out of shame.

"Of course," the Fae said, bowing slightly but not calling his King by the informal name. "The ceremony will proceed in a mark. Everything is prepared. Are you?"

Riku nodded, not wanting to voice his nervousness. Not only was today the day of his official coronation, but it was the day that he was announcing his counsel. "Do you think that the citizens will accept the appointments that I've made? After all, not only am I showing some favoritism, but I am also appointing two foreign mages to the counsel. Their powers are still a mystery and legend to almost all the elfkin."

It was odd seeing the one sided smirk from the Fae, but there were few others that the King could trust to give him an honest answer. "Axel and Demyx have made enough of a name for themselves throughout Althenia during her reconstruction to raise no questions as why you would want them on your counsel. They have been completely invaluable. As for Marluxia, he will be much better used as the Fae representative than I, as I would not be able to fulfill both counsel duties and duties as your advisor. Besides, I believe it will help with keeping his mind off of Vexen."

"Speaking of Vexen, has Roxas returned from the Dream Walk that he wanted to take to see about contacting his father's spirit?" he questioned as he began to change into the formal robe that he would don for this ceremony, revealing his royal colours. While Ansem the Wise had chosen to robes of a dark crimson, Riku had instead chosen white robes with blue, green and yellow trim, symbolizing Shiva, the Earth Voices and his time spent in The Clearing of the Aniba Forest.

"Yes, late last night, after moonrise. And it was a successful spirit walk that has left him exhausted. Demyx has informed me that young Roxas' studies are progressing exceptionally well. It was well thought to have Axel be his primary instructor with the lack of another Magus to teach him. Both of them have held such fear at being made to use their magicks for tyrants that it has created a deep connection between them." Zexion spoke as he helped arrange the sashes for his king, binding them off with an unsurprising efficiency.

Riku could not contain the true smile that formed at that thought. "Any more of a connection than that yet?"

"Gossip is most unbefitting of a King, your Majesty," scolded the Fae, "but no, not yet. Let it run its course and soon enough it will be. They are both aware of the attraction and bonds between them, so it will be soon."

A true laugh came from the King. "Who is a gossip now?" he questioned as he laid his pendant, the one Sora had returned to him what seemed so long ago now on top of his robes for all to see.

"I am not a gossip. I am your chief advisor and I need to know of affairs that may cause tension amongst your counselors to advise you on. There for I am gathering intel, not gossiping."

Aquamarine eyes rolled as he laughed while the King waited for Zexion to place the royal coronet atop his head. "Fine, but I know that your main source of this intel is Demyx and he has no excuse other than he is most definitely a gossip."

The smirk melted into a true smile on the Fae's face at the blond Thaumaturage's name. As Riku had thought, while they had all recovered from their injuries after the final battle, Demyx and Zexion had taken up conversation regarding different legends and prophecies they knew, and the relationship escalated rapidly from there and it resulted in the Far and the Thaumaturage being hand fasted only five days later. "Yes. That he is."

Before anything else could be said, there was a knock on the chamber door once again, and after calling for the visitors to enter, Riku was unsurprised to see Cloud and Squall walking into the room side by side, so close together that not even a hair could be fit between them.

"Master Squall, Master Cloud," Riku said, bowing his head in each of their directions. A small tug pulled at his heart as he took in the long bonded pair. After all, shortly after the battle, Cloud recommended that Sora lead a group of warriors to the Aresseth Mountains to ensure that any remaining Stygian Daekin were either dealt with or given the option to rehabilitate back into Althenia with the death of their deity, trying to ensure that they were no longer seen as outcasts. It had been three weeks now, and the brunet had still not returned. Riku didn't fear the worse, he would know if Sora was dead. But that he was not going to be in Althenia for the coronation was still saddening.

"We've come to offer you our congratulations and present you with our fidelity gift." Cloud spoke as monotone as always, but Riku could easily hear the pride in the swords master's words.

Before the King could argue that a gift was not necessary from two of his counselors, Squall's hand came up and silenced him. "This was a request from your father; he made this request of us the day that you were born."

