VII.

"Elesis, love, we've got mail!" Rose calls as she steps through the front door, her pristine suit looking just a little crumpled. "Ah, it's from the Solaces!"

"Have they relocated again?" Elesis ponders, walking in from the kitchen with a large soup ladle in hand to give Rose a quick kiss. "It's only been, what, twenty years since they last moved."

"Quite the contrary," Rose says. "They're inviting us to go on vacation with them."

Elesis groans. "And watch them go into honeymoon mode again?" Her face wrinkles into a soft frown. "Plus, we don't exactly have the money to spare right now."

Rose hums as she kicks her heels aside, shrinking her back down to around Elesis' height. The stilettos clatter to a stop against the wall. "Maybe if we stopped running the bread machine every other day," she teases. "We could save a lot on our electricity bill."

Elesis pouts. "Look, this is the twenty-first century," she says. "There's all this fancy new technology. That means I can make bread whenever I want."

"The grocery store downstairs has pretty good bread too," Rose counters. "And it's not half as expensive as your experimenting with the bread machine."

"Mmm. Let's put the vacation letter on hold," Elesis decides. "I made us beef barley stew!"

The scent of slightly burnt beef causes them both to make a face. "Shit," Elesis mutters, running back to the kitchen. "I hate stovetop cooking."

Stovetop cooking seems to hate her too. Elesis stirs through the pot of stew with her ladle, hoping it hasn't burned too much. Fortunately, there isn't much to burn - it's just dinner for the two of them, after all.

Elesis smiles fondly as she remembers the days when learning to roast a pheasant was hard to manage. Rose's Maman was magical in her own way, and her magic manifested in the form of her delicious cooking. No matter how much they try to replicate it, even with their pantry of spices, Elesis and Rose just can't capture the essence of her cooking.

Oh, how the years have passed. Elesis thought that at the age of twenty-three, with her goddess Rose at her side and fire at her fingertips, she'd seen everything, but at three hundred and forty-seven, she's only starting to understand that she'll never truly see everything. Some of her neighbours who are well into their eighties tell her she's blessed with beautiful youth. Elesis always exchanges a glance with Rose and tries not to laugh.

Elesis was present at the birth of Yin and Yang, the twins of Add and Ara, and with Rose became their co-godmother. She helped bring the old Abaddon chiefs to their knees, and witnessed the execution of Ran. She watched her brother take his first shaky flight, while Rose and Aisha watched on the ground below, cheering. She watched Elder flourish into a beautiful trading centre in the Far North.

Elesis also watched Rose's Maman pass on, and held Rose tightly afterwards as each of her sisters joined Maman in heaven. She cried with Rose as Darya left them as well. She saw Ara's anguish in her old age as Add died in her arms, and then wept as Ara lost herself in her sleep. She watched Yin and Yang grow up and grow old and die, and she watched each of their descendants grow up and grow old and die. She nearly lost her will to live when her father breathed his last.

Elesis and Rose have kept careful track of each generation of Add and Ara's descendants, and Edna and Alexei's descendants. They're on the thirteenth generation now. One of Add and Ara's descendants lives just down the street, and is helping them put together the story of her ancient heritage.

Some of their new friends do know of their immortality. Most of Rose's great-nieces and -nephews call her Auntie Rosie, Auntie Rose, Auntie Roseanne, regardless of how old they are. The Solaces are a little more secretive, living in isolation so no one can find out their little secret. Elsword and Aisha barely care. Both of them have seen the force of war tear apart nations, and prefer to have friends while they still can.

Being immortal has connected Elesis to other immortals. Caerwyn Ventus and Artemis Ebalon, the fae and moon-child that Perrihart Solace calls his best friends, have returned from their ethereal homes to visit the Solaces. The ancient sage Adamas Gaia pops up occasionally in alleyways, catching Rose or Elesis off guard on their way home.

Elesis has become more and more convinced over the years that reincarnation does happen. Nearly a hundred years ago, she encountered a girl in New York that reminded her all too much of Ara in her youth. Sometimes she'll catch the eye of a little girl who looks just a little too much like Darya, or a young woman whose mischievous smile reminds her of Cora. Sometimes it's painful, seeing them again.

Sometimes it's joyful just to be able to remember the past. Today, as Rose makes herself a mug of golden apple tea and takes a careful sip of it, Elesis is reminded once more that even though her immortality has its prices, in the end, she is beyond blessed to be with Rose every day of her long, long life.

"Hey Rosie-Posie?"

The steam from the tea fogs up her glasses. "Yes?"

Elesis smiles. "I love you."

Rose's response is echoed in her jubilant grin and gentle kiss.

Three hundred years later, Elesis finally comes to terms with her immortality. Yes, there is loss, but there is also growth, and there is lasting love that has survived all its tests.

Eternity might burn away everything else around her, but with Rose by her side, Elesis thinks she can handle it.

Fin.

A/N: and here we come to a symbolic end, three hundred years (read: a year) later

a year later, i'm now seventeen, and my writing has evolved so much. i often think about this when i'm drawing, or writing, or singing, or dancing, but i wonder whether my younger self would be impressed by what older me has created, and i think about all the future content i can create.

i think i might come back and revisit this universe sometime, or maybe play with another fairytale. for now, i have more than enough on my hands, and anything new will have to be delegated to next year.

thank you to all my readers for supporting snow or ashes?, and a special thank you to everyone who's left reviews. i hope my future work will continue to bring joy to everyone!

~Marg