Confused beyond all reasoning, Riku just stared at the two swords masters, wondering what they could present him with as a request from his father. Moving only as a long bonded couple could, as one, they parted, revealing a sight behind them that caused the young King to take in breath of disbelief, surprise and astonishment.

There stood Sora, a soft blush on his cheeks as his parents revealed him, but what was most surprising was what Sora wore. His robes were a perfect match for Riku's, though the cut was slightly different and though Riku had never seen the cut worn by anyone in his lifetime, he recognized them easily enough. They were the robes of a consort, but not just any consort: The King's consort. "So…Sora?" Riku whispered, his breath caught in his throat, and he could feel every beat of his heart in his chest, and even the Earth Voices were completely silent at this time.

Sora bowed with a smile, "My King."

Frozen in place, the silver haired elfkin could only look at the brunet with wide eyes before looking up at Master Cloud, Master Squall and Zexion. His voice was paralyzed as was his body as he tried to take everything in.

The Fae only nodded, a smile on his half hidden features. "It is true."

"Your father asked for you two to be betrothed the day of your arrival, your Majesty. We are fulfilling that request today," Master Cloud said, and there was a small smile on his face as well.

"Di…did you know about this?" Riku whispered to the brunet, still trying to process all of this. He had been sure he would not be able to bond with Sora officially, to appear available for political reasons.

With a light chuckle, Sora shook his head. "They all wanted to see how our relationship evolved on its own. And after you vanished and I began to show signs of being in love with you, Father and Papa thought it would be best to not let me know then so that I would not pine myself away over your memory. But now that you're alive and back…" the brunet trailed off, the familiar smile on his bright features.

The paralysis finally lifted from Riku as he rushed forward and took the petit man in his arms tightly before capturing grinning lips with his own. All of his fears seemed to melt away in that single embrace. To be bonded to Sora? Yet another dream that the silver haired elfkin never would have believed would see reality. And to know that this was actually his destiny? It was one more thing to thank his Shiva and his father for, Ansem still helping his son this long after his death.

Eventually the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them caused Sora and Riku to break apart, both momentarily forgetting that they had an audience. It had been Zexion who had interrupted them and spoke. "Well, the coronation is to begin now. And tonight is a full moon to be able to perform the official hand fasting. Shall we head on our way?" the Fae smiled, gesturing to the balcony above the crowds of elfkin and Faefolk that were gathered there.

"What do you say, Riku? Are you ready to reclaim your throne and the Land of Althenia?" Sora questioned, holding betrothed's hand tightly.

Riku offered only a smile, and that's all he needed. Althenia had been restored and her people saved. Now it would be up to Riku to ensure that She was never endangered again. But with Sora by his side and the support of all the others: Cloud and Squall, Demyx and Axel, Marluxia and Roxas, they would protect Althenia.

As he stepped onto the balcony and the crowds below erupted into cheers, Riku knew that above all else, he was home. He was where he belonged. Here, In the Marble Halls of Althenia.

Here it is, I promised that I would finish it, and I am so happy with how it turned out. It sad to see that it has come to an end, but at the same time, I'm actually really proud of my accomplishments on this story. There has been very little changed from that original idea that I pitched to Pahoyhoy on that first visit I made to her all those years ago. This has been my baby for so long, all fuelled from a really insane chest infection that gave me some powerful drugs and after watching all three Lord Of The Rings movies, I watched the Lion King…and this is the brainchild of that. Its going to be so weird knowing that it is done, but I really am happy with how it turned out.

To Pahoyhoy, I know that your munchkins keep you from having as much time from reading, but as I always tell you, this will always be here waiting for you. I still love you after all these years and know that you are my inspiration!

To the others that had a huge role in the shaping of this story: Simone, so many years between us, and we still natter on like our 10th grade English class when it comes to our writing, I'm so glad for your constant support and those marathon gab sessions expected from us!

To Rooj, thank you for always putting up with me, my crazy ideas and accepting the fact that I love gayboys hehe. The best is yet to come for us!

And last of all, thanks to all of my readers! Even during the darkest times when it came to my writing and not being able to get my chapters out on a regular basis, Thank you for putting up with me and all the support that you have shown to me for so long now, I always appreciate and welcome you!

And this is it, thank you all once again and until next time!